Chapter 740
Chapter 740
A mere seventeen hours later, Shen Lang arrived in the capital and rushed into the royal palace. This was the result of traveling day and night without rest or sleep.
“Shen Lang is here.”
“Young Master, you’ve come?”
“Young Master Shen has arrived.”
Everyone stepped back in unison, clearing a path for Shen Lang. Looking exhausted from his hurried journey, Shen Lang stood directly before Ning Yuanxian.
“Young Master Shen, we've been unable to determine the cause of His Majesty's illness. Three days ago, he suddenly collapsed during the morning assembly and fell into a coma. It appears like a stroke on the surface, but the underlying cause is clearly not that. His heart is barely beating, and his breathing is so faint it's almost inaudible; he looks no different from a dead man. We've tried everything, but not only have we been unable to save him, he shows no reaction at all.”
Shen Lang stepped forward and looked at the gaunt Ning Yuanxian. He hadn't seen him in a while and was shocked by how much he had aged. How young and refined he used to look. Using his X-ray vision, Shen Lang scanned Ning Yuanxian's entire body. It wasn't poison, nor a stroke, nor a cerebral infarction. There were no hematomas or other foreign objects in his brain.
*This is… strange…*
Next, Shen Lang performed every possible examination, including taking his pulse and drawing blood. Still, he found nothing. Although Shen Lang had expected this, he couldn't help but be surprised. This was beyond the scope of medicine, which was why the cause of the illness couldn't be found. Why on earth did Ning Yuanxian suddenly collapse into a coma? It was as if someone had pressed a stopwatch; he fell right as he was about to declare Ning Zheng the crown prince. It was as if someone was controlling him. There could be no such coincidence in the world.
*I must have missed some minor detail. I need to let my imagination run wild, without limits. Form a bold hypothesis, then carefully verify it.*
Shen Lang once again carefully examined Ning Yuanxian's entire body and discovered a faint mark over his heart. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary pressure mark, but upon closer inspection with his X-ray vision and continuously zooming in on the image with his computer, he found it was a burn mark.
*What is this?*
Then, Shen Lang's gaze fell upon a button on Ning Yuanxian's undergarment. The button, about an inch in diameter, was made of gold and inlaid with a gemstone. Ning Yuanxian was known for his extravagant spending of the national treasury, but this button seemed excessively lavish. Moreover, unlike the other buttons around it, this one was positioned directly over his heart. The more he looked at it, the less it seemed like an ordinary button; it appeared strange and unusual.
Shen Lang picked up the button and brought it close to his eye for a detailed look. At a glance, it looked like an ordinary red gemstone, but its purity was so high that its fine red light resembled the color of blood. Then, he scanned it with his X-ray vision. What in the world? Even with X-rays, he couldn't scan the internal structure of the gemstone on the button. This was definitely not normal. Shen Lang then took out a special tool and tried to cut the gemstone. As he attempted to cut it, he continued to scan it with X-rays. But at that moment, a sharp pain shot through Shen Lang's head, and his supercomputer sounded an alarm.
Radiation is the phenomenon where a portion of the electronic energy emitted from a substance propagates outward and does not return to its origin. It primarily spreads in the form of electromagnetic waves and particles. Unless at absolute zero (the theoretical temperature at which a substance emits no electromagnetic radiation, meaning no molecular motion occurs; -273.15°C or -460°F), all things have radiation—cell phone signals, microwaves, and so on. The only difference is the amount of radiation emitted. Therefore, one shouldn't immediately think only of nuclear bombs when considering radiation.
As Shen Lang tried to cut the gemstone, extremely strong radiation energy was detected, and he immediately stopped. He re-examined the wound on Ning Yuanxian's chest. If his guess was correct, the button with the gemstone had delivered a fatal blow to Ning Yuanxian at the critical moment. Currently, Ning Yuanxian was like a person in a vegetative state, but his condition was even worse. A person in a vegetative state typically has normal breathing and heartbeat, and can even exhibit conditioned reflexes. They might even yawn or make chewing motions unconsciously. But Ning Yuanxian was completely still, appearing no different from a dead man. Clearly, the gemstone had inflicted massive damage to Ning Yuanxian's brain and nerves in a short period, preventing him from even having conditioned reflexes.
Next, Shen Lang checked Ning Yuanxian's reflex arc (the connection between afferent and efferent nerves linking receptors and effectors), but there was still no response. This was not a product of this world; it must have come from the ancient ruins. As the saying goes, "see one, know ten." This alone was enough to gauge how many items these transcendent factions had excavated from the ancient ruins.
“Where did this button come from?”
Bian Fei replied to Shen Lang's question.
“This was originally a token exchanged between His Majesty and the former queen when they were betrothed. It was first a gemstone on a hairpin. After the fall of Lord Jiang Li, His Majesty divorced the former queen. She took the hairpin back from him and passed away not long after. The hairpin only resurfaced a few years ago.”
“Who gave this to His Majesty?”
“The Crown Prince did. He said he found it by chance at home.”
“Eunuch Bian, please continue.”
“At that time, the hairpin had been covered in dust for a long time. Being a silver hairpin, it had blackened and slightly deformed from disuse over the years. So, His Majesty had it made into a button and attached it to the clothes he always wears.”
This would place it closer to his heart. It showed Ning Yuanxian's shame and longing for his former wife. Shen Lang held the gemstone up to the sun and examined it closely, but he couldn't find any flaws. It was truly admirable. The methods the transcendent factions used to harm people were so ingenious they were impossible to defend against. After hearing Bian Fei's words, Shen Lang was certain that this gemstone had been swapped.
The betrothal gift the former queen gave Ning Yuanxian must have been an ordinary gemstone. But the one the Crown Prince later gave him was a specially crafted one from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. This matter likely passed through the hands of the Zhu Clan. How incredible. They had been preparing to assassinate King Ning Yuanxian for over a decade, only making their move now. They were truly formidable opponents. However, the one who pulled the trigger this time was not the Zhu Clan, but the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. Shen Lang had long been curious about the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.
*The Floating Mountain has its gu-insects, but what does the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion have? What makes them so formidable?*
That question was finally answered now. This special gemstone was likely just the tip of the iceberg of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion's true power. However, Shen Lang didn't believe they had created this gemstone themselves. It was more likely an artifact excavated from the ancient ruins.
“Can you save him?”
Ning Zheng asked. Shen Lang replied.
“This was done using ancient civilization's technology, so it absolutely cannot be cured by medical means. Give me six shichen. I need to run some experiments. But don't get your hopes up. During these six shichen, I will be conducting experiments that are close to trial and error.”
***
For the next twelve hours, Shen Lang experimented relentlessly. He took a white mouse and first attempted to destroy the gemstone by physical means. In response, the gemstone released an intangible attack. This attack wasn't electricity, but it was very similar. Instantly, the white mouse entered a near-death state. First, its entire nervous system was paralyzed, then its brain activity ceased, making its condition strikingly similar to Ning Yuanxian's.
Next, Shen Lang tried various methods and medicinal herbs, but all failed. He even tried two other medicines from the ancient ruins, but they had no effect. These were the ancient medicines he had obtained when he helped the Floating Mountain open the entrance to the Black Stone Island ruins. One pill had been used on Mulan, leaving two unknown pills. Despite studying them several times, even Shen Lang couldn't determine the purpose of these two pills. He used a silver needle to extract the liquid from inside them and tried to save the white mouse, but it had no effect. For twelve hours, Shen Lang conducted dozens of experiments, and all of them failed.
***
“All my experiments have failed. This gemstone is from the ancient ruins. It's an unknown object to me, so to save His Majesty, I must first understand what it is. I can only save him using the methods of ancient civilizations. I will go to meet Prince Gong of the Great Southern Kingdom. Give me one month.”
Shen Lang quickly gave several orders.
“I will go with you.”
Li Qianqiu and Zhong Chuke said at the same time. Shen Lang replied.
“Only Senior Li Qianqiu needs to accompany me. For the next few months, no one will try to assassinate me, nor will they dare to.”
Once again, Shen Lang said that no one would assassinate him, but no one knew the real reason why.
“One month. Give me one month!”
Without delay, Shen Lang took Li Qianqiu and quickly left the palace. To cover their tracks, they left the capital under the cover of darkness and entered Tianxi Province once more.
They crossed Tianxi Province and entered the State of Jiang. From there, they headed south, passing through countless miles of dense jungle before entering the capital of the Southern Barbarians. Li Qianqiu and Shen Lang covered the thousands of li in less than seven days. At first, Shen Lang rode in a carriage pulled by three horses, which was extremely fast. After entering the territory of the Southern Barbarians, Shen Lang sat in a rattan chair, which Li Qianqiu carried on his back as he advanced. Despite this relatively comfortable mode of travel, Shen Lang was so exhausted his body was on the verge of cramping.
When Shen Lang appeared before State Preceptor Sha Yin again, the latter was somewhat astonished.
“Great Master, do you recognize this object?”
Full of hope, Shen Lang handed over the gemstone. State Preceptor Sha Yin examined it carefully several times before shaking his head.
“I do not.”
*Damn it. This is going to be a problem. Even State Preceptor Sha Yin doesn't know.*
“Is Prince Gong here?”
When Shen Lang left the capital, Ning Zheng had immediately sent a messenger south to inform Prince Gong of the Southern Ou Kingdom about the matter.
“His Highness is not here. He is handling other important matters within the Southern Ou Kingdom, dealing with the aftermath of the troop withdrawal from the State of Yue. However, he sent me a carrier pigeon message, instructing me to cooperate with you unconditionally, Young Master.”
“At the critical moment when King Yuanxian of Yue was about to name Ning Zheng as crown prince, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion used this object to assassinate him. It can emit a strange, intangible attack that has completely paralyzed the king's brain and nerves. Right now, the King of Yue is like a dead man, with no sensation, and his entire nervous system doesn't even have conditioned reflexes.”
State Preceptor Sha Yin examined the object closely again, but he too could not find any clues.
“There are two methods we can try now. The first is to read the ancient texts of ancient civilizations. The second is to seek help from the transcendent factions.”
The second method was impossible. The Floating Mountain would not save Ning Yuanxian, and neither would the White Jade Capital. This place did not snow, so it was outside the White Jade Capital's sphere of influence.