The six-year-old Xiao Qi was brought back to the medical academy by Elder Ling. It was the first time he saw so many people, the first time he realized how noisy the world could be. It was also the first time he didn't smile for an entire day.
He lived with Elder Ling. On the first night, he only drank a bowl of medicine and was starving before he even slept.
He sneakily knocked on Elder Ling's door. "Elder Ling, Xiao Qi is hungry …"
"You have to call me Daddy." Elder Ling didn't open the door and corrected him loudly.
Xiao Qi didn't want to call him that, but he didn't contradict him either. He directly omitted the form of address. "I'm hungry … so hungry!"
Elder Ling seemed dissatisfied with the lack of greeting and didn't reply for a long time. Xiao Qi knocked on the door with all his might. "I'm hungry!"
"Xiao Qi, be good. Go to sleep and you won't be hungry." Elder Ling didn't get angry. He was just being perfunctory.
"I'm so hungry I can't sleep." Xiao Qi said pitifully.
"Then go drink some water. Your father said that you can't eat anything," Elder Ling replied.
Xiao Qi didn't say anything. He looked at the bright lights of the medical academy and suddenly missed his dark little thatched cottage.
Just as he was about to leave, Elder Ling said faintly from the other side of the door, "If you dare to eat secretly, you'll never see your daddy again."
"I won't!" Xiao Qi said fiercely as he huffed.
Unfortunately, there was no response from the other side of the door. Xiao Qi stood there stubbornly for a long time. When he saw that there wasn't any movement, he hurriedly knocked on the door. "When is my daddy coming?"
"Your daddy is in seclusion. He'll only be here in a month," Elder Ling replied honestly.
Xiao Qi didn't like Elder Ling, but he didn't leave. He sat outside the door for an entire night. Without his daddy's coaxing, he couldn't fall asleep. In the end, he didn't even know how he fell asleep.
He had a dream. In the dream, his daddy's gentle voice echoed in his ears. "Qi 'er, be good … Qi' er, be good …"
The next day, he had medicine for all three meals. There was only one bowl of medicine for each meal. If he didn't drink it, he wouldn't see his daddy. If he ate secretly, he wouldn't see his daddy.
No matter how smart and mature a six-year-old child was, he couldn't be scared, but he couldn't be starved either!
Xiao Qi, on the other hand, gritted his teeth and foolishly held on for three days and three nights. Finally, on the fourth day, he couldn't hold on any longer and fainted in front of Elder Ling's room.
Elder Ling had actually been paying close attention to his movements the entire time. Knowing that he had fainted, he immediately came out to check his pulse. The result was to his delight. His pulse was exactly as he and Academy Head Gu had predicted.
If he could endure it for another three days and three nights, the child would really have to take medicine for the next few years.
Elder Ling fed Xiao Qi both medicine and sugar water on time. One day later, Xiao Qi woke up in a daze. He almost recognized Elder Ling as his father. The word "father" was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it.
He muttered, "Qi 'er will be good … Qi' er will be good …"
He quickly fell into a coma again. The moment he lost consciousness, Dean Gu walked out from the side and personally took his pulse.
"Very well," Dean Gu said in a low voice.
Elder Ling was overjoyed. "Don't worry, Dean. He won't be able to escape from me."
"He won't run away." Dean Gu was very certain. He had been with this child for six years and knew how much this child relied on him.
A single sentence of "I'll never see father again" was enough to threaten him.
Two days later, Xiao Qi suddenly woke up. He felt that something was wrong with his stomach, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He sat on the bed in a daze and rubbed his stomach, muttering, "I'm so hungry …"
Just then, Elder Ling brought in a table full of food. The fragrance of the food quickly filled the room.
Xiao Qi was already hungry, and the smell of the food made him even more hungry. He looked at it from afar and couldn't stop swallowing his saliva.
However, he didn't ask, nor did he beg. He knew that he couldn't eat.
"Xiao Qi, it's time to eat. Come over." Elder Ling finally spoke.
The famished Xiao Qi didn't rush over. Instead, he asked cautiously, "If I eat … can I still see father?"
"Yes!" Elder Ling chuckled.
Xiao Qi was overjoyed. He didn't dare ask any more questions, afraid that Elder Ling would go back on his word. He rushed over and wolfed down the food.
Even an adult's stomach wouldn't be able to take it if they suddenly overeat after starving for so long, much less a six-year-old child.
Xiao Qi hadn't eaten much yet, but his stomach was already hurting. However, he endured it and wolfed down the food. He didn't know when his next meal would come.
He thought that if he ate more and hid it in his stomach, he wouldn't be hungry so quickly.
However, his stomach gradually became more and more uncomfortable. It felt like it was bloating and cramping. His chest felt stifled. He wanted to vomit, but he couldn't. Even breathing was difficult.
Finally, he put down his chopsticks and looked at Elder Ling for help. He … felt terrible!
Coldly, Elder Ling looked at him and waited, unmoved.
Xiao Qi retched a few times but didn't manage to vomit. Suddenly, he was afraid. He pounded his chest and stomach, crying out in pain, "Father! I want father! I want father … sob sob … "
Breathing was already difficult, and this crying made it even more difficult. His little face turned red, and he kept vomiting in fear. It seemed that vomiting would make him feel better.
However, he just couldn't vomit.
At first, he was standing. Then, he lay on his stomach. Finally, he rolled on the ground and cried his heart out. His delicate features were all distorted.
Finally, he rolled to Elder Ling's feet and begged, "Uncle Ling … save Xiao Qi … Uncle Ling, Xiao Qi is in pain … sob sob …"
Elder Ling stepped back, and Xiao Qi lay on his stomach again. Elder Ling stepped back again, and Xiao Qi struggled to roll over. He hugged Elder Ling's shoe as if he was hugging his last straw. "Sob sob … sob sob …"
However, Elder Ling kicked him away. Xiao Qi rolled to the side and lost his last bit of strength. He lay on the ground, dying. His breathing was weak.
He couldn't even cry. He whimpered and instinctively said, "Mom …"
Mom, what's that?
He didn't understand. He was just like when he was born. He didn't know anything. He instinctively needed a mother's embrace and protection.
He mumbled and mumbled, and unknowingly, he fell asleep. Perhaps he would wake up, or perhaps he would sleep forever.
Three days later, Xiao Qi woke up.
However, from then on, Xiao Qi didn't eat anymore. At first, he vomited whenever he saw food. He couldn't eat anymore. Later, when he was hungry, he wanted to eat. However, no matter what he ate, he would vomit it out immediately. Even he couldn't control it.
He didn't know why.
Elder Ling had said that this was the demonic disease he had contracted.
Xiao Qi didn't believe it, but his father also said that this was his illness. Xiao Qi believed him.
Xiao Qi could only drink medicine. He no longer ate it three times a day. He drank it whenever he was hungry. No matter how bitter the medicine was, he drank it with relish. He never vomited.
Gradually, Xiao Qi learned how to drink medicine. Without a teacher, he could identify the medicinal properties of dozens of herbs. Thus, he began to study medicine. Without a teacher to teach him, he compared the medicine to the books and tested it himself. He easily grasped the properties of various herbs. He even began to experiment with making and growing medicine.
Gradually, he grew up and no longer stubbornly wanted to see his father. He understood the significance of the two titles, the head of the medical academy and the head of the council of elders. He understood the influence his status had on his father's future and the contributions he made to the medical community.
He saw his father a few times. When no one was around, he would secretly call him 'Dad'. When outsiders were around, he would remain silent.
He no longer wanted to see his father. Instead, he wanted to help his father and the medical academy save more people.
In the blink of an eye, six years had passed.
In these six years, he had cultivated nearly a hundred new herbs, far more than any other clan in Medicine City. These new herbs had saved countless people from the torment of illness and even death.
He was twelve years old. It was the seventh of the seventh month.
On this day, Elder Ling took him into seclusion to study medicine. However, as soon as they entered the secret room, Elder Ling ordered people to tie him up.
"Elder Ling, what is the meaning of this?" Twelve-year-old Xiao Qi's voice was still tender, but it was sharp.
"Xiao Qi, don't be rude."
A familiar voice rang out. Little Seven turned around and saw that it was his father, Dean Gu.
He shook his head in shock, his mind blank. "Dad …"
Academy Head Gu ignored him and walked over to a long table with a bowl of black soup.
Xiao Qi immediately knew that it was poison, but he didn't know what kind of poison it was. "Dad, you … what are you doing?"
Academy Head Gu carefully sniffed the bowl of poison. After confirming that there was no mistake, he handed it over. "Be good, Qi 'er. Drink this."
Academy Head Gu probably still thought that Xiao Qi was a naive child who didn't know anything.
Xiao Qi pursed his lips and stared at his father. Tears were about to fall from his eyes.
He seemed to understand what was going on, but at the same time, he didn't seem to understand at all.
Academy Head Gu didn't force him, but he handed the bowl of poison to Elder Ling. Elder Ling forced his mouth open and stuffed a metal tube into his mouth. Then, he forced the poison down his throat and forced him to swallow it.
This wasn't a true poison, nor was it medicine. It was called a medicinal poison, something that could make people sick.
In less than two hours, the medicinal poison took effect.
Xiao Qi's entire body was covered in red spots. The itch was unbearable, and his entire body burned as if he had a high fever.
This was leprosy poison.
Xiao Qi finally understood what his father and Elder Ling were doing. His eyes filled with tears as he stared at his father, stubbornly refusing to speak.
Unfortunately, his father didn't care about the tears in his eyes. He only cared about the changes in his body.
They didn't give Xiao Qi any medicine for three whole days. They observed the changes in his condition. The fever didn't subside, and the itch was worse. They let go of one of Xiao Qi's hands so that he could scratch the itch. Then, they observed the scratches.
No matter how stubborn he was, he couldn't stop the disease. Xiao Qi was dizzy from the fever. He scratched unconsciously, and in less than a day, his arms and stomach were torn apart. It was a shocking sight.
Finally, they began to use medicine.
At that time, there was no clear cure for leprosy. They used Xiao Qi as an experiment.
They used one medicine at a time, and each medicine had to be tested for two days. They tried for an entire month before they finally found the most effective acupuncture technique and prescription.
At the age of twelve, Xiao Qi was as thin as a skeleton. His entire body was covered in cuts and bruises. He was no different from a corpse.
When his fever subsided, he slowly raised his head and called out in his childish voice, "Father … kill Xiao Qi then."
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