Chapter 29 The Half-Immortal's Medicine Jar

"The situation is urgent, we..." Guo Jia sat upright and spoke calmly. Suddenly, he paused and his chest trembled slightly.

I looked at him and noticed that his already pale face had turned even whiter, with traces of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Only then did I remember that he had fallen off the carriage and been injured on the way.

"Strategist." Xiahou Dun frowned slightly and stepped forward.

“No…it’s alright,” Guo Jia raised his hand to stop Xiahou Dun’s steps, his expression still calm. He patted his chest with a smile, “I’m strong…cough cough cough…” He bent over and coughed for at least a minute before looking up again, “…I’m strong and healthy, it’s nothing to worry about…”

He calls that being physically strong and healthy? I raised an eyebrow. Then what am I? Superman?

"It's getting late, and there might be ambushes on the way back. Let's rest at the camp for the night," Xiahou Yuan said.

"That's fine then." Guo Jia nodded.

"Someone, prepare the medicine pot." Xiahou Yuan called out as he turned around.

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia's usually calm face turned somewhat green.

A medicine jar? I was incredibly curious.

"The strategist has been ill for a long time, and he is taken care of by military doctors during the march." Xiahou Yuan glanced at me, which cleared up my doubts.

"Hey, I always told you scholars can't stand the wind. If you had come with me, Dian Wei, to the training ground for a few days earlier, I guarantee you'd be full of energy. Every time I tell you, you run faster than a rabbit!" Dian Wei came out of his tent at some point and started shouting.

Guo Jia smiled bitterly.

Before long, someone brought in a bowl of medicine; it was a dark, murky soup that looked quite frightening.

Guo Jia's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he raised his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose. "What is this? The taste is a little different from before."

Xu Chu brought in the medicine. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said with a smile, "The army doctor is away on business, so his helper made this."

"A helper? I've never heard of that." Guo Jia looked at the bowl of medicine with a wary expression.

"He just arrived today; I heard his family used to be butchers..."

Butcher...butcher?

My lips twitched slightly. Looking at the bowl of medicine again, I felt even more horrified. I glanced at Guo Jia with pity, then shook my head and sighed.

Guo Jia's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his expression became somewhat distorted.

I was actually quite pleased; Guo Jia seemed much more popular this way.

"The medicine is very hot, you should go and rest first. I'll drink it after it cools down." Guo Jia smiled gently.

He looked like a child who was being stubborn and refusing to take his medicine.

"Strategist, drink it while it's hot," Dian Wei said casually.

Guo Jia's eyes twitched slightly, and he smiled dangerously, "E'lai, play a game of chess with me."

Dian Wei took a step back with considerable alertness and shook his head.

"Hmm?" Guo Jia lowered his head and smiled slightly. "If you win, I will go to the training ground and let you train me however you like."

"Really?" Dian Wei was very interested.

"Really." Guo Jia looked up, his eyes as clear as stars in the night sky.

Dian Wei laughed loudly, as if he could already see Guo Jia being trained.

"Strategist, medicine..." Xu Chu reminded him from the side.

Guo Jia tilted his head, narrowing his eyes slightly, "Do you want to play chess too?"

Xu Chu quickly shook his head.

"My lord, it's getting late. I've arranged the tents. Please get some rest," Xiahou Yuan said, turning and leaving the tent.

In an instant, everyone hurriedly left, as if they wanted to avoid the scene at all costs.

“Uh, my maid…” My conscience suddenly struck me and I remembered Tuanzi, so I quickly raised my voice and asked.

"I've already arranged for them to sleep in," Xiahou Dun's voice rang out from outside the tent.

"Be careful of Tuanzi." Guo Jia's voice rang softly in my ear.

I was slightly taken aback and turned to look at him. He had already set up the chessboard and was fighting against Dian Wei, looking completely calm. The dark soup bowl was still sitting untouched to the side.

The black and white chess pieces moved freely across the board. Guo Jia sat upright with a calm expression, while Dian Wei was covered in sweat.

"Five coins per round, pay up if you lose," Guo Jia's voice rang out again.

Dian Wei looked up, his face filled with astonishment.

"Be careful, your white piece is in danger," Guo Jia said gently with a smile.

Without bothering to refute, Dian Wei hurriedly lowered his head and focused on looking at the chessboard.

With his eyes slightly closed, Guo Jia remained calm and composed.

Dian Wei stared at the chessboard, his forehead covered in sweat.

Half an hour has passed.

Dianwei remained motionless, staring at the chessboard, deep in thought.

After a while, Guo Jia opened his eyes, yawned elegantly, and seeing that Dian Wei was still holding the white pieces in his hand, he closed his eyes again.

"The medicine's gone cold, take it now," I urged, standing to the side.

Guo Jia glanced up at me and frowned slightly. "This medicine looks terrifying..."

"You still have to drink it."

"What goes around comes around," Guo Jia chuckled softly, his head bowed, accompanied by a cough from Xiang Sheng. "I used to force others to take medicine like this too."

Seeing that his smile had taken on a touch of melancholy, I frowned slightly.

"You've lost," Guo Jia suddenly said.

Dian Wei sighed and shook his head.

As Guo Jia's money piled up higher and higher, Dian Wei's sweat beaded thicker and thicker.

"We've been tricked again!" Dian Wei cried out. "It's all over! A month's salary is gone!"

Guo Jia smiled and swept all the money on the table into his sleeve. "Don't be sad. After many failures, you'll eventually win one or two times."

Dian Wei, his face flushed, stood up. "Alright, it's time to drink your medicine!"

With a furrowed brow, Guo Jia realized there was no way to avoid it and turned his head to look at the medicine bowl.

"Huh?" A simple interjection expressing doubt.

I looked at the medicine bowl with surprise. It was empty?

Who drank it?

I looked at Guo Jia, who shook his head with a question mark on his face, and then looked at Dian Wei.

"It wasn't me! I would rather die than drink that kind of medicine. It would be so ugly to die from poisoning!" Dian Wei hurriedly waved his hands, attracting Guo Jia's attention.

Seeing Guo Jia raise his eyebrows, Dian Wei gave a somewhat guilty, dry laugh.

Who drank that?

It wasn't me, it wasn't Guo Jia, it wasn't Dian Wei... who else could it be?

A row of black lines appeared on my forehead. I suddenly remembered that a voice that should have been noisy hadn't been heard for a long time.

Ah Man...

“Xiaoxiao…” Aman’s voice came from the corner.

I rushed over and asked, "Did you drink what was in the bowl?"

"Mmm." Sitting in the corner, he nodded weakly. "It tastes awful..."

"Who told you to eat that!" I was getting anxious. Aman isn't sick, what if he gets sick from eating it?

"I'm hungry." The voice was a little weak, but the answer was perfectly natural.

"Idiot! You can't take medicine even if you're hungry!" I was so angry my blood vessels were about to burst, and I roared through gritted teeth.

"My head is so dizzy..." Aman murmured, and then suddenly "whoosh" he vomited a mouthful of black blood.

"Quickly, find the army doctor!" I shouted in a panic.

Ignoring the loss of his coins, Dian Wei rushed out.

With his head lolling to the side, Aman fainted.