Chapter 312 The Black Gold Abacus
The car came to a smooth stop at the entrance of an inconspicuous alley in Xicheng.
Lu Jingyan turned off the engine, but didn't rush to get out of the car. He turned back to look at Su Wantang, who was covered up tightly.
"arrive."
His hands rested on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his eyes were filled with unconcealed worry.
Su Wantang nodded to him and opened the car door.
Lu Jingyan immediately followed, striding to her side. His 1.9-meter height made him like a mountain, completely shielding her in his shadow.
The alley was quiet, with moss climbing the walls on both sides and a damp, earthy smell in the air.
Aunt Fang was already waiting at the entrance of a small courtyard deep in the alley. When she saw the two of them, she quickly came forward and glanced at Lu Jingyan with a hint of awe.
"Miss, it's Commander Lu."
Lu Jingyan didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly to her, his sharp gaze sweeping over the surrounding environment to confirm that there was nothing unusual.
Su Wantang lowered her voice, mimicking a hoarse tone: "Take me in."
"Yes." Aunt Fang quickly pushed open the courtyard gate.
Lu Jingyan didn't follow her inside. He just stood at the door and said to Su Wantang, "I'll be right here."
Three words, yet more reassuring than any promise.
Su Wantang nodded and followed Aunt Fang into the courtyard.
Upon entering the room, a strong smell of Chinese medicine and the stuffy smell of patients lying in bed for a long time hit you.
The room was dimly lit. A middle-aged woman wearing a polyester shirt was standing guard by the bed. Her eyes were red and swollen. When she saw Aunt Fang bring in a stranger, she immediately stood up, her eyes full of wariness and suspicion.
"Aunt Fang, who is this?"
This must be Sister Lan.
Aunt Fang quickly introduced, "Sister Lan, this is the gentleman I mentioned to you. He is a highly skilled doctor, and we specially invited him to take a look at Brother Sun."
Lan Jie's gaze fell on Su Wantang, looking her up and down.
The person who arrived was wearing a large trench coat, a hat, and a mask, revealing only a pair of eyes that were clear and calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
This mysterious behavior deepened her suspicions.
Su Wantang ignored her scrutiny and instead focused her gaze on the person on the bed.
Uncle Sun on the bed was no longer recognizable as a human being. He was emaciated, his cheeks were sunken, and his face was ashen, like an old newspaper. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.
But the strangest thing was his hands.
Those hands that once managed millions in accounts now lay limply outside the blanket, the knuckles of all ten fingers showing an ominous bluish-black hue.
With just one glance, Su Wantang knew what was going on.
She didn't rush forward, but instead said to Aunt Fang, who followed her in, "Open the window and turn on a bright light."
Sister Lan was stunned for a moment, but Aunt Fang had already quickly gone to do it.
The bright lights illuminated the entire room, making the horrific condition of the patient on the bed even clearer.
Su Wantang walked to the bedside, but did not immediately reach out to take the pulse like other doctors would.
She took a thin pair of white gloves out of her pocket and put them on slowly and deliberately, her movements unhurried.
Seeing her like this, Sister Lan was both anxious and suspicious, and couldn't help but ask, "Sir, you..."
Su Wantang raised her eyelids and glanced at her with a cold look in her eyes, and Lan Jie's remaining words were immediately stuck in her throat.
After putting on gloves, Su Wantang bent down and gently took one of Uncle Sun's hands.
Instead of checking his pulse, she carefully examined the black deposits under his fingernails with her fingertips, and then examined the skin on his palms and arms.
After examining her for a long time, she finally straightened up, her hoarse voice echoing in the quiet room.
"Before he got sick, did he spend a lot of time in contact with a metal object every day? Especially something like an abacus."
Sister Lan was suddenly stunned, her face filled with shock.
"Sir, how...how did you know?"
She grasped at this as if it were a lifeline and answered eagerly, "My husband, Mr. Sun, is an accountant. He has had an abacus with him for decades. He keeps it by his side while eating and sleeping. He treasures it dearly."
"What kind of abacus?" Su Wan-tang pressed.
"The frame of the abacus is made of rosewood, and I heard it's an old artifact from the previous dynasty," Sister Lan said, trying to recall.
"The abacus beads are strange. They're not made of wood or jade, but a kind of dark metal that feels very cool and heavy to the touch."
This is it.
Su Wantang understood.
She then placed two fingers on Uncle Sun's withered wrist and closed her eyes.
The pulse is extremely weak and thready, almost imperceptible, which is a typical sign of depleted vital energy and declining internal organs.
Chronic heavy metal poisoning.
The toxins penetrate the skin year after year, gradually eroding the internal organs. The incubation period is extremely long, but once it takes effect, it is like a flash flood breaking through a dam, extremely dangerous.
With the medical level of that era, the cause of this rare disease could not be detected at all, and it would only be treated as an incurable disease.
A full minute passed before Su Wantang finally let go and slowly removed her gloves.
Sister Lan and Aunt Fang held their breath and watched her, their hearts pounding in their throats with nervousness.
Su Wantang turned around and looked at Sister Lan with her cold eyes, her hoarse voice sounding like it had been chilled to the bone.
"This is 'Black Gold Poison,' and the source of the poison is that abacus."
Black Gold Poison?
Lan Jie and Fang Yi were both stunned; they had never even heard of this name before.
"The poison has penetrated the five internal organs, damaging the very foundation of the body." Su Wantang's voice remained completely calm.
"The current situation is one of near-death experience."
With a loud bang.
Lan Jie's mind went blank, she swayed and almost fell to the ground.
Aunt Fang quickly helped her up.
"No...no way..." Sister Lan's lips trembled, and tears fell like beads from a broken string.
"Sir, you must have a way, right? Please, please save my old man, Mr. Sun! Please!"
As she spoke, she suddenly broke free from Aunt Fang and knelt down in front of Su Wantang with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.
"Sir, I'll do anything for you, I'll do anything for you! I'll be your slave!"
Su Wantang stood there quietly, looking down at the woman kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, without any emotion on her face.
She's not a saint; she expects something in return for her help.
What she wanted was the stability of the entire Haitang Chamber of Commerce, and the absolute submission of this woman.
It wasn't until Sister Lan was crying so hard she could barely breathe, and her forehead was covered in blood, that Su Wantang finally spoke.
Every word of that voice struck Lan Jie's heart.
“Save him, that’s fine.”
Sister Lan suddenly raised her head, and a tremendous hope burst forth in her bloodshot eyes.
Su Wantang looked at her and continued, "The seven-day period is up. I will prescribe the remedy, and you must follow it. If he shows no improvement after seven days, you will come to me with your head."
Sister Lan trembled all over.
“During these seven days,” Su Wantang’s tone became even colder.
"What he eats, what he drinks, what medicine he takes—it's all up to me. Everything about him is under my control."
These words left no room for negotiation; they were filled with absolute confidence and an irresistible sense of control.
Sister Lan and Aunt Fang were both stunned by this powerful aura, and for a moment, they couldn't utter a single word of dissent.
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