Chapter 224: Quite Wronged

Having finished their exchange of apologies, the father-in-law and son-in-law were walking down the mountain.

Shopkeeper Wu kept his eyes lowered, as if watching the path beneath his feet.

Zhao Tieniu held one arm up, letting his father-in-law support him.

The hand gripping his arm was a bit heavy. However, Zhao Tieniu thought nothing of it, assuming his father-in-law was just gripping tightly to prevent him from falling.

This mountain path was not steep, but since it was their first time here and they were not very familiar with it, they indeed had to be careful.

Yet Zhao Tieniu did not see that Shopkeeper Wu's lowered eyes were filled with hatred. Although there had been an element of acting in front of that Young Master Rong earlier, some of the emotions were real.

Now that there were no outsiders around, Shopkeeper Wu recalled some past events, and tears fell straight down. He blinked rapidly, and before long, the tear tracks in his eyes were blown dry.

Shopkeeper Wu looked up at the small town in the valley.

"Tieniu, tell me, that Young Master Rong should be a smart man, right?" he asked.

"He is a smart man! Smarter than me!" Zhao Tieniu said sheepishly, "Back at the examination grounds, we all did as he said and won very quickly!"

"I hope so," Shopkeeper Wu said in a low voice, "We are both quite lucky!"

No longer mentioning the matter of that Young Master Rong, Shopkeeper Wu chatted with Zhao Tieniu about the things to pay attention to as a medicine worker.

He was very satisfied with Zhao Tieniu.

He had strength, a simple and honest temperament, no crooked thoughts, and he didn't look bad either—not easy to find in such chaotic times! When he first met Zhao Tieniu, Shopkeeper Wu had hurriedly snatched him up to be his son-in-law.

In chaotic times, this was more reliable than any old friend or personal guard!

Shopkeeper Wu sighed silently.

Human hearts, ah!

Even more complex than doing business!

On the mountain.

After Shopkeeper Wu and Zhao Tieniu left, Wen Gu wrote a letter.

He sealed it and gave it to Li Sihu.

Li Sihu went down the mountain from time to time to purchase daily necessities, but in reality, it was to deliver letters for Wen Gu and Patrol Lieutenant Yang.

In Li Sihu's view, it was indeed as he had initially thought: this Young Master Rong was working for the Patrol Guard Division.

He must also be carrying out a mission given by the Patrol Guard Division!

Today's letter should belong to the category of a subordinate reporting to a superior, right?

He had discovered important information, so he had to rush to pass it upward, and then that Patrol Lieutenant Yang would tell Young Master Rong what to do.

Hmm, it should be roughly like that.

Li Sihu, moonlighting as a courier, went down the mountain to deliver the letter.

Wen Gu said to the guard Rong Yi: "Keep an eye on the movements outside; if Doctor Tang returns, remind me."

Doctor Tang was not at home today; he had been invited to attend a gathering at the home of another famous doctor on the mountain.

There were many famous doctors in Shenyi Gu; Senior Imperial Physician Zhan had established the Jingli Institute and would hold a large-scale seminar every so often.

But outside of such large conferences, famous doctors would also have small private gatherings; everyone would get together to discuss medicine, debate, and challenge each other, which was also a way of honing their skills.

Today, Doctor Tang had gone out to attend one such small gathering.

While waiting, Wen Gu watched the medicine workers chatting and sunning themselves outside, then took a prescription to find You Dashixiong.

After the medicine workers finished their previous order, they had rested, had their entertainment, and enjoyed their vacation; they could go back to work!

By the time the new order was mostly negotiated, Doctor Tang had also returned.

Perhaps because the exchanges today had gone smoothly and he had won his debates, Doctor Tang looked to be in a very good mood.

His brows were relaxed, and his gait was leisurely.

He looked like he was out for a pleasant stroll.

Doctor Tang was still savoring the moment, his mind constantly replaying the scene from the gathering just now where he had engaged in a war of words with a group of doctors!

I, one person, took on a whole group!

I debated several of them into defeat!

I really am too amazing!

Doctor Tang continued to savor it.

Upon reaching his own territory, he was about to do as usual: dump the miscellaneous tasks onto his Apprentice and go into his room to seclude himself.

Then he was blocked by his new Apprentice.

The new Apprentice wore a look of sorrow and appeared very worried: "Master, this Disciple took a stroll around the town yesterday and learned that many people hold a grudge against me!"

Doctor Tang pulled back his thoughts, and upon hearing this, he immediately knew the reason.

Who in the entire Shenyi Gu didn't know now that because of the flashy maneuvers of this person "Rong Huan," the nature of the Entrance Assessment had changed. Some had profited, and some had suffered losses.

And the person who caused all this still looked very puzzled at this moment: "I heard everyone thinks the cause lies with me, but I didn't choose to be thrown into the first round myself; that was someone taking bribes and practicing favoritism! Deliberately targeting me! Why do so many people hate me?"

Doctor Tang thought to himself: You are not wronged at all!

Complaining is complaining, but a stance is a stance.

He was, of course, on the side of his new Apprentice.

Once his stance was firm, his attitude naturally changed as well.

Doctor Tang thought about it. Indeed, if the drawing of lots had been normal, his new Apprentice might have been arranged later, and such a big commotion wouldn't have happened.

It just so happened that someone tripped him up and threw Rong Huan into the first round, wanting to see him make a fool of himself. As a result, an assessment that should have been a mere formality turned into what it was today.

Thinking about it this way, he really was quite wronged?

Doctor Tang straightened his expression: "How about this, I will help you hire a few guards?"

Wen Gu said: "I am not short of guards. I am just worried that when I go out to walk around, I might accidentally fall for a trick. Now that the Evil Plague is rampant, those crooked tricks are impossible to guard against!"

Doctor Tang was puzzled: "What do you mean?"

Wen Gu said: "Is there anything for testing poison?"

Doctor Tang pondered.

Wen Gu reminded him: "Like that kind of silver needle poison test."

Doctor Tang flatly rejected it: "Silver needles cannot test for all poisons, and they certainly can't detect Evil Poison!"

Wen Gu naturally hadn't intended to use a silver needle; this was just a lead-in, and he continued to ask for advice: "Master, how did you identify poisons in the past?"

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Doctor Tang deliberated and said: "If it has color, look at the color. If it has a scent, probe the scent. If it is colorless and odorless, then one can only rely on experience and intuition."

In truth, there are some unique secret methods, but those are not things one tells others. Moreover, secret methods also require the support of vast experience.

Clearly, none of those were suitable for solving the problem at hand.

Wen Gu looked helpless and sighed: "This Disciple's sense of smell cannot compare to Master's, and my eyesight is average too; what should be done?"

Doctor Tang said: "You won't have any trouble if you don't run around everywhere!"

Wen Gu shook his head: "That won't work either! Master, you know Jizhou, right? There is a large merchant in the Du Clan of Jizhou called the Bai Family. Their old master was poisoned by Evil Poison right inside his own home. He woke up from a sleep and mutated; it turned out that someone close to him had put tainted blood into his medicine bowl! The scent of the medicine was strong, so one couldn't smell a tiny bit of tainted blood at all!"

Doctor Tang did not find it strange.

He had seen far too many evil deeds; since the chaotic times began, he had seen no shortage of such things.

Now that the new apprentice had brought it up, there was indeed reason for concern.

Doctor Tang furrowed his brows: "Let me think—"

He knew this new apprentice was not a person who stayed out of trouble. But to pin the entire matter of the assessment on Rong Huan was truly too unjust.

Now that he had become a target for everyone, he indeed had to be cautious regarding his safety!

Although they had not performed the master-disciple ceremony and he was not considered a proper Disciple, and there was no deep master-disciple bond, both sides were closely linked by interests.

Not to mention, at the gathering and exchange that had just ended, he was able to win against those peers during the debate because he had the help of a divine artifact.

Now that the person who provided the divine artifact was in difficulty, he, as the master, naturally had to help solve it.

If this new apprentice were to really meet with an accident, the Xinzhou side would definitely turn hostile immediately, and they might even take back the divine artifact!

Not to mention that things already given out could not be taken back, the premise of the deal reached between the two sides was that this new apprentice could study securely here with him!

Sigh! It is truly worrying!

Wen Gu looked at Doctor Tang and suggested: "Is there anything convenient to carry that can test for poison? It doesn't necessarily have to be for all poisons; for instance, the most important thing right now is preventing Evil Plague, so being able to identify if there is tainted blood in food or drink would suffice."

Doctor Tang said: "Actually, the simplest method is to boil it! When food or drink is placed before you, it must be piping hot; let it cool to a warm temperature before consuming."

High temperatures can kill Evil Poison.

This was indeed the simplest method.

Wen Gu said: "But there are always times of negligence; after all, if it's too hot, it can't enter the mouth, and being overly hot causes injury to the body.

And in the process of letting it cool, there are inevitably lapses; just once, and one's little life is gone!"

He continued to ask: "Master, do you have that kind of simple identification method? Like a strip of paper coated with medicine where you drip tea or medicine onto it, and if there is tainted blood, it will change to another color. I saw this when I was on my Study Tour—"

Wen Gu spoke of test strips, rapid diagnostic test kits, and such things.

Doctor Tang had originally only been listening with forced patience, not expecting this new apprentice to give any good suggestions. But now, as he listened, he felt—

Huh? This new apprentice actually has some knowledge!

Although Doctor Tang had never seen any test strips or diagnostic test kits, he could roughly understand the usage of such tools.

When they, as healers, verified prescriptions in the past, they also used many techniques, using certain special reactions to deduce unknown substances.

Doctor Tang pondered and said: "I, your master, will think it over."

Leaving behind only this sentence and ignoring Wen Gu who was standing in place, Doctor Tang went back into his room on his own.

When this famous doctor was thinking about a problem, he generally did not care about other people around him.

This behavior looked very rude.

But Wen Gu not only didn't mind, he was happy to see it.

This meant Old Tang was going to get to work!

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