60 – Sustaining Life

‘Method, what method?’

Guard Li was initially stunned, then quickly asked.

The other guards also looked over.

‘In a nearby village, there is a famous doctor…’

As Ma Gu spoke, Guard Li and the others’ eyes gradually lit up.

They had heard of this Old Doctor Chen that Ma Gu mentioned.

Rumor had it that this old doctor was highly skilled in medicine, appreciated by many noblemen, and had even been praised by the county magistrate.

It was said that this old doctor didn’t live in the city. To their surprise, he lived in a village nearby.

With such a skilled doctor nearby, Guard Li and the others immediately decided to give up on the risky plan of taking the young master back to the city.

‘Brother Ma, where is Jiuli Village?’ Guard Li asked anxiously.

‘It’s just three or four li away from us. I have a subordinate who is very familiar with that area and can take you there!’ Ma Gu replied.

Before, he had sent his subordinate Xiao Tian to Jiuli Village to investigate matters related to Lu Qing. Unexpectedly, his presence was now useful here.

Ma Gu immediately called for Xiao Tian. Under his lead, everyone set off towards Jiuli Village.

On the way, Ma Gu finally understood how Young Master Wei had fallen into the valley.

It turned out that he was chasing a peculiar small beast and refused to give up even at the edge of the cliff. As a result, he slipped and fell.

Fortunately, the valley wasn’t very deep and there were some trees in the middle to cushion the fall.

Moreover, due to the Wei family’s extensive nurturing and resources, Young Master Wei’s martial arts realm had reached the Blood Qi level, giving him a decent physique.

He barely managed to survive the fall.

Otherwise, even with ten lives, this fall would have taken them all.

After hearing Guard Li’s story, Ma Gu was utterly speechless.

How foolish could one be to fall into a valley while chasing a beast, especially when one was a martial artist at the Blood Qi level?

They rushed towards Jiuli Village under Xiao Tian’s lead, heading straight for the Old Doctor Chen’s small courtyard on the hillside.

Arriving at the courtyard, Ma Gu saw a familiar figure.

He shouted repeatedly, ‘Young Master Lu, Young Master Lu, help, help!’

Lu Qing, who was drying medicinal herbs in front of the courtyard, was startled.

Turning around, he saw Ma Gu leading the group and was very surprised.

He had thought it would be the next market day when they would meet again. Unexpectedly, it was only a day later that they met once more.

‘Master Ma, what’s the matter?’ Lu Qing asked.

‘Young Master Lu, is Old Doctor Chen at home? We have a seriously injured patient who urgently needs his treatment!’ Ma Gu asked anxiously.

Lu Qing noticed the stretcher behind them.

Though surprised to see the young man in luxurious clothing on it, he understood the urgency and quickly stepped aside.

‘Please come in quickly, my master is resting inside. I’ll go call him!’

With that, he ran into the courtyard.

Ma Gu and the others hurriedly followed.

The old doctor was only lightly napping inside and had been awakened by the noise outside.

When Ma Gu and the others entered the courtyard, he had already come out.

Seeing Young Master Wei’s pale face on the stretcher, he immediately realized the severity of the situation.

He stepped forward to take his pulse and his expression turned serious.

He instructed, ‘Quickly carry him inside.’

At the same time, he said to Lu Qing, ‘Ah Qing, quickly brew a tonic to replenish blood: Atractylodes, Angelica… use three bowls of water, boil quickly with high heat, be quick!’

‘Yes, Master!’

Lu Qing immediately ran to the medicine cabinet and began to gather the herbs.

Although most of his free time these days was spent on martial arts training…

…whenever he was at the hillside courtyard, he was learning medical knowledge from his master.

With his special abilities, Lu Qing learned everything very quickly.

In just a few days, he had not only mastered the technique of gathering herbs but also learned the basic method of brewing medicine.

After collecting the herbs, Lu Qing followed his master’s instructions and began brewing the medicine.

The stove for brewing medicine was specially made to adjust the fire’s intensity freely.

Lu Qing immediately used high heat, and before long, the medicinal soup was ready.

He poured the medicinal liquid into a bowl and focused his gaze.

Quickly, the liquid in the bowl began to emit a white glow.

【Blood-Replenishing Soup: A medicinal soup made from various herbs, it has the effects of replenishing blood, promoting blood generation, and protecting the heart meridians.】

【Due to being hastily boiled over a fierce fire, the medicinal properties of the herbs suffered some damage, so only about seventy percent of the efficacy is retained.】

Seeing the information provided by his mysterious ability, Lu Qing finally relaxed.

It’s good enough as long as the medicine is not incorrectly prepared. As for the impaired medicinal properties, there’s no helping that.

Considering the urgent situation, seventy percent efficacy is already quite satisfactory.

After confirming that there were no issues with the medicine, Lu Qing quickly rushed to the other side with the bowl in hand.

At this moment, Young Master Wei had already been transferred to a ward. Besides Guard Li, everyone else had been asked to wait outside by the Old Doctor.

When they saw Lu Qing approach, everyone made way, with none daring to hinder him in the slightest.

Lu Qing entered the room and saw that Young Master Wei’s shirt had been removed, and many silver needles were inserted into his body.

The gruesome wound on his abdomen made Lu Qing’s heart skip a beat.

“Master, the medicine is ready.”

Lu Qing offered the bowl of medicinal liquid.

The Old Doctor took the bowl, sniffed it, and after confirming there were no issues with the medicine, nodded slightly.

“You feed him the medicine,” the Old Doctor instructed.

“Yes, Master,” Lu Qing replied.

Lu Qing picked up a spoon, scooped a spoonful of the medicinal soup, and steadily brought it to Young Master Wei’s mouth.

However, Young Master Wei was almost unconscious at this time, how could he swallow the medicine?

But this wasn’t a problem for the Old Doctor.

He gently pinched a few spots on Young Master Wei’s throat, causing it to move miraculously, allowing the spoonful of medicinal soup to be swallowed.

Following this method, with the combined efforts of both master and apprentice, Young Master Wei gradually finished the bowl of medicinal soup.

The Old Doctor then continued inserting needles to help him absorb the medicinal power as quickly as possible.

After ingesting a bowl of medicinal soup and with the aid of the Old Doctor’s acupuncture, after a while, some color returned to Young Master Wei’s face, and his chest and abdomen slightly moved up and down.

Guard Li had been watching anxiously by the side, and seeing this scene, finally let out a sigh of relief.

He knew that both the young master’s and their own lives were temporarily pulled back from the edge of a cliff.

“Old Doctor Chen, how is my young master now?”

Seeing the Old Doctor stop his hands, Guard Li hurriedly asked.

The Old Doctor pondered for a moment before replying, “The lad is somewhat fortunate; the massive wound on his abdomen did not cut into the internal organs or intestines, which is a blessing amid the misfortune.”

“However, he has lost a lot of blood, his head was also struck, and there are many cuts on his limbs. His situation remains critical.”

“For now, I can only stabilize his life with medicinal soup and acupuncture, but when he will wake up is hard to say.”

Upon hearing the Old Doctor say that the young master’s life was temporarily saved, Guard Li finally felt somewhat relieved.

As long as the young master was still alive, everything could still be salvaged.

Otherwise, if the young master were to die, even if they managed to escape, their families would have no place to flee to.

“Old Doctor, what should we do now?” Guard Li asked.

The Old Doctor thought for a moment and said, “The biggest problem for this young man now is severe blood loss. The wound on his abdomen is just a surface injury and hasn’t reached the intestines. If we can get enough aged ginseng, polygonum multiflorum, and notoginseng, these superb blood-replenishing and hemostatic herbs, I would have a greater chance of preserving his life.”

Upon saying this, the Old Doctor sighed with some regret.

If only the ginseng Lu Qing brought back some days ago were still available, he could ensure the fullest recovery of this young man’s vitality.

In the current situation, even if the young man could be saved, he would probably suffer from severe vitality damage in the end.

“Ginseng, polygonum multiflorum, and notoginseng, is it? Rest assured Old Doctor, I will send someone to retrieve them from the city immediately!”

With that declared, Guard Li turned to leave.

Outside, Ma Gu and the others were anxiously waiting. Seeing Guard Li come out, they immediately surrounded him.

“How is the young master?”

“The young master is temporarily out of danger.”

Guard Li’s words brought an immediate sigh of relief from everyone, especially the other guards, who showed expressions of having narrowly escaped death.

“However, the young master’s condition is still not good. Old Zhao, you and Xiao Gu go back and report the situation to the mistress of the household, and also ask her to fetch some ginseng, polygonum multiflorum, and notoginseng from the herbal store. The Old Doctor said that with these herbs, the young master’s chances of survival would be much higher…”

Following Guard Li’s orders, the two guards solemnly took their leave.

Ma Gu, standing nearby, rolled his eyes.

He then pulled his subordinate, Xiao Tian, aside and whispered.

“Go back and from my study, bring me the broadsword hanging there.”