Chapter 22: The Divine Doctor's Speculation

  Liu Zhang yielded the military tent to Ye Wu Tie and the army doctor, and walked out of the large tent with Xiao Fu Rong. The night wind blew gently, and Xiao Fu Rong's body trembled slightly. Liu Zhang said to Xiao Fu Rong: "I've already had the soldiers prepare a place for you to rest. You just gave blood and your body is weak, go rest."

  Xiao Furen didn't move, pinching her fingers, the nail of her thumb almost digging into the back of her left hand until it bled. After a while, she said: "Lord Liu, I know you have been very kind to us, not only did you not drive us out or kill us, but also helped my father recover from his injuries and killed Li Yi and Pang Le. My father's life is now in the hands of fate, but no matter what happens to him, Xiao Furen will always be grateful to you... If, if you really have those thoughts, please let Sha Moke go and let him become the leader of our Youxi tribe, I am willing to follow you."

  Xiao Furan lowered her head, her last words barely audible, her face pale from excessive blood loss, yet miraculously regained some color.

  Liu Zhang looked down, gazing at the ground reflecting the firelight, listening to Xiao Furen's words, and suddenly burst out laughing. Xiao Furen raised her head, looking at him in surprise. Liu Zhang kicked away a stone in front of him with force and asked Xiao Furen: "Are you speaking from your heart? Are you really willing to follow me? Is it voluntary?"

  Xiao Furan didn't know how to respond.

  Liu Zhang couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head in exasperation. With a hint of amusement, he said, "No need to say more, you really think you're a rare treasure, believing those nonsense words from Li Yi? I, Liu Zhang, am not as lustful as you imagine. I helped you for a reason, and I killed Li Yi and Pang Le for a reason too."

  Indeed, Li Yi and Pang Le have helped to stabilize the southern Shu region, but can they compare with the stability of the five streams barbarian region? Leaving them behind, isn't it to put the blame for destroying the Youxi earth stockade on my head? What this official wants is for the hearts of the five streams barbarians to be truly delighted and obedient.

  Besides, Li Yi and Pang Le have come to me in desperation. If I accept them, what will my subordinates think? In the future when Liu Zhang is in a desperate situation, won't they naturally abandon me too? As a superior, the ability and role of ministers are secondary, loyalty is the most important thing. From this point of view, even if Li Yi and Pang Le were Zhang Liang or Han Xin, I would never keep them, so Xiaofeng, you don't need to thank me."

  "Han people are indeed treacherous, killing someone has so many twists and turns." Xiao Furen muttered, after hearing Liu Zhang's words, Xiao Furen finally had the courage to raise her head and said loudly: "You say this, I won't be grateful, but still admire your straightforwardness. I can guarantee on behalf of my father that as long as you are in charge of Yizhou, the Wuxi barbarians will definitely not offend Yizhou."

  Liu Zhang smiled and said, "In that case, my goal has been achieved. We will withdraw our troops tomorrow. Considering your father's condition, it would be best not to let him stay in the cave dwelling. You can take my token and find a place to stay in the nearby city..."

  Liu Zhang didn't continue, no matter how good the accommodation was, when the poison took effect, it would be fatal. Xiao Furan's face turned pale again, and Liu Zhang couldn't bear to see this carefree girl look so sad, so he went back to his tent to rest.

  Xiao Furong blew the wind for a while, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She didn't go to arrange the camp, but instead returned to Ye Wuti's side. Ye Wuti was still unconscious, but his complexion had improved significantly. As soon as Xiao Furong thought of her father's life being limited to only one month, tears began to well up in her eyes. She tightly grasped Ye Wuti's hand and slowly fell asleep on top of him.

  On the second day, Xiao Furen slowly woke up and felt that there was someone behind her. She turned around to see Liu Zhang, stood up and rubbed her eyes which were red from sleep: "Are you all leaving? I'll take my father away now." Xiao Furen could tell that Liu Zhang had been there for a long time, just waiting for her to wake up.

  Liu Zhang smiled slightly, his morning muscles stiff, and his smile was a bit forced: "Last night when I was sleeping, I suddenly thought of someone who might be able to save your father..."

  Liu Zhang was just about to say something, but before he could finish, Xiao Fu Rong suddenly rushed over, grabbed Liu Zhang's arms, opened her big eyes and asked anxiously: "Really? Where is that person?"

  Liu Zhang hastily pulled away Xiao Furan's hand, saying: "Don't get agitated, I only said maybe we can save him, after all he is one of the two most famous doctors in the world."

  "Two famous doctors?" Xiao Furen was perplexed.

  Liu Zhang disdainfully said: "You barbarians, with your shallow knowledge, of course you wouldn't know the famous doctors of the Han Dynasty. There are two great doctors, one is Hua Tuo, but this person's whereabouts are unpredictable, and it's unknown when he can be found. The other is Zhang Zhongjing, who lives in Changsha and excels at internal medicine and prescriptions. If he can come, maybe he can cure the poison of Ye Wei."

  Xiao Furong's eyes lit up immediately and she said: "I'll go find him right now."

  As she was about to go out, Liu Zhang grabbed her back and said with a mix of anger and amusement: "I'm telling you, can't you just not be so impulsive? Can't you be more gentle as a girl should be? You're still weak now, I'm afraid you'll faint before we even reach Changsha. I've already sent an express horse to Changsha, if all goes well, we'll return to Yizhou within ten days."

  "Oh, thank you so much." Xiao Furong's face was filled with gratitude.

  "It doesn't matter, as long as you keep your promise."

  Xiao Furan said, "We people of Wuxi have always attached great importance to our words. We said we wouldn't trouble any citizens of Yizhou, and even if we starve to death in the forest, we absolutely won't disturb a single citizen of Yizhou."

  Liu Zhang nodded, but suddenly frowned: "No, that's not right."

  "What's wrong?" asked Xiao Furong anxiously.

  Liu Zhang murmured: "That Zhang Zhongjing has always been unwilling to travel far, now that there is a war in Changsha, the casualties will be heavy, and it's even more impossible for him to come to Yizhou."

  Xiao Furong suddenly became anxious: "What should we do then? Otherwise, I'll go and tie him up."

  "Don't be foolish." Liu Zhang scolded, "The Zhang family is a prominent clan in Changsha, can you really bring them back? Even if you do, will they be able to cure your father's illness? ... What can be done?"

  Xiao Furan was scolded by Liu Zhang, and suddenly became stunned, foolishly staring at Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang frowned in thought, and suddenly came up with an idea, saying to Xiao Furan: "You said that the five streams barbarians have a divine doctor who can heal wounds by reconnecting bones, is this true?"

  Xiao Furong nodded and asked in puzzlement: "What's wrong? Although he is not a divine doctor, his medical skills are still very good."

  "From now on, he is the divine doctor." Liu Zhang smiled secretly, a bad idea emerged, and at this time, Zhang Ren walked in from outside the account to report to Liu Zhang: "Master, the army has been ordered to set off, and this military account will also be dismantled."

  Liu Zhang beckoned to Zhang Ren, who approached with a puzzled expression. Liu Zhang said: "Pass down the order, the army will return to Chengdu, and along the way tell the people that there is a divine doctor among the Wuxi barbarians named Aguda. The governor of this prefecture was unfortunately pushed off a cliff by the rebels during the battle, suffering multiple fractures and over a dozen knife wounds all over his body. Aguda treated him for one night, reconnecting all the broken bones and healing all the knife wounds without leaving any scars."

  "Ah?" Zhang Ren's mouth was agape, and Xiao Furan also stared blankly at Liu Zhang, having never seen anyone curse himself like that.

  Liu Zhang, however, knew that Zhang Zhongjing had a weakness: as long as he heard of any place with doctors who were not as good as him, he would travel thousands of miles to visit and learn from them. So when Yi Zhou blew up the reputation of Aguda, Zhang Zhongjing didn't need an invitation - he would hurry over on his own accord.

  Liu Zhang felt that this was not enough, and he said to Zhang Ren: "Also, I have lost too much blood and am on the verge of dying from anemia. Aguada, the divine doctor, used a blood transfusion method to save my life. Let the soldiers briefly introduce the blood transfusion method, even if it's just beating gongs and drums, we must make sure that every household in Yizhou understands, do you understand?"

  Liu Zhang decided to pin the blood transfusion on Aguda's head as well, thinking that this should be the most ancient publicity stunt ever. A barbarian had produced such a divine doctor, wouldn't Zhang Zhongjing feel jealous?

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