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墨書 Inktalez
I was stunned. I never expected the Medicine King Pavilion to be so imposing. From Old Man Fu's amiable demeanor, it was hard to believe that this was their way of doing things. However, Nie Qiuyuan calmly asked, "Divine Doctor, may I ask what this means?"
Fu Zhifeng replied with remarkable composure, "Since the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple has found me at the Medicine King Pavilion, it must be for this matter. Why should I beat around the bush and cause you any displeasure?"
His words were straightforward and refreshing. Although the situation wasn't ideal, his forthrightness earned him a bit of my admiration in my heart.
"That would be best," Nie Qiuyuan said, though he was much younger, he did not lose any of his commanding presence. "If that's the case, please feel free to share your thoughts."
Dr. Fu waved his hand, and five men behind him knelt down before us, performing a deep bow.
"Please return to the Medicine King Pavilion whatever this lady carries. This is an act of benevolence; in the future, if there are any commands or tasks, the people of the Medicine King Pavilion will pledge their lives to serve."
Nie Qiuyuan quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying, "There’s no need for such formalities. Since this matter has been made clear, we do not wish to waste words. However, as public officials, we must first ensure that the contents of this item do not violate moral principles before deciding its fate."
Fu Zhifeng replied, "Of course. I will immediately explain the origins of this matter to you."
With that, the old doctor rose and led us deeper into another room within the courtyard.
This was clearly a residential area. Upon entering the room, we made another astonishing discovery.
It was a bedroom where a young man lay on the bed. His eyes were tightly shut, his complexion darkened; he appeared to be in a deep sleep. It was evident that he was in a very unhealthy state.
In other words, even in this world, there were people whom the Medicine King Pavilion could not save and illnesses they could not cure.
"To be honest with you," Dr. Fu said with a hint of choked emotion in his voice, "I am nearing fifty and have only one son. However, now my son is poisoned severely; no medicine works on him. Based on my years of experience in treating illnesses, I can only keep him alive with medication for now. If this continues, I fear for his life."
I found it quite unbelievable. "What exactly is going on?"
"This is a long story. Have you ever heard of the Panlong Society?"
Nie Qiuyuan nodded.
Fu Zhifeng said, "The Panlong Society is a large gang that has existed since the previous dynasty in Chang'an. Taking advantage of the chaotic times, they have recruited more members and expanded their scale, using oppression and plundering of the common people, as well as disrupting normal commerce to amass wealth. If you mention the Panlong Society in Chang'an, everyone grits their teeth in anger."
Dr. Fu slowly recounted the events leading up to this point, and we began to understand that the situation was quite complex.
The leader of the Panlong Society has the surname Gongsun and is highly skilled in martial arts, rarely encountering an opponent in the martial world. Earlier this year, Gongsun's son fell ill with a strange disease that no medicine could cure. The doctors summoned by the Panlong Society were all killed out of frustration for being unable to heal him. Eventually, as it became clear that his condition was deteriorating, they thought of Dr. Fu Zhifeng from the Medicine King Pavilion.
Dr. Fu despised the Panlong Society for their daily misdeeds and refused to treat anyone from the gang. Upon hearing about their request, he feigned an external consultation and claimed he was not in Chang'an, thus avoiding their invitation. Not long after, Gongsun's son passed away, and the Panlong Society vented all their anger on the Medicine King Pavilion.
Gongsun felt that since Dr. Fu had not treated his son, causing him to lose his child, he should experience a similar pain.
Thus, he instructed a peculiar guest from the Western Regions to use a unique method to inflict a strange poison on Dr. Fu's only son.
Normally, with so many skilled healers at the Medicine King Pavilion, curing common poisons would be easy; however, this particular poison was so bizarre and not made by someone from Central Plains that it had never been seen before. To this day, the Medicine King Pavilion had no way to resolve it. In desperation, Dr. Fu could only resort to passive measures to prolong his son's life with medication.
Of course, after so many years of existence and growing reputation, the Medicine King Pavilion could not be merely a business entity; otherwise, they would not be able to cope with the various upheavals of these chaotic times. Within the Medicine King Pavilion, there were not only various healers but also many skilled martial artists who served them loyally. Most of these individuals had received life-saving help from the Medicine King Pavilion for their loved ones, making their loyalty stronger than that of any gang member.
The deceased we fished out from the river was one of them.
The young woman was named Silver Bell and had once been a cheerful girl full of laughter. She was the daughter of a martial artist from a security agency in Chang'an. Later, because the Medicine King Pavilion saved her mother's life, she willingly entered the pavilion as a servant.
Having joined the Medicine King Pavilion several years ago, Silver Bell was assigned to take care of the young master's daily needs. When he encountered trouble this time, Silver Bell volunteered to infiltrate the Panlong Society as an undercover agent to find a way to obtain an antidote from the Westerners.
Although many offered themselves for this task, none would attract less suspicion than a seemingly weak woman. However, Silver Bell had trained in martial arts since childhood and was quite skilled.
Thus, Silver Bell went undercover for over a month while those at the Medicine King Pavilion did their best to sustain the young master's life and closely monitored any developments regarding her situation. However, there was no news from Silver Bell until this morning when official authorities announced they had found a female corpse in the river that resembled Silver Bell.
Consequently, experts from the Medicine King Pavilion immediately infiltrated the official authorities and retrieved the body back to their premises because Silver Bell had resolutely stated before leaving that if she returned as a corpse, they must examine her legs to see if anything was hidden inside.
The body that was stolen back, it was clear that the item hidden within the flesh of the legs had already been taken by someone.
This story sent shivers down my spine. I never expected that a nameless female corpse, bloated from being pulled from the water, would bear such a heavy mission. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of desperate measures this girl had resorted to while she was alive to obtain this precious antidote. And thinking about her tragic death made it almost unbearable.
If this story were true, then it would be utterly beastly of us not to give them the Silk Paper we held.
Nie Qiuyuan listened to this tale with remarkable calmness and simply asked, "May I borrow the book from the Medicine King Pavilion that is used for decoding?"
At this statement, the people from the Medicine King Pavilion were taken aback. After a moment, Dr. Fu said, "Your wisdom is indeed profound, my lord; I am in complete admiration."
He then gestured for a disciple nearby to fetch the item.
When the codebook was brought over, I was astonished. I had initially thought that if it were a medical pavilion, the codebook would be related to medical texts, but instead, they brought a set of Records of the Grand Historian.
Nie Qiuyuan took the book and placed it on the table, flipping through its pages while slightly furrowing his brow. He did not extract any information; even though there was no large medicine cabinet in front of us now, he could still calmly peruse the Records of the Grand Historian and ponder deeply.
I watched him, unknowingly captivated. This time, it wasn't just because of his good looks and graceful demeanor; it was also because I suddenly felt that I might not match his intelligence quotient. Clearly, he had memorized the digitized secret messages as well—what kind of mind was that!
This was a hardware issue; I hadn't expected my husband to have such impressive hardware—it was quite a surprise. I always thought it would be difficult to keep a man like him by my side, but he turned out to be even better than I had imagined, which left me feeling conflicted.
What kind of effort would it take for me to keep such a man firmly bound to me?
In less than fifteen minutes, Nie Qiuyuan raised his head and pushed the Records of the Grand Historian toward Dr. Fu, saying, "Congratulations, divine doctor; Silver Bell has indeed brought you an antidote."
So he understood this too! I gazed up at my husband with admiration, feeling that he was simply perfect.
Nie Qiuyuan took out the Silk Paper and handed it to Dr. Fu.
Dr. Fu received it solemnly, and everyone knelt down before us, bowing three times in reverence.
We avoided the direction in which they were bowing, steering clear of them. I thought that these three bowing heads should be paying their respects to Silver Bell, who had sacrificed her young life for this cause.
"Is that it?" I quietly asked Nie Qiuyuan.
He replied softly in my ear, "The Panlong Society is indeed a ruthless gang, the first to be eradicated in Lord Du Ruhui's plan to clean up the commercial sector. Their good days are numbered, so it’s nothing to worry about. As for the Medicine King Pavilion..."
He hesitated for a moment and didn’t finish his sentence, instead turning to Dr. Fu and saying, "The illness of Physician Young Master is serious; we won’t disturb you any longer. If the investigation requires assistance from the Medicine King Pavilion..."
Fu Zhifeng responded, "Everyone at the Medicine King Pavilion is always at your service, no matter what it is; we will respond immediately."
I felt that this was quite good; we had managed to gain a favor from the capital's top Divine Doctor. It was like establishing a connection with experts from Tongren and Xiehe hospitals. In life, who doesn’t fall ill at some point?
Just as we were about to take our leave, Dr. Fu hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, may I ask Commoner to check this brother's... no, this young lady's pulse? She has suffered from amnesia..."
It turned out he had already seen through my disguise as a man, yet he still referred to me as "brother." I thought, what was there to examine about my condition? The memories I had before were not mine; naturally, I had none. Others who traveled here automatically absorbed the original owner's memories, but for some reason, I lacked that ability.
However, it was fortunate that I didn’t have that ability; otherwise, I might have developed an infatuation with Luo Dachun. It wasn’t that Luo Dachun was unworthy; rather, I was simply too satisfied with the identity I had been granted.
Nie Qiuyuan suddenly smiled lightly and said, "Then we shall trouble the divine doctor."
Hmm, he clearly understood my situation well, yet he still wanted the divine doctor to check my pulse? This guy must have some ulterior motive; he was likely planning to enjoy watching the divine doctor make a fool of himself.
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