Poisoned!

Gao Zhanhu's expression shifted slightly. Indeed, Wu Jing was no ordinary physician, but a renowned master who had practiced medicine across Nanyang Prefecture for decades! Countless martial artists owed Wu Jing a debt of gratitude. If Wu Jing were humiliated in Gao Family Fort, wouldn't the fort be making a formidable enemy for itself without cause? "Physician Wu, please calm your anger." "This is my third brother, Gao Zhanwu. He is reckless by nature—a stubborn brute who fears nothing. Please, Physician Wu, do not lower yourself to his level." Gao Zhanhu bowed deeply to Wu Jing. "Zhanwu, why haven't you apologized to Physician Wu yet?" Gao Zhanwu clutched his injured arm, gritting his teeth against the pain. Reluctant though he was, he bowed his head to Wu Jing. "Physician Wu, please forgive my recklessness." Wu Jing waved his hand and said placidly, "There are three precepts of a healer: a physician does not mock an illness, and a patient does not insult a physician." "I will let today's offense pass. However, I cannot cure your esteemed son's affliction. Fort Lord, you had best seek a more capable physician. Farewell!" Wu Jing had been genuinely angered and had no desire to treat Gao Yuzhi any longer, so he led Lu Changsheng straight out of the room. When the two reached the main hall, the apprentices looked completely bewildered. Seeing Wu Jing's grim expression, however, they had no choice but to follow along obediently. Yet as soon as they left the fort lord's residence, they saw many people carrying patients on stretchers, waiting anxiously outside. "Miracle healer! You must be the divine physician, Physician Wu! Please save my son!" "Divine Physician Wu, I hear you are a grand master of medicine, and that no ailment is beyond your skill. My son is an only child, and he has been in a coma for five days. Please, divine physician, take a look at him!" "My daughter has been unconscious for three days and can't swallow any food. What are we to do? Please save my daughter, divine physician..." Many relatives of the patients fell to their knees, kowtowing and pleading with Wu Jing. Looking at these commoners who had carried their sick here, their gazes filled with sincere devotion and a glimmer of hope as they looked toward him, Wu Jing felt a pang of pity in his heart. A healer holds a parent's heart; he could not stand by and watch people die. At that moment, Gao Zhanhu hurried over as well. Gritting his teeth, he said in a low, heavy voice, "Physician Wu, if you can cure my son, I am willing to offer three hundred pieces of gold!" "Three hundred gold? What generous remuneration." Wu Jing no longer refused. It was not that he coveted three hundred gold, but rather that he cared for these common people of Gao Family Fort. If he left now, most of these patients would have no chance of surviving. Thus, Wu Jing walked up to the patients one by one, checking their pulses and asking about their conditions. Half a shichen slipped by in this manner. Wu Jing was drenched in sweat, his steps growing unsteady. After all, he was past seventy; at his advanced age, his stamina could not hold out for long. "Master, sit and rest for a moment," Lu Changsheng said, supporting Wu Jing. Wu Jing waved his hand, then turned his gaze toward Gao Zhanhu and murmured, "I have a general idea of the cause now. However, I fear this condition is rather complicated." "Physician Wu, you've found the cause?" Gao Zhanhu was overjoyed. What did complexity matter? As long as the cause was known, they had a direction. And with a direction came the hope of a cure. "Physician Wu, please come inside so we may speak." Wu Jing nodded and, supported by Lu Changsheng, walked into the fort lord's residence. Inside, Wu Jing glanced at the people in the hall and shook his head. Gao Zhanhu froze for a second. As the fort lord, however, he instantly grasped Wu Jing's meaning. Gao Zhanhu dismissed most of the Gao family members, leaving behind only Gao Yucheng. With a somber expression, Gao Zhanhu asked in a low voice, "Physician Wu, now that the attendants have been dismissed, please speak frankly. What illness has stricken my son?" Wu Jing glanced at Gao Zhanhu and Gao Yucheng, then said, "Your son is not ill, nor are those patients outside suffering from sickness." "If I am not mistaken, they have been poisoned." "What? Poisoned?" Gao Zhanhu's face changed drastically in an instant. "Yes, poisoned." "This poison should be a composite poison, and an extremely tricky one at that." Having practiced medicine for decades, Wu Jing possessed considerable understanding of poisons. "Physician Wu, can you neutralize this poison?" Gao Zhanhu asked. Wu Jing shook his head. "I am a physician; my duty is to treat diseases. While I have dabbled in poisons, my knowledge does not run deep." "Therefore, I cannot neutralize this composite poison. To do so, you would need to consult a true master of the venomous arts." "Furthermore, while this composite poison is not immediately fatal, once it takes hold, it seeps deep into the five viscera and six bowels. Given enough time, not even an immortal could save them." "From what I have observed, your son has been poisoned for half a month, and the toxins have spread throughout his entire body. I fear he does not have much time left..." Wu Jing's words made Gao Zhanhu's heart sink. "Is there truly no way at all?" "I must beg your forgiveness, for it is beyond my power..." For a moment, Gao Zhanhu seemed completely lost in despair. He waved his hand and managed to force out, "Thank you for your trouble, Elder Wu. It is already late. Please rest at Gao Family Fort for the night and depart tomorrow." "Yucheng, take Elder Wu to rest." Gao Yucheng led Wu Jing, Lu Changsheng, and the others to a spacious courtyard. "There are many rooms in this courtyard, Physician Wu. Please feel free to choose whichever you like." "A servant will bring dinner for everyone shortly." "If you need anything, you may instruct the servants directly." Gao Yucheng's arrangements were meticulous and thoughtful. "No matter. Second Young Master, you should go keep your father company instead," Wu Jing said with a wave of his hand, and Gao Yucheng turned and took his leave. Back inside the room, Lu Changsheng attended to Wu Jing, helping him sit down to rest. "Master, the composite poison you mentioned must be exceedingly intricate. Yet its toxicity isn't of the rapid, throat-sealing kind. For Gao Yuzhi to remain lying there for half a month without dying seems rather peculiar," Lu Changsheng said softly. "Indeed, it is rather strange. In fact, if the poisoner had merely omitted a few ingredients from this composite poison, it would have turned into a deadly lethal brew, killing the victim in less than half a shichen." "Yet the culprit went out of their way to add several more ingredients, which neutralized the sharper toxins and turned a virulent poison into a slow-acting one." Wu Jing frowned as well. "Could it have been intentional?" "Perhaps the person who administered the poison didn't actually want Gao Yuzhi to die so quickly..." Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly as an idea seemed to cross his mind. Wu Jing tapped his walking stick against the floor and said meaningfully, "Changsheng, there are some things one should not investigate too deeply, let alone get involved in." "We are merely physicians. Treating illness and saving lives is our duty, but other matters have nothing to do with us. Keep that firmly in mind..." "Yes, Master." Lu Changsheng then returned to his own room. ... In the fort lord's residence, Gao Zhanhu quietly looked at his son, Gao Yuzhi. His expression shifted continuously, as if weighing a heavy decision. "Yuzhi, you are the hope of Gao Family Fort. In the entire Gao clan, you have the greatest hope of breaking through the life-and-death gateway to become a Divine Strength Realm martial artist!" "That is why those despicable, shameless enemies used every underhanded means to eliminate you, even stooping to poison you. But I, your father, will never let anything happen to you!" "If this truly were a strange illness, I might be powerless. But if it is merely poison, then that method might just work..." Gao Zhanhu took a deep breath, an unusual gleam flashing in his eyes. Perhaps, deep down, he had already made up his mind.