Chapter 50: First Zhenguan Surgical Case in Progress

"Eh, um… Imperial Physician, right?"

Chen Yan glanced at the Imperial Physician still kneeling on the ground and said, "Come over and help me. Mix the Ma Fei San from the blue bottle in my medicine chest with warm wine and give it to Cai Duke to drink."

The Imperial Physician carefully lifted his head to look at Li Shimin, who angrily said, "Are you deaf?"

"Didn't hear what Zi An said?"

"I, I am coming right away," the Imperial Physician replied, not daring to delay. He hurriedly rose from the ground and, following Chen Yan's instructions, poured the Ma Fei San into the warm wine prepared by Du Gou.

Then he poured it all for Du Ruhui to drink.

Du Ruhui felt his whole mouth numb to the point of death, yet he forced himself to swallow it all.

Time passed slowly as Chen Yan patiently waited for the full effect of the Ma Fei San to manifest.

Next, Chen Yan had the Imperial Physician take out high‑proof alcohol, apply it to the area to be cut, and gave Du Ruhui a clean white cloth to bite.

After completing all this, Chen Yan steadied his mind.

Under the astonished gazes of Li Shimin and the others, he picked up the surgical knife he had painstakingly forged and carefully sliced into Du Ruhui's abdomen.

Er...... ahhhh!!!

Inside the room, Du Ruhui's heart‑wrenching howl suddenly rang out, making everyone's scalp tingle.

Li Shimin and the others at this moment completely forgot Chen Yan's earlier instructions, standing dumbfounded and not speaking to Du Ruhui at all, failing to distract him.

What did they see?

Chen Yan… cut open Du Ruhui's belly?

A question rose in their minds: does Chen Yan hold a grudge against Du Ruhui?

Is this treating a disease or killing him?

Chen Yan paid no heed to their thoughts; his hand was steady as an old dog, his gaze so calm it could not stir a ripple.

A human abdomen has several layers and cannot be opened all at once; this process is undoubtedly excruciating for Du Ruhui.

But there was no other way; he could only proceed as quickly as possible to prevent Du Ruhui from going into shock from the pain.

"Ah!! Uh ah!!!"

Du Ruhui's scream nearly shattered the roof, blue veins bulging on his neck, cold sweat pouring down like rain.

His face looked ferociously grim.

Pain!

It's unbearably painful!

The pain made his teeth almost tear the white cloth to shreds.

Du Ruhui considered himself no hero, yet he was not a weak person either.

He had expected it to hurt, but not this much.

Du Ruhui could no longer endure; he forced the white cloth out of his mouth with all his strength and roared, "Stop… stop!!"

"I don't want to live, let me die!!"

"Please, let me die!!"

Faced with such agony, he would rather die now.

Chen Yan remained unmoved, continuing the surgery with utmost calm.

At this moment, Li Shimin and the others finally regained their senses and anxiously said, "Ke Ming, hold on. Didn't you say you wanted to travel these splendid lands with me and contribute to my cause?"

"If you die, you won't see any of this!"

Fang Xuanling said, "Brother Ke Ming, you must grit your teeth and endure. Think of Du Gou's nephew, think of Madam Xiao, and your little son Du He; even for them, you have to hold on!"

Zhangsun Wuji spoke, "Brother Ke Ming, as a man of the Tang Dynasty, how can you speak of giving up so lightly?"

Outside, many people had already gathered, drawn by Du Ruhui's harrowing screams.

Among them were Du Ruhui's wife Xiao Shi and his little son Du He.

However, they were blocked at the door by Li Junxian.

Listening to her husband's wails from inside, Xiao Shi wept uncontrollably, "Sir, please don't leave us."

"If you go, what will the three of us mothers do?"

Perhaps moved by his mother's emotion, Du He burst into tears, "Mother, what's wrong with Father?"

"He'er wants Father!"

"......"

Hearing Li Shimin and the others' comfort and encouragement inside, and the cries of his wife and children outside, Du Ruhui's eyes reddened, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye, he clenched his teeth and forced out a few words through his teeth.

"Give… give me, put, put the white cloth back!"

Du Gou, hearing this, hurriedly shoved the white cloth back into Du Ruhui's mouth and then wept, pleading, "Father, Mother and little He cannot lose you; you must hold on!"

Du Ruhui gave no reply, biting the white cloth tightly, his eyes filled with blood specks.

Those who haven't experienced it can hardly grasp his current feeling.

Li Shimin and the others saw it, felt urgency, wanted to urge Chen Yan to hurry, yet dared not disturb him.

They could only keep talking to Du Ruhui, trying to give him more comfort.

Time passed slowly, and finally,

Chen Yan cut through the final layer, bringing the surgery to its most crucial stage.

He immediately grabbed the homemade forceps beside him and began searching for the appendix.

Perhaps because Du Ruhui was so gravely ill, Chen Yan quickly located the appendix, already suppurating and blackened.

Chen Yan exhaled gently, his gaze as calm as water.

The next moment, without any hesitation, he clamped the appendix and cut it.

Throughout the process, Chen Yan was extremely cautious, fearing that a slip might damage other areas and cause massive bleeding.

Fortunately, he had experience with appendectomy, and with utmost care, he quickly cut off the blackened appendix and threw it into the basin of boiling water at his feet.

After finishing all that, Chen Yan immediately put down the scalpel and tweezers, picked up the curved needle and gut thread, and began suturing.

Li Shimin and the others had already been drawn to the thing Chen Yan had thrown out.

Looking at the disgusting thing in the basin of hot water, they only felt nauseous.

Before they could react, they saw Chen Yan picking up a needle and suturing Du Ruhui's wound.

One by one, they widened their eyes, full of disbelief.

Fang Xuanling stared, speechless, and said: "This...... this person's wound, can it really be sewn up like stitching cloth?"

Li Shimin no longer knew what to say.

He now seriously doubted the Imperial Physician's words—Chen Yan might actually know immortal arts.

As for the Imperial Physician, his heart was stirred up by tumultuous waves.

Everything before him truly surpassed all his previous knowledge, and his worldview collapsed in an instant.

In the Imperial Physician's gaze toward Chen Yan, a hint of fervor had already appeared.

You still say you don't know immortal arts!

"......"

Du Ruhui let out muffled groans from his throat, not shouting loudly as before.

At this moment, his mind had actually become completely blank.

Only one thought kept reverberating.

Only one thought kept reverberating.

Keep persevering!

You must keep persevering!

No one knew how long had passed; at the moment before Du Ruhui was about to lose consciousness, amidst Li Shimin and the others' anxious waiting.

Chen Yan finished the last stitch, took off the blood‑stained gut glove, then picked up a towel and soaked it in hot water.

He wrung it out, then gradually cleaned the fresh blood off Du Ruhui's abdomen.

Li Shimin frowned deeply and asked in a low voice: "Zi An, is it alright?"

Chen Yan shook his head, his eyes fixed intently on the freshly sutured wound on Du Ruhui's body.

Although the most difficult part was already over, he still dared not be careless.

If the wound bled heavily, it would be necessary to use the pre‑prepared branding iron to staunch the bleeding.

This method is brutal, hardcore, and likely to cause wound infection, but there's no choice—conditions in this era are too primitive.

Using a red‑hot branding iron to stop bleeding is undoubtedly the most effective and best choice in an emergency.

Using a red-hot branding iron to stop bleeding is undoubtedly the most effective and best choice in an emergency.

"......"