Chapter 109: Treating the Illness

“It’s late. Wash up and get some sleep. This has nothing to do with us. We’ll be out tomorrow morning.”

Zuo Annian, the envoy of the State of Qi, said this to the men gathered together admiring the moon, then raised a hand to cover a yawn.

Sui Pai, envoy of the State of Wei, asked, “We’re locked up in here. What are we supposed to wash with?”

Zuo Annian rubbed his face. “It’s only one night. Doesn’t matter whether we wash or not.”

Chu Xiangyu, envoy of the State of Jin, stared up at the moon and murmured, “Tell me, do you think Zhuge Xun and that old ghost Tu Huaiyu were putting on an act together?”

The other two immediately grew alert. Zuo Annian asked, “What makes you say that?”

Chu Xiangyu turned with his hands clasped behind his back and looked at the two men staring at him. “Niu Youdao dared kill someone in a setting like that. Is he truly unafraid of death? The strangest part is that not one of Song Long’s cultivators managed to break free in time to stop him. Every one of them was held back by Zhuge Xun’s and Tu Huaiyu’s men. Was that really a coincidence?”

His words sent Sui Pai and Zuo Annian into thought.

After a moment of silence, Sui Pai said, “If that’s what you think, then what about the Jinzhou men suddenly appearing to intervene? Were they there to stop Song Long’s people from attacking Niu Youdao too? Are you saying Jinzhou was involved as well? Otherwise, Niu Youdao is certain to die!”

Zuo Annian blinked. “You mean Zhuge Xun, Tu Huaiyu, and Jinzhou were all acting together? Song Long had no quarrel with Jinzhou, did he? If he had, he wouldn’t have dared come here. Besides, Song Long was a guest who came to offer birthday congratulations. Killing a guest before the birthday would be indefensible in both sentiment and reason! And there’s another thing that doesn’t fit. Do you really think Zhuge Xun would let Tu Huaiyu slap him that hard? I could still see the handprint on his face just now. That was no light blow!”

At the mention of that slap, the corners of Chu Xiangyu’s and Sui Pai’s mouths twitched. Thinking back on it, Tu Huaiyu truly had put force into that strike. It hurt just imagining it.

Put that way, and after turning the matter over in their minds, the three shook their heads. Perhaps it truly had been coincidence after all. Once chaos broke out in the pavilion, everyone restrained everyone else, and Niu Youdao seized the opening. The disturbance naturally alerted the Provincial Inspector’s Residence, whose men came to stop the trouble.

If it really was coincidence, then Song Long had simply been fated to die there!

“Enough. Sleep, sleep. Find somewhere and get some rest. We can keep watching the spectacle tomorrow.” Zuo Annian waved through another yawn and went off to find a place to sleep.

The others dispersed as well. None of them was particularly worried. The matter had nothing to do with them, and Jinzhou would hardly dare do anything to them. Once the facts were clarified, they would naturally be released.

Overall, they were being treated well enough. Though confined here, they still had a certain amount of freedom.

The two parties actually involved in the incident were another matter. They had been thrown directly into iron cells.

People moved in and out of the prison. Niu Youdao, Yuan Fang, and Fang Zhe were taken from their cells, apparently to be escorted elsewhere for interrogation.

As Niu Youdao was led down the passage, Huang Xusheng, imprisoned nearby, suddenly rushed to the bars. Gripping the iron lattice with both hands, he roared, “Niu Youdao!”

With Song Long dead, Huang Xusheng was in deep trouble. As leader of Song Long’s retainer guards, he had watched Song Long die in full view of everyone in precisely this manner. He could explain it neither to the court of the State of Yan nor to his own sect.

Niu Youdao abruptly turned his head and glanced over, his gaze also sweeping across Chen Guishuo. He knew perfectly well that Song Long had never known him personally. If Chen Guishuo had not exposed his identity in Jinzhou, none of this would have happened. Niu Youdao was beginning to regret not simply killing Chen Guishuo back at Nanshan Temple.

Chen Guishuo felt a chill in his heart under that icy gaze. He knew just as well that if the men from the Provincial Inspector’s Residence had not appeared in time to intervene, and if Niu Youdao had not lacked the time and attention to deal with anyone else, Niu Youdao would probably have tried to kill him too.

The killing of Song Yanqing at Nanshan Temple was still vivid in his memory, and today he had personally watched Song Long die. Song Long had been the envoy of an entire state, yet this madman had dared strike in public and behead him before everyone’s eyes. Had he gone insane?

Chen Guishuo only prayed that Niu Youdao would be executed quickly after this. Otherwise, he would have to keep well away from this lunatic, because Niu Youdao would certainly not spare him.

Huang Xusheng, still glaring furiously, was full of doubts. He could not shake the feeling that something about tonight had been wrong. Not one person on their side had managed to break free in time to intervene.

Interrogation? The Provincial Inspector’s Residence knew exactly how the whole affair had unfolded. What was there to interrogate?

Escorting Niu Youdao away for questioning was naturally only for show. He was taken straight to the Provincial Inspector’s Residence.

Niu Youdao’s business was over, but the Provincial Inspector’s Residence still had unfinished business of its own. Treating the illness.

Inside the hall, Hai Ruyue watched Niu Youdao enter with mixed feelings. She had discovered that when this man said he would do something, he truly did it. He had actually beheaded Song Long in public. He really had dared!

Naturally, she had already received a detailed account of everything that happened at Liufang Guesthouse.

Niu Youdao entered and saluted. “Thank you for making it possible, Grand Princess!”

“Making what possible? I did nothing, and I know nothing!” Hai Ruyue replied coolly, immediately distancing herself from the matter. “I summoned you because I want to ask whether there will be any more complications with treating the illness.”

Yuan Fang looked calm on the surface, but his heart was badly unsettled.

Niu Youdao smiled. “Mister Hua’s anger has passed. He can now treat the patient with peace of mind.”

Hai Ruyue immediately brightened. Though she still had doubts, she had allowed herself some hope. The other side had displayed absolute confidence and had even staked their lives on it. Otherwise, she would never have agreed to cooperate with the affair at Liufang Guesthouse. Of course, another reason was that her side had assumed no responsibility for what happened there.

She was also afraid that delay would breed further trouble, or that these two would find yet another way to make difficulties. She asked, “Why choose another day? Why not now? Can you examine him immediately?”

Niu Youdao nodded. “Yes, but the restriction on my body must be removed.”

Hai Ruyue looked toward Yuan Fang. Niu Youdao added, “In truth, I am the real physician. I will also be the one examining your son. I concealed this before because circumstances left me no choice. I ask the Grand Princess’s forgiveness.” He cupped his hands in apology.

Hai Ruyue’s face immediately filled with anger. Yet remembering that she still needed him to treat her son, she could only suppress it for the moment and give Zhu Shun a look. Zhu Shun immediately went out and summoned a cultivator. The man removed the restriction on Niu Youdao, but remained nearby afterward in case Niu Youdao tried anything.

The group then left the hall and went deep into the inner residence, arriving at Xiao Tianzhen’s bedchamber.

Maids brought lamps. To make the examination easier, Zhu Shun ordered more lights lit until the room was brightly illuminated.

Beneath thick blankets, Xiao Tianzhen’s face was pale, dark bluish circles shadowing his eyes. He was clearly asleep.

Seeing her son like this, Hai Ruyue’s expression became complicated.

Before she had even come of age, she had been sent to the State of Yan as a hostage. The bitterness of those years could not be told to outsiders. Later, forced by circumstance, she had married into this household and become the wife of a sickly man. Who knew what suffering she had endured in her heart? After finally bearing a son, he too turned out sickly. She did not know what sin she had committed in a previous life to have all these retributions fall upon her shoulders.

She remembered once kneeling before the Empress Dowager and weeping out her grievances. Her mother had stroked her and told her: this was what wealth and splendor meant; this was the fate of children born to the imperial house. There was no escaping it, no going around it.

Her mother had said that whatever happened in the future, as a mother she could only do her utmost to keep Hai Ruyue alive and ensure that she never lacked food or clothing. Beyond that, she could give her nothing. Everything else would depend on Hai Ruyue herself. And no matter what Hai Ruyue might do in the future, her mother would never blame her.

Zhu Shun walked over to Niu Youdao and asked quietly, “Do we need to wake him?”

Niu Youdao shook his head and went straight over to sit beside the bed.

Zhu Shun stepped forward to help, gently lifting the blanket enough to draw out one of Xiao Tianzhen’s hands.

Niu Youdao rested his fingers lightly against Xiao Tianzhen’s pulse. The instant his fingertips touched the boy’s skin, he felt how icy it was. In weather like this, under blankets this thick, his body was still this cold? Niu Youdao instinctively glanced back at the charcoal braziers placed around the room.

He quieted his mind, put aside stray thoughts, slowly closed his eyes, and sent true qi inside to investigate.

What he found secretly shocked him. Xiao Tianzhen’s meridians were frighteningly thin, like those of a child only a few years old. They were extremely fragile and possessed almost no resilience. It was not only his meridians. His blood vessels were much the same, and even his heart showed similar weakness. One could imagine that in daily life this patient did not dare make any large or sudden movement at all. To do so would be courting death.

This was someone who had never known the pleasures of childhood. Niu Youdao reached that conclusion inwardly.

If that were all, it might still have been manageable. Stranger still, the meridians were innately cold. They seemed to be the source of the boy’s low body temperature, even dragging the temperature of his blood below normal.

Niu Youdao could hardly imagine how someone like this had survived until now, or how much effort the Provincial Inspector’s Residence must have spent sustaining him.

His claim that he had come to treat Xiao Tianzhen was naturally nonsense. It would be more accurate to say he had come to confirm the condition for himself. He could not simply accept whatever this side told him; he needed to make sure Hai Ruyue was not using the illness as an excuse.

Now that he had confirmed it, Niu Youdao silently circulated the Qian qi within his body.

His true qi differed from ordinary true qi. It divided into the yin and yang currents of Kun and Qian. That was probably where the Qiankun Art took its name.

He slowly sent Qian qi into Xiao Tianzhen’s body. It spread upward through the meridians until it permeated his entire body. Niu Youdao wanted to see whether it could disperse the cold lodged within those meridians.

“Mm...” Xiao Tianzhen suddenly made a faint sound, almost like a murmur in his sleep.

Everyone’s attention immediately fixed on his face. Hai Ruyue’s bright eyes lit up with astonishment. Color was gradually returning to her son’s cheeks. Her slender fingers knotted tightly together. She wanted to ask how things were going, but seeing Niu Youdao sitting there with his eyes closed and saying nothing, she did not dare interrupt him.

Even Zhu Shun’s gaze toward Niu Youdao carried a trace of expectation.

The room was so quiet that a falling needle could have been heard.

Yet the reality was nowhere near as promising as they imagined. Only Niu Youdao knew the true situation.

Xiao Tianzhen’s meridians were simply too unusual. Niu Youdao had clearly used Qian qi to drive the cold from every meridian in his body, yet the moment he withdrew the Qian qi, the cold surged back again from some unknown source.

He could only spread Qian qi through the meridians once more, this time keeping it there continuously to protect them. He intended to warm the meridians for a while, then warm the entire body and see what happened.

Gradually, Xiao Tianzhen’s complexion grew rosy. The dark bluish shadows around his eyes also began to fade, and his face took on a rare look of deep, comfortable sleep.

Eventually he began to grow restless from the heat and murmured, “Hot... thirsty... water...”

Niu Youdao opened his eyes and looked at him.

Her son actually felt hot. Hai Ruyue was overjoyed and quickly moved toward the bedside. The cultivator beside her hurriedly blocked her, afraid that Niu Youdao might harm her.

Hai Ruyue waved him aside and sat sideways on the edge of the bed. She looked at Niu Youdao opposite her, and seeing that he did not object, cautiously reached out a hand.

As her fingers passed before her son’s nostrils, she could clearly feel the warm air of his breath. Her palm gently came to rest on his forehead. His skin was burning hot.

[End of Chapter 109]