Chapter 192

All unrelated people in the room withdrew, leaving only Jiu Yue and Zuo Feichen.

Jiu Yue did not see Ling Feng among the few survivors just now; her face was already ashen, yet she still stayed by Gu Jiu Ling's side.

"Jiu Yue, go rest! With Zuo Feichen here, that's enough!"

"My lord…" Jiu Yue held back her tears and looked at Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling sighed and said, "You go out now and calm down."

As soon as the three words "calm down" left Gu Jiu Ling's mouth, Jiu Yue could no longer hold back; she sobbed softly, kowtowed to Gu Jiu Ling, turned, covered her mouth, and rushed out of the room, her desperate sobs impossible to suppress.

"Big Brother Zuo, please fetch the medicine box from the carriage for me; I'll get ready here."

Zuo Feichen nodded, rose and went out, but having just taken a palm strike from Xiao Yin, his steps still staggered.

Gu Jiu Ling ordered Meng to guard the door, allowing no one to enter; only then did she take out the most advanced surgical equipment from the emergency room from her space.

Just now, fetching it in front of Zuo Feichen felt too frightening; if she scared the assistant into fainting, how could she save anyone?

Sure enough, Zuo Feichen entered carrying the medicine box and saw that Gu Jiu Ling had already placed many items beside Xiao Yin, things he had also seen in the medical halls of Shang Jing.

But just now he hadn't noticed where they were stored; this time it seemed rather abrupt.

He didn't have time to think about that; all he needed was to heal the Prince Rui. Prince Rui intended to retrial the Qi Sha Gu case from seven years ago, and he also needed such a person to handle some affairs and help clear his name.

Gu Jiu Ling, seeing that a single dose of anesthetic could not subdue someone like Xiao Yin, gave him another injection and then hooked him up to a ventilator, putting him under full anesthesia.

She had previously performed surgery after surgery with Zuo Feichen in Shang Jing precisely for such an emergency.

Even in such rudimentary conditions, the two of them did not lose their coordination; they worked together smoothly.

Zuo Feichen washed his hands, put on the special gloves Gu Jiu Ling gave him, and handed her a sterilized pair of scissors.

Gu Jiu Ling took them, preparing to first open Xiao Yin's collar; she did not know the extent of his injuries, but from the outside they looked severe, and his pulse was chaotic.

She carefully cut open Xiao Yin's blood‑stained collar bit by bit; indeed, the wounds were grave.

"Wipe with clean water, then again with saline!"

Zuo Feichen swiftly brought a basin of clean water; outside the Rui Wang Fu, the dark guards stood at the door, ready to supply whatever was needed inside.

Gu Jiu Ling personally used a gauze dipped in water to wipe Xiao Yin's chest; suddenly her face changed slightly, she fixed her gaze on his chest, and her whole body seemed to freeze there.

"Princess Consort?" Zuo Feichen had the saline ready and was about to hand it over, but he saw Gu Jiu Ling utterly still, like an old monk in meditation, and he jumped in fright.

Gu Jiu Ling stared fixedly at the horizontal knife scar across Xiao Yin's chest; the scar was long and ferocious, but at a glance it was clearly an old wound.

On top of that old scar, numerous new wounds had been added; even though these wounds were densely packed across his chest, they could not conceal the ferocity of the old scar.

Gu Jiu Ling instinctively lifted her hand and touched the scar; instantly her heart began to race.

How could this be? No! It shouldn't be him!

Tuo Ba Yu had already admitted to that matter; besides, during the palace banquet Xiao Yin was not in Shang Jing.

She must be overthinking; surely she is overthinking, yet why does the feel of that scar seem so familiar? Or is she secretly hoping the child in her belly is Xiao Yin's?

She immediately checked that absurd thought, but her face grew heavy.

On the side, Zuo Feichen watched Gu Jiu Ling, in front of him this outsider man, raise her hand and lightly stroke her husband's chest, her expression thoughtful as she stroked, seeming strange no matter how he looked at it.

He couldn't help but let out a soft cough; Gu Jiu Ling withdrew her agitation and surprise, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then cut open Xiao Yin's entire upper garment and carefully cleaned the wounds.

His legs had no major fatal wounds; the urgent priority was to open Xiao Yin's abdomen to examine the internal lesions.

After Gu Jiu Ling helped clean Xiao Yin, she was surprised to find tiny protrusions on his left rib, abdomen, and even chest—each about the size of a child's glass marble—and they even moved.

Gu Jiu Ling had never encountered this condition before; although she had studied many difficult maladies with her mentor, this was the first such case she faced alone, and in another world.

Especially the growth in the abdominal cavity, the largest, felt like a sliding tumor, as if it were alive.

"Number three scalpel! That won't do! Give me the number five!" Gu Jiu Ling's voice tightened with tension, hoarse and weary.

Zuo Feichen was an excellent assistant—no idle chatter, he obeyed instructions, and his technique was steady.

Gu Jiu Ling held the scalpel poised above Xiao Yin's abdominal cavity, the blade aimed at his cold‑white skin; she closed her eyes, focused on him, and her smile grew a touch bitter.

"Xiao Yin! You never believed me before; I said I'd open your abdomen and then suture it, and you thought I wanted to harm you!"

"Now that we've both been through so much…"

Gu Jiu Ling couldn't go on; her eyes burned with anguish, she exhaled and whispered low, "Xiao Yin, give me your life tonight, and I will treat you well."

"Behave yourself; don't ever do this again!"

Gu Jiu Ling's blade slowly sliced into Xiao Yin's skin…

In the darkest hour before dawn, even the scattered stars seemed to have nowhere to hide.

A pitch‑black canopy descended, boundless night enveloping this small courtyard.

Suddenly a fierce thunder of hooves swept over; Chen Ming and Lin Ru Jun, guarding the courtyard gate, sprang to their feet, swords already drawn.

Chen Ming wielded a crescent‑bladed longsword, passed down from his father Cheng Kun; previously his big belly made it awkward to use, but after Gu Jiu Ling healed him, he handled it as easily as a fish in water.

Lin Ru Jun used a soft sword, its blade gleaming with frosty brilliance, clearly of fine quality.

The two of them, one with a blade, one with a sword, guarded this dilapidated courtyard so tightly that not even water could seep through.

"It's us!" Tuo Ba Yu, clad in a black combat robe already soaked with blood, had not yet dismounted when he shouted low, "Why haven't you left yet? The pursuers are right behind—are you seeking death?"

Tuo Ba Yu's face turned stiff; he bore the Red Scorpion at the rear, merely to buy Gu Jiu Ling time to escape.

He had thought Gu Jiu Ling had already taken Xiao Yin away and returned to the capital; finding them still here, lingering, his anger flared.

No doubt Gu Jiu Ling was being considerate of Xiao Yin, unwilling to endure a long journey, staying to treat his wounds—so what was he, then?

Chen Ming set down his crescent blade and said, "Princess Consort, please help the Prince heal his wounds!"

"We'll leave in a moment!"

Tuo Ba Yu's face sank to its darkest; he dismounted and strode swiftly toward the house's door.

"Heal wounds? You're just looking to die, aren't you?"