Chapter 305
Chapter 305
A physician stepped forward and carefully touched the King of Qiang’s forehead. Indeed, he had a severe fever. How could he not? A high fever was one of the characteristic symptoms of a virus that caused rashes in the human body. Shen Lang said to him:
“Your Majesty, the new medicine I administered is currently at war with the smallpox inside your body. The more intense the battle, the higher the fever will rise.”
The physicians of the Qiang Kingdom present had some understanding of this principle. Shen Lang continued.
“Therefore, this fever is not life-threatening, nor will it affect the treatment of the smallpox. However, if the fever becomes too severe…”
The King of Qiang quickly asked.
“What will happen?”
“It could lead to side effects such as brain damage, blindness, or deafness.”
This was common knowledge. Many people had suffered from high fevers that left them mentally impaired or without sight. Upon hearing this, the King of Qiang grew alarmed and angry.
*Must I suffer such a fate?*
The King of Qiang shouted.
“Lower the fever at once. Quickly.”
“The method to lower the fever is simple. The two esteemed physicians of the Qiang Kingdom should also be aware of it.”
At Shen Lang’s words, the two physicians answered in unison.
“By letting blood!”
They, too, were familiar with the art of bloodletting.
“Then, I shall trouble you two gentlemen.”
At Shen Lang’s request, the two physicians prepared to let the King of Qiang’s blood. Shen Lang adopted an incredibly humble demeanor, showing no intention of taking any credit from them. However, bloodletting was never going to lower the fever in the first place. The two physicians let his blood twice, and a full day passed, yet the high fever did not subside. The King of Qiang was enraged, while Shen Lang looked as if he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to speak. The King of Qiang questioned him.
“Their method of bloodletting is incorrect. The tools they used were also inappropriate. To lower body temperature, one must use a hollow needle forged from thousand-year-old cold iron.”
Shen Lang was a master of deception. Yet, to their ears, his words sounded plausible. Using thousand-year-old cold iron to reduce a high fever—it sounded like a method that could suppress heat. Then, Shen Lang took out his secret weapon: an extremely fine, hollow needle made from a rolled iron sheet. Shen Lang voluntarily handed it to the Crown Prince of Qiang and the King for inspection. To prove it was not poisoned, he placed the needle in water and then drank the water. He then pricked the back of his own hand with it, drawing blood to prove it was toxin-free. The King of Qiang, the old eunuch, and the two physicians inspected it several times, even testing it on a person more than ten times by pricking their skin, but found nothing wrong with the needle. Perhaps because it was made of thousand-year-old cold iron, the needle felt chillingly cold. Hell, in this freezing weather, how could it not be cold?
The King of Qiang said.
“Shen Lang, you may now let my blood.”
Shen Lang took out a packet of medicine and dissolved it in boiled water. He drank a quarter of it himself to prove it was not poisoned before handing it to the King of Qiang.
“Your Majesty, you must drink my medicinal soup while your blood is being let.”
In truth, the soup could lower his temperature because it contained a large amount of anti-inflammatory agents. Since Shen Lang had proven it safe by drinking it himself, the King of Qiang accepted it this time and drank it in one go. Following that, Shen Lang used the needle made of thousand-year-old cold iron to draw the King of Qiang’s blood.
*Huh? How can this be! It’s actually working?*
The King of Qiang soon felt a great sense of comfort wash over his body. That languid, pleasant sensation returned once more. That was right—it was the effect of the opium. Shen Lang drew blood from four different places on the King of Qiang’s body. While doing so, he sent four infinitesimally small beads filled with the deadly poison cyanide through the hollow needle and into the King’s body. The beads were crafted with extreme precision, no more than a millimeter in diameter, and contained a minuscule amount of cyanide.
These small beads were no longer made by Shen Lang himself but by a master artisan from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. With the dexterity of ancient craftsmen, creating them was by no means difficult. They could perform micro-carvings on a grain of rice or carve an entire boat with several vivid figures aboard on a walnut shell. Such feats were the specialty of ancient artisans. Crafting a hollow bead with a diameter of one millimeter was far easier than the aforementioned micro-carvings.
Shen Lang had once intended to use this method to harm Qiu Yao'er but had a change of heart at the critical moment and ultimately couldn't bring himself to kill her. Now, he was using the cyanide-filled beads on the King of Qiang again, though the circumstances were slightly different. Back then, Shen Lang had planned to detonate magnetic powder to cover Qiu Yao'er's entire body. When she used her inner energy to repel the magnetic powder, the cyanide beads would shatter, releasing the deadly poison. However, that condition was now gone.
Under normal circumstances, the deadly poison within the beads would never leak out. But the beads were susceptible to rust. The presence of water and oxygen in the blood provided the perfect environment for it. The iron sheet, less than 0.1 millimeters thick, would completely rust away in a short time. Shen Lang had experimented eight times, and on average, they rusted completely in less than two months. Once the iron beads rusted through, the cyanide inside would be released. When that happened, the King of Qiang would die instantly, and not even an immortal could save him.
So, where did this cyanide come from? A detailed explanation is not possible here, but it was extracted from a large quantity of almonds, a process that was not difficult for Shen Lang. It was one of the most toxic plants in the world; a minuscule amount could poison dozens of people. As stated before, the King of Qiang had to die, but not now. If the King of Qiang died at this moment, Shen Lang would never make it back to the State of Yue alive. A death in about two months would be most advantageous for Shen Lang to eliminate the Su Clan. Besides, Shen Lang hadn't relied on just one method to assassinate the King of Qiang. He had already arranged other backup plans.
***
Mere hours after Shen Lang’s bloodletting treatment, the King of Qiang’s high fever had significantly subsided. The King was ecstatic.
“Shen Lang, you truly are a divine physician. Truly remarkable, remarkable!”
Two more days passed, and eighty percent of the pustules on the King of Qiang’s body had disappeared. The King felt like he could bow down and worship Shen Lang right then.
*Truly incredible. To think he could even cure malignant smallpox.*
At that moment, Shen Lang noticed something delightful. Both the King of Qiang and the Crown Prince had started smoking. The Crown Prince, in particular, couldn't seem to stop. Shen Lang, however, feigned concern and said to the King.
“Your Majesty, as your body has not yet fully recovered, it would be best to refrain from smoking.”
“Didn’t you say the nicotine herb was beneficial for the body?”
“It is beneficial. It also has the effect of clearing the mind and sharpening one’s focus. But what if, by some chance, it conflicts with my new medicine? For the sake of caution, Your Majesty should probably wait ten days before smoking again.”
While the King of Qiang himself was cured of smallpox, the situation outside was growing increasingly dire. The number of commoners infected and dying was increasing exponentially. Having secured his own life, it was now time to turn his attention to the fate of the Qiang Kingdom.
The King of Qiang said.
“Shen Lang, your new medicine has already been used on my body. But are you certain you can administer this… inoculation of yours to the myriad people of the Qiang Kingdom and make them forever immune to smallpox?”
“Yes!”
Perhaps this could save the fate of the Qiang Kingdom.
“Your condition was to build a great shrine on the soil of the Qiang Kingdom. You intend to administer the inoculation to the people of Qiang there?”
“That is correct.”
“To save the people, to free our Qiang Kingdom from the threat of the god of death that is smallpox forever… Very well. That shrine… build it!”
***
Finally, Shen Lang was allowed to leave the imperial palace for the first time. Of course, he was to stay at the diplomatic mission’s residence under the surveillance of Qiang warriors. The residence could be considered a mansion with a garden, located just outside the royal palace. Shen Lang intended to go to his room and sleep soundly. But the moment he stepped inside, he detected a peculiar fragrance.
It was the same fragrance he had smelled a few days ago when he first entered the Qiang Kingdom. It belonged to Aruna Khan’s master, a grandmaster of the highest echelon, renowned alongside Nazha as one of the world's peerless beauties—the Divine Maiden Xue Yin. Moreover, something seemed wrong with her. Her heart was beating extremely fast, her breathing was ragged, and his X-ray vision revealed her body temperature was incredibly high. Just as Shen Lang was about to light a candle, the Divine Maiden Xue Yin spoke in a trembling voice.
“Young Master Shen, don’t light the candle. Don’t look at me!”
“Divine Maiden, what is wrong? Have you contracted smallpox?”
Shen Lang asked urgently. Her breathing and high body temperature were somewhat similar to the symptoms of smallpox. Besides, he owed the Divine Maiden Xue Yin a great debt. From the moment he and Big Dummy entered the Qiang Kingdom, she had begun to protect them. Later, she met with the King of Qiang and secured a promise that he would not kill Shen Lang under any circumstances. Just hearing her voice filled Shen Lang with an immense sense of intimacy.
Xue Yin said.
“It is not smallpox. Just wait a little while. It will be over soon.”
“Yes.”
Shen Lang replied obediently. There was a warm energy in her voice that made it impossible to refuse. He sat in the darkness and waited. After a while, the fragrance in the air grew stronger, making one feel as intoxicated as if by a fine wine. But from the Divine Maiden Xue Yin came a voice of increasing agony. She was desperately trying to suppress it, but it was a pain that simply could not be contained. She seemed to be enduring a great trial. This ordeal even surpassed the agony the Big-Butt Princess experienced during a kidney stone attack.
Alright. In front of the Divine Maiden Xue Yin, Shen Lang didn't feel right using the word "Big-Butt." He would save that for when he returned to the State of Yue. One must not be ill-mannered in the presence of a fairy. In any case, the trial Xue Yin was enduring at that moment was more fearsome and arduous than a kidney stone. Shen Lang could feel the entire ground trembling. She wasn't thrashing or screaming, but her whole body was shaking, and her inner energy was quivering along with it. When the flow of inner energy from a grandmaster of her caliber began to tremble, the surrounding ground couldn't help but tremble with it.
Shen Lang finally couldn't bear it any longer and went to Xue Yin, tightly gripping her hand. At that moment, he felt as if he were touching ice or jade. She was gentle but as cold as ice, smooth as jade, yet overwhelmingly fragrant. It was truly strange. She was clearly running a high fever, yet her hand was as cold as ice.
“No. You might get hurt.”
After speaking, Xue Yin quickly released Shen Lang’s hand and grabbed a nearby stone.
*Crack!*
With a crisp sound, the solid stone was mercilessly crushed to dust. She was one of the highest-ranking grandmasters in the State of Yue. It was a good thing she had let go of his hand; had she gripped it with such force, his hand would have been instantly crushed. To shatter a stone like that revealed the astonishing level of pain she was enduring.
“It will be over soon. Young Master Shen, do not be afraid. It will pass shortly.”
Even at a time like this, the Divine Maiden Xue Yin offered him warm comfort. For a moment, Shen Lang’s heart trembled slightly, as if in empathy with her. Even though he had never properly seen this woman’s face, he felt an incredible closeness to her.
***
A full thirty minutes later, all the pain finally subsided. The Divine Maiden Xue Yin let out a long sigh. Her sigh was like opening a fragrant perfume bottle, the long-held scent diffusing in all directions, making one reluctant to leave the spot.
“It is done. You may light the candle.”
Shen Lang lit the candle and beheld a figure of unparalleled gentleness and beauty, like a fairy in human form. She was wearing a veil over her face.
“My face is frozen. I cover it lest I startle others.”
Xue Yin hesitated for a moment, then untied the veil to show Shen Lang her face. In that instant… though it was the dead of night, it was as if countless flowers had burst into bloom, brightening everything around them. It was the face of a peerless beauty, yet because it was frozen, it looked like a beautiful sculpture crafted by a master artisan. It was a sculpture filled with an unattainable beauty and sharpness. She was frozen, eternally fixed in her most beautiful moment.