The door of the medical hall was kicked straight into rotten planks this time, flying off in all directions. Old Zhou, who was half-asleep, felt a faint sense of ominous foreboding. Before he could fully wake up, he was dragged out of bed.
Xiao Ning’s face was pale, and his body covered in foul blood startled Old Zhou. When he saw the person he was protecting in his arms, he was so shocked he nearly jumped onto the roof beam.
“How could he be…”
Before Old Zhou could finish his question, Xiao Ning interrupted: “Saving him is more important.”
Without another word, Old Zhou lit the lamp, rolled up his sleeves, and quickly helped place the person on the bed. The wound missed the heart meridian and shouldn’t have been fatal, but the knife was clearly poisoned. When the broken blade was pulled out, black blood sprayed out in an arc. Shen Guan let out a muffled groan and completely passed out.
Xiao Ning pressed down on the wound, but blood seeped through layer after layer of gauze. As Shen Guan’s breathing grew fainter, his heart sank into a cold, hollow pit, and his whole body nearly shook.
Old Zhou found all the prized elixirs from the bottom of his chest, stuffed them all into Shen Guan’s mouth, and force-fed him two bowls of detoxifying medicine. After half an hour of frantic effort, the dark purple on Shen Guan’s lips finally receded, but his complexion remained frighteningly pale.
“Old Zhou, is he alright?” Xiao Ning bent down, somewhat exhausted. Cold sweat on his forehead dampened his hair, and his eyes were full of fatigue.
Old Zhou washed his hands, looked at the basin of bloody water, and said with a solemn expression, “Ah Ning, there’s something I must tell you. The poison in his body is the sap of the Ghost Face Flower, which is highly addictive. This flower is common in the southwestern Yi region. Once a person is exposed to it, they can’t quit. If they habitually consume the sap daily, they will eventually lose their life. Since he’s poisoned with it, I’m afraid he will have to endure several flare-ups before he can completely break the addiction.”
Xiao Ning held Shen Guan’s cold hand and said, “I will stay with him.”
Old Zhou scratched his messy hair and advised, “In my opinion, you should go home. Leave him with me, and I’ll watch over him for you. Once the poison is completely purged from his system, I’ll send him back to you.”
“No need.” Xiao Ning refused immediately.
Old Zhou had no choice but to leave the medical hall to Xiao Ning, while gathering his things to go take care of Xiao Yuan and Niannian. When Shen Guan woke up, it was already noon the next day.
Xiao Ning was sitting beside him, reheating the cooled medicine again.
Shen Guan struggled to move his fingers. His body was sore and weak, and the wound was burning and throbbing. He wanted to call out, but aside from a few weak moans, he couldn’t even utter a complete sentence.
“Don’t move around.” Seeing he was awake, Xiao Ning turned around and gently pressed on his shoulder to keep him from tearing the wound.
Shen Guan watched him steadily for a moment, then curved his lips into a smile. His voice was weak when he said, “Boss Xiao, you didn’t sleep all night, did you…”
Xiao Ning ignored the teasing, gently lifted him, settled him in his arms, and carefully fed him, blowing on each spoonful of medicine to cool it.
Shen Guan held the thick, bitter medicine, leaning against Xiao Ning’s shoulder, and whispered, “I’m somewhat grateful to that cult leader now.”
“Nonsense.” Xiao Ning’s face darkened slightly.
Shen Guan coughed a few times before finding a more comfortable position in Xiao Ning’s arms: “Boss Xiao, will you remarry?”
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