bookrandom Chapter 326 Is this a real illness?
Chapter 326 Is this a real illness?
Zhong Ming instinctively felt something was wrong, and suddenly realized that this was how the old members of the Third Guard Team had died. But he suppressed his emotions and said self-deprecatingly, "Once bitten by a snake, twice shy."
Those nearby didn't hear clearly and thought there was some important instruction.
"My Lord, what did you say?"
"Hmm, how many days ago did the artillery battalion arrive here?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, it was exactly five days ago."
After the soldier finished answering, he suddenly realized what had happened and shouted, "Sir, you are truly insightful! You two brats are clearly spies, trying to sneak into our mountain to spy on our military situation. Arrest them immediately!"
At this moment, the boy who had been silent suddenly spoke up: "What do you mean 'your mountain'? I've been gathering herbs here to make a living since I was six years old. You are the robbers, the bandits! You cut off our livelihood, drove away our fellow villagers, and smashed the whole town under that big iron pipe. You are the bad guys!"
Before he could finish speaking, a soldier slapped him across the face, causing his face to swell up instantly. The others immediately followed suit, kicking him repeatedly.
"Everyone stop it."
Zhong Ming said calmly.
His voice wasn't loud, but Deputy Captain Li's men immediately stopped what they were doing and pulled the others away as well.
"Who are you....."
"It's enough that you know I'm from over there."
"Yes, Immortal Master."
Zhong Ming slowly walked up to the two boys. One of them was crying with tears streaming down his face, and his sincerity seemed genuine. The other boy had a large red and swollen face that affected his left eye, but he still stared at Zhong Ming with sharp eyes.
“Lead the way home. That old Chinese medicine doctor is a quack. I am a disciple of the great medical sage Xuanjing, and I will personally treat your mother.”
Upon hearing this, the boy was overjoyed. If he hadn't been tied up so tightly, he would have kowtowed to Zhong Ming.
Another shouted, "Don't believe him! He just wants us to take them back to the village so they can destroy your whole village! They're devils!"
Zhong Ming sighed inwardly, if only he had been as wary of this kid back then, he would have run ten miles away when Gao Jin entered the village.
The child hesitated, looking blankly at Zhong Ming. Zhong Ming said calmly, "Since you don't want to treat him, then forget it. Although my master said that doctors should save people if they can, there's nothing I can do if he doesn't let me. He won't scold me."
After saying that, he made a move to leave. The boy became very anxious and not only cried and begged Zhong Ming to come back, but also started cursing at his friend.
The soldiers watched with amusement as Zhong Ming toyed with the two children, finding it all quite funny. But then, a thunderous roar seemed to explode in their ears as Zhong Ming's words crashed into them: "Put on your armor, mount your horses, and head straight for the village. Tell the rest of you to be on guard. Don't let your guard down tonight."
He ordered his soldiers to take both boys with them, and they rode off towards the village at night.
On the way, he roughly sorted out the situation. The wary boy was from a village at the foot of the mountain. He had been driven away and, after witnessing the cannons flatten his village, he was driven to this crying boy's village. He came to help because of the matter of asking for medicine.
First arrest the old Chinese medicine doctor, because he was the one who sent the two of them. Then go see his sick mother; there's a possibility he's faking illness or has been infected with disease.
He refused to believe it was such a coincidence that she fell ill just as the artillery battalion landed.
The sound of hooves was chaotic. The camp consisted of infantry, and the horses were used for carrying goods, delivering messages, or riding high-ranking officers. Their quality varied, and their steps were disorderly.
Holding torches, they galloped along the dirt road. Riding at full speed in the middle of the night was very dangerous, so Zhong Ming took the lead, holding a torch to guide the way.
His attention was entirely focused on the two boys, pondering what methods the enemy would use to get them to send back information if they were indeed spies.
Unable to find a solution, they launched a surprise attack on the old Chinese medicine doctor.
The entire village was awakened by the loud sound of horses' hooves, but before they could even get out of bed, the soldiers had already surrounded the village.
Zhong Ming rushed into the old Chinese medicine doctor's house first, but found no one there.
"Ask where he went, I went to his mother's house."
Zhong Ming acted quickly. By then, the child had already realized something was wrong, but the brutish soldiers had already entered the village, leaving him no room for resistance. He could only try anything, constantly reassuring himself, "They've come to help my mother get treatment. They've come to help my mother get treatment."
Following his directions, Zhong Ming arrived at his home, a dilapidated house at the west end of the village. According to the boy, his father had passed away a year ago, and his uncle had helped raise them with some money. Without a man in the family, life was hard, and there was no one to do heavy work like repairing the house. His uncle was a peddler who went to the city to do business, so he was rarely at home and had no time to help them.
Zhong Ming cautiously held his breath, breathing through an oxygen stone, and infused his tattered armor with spiritual energy as he carefully entered the room.
At this moment, a thin woman lay helplessly on the bed. When she saw Zhong Ming, a burly man with a fierce look, walk in, accompanied by a soldier, and her child crying as he walked towards her, she felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.
"Mother, a great doctor has come to treat you."
She opened her eyes and looked at Zhong Ming, her face solemn. She suppressed her pain, forced a smile, and patted the child's head, saying, "Go and take out the white rice from the jar behind the Kitchen God, and cook it for the officials. The sugar is there too, add more."
The boy ran to the kitchen as instructed, and the soldiers were also chased out by Zhong Ming, leaving only the two of them in the room.
The woman's smile faded, and she said bitterly, "Master, take whatever you like here. Don't make things difficult for San'er; he's still young and doesn't understand."
"I'm here to see you."
"Sir... cough cough, please don't tease me. I'm just a lowly woman from the mountains, how could I possibly be worthy of your medical attention..."
Zhong Ming was taken aback. Good heavens, they think I'm a bandit.
"Don't move yet, stretch out your hand so I can take your pulse."
The woman was immediately confused; surely she couldn't really be here for medical treatment.
But as soon as she touched him, she was certain that this wasn't a doctor; the old Chinese medicine doctor at the village entrance hadn't pressed this spot at all when he treated her.
Zhong Ming carefully channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the woman's wrist, silently chanting to himself, "She's a porcelain doll, she's a porcelain doll, I'm polishing a mirror, I'm polishing a mirror..."
He first used his spiritual energy to probe, but found nothing unusual. Of course, it's also possible that he simply doesn't know how to diagnose illnesses.
"What illness did the old Chinese medicine doctor say you had?"
"There's something wrong with his head. I don't understand what he's saying. Thank you for your concern, adults, but we can't afford the medicine..."
"Don't move, let me pat your head."
Zhong Ming placed his rough, large hand on her head; the hand was so warm.