Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 30: Father’s Serious Injury

“Cough, cough. My friend, how much farther… cough, cough… how much farther until we reach Qi County?” “Sir, it’s not far now. Just hang in there a little longer. Once we reach Qi County, we’ll be able to find a reliable doctor!” “Cough, cough. I wonder if Liu Ji and Niuniu… cough, cough… have already made it to Qi County. If anything has happened to them… cough, cough… then whether I live or die won’t matter anymore.” “Don’t worry, sir. At the time, Liu Pi led the young master and young lady away on horseback. The bandits didn’t send many cavalrymen in pursuit. Given Liu Pi’s martial arts skills, even if a few bandit cavalrymen did catch up, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat.” “Ahem, let’s hope so!” It turned out that after encountering a large force of bandit cavalry, Liu Hao and Liu Tie had led the women and children straight up into the mountains. However, the bandit cavalry did not let Liu Hao and his party off that easily. Aside from sending a few horsemen to pursue Liu Ji, Liu Pi, and Liu Niuniu, the majority of the bandits abandoned their horses, grabbed their weapons, and gave chase up the mountain. In the end, Liu Hao and Liu Tie managed to escape the bandits’ pursuit, but Liu Hao had been struck in the back by an arrow fired by one of the bandits’ archers, while all the women and children fell into the bandits’ hands. Liu Hao’s arrow wound was severe; had he not been wearing leather armor, the arrow might have taken his life. Liu Tie helped Liu Hao pull the arrow from his body and applied a simple bandage, but by then, Liu Hao was already too weak to walk due to excessive blood loss. Liu Tie immediately hoisted Liu Hao onto his back and took a detour to Qi County in Changping Commandery, Yongzhou. Unexpectedly, Liu Hao developed a high fever the very next day, and his wound became infected. But since they were still in the middle of the wilderness, Liu Tie had no choice but to quicken his pace. Only after carrying Liu Hao out of the mountainous region bordering Wan Prefecture and Yong Prefecture did he find a doctor in a small town to treat Liu Hao’s arrow wound; this town was already within the boundaries of Qi County. However, this doctor’s medical skills were truly lacking. After several days of treatment, Liu Hao’s high fever had not subsided. Liu Tie asked around and learned that this doctor, who claimed to be a “miracle healer,” not only had poor medical skills but also lacked medical ethics. So Liu Tie quickly hoisted Liu Hao onto his back and continued on toward the county seat of Qi County, intending to find a more reliable doctor there. Before leaving, however, Liu Tie gave that so-called “miracle healer” a thorough beating. As Liu Tie carried Liu Hao toward the city gate of Qi County, he was stopped by the guards. Liu Tie immediately identified himself as a member of the Chen family, and shortly thereafter, Chen Yan appeared at the city gate. On the third day after Liu Ji, along with his younger sister Liu Niuniu, the twin sisters, Hua Xiong, and others, had moved into the Chen family residence on the west side of town, Liu Ji was just worrying about why his father and Uncle Tie hadn’t arrived in Qi County yet when his uncle Chen Yan sent word for Liu Ji to hurry to the Chen family ancestral home—his father had arrived, but he was seriously injured. Upon hearing this, Liu Ji immediately had Liu Pi mount a horse and take him to the Chen family compound. By the time Liu Ji and Liu Pi hurriedly arrived at the compound, Chen Yan was already waiting at the main gate. As soon as he saw Liu Ji, he said, “Hurry! Go inside with your second uncle—your father has been wounded by an arrow!” Liu Pi, clad in iron armor and carrying his weapons, did not enter the Chen family compound but waited outside the gate, leading his warhorse. With a look of anxiety on his face, Liu Ji followed Chen Yan into the Chen family compound and soon saw his father, Liu Hao, lying on the bed. “Father, what happened to you? Please don’t scare me!” Liu Hao turned his head to look at Liu Ji. A faint smile appeared on his pale face as he said, “Your second uncle told me that you and Niuniu are both safe, so I’m… ahem, I’m relieved. Who knows, maybe in the future… ahem, this family will have to rely on you to hold it together! Ahem, ahem, ahem!” Standing nearby, Liu Tie choked back tears as he said to Liu Ji, “Young Master, it’s all my fault for failing to protect the Master. When we fled that day, the Master was struck by an arrow fired by the bandits. Now the wound is oozing pus, and he has a high fever that just won’t break.” “Uncle Tie, don’t blame yourself. My father will definitely get better!” At that moment, Chen Yan, standing by the bed, said to Liu Hao, who was lying face-down on the bed, “Brother-in-law, I’ve already sent someone to fetch the best doctor in Qi County. You’ll be fine. Once your injury heals, I’ll get you so drunk we’ll be out of our minds for three days.” Liu Ji turned his head and said to Chen Yan with unwavering resolve, “Second Uncle, no matter how much silver it costs, you must make sure my father’s injury is treated. I’ll send someone back to fetch the silver right away.” Chen Yan patted his chest and said, “Don’t worry—I’ll cover all of Brother-in-law’s medical expenses!” Shortly thereafter, a doctor surnamed Zhang arrived at Liu Hao’s bedside. The doctor, who was in his sixties, first examined the wound on Liu Hao’s back, then took his pulse. He then said to Chen Yan, Liu Ji, and Liu Tie, who stood nearby looking anxious, ““The arrowhead that struck this gentleman must have been contaminated with some sort of filth. Furthermore, the wound was not treated properly afterward, causing it to become infected. Combined with the delay of several days, the toxin has now spread to his internal organs.” Dr. Zhang’s words instantly caused the three men standing nearby to turn pale with fear, but he immediately continued, “I do, however, have a family recipe passed down through generations that should be effective for this gentleman’s injury and remove the toxins from his body. However, this formula contains one ingredient that is extremely expensive and very rare!” “Mr. Zhang, why are you still gasping for breath? You gave me quite a scare just now—I thought my brother-in-law was beyond saving! Since you have a way to help, please treat him right away! Money is no object!” Chen Yan said with a sigh of relief. “Doctor Zhang, you absolutely must cure my father—no matter how much silver it costs!” Liu Ji added. Dr. Zhang stroked his beard and said, “Second Young Master Chen, the problem is that one ingredient in the prescription—I don’t have it in my clinic right now.” Chen Yan frowned and asked, “What herb is that?” “Black rhinoceros horn! And we’ll need at least five qian of it!” Dr. Zhang replied. Upon hearing “black rhinoceros horn,” Chen Yan’s brow furrowed even deeper. After all, there were no black rhinoceroses in the twenty-four provinces of the Great Jin Kingdom. Black rhinoceroses were unique to the Great Zhou Kingdom to the southwest of the Great Jin Kingdom and were extremely rare. Furthermore, since black rhinoceros horn was an exceedingly precious medicinal ingredient, its price within the Great Jin Kingdom was exorbitant—so much so that it was practically unavailable on the market. Liu Ji quickly asked Chen Yan, “Second Uncle, where can we buy black rhinoceros horn?” Chen Yan sighed and said, “It’s impossible to buy black rhinoceros horns in Qi County, and it’s even a long shot in Changping City, the prefectural seat of Changping Commandery. If you want to buy black rhinoceros horns, perhaps the only place you can find them is in Cangtong City, the provincial capital of Yongzhou—and… and… ah—” Liu Ji pressed him, “Second Uncle, and what?” Dr. Zhang, who was standing nearby, interjected, “Young Master, the price of black rhino horn is beyond the means of ordinary people. Five qian of black rhino horn would cost at least 400 taels of gold. The other herbs listed in the prescription aren’t very expensive, and I have them all in stock at my clinic.” “What! It takes 400 taels of gold just to buy five qian of black rhinoceros horn? How could it be that expensive!” Upon hearing the price of the black rhinoceros horn, Liu Ji couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. After all, 400 taels of gold equaled 8,000 taels of silver, and the total amount of money Liu Ji currently had on hand amounted to no more than a little over 400 taels of silver.