Chapter 7: Bleeding from Seven Orifices

In the backyard of the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion, Ye Hang stared at Ye Yuan with tiger-like eyes.

"You little brat, tell me honestly, how did you figure it out?"

Ye Yuan looked at his father innocently: "Just a wild guess."

"Hmph, I almost let you fool me yesterday, but now I see you're really different from before. This Seven-Colored Flowing Cloud Python, I've never even heard of it. If I had been the one diagnosing just now, I'm afraid the result would have been the same as Old Qian's."

Thinking back now, Ye Hang still felt a lingering fear. If not for his son's stroke of genius, the golden signboard of the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion would have been shattered today.

The burly man, after drinking the medicine, was no longer in danger and was extremely grateful to the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion and Ye Yuan. What could have been an accident had turned into a good thing thanks to Ye Yuan's unexpected intervention.

Moreover, it was foreseeable that after today, the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion's prestige among beast hunters would only increase. Such potential benefits were incalculable.

"What? Even Father doesn't know about this? I thought with your mastery of alchemy, treating this poison would be a piece of cake." Ye Yuan pretended to be surprised.

"A piece of cake? Hmph, I may have some standing in this small Qin State, but once I leave Qin, your father is nothing. What Great Alchemist? I've only just stepped through the door of the great path of alchemy. Qin is a well, and I am the frog at the bottom—just a slightly bigger frog. There are too many things I don't know."

Ye Hang suddenly became self-deprecating, looking somewhat desolate, which surprised Ye Yuan. In his predecessor's memories, Father Ye Hang was an indomitable figure, as if nothing could trouble him, and he had never seen his father show such an expression.

Ye Yuan could sense that Ye Hang revealed this side because he felt his son had grown up and become sensible, as if a weight had been lifted, allowing him to relax his always taut nerves.

Ye Yuan was moved. For the sake of his son, his father must have worn himself out over the years, but he had never shown it in front of his son.

Ye Yuan also thought of his previous life's father, Zhengyangzi, and was filled with mixed emotions. He couldn't bear to keep joking with Ye Hang and said, "Father, I know what you want to ask. Actually, I don't understand it myself. But when I was poisoned and near death, a master appeared in my dream and taught me martial arts and alchemy—very profound and extensive. At first, I thought it was just a dream, but when I woke up, I remembered everything clearly and could apply it in reality. If not for that master, with your skills, Father, I'm afraid you wouldn't have seen me again."

Ye Yuan couldn't tell Ye Hang that his son's body had been occupied by another soul, so he had to fabricate a kind lie close to the truth.

Hearing Ye Yuan's words, Ye Hang was overjoyed. A master had taken a liking to his son and taught him skills in dreams—this was an unimaginable realm to him. With such a master as a teacher, the heavy stone that had weighed on Ye Hang's heart for years was finally lifted.

"Then... did that master reveal who he was? He saved my son's life; as a father, I must thank him."

Ye Yuan shook his head: "That master did not reveal his name, nor did he say why he saved me. He only told me to comprehend the skills he taught, and when the time comes, he will find me again."

"I see. When you see him next time, be sure to thank him on my behalf." Ye Hang said regretfully.

Ye Yuan smiled: "Of course. Father, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

A moment later, Ye Yuan appeared again in the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion and said to the shopkeeper, "If someone comes looking for me, tell them to come to the house east of the city. Also, here's a prescription; prepare the medicine for me."

...

Liu An was feeling a bit smug and a bit frustrated.

He was smug because that kid Ye Yuan was indeed a fool, giving away the superior Heart-Protecting Pill. The pill's effect seemed surprisingly good; not only had his injuries healed, but he also felt a faint sign of breakthrough.

He had been stuck at the eighth level of Qi Realm for years, always unable to touch the threshold of the ninth level. Liu An planned to put aside his duties at Drunken Star Tower for a while and focus on breaking through to the ninth level.

He was frustrated because Drunken Star Tower's plan to shift blame had failed, and it had failed at the hands of a good-for-nothing.

Liu An couldn't figure out how a good-for-nothing could diagnose and neutralize a poison that even Wan Donghai, the master of Drunken Star Tower, couldn't cure.

This Wan Donghai was on the same level as Ye Hang, even slightly surpassing him in alchemy. How could Ye Hang's useless son have broken this situation?

But it had happened, right before his eyes. Liu An now had a headache thinking about how to explain to his master.

Thus, Liu An didn't believe at all that the burly man was cured by Ye Yuan; rather, Ye Hang had acted behind the scenes, and Ye Yuan was just a pawn pushed forward by Ye Hang.

It seemed Ye Hang was hiding his true abilities. He'd have to remind his master to be on guard.

Liu An walked while lost in thought, when he suddenly felt something was wrong. The area under his nose was wet; he touched it and was startled—his hand was covered in blood.

Excessive internal heat? Ridiculous. He was a martial artist at the eighth level of Qi Realm; how could he have a nosebleed from excessive heat?

Somehow, he suddenly recalled Ye Yuan's sincere smiling face and couldn't help shivering.

Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought. He, Liu An, was no novice. Though not as skilled as Qian Miao, he could still tell real medicine from fake. That pill was definitely a Heart-Protecting Pill, and a high-grade one at that.

It must be excessive internal heat, Liu An comforted himself, but he soon realized how naive he was.

Soon, blood began to flow from his eyes, then his ears, and finally he vomited a large mouthful of blood. His internal organs felt as if they were on fire, a sensation of being consumed from within.

At that moment, he was certain: he had been poisoned!

Liu An was someone who often walked on the edge of death, but the more so, the more he feared death. He was now completely stunned; even when facing fierce beasts before, he had never felt such despair as he did now, on the verge of death.

Liu An had only one thought now: to survive. He rushed desperately toward the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion; time was running out.

...

The shopkeeper of the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion was startled by this man bleeding from seven orifices. The man grabbed his sleeve as soon as he entered, demanding to see Young Master Ye Yuan.

The shopkeeper was stunned and didn't react at first. Then he remembered the young master's instructions before leaving and gave the address to this blood-soaked man.

After the man had gone, the shopkeeper muttered in confusion, "How strange. In that condition, he doesn't seek Master Qian but goes to the young master? Can the young master cure illnesses?"

Like Liu An, no one believed that the rescue of the burly man was Ye Yuan's doing.