Chapter 1025

Li Tianheng patted Hu Xiaotian's shoulder and said in a low voice, "I don't want the Prince of Zhou to die; whether you believe me or not, I have never had any ill will toward you or your Hu family. Even a centipede dies without stiffening—Dakang is not as weak as it appears to others."

Hu Xiaotian's mind was a tangled mess. Perhaps Li Tianheng bore him no ill will—not out of loyalty to their families' friendship, but because in Li Tianheng's eyes he was merely an insignificant figure. Yet his last words were thought‑provoking: Dakang is not as weak as it appears. Could the present situation be merely an illusion? Impossible! The Dakang court has practically reached the end of its ropes, with wailing cries everywhere and the people unable to survive; otherwise the old emperor wouldn't be so eager to seize Xichuan. He suddenly had a horrifying thought: Could the rapid decline of Dakang's domestic economy be artificially manipulated? This person… Hu Xiaotian drew a deep breath, unwilling to continue thinking.

Hu Xiaotian had invited Yan Nujiao, though Yan Boguang fiercely objected—he certainly didn't want his sister to follow Hu Xiaotian into danger, yet Yan Boguang clearly couldn't sway his sister's will.

Yan Nujiao still followed Hu Xiaotian to the Autumn Splendor Palace, without even asking whom he wanted her to help detoxify.

Although they rarely spoke, they had developed a tacit understanding: whenever Hu Xiaotian spoke, Yan Nujiao would not refuse any of his requests, and she firmly believed he would do everything possible to protect her safety—in fact, that was exactly what Hu Xiaotian intended.

After examining Long Yefang's wound, Yan Nujiao furrowed her brows slightly and said softly, "The poison he has is called Silk-Extracting Cocoon, a unique concoction of the Wuxian Sect."

Hu Xiaotian started at the words: "What?" Upon hearing of the Wuxian Sect, the first person who came to his mind was Xi Yan. Since Yan Nujiao could identify exactly what poison he had, Xi Yan certainly would not fail to recognize it, and Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but glare fiercely at Xi Yan beside him.

Xi Yan, however, seemed not to have seen him, and said softly, "This sister truly has keen eyes. Since you can identify what poison he has, there must surely be a way to save him."

Yan Nujiao said, "Silk-Extracting Cocoon is the Wuxian Sect's most potent secret poison, and it seems only the sect master can master it."

Hu Xiaotian interjected, "Could the poisoner be the Wuxian Sect master?" He said this while fixing his gaze on Xi Yan.

Xi Yan pretended not to have heard his question and said, "Sister, would you be willing to lend a hand?"

Yan Nujiao said, "I know some methods, but I cannot guarantee they will work, and too much time has been wasted; whether he can be saved depends on his own fate."

Hu Xiaotian was overjoyed upon hearing this. It seemed Yan Nujiao still had a way to detoxify.

Yan Nujiao said, "We need to perform a blood exchange for him—drain his toxic blood and then infuse healthy fresh blood."

Xi Yan asked, "Sister, are you the disciple of Granny Ying?" From Yan Nujiao's words she had already guessed the latter's lineage.

Yan Nujiao blinked in surprise, gazing at the beautiful girl before her, and said softly, "How do you know?"

Xi Yan did not answer her question, merely smiling; Hu Xiaotian beside her snorted coldly, "She is an expert of the Wuxian Sect, so of course she knows."

Xi Yan's gaze dimmed. Having sensed Hu Xiaotian's resentment from his tone, she said softly, "Sister, just do your best to save him; I will bear any consequences."

To perform a blood exchange for the Prince of Zhou, they first needed a suitable blood source. Hu Xiaotian had once personally witnessed Qin Yutong giving blood to Yan Boguang at the Qingyun Black Stone Stronghold. In his memory, Yan Nujiao seemed to know nothing of medicine, yet in just over a year she had become a detoxification expert—either she had concealed her abilities before, or she is extraordinarily gifted, with astonishing comprehension.

Xi Yan and Hu Xiaotian came to the doorway, and Hu Xiaotian said, "The poison is from the Wuxian Sect. Don't you have an antidote?"

Xi Yan shook her head. "Among the assassins there is one from the Wuxian Sect; I have already sent people to look for his whereabouts. Whether you believe me or not, I have neither the formula nor the antidote for Silk-Extracting Cocoon—she is right. Only the sect master possesses the method to prepare this poison."

Hu Xiaotian sat down by the corridor, boredly gazing at the overcast sky.

Xi Yan sat opposite him, gazing at him, a hint of apology in her beautiful eyes: "I'm not used to seeing you with a stern face."

"I can't laugh! The feeling of being betrayed is awful!"

Xi Yan bit her cherry lip, thinking Hu Xiaotian's remark was aimed at her; her beautiful eyes shimmered, her delicate nose twitched, and two crystal tears slid down her pretty face.

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, "I've been screwed by you lot to this point without shedding a tear, yet you burst into tears—are you trying to win sympathy with your tears? Do you think I'll still fall for your tricks?"

Xi Yan said, "I promise you, from now on I won't lie to you, okay?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled lightly. "It doesn't matter to me; once this is settled, I'll return to Kangdu, and perhaps we won't have another chance to meet."

Xi Yan realized Hu Xiaotian was truly angry; she suddenly lowered her head, burying her pretty face in her arms and began to sob.

Hu Xiaotian stood up; at a time like this, it was best to make an early exit.

From behind came a cold snort from Xiang Qin: "You brat, dare to bully our young lady!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "No man capable of bullying your young lady has been born yet."

Xiang Qin snapped angrily, "You actually dare say that—do you even realize…?"

Xi Yan promptly stopped Xiang Qin from speaking: "Xiang Qin!" Her pretty face was streaked with tears.

Xiang Qin spat and said, "Men truly have no good qualities!"

Hu Xiaotian had already entered the Prince of Zhou's bedchamber.

Xiang Qin gazed at Xi Yan, tears like pear blossoms in the rain, and said with some anguish, "Miss, you've grown up this much and I've never seen you cry before—has that brat bullied you? Should I help you vent? I'll beat him up!"

Xi Yan watched the direction Hu Xiaotian had gone, her beautiful eyes full of tenderness, and said softly, "I won't let you target him; apart from me, no one in the world may bully him!"

For the Prince of Zhou's blood exchange, a total of thirty-two warriors were summoned, from whom matching blood types were selected; then, using leeches to draw blood, they performed the exchange and cleansed his meridians. Although Hu Xiaotian had previously witnessed this blood-exchange method, that time it had been a transfusion, not an exchange of such a large volume, and the Prince of Zhou still bore knife wounds; given his frail constitution, it was uncertain whether he could survive this ordeal.

Zhou Wenju had only heard of blood-exchange techniques; today was the first time he saw it in person. He admired it, yet couldn't help feeling rueful: "The waves behind push those ahead; a new generation replaces the old." Even this so-called Divine Physician of Xichuan was undeserving of the title—setting aside other matters, he fell short of Hu Xiaotian in treating external injuries and of this little girl in detoxification; what face did he have to call himself a Divine Physician?

Hu Xiaotian stood aside, silently preparing the surgical instruments. Once the Prince of Zhou's condition stabilized somewhat, he would perform wound debridement, suturing, ligation, and hemostasis. He had already made a preliminary examination: the Prince of Zhou was fortunate—though both stab wounds were deep, they had not injured any internal organs; in particular, the stab to the left abdomen had merely grazed the spleen and left kidney. A deviation of even a fraction would have ruptured the spleen and kidney, and with massive blood loss the Prince of Zhou would not have survived to this point.

Hu Xiaotian asked Zhou Wenju, "Sir Zhou, what are your plans for the future?"

Zhou Wenju didn't understand Hu Xiaotian's meaning: "What?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm asking whether Sir Zhou still intends to remain in Xichuan."

Zhou Wenju laughed; this time he grasped Hu Xiaotian's meaning—Hu Xiaotian likely wanted him to accompany him when he left.

Zhou Wenju said, "Born and raised here, I naturally feel attached to this land; at my age I no longer wish to leave my homeland." He glanced at the Prince of Zhou on the bed: "Besides, with the world in turmoil, wherever you go it's much the same, and here it's relatively stable. I'm a poor country doctor, harboring no ambitions; as long as I focus on healing and saving lives, I believe no one will wish me harm."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; Zhou Wenju made sense—though the world is in turmoil everywhere, although Li Tianheng has carved out his own domain, Xichuan remains carefree for the time being, and staying is also a wise choice.

Zhou Wenju asked, "Sir Hu, what are your plans for the future?" He had some understanding of Hu Xiaotian's predicament: as a Dakang imperial envoy and future prince consort, he had been sent on this mission to enfeoff a king, but Li Tianheng had explicitly rejected Dakang's offer of fiefdom, effectively drawing a clear line between them, and even proclaimed he would support the Prince of Zhou as emperor to revive Dakang. Hu Xiaotian's mission could be considered a total failure; even if Li Tianheng allowed him to return to Kangdu, he would likely face a storm of blame upon his return.

Hu Xiaotian said, "We'll take it step by step." Although his words sounded passive, he already had a clear view of the future in his mind: to control his own destiny, he must quickly build his own entourage, make figures like Long Xuan'en and Hong Beimo wary of him, and deter them from harboring harmful intentions.

Yan Nujiao came to his face, somewhat fatigued, and said softly, "Judging by the color of the blood, it should have stabilized; His Highness the Prince of Zhou has already fallen asleep."

Hu Xiaotian rose and said, "All right, let's begin hemostasis! Sir Zhou, would you be willing to help?"

Zhou Wenju gladly agreed, saying, "I am deeply honored."

Hu Xiaotian put on gloves—gloves that had been a gift from Zong Tang during the Da Yong era, made from swim-bladder gelatin. Zhou Wenju also donned a pair; seeing how light and snug they were, with hardly any effect on finger movement, he couldn't help but marvel.

Hu Xiaotian handed the willow-leaf blade to Zhou Wenju and said, "Sir Zhou, why don't you take the lead as chief surgeon?"

Zhou Wenju's eyes widened round, not from startled delight but from genuine shock at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Don't worry, I'll have your back." The knife wounds were deep but had not injured any internal organs—that was the real reason Hu Xiaotian let Zhou Wenju take the scalpel. For Zhou Wenju, this was his first incision, and his patient was the Prince of Zhou of Dakang; the psychological pressure can be imagined. However, if Zhou Wenju overcomes this mental hurdle, tonight's experience will benefit him immensely.

Three More delivered, still missing one Update! (To be continued~^~)