The Miracle Doctor Escapes at Night
Chapter Quote: Just after the alliance is established, a storm arises, and the miracle doctor knocks on the door at night. The secret of the palace is shocking, and the secret maze is set up to help escape danger.
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After forming an alliance with Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong in the pine forest, Yan Qing felt a sense of peace. However, the constant threat of the Imperial City patrolmen still hung like a sword hanging over his head. He returned to his residence, unlit. Using the dim light from the window, he carefully checked the doors and windows. After confirming there were no signs of intrusion, he lay down in his clothes, his mind mulling over a strategy.
The Imperial City Administration's target clearly wasn't just him. Why was An Daoquan, this skilled yet seemingly helpless doctor, also receiving such close attention from the Imperial City Administration? Could it be, as Lu Zhishen suspected, that this was connected to a palace secret?
Just as he was lost in thought, there was a very light, yet rapid and flustered knocking sound outside the window. It was not the agreed signal.
Yan Qing was instantly alert, slid silently to the window, and lowered his voice: "Who?"
"Yan... Chief Yan... It's... It's me... An Daoquan..." A trembling and suppressed voice came from outside the window, full of fear, "Save... Save me..."
An Daoquan? Why was he here so late at night? And so panicked?
Yan Qing was startled and opened the window without hesitation. He saw An Daoquan in a state of disarray, his hair disheveled, his usually impeccable clothes stained with dirt and grass. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with despair and fear. He no longer had the composure of a miracle doctor.
"Mr. An? Come in!" Yan Qing reached out and pulled him into the house. He quickly closed the window and looked at him in the moonlight without lighting a light. "What happened? Why are you here?"
An Daoquan collapsed on the ground, shaking like a sieve. He grabbed Yan Qing's sleeve as if it were a lifeline, crying incoherently, "Chief Yan... they... they want to kill me to silence me! The Imperial City Division... they're from the Imperial City Division! I... I can't survive..."
"Speak slowly and clearly!" Yan Qing pressed his shoulders and passed a gentle internal force to him to help him calm down. "Why did the Imperial City Bureau want to kill you? How did you find out?"
An Daoquan felt the warmth and calmed down a little, but his voice was still tearful: "They... they found a jade pendant that I hid in the interlayer of the medicine box!" He took out something from his arms tremblingly and stuffed it into Yan Qing's hand.
It was a mutton-fat white jade pendant, soft to the touch and exquisitely carved. It depicted a phoenix, wings spread, ready to take flight. Its eyes were dotted with scarlet, like tears of blood. In the moonlight, the jade pendant shone with a shimmering sheen, exuding both the extraordinary and the uncanny.
"This is..." Yan Qing frowned. This jade pendant with phoenix pattern was definitely not an ordinary item, and it was definitely not something that someone of An Daoquan's status could possess.
"This... this was given to me privately when I was treating a noble lady in the palace for a stubborn illness..." An Daoquan's voice was so low it was almost inaudible, filled with regret and fear. "That noble lady... was of extremely noble status... She was suffering from a strange illness at the time, and I... Although I tried my best to treat her, I also sensed some... some hidden secrets. She said she gave me this jade pendant privately as a token of gratitude for saving her life, and told me never to show it to anyone... But now, the Imperial City Administration has somehow discovered this and is using it as an excuse to accuse me of having an affair with a concubine and stealing from the palace. They want... to bring me to justice and execute me on the spot!"
Having an affair with a concubine! Stealing palace property! Any one of these offenses would be a grave crime worthy of confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan! Yan Qing's heart was heavy, and he finally understood why An Daoquan was so terrified. This was no simple frame-up; the jade pendant must hold secrets hidden within the palace! Who was that "noble lady"? What illness had she suffered from? Why would she secretly reward a common doctor so handsomely? And why would this jade pendant attract the Imperial City Bureau's pursuit?
"How do you know for sure that it was the Imperial City Division who wanted to kill you? But they came after you?" Yan Qing asked.
"They haven't come to me directly yet..." An Daoquan panted, "But... but I went to the rear camp tonight to treat several brothers who caught a cold. On the way back, I vaguely felt that someone was following me! I was scared and took a detour back to my residence, but I found that the door had been slightly pried open! I... I didn't dare to go in. I hid in the dark and observed. Sure enough, I saw two dark shadows sneaking into my room to search! They were swift and searched very carefully. They were definitely not ordinary thieves! I... I recognized the pattern of the badge vaguely revealed on one of them. That... that is the logo of the Imperial City Patrol! They must be here to find this jade pendant! They will never give up if they can't find it! I have nowhere to go, I can only... I can only come to ask Chief Yan for help!" As he spoke, he was about to kneel down again.
Yan Qing held him in his arms, his mind racing. The Imperial City Division's men had already begun searching An Daoquan's residence, indicating they had solid clues. Time was running out for An Daoquan. If he stayed in Liangshan, he would surely die!
"Mr. An, you can't stay in Liangshan any longer!" Yan Qing made a quick decision, "You must leave immediately!"
"Leave? But...but the world is so big, and the Imperial City has so many eyes and ears. Where can I...where can I escape to?" An Daoquan was completely dejected.
"Go to Daming Prefecture!" Yan Qing said in a deep voice, "Go find Mr. Lu Junyi! You go with my token and report what happened today. Mr. Lu will definitely try to protect you! He is now very famous in Hebei. Even the Imperial City Division has to be wary of him!" This is the only way to save An Daoquan's life at present.
"But...how can we get out of Liangshan? There are guards at every checkpoint..." An Daoquan said in despair.
Yan Qing's eyes flickered as a plan quickly formed in his mind. He walked to the table and, in the dim light, quickly wrote a short letter, slipping it into a small bamboo tube. He then pulled out a personal seal representing his identity and, along with the hot phoenix jade pendant, stuffed it back into An Daoquan's hands. "Keep the token and the jade pendant! Remember, you can only show them to Mr. Lu! As for how to leave..."
He pondered for a moment, a flicker of determination in his eyes. "Go to the back mountains immediately to find Master Lu Zhishen! He's a chivalrous man with a deep hatred for evil, and he already knows about the Imperial City Administration. Tell him the truth, and he'll definitely help you! There's a secret path near his temple that leads to the water. I know he secretly keeps a small boat, which he uses to sneak down the mountain for a drink. Have him arrange for you to leave by water!"
This was a risky move, dragging Lu Zhishen into the conflict. But the situation was urgent, and there was no time for that. Furthermore, this was also a test of Lu Zhishen's sincerity in forming an alliance.
An Daoquan nodded repeatedly as if he had grabbed the last straw.
"There's no time to lose, let's go!" Yan Qing pushed him to the window. "Remember, no matter what happens, saving your life is the most important thing! Once he sees Mr. Lu, he'll understand what to do!"
An Daoquan looked at Yan Qing with tears in his eyes, said no more, swiftly climbed out of the window, blended into the night, and sneaked towards Lu Zhishen's Zen temple.
Yan Qing closed the window and leaned against the wall, letting out a long sigh. His back was already drenched in sweat. Helping An Daoquan escape would undoubtedly be a direct confrontation with the Imperial City Division, a huge risk. But he couldn't bear to watch this life-saving doctor being silenced. Moreover, the palace secrets An Daoquan was implicated in might become a crucial bargaining chip or clue in the future.
He must immediately clean up all traces of An Daoquan's presence and create an illusion.
He quickly ruffled his usual bedding, creating the illusion that he had been sleeping there the entire time. Then, he took out some specially prepared powder and sprinkled it on the windowsill and several key locations throughout the room. This powder would quickly neutralize and dissipate the faint scent left by An Daoquan. Even if the Imperial City Bureau brought their sharp-sniffing mastiffs to investigate, they would have difficulty detecting it.
After doing all this, he changed into dark clothes and, without leaving through the door or window, quietly pried off a loose tile on the roof, emerged like a civet cat, and then replaced it. He crouched in the shadow of the roof, his sharp eyes scanning the area below.
Sure enough, not long after, two dark shadows appeared near his residence like ghosts. After observing cautiously for a moment, one of them stepped forward and unbolted the door with an extremely skillful technique, and the two quickly sneaked into the house.
Yan Qing held his breath and sneered inwardly. The Imperial City Division's henchmen arrived so quickly!
He waited patiently on the rooftop. After about an incense stick of time, the two dark figures quietly retreated from the house again, apparently finding nothing. They whispered a few words outside the door, seeming confused and annoyed, before quickly disappearing into the darkness, presumably to report to their leader or to expand their search.
Yan Qing did not go down immediately. He lurked on the roof for another half an hour. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he slid down silently like a falling leaf and returned to the house.
Will An Daoquan be able to escape successfully? Will Lu Zhishen help him as promised? How will the Imperial City Bureau react next? All of this is unknown.
Tonight, many people were destined to remain sleepless. Yan Qing extinguished the lamp that had just been lit in his heart and merged back into the darkness, waiting for the arrival of dawn and the inevitable, even more turbulent undercurrent that would follow.
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Chapter 47 End
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