Chapter 230: line with translation of chapter title

This journey was not smooth; after leaving Honggu County, they first encountered a rainstorm, then were besieged by snakes and insects, and upon entering Chiyang Mountain, due to the narrow mountain path, they had to abandon the carriage, and their progress slowed. According to the current pace, Hu Xiaotian estimated that he would hardly be able to return within ten days.. x.

In the afternoon, many soldiers in their unit suddenly fell ill, vomiting and diarrhea, suffering greatly; because of this sudden incident, they had to set up camp early. Hu Xiaotian was fine, and Prince Long Yefang was also fine; a preliminary count showed that twenty-seven people were sick, almost half of the Dakang forces.

Qin Yutong gathered some herbs in the mountains, boiled them in a big pot, and had everyone drink the soup. This was not Hu Xiaotian's forte; he could only help from the side. Hu Xiaotian first suspected poisoning, as the disease entered through the mouth; all the patients fell ill after eating mutton from the Shaja envoy at noon, yet strangely, half of them were fine, and not a single person from the Shaja envoy fell ill.

After distributing the herbs, Qin Yutong came to sit on a nearby rock, resting her chin in her hands as she gazed at the roaring flames beneath the cauldron, lost in thought.

Hu Xiaotian sat beside her and said softly, 'Twenty-seven, and fortunately Prince Long Yefang is unharmed.' He glanced at Qin Yutong and said, 'Your herbs are effective; after the soldiers took them, the vomiting has stopped.' Qin Yutong replied, 'As long as no one died.'

'Do you think this is suspicious? Nothing happened before, so why did eating mutton cause illness?'

Qin Yutong frowned slightly and said, 'Are you saying the Shaja people deliberately poisoned the food? But why did some people who ate it remain unharmed?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I just inquired; basically, all those who fell ill ate only meat and drank no alcohol, while most of those who drank alcohol were fine. Could they have mixed a purgative into the mutton and placed an antidote in the wine?'

Qin Yutong said, 'What is the purpose of the Shaja people doing this? We have been accompanying them all the way to protect their safety; using this method against us seems unreasonable.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I can't say why either; in any case, this is very suspicious, and the behavior of the Shaja envoy is extremely strange.'

Qin Yutong said, 'Perhaps you're overthinking it; I also ate meat and didn't drink alcohol, yet I'm fine.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'In all matters, caution is best.'

Suddenly, a graceful figure slumped to the ground ahead—it was Xi Yan. Liang Qing, who was in charge of guarding Xi Yan, panicked and shouted, 'Sir Hu, Sir Hu!'

Hu Xiaotian helplessly shook his head; Qin Yutong said, 'Something seems to have happened over there.' Hu Xiaotian scoffed, 'Who knows what trick that demoness is up to now.'

Approaching Xi Yan, he saw her eyes tightly shut as she lay on the ground. Her face was flushed, radiant like the morning clouds; Hu Xiaotian touched her forehead and felt intense heat, then grasped her right hand, feeling his palm grow cold—clearly she was truly ill this time.

Hu Xiaotian beckoned to Qin Yutong, signaling her to come help.

After taking Xi Yan's pulse, Qin Yutong nodded and said, 'It should be a chill from exposure to rain; I'll go gather some herbs.'

Worried that she might run into trouble going alone, Hu Xiaotian volunteered, 'I'll go with you.'

Qin Yutong hesitated, then nodded and said, 'All right!'

It was already dusk. The sun finally peeked out from the western clouds, its orange light staining the distant clouds with splendid hues; the mountains were damp and swarming with mosquitoes. Hu Xiaotian followed behind Qin Yutong, stepping unevenly, and before long, mosquito bites had left several large welts.

Qin Yutong's knowledge of herbs was extensive; she gathered several needed herbs into a basket, and together with Hu Xiaotian she climbed the slope to a higher spot, where she reached out to him and said, 'Lend me the binoculars for a moment.'…

Hu Xiaotian produced a monocular and handed it to her; Qin Yutong peered through it, carefully observing the Shaja envoy's camp. After a while, she returned the monocular to Hu Xiaotian and whispered, 'Indeed, no one in their camp has fallen ill.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I've long said this affair is fishy.'

Qin Yutong said, 'You were right just now; they indeed laced the mutton with a drug and mixed an antidote into the wine, so those who didn't drink alcohol mostly fell into their trap.'

Hu Xiaotian clenched his right fist and struck his left palm hard, angrily saying, 'These barbarians, they don't distinguish friend from foe.' He truly could not fathom why the Shaja envoy would act against them.

Qin Yutong said, 'Last night, only the Wuxian Sect launched an attack on us, while the Shaja camp remained completely unharmed—don't you find this extremely suspicious?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Are you suggesting that the Wuxian Sect and the Shaja people are colluding?'

Qin Yutong frowned slightly and said, 'I have no evidence, just a feeling that something is off; but if they were colluding, why would the Wuxian Sect have earlier killed seven Shaja people?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, 'No bodies, no evidence— the Shaja envoy claims seven of their people died at the hands of the Wuxian Sect, but who saw it? Perhaps they are just talking to themselves.'

Qin Yutong said, 'The Shaja envoy Mochamali's sudden demand for personnel aroused my suspicion of his motives.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'If the Wuxian Sect and the Shaja people are colluding, then what is Xi Yan's purpose in joining our group? Could she intend harm to Prince Long Yefang?' He immediately shook his head again, saying, 'Probably not.'

'Why are you so certain?' Hu Xiaotian said, 'If she wanted to kill Prince Long Yefang, she would have acted long ago; why wait until now?'

Qin Yutong shook her head, turned, and walked toward a nearby rock face. Amid the verdant thickets, clusters of small yellow-and-white flowers trembled in the wind—these were honeysuckle, every part of which can be used medicinally, possessing properties to clear heat and detoxify, act as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and protect the liver and gallbladder. Although Hu Xiaotian's specialty is Western medicine, he is still quite familiar with this common herb; clinically, it has been used to treat respiratory infections, sore throats, and headaches. Honeysuckle itself inhibits Staphylococcus aureus, dysentery bacilli, and pneumococcal streptococci.

While Qin Yutong went to gather honeysuckle, Hu Xiaotian discovered some duckfoot grass at the base of the rock face. This herb can be used for external contraction fever, persistent fever not subsiding, sore throat, and carbuncles and ulcers. Its nature is sweet and cold, with the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying; for external contraction fever or heat-related disease with fever not subsiding, it can be used alone, or combined with exterior-releasing or heat-clearing medicines. For red, painful sore throat, it can be combined with dandelion, Chinese bayberry, achyranthes root, or large blue leaf, etc. For treating carbuncles and ulcers, it can be combined with herbaceous pennywort, dandelion, or chrysanthemum. Moreover, it is rare that this herb can also be applied to snakebites: one can decoct it for internal use, and externally apply an appropriate amount of fresh herb, washed and mashed, to neutralize the venom.

The vegetation in these mountains is lush; plantain, cocklebur, lantern grass, procumbent yellowcress, iris, orchid, bupleurum, and other herbs are everywhere—some Hu Xiaotian recognizes, some he does not. But Qin Yutong knows them all; Hu Xiaotian merely needs to follow her as a competent porter, and soon they had gathered a full basket of herbs.

Qin Yutong said, 'Let's go back.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; as they descended the mountain, he saw Qin Yutong's steps light as walking on level ground—something he lacked—and she reached out to take the herb basket from him. Hu Xiaotian said, 'Your lightness skill is not bad!'

Qin Yutong said, 'Nothing special; I learned some martial arts from my master since childhood, but before a true master I am still no match.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I really regret it now; if I had known martial arts were so useful, I should have started learning them from a young age.'…

Qin Yutong turned and glanced at him, saying, 'Do you still remember me?'

Hu Xiaotian was taken aback by her question, then laughed, 'How could I forget you? Even if I turned to ashes, I would still remember you!'

Qin Yutong said, 'Last May, I accompanied my master to the Secretary's residence to treat your illness; do you recall that?'

Hu Xiaotian then understood Qin Yutong's true meaning; last May, he had not yet truly arrived in this world, so how could his consciousness contain Qin Yutong's existence? Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Really?'

Qin Yutong whispered, 'You are fundamentally not Hu Xiaotian; although many believe the lie that a fool became a genius overnight, medically that makes no sense.' Her clear, spring-like eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian as she said, 'You need not worry that I will expose you; the affairs of your Hu family have nothing to do with Xuantian Guan.'

Hu Xiaotian secretly smiled wryly; Qin Yutong regarded herself as a substitute for Hu Xiaotian, thinking that his father Hu Buwei had found a stand‑in to take office. In fact, what she said was not entirely wrong, just not precise enough—she could never have imagined that she and Hu Xiaotian would merge in this way.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Although you are clever, there are still many things in this world beyond your imagination.'

Qin Yutong turned and continued forward: 'Everyone sees the world differently!'

Returning to the camp, Liang Qing came over, dazed, and stammered, 'Sir Hu… something terrible has happened… that… that demoness is dead…'

Both Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong were startled; they exchanged a glance and hurried toward the tent.

Prince Long Yefang happened to walk out just then, his face full of dejection and sorrow; seeing Hu Xiaotian approach, he let out a long sigh, filled with regret, saying, 'Indeed, beauty meets a thin fate.'

Hu Xiaotian glared at Liang Qing; he had clearly instructed him earlier to keep Prince Long Yefang away from Xi Yan, yet the prince still had close contact with her. Fortunately the prince was unharmed, otherwise regret would come too late. Liang Qing also knew he had erred, lowering his head somewhat embarrassed; in fact, the blame does not wholly lie with him, for the prince insisted on entering, and how could he have stopped him?

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