Hai Ru Yue spoke with unease: "In this state..."
Li Wu Hua pointed at the brazier:
"Remove this, it's no longer needed. Open the windows and ventilate the room. Take off his thick clothes as well; he won't need them either."
All subordinates began to carry out his order. Xiao Tian Cheng was stripped of layer after layer of clothing, until only a single gown remained on him. And Xiao Tian Cheng still flailed his arms.
"Will he be alright?" Hai Ru Yue asked.
Li Wu Hua checked Xiao Tian Cheng's pulse again and, after a moment, said that everything should be alright. Now was the peak effect of the medicine; it would get easier later.
Hai Ru Yue was not reassured and asked for Mister Ming to be brought in.
Mister Ming arrived, checked Xiao Tian Cheng, and said almost the same thing as Li Wu Hua. He also instructed them to give Xiao Tian Cheng water.
Only then did Hai Ru Yue calm down.
When Mister Ming left, Hai Ru Yue asked Li Wu Hua again:
"So, do his medicines truly have an effect?"
Li Wu Hua dared not acknowledge it:
"It's too early to say for now. We will see his condition later. You still have state affairs to attend to. You don't need to stay here constantly. Do what you need to do; I will leave disciples here to watch over him."
At midnight, Li Wu Hua came again to check on Xiao Tian Cheng's condition and was surprised, because the cold within Xiao Tian Cheng's body had disappeared. Even his meridians showed signs of recovery.
"Did that Mister Ming not come?" Li Wu Hua asked, releasing Xiao Tian Cheng's hand.
The disciple standing nearby replied, "No."
Li Wu Hua whispered to himself: "Either he trusts his medicine, or he trusts his methods."
As he had expected, on the second day, Xiao Tian Cheng returned to a normal state, and his temperature had normalized. Exhausted from all this time, Xiao Tian Cheng fell asleep.
Before noon, Mister Ming came to check on him, and Hai Ru Yue asked:
"Mister Ming, how is he?"
Mister Ming: "He is tired, let him sleep. When he wakes up, call me. I will give him medicine again."
"Good." Hai Ru Yue nodded.
When he left, Li Wu Hua came again. He checked Xiao Tian Cheng and exited with a serious expression.
Hai Ru Yue asked him: "Elder, what do you think?"
Li Wu Hua stood under the eaves, clasped his hands behind his back, and looking at the sky, said:
"This man... is an extraordinary physician. Throughout the world, many doctors refused to treat Xiao Tian Cheng, yet the skillful hands of this physician restore vitality. Perhaps he is indeed a disciple of the Devil Doctor."
"Really?" Hai Ru Yue's eyes sparkled.
Li Wu Hua nodded slightly...
When night fell, Xiao Tian Cheng, who had slept the entire day, finally woke up. Mister Ming was immediately summoned.
Mister Ming opened his basket again and this time prepared a black mixture, which he gave to Xiao Tian Cheng to drink.
Once again sensing the unpleasant-tasting concoction, Xiao Tian Cheng turned his head away, unwilling to take the medicine.
Hai Ru Yue immediately began to plead:
"Good medicine tastes bitter. Drink!"
To her, hope was far more important. Even if Mister Ming now declared he wanted to experiment on her son, she would still agree to it.
Thus, even though Xiao Tian Cheng did not want to drink the medicine, he was forced to by the magical power of the cultivators.
The next evening, Mister Ming came again, only this time he prepared a red liquid.
Although the concoction seemed unpleasant in appearance, it turned out to be sweet to taste. Therefore, Xiao Tian Cheng willingly drank all the medicine to the last drop.
Seeing that Xiao Tian Cheng had completely finished the medicine, Mister Ming gathered his things and exited:
"I must leave."
"This..." Hai Ru Yue pointed at her son. She wanted to ask: "Will he be alright?"
Mister Ming: "The root of the illness has already been eliminated, so there should be no more problems. However, he has become so weak over these years that even with the root of the illness removed, he still needs half a year of care to restore his body. I have noticed many cultivators around you; they should know how to proceed in such cases."
Hai Ru Yue: "It's already late, why must Mister leave? Perhaps you could stay the night and check again tomorrow?" All the same, she had paid 100,000, which was no small sum. Therefore, she wanted Mister Ming to continue looking after her son.
Mister Ming shook his head:
"I have already lingered here too long. I have other matters to attend to." Having said this, he confidently turned and left.
As he went, he did not look at anyone, not even Li Wu Hua, as if no one else existed. No one stopped him either.
The reason for this was simple. If he was truly a disciple of the Devil Doctor, not only Li Wu Hua, but even Wandong Heavenly Palace itself would not dare to obstruct him.
Who was a disciple of the Devil Doctor? Could they really be so lucky? From the very beginning, Li Wu Hua had not believed him. However, now he involuntarily began to believe. After all, he had personally witnessed the effect on the Cloud Sky Slowed Pulse.
But this Mister Ming had proven his capabilities, and even Li Wu Hua now treated him with respect.
In the end, Hai Ru Yue wanted to personally escort him to the gates, but Mister Ming refused, so as not to draw undue attention to himself.
Hai Ru Yue could only ask Zhu Shun to personally escort Mister Ming.
When Mister Ming disappeared from sight, Hai Ru Yue asked Li Wu Hua anxiously:
"Could he not have deceived us?"
Li Wu Hua shook his head:
"Unlikely. It seems the root of the Cloud Sky Slowed Pulse illness has been eliminated. It hasn't recurred for two or three days now. Could an ordinary person have done this? How many doctors had come to the governor's palace, yet none could cure the young master. But this man eliminated the illness in half an hour. Even if he is lying, he is still no ordinary physician."
Hai Ru Yue: "Father and son suffered from this illness; could it truly be cured like this? Why do I find it so hard to believe?"
Before the treatment, she had doubts, but now, on the contrary, it seemed unreal to her.
Li Wu Hua understood her: "To cure this illness, it is both simple and complex, depending on how you look at it. We are fortunate to have encountered this person. It means your son has good fortune!"
Hai Ru Yue: "Perhaps we should send people to follow him. Who knows, perhaps we will find the legendary Devil Doctor?"
Li Wu Hua looked at her askance and said uneasily:
"Who is the Devil Doctor? You must understand. You want to send people to track down a disciple of the Devil Doctor? Do you think I would dare to do that without the sect's command?"
Outside the city, Zhu Shun had personally led Mister Ming out of the gates. He wanted to escort him further, but Mister Ming refused.
Zhu Shun could only clasp his hands:
"Mister Ming, take care on your journey!"
Mister Ming took a letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhu Shun:
"I forgot to give this. This is a prescription on how to care for the young master. Give it only to the Eldest Princess. Let only she see it. My handwriting must not be shown to anyone else. After the Eldest Princess has read it, she should burn the letter."
"Good! I will certainly do as Mister instructs." Zhu Shun already treated Mister Ming with utmost respect. After all, he had already noticed the young master's flushed, invigorated face. Hope for the young master's recovery had emerged for everyone. And this meant the Xiao family would still stand.
Mister Ming cracked his whip and rode his horse forward. He rode alone down the road under the sunset's rays.
"Truly an astonishing man!" Zhu Shun sighed. He gazed at the departing silhouette. Only when the silhouette had vanished from his sight did he turn and ride back to the city.
Back at the governor's palace, Hai Ru Yue was just feeding her son.
Inside, there was no longer a brazier, and the windows were open. Her son had an appetite, and a rosy flush appeared on his face, which delighted Hai Ru Yue.
Zhu Shun entered, took out the letter, and handed it to her:
"Mistress, Mister Ming instructed me to give you a prescription on how to care for the young master..." He told her everything.
Hearing him, Hai Ru Yue took out the letter and looked at it.
On the letter, it was written:
"The medicine... it is the Red Yang Fruit, stolen from the Ice and Snow Palace. This fact must be hidden!"
After looking at the inscription, Hai Ru Yue's expression changed. A tremor gripped her heart. She understood a great deal.
Coming to her senses, she pressed the letter to her chest, as if afraid others would see it. Then she asked:
"Did Mister Ming truly give this to you?"
Zhu Shun was surprised: "Yes. Everyone outside the city saw him hand me the letter."
"Fire!" Hai Ru Yue said resolutely.
"..." Zhu Shun was surprised. It was as if he hadn't heard her correctly.
"Mistress, what did you say?"
"I said, I need fire!" Hai Ru Yue said quickly.
Seeing her tense expression, Zhu Shun immediately took out a kindling stick, blew on it, and brought the flame to Hai Ru Yue.
She took the stick and used it to ignite the paper. Twirling the letter in her hand, she first let the inscriptions burn, and then the entire letter.
Zhu Shun asked: "Mistress, what was written there?"
He understood that the letter certainly did not contain a prescription, but something else that had terrified the mistress.
Hai Ru Yue said with a bitter smile: "A prescription on how to save my son's life and mine!"
"Your life and your son's?" Zhu Shun did not understand what could have been written there.
At this time, Li Wu Hua quickly entered the hall. Seeing Hai Ru Yue, he asked:
"I heard Mister Ming gave you a letter with a prescription. Let me see it."
Hai Ru Yue pointed with a smile at the ashes of the letter on the floor:
"Elder, you are too late. I have already burned it."
Li Wu Hua was vexed.
Hai Ru Yue, comforting him, said: "Mister Ming did not want me to show his handwriting, so he instructed me to burn the letter. I had to fulfill his request."
Li Wu Hua: "What was written?"
Hai Ru Yue: "Nothing special. On the contrary, he warned me."
"Warned?" Li Wu Hua furrowed his brows:
"What does that mean?"
Hai Ru Yue said with a sigh: "It was all about the same thing. He said that we should not tell anyone about his treatment."
Li Wu Hua gazed at her intently, as if he doubted her. He both believed and disbelieved her. But nothing could be done now. The letter was already burned, so he flung his sleeves and departed.
Watching him leave, Hai Ru Yue bit her lip. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak; she didn't dare to speak of the letter's contents. For if Wandong Heavenly Palace were to learn of this, they would immediately kill both her and her son, leaving no evidence of the Red Yang Fruit's consumption!