Chapter 323

This dump of a place reeked of mold.

The lightbulb overhead flickered weakly, casting a sickly pale light onto the concrete floor, revealing a few cockroaches scurrying away in a panic.

The "safe house" the fat man spoke of was just an unwanted partition in a demolished building in the urban village, dilapidated and falling apart.

Lin Yu had no mind to be picky now.

He found a relatively sturdy piece of broken wood, which served as his operating table.

Xuanyuan Qing lay on it, her face deathly pale, looking like a dead fish just pulled from the water.

Nearby, an old blood analyzer, found God knows where, hummed, its ultrasound probe pressed against her skin, icy cold.

Every time the heartbeat waveform on the screen flickered, Lin Yu's heart tightened along with it.

"Neurotoxin residue, hemolytic biological toxin reaction... signs of multiple organ failure, increased fragility of blood vessel walls..."

Lin Yu's speech was as fast as a machine gun, his fingers tapping rapidly on the portable keyboard, recording the data.

He raised his head, his voice cold enough to drop ice shards.

"Ambergris, dragon's blood, placenta... Fat man, get as much as you can!"

The fat on the fat man's body shook like a sieve, his head nodding like a garlic-pounding pestle: "Don't worry, Mr. Lin! I'll scrape together everything even if I have to sell my pots and pans! I know the medicine market in the walled city like the back of my hand; both the black and white sides have to give me some face... I'll get you as much as you need!"

"Hurry." Lin Yu didn't waste words, his fingers already twisting a silver needle, the tip glinting with a faint, cold light in the dim environment. "Xiaochuan, watch the door."

Xu Xiaochuan had long since gripped the gun he'd seized from the guard, his back pressed tightly against the thin wooden door, his muscles tensed with nervousness.

The small alley outside was deathly silent.

This kind of quiet was more hair-raising than a hail of bullets.

Swish!

The silver needle pierced the skin, precisely stabbing into several major acupoints on Xuanyuan Qing's body.

Lin Yu held his breath, his fingertips exerting slight force, and a faint but exceptionally pure internal energy was slowly transferred through the slender needle body.

That internal energy flowed cautiously, attempting to nourish her heart pulse, which was on the verge of stopping, struggling to resist the crazy erosion of the two domineering toxins in her body.

Veins pulsed faintly on his temples, sweat rolled down his cheeks, and soon his shirt front was soaked.

A heavy, bitter medicinal smell permeated the room.

The strange, eerie fragrance of ambergris, the slight fishiness peculiar to dragon's blood, and the indescribable, rich scent of placenta were all mixed together.

Lin Yu used a stone mortar to quickly grind the rare medicinal herbs the fat man had rushed over into fine powder, mixed them in an extremely tricky ratio, and then forcibly catalyzed them with the little internal energy he had left, attempting to stimulate their efficacy.

This method was no different from gambling with his life.

If he miscalculated even slightly, the medicinal powers would clash, and Xuanyuan Qing's dilapidated body would immediately fall apart.

Time slowed down as if it had solidified.

The clothes on Xu Xiaochuan's back were already soaked, cold sweat flowing down his spine.

The mark on his back was acting up again, burning hot and searing.

He stared fixedly at the door panel, his ears pricked up; the slightest movement outside, the sound of insects crawling, even the faint sound of sirens drifting from afar, made his hair stand on end.

Xuanyuan Qing's breathing was still so light, so light that it seemed it could break at any moment.

Her face was white as paper.

But on the monitor screen, the curve representing her heartbeat was finally no longer a dying straight line.

It began to rise and fall, extremely slowly, but one beat at a time, stubbornly.

"Daddy..."

A delirious murmur, no louder than a mosquito's hum, drifted from Xuanyuan Qing's cracked lips.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her brows furrowed tightly, as if she were trapped in a nightmare from which she couldn't wake.

"Laboratory... run... run fast... please... let me go..."

Xu Xiaochuan's heart gave a violent twitch, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the gun.

He looked at Lin Yu, who was still maintaining the posture of applying needles, as if in a trance, completely unresponsive to everything in the outside world.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock on the door sounded without warning, light and slow, yet it felt like a heavy hammer striking Xu Xiaochuan's heart.

His whole body felt as if it had been electrocuted, his gun barrel raised abruptly, aiming at the rickety wooden door.

"Who?!" His throat was dry, his voice shaking violently.

"Liu family, the person in charge." A middle-aged man's voice came from outside, unhurried, even carrying a hint of gentleness. "I heard there is a master here, so I came to pay a visit."

Liu family?

Xu Xiaochuan's brain buzzed, and he subconsciously turned his head to look at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu still had his eyes closed, the silver needle at his fingertips trembling slightly; the internal energy transmission was at the most critical juncture and absolutely could not stop.

"Wait a moment." Xu Xiaochuan forcibly suppressed the raging waves in his heart and replied in a low voice, but the gun barrel didn't move an inch.

He shifted his feet, leaned toward the crack in the door, and asked in a suppressed voice: "What are the Liu family people here for?"

"By the order of our family head, I would like to invite Mr. Lin to come over for a visit." The voice outside remained calm. "The family head admires those with brilliant medical skills and would like to chat with Mr. Lin. We have prepared some small gifts, a mere token of our respect."

Creak.

The wooden door was pulled open a crack from the inside.

Xu Xiaochuan's gun barrel followed tightly, aiming outside the door.

Outside stood several people, all dressed in exquisite silk Tang suits, not the kind of characters who should appear in this urban village.

Leading them was a man around fifty, with no expression on his face, but his posture and demeanor clearly showed he was someone accustomed to giving orders for years.

Behind him, a person held a rosewood tray with both hands, on which lay a gold-stamped invitation, and beside the invitation... was a thick stack of brand-new banknotes, dazzling to the eyes.

"A small token, a mere gesture of respect." The manager bowed slightly, but his gaze drifted past Xu Xiaochuan to peek into the room, his tone polite, but the curiosity could not be hidden. "The family head heard that a master with heaven-reaching medical skills had arrived in the walled city recently... I suppose that would be you, Mr. Lin?"

Xu Xiaochuan blocked the crack in the door with his body, not lowering the gun: "Mr. Lin is busy saving a life and has no time to see guests. We appreciate the Liu family's good intentions."

"Understood, understood." The manager smiled. "Saving a life is like fighting a fire; the Liu family would naturally not disturb you. It's just that our family head truly cherishes talent and hopes to meet Mr. Lin to discuss medical skills, which can also be considered fulfilling the duties of a host."

He paused slightly, and the meaning behind his words became intriguing: "The Liu family of Haicheng, although not comparable to those big shots, still has... some conveniences on the ground of Haicheng. If Mr. Lin has any needs, the Liu family is willing to be of service."

This was blatant solicitation, and it carried other implications.

The string in Xu Xiaochuan's heart tightened even further; this Liu family was definitely not as polite as they appeared on the surface.

Inside the room, Lin Yu slowly opened his eyes.

He withdrew the silver needle, his breathing a bit ragged, but nothing could be seen on his face.

He looked toward the door, his voice not loud, but very steady: "I appreciate the Liu family's kindness. However, the patient is in critical condition, and I truly cannot leave. Once the patient's condition stabilizes, I will certainly come to express my gratitude in person."