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Dao of Healing - Chapter 21
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 10:57:47 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 20 | Index | Chapter 22 >>
I prepared to inject more blood essence when suddenly a huge swirl of purple energy burst forth from his spirit roots, crushing every spark of essence in his body.
The door was flung open and the city lord rushed inside, a mix of anger and fear on his face. Captain Kang was hot on his heels, sword in hand.
They seemed ready to slaughter me, a feeling which only intensified when they saw the blood on the ground and on the young master’s chin.
“What are you doing to my son!” Teng Shi cried. “You dare attempt murder in my palace, prisoner!?”
Captain Kang stepped past the city lord and levelled his sword at my throat. He didn’t kill me yet. I had to assume they believed I was holding the boy hostage.
“Please lower your sword, Captain. The young master is in no danger, I have just encountered something unexpected,” I said through gritted teeth.
That was an understatement, as I was currently battling against the raging poison inside his body, but I needed them to stay calm. I couldn’t exactly focus with a sword against my neck.
“You expect us to believe that while he is coughing blood?” the captain inquired, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Did you think curing poison would be painless? We are in the most vital step of the treatment. If you stop me now then there is a chance he will die,” I wheezed, feeling more and more of my blood essence leaving my body.
This toxin was the most powerful I’d ever seen, in either world. Far more potent than the venom of that nine-star spirit snake. Which could only mean one thing.
It had to have been created by a Qi Gathering cultivator.
I glanced at the captain, then the city lord. No, I’d already written them off as suspects for good reason. Honestly, my money would be on Councillor Gao once again.
He didn’t seem to have any animosity with the city lord, but in this world, power was king. Men would do anything to obtain another scrap.
Who knew what lengths a power-hungry councillor would go to in order to overcome the limitations of his status? Poisoning his master’s heir was a drop in the bucket when I thought of some of the atrocities I’d witnessed and Zhao Dan could remember.
However, those were just suspicions. Right now, it was more important to focus on treating the poison and ensuring that the boy lived, rather than figuring out who had poisoned him in the first place.
Despite the seemingly endless torrent of essence that I was pouring into his body to fight against the virulent toxin, it seemed to have no effect. In fact, the purple energy was growing in intensity and volume, spreading outwards from his spirit roots.
My essence was draining fast and I wasn’t sure if I could keep this up. Using my healing technique alone, I believed there was a chance I would fail and the boy would die.
That would be an unacceptable outcome. Not only because it would place my life—and more importantly, my newly accepted disciple’s life—in danger, but because I refused to let a patient die on me.
It had happened more times than I wanted to admit, but here in this new world I had the power to change that. I didn’t need to rely on technology and hope. I had power crackling at my fingertips.
Bursting from every cell in my body. I only had to use it.
This was a risk, but a calculated one. I was once again staking everything on a throw of the dice.
My healing technique wasn’t the only tool I had at my disposal. Plus, if everything worked out, I might end up gaining more than just a little bit of blood essence from this.
So, before I could change my mind, I placed another hand against the boy’s body, this time right against his core. Rather than injecting more blood essence, I did the opposite.
The purple energy seemed thrilled to have another target to consume, at least a third of the strands splitting off from the ranging bundle in his core to enter my body. My skin turned purple, rotting immediately as the potent toxin entered my flesh.
The pain was awful, but compared to my breakthrough I could handle it with willpower alone. The poison continued to travel down my arm and towards the rest of my body.
It exploded outwards, reaching towards my neck, stomach, and chest in a single move. I wouldn’t give it the chance.
Closing my eyes, I tried to direct all of my blood essence into Teng Sheng’s body while simultaneously forcing the poison to enter mine. As it reached my shoulder and tried to corrupt the rest of my body, it met a wall.
With every deep, slow breath I took, the poison was drawn into my lungs, where it was forced to battle against the devouring might of the Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique.
In a way, I was turning myself into a bellows, using the poison as fuel to power the forge that was my body. With every strand of poisonous energy that I drew out of the young master, his complexion grew less pale and his breathing became more regular.
My blood essence was no longer destroyed on contact and a few sparks were clumping together, pushing back the toxin. I’d managed to contain the outbreak for now, but I remembered how overwhelming it had been back in that swamp.
Facing an even deadlier poison, albeit in much smaller quantities, would be my greatest treatment yet. And my hardest challenge.
At first I was able to refine all the poison that was entering my body, but soon it became impossible. The excess spilled into my stomach, liver, and heart, sending icy spears of pain lancing through my body.
I could only grit my teeth through the pain. If I could endure this I would emerge stronger, one step closer to the heavens. Closer to my ambitions.
All of a sudden, footsteps from outside drew close and Councillor Gao rushed into the room, eyes wide. He pointed at me and grabbed the city lord’s shoulder.
“My Lord! This bastard has dared to deceive you, claiming he can heal your son,” he cried, gesticulating wildly. “I’ve found evidence that he plans to kill your son. He was sent by…” at that point he leaned in close to Teng Shi’s ear and whispered quietly enough that I couldn’t hear.
“What!?” the city lord suddenly exclaimed, anger filling his eyes as his face twisted in fury. “Insolent dog, slipping into our midst through such treacherous schemes. Captain, slaughter this lowly wretch, then make sure the girl follows him shortly after. For their misdeeds, they will surely be reborn into the realm of ghosts and devils!”
What the hell had that weaselly bastard Gao told the city lord to make him so furious all of a sudden? This was the worst possible timing.
There was no hope for the boy to survive if the treatment stopped now, but I couldn’t even worry about my patient when my own life was on the line! What could I say to stop the captain ending my life here?
I could only think of a single solution, but it might place my life in even more danger. Without another option, I took the risk.
With a grunt I injected almost all of my blood essence into Teng Sheng’s body and forced every single drop of poison out. With only one path of escape, the poison flooded into me and I was unable to contain it.
“Lord Teng,” I wheezed, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of my mouth. “If you stop the treatment now, your son will surely die. At least let me live a few moments longer and you will see the truth. A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of sheep.”
I could say no more, the final strand of poison piercing my rotting arm. The skin and muscles were black, nearly eaten away entirely from the contagion.
I struggled to keep contact with the young master’s body, my finger pressed against his neck as I waited for confirmation that my technique had worked. It took a few more moments, but I suddenly felt a surge of strength rushing up my other arm.
A little strength returned to me as my raging blood essence, a little more powerful from absorbing a portion of the toxin, clashed with the poison inside my body. However, it was only delaying the inevitable.
I coughed blood, spraying the furniture and the ground with purplish-red liquid.
My vision went dark and I collapsed to the ground. I didn’t want to lose consciousness given how precarious the situation had been, but I had no other option.
A fierce battle was raging inside my body between a deadly toxin and my blood essence. Every breath I took drew some of the toxin away and further refined my lungs, but it was slow progress.
“Sheng’er!” the city lord cried, rushing to his son’s side as I passed out.
“It’s exactly as I said, Lord Teng. This black-bellied bastard has killed your son!” Councillor Gao exclaimed, waving his sleeve and pointing at me.
The city lord ignored the frantic yelling of the man, only having eyes for his son. Teng Shen coughed twice and slowly opened his eyes.
“Sheng’er, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Teng Shi frantically asked, panic evident in his expression and shaky movements.
The boy didn’t reply straight away. He looked down at his hands, turning them over a few times. Then he rolled his shoulders and inhaled deeply. When he exhaled, he let out a loud, sharp laugh.
“Unbelievable!” he exclaimed, eyes shining as a massive smile crossed his face. “He really did it.”
Captain Kang watched the unfolding scene with a narrowed gaze. He was confused by the events. All this time he’d been quite suspicious of Zhao Dan, believing the man to be a decently skilled healer but not at a level where he would be able to cure the young master.
He had only been looking out for Lord Teng by trying to dissuade his master from going through with this procedure. In the end he hadn’t been able to stop him.
When Councillor Gao had burst in, yelling about the prisoner being a traitor sent to kill Young Master Sheng, Captain Kang had believed him for a moment. That belief was reinforced when his second-in-command, Wang Bao, had rushed in after the councillor.
Despite what had happened to the girl, he trusted every single one of his men. He’d selected a lot of them himself and overseen all of their training. He’d even directed the cultivation of the talented few who showed the potential to reach Qi Gathering one day and possibly overtake him.
And yet now, it was clear as day that the young master was fine. More than fine. He was over the moon, his sickness cured. Zhao Dan had been telling the truth about his abilities.
Captain Kang ignored the wheezing prisoner on the floor. Surely the healer would be fine. He must just be tired after using such a strenuous technique.
Stepping towards his master, he knelt down beside the pair. “Young Master Sheng, this servant offers his congratulations on your recovery,” he said with a slight bow.
The moment he bowed he felt a gust of wind behind him. The young master cried out in shock and even the city lord mumbled something.
“Watch out, Captain! That bastard-” he heard Wang Bao yell out.
Instantly, Lord Teng vanished from where he was sitting. He reappeared between Wang Bao and Zhao Dan, clasping the blade of Wang Bao’s jian between two fingers.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, glaring at the guard.
“Lord Teng, he had a weapon! He was going to-”
“Fool! Does it look like the prisoner is in any state to attack someone? You dare kill my son’s saviour in front of this Lord!?”
Things had taken a strange turn and Captain Kang wasn’t quite sure what to make of the events. He first looked towards Councillor Gao. He might’ve been imagining things, but he could’ve sworn he saw the man lift a finger right before Wang Bao charged.
He wouldn’t act on suspicions or possibilities however. Lord Teng had intervened before anything happened, so they would leave it here before it escalated to a point that no one could turn back from.
Wang Bao dropped to his knees, releasing his grip on the jian and kowtowing before the city lord. “This lowly servant begs for your forgiveness, Lord Teng!” he cried.
“There was no harm done in the end, Guard Wang. Rise,” the lord said, handing the man back his jian.
He took it and retreated, not towards the captain but instead to the doorway. He sheathed his jian and stood near the councillor. They glanced at each other briefly, but the captain had already turned his back.
Suddenly Zhao Dan coughed blood once more, the colour dark purple and rotten. His body started to convulse and the city lord and the young master’s expressions darkened.
“Is he going to be okay? Did something happen during the treatment?” Teng Sheng asked with a worried look.
“I didn’t see,” his father replied.
The others in the room also shook their heads. Councillor Gao’s interruption had come at a bad time, distracting everyone during the final moments of the young master’s treatment.
“Take him to a private room to recover. Have one of the servants watch over him and inform us of any changes,” the city lord ordered.
Councillor Gao nodded. He threw a final, spiteful glance at the man convulsing on the floor before rushing off to find some servants.
Wang Bao also departed, though in the opposite direction. He had his duties to attend to. All of Captain Kang’s men were well disciplined.
Moments later, two servants scurried in and lifted the unconscious and shivering Zhao Dan onto a stretcher before carrying him away.
“I wish to speak with my son. You may leave us, Captain,” the city lord said, glancing in his direction.
“As you wish, Lord Teng,” the captain replied with a shallow bow, closing the doors behind him as he left.
****
“Killing an unconscious prisoner should be as simple as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood!” Gao Deng Luo hissed, keeping his voice low to avoid anyone hearing him, but unable to keep the venom from his voice. “How did you fail to kill that insect Zhao!?”
Wang Bao didn’t flinch at the councillor’s rebuke. “Do you think I'm invincible?” he snarled. “The city lord is a four-star Qi Gathering cultivator while I am just a nine-star Body Tempering practitioner. That is an insurmountable gap. I won’t throw away my life for your petty vengeance.”
“Do you know how much I paid you? How much we both stand to gain if our plan succeeds? Don’t act like this is some petty grudge. He murdered my brother!” the councillor roared, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke.
As soon as the words left his mouth his eyes darted around the garden. He relaxed when he spotted no wandering servants, hidden or otherwise. One could never be too careful in the city lord’s palace. Even the walls had ears.
The guard vice captain harrumphed. “It doesn’t matter that we missed one opportunity. He is unconscious, guarded by a mortal servant. Killing Zhao Dan now is as easy as turning my hand,” he said with a flick of his sleeve. Have some patience, Councillor.”
“Lord Teng will be suspicious if he is discovered in bed with a knife in his chest,” the councillor replied, composing himself as the pair walked through the manicured garden.
“Do not worry about my methods. Let me handle your grudge while you sort the rest. Soon, Three River City will belong to us,” Wang Bao said with a devilish grin.
“Indeed. Teng Shi has become too selfish, forgetting favours and violating justice. He would free a prisoner simply because he claims he can treat his treasured son! Not just any prisoner, but a heinous criminal who violated his command and slaughtered his soldiers. Slaughtered my brother!”
Gao Deng Luo coughed, red in the face. “Enough is enough. I was happy to overlook his actions when he spent a little too much of the city’s treasury on finding a physician to cure the boy’s condition. But this is one step too far. I will lay the foundations on my side, make sure you accomplish your task tonight, Vice Captain Wang.”
After that, the two men parted ways, leaving the garden separately as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.
****
I struggled against the raging torrent of poisonous qi inside my body. This was far worse than I’d anticipated.
Whoever created this poison had to be at least a middle stage Qi Gathering cultivator, possibly even higher. Having successfully treated Teng Sheng I was almost at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm thanks to my increased blood essence, but it was far from enough.
My physique and my blood essence were putting up a valiant effort against the poison but until now it had been a losing battle. I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive this ordeal.
Perhaps it had been foolish of me to save the city lord’s son instead of myself. No, that wasn’t the right way to look at the situation.
Everything had been going well until that bastard Gao arrived. His words were like adding oil to a fire, turning a calm situation into a volatile mess.
If I’d decided to abandon the treatment and let Teng Sheng die, I would’ve survived… for a few seconds longer, until City Lord Teng cut me down in rage.
Then, Xiao Cui’s life would’ve been in mortal danger. I had made the correct—the only possible—decision by absorbing the poison qi into my own body.
Unfortunately, it was simply the case of a mantis trying to stop a chariot. I lacked the strength to fight a poison of this calibre.
And I really was being influenced by Zhao Dan’s memories… Where were all these idioms coming from?
I chuckled, regretting it immediately as another wave of agony sparked through my chest. The only positive outcome of this situation was that I was able to further refine my lungs with each breath I took.
Wait! That was it. If I could completely refine my lungs before I succumbed to the poison, then I might have a chance of surviving this ordeal.
It wasn’t just a dying man clutching at straws. With my potent blood essence, resistant to toxins after all my ordeals, combined with my physique, there was some time left until my inevitable demise.
Now that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel I was no longer so demoralised. Even while convulsing, drenched in cold sweat, I steadied myself and regulated my breathing.
Long, deep inhale. Hold. Allow my lungs to absorb, refine, and purify the toxins.
Exhale. A small stream of healing energy would spread through my body and allow me to fight a little longer.
And I repeated that process, noticing the rate at which I was refining my lungs had increased by almost fifty percent! If I could emerge from this ordeal not only would I have the city lord in my debt, but I would also be far stronger.
A smile crossed my face at that thought, but then I coughed blood. The acrid taste of iron and rot was vile, but I didn’t have the strength to move in order to clean myself.
I continued my steady breathing, watching as my blood essence hungrily devoured the toxin, only to be consumed and rotted in return. My focus drifted from my surroundings, wholly engaged with what was occurring inside my body.
The seconds seemed to meld together into one endless lump of time. I had no idea what was going on around me. All I cared about was focusing on the flow of poison through my lungs.
I noticed that when I inhaled, only the nearby poisonous qi was drawn in. That wasn’t enough. So, I tried to take a more active approach.
My blood essence was one aspect I could control. Right now it was waging a chaotic battle against the poison, with no real goals other than devouring each other endlessly.
That wasn’t ideal. Instead, I forced my blood essence to push the poisonous qi towards my lungs. It was slow progress, but I soon saw the concentration of poison in my chest increasing.
Once I’d done that, I noticed more poison was inhaled with each breath, the greenish shimmer over my lungs becoming more resplendent every time. And that wasn’t all.
With that improvement, the amount of medicinal energy expelled with every exhale had grown and my body was no longer slowly succumbing to the poison, but instead had reached an equilibrium.
Even my blood essence was improving once again. As it devoured the potent qi gathering toxin, it went from a slightly green-tinted red to an almost grassy green, dark and ominous.
That also allowed it to devour the poison more effectively. Everything was going smoothly. I felt that if things continued this way I would be able to cure myself of the poison within a few hours.
However, right when I thought I’d taken control of the situation I heard a splintering crack.
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