Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âThatâs right, youâre indeed more thoughtful,â the other officer said.
âThis time, we have sacrificed several soldiers,â Mu Chengzhou said. âThe other party left three, but their means are too weird. They are totally different from the people with whom we are used to fighting. We canât figure out their methods.â
âIâve contacted the relevant departments,â the other officer said. âTheyâre checking.â
âIs that armed force still operating along the border?â Mu Chengzhou asked.
âYes, I received another report on their activities the other day,â the other officer said.
âHow bold and arrogant,â Mu Chengzhou said.
âYes, they are,â the other officer said.
âTsk, we have to find a way,â Mu Chengzhou said. âThe higher-ups are planning for another team to go there.â
âWhat? Didnât we all make a report on the situation?â The other officer was shocked. âWeâve all suffered losses. Can the other brother troops do it with no problem?â
âDonât be so impulsive,â Mu Chengzhou said. âThatâs what the higher-ups want. Iâve already told our leaders what we think, but the problem is too serious. They are reckless at the border and must be punished.â
âWhich army?â the other officer asked.
âRosefinch,â Mu Chengzhou replied.
âThem?â
...
In the hospital, Su Zhixing was still a little uneasy. He again asked, âHave you really agreed?â
âYes, but Iâm not sure when Iâll be going,â Wang Yao replied.
âThatâs easy to settle.â Su Zhixing waved his hand. âAs you please, the traveling expenses shall be reimbursed, and you shall be paid.â
Wang Yao hadnât paid much attention to the salary. He had agreed mainly because he had felt very touched by Mu Chengzhouâs words, which had changed his mind.
âIâd like to ask you a question, but itâs OK if you donât want to answer it,â Wang Yao said.
âGo ahead,â Su Zhixing said.
âAre your missions very dangerous?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes, thereâs a lot of gunfire,â Su Zhixing said. âItâs similar to whatâs on TV.â
âDo soldiers die every time?â Wang Yao asked.
Su Zhixing was silent for a long time. He finally replied, âNo, but since I joined the army, there have been 16 soldiers killed in our brigade. Do you know what Iâm afraid of? Iâm afraid to see the family and their endless sadness the moment they hear the news of their sonâs sacrifice.â
Su Zhixing sighed. He casually lit a cigarette. Wang Yao didnât stop him.
âWe canât even find the bodies of some of our comrades,â Su Zhixing said. âWe grieve, and we are angry, but it canât solve the problem. We can only turn our grief into strength, train hard, and get revenge for them.â
âCan you tell me about the people you met this last time?â Wang Yao asked.
âIâve already told you that they move quickly and strangely,â Su Zhixing said. âThey come close to us without us knowing and launch attacks. Their equipment is very excellent, and there is a tacit understanding among teammates. I donât know what equipment they are wearing, but they can withstand the attack of small-caliber automatic rifles at close range.â
âIs there a master?â Wang Yao asked.
âThere is one, but even Meng Wushuang is not his match,â Su Zhixing said.
âI see.â Wang Yao paused for a moment and said, âIf youâre on a mission and dealing with them, please tell me. Iâd like to go and take a look.â
âNo problem,â Su Zhixing said.
Wang Yao stayed in Jing two more days before leaving for Dao, where the wind and rain were beginning to die down.
On a hillock near the sea. Jia Zizai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Yao.
âSir, you are back,â he said.
âIs Li Fang reliable?â Wang Yao asked.
âExtremely unreliable,â Jia Zizai said. âHeâs a typical two-faced man. Heâs a pushover.â
âIn that case, why does your chairman trust him with such important information?â Wang Yao asked.
âI guess it could be a trap to test people like us,â Jia Zizai said.
âAre you still jumping in even though you know itâs a trap?â Wang Yao asked.
âAlthough Li Fang is a pushover and two-faced, he has a weakness,â Jia Zizai said. âAs we all know, his son is seriously ill and cannot be cured. That is what we can use against him.â
âCan his son move?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes, but itâs dangerous,â Jia Zizai replied.
âGo to Haiqu,â Wang Yao said. âYou guys choose the place and let me know when youâre set.â
Later that day, Jia Zizai told Li Fang the news.
âHaiqu?â Li Fang asked.
âWhy? Is that too far?â Jia Zizai asked.
âNo, itâs not too far,â Li Fang said. âIâll get ready for it and be there tomorrow.â
âOK,â Jia Zizai said.
Wang Yao went to Haiqu that day instead of rushing home. The next morning, he met Jia Zizai, along with Li Fang and his son, in a secluded residence.
âHello, Dr. Wang.â Upon seeing such a young doctor, Li Fang was quite unconvinced, but there was no doubt on his face.
âWhereâs the patient?â Wang Yao asked.
âIn the room,â Li Fang said.
Before he entered the room, Wang Yao could smell a unique medicinal smell.
âThat medicine has a familiar scent,â he said.
Laying on the bed was a boy in his teens who was extremely thin. His face was blue and black, and his breathing was very weak.
Wang Yao carefully checked him. His breath had a rotten smell. His pulse was weak. It was almost imperceptible and could vanish at any time.
âHeâs in a critical state,â Wang Yao said.
âYes, please help him,â Li Fang pleaded.
âHeâs been poisoned with insects,â Wang Yao said.
There were many poisonous insects in the childâs internal organs, which were similar to Wei Haiâs but more serious.
Wang Yao found the recent poisonings quite strange. Before leaving a few days ago, a father and daughter had come to the mountain village for consultation. They were infected with insects. It had only been 10 days and another person was infected with insects, yet the situation of the two people was not the same.
âHow long has it been?â Wang Yao asked.
âThree years,â Li Fang said.
âThree years? How did you maintain it?â Wang Yao was a little surprised.
These poisonous insects were quite domineering. Once they had been stimulated and erupted, they couldnât live for three years, not even three days. It was a miracle that the child had survived for three years.
âWith special medicine,â Li Fang said.
âSpecial medicine? Does your so-called special medicine refer to poison?â Wang Yao asked.
âYou can see that?â Now, Li Fang was surprised.
âItâs no wonder that the muscles and nerves in his entire body have atrophied so much,â Wang Yao said. âThe accumulation of poisons in his organs is serious, and itâs not just one kind. Fighting poison with poison can be used, but not like this.
He knew the method Li Fang had used to protect his son was to use poison to stop the reproduction of those terrible poisonous insects in his body to buy time. At the same time, he was using other methods to eliminate the toxic and side effects of the poisons in his body. It was like demolishing the east wall to mend the west wall. It couldnât be mended, and the loopholes would get bigger.
âI will prepare some medicine for him to neutralize the poisonous insects in his body,â Wang Yao said.
âDo you have a way?â Li Fang asked.
âOf course,â Wang Yao calmly said. It was just detoxification. âIâll have the medicine in the afternoon, but itâs very expensive.â
âIt doesnât matter how expensive it is,â Li Fang said.
As long as he could save his son, he would not hesitate to lose his family fortunes.
âOK, Iâll be back,â Wang said as he prepared to leave.
Jia Zizai came out to see him off before returning upstairs.
âDr. Wang is quite young,â Li Fang said. âAre his skills reliable?â
âTo be honest, I didnât think he was reliable when I saw him for the first time,â Jia Zizai replied. âSometimes you have to admit that there are so-called evildoers and geniuses in the world who canât be judged using common sense and logic.â
Wang Yao returned to his hotel room alone and began preparing to brew the antidote. For this medicine, he used four kinds of spirit grass: antidote, miasma, mountain essence, and Guiyuan. Although there wasnât a lot of them, their effect was solid.
The main function of the antidote and miasma grass was to kill the poisonous insects in the boyâs body and dissolve the various toxins in his organs. The mountain essence would help consolidate and regenerate his spirit and energy. After all, the childâs body was very fragile. It was like a flickering candle flame. If the wind was a little bit stronger, it might be blown out. His body needed to immediately yet gently improve. It couldnât be too sudden. It was necessary to return his health. The Guiyuan was to reconcile the different kinds of medicine.
It was the first time Wang Yao had brewed medicine in a hotel. Since his access to equipment was limited, he knew their effect of the medicine may not be as strong.