Chapter 542: Poison Sore

"You have already implicated me by coming here," Fan Lao said, flying into a rage. "Kid, considering you are a guest, I won't curse you. Get out immediately; don't force me to lose my temper."

This old man's temper was truly hard and stubborn. Chen Yu felt somewhat helpless, and just as he was at a loss for what to do, a couple walked over to the entrance.

The couple was dressed in ordinary clothes, and their skin was rough; they looked like migrant workers. The man was leaning on a crutch, and one of his legs was wrapped in bandages, with yellow fluid seeping out from them.

As soon as the migrant worker arrived, a foul, unbearable stench wafted from his leg. This was a poison sore, and it had already flared up; he could barely walk on this leg.

"Fan Lao, please help my husband take a look. His leg is almost unable to walk, and the hospital said it must be amputated," the woman said with a panicked expression.

"What happened here?" Fan Lao frowned, quickly stood up and walked over, letting the migrant worker sit down to examine his leg.

What grew on the leg was a poison sore; one could tell from the yellow fluid seeping out that the poison sore on his leg had reached a very serious stage.

Moreover, although it was only the size of a teacup's mouth, his entire leg had already turned black and blue.

"I was sleeping at the construction site last month and felt a bit itchy on my leg when I woke up. At first, I didn't pay attention, but later the itching became more and more severe. In the end, he even scratched his leg until it was raw, and the wound festered more and more. We only went to the hospital when he couldn't hold on anymore."

"After going to the hospital, the Yisheng prescribed some topical medicine. We originally thought it wasn't a big problem, but later the wound on his leg became more and more severe. We couldn't hold on, so we thought about going to a big hospital, but the doctors at the big hospital said this leg must be amputated." The couple was very panicked.

Judging from their clothing, the couple's living conditions were average, and most of the family's income relied on the man. If his leg were amputated, this family would truly collapse.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Fan Lao's expression changed. This kind of poison sore had already reached the point of deterioration. If they had come earlier, he could have treated it; now, he only had a fifty percent chance of success.

"This... when we came a few days ago, you weren't home; you had gone to the Mountain to gather herbs," the woman pleaded. "Fan Lao, please help us."

"The poison sore has already deteriorated. I only have a fifty percent chance of success, and even if it is cured, he won't be able to return to his original state; he will only be able to walk with a crutch in the future." Fan Lao took out a pair of scissors and cut open the bandage.

A wound that looked extremely hideous appeared on the migrant worker's leg. This wound was festering and oozing pus, and the tendons around the wound had turned blue-purple, looking very terrifying.

"I am going to excise the poison sore. It will be very painful; let's use anesthesia," Fan Lao said, raising his head.

"Fine, I leave it to you, Fan Lao." The male migrant worker gritted his teeth. He could not afford an amputation, so he had no choice but to place his hope in Fan Lao.

Fan Lao fetched the anesthesia, had the man take it, and then took out a set of surgical tools to begin the operation.

"Wait." Chen Yu, who was to the side, suddenly spoke up.

"What? Kid, do you have something to say?" Fan Lao asked.

"Fan Lao, this sore seems to be somewhat unusual." Chen Yu's brow furrowed. "It seems it is not an ordinary poison sore."

"You have a different opinion?" Fan Lao stopped his knife. He looked at Chen Yu with interest and said, "If you have a different opinion, then speak. I have no prejudice against your Traditional Chinese Medicine. Since we are peers, and both are inheritors of Huaxia civilization, it is fine for us to exchange ideas."

"This kind of sore is a Wolf Poison Sore," Chen Yu said. "It is actually a pathogen that accumulates in a damp environment. This pathogen can make a person's body itch and subsequently fester. If treated in time with herbs that drive out poison and remove dampness, it will recover within ten days or half a month."

"But this kind of pathogen is very uncommon. Ordinary Yisheng simply do not know how to treat it symptomatically. Once delayed, the Wolf Poison Sore will mutate, and the final result is that it can only be excised."

"That's right, this kind of thing belongs to the category of Miao Medicine. I didn't expect you to have such insights into Miao Medicine?" Fan Lao nodded. Although he was unwilling to bring up the matter of the Witch Clan with Chen Yu, he was still willing to exchange medical knowledge with him.

"But Fan Lao, this situation is only the case for a Wolf Poison Sore, but look at the patient's leg." Chen Yu pointed to the crisscrossing blue-purple tendons at the wound site. "What is this?"

"This should be the poison gas spreading and eroding the blood vessels in his leg, which is why it has this appearance of protruding blue veins." Fan Lao looked at the place Chen Yu pointed to. His brow locked involuntarily, and after a long while, he said somewhat uncertainly.

"If these were blue veins, that would be better." Chen Yu shook his head. He took out a needle, walked to the patient, and said, "Big brother, I am also a Yisheng. Your situation is a bit special; I need to prick your leg. Is that alright?"

"This... no problem, no problem." The migrant worker was stunned, then nodded repeatedly.

Chen Yu took out the needle and pricked slightly at the crisscrossing blood vessels on his leg.

His blood vessels suddenly twisted violently; the things that originally looked like blood vessels actually began to twist and twitch rapidly.

"This, this is a Blood Drop Worm." Fan Lao was taken aback.

"Fan Lao, this... what is a Blood Drop Worm?" The migrant worker was startled. Seeing Fan Lao's shocked expression, he couldn't help but feel afraid.

"A Blood Drop Worm is born in damp and filthy places. It belongs to one of the Ten Great Poisonous Worms. It is shaped like a leech and loves to feed on vital blood. Generally speaking, it will attach itself to the human body and live off blood. Your leg is currently only in the Initial Stage of this parasite."

"If it goes on for a while longer, your entire leg will become as thin as dry firewood until it has sucked dry all the blood and flesh essence, and in the end, it will only be possible to amputate." Chen Yu said.

"Then, then what should we do?" The couple was dumbfounded. They hadn't paid attention when this illness first started, but they never dreamed the situation would be so serious.

They couldn't help but turn their gaze toward Fan Lao, hoping to get a different answer from him. But to their disappointment, Fan Lao's expression was very serious. After a long while, he shook his head slightly and said, "It is indeed a Blood Drop Worm. I did not notice it before."

"Ah, Fan Lao, what should we do? I cannot have an amputation. The people at home rely on me to support them. If I lose a leg, what will my whole family do in the future?" The migrant worker, a grown man, began to wipe away tears on the side.

"Is Life more important, or is money more important?" Fan Lao frowned and said, "Remember, if you amputate now, you lose a leg; if you don't amputate, you lose a Life."

"As long as you are alive, there is hope for everything. I will prepare immediately to excise the necrotic limb for you and simultaneously destroy this Blood Drop Worm."

The migrant worker couple's faces turned deathly pale. The man gritted his teeth and finally spat out a sentence: "Fan Lao, we won't treat it."