Chapter 350: Nong Zhigao's Heart Essence and Blood Cannot Be Used as Medicine
A few days later, Zuo Qing, who had set out from the capital, was exhausted and finally arrived at Zhennan Pass with Nong Zhigao, who looked embarrassed but still had a sinister look in his eyes.
The heavy black iron shackles rubbed his ankles until they were bloody and left dark red marks with every step he took.
The Ghost King, who once terrified the southern border, was now emaciated, ragged, and emitting the stench of rotting flesh and sweat.
The dirty cloth wrapped around the shoulder-level wound had long been soaked with black and green pus and blood, emitting a disgusting smell.
However, Nong Zhigao, who was imprisoned, had an almost insane sneer on his face, and deep hatred was surging in his turbid eyes. He stared at Wen Zhiyan and Nangong Ziyun who came to meet him after hearing the news.
It was as if he was not a prisoner, but a spectator about to enjoy a wonderful show.
"Do you want the antidote...hahahaha..."
Nong Zhigao suddenly burst into a hoarse, raspy laugh, the sound like sandpaper rubbing against bones.
"Your General Luo... should have rotted into a pile of rotten meat long ago! You... forget about saving him! Just wait to collect his body! Watch him rot away bit by bit! Turn into pus! Hahahaha!"
Wen Zhiyan's face was as gloomy as water. He ignored Nong Zhigao's crazy behavior. His eyes were as sharp as a knife. He waved his hand decisively: "Shut his mouth! I want blood!"
He walked forward steadily, ignoring the resentment that was about to burst out of Nong Zhigao's eyes and the crazy struggle caused by anger and despair.
Several strong soldiers immediately clamped him down like an iron clamp, making him unable to move.
Wen Zhiyan turned his wrist, and a special silver knife as thin as a willow leaf with a cold and icy blade was in his hand.
His eyes were focused, and the tip of the knife pierced the specific position one inch above Nong Zhigao's heart with incredible precision.
“Ugh—!”
Nong Zhigao's body suddenly jerked violently, his eyeballs bulged out instantly, and the severe pain made him let out a beast-like howling sound in his throat, and veins on his forehead knotted.
Wen Zhiyan's wrist was as steady as a rock, and the tip of the knife twisted and moved very slightly.
One drop, two drops... the essence of the heart, which was as thick as gelatin, dark red almost black in color, and exuded a strange mixture of fishy, sweet and corrupted smell, was carefully drawn out and slowly dripped into the pure white jade bowl that had been prepared long ago.
When the blood dripped, there seemed to be a slight "sizzling" sound, as if it was corrosive.
When the bowl was just about filled with the strange blood, Wen Zhiyan retracted his wrist and pulled out the silver knife like lightning.
Nong Zhigao collapsed to the ground as if all his bones and muscles had been completely pulled out, leaving only heavy breathing and an uncontrollable growl filled with endless resentment from deep in his throat.
His eyes were unfocused, but he was still staring at the jade bowl in Wen Zhiyan's hand.
At this point, the three medicinal ingredients - the Red Sun Blood Ganoderma Lucidum, the Green Phosphorus Toad's eggs, and Nong Zhigao's heart essence and blood - were finally gathered together.
Nangong Mu had already gone with other imperial doctors to other epidemic areas to treat the people, and the responsibility of preparing the antidote for Luo Yunzhen fell entirely on Nangong Ziyun's shoulders.
She didn't dare to delay for even a moment and immediately began to prepare an antidote for the heart-eating and bone-rotting miasma.
The barracks was filled with the aroma of medicine, mixed with the bitter taste of herbs and a faint smell of blood.
She looked extremely focused, her slender fingers steady and swift as she carefully ground, mixed, and extracted the essence of the first two rare herbs, blending them into a turquoise liquid with a warm and lustrous luster in a special medicine bowl.
However, when she took out the bowl of dark red heart blood and prepared to mix it into the medicine as the final ingredient, something strange happened.
"No!" Nangong Ziyun's face suddenly changed drastically.
She suddenly picked up the bowl of blood, put it close to her nose and sniffed it very carefully. The pungent smell of corruption and a mixture of various toxins hidden under the fishy and sweet taste made her alarm bells ring.
She quickly took out a three-inch-long silver needle for testing poison and inserted it into the bowl of blood while holding her breath.
The needle tip, which was supposed to be pure silver-white, was instantly stained with a layer of strange blue as soon as it came into contact with blood.
And it was accompanied by a subtle but scalp-tingling "sizzling" sound, as if it was being corroded by some strong acid.
She gasped, quickly fetched a small cup of water, and dropped a drop of dark blood into it.
The clear water suddenly rolled and boiled violently, emitting large amounts of pungent purple smoke.
Nangong Ziyun's fingers holding the jade bowl turned slightly white, and his eyes were filled with horror and solemnity.
Her and her aunt's deepest worries finally came true.
Two months ago, the emperor ordered people to bring back Nong Zhigao's arm that was severed in the poisonous forest and hand it over to them for research.
At that time, they were shocked to discover that Nong Zhigao's blood contained several highly toxic substances.
They spent more than two months developing an antidote to these toxins, just in case.
But their judgment at the time was that Nong Zhigao's blood should be relatively "clean".
The heart is the most fragile core of the human body. If it is corroded by poison, even an indestructible body will find it difficult to withstand it.
Therefore, they deduced that even if Nong Zhigao fed himself to the poison, he would definitely take special heart-protecting pills regularly, supplemented by secret acupuncture methods such as acupuncture and acupuncture, so as to suppress the poison in his body outside his heart.
But the bowl of heart blood in front of him was not only not clear, but contained no less than ten kinds of domineering and strange poisons.
The toxicity and variety of the poison were so strong that they even far surpassed the venom extracted from the broken arm.
Nangong Ziyun turned his head suddenly, his eyes shooting towards Nong Zhigao, who was still tied up and dying.
A terrible thought exploded in her mind.
When Wen Zhiyan saw her expression change drastically, his heart sank suddenly and he was gripped by a strong sense of foreboding.
"Zi'er, but what's the problem with this bowl of blood?" His voice was low, with a hint of imperceptible tension.
Nangong Ziyun quickly walked to Nong Zhigao, squatted down, and regardless of the filth and stench on his body, placed two fingers precisely on his skinny wrist.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand, her eyes showing an unprecedented solemnity.
She looked up at Wen Zhiyan, her voice a little unsteady, each word like an icicle:
"My husband, he... is determined to die. Before being escorted here, he must have secretly consumed dozens of poisons that specifically attack the heart meridians. He intends to use his own life to drag General Luo down with him."
Now, if this blood were used as medicine, the heart-eating and bone-rotting miasma in Luo Yunzhen's body might be completely eliminated, but his fragile body would immediately be madly corroded by dozens of other domineering poisons.
Luo Yunzhen's body was already on the verge of exhaustion.
If it weren't for the "Golden Cicada Shell of Ten Thousand Valleys" gifted by Master Xuwu, which kept him alive for three months, he would have already...
How could he, with his broken body now, withstand this fatal blow of poison upon poison?
Inside the barracks, deathly silence instantly enveloped everyone.
Even the air seemed to freeze, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
Only Nong Zhigao's intermittent and weak breathing, like a broken bellows, was heard.
It was intertwined with the equally faint and almost inaudible breathing sounds coming from Luo Yunzhen's bed.
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