My master was a Daoist physician. When Empress Dowager Hu Ren wanted to stay young forever and become immune to all illness, she summoned him to the palace to ask for a remedy.
After my master refused, she had him mutilated and put in a jar, then burned him alive.
She laughed and cursed,
"Some Daoist physician! Pah! Look, he couldn't even predict that today would be the day he died."
Three years later, I presented the empress dowager with a remedy for every ailment and was hailed as a miracle doctor.
When the emperor came to me seeking the elixir of immortality,
I presented him with a bowl of dark red broth: it was the empress dowager's heart's blood.
