Chapter 193: A Visit from an Old Acquaintance

Duan Rong frowned slightly; before he had even dispersed his cultivation, his Divine Sense suddenly surged outward.

The Divine Sense passed through the door and across the courtyard, immediately scanning outside the gate.

He saw Xiao Zongting standing outside the gate, carrying a person covered in blood and filth on his back...

Duan Rong immediately dispersed his cultivation, shook his foot to dislodge the small hedgehog on his instep, then walked quickly over and opened the room door.

"Xiao Lao! This is..."

Duan Rong looked at the person covered in blood, filth, and a foul stench on Xiao Zongting's back, his eyes full of confusion.

"Don't just stand there like a fool, give me a hand!" said Xiao Zongting.

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong immediately took the person over.

"Put him in the pavilion first! Use clear water to clean the wounds on his body."

Xiao Zongting stood at the entrance, not even entering the door, and after glancing at the pavilion in the courtyard, he gave the order in a deep voice, then turned and left.

Shen Ping's body was festering, and since there were female dependents in Xiao Zongting's residence, it was very inconvenient to treat his wounds; thus, he had thought of Duan Rong's place, which was both secluded and spacious, and brought Shen Ping here.

Seeing Xiao Zongting give an abrupt order and then turn to leave, Duan Rong was even more bewildered, but since Xiao Lao had ordered it, he had no choice but to comply.

Duan Rong closed the door and placed the man on the stone table in the pavilion.

Only then did Duan Rong see the man's face, which was covered in blood, filth, and messy hair.

Even so, Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat as he recognized this person.

This person was the Wicked Doctor Shen Ping!

It was not that Duan Rong had a good memory; it was truly that Shen Ping's appearance was overly peculiar: his forehead protruded quite high, and on a gaunt face, he happened to have a large, fleshy nose...

To put it nicely, he was a man of peculiar appearance; to put it bluntly, he was hideously ugly.

Duan Rong's mind suddenly synthesized and connected the information from the past few days, and he immediately understood what was going on with Shen Ping.

The day he, Ximen Kankan, and Jiang Qingyu were at Huaying Pavilion, Xie Daohan had gone to find Fan Yuanhai specifically to arrest Shen Ping.

But clearly, no useful information had been dug out of Shen Ping, the case had reached a complete dead end, and all leads had gone cold.

Only then did Shen Yanliu have Tang Wanhong go to the Prefecture City to pull strings and hastily close the case.

Since the case was already closed, this Shen Ping naturally did not need to be kept in Death Row anymore, which was why he had been released.

Duan Rong removed the prison clothes from Shen Ping's body, only to see that his body was covered in wounds; the severity of the festering made Duan Rong's heart tremble.

Many wounds had already festered and turned black, and in several places, maggots could be seen faintly crawling...

Duan Rong checked Shen Ping's breath and took his pulse; as soon as he touched Shen Ping's pulse, he knew his dantian had been destroyed, yet despite being tortured to this extent, there was still a faint trace of vitality in his pulse.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered as he looked at Shen Ping, saying, "This person has a tenacious will..."

Duan Rong then used a wooden basin to scoop clear water from the large water vat at the kitchen entrance to wash Shen Ping's body.

Duan Rong washed away all his festering wounds and the blood and filth from his body, then wiped his body dry with a towel, after which he picked up Shen Ping's thin, gaunt body and placed him on the bed in the Inner Room.

Duan Rong placed Shen Ping on the bed and covered him with a blanket; he touched Shen Ping's forehead and found it very hot. This person was clearly running a fever, and it seemed to have been going on for several days.

Just as Duan Rong had placed Shen Ping on the bed, knocking was heard at the courtyard gate again; Duan Rong opened the gate, and Xiao Zongting led Gu Suxiu inside.

Seeing Duan Rong, Gu Suxiu nodded slightly at him. Duan Rong also nodded in return.

Duan Rong led Gu Suxiu and Xiao Zongting into the Inner Room.

Looking at Shen Ping on the bed, whose breathing was weak, whose body was festering, and who was running a high fever, Gu Suxiu's expression immediately turned very ugly.

He carefully examined Shen Ping's wounds and took his pulse; Gu Suxiu stood up, first wrote a prescription and handed it to Duan Rong, saying, "Go and get the medicine."

Duan Rong took the prescription, left the Escort Agency, and headed toward the Raw Medicine Shop.

Walking on the road, Duan Rong looked at the prescription and shook his head slightly; how was this a prescription for treating an illness? Wasn't this a prescription for calming the spirit and recuperation? After a moment of thought, Duan Rong decided to remove the milk vetch and add a dose of Szechuan lovage rhizome, making slight adjustments.

At the Raw Medicine Shop, Duan Rong bought three doses of medicine; one was according to Gu Suxiu's prescription, while the other two were bought according to his own judgment.

Returning to Liu Lu, Duan Rong first decocted the dose according to Gu Suxiu's prescription.

In the kitchen of Liu Lu, there were ready-made kitchen utensils, including a medicine pot. Duan Rong found them, cleaned them, and began to decoct the medicine.

Once it was decocted, Duan Rong strained it, carried a bowl of medicinal soup, and came to the Inner Room.

He saw Gu Suxiu using a bamboo chip to dig out black medicinal paste from a Porcelain Bottle in his hand, applying it to the most severely festering wounds on Shen Ping's body.

After finishing the application, Gu Suxiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his back; at this moment, he took the medicinal soup Duan Rong handed over, sniffed it, and slowly fed the bowl of medicinal soup to Shen Ping.

Gu Suxiu set down the empty bowl, his expression still grave; he picked up the Porcelain Bottle from the side table, placed it in Duan Rong's hand, and said, "The medicinal soup is to be taken twice a day, morning and evening. Apply the Wound Medicine externally once a day. If the fever breaks within two days, there is still hope. Otherwise, even this old man can do nothing."

As Gu Suxiu spoke, he looked at Xiao Zongting and sighed.

Xiao Zongting's expression was also ugly; he glanced at Shen Ping on the bed, understanding in his heart that with Shen Ping injured to this extent, whether he could survive could only be left to fate after doing everything possible.

Xiao Zongting personally saw Gu Suxiu off, and upon returning, he gave Duan Rong a few more instructions.

"This person has some connection to me; I must trouble you to look after him well for me."

"Xiao Lao, please rest assured! I will certainly handle what you have entrusted to me well."

Xiao Zongting nodded and added, "After all, he is a man, and he is covered in wounds; it is inconvenient at my place, so he can only be placed here with you."

"Xiao Lao, I understand," said Duan Rong.

Seeing that Duan Rong's expression was normal and that he had no resentment toward this matter, Xiao Zongting felt quite satisfied.

He watched Shen Ping for a while by the bed, sighed, and then left; in Xiao Zongting's view, Shen Ping was likely in grave danger this time.

Not long after Xiao Zongting left, suddenly, a knocking sound rang out at the courtyard gate again.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "My Liu Lu is quite lively today."

Duan Rong scanned with his Divine Sense, but his brow furrowed; standing outside the gate was actually the mistress of Huaying Pavilion, Hu Huanhuan.

Duan Rong did not know the relationship between Shen Ping and Hu Huanhuan, so he was quite surprised; he walked quickly over and opened the courtyard gate.

Hu Huanhuan stood sideways outside the gate, her makeup exquisite, and she was carrying a food box in her hand.

Duan Rong opened the gate, and Hu Huanhuan smiled and said, "Master Duan, it has been a while, hasn't it?"

Duan Rong glanced at the food box in Hu Huanhuan's hand and said, "Mistress Hu, sitting atop a mountain of gold, how do you have the time to grace my humble abode?"

Duan Rong truly did not know the purpose of Hu Huanhuan's visit; how could he have imagined that Shen Ping's ugly and ferocious appearance was actually that of Hu Huanhuan's former lover.

Hu Huanhuan lowered her eyelids and said without any inhibition: "I have come to see Shen Ping."

Watching Hu Huanhuan lower her head, Duan Rong's thoughts churned, and he guessed it immediately; he was suddenly somewhat awkward and smiled as if to smooth things over: "It truly brings light to my humble dwelling that Chief Hu could come here. Chief Hu, please, come in."

Seeing that Duan Rong's reaction was sharp, Hu Huanhuan gave him a faint smile and then entered Liu Lu.

(End of chapter)