Denghuaxiao

Chapter 238 The Holy Hand in White
The wild ice is white, and the frost has frozen his beard.

Southern Jiangsu is gradually reaching its coldest time.

The dilapidated temple at the execution ground could no longer block the increasingly severe wind, so Chang Jin took the lead and asked Li Wenhu and Cai Fang for help to move the plague center from the dilapidated temple to an abandoned dyeing factory in the city.

The dyeing factory mansion was spacious enough to accommodate many people. Moreover, in recent days, the rashes on the bodies of the patients infected with the plague had gradually stopped spreading and deepening.

The golden tan fruit that Lu Tong brought from Luomei Peak has miraculous effects.

This flower can relieve heat and poison, and its medicinal properties are weaker than that of the red wood vine. While waiting for the red wood vine, the medical officers tried to change the prescription with golden tannin and replace two of the medicinal ingredients. Because of Ding Yong's previous experience, this time it was much safer. However, after seven or eight days, the recurrence of the situation did not occur. At the same time, the red wood vine transported from Pingzhou also arrived in southern Jiangsu. The medical officers changed the two prescriptions and gave them to the patients alternately. Within a few days, no one fell ill during the journey.

Although we don’t know what the future will be like, at least for now, the epidemic has been temporarily under control.

Cuicui ran out from the dye house, grabbed the corner of Lin Danqing's clothes, looked at her and said, "Doctor Lin, Doctor Lu hasn't recovered yet?"

Lin Danqing paused for a moment, forced a smile, and said, "Soon. She will be well again soon."

Lu Tong's condition is getting worse.

At the beginning, he could still be lucid occasionally, but gradually, the coma time became longer and longer. Even when he woke up occasionally, he was still in a daze and seemed unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.

What's more troublesome is that all the medicinal herbs are useless to her.

The half-filled document clearly recorded the poisons that Lu Tong had tried in the past. For this reason, the doctors boiled the prescriptions they prepared for her into soup and fed it to her carefully, but the soup was ineffective without any visible effect.

Useless.

Seeing that Lu Tong was getting weaker day by day, the medical officers were anxious and helpless. Chang Jin was so worried that half of his hair turned white.

Lin Danqing walked to Chang Jin's room, pushed the door and walked in.

In the room, several medical officers were sitting at the table, arguing about something with their heads down.

Ji Xun sat aside with his head down, sorting out the newly written prescription. During the days when Lu Tong was seriously ill, Ji Xun did not stop for a moment. Originally a handsome man, he now looked tired and his eyes were red from staying up late, which was completely different from his calmness in the past.

Lin Danqing entered the room, and Chang Jin waved at her and asked her to sit down. These doctors were the ones who treated Lu Tong. Now that Lu Tong was weak, apart from the epidemic, this had become the most important issue for all doctors.

"Chief Doctor, I have something to say about Doctor Lu's illness." After a pause, Lin Danqing spoke.

Everyone in the room looked at her.

She used to be lazy and playful when she was at the Shengjing Imperial Medical Academy, and was scolded by Chang Jin for not being steady enough. Now, she came to southern Jiangsu, but in just a few months, she seemed to have grown up a lot, with her eyes and eyebrows becoming less lively and more calm.

"Doctor Lu's illness can't wait any longer." She said, "All medicines are useless to her. If we can't find a cure, her life will be in danger within three to five days."

No one said anything. This was a fact that everyone knew but dared not say out loud.

Ji Xun looked at her and said, "Doctor Lin, if you have anything to say, just speak up."

Lin Danqing took a deep breath and said, "I have a plan, but it's very bold and I may not dare to use it."

Chang Jin: “Tell me about it.”

"In our Lin family, there was an ancestor who was known as the 'Saint Hand in White'. It was said that this man had great medical skills and could bring the dead back to life."

"He once wrote a note, which I memorized. It said that when he was young, he followed a friend to the battlefield to fight the plague, but in the end his friend was unfortunately shot by an enemy's poisoned arrow and died. He regretted it all his life, and later searched for medical prescriptions to detoxify in order to avoid repeating the same mistake."

Having said this, Lin Danqing paused.

"The art of medicine is endless, and the book of poisons is endless. Sister Lu was poisoned by too many poisons, and her body gradually got used to them, so all the medicines had no effect on her. It was only when I saw Huang Jinqin that I remembered that our ancestors had written a prescription, saying that if someone was poisoned and in critical condition, the method of 'blood transfusion' could be used."

Ji Xun's eyebrows moved: "Blood transfusion?"

"It's not a real blood transfusion, but a method of fighting poison with poison, and changing disease with disease. This medical prescription requires Sister Lu to first take a heavy poison, and then use acupuncture to detoxify it, to draw out the source and eliminate it."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But our ancestors also wrote that this recipe is only suitable for people whose lives are in danger. Secondly, the pain during the detoxification process is worse than being stabbed in the heart by arrows or cut into pieces by thousands of knives. Few people can endure it. Moreover..." She looked at everyone, "There are risks."

"It's not foolproof. Sister Lu might lose her life."

You could hear a pin drop in the house, but no one spoke a word.

Lin Danqing gritted his teeth.

"If it weren't for this situation, I would never do such a bold thing. But now Sister Lu is getting weaker day by day, and those antidotes have no effect on her. Are we going to watch her die?"

Having said this, his tone became a little excited.

She studied in the Imperial Medical Bureau for many years, and later went to the Medical Officers' Institute. Because of her cheerful and bright personality, everyone was on good terms with her, and Lu Tong was not the most enthusiastic one.

But Lin Danqing likes Lu Tong the most.

Lu Tong appears to be cold and aloof, but she would keep the lights on for her late at night. She would complain about the medical classics and pharmacology that she could not understand, and soon she would write notes on the medical books she borrowed. Lu Tong knew the secrets of her Lin family, and had also pointed out the poison of "Shemuzi" for her aunt. Colleagues in the medical academy may not have fought overtly or covertly, and they would like to keep the medical prescriptions they know privately, but Lu Tong was the only one who was open and honest, and gave the medical prescriptions as soon as he was asked, without any selfish motives.

A person with a completely different temperament from hers, but she always makes people admire her, and even a little jealousy will make people blame themselves for being dark.

Her ancestor failed to save his best friend and regretted it for the rest of his life. Lin Danqing didn't want to be like him.

She wanted to save her friend.

In the silence, someone suddenly spoke: "I think we can give it a try."

Lin Danqing looked at it in surprise.

It was Ji Xun who spoke. Ji Xun looked at her and said, "A doctor's job is to save lives. If you give up the possibility because of possible risks, it is not the right thing to do."

"Nonsense!" A medical officer disagreed and said, "Doctors are supposed to treat illnesses and save lives, so they can't just act for the moment. If you stick to the original point, it's nothing more than the word 'cure'. This will do more harm than good. It's not curing people, it's just hurting them!"

Hearing this, Ji Xun was stunned for a moment, and it was unknown what he was thinking about, and his expression became distant.

After a while, he shook his head and spoke softly.

"That's wrong. As the saying goes, 'Tianxiong Wucheng is a poisonous medicine, but a good doctor can save a life.' Diseases are ever-changing, and so are medicines. Since medicine can't cure her, maybe poison can."

"You and I have been in the Imperial Medical Academy for too long. We are both afraid. If we just seek safety, we will lose our original intention. Why don't we ask ourselves, are we unwilling to help for the sake of the patient or for ourselves?"

When these words were spoken, all the medical officers were stunned. The person who had just spoken blushed and did not speak for a long time.

Being an official and being a doctor are generally different. As a doctor, the first thing to do is to empathize with the patients.

They have been in office for too long.

After a long silence, Chang Jin spoke up: "Just do as Doctor Lin says."

"Doctor!"

"The disease didn't happen overnight. It's a gradual process." The good old man who had always been content to stay on the defensive looked at everyone, "Doctor Lu has been a pharmacist for many years. His heart is a hundred times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Rather than just sitting there and letting her get weaker, it's better to be prepared to fight hard."

"Everyone," Chang Jin said seriously, "Human life is precious and should not be thrown away lightly."

The person who had just spoken stopped talking. Chang Jin looked at Lin Danqing and said, "Doctor Lin, please write down the prescription in the notebook as soon as possible. I have to check the prescription to make sure it is safe before I can arrange for Doctor Lu to see you."

"Yes."

……

The new medical prescription was quickly decided upon.

Upon learning about Lin Danqing's medical treatment method, the medical officers had different opinions.

Some people think that this move is extremely risky, will fail in nine out of ten cases, and will cause Lu Tong to experience great pain before his death, so the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Others believe that people only have one life, so it is better to have hope than no hope.

Lu Tong woke up once.

At that time, Pei Yunying was guarding her by the bed. When Lin Danqing brought her the news, he kept his head down and did not dare to look into Lu Tong's eyes.

Lu Tong leaned in Pei Yunying's arms. She was already very weak and could barely speak. She managed to listen to Lin Danqing's words and even laughed.

"Okay," she said, "just try it."

Lin Danqing couldn't help but look up: "That will hurt."

"I'm not afraid of pain."

"It may not succeed... Bah, bah, bah, I'm not cursing you."

"It's okay." Lu Tong said, "I'm lucky. I've tried many medicines and they all worked. I'm sure I'll be able to pass this time too."

Pei Yunying's hand, which was holding her arm, stiffened slightly, but Lu Tong didn't notice.

She looked at Lin Danqing, and there was a faint light in her eyes, which were always calm and indifferent. Lin Danqing was not unfamiliar with that kind of look. Lin Danqing had seen the patient's hope to survive and the desire for life many times in the plague center.

Lin Danqing suddenly choked up.

She held Lu Tong's hand and said, "Okay, we will definitely pass this test."

After deciding on the treatment plan, Lu Tong fell into a deep sleep again. Lin Danqing looked at Pei Yunying on the side and said, "Marshal Pei, please move."

Pei Yunying didn't move, just lowered his eyes to look at the person on the bed.

These days, he stayed with Lu Tong and never left. The doctors treated patients and were used to seeing separations and deaths. Lovers could hardly stay together. Separation was regretful and death was sad. She had read so many storybooks, and the good and bad endings were just a few sentences. But now, she was here, looking at the lonely back in the darkness, and she felt sad.

She didn't know what the young commander was thinking at the moment, but his drooping brows and gaze at the person on the bed were so deep and silent, as if a beloved thing was gradually leaving him. He felt confused and powerless, and his fragility was different from before.

There was a sound of door opening behind him, and the medical officers came in one after another. Lu Tong could not complete the diagnosis alone, so Ji Xun, Chang Jin and several other medical officers had to be present.

Chang Jin walked up to Pei Yunying and sighed, "Sir, please move."

Pei Yunying came to his senses after hearing this, looked at the person on the couch again, stood up silently, turned around and left the room.

The door closed behind him and he walked out into the yard.

On the winter solstice, heavy snow fell from the sky, turning the fields into a silvery white, with a light rain in between that soaked people's clothes.

He walked in silence, and before he knew it, he arrived in front of the dilapidated temple where the execution was held.

All the patients in the plague center have been moved to the warmer dyeing workshop. The dilapidated temple has returned to its former deserted appearance, standing lonely and desolate in the rain and snow.

He opened the door and walked in.

The temple that was crowded and bustling a few days ago was suddenly empty, with only a few burnt braziers thrown in the corner. There was an upside-down oil lamp in front of the altar, with only a little oil left. He lit it with a tinder, and the dim light immediately enveloped the entire dilapidated temple.

The altar was moved away, revealing the earthen wall behind it. On the wall, there were deep marks of "debt notes" from many years ago, which were clearly visible under the light.

Pei Yunying leaned over and stroked the words on the wall with his fingertips.

The words he and Lu Tong wrote here many years ago.

At that time he was a patient and she was a doctor, she sewed up his wounds, crude but effective. Now she is a patient and he can do nothing.

Ironically, Lu Tong had been a pharmacist and a doctor, but she had never been a patient. The decoctions she had taken were for testing poisons, but now that she was taking medicine for the first time as a patient, ordinary medicines had no effect on her.

Good luck tricks people.

Pei Yunying raised his eyes.

On the altar, the statue with its face blurred by the rain looked down at him quietly, just like many years ago, just like many years later, in front of the gods and Buddhas, people are as small as ants and as fragile as grass.

He never believed in gods and Buddhas. Since his mother passed away, he has been traveling outside, and fate and human suffering have given him strength and indifference. He no longer believed that there was anything in the world that could save him except himself. However, at this moment, he looked at the blurred statue of gods above his head and slowly knelt down on the cushion.

Put your hands together and kneel down devoutly.

Legend has it that gods and Buddhas are greedy for bribes and never give blessings to people without reason. If you give something to someone, you have to take the corresponding price. Sooner or later, it's a fair trade.

"Gods and Buddhas are above us, and ghosts and gods are hard to deceive."

He bowed his head, his voice calm.

"I, Pei Yunying, am willing to sacrifice my life for Lu Tong's, so that he can live a peaceful life for the rest of his life."

……

The heavy snow in southern Jiangsu rolled over the long and wide rivers, and when the breeze brought it to Shengjing, it turned into endless willow catkins.

In the courtyard of Renxin Medical Clinic on West Street, lanterns are hung on the plum trees.

Acheng came out of the kitchen carrying the hot rice wine and went into the inner shop. Yinzheng took a bowl and served a bowl to each person.

Tonight is the winter solstice, and there is a custom in Shengjing City to eat glutinous rice balls and drink rice wine. Du Changqing arranged for Miao Liangfang and Acheng to prepare food yesterday. After resting in the inn tonight, they will have dinner in the clinic.

"Come on," Du Changqing stood up and spoke first, holding up the bowl. "Today is the winter solstice, and we are celebrating the New Year. We are celebrating another year of getting along. We can get along every year, and we will get along every year."

The toast was not very good, but everyone still gave him face, clinked their bowls with his and said a few perfunctory words.

Ah Cheng picked up a glutinous rice dumpling. The skin was thin and the filling was large. Yin Zheng and Miao Liangfang made it together. It was filled with sesame and peanuts. It was fragrant and sticky. Ah Cheng took a bite and said, "So sweet!"

"I added some sugared osmanthus flowers left over from the Mid-Autumn Festival." Yin Zheng said with a smile, "Sister Song taught me how to make it. If the girl were here, she would definitely eat a big bowl of it..."

At this point, there was a sudden pause and everyone at the table was stunned.

Lu Tong has been in southern Jiangsu for a long time.

Southern Jiangsu and Shengjing are thousands of miles apart, and it took many days for news of the epidemic to come and go. Miao Liangfang asked his old acquaintances in the imperial city to inquire, and they only said that the epidemic in Southern Jiangsu was serious, but it had improved with the efforts of a group of medical officers. As for the specific medical officer, it was unknown.

There is no news about Lu Tong.

"I wonder how the girl is doing now..." Yin Zheng was a little worried.

The journey to southern Jiangsu is so long, and Lu Tong herself is frail. After the long journey, she has to fight the epidemic. Lu Tong is not the type of person who likes to complain about hardship and tiredness, which always makes people feel worried.

Du Changqing saw the worry on Yin Zheng's face and waved his hand: "Hey, you don't need to worry about this! I told her not to take the limelight at the beginning, but she insisted on going. Although Lu Tong is as stubborn as a bull, she is quite capable and will never fight a battle without confidence. Since she wants to go, she must not be blindly groping. Our clinic can be revived in her hands, so what is a mere epidemic?"

"Wait for a few days until it stops snowing and the sky clears up. Go to Wan'en Temple and burn some incense for the monks. I hope they will bless our doctor Lu to be free of all diseases and return to Shengjing safely!"

These words made everyone at the table feel relaxed.

Ah Cheng smiled and said, "Okay, okay, then we'll burn incense and give the Buddha a big bribe!"

Miao Liangfang picked up a glutinous rice ball and put it in his mouth. The sweet osmanthus flavor mixed with the rich aroma of sesame. He praised it for a while and then looked out the window.

In the yard, a tree of red plum blossoms bloomed, and petals of red plum blossoms flew around in the air.

"Today is the winter solstice. There is famine and epidemic in southern Jiangsu. There is probably no glutinous rice balls to eat." He sighed: "I wonder what Xiao Lu is doing now?"

……

Late at night.

The wind was raging on Luomei Peak, and the red plum blossoms were dancing.

At the foot of the mountain, the lights were on in the accommodation for the city's medical officials.

Ji Xun and Lin Danqing were standing by the bed, giving acupuncture to Lu Tong.

Chang Jin held Lu Tong's pulse from time to time, his expression very solemn.

The "White-robed Saint" had fed Lu Tong a highly poisonous recipe. It was not known whether it was because her physique was too special or if the highly poisonous recipe itself had some hidden dangers. In short, after taking the medicine, Lu Tong had no reaction and was still as sleepy as before.

In the Medical Officers' Court, Ji Xun's acupuncture skills were the best, and Lin Danqing was the one who knew the notes best. The two of them worked together to give acupuncture to Lu Tong.

This acupuncture method was more difficult than before, and cold sweat gradually seeped out of Ji Xun and Lin Danqing's foreheads. As the lights in the room gradually dimmed, Lu Tong suddenly changed.

It was as if the delayed pain finally hit her at the last moment. She began to tremble, her body shaking violently, and the golden needles were shaken off. Ji Xun shouted sternly: "Hold her down!"

Lin Danqing hurriedly held Lu Tong down.

Lu Tong was held down, and a look of pain gradually appeared on his face. He couldn't help but groan and shouted, "It hurts..."

Ji Xun paused, and everyone in the room was stunned.

No one has ever heard Lu Tong cry out in pain.

She was very calm, facing everything calmly. Also, having worked as a pharmacist for many years, she had experienced all the pains recorded in the manual at a young age. Most of the so-called pains in the world should be common to her.

But now she is crying out in pain.

Chang Jin's face changed: "Her pulse is getting weaker."

Ji Xun and Lin Danqing looked at each other, and Lin Danqing held Lu Tong's hand: "Sister Lu, cheer up, can you hear me? Don't sleep! Hang in there!"

Ji Xun lowered his head, his hands trembling slightly, and inserted a golden needle into her neck.

Lu Tong's expression became even more painful, and she began to struggle desperately. Lin Danqing held her hand to prevent her from touching the golden needles.

But in the next moment, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood with a "puff" sound.

The blood was black.

Chang Jin was startled: "Doctor Lu!"

Her expression suddenly relaxed, as if the last bit of her strength had dissipated. She seemed to try hard to open her eyes and take a look in front of her, but finally closed her eyes.

Chang Jin hurried to feel her pulse.

He froze and spoke in a trembling voice.

"No breath..."

After a while, Lin Danqing's soft sobbing was heard in the room, and Ji Xun's face turned pale.

Pei Yunying, who was waiting at the door, suddenly raised his eyes.

The night was dark and endless, the biting cold wind pierced into his bones. He stood there, and for a moment, he felt as if he was falling into the abyss.

At some point, the snow in southern Jiangsu stopped.

The crane is a symbol of good luck.
Repost this auspicious crane, and you will live a long and healthy life!