Chapter 240: A Prescription for Recuperation

Hai Ruyue relaxed slightly. "But with him like this..."

Li Wuhua pointed toward the braziers inside the room. "There's no need for any of those anymore. Remove them all. Open the windows and let the air circulate. There's no need to wrap him in such thick clothing either. He's far too hot. His body won't be able to bear it."

At his instruction, the servants hurried to obey. The braziers were carried away, the windows thrown open, and layer after layer of Xiao Tianzhen's clothing removed. Even when only a single thin robe remained, Xiao Tianzhen still kept complaining that he was hot.

"Nothing will happen to him, will it?" Hai Ruyue could not help worrying.

Li Wuhua once again used spiritual power to examine Xiao Tianzhen's pulse. He observed carefully for a long time and discovered that the pores that had remained tightly closed year-round were now open, releasing waves of heat.

After letting go, he said, "There should be no problem. The medicine in his abdomen is at the height of its effect right now. Judging from the situation, once he gets through tonight, it should gradually settle down."

Hai Ruyue was still uneasy and had someone invite Mr. Ming over. After examining Xiao Tianzhen, Mr. Ming said much the same as Li Wuhua. He told them to give Xiao Tianzhen water at intervals and said there was nothing else they needed to do. With both men saying there was no danger, Hai Ruyue finally felt considerably reassured.

Once Mr. Ming had left again, Hai Ruyue asked Li Wuhua, "Then does that mean his medicine really is working?"

Li Wuhua did not dare confirm it. "It's still too early to say. Let's see what happens next. You have official matters to deal with as well. There's no need to keep watching here. Go handle what you need to handle. I'll have disciples from the sect continue monitoring his physical condition."

Around midnight, Li Wuhua returned and examined Xiao Tianzhen once more. To his surprise, the cold yin force of unknown origin that had always lingered in Xiao Tianzhen's meridians seemed to have disappeared. Those slender, fragile meridians were faintly showing signs of renewed vitality.

"Has that Mr. Ming come to examine him again?" Li Wuhua asked after releasing Xiao Tianzhen's pulse and rising.

The disciple who had remained on watch replied, "No."

Li Wuhua muttered inwardly. That man certainly had a broad heart. After administering the medicine, he had essentially stopped paying attention. Was that confidence in his medicine, or confidence in his medical skill?

Just as Li Wuhua expected, by the following morning Xiao Tianzhen's body temperature had finally returned to normal. Exhausted by the ordeal, he fell into a deep sleep.

Mr. Ming came by later that morning. After examining Xiao Tianzhen, Hai Ruyue, who was standing nearby, asked, "Mr. Ming, how is he?"

Mr. Ming said, "His body is exhausted. Let him sleep. Call me after he wakes, and I'll administer another medicine."

"Of course." Hai Ruyue nodded repeatedly.

Once Mr. Ming left, Li Wuhua took over and examined Xiao Tianzhen again. Afterward, he walked outside in silence.

Hai Ruyue followed him. "Elder, how is he?"

Li Wuhua stood beneath the eaves with his hands clasped behind his back, looking up at the sky. After some thought, he said, "This man's medical skill truly is extraordinary. Famous physicians from across the realm were helpless against this illness, yet he dealt with it almost effortlessly. With healing arts of this caliber, he really may be the Ghost Doctor's disciple."

"Really?" Hai Ruyue's eyes lit up.

Li Wuhua nodded slightly...

Near midnight again, Xiao Tianzhen finally woke from a sleep so deep he had lost all sense of time. Mr. Ming was immediately summoned. He opened the rattan case, took out several bottles and jars, and mixed another bowl of black liquid.

The moment Xiao Tianzhen smelled its strange odor, he did not want to drink it. He forced himself to take one sip, immediately wanted to vomit, and turned his head away.

Hai Ruyue promptly scolded him. "Good medicine is bitter. No matter how awful it tastes, you have to drink it!"

As far as she was concerned, hope was right before her eyes. At this point, even if Mr. Ming told her to make her son eat filth, she would have made him do it without hesitation.

Xiao Tianzhen himself had no idea how he managed to finish that entire bowl. Several times he nearly vomited, only for the cultivators beside him to use spiritual power and force it back down. At dusk the following day, Mr. Ming mixed another bowl of blood-red liquid.

This one looked unpleasant but tasted excellent. It was sweet, and Xiao Tianzhen gulped down the entire bowl in one go.

After personally watching him finish it, Mr. Ming packed away the rattan case, slung it over his back, and told Hai Ruyue, "It's time for me to leave."

"This..." Hai Ruyue pointed toward her son, plainly asking whether that was all.

Mr. Ming said, "The root of the illness has been removed. There shouldn't be any further serious problem. But his body hasn't developed normally over these years. Although the root of the illness is gone, he's still very weak. Pay attention to his recuperation over the next six months. I see you have no shortage of cultivators around you. I shouldn't need to explain much more. They naturally know how to handle that."

Hai Ruyue said, "It's already late. Why is Sir in such a hurry to leave? Why not rest here tonight and depart tomorrow?"

One hundred thousand gold coins was no small sum, after all. She still wanted him to remain a little longer so they could observe her son's condition.

Mr. Ming shook his head. "I've already been delayed here for quite some time. I still have matters to attend to."

With that, he swaggered away, looking as though no one in the world was worth his notice. From top to bottom, even Li Wuhua, not one person dared forcibly detain him.

The reason was simple. If he truly was the Ghost Doctor's disciple, then not only could Li Wuhua not afford to offend him, even Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion could not afford to.

A disciple of the Ghost Doctor? How could there possibly be such a coincidence, that they would simply happen to encounter one?

At first Li Wuhua had not believed it. Now he had little choice. He had personally witnessed the effects of the treatment on Heavenly Yin Damaged Meridians. That was not something anyone could fake. Now whenever Mr. Ming appeared, even Li Wuhua treated him with a measure of respect.

In the end, Hai Ruyue wanted to personally escort him out of the city. But Mr. Ming was extremely low-key and did not want to attract attention, so he refused. Hai Ruyue could only have her steward Zhu Shun see him off.

Watching him depart, Hai Ruyue asked Li Wuhua with some lingering concern, "There isn't some trick here, is there?"

Li Wuhua shook his head. "It doesn't look like it. The root of the Heavenly Yin Damaged Meridians truly does appear to have been removed. It hasn't relapsed for two or three days. Not just anyone could accomplish that. Until now, none of the people who treated the young Inspector could suppress his condition for even an hour, much less two or three days. His meridians truly are recovering their vitality as well. That cannot be faked. Anyone capable of this, even if his identity were false, would unquestionably possess exceptional medical skill."

Hai Ruyue said, "An illness that tormented father and son for two generations was cured just like that? Why does it feel hard to believe?"

Before the treatment she had clung to hope. Now that she was being told he was cured, it instead felt like a dream. Somehow, it all seemed too easy.

Li Wuhua understood her feelings. "With illness, something may be difficult and yet not difficult. It depends on whether the treatment strikes the root of the problem. That your son happened to encounter this man can only mean his fate was not yet exhausted."

Hai Ruyue said, "Should we send a few people to follow him? Perhaps they might even find the legendary Ghost Doctor."

Li Wuhua shot her a sidelong glance. He knew what she was thinking. She was still a little uneasy. "You have paid so much attention to the Ghost Doctor that you should understand something of what kind of man he is. Send people to tail the Ghost Doctor's disciple? Do you think I'd dare do something like that without an explicit decree from my sect?"

Outside the city, Zhu Shun personally escorted Mr. Ming through the gates. He wanted to accompany him another few li, but Mr. Ming refused.

Zhu Shun had no choice but to stop. Cupping his hands, he said, "Sir, take care on your journey!"

Mr. Ming instead pulled a sealed letter from inside his robe and handed it over. "I forgot to give this to that Grand Princess just now. It's a prescription for recuperation. Tell the Grand Princess to make sure the patient follows it. My handwriting is not to be shown to anyone. Only the Grand Princess may read it. Once she has, burn it immediately. Do not let my handwriting leak out."

"Of course. We will obey Sir's instructions." Zhu Shun accepted the letter with both hands and answered with genuine respect. He had already seen color returning to the Young Master's face. There was hope that the Xiao family would rise again.

Mr. Ming cracked his whip and set off on horseback, the rattan case on his back. Horse and rider sped lightly into the sunset, free and carefree.

"What an extraordinary man!" Zhu Shun sighed and shook his head.

Only after Mr. Ming had disappeared completely from sight did he lead the others back into the city.

At the Provincial Inspector's Residence in Jinzhou, Hai Ruyue was eating with her son. There was no longer any need for braziers in the room, nor any need to keep the windows shut and the air stifling. Her son's appetite seemed to have improved greatly, and obvious color had returned to his face. Hai Ruyue's smile was radiant.

Zhu Shun entered, took out the letter, and presented it. "Madam, this is the prescription Mr. Ming left for the Young Master's recuperation..." He repeated Mr. Ming's instructions.

Hearing this, Hai Ruyue nodded. "At least he has some medical ethics."

She tore open the sealed envelope, drew out the sheet inside, and shook it open. Only a few lines had been written:

The medicine was Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit, stolen from the Great Snowy Mountains. Do not spread word of it. Cover it up yourselves! It would have been better if she had not read it.

The moment Hai Ruyue understood the message, her face changed dramatically. Her heart seemed to tremble in her chest, and for a moment she stood there almost stupefied.

When she recovered, she seemed terrified someone else might see. She slapped the letter against her chest and abruptly stood. "Mr. Ming truly gave you this letter himself?"

Zhu Shun was startled. "Yes. Everyone outside the city saw it. Mr. Ming placed it in my hands personally."

"Fire!" Hai Ruyue said decisively.

"..."

Zhu Shun stared blankly, unsure he had understood. "Madam, what did you say?"

"I said fire! Bring me fire!" Hai Ruyue snapped anxiously.

Seeing her panicked expression, Zhu Shun hurried outside and returned with a fire striker. Once he had blown it alight, he watched Hai Ruyue roll the letter into a tube and touch it to the flame.

She turned the burning roll in her hands until the part bearing the writing had been destroyed. Only then did she release the flaming remnants and let them fall to the floor to finish burning. Hai Ruyue stood there lost in thought.

Zhu Shun cautiously asked, "Madam, what did it say?"

He could tell from her reaction that the contents had to be extraordinary. It obviously had not been an ordinary prescription for recuperation.

Hai Ruyue gave a bitter smile. "It truly was a prescription for recuperation. A prescription to preserve my son's life and mine!"

Mother and son?

Zhu Shun stared in uncertainty, unable to imagine what the letter had contained.

Just then, Li Wuhua arrived and strode into the hall. The moment he entered, he asked, "I heard Mr. Ming left a prescription for recuperation. Let me have a look."

Hai Ruyue forced a smile and pointed toward the ashes on the floor. "Elder came one step too late. I just burned it."

Li Wuhua's expression plainly showed displeasure.

Hai Ruyue hurriedly explained, "Mr. Ming specifically instructed that his handwriting must not be allowed to leak out and that the letter be burned immediately after I read it. I was careless and took him at his word."

Li Wuhua asked, "What did he write?"

Hai Ruyue said, "Nothing much. It was actually more of a warning to me."

"A warning?" Li Wuhua frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hai Ruyue sighed. "The same thing he said before. He told me not to let word spread that he had treated the illness."

Li Wuhua studied her, half believing and half doubting. But the letter was already destroyed. Even if she were not telling the truth, there was nothing he could do. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and left. Watching him go, Hai Ruyue clenched her teeth. It was not that she did not want to tell him. She did not dare.

If Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion learned the truth, she feared they would immediately kill her son. She herself might not escape either. The reason was simple. They could not allow evidence to remain that the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit had cured him.

[End of Chapter 240]