Chapter 167 Cold Cicada and Ice Dew
Chapter 167 Cold Cicada and Ice Dew
Doctors' consultations typically require a very quiet environment.
However, Huo Ling and Bai Cen's situations are both special.
On the way to Weizhou, Fang Rushi treated Huo Ling many times. Because the hallucinations were dangerous, someone always needed to be by her side to keep an eye on her and to pull her away at crucial moments.
Bai Cen was familiar with Fang Rushi's operations. Moreover, Fang Rushi had only told him and Wang Sumo about Huo Ling's poisoning before today, and had not yet told the two old men, Lao Zhao, Yu Tang, and Uncle Ding about it.
At that moment, as their senior master examined Huo Ling's eyes and Fang Rushi took her pulse, both of them initially remained calm. Gradually, their brows furrowed, and their expressions became tense, accompanied by anxiety and fear, as if they had suddenly entered a meditative state, and cold sweat began to seep from their foreheads.
Bai Cen observed the two people's condition, ready to cut them off at any time.
He was silently counting the numbers in his mind.
This was something Fang Ru had instructed her to do beforehand.
In the illusion, neither he nor his master knew how much time had passed.
In Fang Rushi's words, each time he felt like he was entering a complex, strange, and terrifying maze, with no idea how much time had passed outside.
So every time I check on my condition, it's like I'm racing against an illusion.
In other words, the longer you persist each time, the closer you get to the poison hidden behind these illusions.
Bai Cen silently counted the numbers in his mind, not daring to be careless.
There was paper and pen on the table, and his master asked him to record the numbers that the two of them entered in different states.
It's either a fit of pique or a competition.
Today, the score will determine the winner.
Bai Cen has a big head.
However, one person's judgment is always limited and easily constrained by their own perspective. But by comparing two people, it is easy to review the situation and correct the differences horizontally.
Bai Cen carefully wrote it down.
Fang Ru was the first to enter a state of being covered in cold sweat and trembling all over.
Fang Rushi was highly skilled in medicine and quickly got into the zone, but her martial arts and internal strength were insufficient, making it difficult for her to maintain the state for longer.
Although his master had passed on the Ninefold True Qi to him, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Fang Rushi had already entered an uncontrollable state when Bai Cen used acupressure to wake him up. Fang Rushi was drenched in sweat, as if he had collapsed. When he returned to reality, Meng Huizhou had just entered a state of exhaustion.
Sure enough, when the two of them were together, Fang Ru suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Illusions are different for everyone.
But it appears in the same way.
In other words, his and Meng Huizhou's different choices in the illusion led them into different states.
He had Bai Cen record it before: entering a meditative state, sweating profusely, and trembling all over.
But after Meng Huizhou entered a meditative state, instead of breaking out in a cold sweat, his veins bulged all over his body.
Bai Cen and Fang Ru exchanged a glance. Sure enough, their senior master was different this time.
Fang Ru suddenly realized that the toxin hidden behind the illusion might be divided into two. The toxins that seemed incompatible and impossible to put together were actually in one place.
"Give me paper and pen." Fang Rushi quickly wrote it down.
Bai Cen dared not delay.
However, at the same time, one should also pay attention to the appearance of one's senior brother and continue to count silently in one's mind.
Finally, Fang Rushi reminded him: "Wake him up."
Bai Cen did as instructed.
Actually, it was still somewhat different from what my senior master had expected, but Fang Rushi was annoyed: "Are you not comparable to me? You can't afford to lose, and you don't care about your life?"
Meng Huizhou was just awakened from the illusion, still somewhat dazed.
In everyone's illusion, they must confront their inner demons and the people and things they least want to face.
Fang Ru saw Yan Guanjie and Bai Xiaosheng.
In the intricate maze, Bai Xiaosheng supported him as they fled through the maze. Each time, they were just one city wall away from reaching it, or the soldiers on the wall would shoot arrows at them. In the end, Yan Guanjie, with his blood pressure surging, shielded him from the arrows.
But below, inexplicable spirits reached out to grab him, trying to drag him to the ground.
Those were people he couldn't save, and some he couldn't save either.
They tore at him with ferocious expressions, never stopping, never finding peace...
What Meng Huizhou saw was a face without features.
Wherever he went, this faceless man followed him. From his earliest memories, it was like a nightmare, haunting him.
He emerged from the story of how his disobedience led to his master scaring him.
In his master's instructions and entrustment to him when he passed away.
Also, when his junior brother died, the three characters "Longevity Scripture" were engraved on his back...
He hates anything without a face.
This also includes things like shadow puppetry where the faces are not clearly visible.
Meng Huizhou swallowed softly.
"Uncle-Master, are you alright?" Bai Cen asked, noticing his pale face.
Meng Huizhou shook his head, but it was a bit difficult.
From the first time he tried to detoxify Bai Cen, he had experienced such a scene hundreds, if not thousands.
But each time he was trapped in thousands of bronze mirrors from all directions, and in each mirror appeared a faceless face, each face speaking to him about the "Scripture of Immortality"...
After all these years, these things have reappeared in his hallucinations.
Meng Huizhou still couldn't help but shiver. He took the warm water Bai Cen handed him and slowly drank a cup. Only then did his complexion look a little better.
But I didn't dare close my eyes.
It's as if, even with eyes closed, the faceless figure is still reflected in countless bronze mirrors.
Like a nightmare.
“Since both Doctor Fang and Uncle-Master are feeling better, this is a record of the time in numbers, along with Doctor Fang and Uncle-Master's reactions when you both began to meditate.” Bai Cen placed it in the middle of the table, so that Fang Rushi and Meng Huizhou could both see it.
But everyone only glanced at it before they froze.
The two reacted and behaved in completely different ways.
Fang Rushi was sweating profusely and shivering; Meng Huizhou's veins bulged, as if he were being burned by flames...
Fang said, "I always thought it was a cold-natured poison, but I've also tried hot-natured poisons, but each time it's different."
Meng Huizhou: "I always thought it was a hot poison, and I also tried poisons with cold properties, but I never succeeded."
But this time, the two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Fang Rushi inquired: "Is it possible that two incompatible poisons, one of ice and one of fire, were placed together?"
Meng Huizhou hesitated: "But the two elements of ice and fire will be harmonized and act as an antidote for each other, without any toxicity."
Fang continued, "If the two toxins are respectively placed in the meridians and the blood, the cold toxin will travel along the meridians, while the hot toxin will travel back against the flow of blood. The two will pass each other by, but they will not harmonize."
Meng Huizhou opened his eyes wide, though he was very reluctant to admit it.
However, Fang Rushi is indeed a genius!
How could he have imagined that within the meridians and blood, two mutually repelling and incompatible toxins, flowing forward and backward, influence and drive each other? No matter how the person seeking detoxification treats the poison, the toxins will always wax and wane, in a cyclical manner.
Fang Rushi, Fang Rushi!
Meng Huizhou couldn't help but laugh at himself. The two had been competing for a lifetime, and he had even secretly used his internal energy to enhance his skills during the competition. But he never expected that he would lose here in the end, completely convinced of his defeat.
Meng Huizhou smiled and shook his head: "Old Fang, we've been rivals for a lifetime. I'm never willing to admit defeat to you, but your medical skills are far superior to mine."
Fang Rushi, who was originally eccentric, even mocked herself at this moment: "I have always prided myself on my medical skills being far superior to yours, but I never expected that just this one trip with you would cure the strange poison that has been troubling me for a year."
The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
They fight and struggle for a lifetime.
In the end, they complemented each other.
Meng Huizhou shook his head: "Why should medical skills be ranked? What does it matter if you win or lose?"
Fang Rushi stroked his beard and said jokingly, "Winning or losing is nothing more than a moment of pleasure and freedom after curing this strange poison!"
Meng Huizhou sighed, “The person who poisoned us is like a high mountain, looking down on us. In his eyes, this poison is like grass, something he can just pick up at will, yet it takes us all our energy and you a whole year to study it.”
Fang Rushi shook her head self-deprecatingly: "If it weren't for your suggestion, Bai Cen's illness had been treated for several years, and he told me that I found clues on Huo Ling's body. I'm afraid this poison would have remained unsolved for ten or eight years."
Bai Cen understood: "Senior Uncle, Physician Fang, has a cure been found for the poison in Huo Ling's body?"
Meng Huizhou and Fang Ru exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.
Bai Cen clenched his fists and let out a long sigh.
Uncle Huo, Uncle Huo can finally rest assured...
Seeing his relieved expression, Fang Rushi couldn't help but say, "What are you so happy about! His poison could be cured, but the other party did it casually, like sprinkling a drop of poison on an ant. But for you, it was like pouring a whole pool of seawater on you and immersing you in it. They are completely different."
Meng Huizhou sighed inwardly.
Bai Cen was optimistic: "I'm different. I've accepted it and gotten used to it. I have my own way of surviving. The employer even planted spinach in oilcloth for me in autumn and winter. I'm doing very well at Bazhenlou!"
"Whoever poisoned you must have some deep-seated grudge against you. Even if you can find a cure, who knows how many miraculous medicines you'll have to consume to have any chance of survival," Fang said, looking at him.
Bai Cen sighed, "Then I'd rather eat spinach. At least the owner can cook it well and it won't be the same every time."
"Let's not talk about me for now. How do we cure Huo Ling's poison?" Bai Cen asked.
Fang Rushi said: "For poisons that are cold in nature, use extremely dry medicines; for poisons that are hot and dry, use extremely cold medicines."
"What do you mean?" Bai Cen asked, puzzled.
Meng Huizhou sighed softly: "Extremely hot medicines, if taken without illness, can cause the body to explode and die. The closest one is in my own home, the Blazing Sun Grass; extremely cold medicines, if taken without illness, can cause the whole body to freeze and collapse, leading to death. The closest one is in the hands of the Four Seasons of Meizhou—the Cold Cicada Ice Dew."
Ice Dew on a Cicada?
Bai Cen asked in surprise, "What is this?"
Fang Rushi's extremely simple explanation: "The saliva of a cicada."
Bai Cen: (⊙o⊙)…
*
Outside, Zhao Tong arrived at the garden.
Wang Sumo and Duan Wuheng were guarding outside the house, afraid that others might disturb them.
After some time had passed, Wang Sumo drew a Sudoku puzzle on the ground with a stone and asked Duan Wuheng to do it. Duan Wuheng was about to bang his head against the wall when they heard footsteps. They looked up together and saw Zhao Tong.
"Brother Zhao?" Wang Sumo asked in surprise.
Zhao Tong looked at her and said succinctly, "Lu Wenqu is awake."
Wang Sumo unconsciously stood up. After more than ten days, Lu Wenqu finally woke up.
[Author's Note]
That's all for today, time for a nap.
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