Chapter 53: Effective

"You want to gamble with me?" Zhao the Gentleman sneered, "Then see what you can bring to wager with me."

Chi Nan Yi produced a ginseng root; this ginseng was naturally not the one previously prepared.

It was a ginseng over a hundred years old that had already fully formed in space.

"This is the ginseng I dug up today, a hundred‑year‑old one; there aren't many in the whole town, it can save a life in an emergency, so its value shouldn't be low," Chi Nan Yi said with a smile. "May I gamble this with Zhao the Gentleman, how about it?"

"Hmph, you think my household can't produce a ginseng?"

"Tell me, how did you amass this fortune of ten thousand taels? I wager with you; win or lose, you won't suffer a loss. If I win, you lose the wager but your son is healed; if I lose, you get this ginseng for free—either way you come out ahead."

Hearing her say that, Zhao the Gentleman's face tightened, but he offered no rebuttal.

Yet being mocked by the girl Chi Nan Yi, he felt somewhat unable to maintain his composure.

Zhao the Butler, perceptive, hurried forward: "Miss, if you can cure our young master, just tell us what you want; our lord will grant any request and give you a generous reward."

Chi Nan Yi nodded: "In that case, I will consider this as Zhao the Gentleman fulfilling the wager. Where is your young master now?"

Zhao the Steward hurriedly led her toward the back courtyard.

In the deepest part of the courtyard, a strong herbal scent mixed with a hint of decay reached her nose.

"Miss, please come inside."

Opening the room door, the rotten odor became even more pronounced.

Even Zhao the Butler's expression looked off.

Chi Nan Yi stepped in; the attending servants all wore face cloths, unsure whether out of fear of infection or inability to tolerate the room's smell.

"The young master has been frail and sick since childhood, and now has developed a strange illness…"

Chi Nan Yi walked to the bedside and found the person lying there covered in clusters of blisters of various sizes, some already ruptured and emitting a strong foul odor.

At a glance, she identified it as celestial pox, a very rare immune system disease.

Zhao Mubai was still unconscious, his face bearing an unnatural red flush, lips chapped, clearly feverish.

"Earlier a physician said it was smallpox, but smallpox never looks like this; after taking medicine for a long time, it didn't improve, but worsened."

No wonder the servants all wear face cloths.

"This is not smallpox," Chi Nan Yi opened the cloth bag at her waist and said lightly, "It's called celestial pox."

"Celestial pox?"

"It's a condition tied to his own body; simply put, his foundation is weak, so many ailments manifest gradually," she said, pulling out a porcelain bottle containing the original liquid of Spirit Spring Water.

"This is…"

"Does it have a feather?"

"It does."

Soon, Zhao the Butler brought a brown feather, and the moment Chi Nan Yi's gaze fell on it, her pupils constricted sharply.

It was a Horned Eagle feather.

One should know that the Horned Eagle is among the fiercest birds; it would even dare to take on a pack of wolves, let alone humans.

"This feather is rather fine."

Zhao the Butler chuckled, "Miss, you have a keen eye; this was personally hunted by our lord back then."

"Zhao the Gentleman?"

To have captured a Horned Eagle, how could he be an ordinary person?

Chi Nan Yi sprinkled Spirit Spring Water onto the feather, and the feather lightly brushed Zhao Mubai's exposed skin.

Zhao the Butler saw this and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"That's it?"

"Can it cure illness?"

"Does this action even look like a doctor's?"

"It looks more like a shaman's."

Before he could voice his doubt, the area just brushed by the feather showed the red around the blisters receding a bit.

"Could this… be my eyes playing tricks?"

"If it weren't a divine medicine, how could it have such immediate effect?"

He blinked, then stared closely; the color around the blisters grew paler, and even the swollen blisters had shrunk considerably.

"It's not an illusion! Absolutely not!"

"It really works! It really works!"

Zhao the Butler's heart raced with excitement as he hurried outside to report to Zhao the Gentleman.

As soon as he stepped out the gate, he ran into Zhao the Gentleman, who was straining his eyes inward.

"Lord!"

"Shh!" Zhao the Gentleman grabbed him and led him aside: "How is it?"

"Lord, he's saved! The young master is saved!"

Zhao the Gentleman, hearing this, squeezed his shoulder hard: "Really?"

"Indeed, your humble servant saw it with my own eyes; the young master's blisters have shrunk a bit."

"Good! Good!" Zhao the Gentleman clenched his fists, his eyes slightly reddening: "If Zhao Mubai can recover, it won't have been in vain…" He choked up as he spoke.

Zhao the Butler understood what his lord intended to say and fell silent.

"Lord, since the young master can be healed, you should not blame yourself."

Zhao the Gentleman shook his head: "It's my fault; back then, because my excessive killing, the retribution fell upon my wife and Zhao Mubai."

"Lord…"

"Cough… cough… cough…"

A faint cough came from the room, and Zhao, the Assistant Secretary, together with the steward, hurried toward the inner chamber.

At this moment, Zhao Mubai had already awakened, his gaze somewhat dazed and hollow as he looked at Chi Nan Yi sitting beside the bed, his voice hoarse: "Who are you?"

"Doctor, the one who saved you."

"Saved me?" Zhao Mubai gave a self-mocking smile: "In my current state, who could save me?"

Chi Nan Yi handed him a porcelain bottle: "Drink what's inside."

Zhao Mubai turned his head aside: "I don't want to live. Go out and tell my father I'm beyond saving; I won't let him make things difficult for you."

"That won't do."

Seeing her refusal, Zhao Mubai frowned tightly and said in a low voice: "What, you want money? You…"

"Why do you have so much nonsense?" Chi Nan Yi reached out, pinched his chin, and directly poured the Spirit Spring Water into his mouth, causing him to choke.

When Assistant Secretary Zhao and the steward walked in, they saw exactly this scene.

Chi Nan Yi had just withdrawn her hand, and Zhao Mubai's face still bore several red marks, which stood out starkly against his fair skin.

"What are you doing?" Assistant Secretary Zhao strode forward, glaring with tiger-like eyes: "What did you just do to my son?"

It was clear that Assistant Secretary Zhao cherished this son especially.

"Assistant Secretary Zhao, I'm a doctor; what can I do for your son?" She pointed at Zhao Mubai and said: "You can see whether Young Master Lin has shown any improvement."

Improvement?

Hearing this, Zhao Mubai hurriedly lowered his head to check.

Upon seeing the blisters already beginning to shrivel, his eyes widened suddenly.

"This…"

Before his words faded, a jade hand was placed on his forehead.

The words he had been about to speak were all swallowed down.

"The fever has subsided a little." Chi Nan Yi withdrew her hand, her expression unchanged, but the face of Zhao Mubai sitting on the bed gradually turned red.

She… she just…

"Young Master Zhao's illness isn't serious if you call it serious, but it's not light either." Chi Nan Yi took out the Spirit Spring Water and neatly arranged ten bottles on the table.

Assistant Secretary Zhao looked at the cloth bag at her waist, wondering how it could hold so much.