Chapter 40: Father Attacked, Controversy Renewed
What Jiang Chen and Jiang Ying both hadn’t thought of, was the fact that the duke of Jiang Han, Jiang Feng, had an injury that wasn’t as simple as it appeared to be. He hadn’t merely suffered a small wound.
His opponent had actually applied poison to the blade of the knife, and it was a violent and swift acting poison!
In the short time that Jiang Ying had gone out to escort Jiang Chen – less than an hour – Jiang Feng’s injuries had quickly deteriorated.
When Jiang Chen had returned to the manor, the duke of Jiang Han had already sank into a coma and his face was as black as cinders.
“Young duke, Master Ying, you’ve finally back. His Lordship…” The head steward of the manor, Jiang Fu, was so worried that tears had streaked down his face.
Jiang Chen combined three steps into two as he rushed to Jiang Feng, “Father!”
Jiang Feng’s consciousness had already sank into a coma. He merely groaned slightly, and his eyelids didn’t even open.
Jiang Ying’s fierce eyes were filled with thick regret. As the head of the Jiang family Iron Guard, it was his dereliction of duty in not properly protecting the duke.
“Your Lordship, your subordinate has failed you and can only thank you with my death.” Jiang Ying pulled out the dagger at his waist with a clang and slashed at his own neck.
Jiang Chen’s elbow bumped him slightly, just so happening to bump into the area between Jiang Ying’s waist and ribcage. Jiang Ying felt his arm go numb. Unable to firmly grasp the knife in his hands, the dagger fell to the ground with a clank.
“Jiang Ying, it’s easy for a man to die. Toiling to live in the face of hardship is the difficult part. You’re not going to tell me that the head of our Jiang family Iron Guard is a coward, are you?”
Jiang Chen’s tone was cold and severe, and it carried a few traces of a lecturing tone.
It was as if lightning had struck Jiang Ying. How comical was this scene? When had the young duke started lecturing like this? When had a foppish dandy that had given Jiang Ying headaches become equipped with such skill? Causing him to be unable to hold his waist dagger firmly with a careless bump?
Jiang Chen paid no more attention to Jiang Ying and asked Jiang Fu, “Have we sent for a doctor?”
“Yes we have. We’ve sent for three or four doctors and they all left without another word when they saw this situation. They were so scared that their faces had turned green.” Jiang Fu’s words were said with a tearful tone.
This type of poison had spread incredibly fast. If it wasn’t for the fact that Jiang Feng was a strong practitioner at nine meridians true qi, an ordinary person would’ve long since succumbed to death.
How could ordinary doctors, who had never seen this kind of poison, be able to cure it?
“Have none of the spirit alchemists been by?” Jiang Chen asked.
Jiang Fu was distressed. “I went in person to the Pill King Garden but was met with ridicule and mockery. I have no connections with the other two places.”
The Pill King Garden had always been in partnership with the Jiang family. Therefore Jiang Fu had not given it too much thought when he went to the Garden to ask for a spirit alchemist. He’d been subjected to a good round of ridicule and sneering, and it made him so angry that his entire body had shook.
Jiang Chen was speechless. This Jiang Fu was turning to any doctor he could find in his time of need. It would be a bizarre thing indeed if the Pill King Garden was willing to come cure Jiang Feng now.
Who knew, perhaps the Garden had even had a hand in the business with the poison.
After all, the situation now was quite clear. The Pill King Garden had thrown their lot in with the duke of Soaring Dragon and become a biting dog at his behest.
Jiang Chen did not sit idly by. He placed his fingers on Jiang Feng’s pulse as his brow creased faintly.
Jiang Chen had also conducted much research on the matters of employing poison in his past life.
He thought for a moment, stood up, and called for Jiang Fu to bring brush and paper, writing out a list.
“Jiang Fu, make a trip to the Hall of Healing and give this list to the third hallmaster Qiao Baishi. Also, ask him to come by with the items on the list.”
Jiang Chen fished around in his pockets and gave the engraved dragon medallion to Jiang Ying. “Uncle Ying, take this item and accompany Jiang Fu.”
Jiang Chen was calm in the face of panic and orderly in his measures.
For some reason, Jiang Ying had suddenly mysteriously grown a bit of confidence towards the young duke since being lectured by him just now.
“I hear and obey.” Jiang Ying knew that saving a life was as urgent as dousing a fire and he grabbed Jiang Fu, hauling him as he flew out the door.
One had to say, Qiao Baishi gave Jiang Chen a lot of face. He had arrived at the Jiang manor with the spirit medicines on the list in less than five minutes.
Qiao Baishi was also extremely shocked to see Jiang Feng’s condition.
After a moment’s diagnosis, his expression became even more grave. There were hints of incomprehension in his expression, some of deep musing and a bit of helplessness.
“Young duke Jiang, His Lordship has been poisoned. Of that there can be no doubt. But the theory behind this poison is difficult for me to grasp. I’m afraid that I am helpless with my mere level of practice. The lord hallmaster is highly resourceful and has extraordinary powers, but he unfortunately set out on a trip yesterday…”
Qiao Baishi’s tone carried regret and apology. He looked at Jiang Chen, momentarily at a loss of how to comfort him.
And, he was also internally shocked. To think that the situation within the capital would suddenly deteriorate to this! A regional duke had been ambushed on the doorsteps of his own house!
“Third hallmaster, in your mind, how many have the ability to use this poison within the capital?”
Qiao Baishi furrowed his brow in deep thought, and responded after a long while. “The three heavyweights in spirit medicine in the capital are all not particularly adept at using poison. I theorize that this wasn’t the work of a poison expert within the capital.
Young duke, the poison in your father has invaded the blood vessels. We must hurry and take action. Why not act according to the usual methods of treatment, and pierce the acupoints with silver needles in order to let out the poisoned blood?”
Although Qiao Bai could not fully grasp the workings of this poison, he knew treating poison usually followed this procedure. Bleeding out the poisoned blood first could at least slow down the speed in which the poison would attack the heart.
However, Jiang Chen shook his head. “No, we would be falling into the other’s trap if we use silver needles to pierce the acupoints. This poison is not one of blood, but one of the nerves. If we use silver needles to stimulate the acupoints, this will only cause the poison to spread faster.”
“What?” Qiao Baishi was extremely astonished. This was the first time that he had heard something like this.
Even the expressions of Jiang Ying and those on the sidelines changed drastically upon hearing these words.
Treating this poison in the usual way would actually increase the speed of the poison. It was a good thing that they hadn’t fancied themselves clever and used the silver needles. Otherwise, wasn’t this placing the duke in even greater danger?
Qiao Baishi suddenly remembered something and his brows quirked. “Young duke, you wrote a list for me and told me to bring those spirit medicines over. Do you already have a way to cure it?”
Jiang Chen nodded lightly. “If the level of my practice were similar to my father’s, I would be able to easily cure him of this poison. However, my father’s level is much higher than mine and thus it will take some effort to cure him. But I have my ways.
Jiang Fu, prepare a secret room.
Jiang Ying, activate the manor’s highest level of alert!
Third hallmaster, thank you for making the trip. Please wait here, I will come chat with you when I have cured my father of the poison.”
Qiao Baishi found it difficult to scratch the itch in his heart upon hearing Jiang Chen’s words. He had never seen this kind of poison before and really wanted to observe from the side. But he also knew that there couldn’t be a moment of distraction during the process of curing the poison, so he fiercely contained his curiosity.
But he would never agree to returning to the Hall at this moment if someone told him to. He wouldn’t give up this prime opportunity to broaden his perspectives.
Besides, he also wanted to use this opportunity to fully understand the theory behind curing this poison.
As a spirit alchemist, Qiao Baishi was an avid scholar. How could he miss a chance to learn and increase his skills?
He was willing to wait for ten days and ten nights without even the slightest crease of his brow – not to mention for just a short while.
This poison, although extremely incomprehensible in the ingredients used, wasn’t enough to stump the widely knowledgeable Jiang Chen. Although there were some uncommon methods used in the application of this poison that confounded even Qiao Baishi, a hallmaster in the Hall of Healing. Whoever had used the poison would count as an adept in using poison.
To Jiang Chen though, these tricks were all still at the pediatrics level.
One had to know, Jiang Chen had spent millions of years in studying the dao of alchemy in his past life, what had he not seen? Many of the alchemy immortals had often come to ask questions of Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen in his prior life was a wastrel in the aspect of training martial dao, but was a preeminent master at the level of being able to laugh proudly at the heavens in terms of the dao of alchemy.
In the entire process of Jiang Chen preventing Jiang Ying from committing suicide, instructing them to bring back Qiao Baishi, writing the list and conversing with Qiao Baishi just now, he had actually been continuously contemplating how to cure the poison.
Finally, he settled on a method that was most reliable for a cure.
After entering the secret room, Jiang Chen thoroughly crushed all the spirit medicine and completely dispersed them using vast waves true qi, incorporating the medicine into the true qi and conducting them into Jiang Feng’s body.
The theory of using true qi to conduct medicine seemed simple in theory, but it wasn’t something that just anyone could use to cure a poison.
First of all, the two people’s true qi must be of a common origin and could not have even the slightest bit of conflict. Otherwise the true qi would oppose each other, and the slightest conflict between the true qi would be enough to stimulate the poison and result in the poison spreading in all directions.
This process wouldn’t tolerate the slightest bit of interference.
For Jiang Chen, the only problem lay in the difference between his six meridians true qi and Jiang Feng’s nine meridians true qi. Since this was the case, he would have to be careful of the poison counterattacking while he was in the process of curing his father.
It was a good thing that Jiang Feng was in a poison induced coma. Although his consciousness still went through the motions of manipulating true qi out of habit, there was no way he could actually activate the limits of his true qi.
Add to that the fact that Jiang Chen was practicing the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”, a method that was hundreds of times more sophisticated than Jiang Feng’s “Vast Waves Method”.
Therefore, Jiang Chen’s vast waves true qi enjoyed absolute advantage and solidly conducted itself into Jiang Feng’s body, carrying the antidote medicines to all corners of Jiang Feng’s body.
In this matter, the process of curing the poison became simple.
Jiang Feng leisurely woke up after an hour.
“Chen’er, you’ve cured me of my poison?” Jiang Feng immediately extended his senses and was even more surprised. “Such rich and pure vast waves true qi, you… Chen’er, what level is your ‘Vast Waves Method’?”
Jiang Feng thought the rich and pure vast waves true qi were simply incredible.
Jiang Chen chuckled, “Father, I wanted to talk to you about this matter. I’m practicing not the “Vast Waves Method”, but the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”. “Vast Waves Method” is merely an offshoot of it, and is a method that shares a common origin with it.”
“Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans?” Jiang Feng had become completely petrified.
“Yes, for instance. This Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans is like the old ancestor of the “Vast Waves Method”. Father, find your inner peace and I’ll tell you. Practice the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” from now on and I promise that you’ll break through the shackles of the nine meridians true qi within a month, and join the ranks of the true qi masters!”
Within the realm of true qi, ten meridians true qi to twelve meridians true qi were all called true qi masters.
Becoming a true qi master meant entering the top levels of the true qi realm. The practitioner was bound to become the apex of the strong in the Eastern Kingdom!
It was as if Jiang Feng was in a dream, and his expression still had not fully recovered.
But Jiang Chen’s next sentence still fully flabberghasted him.
“Father, this “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” is an advanced method. Practicing this method will grant you a seventy percent chance to assail the spirit dao realm!”
“Spirit dao realm?” Jiang Feng was utterly gobsmacked.
The spirit dao realm was a legendary existence to the superior practitioners in the Eastern Kingdom. It was said that in the entire hundreds of years of the Eastern Kingdom’s existence, only one had appeared!
Ascending to spirit dao was like becoming a golden scaled dragon. One would soar into the heavens, rise meteorically, break the worldly cage, and soar over the clouds!