“Trace that delivery rider’s route. Pull up all the surveillance footage around Yunhu Park.”
Zhao Tianxiong handed the envelope to his subordinate.
The subordinate took it and hurried out of the bedroom.
Zhao Tianxiong turned back to Chen Xuan, his attitude even more solemn than before.
He had originally still harbored the slightest doubt about Chen Xuan’s medical skills. Now that Chen Xuan had not only identified the cause of the illness but had also accurately predicted the other party’s next move before the letter arrived, his insight was clearly beyond that of any ordinary doctor.
“Master Chen, their method can only keep Qingya alive for three more days. What about yours?”
The former Mr. Chen had smoothly been promoted to Master Chen.
“Prepare everything I asked for.” Chen Xuan checked Zhao Qingya’s pulse once more. “From now on, you won’t need to ask anyone else for another prescription. Today, I can pull her back from the gates of death.”
Of the six medicinal ingredients Chen Xuan had named, all except the Scarlet Blood Vine were fairly common. Zhao Tianxiong made several phone calls, and in less than half an hour, someone delivered the herbs to the villa.
The silver needles and porcelain bowl were also ready.
Chen Xuan had the housekeeper bring over a small table and divided the medicinal ingredients into separate portions according to the required amounts. The Scarlet Blood Vine powder in the sachet had already been mixed with the other spices, so it could not be used directly as medicine. The useful component had to be extracted first.
The gray-haired doctor stood nearby, watching as Chen Xuan poured the sachet’s powder into the porcelain bowl, then added the other herbs and warm water one by one.
“Mr. Chen, don’t you need to test the dosage first?”
“The person who administered the poison calculated it very precisely. The amount of Scarlet Blood Vine is just within the harmless range.”
Chen Xuan stirred the medicinal liquid with a silver needle.
The Scarlet Blood Vine itself was not an antidote. On the contrary, it was a potent herb, and an excessive amount could also damage the heart.
However, it could draw out the toxins that had already formed inside Zhao Qingya’s body.
The poisoner had left the Scarlet Blood Vine in the sachet not merely to flaunt his methods, but also to prove to Zhao Tianxiong that since he could administer the poison, he naturally had a way to save her as well.
The liquid in the porcelain bowl gradually turned a deep red.
Chen Xuan set the medicinal liquid aside and walked to the bed.
“Leave the medical equipment attached to her. Everyone else, step away from the bed.”
The gray-haired doctor asked, “There’s nothing we need to do?”
“Just watch.”
The doctor nodded and did not ask any further questions.
Although he had not been present when Qin Baichuan was poisoned, he had already read the emergency treatment records in the Jiangzhou medical group chat. After the Seven Needle Sealing Meridian technique had been performed, the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure had indeed stopped deteriorating.
There was no way to explain that through luck alone.
Zhao Tianxiong stood in the corner of the room like a helpless child, simply staring blankly. He did not dare interfere with Chen Xuan’s treatment, yet he could not bear to let his daughter leave his sight.
Chen Xuan undid the restraint around Zhao Qingya’s wrist and took out the silver needles.
Her poison was different from Qin Baichuan’s.
The aconitine Qin Baichuan had ingested had already entered his heart meridian. At the time, all that was needed was to temporarily seal off the poison and buy the hospital time for emergency treatment. The poison in Zhao Qingya’s body, however, had accumulated over two months and had already merged with her qi, blood, and internal organs.
If an antidote were administered directly, the poison that had settled in her meridians would be released all at once. Zhao Qingya’s body could not withstand that. Her heart meridian would fail in an instant.
What Chen Xuan had to do was gradually separate the poison from her internal organs, then use the Scarlet Blood Vine to absorb it.
The first silver needle descended into Zhao Qingya’s chest.
Chen Xuan gently twisted it between his fingers. A strand of spiritual energy traveled along the needle and entered her body, temporarily blocking the poison that was eroding her heart meridian.
The second silver needle pierced her abdomen.
Then came her arms and legs.
More than ten silver needles were inserted one after another. The pallor of Zhao Qingya’s face gradually gave way to an unnatural dark-red flush.
Her heart rate on the monitor also began to rise.
“One hundred and twenty.”
The gray-haired doctor stared at the monitor.
“One hundred and thirty-five. It’s still rising.”
Zhao Tianxiong stood nearby, his breathing quickening along with it.
Chen Xuan did not stop.
The spiritual energy forced the poison out of her internal organs and back into her bloodstream. The rising heart rate was a normal reaction. As long as it did not exceed the limit Zhao Qingya’s body could withstand, she would not be in danger.
When her heart rate reached one hundred and forty-seven, Chen Xuan inserted the final, thicker silver needle.
The needle pierced Zhao Qingya’s right middle finger.
Her steadily climbing heart rate suddenly stopped, then began to fall slowly.
“One hundred and forty.”
“One hundred and twenty-six.”
“One hundred and nine.”
The gray-haired doctor examined Zhao Qingya’s pupils and blood pressure. The astonishment in his eyes grew more pronounced by the second.
In all his decades as a doctor, he had never seen anyone manipulate a patient’s bodily responses according to their needs using nothing but silver needles.
Chen Xuan picked up the porcelain bowl from the table and held Zhao Qingya’s right hand over it.
He pulled out the thicker needle from her middle finger.
Instead of the bright-red blood he expected, a single drop of dark, foul-smelling liquid seeped from the needle puncture.
The dark-red liquid fell into the porcelain bowl.
The deep-red medicinal liquid immediately gained a thread of black. Rather than dispersing, the black substance slowly moved through the liquid like a living thing.
Zhao Tianxiong’s expression changed when he saw this.
“Is that the poison inside Qingya?”
“Only part of it.”
Chen Xuan pressed down on Zhao Qingya’s wrist and circulated the Primordial Creation Art.
Spiritual energy slowly advanced along her meridians, guiding the poison that had just been separated toward her finger. More dark-red blood dripped into the porcelain bowl, and the blackness in the medicinal liquid grew denser.
Zhao Qingya’s body began to tremble faintly.
Even while unconscious, she let out a pained moan, her brows drawing tightly together.
Zhao Tianxiong took a step forward.
“Qingya!”
“Don’t come over.”
Chen Xuan’s voice was not loud, but it made Zhao Tianxiong stop in his tracks.
“The poison has already damaged her nerves. Separating it now will cause some pain. If you interrupt me, all the needles I’ve used so far will have been for nothing.”
Chen Xuan had told them to stay away because he was afraid they would rush over and interfere at the slightest sign of trouble.
Zhao Tianxiong watched his daughter’s trembling hand and could only force himself to remain where he was.
More than ten minutes later, the medicinal liquid in the porcelain bowl had turned almost pitch-black.
Chen Xuan’s face had also grown somewhat pale.
He had only just reached the first level of Qi Refining, and the amount of spiritual energy he could draw upon was limited to begin with. Cleansing the poison that had accumulated in Zhao Qingya’s body for two months consumed even more energy than using the Seven Needle Sealing Meridian technique on Qin Baichuan.
Fortunately, he did not need to remove all the toxins this time.
As long as her heart meridian was protected for now, the remaining poison could be neutralized gradually with medicine.
Chen Xuan withdrew his hand and removed the silver needles from Zhao Qingya one by one. After the final needle left her body, the tension in her brow gradually eased, and her heart rate on the monitor returned to the normal range.
After examining her pupils, the gray-haired doctor reached out and touched her forehead.
“Marvelous! Truly marvelous! The young lady’s temperature has come down.”