Chapter 18, Eighteenth Medicine
After the sword, accompanied by a scream, pierced the young master's collarbone, Lu Huantang finally spoke up: "What does the governor mean by this? We already fought back then, and I, the special envoy, was present. There is no need to fight again."
Hearing what he wanted to hear, Huo Zhuo stopped, gritted his teeth and raised his sword again amidst his son's cries, saying, "Your subordinate is willing to bear the pain of parting with what he loves, swear to sever all ties with the past, and serve Your Highness once more."
The concubine named Ya Fei crawled to Lu Huantang's legs, pressing her entire soft upper body against his legs, revealing a cleavage that would make any man fall for her. Yet, her face was innocent and naive, with tears streaming down her face as she softly said, "My lord, please save the young master. He is the only son of the Huo family."
Chi Ti remained silent, kneeling quietly before the eldest son like a white lotus, almost drooping, evoking boundless pity.
The two women were extremely attractive; if it were any other man, he would have already succumbed to temptation and accepted the bribe that had been planned in advance.
Unfortunately, they ran into Lu Huantang today.
Lu Huantang helped Ya Fei, who was kneeling on the ground, up, wiped away the tears she had managed to squeeze out, and said to Huo Zhuo, "It would be a pity to kill him. Why don't you send the evidence of the young master's reformation to this special envoy? It will also show the governor's determination to break with bad habits and satisfy the prince's appreciation for talent."
Huo Zhuo originally intended to use a beautiful woman to entangle the special envoy, as the Regent hated those who accepted bribes in the sale of Baiyao. He hoped to use this to control the envoy, creating a mutually beneficial arrangement. However, the envoy didn't utter a single word about accepting a bribe, leaving Huo Zhuo with absolutely no leverage.
However, Lu Huantang suddenly added, "I was injured a few days ago and need some medicinal herbs that are a hundred years old, such as ginseng and cistanche."
Give each other leverage so you can do things.
Although Huo Zhuo didn't seem to have much talent, Lu Huantang still needed to keep Huo Zhuo calm and not let him discover anything amiss. Once he got the medicine, he would go back immediately.
"I will obey the special envoy's orders." Huo Zhuo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Huantang then said, "The Commandant is very righteous. This special envoy will definitely report back to the Prince."
Having hinted at this point, Lu Huantang was simply waiting to get his hands on the goods.
There was a knock on the door, and Lu Huantang opened it to find Chi Ti standing gracefully outside, holding a treasure box.
Chiti was clearly uneasy, but she tried to maintain a calm demeanor.
Lu Huantang poured her a cup of tea and said, "Is there something you need to tell me?"
Chi Ti nodded and said, "Thank you, my lord. I have no way to repay you." As she spoke, she loosened her belt, and her robe fell to her feet, revealing her graceful body through the light gauze underneath. "I only hope that you will not find it offensive."
With a beautiful woman lying across him, Lu Huantang felt as if he were reading a boring document, perhaps because he was too tired. He gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, picked up the robe and draped it over her shoulders, and said softly, "I thought you came to deliver something, but I'm too busy to do anything right now, so I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
Chi Ti was taken aback. She had always been sent away by others, and had been with all sorts of people, but only this devil-like man wouldn't accept a little devil like her. Chi Ti didn't know whether to retreat or advance, and stood there aggrieved.
Lu Huantang never refuses the kindness of a beautiful woman, but opening up to her heart is too difficult and too slow, and he can't wait this time.
Chi Ti's eyes were filled with disbelief and tears. She gently wiped away her tears. "Last year, my family's land was taken away to grow Zhu Yan. The Commandant claimed to be upholding justice and forcibly took me into his mansion. Ya Fei and the Governor were of one mind. We were all... we were all seducing the Prefect's subordinates and unscrupulous officials."
As she spoke, Chiti suddenly knelt down, crying out, "My lord..." but then fell silent.
The box contained several kinds of herbs. Lu Huantang turned his back to Chi Ti and stuffed them into his pocket, saying perfunctorily, "Just say what you need to say, and this special envoy will take care of it for you."
The sound of hurried footsteps could already be heard downstairs.
He actually fell for Huo Zhuo's trick!
Without a second thought, Lu Huantang climbed out of the inn through the window. No sooner had he left than the prefect's men began searching the inn, claiming someone had abducted an official's wife.
Lu Huantang returned the greeting, sat down in the armchair next to the prefect, and said, "Prefect, could you please tell me more about the matter of the abduction of the official's daughter that you investigated today?"
Seeing that Huo Zhuo was humble and polite, unlike the arrogant and domineering person he had been accused of accepting bribes, lusting after women, and threatening Huo Zhuo with his concubines, Prefect Chen decided to give him a chance. He half-tested and half-warned, "Someone reported that a concubine has gone missing from their household. A concubine is no big deal, but the face of an official cannot be disregarded. What do you think, Special Envoy?"
Lu Huantang couldn't worry about much else for the time being, and hurried back on horseback. Fortunately, there were no checkpoints along the way, and Lu Huantang quickly returned to Guanshan Village.
A few days later, the moon hung on the treetops, its light reflected off the snow.
Inside the room, there was a dim yellow horn lamp, two charcoal stoves, and Huang Banxian was lying on a rocking chair, smoking a water pipe, looking quite content.
Without opening his eyes, he suddenly said to Lu Huantang, who was practicing his internal energy in the inner room, "Everyone outside is looking for you."
Lu Huantang heard footsteps and voices outside, but he didn't care. Only after hearing Huang Banxian's slightly displeased words did he have no choice but to get up and open the door.
The men, women, and children outside the door were bustling and jostling, but when they saw Lu Huantang come out, they were speechless for a moment and stood there dumbfounded.
Lu Huantang spoke first, asking, "What can I do for you?"
A bold young girl presented the roast chicken, saying shyly, "It's for you!"
The others also offered food.
Lu Huantang was somewhat overwhelmed by the overwhelming enthusiasm. He didn't want to accept these favors, knowing the meaning behind them, so he said, "Thank you all for your kindness, but my wife and I have already eaten. Please take them back."
Hearing him say that, all the romantic thoughts in the young man and woman vanished. But the bold girl said, "Hey, it's freezing cold here, the food won't spoil. When your wife wakes up, it'll be nice to heat it up and make her feel better!"
Lu Huantang was moved for a moment. Having been immersed in officialdom and the battlefield for many years, facing intrigue and conflicts of interest every day, he had long forgotten the kindness that had no vested interests.
I was the one who judged others by my own petty standards.
Seeing that he was still hesitating, the old woman beside him thought he was embarrassed and said, "Don't be embarrassed. Although our village is in the suburbs of Beijing, we haven't had any outsiders for a long time. We'll be happy if you accept it!"
Lu Huantang couldn't refuse, so he thanked them one by one and brought the food into the house.
The young men and women outside the door sighed. One of the young men muttered, "Widow Li is talking nonsense. What brother and sister? They're clearly husband and wife. I thought I was going to find a wife!"
A girl grabbed his ear and laughed, scolding, "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? She's so beautiful, why would she be interested in you?"
"It's fine if you like me too."
The crowd left, laughing and joking.
The people of Guanshan Village were warm and welcoming. Those fleeting romantic thoughts were trivial; everyone was worried about the girl inside the house whom they hadn't yet met. After all, those basins of blood that had been spilled from Huang Banxian's house didn't look like minor injuries.
Suddenly, Huang the fortune teller inside asked, "Roast chicken?"
That nose is really sharp!
Since they were staying at someone else's house, Lu Huantang naturally took the opportunity to offer a roast chicken, saying, "We'll probably be bothering you for a while longer, so thank you for your help."
Huang Banxian pointed to the small stool opposite him, gesturing for him to sit down. He then tore off a piece of fragrant spice and said, "What's meant to come will come. It's not trouble, it's fate. Erhua's roast chicken is so good that even immortals can't leave after eating it. Eat up!"
Lu Huantang wasn't particularly interested in food; he ate simply to survive. He also didn't have the habit of eating late-night snacks, so he said, "Xiao Ke has already eaten her fill tonight."
Huang Banxian shook his head, his previous indifferent demeanor completely gone, and said, "You've missed out on a lot of fun." He removed the small bone, stuffed the fragrant mushroom into his mouth, and the oil burst through the crispy outer layer, making Huang Banxian hum with delight.
Master Huang tore off a golden chicken leg: "Want some?"
"No, thank you." Lu Huantang didn't even look at him and continued meditating.
Huang Banxian shook his head regretfully, clicking his tongue and saying, "People like you who don't like to eat are usually not very ambitious and are as dull as wood."
It was just a sentence, but for some reason Lu Huantang felt uneasy. He glanced at Jiang Linzhi, who had said the same thing before. He couldn't remember where she said it, but after that, Lu Huantang would also find some novel foods for Jiang Linzhi.
After half a chicken was eaten, Huang Banxian started talking. Looking at Lu Huantang's unmoved appearance, he said, "You seem quite casual, but I didn't expect you to have such strong composure."
Lu Huantang smiled faintly, "To say something that might upset you, this thing doesn't appeal to me at all, not because I have strong willpower."
Huang Banxian licked his fingers, wrapped the remaining half chicken in oiled paper, placed it on the bamboo basket hanging from the roof beam, sat back down in his rocking chair, and sipped his rice wine contentedly, saying, "That's right, that girl was already attractive enough to you, what are the others?"
The fact that her meridians were all severed had been hovering in Lu Huantang's mind like a dark cloud. No wonder he felt that it had no effect when he tried to transfer his internal energy to her; it was as if all his internal energy was going into a bottomless pit. He couldn't help but ask, "What happened to her meridians?"
"She was cut in half. It seems she used to be very skilled in martial arts. The person who cut her half was very afraid of her. Not content with just one spot, they cut off everything they could." After saying this, Huang Banxian let out a long, drawn-out burp.
"Is it possible to recover?"
Master Huang countered, "If you pick the melon, will it still grow?"
Lu Huantang thought of Jiang Linzhi, of her nonchalant attitude, of the way she whipped the enemy right next to his ear, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
As soon as this emotion surfaced, Lu Huantang mentally slapped himself hard.
This is not the kind of emotion he should have! She manipulates people at will! She kills as easily as hunting for pleasure! There should be no pity for her whatsoever!
Huang Banxian glanced at Lu Huantang, who was deep in thought with his eyes down, and said, "You should be more concerned about when she will wake up. This injury is quite serious." After saying this, he touched his stomach and went into the house to sleep.
Unable to continue meditating, Lu Huantang scalded a handkerchief and carefully wiped Jiang Linzhi's face and hands. Feeling her faint, long breaths, Lu Huantang didn't know what he was thinking. Perhaps fearing that this was the end of his road, he pleaded with utmost sincerity, "Please, wake up."
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