Qin Junyao turned her head away, not daring to look. The child was too young.
Next, Mr. Zheng and Grandma Ma were also bled.
The window was open and the brazier was extinguished to slow down the circulation of the poisoned person's blood.
Cold wind blew into the room, and Qin Junyao's hands and feet, frozen on the donkey cart, grew even colder.
How could anyone harm such a young child?
She looked at the "axe" lying on the table, the one who had said she was useless, who had treated her to steamed buns, who had been dressed up as a substitute to remind her not to sleep while walking, who had given her rabbits, and who now seemed to be without breath.
Qin Junyao thought that as long as he could be saved, she would even reveal her spatial abilities.
Time passed slowly, so slowly that it reminded Qin Junyao of modern times, of the day she waited outside the operating room for her grandfather to emerge safely. That was also the day her grandfather left her.
Her heart pounded, her breathing quickened, and her hands trembled uncontrollably. Qin Junyao hadn't had such a reaction in a long time.
Suddenly, Qin Junyao felt her right hand being grasped by a large, hot hand. She looked up, and her reddened eyes met another pair of bloodshot eyes.
Zhao Liangcai turned his head away, no longer meeting Qin Junyao's gaze. He was afraid he would cry if he looked any longer. If "Axe" was gone, he would have no family.
Qian Shi had made a scene outside the door, and Qian Duo had tried to persuade her outside the door. No one inside the room opened the door, waiting only for the one who was supposed to come to open it.
"Make way, don't block the door," the voice of Denglui came from outside. Zhao Liangcai was the first to rush over and open the door.
Doctor Sheng, Sheng Yining, and Sheng Huaijin appeared at the doorway.
"Father."
"Father."
Two called out to Sheng Jiangqi, and one called out to Doctor Sheng.
"Enough nonsense, save the person first," Doctor Sheng quickly entered the room.
As he examined the condition of the three people, he listened to his eldest son's narration, quickly understanding the situation, and signaled Sheng Huaijin to retrieve a porcelain bottle from the medicine box he carried. "Do you have yellow wine?"
"Yes, here it is," Suozi untied a waterskin from his waist and handed it to Doctor Sheng.
Doctor Sheng uncorked the bottle, sniffed it, then poured out a pill from the bottle and, with his son's help, administered it to the three with yellow wine.
After administering the medicine, Doctor Sheng walked up to Qin Junyao. "Junyao, come with me."
He then led Qin Junyao to a corner of the room. The others looked at each other and moved a little further away from that corner.
Zhao Liangcai thought for a moment, then called Suozi to open the door and go out. They could hear Doctor Sheng and Qin Junyao's conversation with their hearing in this room, but now he no longer wanted to eavesdrop on Qin Junyao's secrets.
Qin Junyao noticed Zhao Liangcai's actions but remained focused on listening to Doctor Sheng.
"Junyao, I swear here with the lives of my entire family that I will not tell a third person about our conversation and what happens next."
"Doctor Sheng."
"Time is of the essence, listen to me. You have shown kindness to my Sheng family, and General Zhao has also shown kindness to my family."
"The poison in Axe is easy to resolve but also difficult to resolve, because the medicine used needs to be fresh."
Qin Junyao's pupils suddenly widened. Fresh medicinal ingredients?
In the cold northwest in winter, finding fresh medicinal ingredients was harder than reaching the heavens, yet Doctor Sheng was telling her.
Countless questions filled Qin Junyao's mind. She swallowed and said, "Only fresh herbs can save him?"
"No, but there will be residual poison in their bodies, which is difficult to remove, and what I can do is extend their lives by ten years."
Qin Junyao understood. If there were no fresh medicinal ingredients, Doctor Sheng could only ensure they lived, not how long they lived.
"Please write down the names of the herbs for me, and I will do my best," Qin Junyao glanced at Axe lying on the table and made her decision.
Doctor Sheng patted Qin Junyao's shoulder without a word and walked to the table, beside Axe, and wrote down a list.
Sheng Yining wanted to look, but Sheng Jiangqi stopped her. He had heard his father mention this poison but had never been taught how to resolve it, so he assumed his father did not want to pass it down.
After receiving the list of medicinal ingredients, Qin Junyao left the room. Zhao Liangcai, Suozi, and Denglui all looked at her.
"You guys go in. Doctor Sheng still has something to instruct. I'm going home to get some things."
On the way down the mountain back home, Qin's mother asked Qin Junyao about the Zhao family's situation.
"Mother, Doctor Sheng came and said there's no major problem. Don't wait at the Zhao family's door. Don't you still need to prepare offerings for the Kitchen God tomorrow? I'll go later. I'll tell you when I get back."
Qin's mother rubbed her hands. "Alright. Your grandmother threw the copper coins and said it was fine, but I'm still worried. How did Grandma Ma, Axe, and that teacher get poisoned?"
"I'm not sure either, Mother. I need to go into the house to get some things in a moment. Stop Xiao Yu from coming in."
"Yes, I'll keep an eye on her."
Upon arriving home, Qin Junyao carried her basket into the room and sat by the wall on the kang. Her consciousness entered her spatial realm and headed straight for the herb section.
She had not forgotten to manage her spatial realm during her days in the northwest city with Grandma Qin. She had identified all the herbs in her spatial realm according to the herbal illustration book that Doctor Sheng had lent her.
Therefore, in her spatial realm, Qin Junyao quickly dug up herbs according to the list. Fortunately, all the herbs on the list were in her spatial realm.
She dug up a full large basket and Qin Junyao carried it out of the room.
"Sister, what's in your basket that you're covering it with a cloth? Sister, is Axe going to die? Sister, can you take me with you?" Qin Xiaoyu bombarded her sister with questions as soon as she came out.
Grandma Qin took off a shoe and threw it at Qin Xiaoyu. "Yao Yao, ignore her. Hurry up. Axe was growing so well, it would be a shame if he died."
Qin Junyao arrived at the Zhao family's doorstep again. Denglui was waiting for her, helping her to ward off villagers and open the courtyard gate.
She successfully reached the room where Axe was located. Qin Junyao pushed open the door, and a wave of heat hit her, mixed with steam.
Various sizes of basins and tubs filled with hot water were placed in the room. Several braziers were burning, making the room like a high-temperature sauna.
"Doctor Sheng, I'm here," Qin Junyao stood at the doorway, searching for Doctor Sheng among the figures in the room.
"Don't come in, I'll come out," Doctor Sheng's voice came from the mist.
He walked to the doorway, his cotton-padded jacket already soaked. He told Qin Junyao to wait outside, then took her basket and went into a pre-prepared, empty room.
"Miss Qin, please wait inside. It's cold outside," Suozi walked over and pointed to Zhao Liangcai's room, saying to Qin Junyao.
Suozi had just locked Qian Shi and the others in a room. Their crying and shouting were too annoying.
"No need, I'll wait in the courtyard. How did Axe and the others get poisoned?" Qin Junyao had always wanted to know this.
Suozi led Qin Junyao to sit by a stone table in the courtyard. "We encountered Axe and the others on the way back."
"The carriage had stopped by the roadside, and the coachman was already dead. If Xiao Fei hadn't recognized the horse pulling the carriage, we might have missed them on horseback."
"There were unfinished steamed buns in the carriage, so the poison must have been put in the buns. Suozi and Chui Zi were both stunned at the time. They told the two accompanying them to each go to the camp to find a military doctor and drive the carriage, while the two of us cleared the way."
Suozi spoke with deep regret, wishing they had directly asked Doctor Sheng at the time, which would have saved so much delay.