"Completely devoid of breath, yet still showing signs of life. This is truly interesting."
The white - haired blind man suddenly said this to Song Yihuan.
Song Yihuan was taken aback for a moment. Then, she quickly came to her senses, took two steps forward with her younger brother in her arms, and asked excitedly, "What do you mean, sir? Is my younger brother not dead?"
The white - haired man replied, "He seems dead but isn't. There's still a chance. If it were any later, there would be no way to save him."
Song Yihuan noticed a medicine chest hanging on the donkey. A thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "Please, great doctor, save my younger brother! I'm willing to give everything I have to repay you!"
The man said, "Even if you didn't say so, I'd still like to take a look at him. I've never seen such a peculiar illness before."
Inside a thatched cottage in the mountains, Song Yixuan was lying on a simple wooden bed. The white - haired man was sitting beside the bed, trying to save him. Song Yihuan stayed right by the bed, nervously watching the man's movements.
The man put a pill into Song Yixuan's mouth, then used silver needles to make a circle around his heart. After that, he moved the needles all over Song Yixuan's body.
Although the white - haired man was blind, his hands were extremely precise, and his movements were so fast that it was almost impossible to tell what he was doing.
Under the wooden bed, a weak flame was burning, warming the gradually stiffening body on the bed.
The man applied the needles again and again. When he inserted and then removed the needles from Song Yixuan's heart for the third time, Song Yihuan noticed that the silver needles had turned completely black!
Her face immediately changed. "This is—"
The white - haired man explained, "The heart disease he has is inherited from his mother. When his mother was pregnant, she was poisoned by a chronic toxin. The toxin flowed into the fetus through the placenta, damaging his heart veins and accumulating around his heart."
Chronic poison?!
The white - haired man's words shocked Song Yihuan greatly. She immediately thought of the old case she had investigated. In that case, a concubine in a family used such a method to poison the mistress.
"Doctor, do you know what kind of poison it is?" she immediately asked.
The white - haired man said, "This poison comes from a kind of grass called 'Beimantuo' in the Northern Di region. This grass looks like Chinese honey locust, so it's easy to be confused. If it's used to wash clothes, the juice remaining on the clothes will make ordinary people gradually lose weight and have no appetite. If a woman is pregnant, the fetus will grow rapidly, eventually leading to a difficult delivery."
A poisonous grass from the Northern Di region? How could a poisonous grass from the Northern Di region appear in the Yu State and in the capital city?!
Song Yihuan and Gu Yunzheng looked at each other, and they both saw something unusual in each other's eyes.
As the white - haired man was speaking, his hand movements of applying the needles became even faster. After a series of movements, he removed all the silver needles, cut open Song Yixuan's fingertips, and slapped his chest.
Miraculously, Song Yixuan coughed and then vomited a mouthful of black and stinky blood to the side. He came back to life!
Song Yihuan was overjoyed and burst into tears. She rushed forward and used her sleeve to wipe the black blood from Song Yixuan's lips. She called out in a trembling voice, "Xuan'er, Xuan'er? How are you? Can you hear me?"
As if smelling the familiar fragrance of apricot blossoms, Song Yixuan felt that his loved one was by his side. He tried to raise his head and say something to Song Yihuan, but then his head tilted, and he lost consciousness again.
The white - haired man said, "Don't be in a hurry. After the toxins in his body are removed, he'll be fine."
After hearing this, Song Yihuan felt relieved. She lowered her head and kissed Song Yixuan's hair and cheeks, whispering, "It's so good, Xuan'er, Xuan'er. You didn't leave me."
Gu Yunzheng was calmer than Song Yihuan. He asked the white - haired man, "Could you please explain to us, great doctor, why you said he still had a glimmer of hope when he clearly had no breath? Is it related to the poison in his body?"
The white - haired man said, "It's indeed related to the poison in his body. The 'Beimantuo' poison in his body had already invaded his heart veins. Over the years, because he was well - protected, it gradually formed a symbiotic relationship with his body."
"And when he was frightened before and was hit in the chest, the 'Beimantuo' poison, which should have taken his life, instead protected his heart and kept a glimmer of hope. It's thanks to you all trying your best to warm his chest just now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted until I came."
Song Yihuan saw that the blood flowing from Song Yixuan's fingertips had turned from black to bright red. She asked, "What about the 'Beimantuo' poison now?"
The white - haired man said, "It has been detoxified. But he was seriously injured and won't wake up easily. He still needs to recuperate for some time."
Song Yihuan looked at her younger brother, who had his eyes tightly closed, with a weak but steady breath. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
The "Beimantuo" had killed their mother and almost caused Xuan'er to die at birth. But in this critical moment, it was the "Beimantuo" that protected Xuan'er and helped him last until he was rescued.
Gently stroking Song Yixuan's messy hair, Song Yihuan noticed that his left palm was still tightly clenched. She frowned slightly, picked up his hand, and found that there seemed to be something in his palm.
Her heart skipped a beat. Song Yihuan tried to pry it open but found that he was holding it very tightly. She said softly, "Xuan'er, Fourth Sister is here. Don't be afraid. No one will hurt you anymore."
After she said this, Song Yixuan's tightly clenched fist relaxed, and Song Yihuan was able to open his palm.
When she saw what was in his palm clearly, Song Yihuan's pupils suddenly shrank, and anger welled up in her.
What he was holding in his palm was an earring, and it was extremely familiar. Song Yihuan had seen it on Song Nanxin today!
She knew it. She knew that Xuan'er's accident was related to her eldest sister!
Song Nanxin! I'm going to kill you!
Song Yihuan got up and rushed outside. Gu Yunzheng noticed that her eyes were red and her expression was angry. He quickly chased after her and asked, "Yihuan, what's wrong? Did you find something new?"
Song Yihuan rushed outside the door but suddenly stopped. She clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to calm down. She took a few deep breaths and managed to suppress the hatred and killing intent in her heart.
"Brother Gu, please wait for me outside. I need to talk to the great doctor."
Gu Yunzheng nodded. Song Yihuan turned around and went back into the thatched cottage.
With a thud, she knelt in front of the white - haired man.
"I know you're the legendary 'Carefree Great Doctor'. Thank you so much for saving my younger brother today. I'm extremely grateful. Here are two hundred taels of silver notes. I'd like to give them all to you as a reward. I'm willing to be a servant for you in this life and the next to repay you!"
The white - haired man lowered his eyes and "looked" in her direction. His face was calm. "Saving lives is the duty of a doctor. His illness really interests me. I saved him voluntarily. I won't take this two hundred taels, and you don't need to be a servant to repay me."
However, Song Yihuan didn't take back the silver notes in her hand. Instead, she said to the white - haired man,
"No, actually, I have an impertinent request."
"I'd like to ask the great doctor to take my younger brother away. Wherever the great doctor goes, he'll go. I just hope that he can be safe and healthy in the future, free from illness and pain."