Chapter 082: Southern Border Insect Plague

  "Prepare hot water, golden wound medicine, alum, licorice, tortoise shell, frankincense, angelica, realgar, and melon seeds. Dry the tortoise shell, soak the angelica in wine, and use two qian of each of the other ingredients. Quickly summon all military doctors to the tent and issue an order to the three armies: strictly guard the troops left behind by the various aristocratic families. If there is any unusual movement, execute them immediately without reporting back. Also, dispatch people to guard the four gates of the camp, and block anyone who tries to enter or leave. If anyone disobeys, behead them without pardon. Do you understand?"

  Le Song's eyebrows relaxed and he nodded: "Don't worry, miss."

  "Alright, you can go." Qing Xia's eyes were sharp as she turned her head to Xu Quan, who was covered in blood, and said: "Have someone guard the central military tent. Even if the sky falls, don't let anyone unrelated enter."

  Xu Quan naturally knew the severity of the matter and nodded solemnly in response: "Yes!"

  Qing Xia took a deep breath and was about to walk back into the large tent. Xi Lin Yu stood beside Xu Quan and others, his clothes tattered and stained with blood, with a long wound on his left arm, fresh blood glistening, looking terrifying. However, he didn't seem to notice his own injuries, listening to Qing Xia's series of commands, slightly dazed, seeing Qing Xia turn around to head back to the camp tent, hurriedly called out: "Miss, let me go in too."

  Qing Xia's eyebrows slightly raised, and she slowly turned her head back, sizing up the only surviving man among the seven great families today. Her expression was filled with cautious carefulness and deep probing.

  "Let me go in, I'm skilled in medicine, maybe I can help." Xilin Rong said hastily.

  Qing Xia slightly tilted her head, only then remembering that the West Lin family of Heng City was a medical family, and the most famous doctor in South Chu was also the master of the West Lin family, West Lin Yu. Thinking of this, she glanced faintly at Xu Quan beside her, raising an eyebrow to ask, as she didn't understand what was going on here and could only ask Xu Quan. Seeing Xu Quan nod almost imperceptibly, Qing Xia turned slightly sideways and said lightly: "Come in."

  The stifling hot tent was filled with the stench of blood, Chu Li lay on the wide and warm bed in the rear tent, his face pale, without any blood color.

  Qing Xia didn't even look at Xi Lin Yu, who had followed her in. She took a set of silver needles that she had prepared and sat down beside Chu Li. Quickly, she began to insert the needles into various acupoints such as Shang Xing, Tai Chong, San Yin Jiao, Zu San Li, and Bai Hui. Her technique was skilled and her accuracy in identifying the acupoints was comparable to that of a doctor with many years of experience. Xi Lin Yu's eyes were sharp and he could see that Qing Xia was administering acupuncture to relieve Chu Li's pain. He didn't say anything further.

  Chu Li's face was pale, the skin on his neck had calmed down, and those Gu worms must have already entered his body. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his face was bloodless, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his veins bulged, even though he was unconscious, his pain could still be seen.

  Qing Xia bit her lower lip, and after the accurate injection, she didn't see any easing of Chu Li's expression. She could only stretch out her hand to tightly grasp Chu Li's arm and say in a deep voice: "Hold on, it will definitely be fine."

  It's unclear if he heard Qing Xia's words, but Chu Li's eyelids fluttered slightly as if he wanted to open his eyes. Qing Xia's expression was firm, tightly grasping Chu Li's hand, and continuously said: "You'll definitely be fine."

  "Is there a way?" Qing Xia suddenly turned around and stared straight at Xi Lin Yu.

  Xilin nodded and said, "My father will be here soon, he should be able to save him."

  Qing Xia nodded firmly, and a bright color instantly appeared on her face. She turned her head to look at Chu Li: "Did you hear that? There must be a way to save him, so many hardships you've endured, today will definitely be okay."

  "Miss!" Xu Quan's voice sounded outside the tent, Qing Xia responded loudly, and a group of black-clad guards poured in, carrying all the things Qing Xia had asked to be prepared. Behind them followed a group of military doctors from the Northern Camp, with Xi Lin Rong's father at the forefront. The old man had white hair but looked youthful, with kind eyebrows and eyes that seemed benevolent, not at all like one would expect from the master of one of the eight great families.

  "Suspect not to use, use not to suspect." Qing Xia hurriedly stood up and made way, bowing respectfully to Xi Lin Yu and said: "Old sir."

  Xilin Yu's face turned gloomy, and he hastily walked forward, bowing his head to Qing Xia before going to check on Chu Li's condition.

  Qing Xia retreated from the crowd and stood far away, tiptoeing to look at Chu Li who was surrounded by a group of military doctors.

  In the dim light, only Chu Li's raven-black hair and pale hands clutching the bedside could be seen. On his pale wrist, there was a dark red scab. Qing Xia clenched her fists tightly, breathing heavily, like a patient with a serious illness.

  "Ning Yuan," Xi Lin Yu's expression was serious as he spoke to Yao Tong beside him: "Prepare hot water, Jin Shang medicine, alum, licorice root, dried tortoise shell, frankincense, Angelica sinensis, realgar, and melon seeds. Dry the tortoise shell, soak the Angelica sinensis in wine, use two qian of each of the others, also prepare five fen of Da Fu Sheng, apply it with cold water."

  "Sir," Xǔ Quán chimed in from the side: "Everything is already here." As he spoke, he handed over the medicinal herbs that Qīng Xià had previously prepared.

  Xi Lin's eyebrows slightly raised, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. While skillfully stirring the medicinal herbs with one hand, he asked in a low voice: "I wonder which doctor diagnosed you before me."

  "No one has diagnosed it, it's what our girl ordered us to prepare."

  Xilin Yu's eyes immediately turned towards Qing Xia's direction, Qing Xia smiled politely and asked urgently: "Old sir, how is the emperor's condition?"

  "It doesn't matter," Xi Lingyu shook his head, "This is a fierce and venomous mother wasp, those who are stung will die instantly. However, Your Majesty had been stung by this wasp in the past, and I had planted a counteracting child wasp inside his body back then. As long as we use medicinal herbs to fumigate Your Majesty's extraordinary meridians, we can drive the wasp out."

  Qing Xia nodded and let out a long sigh, had Chu Li ever cultivated such a poisonous insect before? A thread of pain that Qing Xia had deliberately ignored slowly crept up her heart, she turned her head to look at Chu Li lying on the bed, or perhaps she really didn't understand this man after all.

  "Miss," Xu Quan walked over and said, "You must be tired too, go rest for a while. There's Lord Xilin here, and the Black Guard is surrounding the outside, nothing will happen."

  Qing Xia shook her head slightly and stood still, saying in a soft voice: "I'm more at ease here, I won't be able to sleep if I go back."

  Xu Quan saw Qing Xia covered in blood, with multiple abrasions on her shoulders, arms and thighs. Her palms were also stained red with blood. He couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly, instructing the servants to bring over a large soft chair for Qing Xia to lean against. Then he turned to Xi Lin Yu standing beside him and said: "Please take care of our young lady."

  Xi Lin was taken aback, not expecting the usually cold and ruthless Black Guard Captain Xu Quan to attach such importance to this woman. He nodded thoughtfully.

  She took the medicine box from Yao Tong, Xilin Yue opened the box and took out a clean cotton cloth and medicinal water, half-bending her waist to say to Qing Xia: "Miss, please let me apply the medicine for you."

  Qing Xia had never heard of it before, quietly lowering her head, as if in thought.

  "Miss, your hand is badly injured, please let me apply some medicine for you."

  She pulled over Qing Xia's hand, and saw that the white and slender palm was covered with new and old wounds, peeling skin, redness and swelling. As the saying goes, "ten fingers connected to the heart", such a wound is unbearable for her.

  Carefully picking out the fine thorns and dust that had pierced into her flesh, she washed it clean with water twice, then applied medicine to Qing Xia's wound using a white cotton cloth. Xi Lin Yu was a skilled doctor, so he naturally knew how painful this medicine would be on an open wound. Yet, until he finished meticulously bandaging Qing Xia's palm, not once did she cry out in pain. This woman's temperament was as tough as steel, and her decisiveness in handling matters was unmatched; her methods were ruthless, yet her stance was clear-cut. Thinking back to all that Chu Li had done today, Xi Lin Yu couldn't help but furrow his brow tightly.

  The Shahe Desert is now a burial ground for the withered bones of the eight great families' elite warriors. Except for his own family, the Xilin clan, all the others have fallen in the Western Black Wasteland, becoming food for birds and beasts. Even the Zhushan family from Lingnan, who were closely related to him, couldn't escape this disaster. If he hadn't followed Chu to charge into the beast horde, he wouldn't be standing here today. It seems that the Great Emperor has already turned against the eight great families, using his recent playful and carefree behavior to numb people's senses. On the surface, it seemed peaceful, but in reality, he had set up a deadly trap. Now, the eight great families have lost their elite warriors, leaving only the old, weak, women, and children who are powerless to counterattack. The problem of division that had plagued the Southern Chu imperial court for three hundred years has been resolved in this one battle. Chu has placed himself in a precarious position, using his own life as bait to lure the heads of various families into relaxing their vigilance. His strategic mind and ruthless heart make him a legendary hero.

  "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what happened that night." Qing Xia's voice suddenly rang out, Xi Lin Yu was lost in thought, and upon hearing this, he was startled, hastily lowering his head to gaze deeply at Qing Xia's expressionless face.

  "Falling in love with the Emperor is a pitiful thing in itself. If your little sister cannot bear Chu Lei's three palaces and six courtyards, his harem of concubines, it would be better to advise her to give up early on, lest she become irretrievable later on and ruin her own life."

  Xilin's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and after a long time, he suddenly asked, "And you, miss?"

  He didn't know why he asked that, only to realize it was already out of his mouth. Qing Xia was slightly stunned, slowly lifted her head, and gazed at this man who had a few encounters with her. The long-suppressed issue was suddenly brought up and placed in front of her, and she felt a rare sense of panic.

  What about her? Why is she so anxious and worried, why is she so nervous? Chu Li's feelings for her have long been known to her, so what attitude does she have towards Chu Li?

  She had been trying to escape from him, pretending to be friendly and putting on a show, repeatedly testing each other, deceiving each other, hurting each other, and suspecting each other. However, this time when they met again, Qing Xia couldn't help but admit that it wasn't like the past in Shengdu, with that kind of rejection and disgust, that kind of desperate escape and estrangement. On the contrary, there was concern, heartache, thoughts of helping him out, and ideas of revenge for him. Their relationship had been slowly changing, although they still looked at each other with anger and hostility, Qing Xia knew that beneath the cold mockery and sarcasm lay a growing concern and care for each other.

  Is this love?

  As soon as this thought arose, a pale and indifferent face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. Qing Xia's heart ached for a moment, and her eyebrows furrowed tightly. How could she selfishly blame Qin Zhiyan for today's events? Everyone has their own stance and interests, Chu Li had long known that Qin Zhiyan was inciting the Southern Territory to rebel in order to solidify his position in the Great Qin army. However, he remained still, using a clever strategy to borrow the hands of the Southern Territory to eliminate the elite forces of the seven major families at once, reclaiming imperial power. Both people had ulterior motives, carefully planning their own greatest interests, so how could it be clear who was right and who was wrong with just one sentence?

  What Qin Yifen did was just doing her job, and Chu Li getting hurt was a necessary price to pay. She had been in the special forces for many years and had long seen through the various tricks of modern hypocritical politicians who would sacrifice everything to protect their own interests. In office, one schemes for politics; can things really be divided into black and white?

  In the royal tomb, Qing Xia and Qin Zhiyan's brief encounter had given rise to inexplicable emotions. Qing Xia didn't resent Qin Zhiyan for using her as a pawn in his plans; after all, it was a desperate situation, and she would have done the same if their positions were reversed. However, the gap between them, like a massive chasm, lay starkly evident. Qing Xia knew exactly what she wanted and what she shouldn't get entangled with. At this point in time, given her state of mind and status, she fundamentally shouldn't provoke anyone or anything; this was something she had always kept clearly in mind.

  So, he resolutely gave up and ruthlessly cut off. The same was true for Qin Zhiyan, and the same was true for Chu Li.

  Qing Xia slowly shook his head, shaking off the inexplicable chaotic thoughts in his mind. He smiled faintly at Xi Lin Yu and said with a melancholic expression: "I don't belong here."

  Her words were ambiguous, but what she implied was her own state of mind from modern society. However, when Xilin heard it, he thought it was Qing Xia's reason for not interfering in the disputes between noble families and the imperial court. He nodded solemnly and said in a low voice: "In that case, thank you, miss."

  Qing Xia knew he had misunderstood her intention, and she didn't explain herself. Anyway, whether she intervened or not, Chu Li's heart was always self-measured, and she simply didn't have the right to comment on his actions.

  "Miss!" A sudden, urgent cry echoed outside the tent, and Qing Xia's brow furrowed as she turned around to lift the curtain and stepped out of the gate. She saw Le Song standing at the entrance with a solemn expression, saying in a low voice: "What is it?"

  "Mrs. Zhuo Lan wants to leave the camp, and after we blocked her, she gathered the remaining soldiers from the Li courtyard, fearing that she would force her way through."

  Qing Xia was taken aback by his words, and then a cold smile spread across the corners of his mouth.

  There's a road to heaven that you don't take, and there's no gate to hell that you insist on breaking in! Since you're asking for death yourself, you can't blame me for being ruthless.

  With a flick of his sleeve, he turned to face Le Song and the others, saying in a deep voice: "Get our troops in order, I'm going to meet this Lady Chulang."