Someone has arrived?
Rong Zhi glanced outside and quickly withdrew her gaze.
The walls were covered with Ghost Fly Grass; they couldn't get in.
"Focus, don't get distracted!"
Outside, three men dressed as constables were peeking in, covering their noses. One of them shouted twice, but before he could utter a third, he suddenly let out a violent fit of coughing.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough... Constable Li, the villagers all said this is a haunted house and no one lives here. We shouldn't go in."
"No, the young lady said we must search everywhere. Whether anyone lives here or not, let's go in and take a look first!"
Li Zhao's eyes teared up from the coughing, but he insisted on going in.
"I can't, Constable. It's too smelly..."
The other man's words were cut short as he rolled his eyes and fell to the ground.
"Constable, I can't hold on either..."
The one who had been speaking earlier turned green, then pale, and fainted.
"Two good-for-nothings, it's just a bit smelly. I'll go myself... *gack*!"
Before he could finish, he began to gag violently.
Clutching his chest, he prepared to leave the place. He had only taken two steps when his legs gave out, and he also crashed to the ground.
Silence returned to the outside of the door.
Rong Zhi's expression remained unchanged, as if she had expected this outcome.
She refocused her attention on Xia Yunting.
Xia Yunting's condition was now terrifying.
His complexion flickered between pale green and white, sweat poured down him like a waterfall, veins bulged on his forehead, and his breathing became rapid.
His exposed chest was covered in faint blue and deep brown marks.
The two colors intertwined, like two snakes locked in a struggle, constantly changing. As time passed, both sets of marks gradually faded, becoming lighter, but the faint blue never completely disappeared.
This was a method of using poison to combat poison. The blue marks were the Seven-Day Fiend Poison, while the brown ones were a mixture of various insect venoms.
When the blue marks disappeared, the poison would be cured.
"Xia Yunting, hold on!"
Seeing Xia Yunting grow weaker, Rong Zhi quickly reminded him. Xia Yunting took a deep breath, and his spirits were somewhat lifted.
One hour, as long as a year.
When the time was up, the brown marks had completely vanished, and the blue ones had also faded significantly.
Xia Yunting's face was as white as paper; he looked as if he would collapse at any gust of wind.
If more medicine were administered now, he would surely not be able to withstand it. He could only wait until tomorrow, when he had recovered some strength, to use the medicine again.
Rong Zhi helped Xia Yunting back to his room. Seeing him lying on the bed, she gave him another bowl of medicine to suppress the poison, and his complexion gradually improved.
He opened his eyes, his eyelashes glistening with moisture, and looked back at Rong Zhi.
"You've worked hard..."
He could feel the poison within him weakening.
"Don't waste your breath. These next two days are when you are most vulnerable. Rest well."
Xia Yunting obediently closed his eyes.
Rong Zhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and then remembered the people outside.
"Someone came. I'll go and see."
She went out and saw three men lying sprawled on the ground, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, in a sorry state.
Rong Zhi suddenly became wary. Why would constables come here? Could it be that the assassins had colluded with the authorities?
This area was remote, and the county magistrate might not know Xia Yunting. The assassins, on the other hand, clearly had considerable influence, and joining forces with the authorities was not impossible.
She suddenly remembered the token Xia Yunting had given her. Should she go to the magistrate and give him a stern warning?
But she had to stay and look after Xia Yunting now; she couldn't get away.
While she was hesitating, she suddenly heard the sound of hooves. A black horse ran over from behind the house and nudged Rong Zhi with its large head.
"Xiao Hei? What are you doing here?"
Xiao Hei should have been at Uncle Yu's house.
Xiao Hei grabbed Rong Zhi's clothes and pulled her towards the back of the house.
Rong Zhi followed in surprise and found Yu Cheng lying at the foot of the wall, also foaming at the mouth!
"Uncle Yu!"
Rong Zhi quickly helped Yu Cheng up and gave him a cooling pill.
The man on the ground slowly regained consciousness. Seeing Rong Zhi, an embarrassed expression appeared on his contorted face.
"Miss..."
"Uncle Yu, why are you here?"
"I... I came to let the horse out."
Yu Cheng pointed at Xiao Hei, but his eyes involuntarily drifted towards the constables.
Rong Zhi immediately understood. He must have followed them out of curiosity when he saw the constables arrive.
"Uncle Yu, do you know why these constables are here?"
Yu Cheng shook his head: "I don't know either. They just said they were looking for you, and they gave me a portrait."
As he spoke, Yu Cheng took out a portrait from his懷 and unfolded it. It was exactly Rong Zhi's likeness.
Rong Zhi frowned. To come and cause trouble at this time... it was truly inconvenient.
Even with the Ghost Fly Grass outside, repeated disturbances would affect her treatment.
Seeing her worried expression, Yu Cheng's face showed some hesitation, but he finally couldn't help but advise her: "Miss, have you not committed any crime? If you truly have, you should surrender immediately. It's not good to defy the authorities..."
He had taken them in because he felt pity for them, but if they were fugitives, it would be a different matter.
Seeing Yu Cheng's misunderstanding, Rong Zhi couldn't help but laugh and cry: "No, Uncle Yu, we haven't committed any crime. If we had, this wouldn't just be a portrait; it would be a wanted poster. I'm just curious why the authorities are looking for me..."
Yu Cheng thought this made sense.
"How about I help you inquire?"
Rong Zhi was contemplating how to resolve the situation when the other party unexpectedly offered to help. She was extremely grateful.
"Then thank you very much."
She hesitated for a moment and continued, "Uncle Yu, my husband has been poisoned, and I am currently treating him. I cannot be disturbed. I hope you will not reveal what happened here."
"Poisoned?"
Yu Cheng glanced inside, a look of obvious worry on his face.
"How is he? Is it serious?"
"I am treating him, and no one can disturb us during this period... So, I would appreciate your discretion."
"I understand..."
Yu Cheng nodded, finally suppressing his concerns.
Watching Yu Cheng's retreating back, Rong Zhi found it strange. They were merely chance acquaintances, so why did Uncle Yu seem to trust them so much? And why was he offering help? Was it simply kindness?
She couldn't figure it out for a moment. Suppressing her doubts, she picked up the three men on the ground one by one and tossed them far away.
After being removed from the smell of Ghost Fly Grass, the three men quickly regained consciousness.
A brief moment of confusion crossed their faces, then they suddenly froze.
"How did we get here?"
"Constable Li, how are you?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Li Zhao clutched his chest and coughed violently for a while, feeling as if the nauseating smell still lingered in his nostrils, refusing to dissipate.
Two constables helped him, one on each side, one to help him breathe and the other to rub his back. Once Li Zhao had somewhat recovered, one of the constables suddenly looked enlightened.
"I remember now, we went to that legendary haunted house. It was so smelly there, it knocked me out cold."
"We shouldn't have gone. It was a haunted house to begin with, and it was so smelly. How could anyone live there?"
"Then what do we do? We still haven't found that divine doctor. Divine Doctor Chu might not wake up."
"Keep your voices down!" Li Zhao glared at the two men: "The young lady told us not to tell anyone. If the young lady finds out, do you two still want your jobs as her lackeys?"
The two constables quickly covered their mouths.
"Then what do we do now?"
"Let's go back first!"
The remaining two nodded and cursed as they left.
Rong Zhi knew none of this.
She returned to the room and called out softly. She saw Xia Yunting lying quietly on the bed, not even groaning, motionless, as if he were fast asleep.
Rong Zhi's heart suddenly tightened.
"Xia Yunting?"
She stepped forward and checked his pulse. There was no breath.
"Xia Yunting!"
Rong Zhi grabbed Xia Yunting and shook him vigorously, but he still showed no reaction.
Rong Zhi's mind went blank, a thunderclap in her head.
Had she... failed again?
Impossible! She had spent so long developing this prescription, and she had even tested it on herself. It was impossible for it to fail like this.
She quickly regained her composure and began to take his pulse. After taking his pulse, her expression gradually improved.
Thank goodness, his heart meridian was just blocked, not a major issue.
Rong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, helped Xia Yunting to sit cross-legged, and sat behind him, placing her hands on his back to transfer her internal energy and activate his heart meridian.
This process was extremely perilous. Xia Yunting still had poison in his body; one wrong move could lead to a backlash. Rong Zhi carefully controlled her internal energy, guiding it through his meridians according to their pathways.
Before long, large beads of sweat had formed on Rong Zhi's forehead, and her stance had become unsteady.
This body was truly too weak... Rong Zhi gritted her teeth, struggling to maintain the steady flow of internal energy.
Suddenly, she encountered a powerful resistance, and her internal energy almost rebounded.
Rong Zhi was close to collapsing. After a moment of thought, she poured all her strength into breaking through that point.
"Puff!"
Rong Zhi spat out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, Xia Yunting stirred, letting out a faint, almost inaudible cough.
"Xiao Mo, what's wrong?"
Noticing Rong Zhi's condition, Xia Yunting was startled. His voice was hoarse.
What had happened to him just now? He only remembered falling asleep...
Rong Zhi slowly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked up. Relief was evident in her eyes, but she spoke word by word: "If you ever dare to put yourself in such a state again, I'll kill you!"
Xia Yunting froze.
"What exactly happened just now?"
"Don't speak, rest first."
After a moment of recovery, Rong Zhi got off the bed.
She went into the courtyard and calmed her emotions. She suddenly felt that she had spoken too harshly. After all, poisoning was not something Xia Yunting could control. As a physician, it was her fault if the patient made a mistake.
With a sigh, Rong Zhi extended her hands and looked at this body, which was clearly much weaker than in her previous life. She felt a pang of sadness.
Perhaps she had been injured when she was young, damaging her foundation, which was why this body could never reach the level of her previous life, no matter how much she trained.
In her previous life, she had cultivated the Wind Control Art. The so-called "Wind Control" primarily focused on agility and evasive maneuvers, making her movements unpredictable, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Other martial arts techniques were built upon this foundation, making her visible but intangible, impossible to catch, and always catching her opponents off guard.
In her previous life, she had reached the tenth level, making her a renowned expert in the martial world. However, in this life, she could only reach the seventh level, and no further progress was possible, all because this body was too weak.
Even more troublesome was that her memories only began from the mass grave. She had no recollection of anything before that. Thus, she had no idea what this body had experienced in the past.
She was clearly the best physician, yet she couldn't find what was wrong with this body.
Thinking about the scene just now, if she had been even slightly less skilled, Xia Yunting might have...
An inexplicable anger surged within her. She suddenly leaped into the air like a whirlwind and kicked the nearby wall. With a loud crash, the wall swayed twice and finally settled at an angle.
Inside, Xia Yunting, who had been watching Rong Zhi's movements, was shocked.
He knew she was skilled in martial arts, but this move... it was so familiar.