Chapter 351 Yun Zhi Acupuncture
Luo Yunzhen lay quietly on the bed, his face as pale as gold paper and his lips a deathly blue-gray color.
Each of his breaths was as weak as a candle in the wind.
There are only a few days left in the three-month deadline.
He no longer had time to wait for her to develop all the antidotes.
Wen Zhiyan stood beside Nangong Ziyun with his hands behind his back, his face as gloomy as water, and terrifying waves surging in his deep eyes.
His fists were clenched tightly in his wide sleeves, and his knuckles turned white from the exertion.
Before the emperor led his army to attack Nanzhao, he personally entrusted Luo Yunzhen to me. Those heavy words are still ringing in my ears.
Was he going to have to watch this young general, the emperor's best friend and pillar of Dayan, breathe his last in front of him?
Just as this suffocating atmosphere of despair was about to drown everyone, Nangong Ziyun and Wen Zhiyan's eyes met unexpectedly in the air, and they saw a person in each other's eyes almost at the same time -
Yunzhi!
At the beginning, Miss Yun had proposed using the lost secret technique of Nanzhao, "Blood-Guided Golden Needle", to cure Luo Yunzhen.
However, because this technique was extremely dangerous and Yun Zhi's identity was in doubt, the emperor did not agree at that time.
But now... Nong Zhigao's biological sister Nong Zhiyun has disappeared without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea, and the way to the antidote has been completely blocked by the poisonous blood.
At the moment, it seems that the only thing left is to ask Yun Zhi to give him acupuncture!
Time is running out and there is no time for hesitation.
Wen Zhiyan took a deep breath and quickly issued an order. He ordered Nong Zhigao to be taken away and thrown into a dark cell. He also ordered someone to invite Miss Yun to come and give Luo Yunzhen acupuncture.
He bears all the risks.
Yun Zhi was invited over soon.
The heavy door curtain was lifted, and the girl's slender figure appeared in everyone's anxious gaze.
She walked steadily, her pretty face still expressionless, as if the heavy atmosphere around her had no effect on her.
However, when her gaze fell on Luo Yunzhen's lifeless face, a hint of understanding flashed across her eyes, which were as calm as a deep pool.
Wen Zhiyan's eyes were fixed on Yun Zhi.
The emperor also knew that he had sent secret guards to closely monitor her every move.
The secret guard reported that there was nothing unusual about the woman's behavior. Apart from studying medical books, she was also taking care of medicinal herbs day after day.
At this moment, he might... only be able to try to take a gamble, to gamble on her chance of survival.
"How sure are you?" Wen Zhiyan's eyes were as sharp as torches, scrutinizing every subtle reaction of Yun Zhi.
Yun Zhi bent her knees and performed a standard salute, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Your Excellency, I dare not speak rashly. The 'Blood-Inducing Golden Needle' technique is profound and intricate. It demands a great deal of concentration and energy from the practitioner, and it also requires an extremely high level of physical fitness from the victim. General Luo is deeply poisoned, his life span nearly severed... his meridians withered, his Qi and blood depleted... I have exerted all my strength, and at most... a 30% chance of drawing out the accumulated miasma and poison within him, giving him a glimmer of hope."
Thirty percent!
This number was like a heavy hammer, hitting Wen Zhiyan's heart hard, making his heart, which had already sunk to the bottom, fall even further.
However, this slim 30% hope is much better than using that bowl of poisonous blood to prepare an antidote.
Although it is weak, it is enough to make people grab it desperately!
"Thirty percent..." Wen Zhiyan repeated in a low voice.
His eyes moved back and forth between Yun Zhi's calm face and Luo Yunzhen's grayish-brown face.
Time passed in dead silence.
Finally, a gleam of determination flashed in his eyes, and his voice was firm and unquestionable:
"Okay! I allow you to perform acupuncture! If you need anything, just tell me! Zuo Qing!"
Zuo Qing had already been standing aside solemnly. Upon hearing the voice, he immediately stepped forward, clasped his fists, and replied in a deep voice, "Your humble servant is here!"
(Regarding Zuo Qing's self-proclaimed "Humble Official," there's a reasonable explanation: As a fifth-rank Zhongshu Sheren (Secretary of the Central Secretariat), his official position wasn't as high as Zuo Qing's. However, he was also the consort of Princess Fu'an, a position of exceptional nobility. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with Zuo Qing calling himself "Humble Official" to show respect.)
Wen Zhiyan's eyes were as sharp as lightning as he stared at Zuo Qing.
"You are to personally lead your most elite guards to guard this place at all times. No one is allowed to approach, let alone interfere with Miss Yun's spell. Anyone who disobeys this order will be punished by military law!"
"Yes, sir!" Zuo Qing's voice was loud. He immediately turned around and started to make arrangements in a low and quick voice.
Yun Zhi, who got the permission, remained calm, as if the pressure brought by the 30% certainty was nothing special to her.
She walked to Luo Yunzhen's bed, first leaned over to carefully examine his complexion and tongue coating, then concentrated on taking his pulse, feeling the pulsation that was so weak that it was almost disappearing with her fingertips.
After a moment, she stood up and said to Nangong Ziyun:
"Please prepare: a set of nine gold needles; a set of three-inch-long silver needles; a jar of strong liquor, some moxa; and... three centimeters of ground thousand-year-old snow lotus seeds, one centimeter of dried powder from the venom sac of the green phosphorus toad. Mix the two and set aside."
What she needed was not the complete medicine, but its essence to assist in stimulating her vitality.
Nangong Ziyun did not hesitate and immediately went to prepare it himself.
The tent was quickly arranged into an absolutely quiet environment for performing the spell. All irrelevant people left, leaving only Wen Zhiyan, Zuo Qing, Nangong Ziyun, and ten trusted guards personally selected by Zuo Qing.
The atmosphere was as heavy as the silence before a storm; even the air seemed to have stopped flowing.
Yun Zhi washed her hands carefully and wiped each gold and silver needle repeatedly with strong liquor, her movements meticulous.
She stood by the bed and took a deep breath, as if to clear away all distracting thoughts.
When she opened her eyes again, her calm eyes became like an ancient well, deep and focused, as if the whole world only had her and the patient in front of her.
She picked up the first golden needle, which was as thin as an ox hair, and her fingertips were steady without any trembling.
As everyone watched with bated breath, she moved as fast as lightning and pierced the Baihui acupoint on Luo Yunzhen's head with incredible precision.
Then, the second needle, the third needle... along the Ren and Du meridians, the acupoints were accurately identified, the technique was swift and smooth, with an indescribable rhythm.
Gold needles are used to stimulate, while silver needles are used to dredge.
I saw her hands flying, the golden needles trembling, the silver needles draining the fluid, twisting, lifting, flicking, and shaking. Her techniques were so complicated and exquisite that even Nangong Ziyun was secretly shocked.
This is definitely not an acupuncture technique that an ordinary country doctor can master.
As the acupuncture went deeper, Luo Yunzhen's originally lifeless face miraculously showed a very faint trace of blood color.
His frown seemed to relax a little.
Nangong Ziyun immediately took his pulse, surprise flashing in her eyes.
"The pulse... there's a slight improvement! Although it's weak, it's definitely being stimulated."
However, at this critical moment, Yun Zhi's face turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
Using this technique is extremely exhausting for her.
The last needle needs to be inserted into the heart's Tanzhong point. This is the most critical and dangerous step. One needs to use one's own concentration to protect the needle tip, forcibly guide and block the miasma core entrenched deep in the heart meridian.
Yun Zhi took the small amount of powder mixed with snow lotus powder and toad venom powder and placed it on the end of the needle.
She took another deep breath and her eyes became extremely serious.
Just as she was about to deliver the life-or-death shot—
"Puff!" Luo Yunzhen, who had been unconscious, suddenly trembled and spurted out a small stream of thick, black, smelly blood from his mouth.
The dirty blood fell to the ground, making a sizzling sound and corroding the ground.
The miasma in his body sensed a huge threat and began a final, frantic counterattack.
Yun Zhi's eyes became fierce, and instead of retreating, she took advantage of the moment when the poison gas in Luo Yunzhen's body surged, lowered her wrist, poured all her mind into it, and inserted the needle in her hand into his Tanzhong acupoint with incredible precision!
"Ugh..." Luo Yunzhen let out a very painful groan, his body twitched violently, and then completely collapsed, without any movement.
Around the Tanzhong point on his chest, with the golden needle as the center, a spider-web-like blue-black pattern quickly spread out.
The lines seemed to be pulsating slightly like living things, emitting a heart-pounding cold aura.
Yun Zhi stumbled, her face pale as paper, and she could barely stand. Nangong Ziyun quickly supported her.
"How is it?" Wen Zhiyan took a step forward, his voice tense even though he himself was not aware of it.
Yun Zhi panted, and after checking Luo Yunzhen's pulse, which was weak but slightly steadier than before, she spoke with difficulty, her voice hoarse from exhaustion:
"The poisonous blood has been drawn out. If he can wake up within three days, his life will be safe..."
Before she could finish her words, her vision went dark and she fell limply into Nangong Ziyun's arms, as if she had fainted from exhaustion.
…
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