During the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty, poor-born youth Ye Qingyang and landlord’s son Lu Wenxuan swore brotherhood as children, but an exam-taking scheme planted the seeds of their fates. By chance, Ye Qingyang was accepted as a disciple by a reclusive martial arts master. After learning astonishing skills, he was drawn into the conflicts of the martial world. He rescued Lan Zhibai, a swordswoman who had fallen from a tournament platform, and Gu Yuanqing, a down-and-out scholar. He also met Princess Zhu Chuhong and the healer Su Hongyu, becoming entangled with both in a web of deep affection.
To save the people, Ye Qingyang traveled far and wide in search of medicine. He endured the Oirat invasion and the Japanese pirate raids, using his peerless mastery of medicine and martial arts to defeat the Oirats, wipe out the pirates, expose corruption at court, and overcome powerful foreign invaders. In the end, he retired to the mountains with the one he loved. At Zhongnan Mountain, he fulfilled his ideal of chivalry through the principle of “great physicians’ sincerity.”
Combining political intrigue, devotion to the country, and a tragic love triangle, the novel celebrates the noble spirit of the hero and the brilliance of human nature.
