Chapter 326 Heart-Eroding Bone-Rotting Miasma
Yan Shixu urged his horse to go faster, and finally arrived at Zhennan Pass before nightfall.
A clear-faced but obviously tired man hurried down from the city wall of the pass to greet them.
It was Wen Zhiyan.
Although Wen Zhiyan was exhausted, his official robe was stained with dust and unknown stains, he looked haggard and his eye sockets were sunken, but his eyes were still as steady as a rock.
Following behind him was a woman wearing a plain cloth skirt and no makeup. It was Nangong Ziyun.
There was a look of deep worry and fatigue between her brows, and she was holding a medicine bag tightly in her hand.
"Your Highness, Wen Zhiyan/your subject Nangong Ziyun pays homage to Your Majesty!"
Seeing that they were safe and sound, Yan Shixu's tense heartstrings relaxed a little.
"Stand up." Yan Shixu's eyes fell on Nangong Ziyun and he went straight to the most concerned question: "How is Yun Zhen?"
Nangong Ziyun shook her head gently: "Your Majesty... He has woken up several times... But his mind is confused, he keeps talking nonsense, and he can't recognize people. He has a high fever again and again, and he is unconscious far more often than he is awake. Your aunt and I have exhausted all our life's knowledge, but we can only barely keep his vitality alive and delay the spread of the poison to his heart veins... But the antidote..."
Her voice lowered a few notes, and the unspoken meaning in her voice was like a huge rock, weighing heavily on everyone's heart.
Yan Shixu's heart tightened, and he said in a deep voice: "Take me to see him first!"
Wen Zhiyan and Nangong Ziyun hurriedly led the way for him, and the group hurried straight to the government office in the city.
This place was also temporarily designated as an important military base and treatment center. The air was filled with a strong smell of medicine, blood, and the pungent smell of disinfectant lime, which was so oppressive that it made people breathless.
The groans of the wounded, the whispers of the doctors, and the hurried footsteps blended into one.
The group entered a heavily guarded inner room where the smell of medicine was so strong that it made it difficult to breathe.
Yan Shixu saw Luo Yunzhen lying on the couch at a glance.
The young general who was once tall, handsome and full of vigor was now emaciated and lying there like a skeleton covered with skin.
His face was as pale as gold paper, lifeless, and his lips were a strange purple.
His eyes were tightly closed and his brows were furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".
Even in a deep coma, his body would twitch violently from time to time, and vague and painful mumblings would come from his throat.
On the arms and neck exposed under the thin blanket, one could faintly see a few blue-black veins under the skin, slowly wriggling like living things, winding upwards and pointing ferociously towards the heart.
Every time Luo Yunzhen twitched, the blue-black color seemed to erode forward a little.
Yan Shixu's heart sank to the bottom, and a bone-chilling chill instantly spread throughout his limbs.
He quickly walked to the side of the couch, leaned over, and spoke in a low, tense voice, filled with suppressed anger: "What kind of poison was it?!"
Nangong Mu, who was standing at the foot of the bed and had just finished giving acupuncture to Luo Yunzhen, bowed and replied.
"Your Majesty, General Luo has been struck by the most sinister 'Heart-Eroding and Bone-Rotting Miasma', a secret of the Nanzhao royal family."
Just by looking at the name and the tragic scene before our eyes, we can imagine how dangerous and vicious it is.
"This poison is based on the 'Rotten Heart Vine,' which grows deep within the Nanzhao Poisonous Miasma Mountain, where the miasma is most concentrated. The sap of this vine causes ulcers on contact with the skin, and ingestion kills instantly. It's supplemented with seven extremely sinister and venomous insects, such as the eggs of the 'Marrow-Eating Ant' and the 'Corpse Leech,' and the live larvae of a 'Tarsal Maggot.' These are prepared by someone proficient in voodoo using secret methods at an extremely yin hour. The poison doesn't kill instantly, but rather corrodes the bones and rots the heart, destroying life. Even more terrifying is..."
Nangong Ziyun saw that her aunt had difficulty speaking, and added in a low voice:
"We initially thought it was just a plague mixed with poison from the weapons. But General Luo's pulse was sometimes weak, sometimes strong, and sometimes weak. Several cold, evil energies were swirling through his body, accompanied by signs of imperceptible foreign bodies. Especially around midnight, the pus and blood flowing from his wounds were bluish-black. Upon closer inspection, tiny living things were wriggling within the pus and blood... Only then did we confirm it was 'Heart-Eroding, Bone-Rotting Miasma.' Those bluish-black veins were signs of Gu worms nibbling through his blood! They were constantly devouring his flesh, blood, and essence, drilling towards his heart. If the Gu worms attacked his heart, then... even a Daluo Jinxian couldn't save him."
She pointed at the clear, wriggling blue-black lines on Luo Yunzhen's arm.
"My aunt and I used the golden needle method to seal the thirteen major acupoints around his heart. We then administered the 'Nine-Turn Heart Protecting Pill' and several powerful detoxifying powders, both internally and externally, to suppress the spread of the poison. We also applied a thousand-year-old cold jade plaster to his heart, freezing the parasite's passage and delaying its approach to his heart. Only then...were we able to barely keep his vital energy afloat. But this was just a temporary solution; it couldn't eradicate the poison! The toxins and parasites were constantly draining his vitality, leading to his persistent fever and confusion. Without an antidote...he..."
Nangong Ziyun's throat choked and he uttered with difficulty, "I can't last more than half a month."
Half a month.
Yan Shixu's pupils suddenly constricted, and a chill spread throughout his body.
"Where's the antidote?"
"Your Majesty." Nangong Ziyun's voice sounded heavier than before.
The antidote to the 'Heart-Eroding, Bone-Rotting Miasma' is only possessed by the poisoner himself or a core member of the Nanzhao royal court. Its creation requires several unique medicinal herbs that grow only in the Nanzhao Poison Miasma Mountains, and may even require the poisoner's essence and blood or some form of innate essence as a guide.
"Fortunately, I received a copy of a fragment of an ancient prescription that the Imperial Concubine had sent day and night. It states that if three things are combined before the poison enters the heart, there might be a glimmer of hope."
She spoke faster, "One is the 'Red Yang Blood Ganoderma' that grows in volcanic lava zones. It's extremely yang and intense, and can incinerate some of the cold toxins, suppressing the Gu worm's activity and temporarily putting it dormant."
"The second is the eggs laid by a poisonous creature called the 'Green Phosphorus Toad' in the Poisonous Miasma Mountain of Nanzhao. The shell of these eggs is hard, and when ground into powder, the aura of these eggs has a fatal attraction to Gu insects, trapping them in one place and buying precious time to remove the poison."
"The third ingredient... and the most important and difficult one... requires a drop of 'heart blood' from the person who cast the Gu, or a close relative of the same bloodline! This blood, used as a guide and blended into the medicine, will completely draw out and kill the Gu worm that's connected to the person's life."
"But... we have only found one Red Sun Blood Ganoderma Lucidum so far."
Yan Shixu knew that Wen Li'er had previously copied ancient medical texts and sent them to Zhennan Pass. He never imagined that this small act would become his only hope at this moment.
But the last two are both extremely difficult.
The Green Phosphorus Toad's eggs are hidden in a dangerous place in the enemy's territory, which is extremely dangerous;
And that "essence of the heart and blood"... is to capture the Nanzhao Ghost King Nong Zhigao alive, or capture his closest relatives and royal family members, and dig out their hearts to take their blood.
Yan Shixu frowned. Time was running out and he had to act immediately.
"Zhang Sicheng!"
"I'm here!" Zhang Sicheng, who had been standing by the side, immediately stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and stood with his back straight as a javelin, waiting for the emperor's order.
"Based on my understanding of Su Muyang, if we fail to capture Nong Zhigao, he will take the risk and sneak into Nanzhao territory, waiting for an opportunity to strike."
"Immediately select the most elite members of the Dark Guards, experts in stealth, espionage, poisoning, and detoxification, to form a dedicated team. Then mobilize all our spies in Nanzhao and, at all costs, track down Su Muyang as quickly as possible. Once you've found him, split into two groups. One will follow Su Muyang, while the other, led by you, will infiltrate the depths of the Poisonous Miasma Mountain to search for the 'Green Phosphorus Toad' eggs. At the same time..."
"Use all means to capture alive any core member of the Nanzhao royal family! If you cannot capture them alive, at least take their heart essence and blood and bring them back. Leave me another hundred elite soldiers. Tomorrow at dawn, follow me into the poisonous miasma forest to search for Nong Zhigao."
"Your Majesty, no!" Everyone wanted to persuade him, but Yan Shixu had already blocked all their words.
"My mind is made up."
"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Zhang Sicheng could only obey the order, stood up and rushed out of the room like the wind.
Yan Shixu leaned over again, looked at his friend's face twisted in pain, listened to his weak breathing, slowly stretched out his hand, and covered his frighteningly hot forehead.
"Yun Zhen, hold on. In Jingzhou, Youzhou, and... in the capital, there are people eager for your return. Stay alive. This is... an imperial decree!"
Luo Yunzhen, who was in a coma, seemed to sense something, and his violent convulsions miraculously eased a little, and his tightly furrowed brows seemed to relax for a moment, but were then overwhelmed by deeper pain.
The dark blue poisonous mark was still like a cancer attached to the bone, slowly wriggling under the pale skin.
Every weak beat indicates the ruthless passage of time and the approaching scythe of death.
Just when the atmosphere became depressing to the extreme, Yan Shixu suddenly remembered something.
He quickly took out the bright yellow brocade bag from his arms and untied the ribbon.
He first took out three amulets and handed one each to Wen Zhiyan, Nangong Ziyun and Nangong Mu.
"Ping'anfu was what Li'er sought from the abbot of Huguo Temple, Master Xuwu. The master was well versed in Zen and seemed to have foreseen something, even gifting him some medicinal herbs. Take a look at these herbs... is they related to the antidote to Yunzhen's poison?"
He handed the bag of medicinal herbs wrapped in clean gauze to Nangong Mu.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the brocade bag in Nangong Mu's hand.
Master Xuwu, the abbot of Huguo Temple, who was said to have never met any pilgrims in private, made an exception to meet with Wen Lier and gave her this package of medicinal herbs.
This in itself is extraordinary.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
