Why did Xu Zhu Never Consult Xue Mu Hua When He Was Treating Ah Zi’s Blindness?

[xiaop]

As I was rewatching DGSD 97, many things occurred to me. This will be the first in a series of threads I will be making over issues that has bugged me in the story.

My first issue – Regarding 阿紫’s Blindness:

阿紫’s eyes were blinded by 丁春秋’s poison. She then went 灵鹫宫 to consult 虚竹 to treat her ailment.

However 虚竹 was not able to find a medicinal cure for 阿紫. After 虚竹 poured through every medical note in 灵鹫宫, the only solution he was able to find, was to replace 阿紫’s eyes with a set of new ones. So 游坦之 dug his own eyes out to transplant for 阿紫.

The funny thing here is, from 虚竹’s encounter with 无崖子，李秋水，天山童姥, it was never established that he learnt any healing arts from them. It was also never established in the drama, (I dunno about the novel) that 逍遥 sect had profound mastery of healing either. (If they were, why was 无崖子 crippled for 30 years or 天山童姥 being stuck as a kid for decades? Funny they never consulted 薛慕华 for their ailments either.)

Somehow after 虚竹 left Shaolin, he is suddenly this master healer, he was in possession of miraculous healing medicines, notably 九转雄蛇丸.

Nevertheless, he was at his wits end to cure 阿紫’s ailment. So why did he not summon 薛慕华, and seek his advice? It seems like 薛慕华 just disappeared from the novel after the events at 聋哑谷.

However nothing is mentioned to suggest that薛慕华 has died, since he is very much still alive and he is a follower of the 逍遥 sect, and as sect leader, there is no reason 薛慕华 would refuse if 虚竹 ordered him to treat 阿紫.

In the modern world, its not uncommon for people or even the doctors themselves to seek a second opinion after making a diagnosis to explore other methods of treatment. 薛慕华 was renowned as 阎王敌 in the pugilistic world, and he was the only one who could save 阿朱 when she was severely injured, hes not called a Divine Physician for nothing. There is nothing in the novel to suggest that 无崖子，李秋水，天山童姥 all that possess a higher healing intellect than 薛慕华 either.

In fact, he will make life for 虚竹 much easier, he likely could have other ways to treat 阿紫 too, so 游坦之 might not even have to sacrifice his eyes.

So whats going on?
Is this a plot hole?
Did 金庸 simply forgot about 薛慕华 later in the novel?

If no, then what would be a logical reason why 虚竹 did not ask 薛慕华 to treat 阿紫?

[Stance]

He could have asked for any doctor to have a look and give their opinion, because XZ is no doctor and has 0 experience being one either.

[CC]

xiaop
Why did Xu Zhu Never Consult Xue Mu Hua When He Was Treating Ah Zi’s Blindness?

As I was rewatching DGSD 97, many things occurred to me. This will be the first in a series of threads I will be making over issues that has bugged me in the story.

*****edited for length****

I can't comment on why Dr. Xue was not consulted, just have to assume that he was and there was nothing he could do.

Somehow, Xu Zhu's inner strength plus his access to the medical books, plus his Shaolin basic foundation was judged by JY to make him some super-doctor able to do eye transplants in the middle ages. I have no idea why.

The only part I can answer, is your question, quote "It was also never established in the drama, (I dunno about the novel) that 逍遥 sect had profound mastery of healing either."

无崖子 was supposedly a super polymath. Su Xinghe claimed that he only learnt a fraction of his master's knowledge which he in turn imparted to his 8 students (the 8 Friends of Hangu). Each one of them was a master of one art like opera, painting, gardening, chess etc etc and one of the arts was medicine, which was Dr. Xue. So if we were to believe Su Xinghe, he only received a small fraction of 无崖子's medical knowledge which he in turn taught Dr. Xue.