Chapter 7: The Miraculous Doctor's Appearance

  On the second day, Zheng Yao woke up early and opened his eyes to enjoy the first ray of sunlight shining through the window curtains, feeling warm in his heart.

  Although the wound had scabbed over, there was still a faint pain. Just as Zheng Yao wanted to get out of bed, Liu Yan and his men rushed into Zheng Yao's room, naturally including Ning An and Xiao Xi who had stayed overnight at the Li residence.

  "Brother Zhengyao, don't move! I'm here!" Liu Yan was now relaxed and carefree, a stark contrast to his dejected state last night. As he spoke, he reached out to help Zhengyao up.

  "Now that I've seen Master Liu, I can rest assured." Zheng Yao's face was a bit pale and his breathing was slightly weak. After finishing speaking, he took a deep breath and revealed a faint smile.

  What a relief! With so much blood flowing from his arm, he's lucky to be okay now. If it were someone with a weaker physique, they'd probably have fainted by now and who knows when they'd wake up.

  Liu Yan heard Zheng Yao say this, and his heart was filled with shame. He said: "Brother Zheng Yao has done so much for me, if I still have thoughts of taking my own life, it would be too ungrateful to Brother Zheng Yao's kind intentions. It's really shameful to make Brother Zheng Yao suffer so much because of me. No matter what, I still want to thank Brother Zheng Yao for his words last night. From now on, we will work together and strive for success, and take the imperial examination!"

  As he spoke, Liu Yan took hold of Zheng Yao's hand with a firm grip, seemingly having made up his mind after last night's events.

  "Great! From now on, let's work hard together and strive for a good grade!" Zheng Yao's eyes were filled with excitement, he stood up with effort, and also shook Liu Yan's hand firmly. At first glance, the two of them seemed like old friends who had not seen each other for many years.

  "It's really strange, it's really strange! I've always thought that Brother Liu was a man of integrity and martial arts skills, how could he be involved with this 'Divine Power Pill'?" What Zhang Cheng said was exactly what everyone else was wondering, but they all looked at Liu Yan instead.

  Liu Yan's face turned bright red with shame, took a deep breath and said in a rather helpless tone: "It's really embarrassing to say this, but it's all because I met the wrong people. I thought that the Guan family was an official family and would not do such despicable things. But unexpectedly, they actually poisoned me with wine and got me addicted to drugs. My physical condition has always been relatively poor, and over time, I couldn't control myself. Helplessly, I had no choice but to agree to the Guan family's request and participate in this Cuju tournament. Who would have thought that because of Fu Bo's carelessness, he brought the drug in, and as a result..."

  At this, Yuan Haiyun suddenly became angry: "I didn't expect the Guan family to be so shameless. The kind of banned drug like Shen Li Wan that even the imperial court has explicitly prohibited, they actually dare to use it to harm people, is there such a reason?"

  "Those who do many unjust things will ultimately bring about their own downfall, and good and evil will eventually be rewarded! I believe that the Guan family will eventually get what's coming to them!" Zhang Cheng also felt indignant on behalf of Liu Yanming.

  Not only Yuan Haiyun and Zhang Cheng, but also Ning An on the side looked uncomfortable, with a sharp and fierce light flashing in their eyes, as if they wanted to punish Guan's family. Of course, using this kind of medicine to harm the princess's beloved was simply seeking death.

  "Alright, alright, the Guan family is like a local emperor here, no one can do anything about them. Since it's already happened, let's not dwell on it and think about what's going on now." Zheng Yao also understood that even with solid evidence, there was nothing they could do. Who would you go to reason with? The Guan family is like a hand covering the sky here.

  "What's the point! I haven't even mentioned you, why did you push Liu Gongzi into the river last night?" Ning An's anger was still simmering and couldn't be calmed down, and Zheng Yao's words seemed so spineless that he immediately turned his spearhead towards Zheng Yao.

  "I..."

  Zheng Yao was suddenly speechless for a moment, facing such an unreasonable woman, and it really took the lives of countless brain cells.

  Liu Yan slowly walked up and said with an embarrassed expression: "Ning An, Miss, you misunderstood Zheng Yao, brother. In fact, he was saving me..."

  "What? He... he saved you? Really? Then I..." Ning An couldn't bear to look at Liu Yan's sincere eyes, and with her head down, she finally understood what had happened last night, it seemed that she had misunderstood...

  "Miss, it seems..."

  "Don't make a fuss!" Ning An immediately stopped Xiaoxi, who was about to speak up. Although she knew she was wrong, as a princess, how could she apologize to a commoner?

  "Don't quarrel, gentlemen. Harmony is the most precious thing. Besides, there's still a long way to go before next year's imperial examination. There's another difficult problem that needs to be solved first." Zhang Cheng interjected again, seeing that everyone had fallen into an awkward situation, especially with Zheng Yao and Teacher Ning being at odds with each other, which wasn't a good solution either. Suddenly, he blurted out a sentence, which made the people around him pause in surprise.

  "Zhang Cheng, just say it if you have something to say! Don't keep us in suspense here. What's the difficult question, come on and ask!" Yuan Haiyun was an impatient person, straightforward and not fond of beating around the bush. Moreover, he didn't have much brainpower to think about those things, so he loudly shouted at Zhang Cheng.

  However, Zhang Cheng didn't mind Yuan Haiyun speaking to him in such a loud tone, as the two of them often did so and had grown accustomed to it; their relationship had always been good.

  "Right, what's the problem now?" Everyone else also looked at Zhang Cheng and said in confusion.

  Zhang Cheng turned his head to look at Liu Yan and said, "Now it's your body, Brother Liu. If you still rely on medicine to sustain yourself, even if we arrive in the capital, they won't let you take the exam."

  What Zhang Cheng said is true. If this issue is not resolved, everything else is just empty talk.

  "That's right, Zhang Cheng makes sense, but I'm afraid it's a bit difficult!" Li Chengfeng said with some difficulty, stroking his beard.

  It's true that Liu Yan has martial arts skills, but who knows when the divine power pill's addiction will act up. Not to mention taking the imperial examination, even entering the capital city would be difficult. And if it happens during the exam, it would be disastrous. Perhaps Liu Yan's life would be ruined then. Using banned drugs in the imperial examination venue? If not convicted of cheating, he would at least be charged with drug abuse and exiled to a remote border region. The consequences are too terrible to contemplate.

  "What's wrong with you, isn't this simple? Don't we have a brilliant young doctor here?" Zheng Yao gave a glance at Yuan Haiyun and instantly made everyone laugh.

  "Huh, it's really like that!! How come I didn't think of it?" Zhang Cheng suddenly realized and patted his own head, while Ning An and Xiao Xi on the side were confused.

  "Alright! Now it's time for me to show off!" Yuan Haiyun's mouth corners slightly raised, finally able to make a display.

  "Brother Liu, go with him." Zheng Yao loosened his grip, indicating that Liu Yan should follow Yuan Haiyun to get rid of the so-called addiction.

  "Alright, everyone go about your business. Give me seven days and I'll definitely have Brother Liu Yan back to normal." With that, Yuan Haiyun turned around and left, with Liu Yan following closely behind him.

  Zheng Yao then closed his eyes and continued to rest in bed. Ning An saw that what these people were saying seemed to have nothing to do with himself, which was somewhat inexplicable, wanting to ask but not knowing who to ask. He didn't stay for long, turned around and walked out of the house.

  "This is..." Zhang Cheng was sulky and looked at Ning An's expression, seemingly angry with herself, and since they weren't very familiar with each other either, it was really quite inexplicable.

  Zheng Yao just smiled faintly and didn't say anything else, continuing his meditation with eyes closed.

  Before long, people left and the building was empty, leaving behind a vacant room.

  Bamboo forest small building. Yuan Haiyun's clinic.

  "The fish pool is fragrant with water overflowing, the wind blows the willow branches and leaves fluttering. The laneway is like a dream that has not been interrupted for a long time, at night, I talk about the coolness of autumn with the lamp. Arriving at Yuan Haiyun's "Bamboo Forest Pavilion" was already nighttime, Liu Yan sat alone in front of the window, and had slightly begun to feel the effects of withdrawal, but still followed Yuan Haiyun's instructions to forcibly endure the heart's toxic craving, using poetry to shift the pain brought by the craving."

  This is what Yuan Haiyun called "disguise and transfer method", which can be used to quit drugs with great effect.

  "Brother Liu, are you ready? I don't know if we can continue on like this. If it gets too much later, just let me know and I'll put an end to everything." Yuan Haiyun held a long rope in her hand, which seemed to be for tying up Liu Yan to prevent him from acting rashly.

  "Come on! It's nothing! If you can't even endure this, it would be a waste of Zhēng Yáo brother's efforts." Lǚ Yàn's forehead was already covered in sweat, gritting his teeth as he spoke firmly.

  "Good!" After finishing speaking, Yuan Haiyun also didn't say much and immediately went forward to tie up Liu Yan.

  It turned out that Yuan Haiyun's approach was to let Liu Yan endure it himself, and if he really couldn't, then she would take action herself.

  Indeed, quitting drugs is something that one must rely on oneself for.

  "Ah~~ Ah~~~~"

  "Ah——"

  "Bang! Bang!"

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  About an hour later, Liu Yan's poison began to take effect. He let out a loud, ear-piercing scream and started acting wildly, making frantic movements that shook the entire "Bamboo Forest Pavilion".

  At this moment, Ning An and Xiao Xi, who were eavesdropping outside, couldn't bear it anymore and wished they could rush in immediately to let Liu Yan out and relieve him.

  "Xiao Xi, let's go in!" Ning An couldn't bear it anymore and immediately pulled Xiao Xi to burst into the room.

  "What are you...?" Yuan Haiyun was caught off guard and didn't know what these two women wanted to do.

  "Look at him, why is he still tied up? I order you to untie him immediately!" Ning An shouted angrily. She didn't understand medical knowledge and had never seen a doctor examine someone who was tied up, so she was naturally very indignant.

  "I told you two ladies to hurry up and get out, don't make trouble here." Yuan Haiyun knew that Ning An was an unreasonable master, so she didn't bother to waste words with her.

  "Xiao Xi, up!" Ning An insisted on tying Liu Yansong.

  "Don't move! If you continue to be reckless, everything we've done will be in vain and a waste of effort! I'm not exaggerating, his current state is such that if he doesn't restrain himself now, it'll be even harder for him to recover later!" Yuan Haiyun knew that the girl in front of her was deeply infatuated with Liu Yan, so she spoke up for his sake.

  "Are you telling the truth? But..." Ning An was skeptical.

  "Don't go near him! He's gone mad now, and if you get close, he might just try to use you as a magic pill!"

  "What should we do now?" Ning An said somewhat anxiously.

  "Quickly stuff that towel into his mouth! Fast!" At this moment, the situation was extremely urgent, and Liu Yan's mouth had already started to bleed profusely, with his lips being bitten by his teeth until they were slightly torn.

  "Trust you this time! Xiao Xi!" Ning An didn't know if he should or not, but still trusted Yuan Haiyun once, gesturing to Xiao Xi to go up. After all, Xiao Xi knew kung fu and shouldn't be easily hurt.

  Originally, Yuan Haiyun wanted to stuff the towel into Liu Yan's mouth from the beginning, but because of Ning An suddenly appearing halfway, he missed the best opportunity, which led to such trouble.

  "Ah——"

  Liu Yan shouted again, and the air seemed to faintly emit a bloody smell.

  "Quick!" Yuan Haiyun shouted loudly, and now was the perfect opportunity.

  Xiao Xi cleverly stuffed the towel into his clothes and flew forward.

  "I'll lift the bucket now, you open the plug!" Yuan Haiyun said as he manipulated the rope beside him. The water bucket next to Liu Yan was slowly lifted up and finally stopped about three inches above Liu Yan's head. At the same time, Xiao Xi also followed Yuan Haiyun's orders and opened the plug, and a stream of water flowed down from the edge of the bucket.

  "Alright! That's it. If he goes crazy again, use a silver needle to prick his Tianchi acupoint and he will faint for a moment. As long as he persists for seven days, the great work will be accomplished!"

  "Seven days? What does he eat and drink?" Ning An said doubtfully, in this way, it's possible that the person won't be cured, but instead starve or die of thirst.

  "Don't worry, I have some medicine here that will be given to him at regular intervals. He won't feel thirsty or hungry. However, you must not untie him without permission, otherwise all our efforts will be wasted!" Yuan Haiyun said seriously, revealing the severity of the situation!

  "Believe you!" Ning An said calmly.

  After finishing speaking, the three of them all went out of the room and also locked the door with a casual hand.