"Don't panic, these are all imperial physicians from the Song Dynasty."
"Think about it, you're the first Tang Dynasty person they've ever treated. You should feel honored!"
"Here, I'll give you one. Sit still and don't move, lest the silver needle end up in your brain."
Fang Er said this, put a cigar in Ge Luoyang's mouth, and lit it for him with his own lighter.
Upon hearing this, Ge Luoyang was on the verge of tears. A silver needle in his brain? That's too cruel!
He took puffs of the cigar, letting the imperial physicians do as they pleased.
When one of the physicians was about to go back to decoct the medicine, Zhao Guangyi stopped him: "Decoct it here, to avoid the trouble of carrying the medicine back and forth. Let's detoxify this young brother as soon as possible!"
He was already eager to travel to a hundred years later and see what kind of state his descendants had brought the Song Dynasty to.
But it was clear that Fang Er wasn't going to leave until Ge Luoyang's poison was cured.
Stoves, clay pots, and medicinal herbs were brought into the Daqing Hall one by one, and the imperial physicians discussed the preparations in hushed tones.
"The toxins in this young brother are all concentrated in his head. To expel them, we need strong medicine. I suggest adding half a pound of croton seeds!"
"Five-step snake gall can clear heat and detoxify, so it should be added."
"No, no, no, I believe that using poison to attack poison is the best strategy. The bamboo viper is good."
"Not at all, not at all. Scorpions belong to earth, and their poison should be attacked with wood poison. To attack beast poison with plant poison, one should use aconite."
Hearing the names of the medicines uttered by these old men, Ge Luoyang almost fainted from fright.
The sting of a wasp's tail, the message from a green snake's mouth; nothing is more poisonous than a woman's heart.
But at this moment, these imperial physicians seemed much crueler than women!
Were they afraid they wouldn't kill him?
Before he could speak, another imperial physician approached with a razor, smiling at him.
"Young man, I'll tidy up your hair for you, so it's convenient to insert the needles later. Please don't move~"
This time, he truly dared not move.
In the blink of an eye, the imperial physician shaved his buzz cut into a completely bald head, a shiny bald head~~
One by one, silver needles were inserted by the imperial physicians into his scalp.
Before long, his head had become a porcupine, densely covered with silver needles.
Ge Luoyang wasn't afraid to move now; he simply couldn't.
The imperial physicians manipulated the ends of the silver needles, twisting and lifting them, occasionally flicking them.
After they removed the needles, another imperial physician was ready with a cupping glass and slapped it onto his head with a "pop."
One, two, three, until every spot that could be cupped was covered.
The imperial physician, holding a few remaining cupping glasses, examined his face and then shook his head, "Let's skip the face. We don't want to pull out your eyeballs later~"
After the cupping glasses were applied, the physicians retreated to the side and lit a thin incense stick the length of a palm to time it.
When the thin incense burned out, the imperial physicians returned to Ge Luoyang's side and nodded with satisfaction.
"Good, good. It seems this method is indeed effective. The green color on your face has faded considerably."
After speaking, he grasped a cupping glass with his left hand and pressed his right hand on the skin at the mouth of the glass.
With a "pop," as the cupping glass was removed, a stream of dark blood flowed from Ge Luoyang's head, which another physician quickly wiped away with a cloth.
This dark blood was drawn out from the points where the needles had been inserted by the negative pressure of the cupping glasses.
However, as Fang Er watched the cupping glasses being removed one by one, his mouth grew wider and wider.
"Damn! It's like the Rulai is here!"
Ge Luoyang's bald head, with the large bumps raised by the cupping glasses, looked almost identical to the Rulai seen on television.
Hearing his exclamation, all the imperial physicians in the hall looked towards Ge Luoyang.
With his upper body bare and his head covered in bumps, if one ignored the green color, he would certainly rival the Buddhas in the temples.
Li Shimin also walked over. After circling Ge Luoyang a few times, he stroked his chin and said solemnly,
"So, those Buddhas and the Buddha, actually just got a bad reaction to the local climate after coming here, and people cupped their heads."
"In other words, these fellows don't really have any special abilities. Otherwise, why would they need the imperial physicians to stabilize their foundation?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
It seemed there was actually a possibility?
Ge Luoyang, feeling the changes on his head, instantly lost all hope and shouted to the imperial physicians who were still arguing about whether to add aconite or bamboo viper:
"Stop arguing and use all of it. Decoct it and bring me a bowl~"
His tone carried a hint of having nothing left to live for.
But how could those imperial physicians dare to do as he said? It took another stick of incense for them to finalize the prescription.
Just looking at what they were pouring into the medicine pot, Ge Luoyang felt his backside crying out in agony~
Croton seeds, rhubarb, senna leaves, hemp seeds~~
Among that pile of herbs, he only recognized these four, but all four of them were purgatives!
Death was not terrifying, but falling into a cesspool and being unable to get out was truly frightening!
He looked at Fang Er with a pained expression and pleaded, "Your Grace, I feel quite good as I am. Perhaps, we shouldn't drink this medicine!"
"What, you're a grown man scared by a little purgative?" Fang Er retorted with a smile.
Ge Luoyang's last sliver of hope was shattered, and he could only face reality with resignation.
"Your Grace, if I die from this, you mustn't leave me here. At least, burn me to ashes and take me back to the Tang Dynasty~"
"Look at you! I'll have the imperial physicians drink with you later. Are you relieved now?"
Fang Er's words did relieve Ge Luoyang, but the group of imperial physicians immediately exchanged bewildered glances. They were stunned!
They were well aware of the potency of this prescription. While it wouldn't kill a person, the taste...
Fortunately, when a pot of medicine was decocted, there were only two bowls of medicinal liquid.
One bowl was placed before Ge Luoyang, but the imperial physicians, looking at the remaining bowl, didn't want to reach for it.
Seeing that the imperial physicians weren't moving, Ge Luoyang dared not drink the medicine. He had brought the bowl to his lips, but quickly put it down, staring at them suspiciously and asking.
"What do you guys mean? Is there something wrong with this medicine?"
An imperial physician closest to him quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no, the medicine is absolutely fine. It's just that among so many of us, there's only one bowl, and we don't know who should drink it."
"Whoever drinks it gets a promotion!" Zhao Guangyi, being astute, offered a reward from the side.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp~~"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone picked up the medicine bowl, drank it down in one gulp, and then shouted, "Your Majesty, your subject has finished drinking~"
However, Li Shimin said from the side, "Pah! You sellout! You dare to be so righteous! Little San, demote him three ranks and keep him in service!"
Zhao Guangyi, however, stared at the imperial physician, stunned. After a while, he said to Li Shimin,
"Your Majesty, you may not know, but this person is named Bai Zhang. If it were someone else drinking the medicine just now, it could be said to be for a promotion."
"But Bai Zhang would absolutely not do that~"
"Oh? And why is that?" Li Shimin asked, confused.
Zhao Guangyi explained with some embarrassment, "Because Bai Zhang is deaf~~"