Chapter 608 A word to the wise!
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Fortunately, Liu Tan, worthy of being a general who had fought on the battlefield since his youth, instinctively gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and beads of cold sweat instantly appearing on his forehead.
"General!"
Zhao Da and Ma San, who were standing by, were both shocked to see this and hurriedly stepped forward to help.
"Get out of my way!"
Liu Tan forced out those two words through gritted teeth, enduring the excruciating pain that felt like it was tearing his soul apart.
He cannot lose his composure in front of his troops!
Liu Tan forced himself to steady himself, but his face had turned ashen.
The excruciating pain lasted for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before slowly receding like the tide, leaving Liu Tan with only lingering pain and an indescribable sense of weakness.
Liu Tan, forcing himself to stay upright, dismounted from his horse. As soon as he landed, Zhao Da and Ma San helped him back to his room in the garrison.
This time, Liu Tan knew he couldn't ignore the headache any longer.
Back inside, he immediately summoned the garrison's medic.
The military doctor was called over and carefully examined Liu Tan's pulse, complexion, and tongue coating, and inquired about his symptoms.
"His Highness's pulse is slightly floating, suggesting excessive heart fire and liver yang rising... This may be due to recent overwork and sun exposure..."
The military doctor carefully considered the words. He found no signs of poisoning. Although Liu Tan's pulse was somewhat disordered, it was indeed consistent with the symptoms of overwork.
How could the military doctor have imagined that such a bizarre and insidious secret medicine as "Bone-Corroding and Soul-Destroying Powder" existed in the world?
"Prescribe the medicine!"
Liu Tan waved impatiently at the military doctor. Although his headache had subsided, the terrifying sensation still left him with lingering fear.
The military doctor quickly prescribed several doses of herbal decoction to clear heat, reduce inflammation, calm the nerves, and relieve pain.
Liu Tan took the medicine for several days, and it seemed to have some effect; his headache did not recur.
He felt somewhat relieved and devoted his energy back to his ambition to dominate the country. However, a shadow of unease had already been planted deep within his heart.
But Liu Tan was unaware that the poison of the "Bone-Corroding and Soul-Destroying Powder" had already taken root in his body and was now silently accumulating and spreading, waiting for the next, more violent outburst.
But this third attack of the headache came on faster, more fiercely, and more severely!
This happened when Liu Tan was discussing his ambition to seize power with his advisors and the generals who followed him.
Just as Liu Tan was about to ask a question because of something his advisor had said, that familiar, yet infinitely more intense, pain struck again!
This time, it wasn't an iron shovel, but rather as if countless red-hot longswords were frantically hacking at the inside of his skull!
It was as if someone had shoved his entire head into a red-hot furnace and roasted it!
"ah!"
Liu Tan let out a bloodcurdling scream, disregarding his image. He could no longer maintain any dignity or composure as the General of Andong and the Prince of Zhenbei.
He covered his head with his hands, rolled off the chair, and fell heavily to the ground!
He rolled and convulsed on the ground in agony, banging his head violently against the cold ground, as if trying to alleviate the inhuman pain.
His forehead was instantly ruptured, and blood flowed freely, but he was completely unaware of it.
His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, his face was contorted in extreme pain, and saliva was drooling uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.
"General! General!"
Everyone in the room, whether generals or staff, was stunned for a moment.
After a breath or two, they hurriedly surrounded them in a panic.
Zhao Da stepped forward to try to restrain Liu Tan, but he couldn't hold down the middle-aged general who was in a frenzy of pain.
"A doctor! Quickly, summon a doctor!"
Ma San shouted hoarsely at Liu Tan's personal guards outside.
The room instantly descended into chaos.
The military doctor was dragged over, and when he saw Liu Tan's appearance, he was so frightened that he was scared out of his wits!
The army doctor's hands trembled so much that he couldn't even take a proper pulse diagnosis. The herbal medicines he had prescribed earlier seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
One of Liu Tan's trusted lieutenants stepped forward and kicked the army doctor aside. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Quick! Go and arrest all the best doctors in the city! Go now!"
The renowned doctors of the entire prefecture were "invited" to the garrison in Sanshan County by the Xuanjia Army in various ways.
After examining Liu Tan's pulse, each of the doctors looked at each other, shook their heads, and sighed.
Liu Tan's pulse was very strange, sometimes rapid and sometimes slow, sometimes deep and sometimes floating, as if a variety of symptoms were mixed together, but the root cause could not be found.
Some doctors said Liu Tan was suffering from "headache," while others said it was "hysteria," and some even vaguely mentioned—"Did he offend something...?"
The prescriptions given by these doctors were incredibly varied, and in the end, they forced Liu Tan to drink a lot of medicine, but it was like throwing stones into the sea, unable to alleviate Liu Tan's pain, which was like being subjected to the eighteen kinds of torture in the underworld.
The excruciating pain lasted for nearly two hours before gradually subsiding.
Liu Tan was as if he had been pulled out of the water, his body soaked in cold sweat and blood, which he had caused by hitting the ground because he couldn't bear the pain.
At this moment, he lay sprawled on the ground, barely able to breathe, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had been snatched away by the Black and White Impermanence.
This time, everyone realized that Liu Tan's headache was definitely not a simple one!
Some shrewd people, like Zhou Yiran, already had some guesses in their minds.
Zhou Yiran lowered his head, thinking to himself—Liu Tan, he's probably... in deep trouble!
Liu Tan's physical discomfort seemed to have jeopardized his life!
Panic spread like a plague throughout the garrison and even the entire sphere of influence of the Prince of Zhenbei.
Just then, an elderly aide stepped forward and said tremblingly, "Your Highness's illness...in my humble opinion, does it bear some resemblance to...to the old prince's condition back then?"
A single word awakened me from my dream!
Many elderly people in the palace still remember the horrific suffering endured by the old Prince of Zhenbei after being poisoned in his later years.
At that time, the old Prince of Zhenbei suddenly experienced severe chest pain at the Deer Cry Banquet. Upon returning to his palace, he vomited blood, and the pain and discomfort gradually worsened until he became emaciated and looked quite miserable.
"Quickly! Go find Doctor Wang! He treated the old prince back then!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Da immediately gave the order.
The guards hurried on horseback towards Dr. Wang's hometown.
Traveling day and night, after three days, they finally found Dr. Wang, whose hair and beard were already white, teaching the villagers to identify medicinal herbs in a remote village.
Before Dr. Wang could even ask a question, he was told that he had to go with these Xuanjia soldiers.
Two days later, Dr. Wang was urgently taken to the garrison in Sanshan County.
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