In the second half of the autumn night, the moon had gone down, and the sun had not yet risen. There was only a dark blue sky. There was a violent coughing in the back of Fan Manor. The coughing did not stop, and it did not stop for a long time. It startled the servants, and they struggled to wake up from their dreams. There was a flurry of activity in the garden.
Perhaps it was a problem with the weather, but not only had Minister Fan caught a cold, but some of the servants had also caught a cold. Those with runny noses had been sent to the country estates outside the capital, but the rest of the people did not dare to be careless. They drank the medicine the young master had written every day. The medicine was very effective, and the cold did not spread. The reason why the coughing made the people of Fan Manor panic was because it came from the young master's room. The young master had been suffering from a strange illness for the past two days. He had coughed badly, but he did not want the palace doctors to prescribe medicine. He believed in his own methods. But after a few days, the coughing had not subsided. The servants of Fan Manor could not help but worry, afraid that something had happened to the young master, who had been very kind to them.
The head maid, Sisi, had a red ribbon tied around her forehead and combed her slightly messy hair. She stood angrily in the small kitchen. As she smelled the strong smell of medicine coming from the room, she called out to the girls who did the hard work, telling them to work faster. She was someone sent to the capital by the ancestors of Danzhou, and her future status was obvious. So in Fan Manor, her words carried some weight. The sleepy servants knew that the young master's illness was troublesome. Seeing her angry, they bit their lips and did not dare to respond.
After watching for a while, Sisi still could not relax. She moved a small stool and sat in front of the medicine stove. She held a fan in her hand and gently waved it. She stared unblinkingly at the mouth of the stove, where the medicinal mist was rising. Her eyes gradually turned red, and she did not dare to be careless. Brewing medicine was very particular about the heat. The medicine in front of her was for the young master to take. If she did not watch, she would not feel at ease.
In the bedroom, Lin Wan'er was wearing a cotton robe embroidered on the outside. She rubbed Fan Xian's chest, feeling sorry for him. Carefully, she asked, "How about … we really try the royal doctor's prescription?"
Fan Xian coughed until his face was red. He waved his hand and forced a smile. "How could I be so precious? Besides, I know my own body. I won't die. Just prescribe some medicine for myself."
Lin Wan 'er also knew that her husband's medical skills were exceptional, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to cure the lung disease that had haunted her for fifteen years. But these past few days she had heard him coughing violently, so she couldn't help but feel worried. Biting her lip, she said, "Even Eunuch Hong can't tell the cause of this illness … but you say you know, you …" She rolled her eyes and said, "Should I write a letter to Mr. Fei and ask?"
Fan Xian coughed again. He knew that his wife was still worried. He sighed and said, "It's not like you don't know that teacher of mine. Out of every year, he spends most of the year wandering around. Even if he wanted to rush back, who knows how long it would take?" He then smiled and said, "Maybe three or four months. By that time, I'm afraid I'll already be a dead man … You …" He gently flicked the tip of Wan'er's nose and jokingly said, "Then you'll be the prettiest widow in the capital."
Lin Wan'er spat on the ground a few times and angrily said, "What time is it, and you still say such nonsense!"
Fan Xian laughed. He wasn't as nervous as the rest of the family, because he knew exactly what had happened to his body. The medicine he was brewing right now was only to help him calm his heart and clear his mind, relax his lungs, clear his meridians, and stabilize his condition. As for the real cause of the illness, he would have to rely on himself to fix it. As he spoke, he comforted Wan'er a bit, and then carefully placed his right hand under the blanket.
His right hand would occasionally tremble. It had started outside the capital government, and it hadn't gotten any better until today.
There was a knock on the door, and Sisi carefully carried the medicine into the room. The servant girl, Siqi, who slept with her in the front room, had long since climbed out of bed. She lit the oil lamp on the table, moved a high table, and placed it in front of the bed of the young master and mistress. She took the bowl of medicine, took out a spoon, and gently stirred the medicine in the bowl to cool it down. When the temperature was just right, she fed Fan Xian a small sip.
Fan Xian drank it, and it tasted a little bitter. He unconsciously licked his lips, but Sisi had already stuffed a sugar pill into his mouth, and immediately diluted the bitterness in his mouth. He couldn't help but laugh. "I'm a man, do you really need to serve me like this?"
Sisi smiled and said, "Young master, when you were little, you were afraid of taking medicine." Fan Xian thought to himself, the medicine in this world can't be coated with sugar, so of course he would frown when he drank it.
Siqi took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and helped Fan Xian wipe the corner of his mouth. She also said very seriously, "Young master, you are now a patient. You can't force yourself."
Seeing the two servant girls like this, even Wan 'er couldn't stand it anymore. She laughed and scolded them, "Don't spoil him too much." Although she said this, her small hands kept moving down Fan Xian's back, making him feel more comfortable.
Although Fan Xian enjoyed the life of a young master, and felt that it was a good thing to be so comfortable when sick, he couldn't help but shake his head. He reached for the bowl of medicine and drank it in one gulp. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled. "I'm a part-time doctor, not a child."
The two servant girls looked at each other and smiled. They didn't say anything. Seeing that it was getting late, Fan Xian knew that his coughing had kept the servant girls busy for a while. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He said, "After you drink the medicine, you shouldn't be coughing anymore. Go to sleep. Let the servant girls who are on night watch go to sleep as well. The autumn night is cold, what if they get sick again?"
"It's going to be dawn soon. Why are you still sleeping?"
"It's always better to sleep a little longer," Fan Xian said seriously.
They knew that this young master cared for his servants, and that under his gentle appearance was a heart that never went back on his word. Sisi and Siqi didn't dare to argue. They agreed in unison and went out to arrange the chores.
Fan Xian got out of bed and poured a cup of tea to rinse his mouth. Wan 'er saw this and couldn't help but say, "Drinking cold tea when you're sick isn't good for your body." Fan Xian smiled and sat back on the bed. "I told you, this illness is different from other illnesses." The couple talked for a while. Wan 'er saw that he wasn't coughing anymore, and she felt a little more at ease. She felt sleepy, but seeing that he didn't want to sleep, she didn't either. Finally, Fan Xian couldn't stand it anymore. He quietly reached out and rubbed her shoulders. His fingers brushed over a few of the calming acupuncture points on her head. Only then did she fall asleep.
Looking at his sleeping wife, Fan Xian knew that she had been worried about him these past few days. She was mentally and physically exhausted. He couldn't help but shake his head. His illness wasn't something that could be cured just by taking good care of himself. It wasn't like his father's. Minister Fan's cold, under his skillful hands, was already showing signs of improvement. In about two more days, he would be completely cured. However, his father was old, and his body wasn't like a young man's. His recovery was always slower.
He gently waved his hand and extinguished the oil lamp on the table five feet away. The entire bedroom sank into darkness, but he kept his bright eyes open. He still couldn't fall asleep because he had been sitting quietly for too long these past few days. It was not easy for him to get sleepy.
The tip of his tongue gently licked the dregs of the medicine between his teeth, evaluating the herbs he had personally chosen. He seemed to be able to feel the active ingredients in the herbs enter his lungs and begin to help him soothe the discomfort. He felt a little proud of himself. He reached out and pulled the blanket over his wife's body. Then he put his hand into a secret compartment under his pillow and pulled out a small medicine pouch. Inside the pouch were several large pills that were perfectly round and rough to the touch.
Although the room was dark, Fan Xian knew that these pills were red. Ever since he was young, Mister Fei Jie had ordered him to carry these pills with him at all times, just in case something went wrong with the nameless martial secrets he was practicing. If that overbearing and ruthless zhenqi was about to break through his meridians, this pill would be his last resort.
When Fan Xian was very young, when he was still living in Danzhou, Fei Jie had discovered this fatal problem. The nameless martial secrets that Wu Zhu had left for Fan Xian, or rather, for Fan Xian's mother, could indeed be cultivated into an overbearing and vigorous zhenqi. The problem was that this kind of zhenqi was too overbearing and ruthless. If an ordinary person were to practice it, they would not be able to practice for long before the zhenqi in their body would burst and pierce through them. Once their meridians were broken, they would naturally become useless.
But compared to the people of this world, there was something strange about Fan Xian. His meridians seemed to be much thicker than those of the people of this world. Because of this, he had been secretly practicing the nameless and tyrannical martial method since he was a baby. By the time he was four years old, the zhenqi in his body had already reached a shocking level, but he had not exploded and died.
But Fei Jie had once said that as the zhenqi in his body grew stronger and stronger, there would come a day when the naturally formed meridian channels would no longer be able to contain it, and Fan Xian would have to suffer greatly!
But after more than ten years, Fan Xian did not feel this kind of danger. Although the zhenqi in his body was overbearing, it was still under his control. Especially after the age of 12, when he finished practicing the first volume of the nameless martial secrets, the storm-like zhenqi in his body suddenly stopped. It was completely tamed, and did not affect him in the slightest.
So he gradually let down his guard, and even almost forgot about the matter. He no longer carried the pills with him at all times, but left them at home. Except when he went on a diplomatic mission to Northern Qi, he had brought one with him, but he had not used it.
Trouble always came when people were least prepared.
After the seemingly safe but dangerous journey to Northern Qi, the zhenqi in Fan Xian's body had finally merged with his skills. He had already broken through the threshold of the ninth level, and was beginning to reach the pinnacle of martial arts in the world. The overbearing zhenqi in his body had finally reached perfection, and he could even fight against Ku He's disciple, Lang Tiao. Unexpectedly, after he defeated Xie Bi 'an, one of the eight generals, outside the capital government, the zhenqi in his body began to act up.
Starting from the Snow Mountain at the back of his waist, along the meridians, the two zhenqi channels were like two circles, communicating with each other in his body. But now, the zhenqi seemed to have smelled some traces of the owner of his body, and it began to become restless. It was no longer willing to stay in the meridians, and instead, it kept extending, probing, and piercing in all directions.
Fan Xian's hands were where he had perfect control of the zhenqi, but now they had become the juncture for the zhenqi in his body to overflow. Now, his right hand would occasionally tremble. That was the result of the zhenqi in his muscles and meridians not listening to him.
The situation was not too serious. At least, it was still within his control. After these days of meditation, he had used his mind to suppress the overbearing zhenqi in his body. But the two opposing forces had damaged his lungs, and that was why he could not stop coughing. But if he allowed this situation to continue, there would come a day when he would not be able to control the overbearing and violent zhenqi in his body.
Fan Xian had also tried to practice the second half of the nameless martial secret, but so far he had not made any progress. Sometimes, when he coughed badly, he hated Wu Zhu — you gave me the Absorbing Stars, so you should at least give me a way to deal with it, right?
He gently squeezed the medicine pouch in his hand and frowned. A few days ago, he had analyzed the pill his teacher had left him. It was like a tiger fighting a lion. To help him deal with the overbearing zhenqi in his body, his teacher had also given him a very overbearing medicine. He had no confidence in what would happen if he took the medicine. There was a lot of mayflower mixed in it, and that was … an authentic medicine for dispersing zhenqi!
Was he willing to give up the zhenqi that he had painstakingly cultivated for over ten years? Even if he did not lose his zhenqi, he feared that the zhenqi in his body would be consumed by more than half!
But if he did not take it … did he have to watch the zhenqi explode into a giant ball of blood in a few months, or perhaps a few years? Even if it did not have such a terrifying effect … it did not look good to have his right hand constantly trembling. He was so young, and yet he had to act like someone with Parkinson's disease?
To take it or not to take it, that was a big question.
A rooster crowed in the distance, waking up the sun and driving away the night, but the people were still sleeping soundly. Fan Xian raised his head and realized that he had been sitting by the bed for an hour. He couldn't help but laugh at himself. He, who was most afraid of death, when faced with such a difficult situation, could also be so cowardly and hesitant.
Perhaps this was also an opportunity, he comforted himself.
"Do not destroy the shape of the Hua Pool, let the heavenly spring pour into my body …" He slowly recited the incantation and sat by the bed, entering a meditative state. He carefully withdrew the chaotic zhenqi in his body into his meridians, and then slowly returned it to the snow-capped mountain behind his waist, letting it shine brightly there, illuminating the snow-capped mountain.
Suddenly, his heart jumped, and Fan Xian opened his eyes. He casually put on some clothes, pushed open the door, and walked to the most secluded corner of the garden. It was the little practice field where he had tested the poison needles. He didn't need to look around to see the strange uncle with a black cloth covering his face next to the fake mountain.
He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He opened his mouth to complain, "So you still know to come back."
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