Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 241 - Poisonous Insect

“Liu Wuxie, you’ve killed him!” Guo Buqiu accused, standing up as he noted the man’s weak breathing, indistinguishable from that of a corpse.

With a loud clamor, the imperial physicians stood together, led by Guo Buqiu. “Liu Wuxie, how vicious can you get? Irrespective of this being a duel, how could you kill the patient? Do you think you can get away with this?” Another imperial physician stood up and condemned.

More voices joined in the condemnation of Liu Wuxie, plunging the hall into chaos. After all, killing the patient during treatment was tantamount to losing the wager.

“Bunch of clowns!” Liu Wuxie retorted, his words nearly choking the imperial physicians. This provoked them into glaring at him fiercely. His insult was akin to a slap in their faces.

“Liu Wuxie, how dare you call us clowns! Time is almost up, and we’ll see how you meet your end!” Eight imperial physicians took a step forward, unleashing their aura, and they were prepared to kill Liu Wuxie in the presence of the Emperor.

“You people are worse than trash in my eyes. You all have the cheek to call yourself imperial physicians when you can’t even differentiate between the living and the dead,” Liu Wuxie said with a hint of disgust. Time wasn’t up yet, and they were already eager to pounce.

“He’s not dead?” Guo Buqiu muttered as he stepped forward, scanning the man with his divine sense. He eventually sensed faint breathing, which could be easily neglected without careful observation.

“Apply this on his face, and new flesh will soon grow out on the rotten area.” Liu Wuxie took out a bottle of medicinal ointment. If used on wounds, it could aid healing, and Liu Wuxie hadn’t expected to use it here.

An eunuch stepped forward, took the medicinal ointment, and approached the man. He then proceeded to remove the man’s mask, prompting everyone to rise and crane their necks for a better view.

“It’s strange. Where did the bugs on his face go?” The crowd murmured among themselves. When the mask had been removed earlier, the man’s face had been crawling with white worms. But now, the worms had vanished, leaving behind a face marred with wounds.

The eunuch took a peacock feather and applied the ointment on the man’s face. In less than a minute of applying the ointment, new flesh quickly grew on the man’s face.

“How is this possible? What ointment is this, and how can it be so potent?” Guo Buqiu looked like he had seen a ghost. Every physician could refine ointment for wounds, but this was the first time he had seen an ointment with such powerful effects.

Even when using potent herbs and medicines, recovery would typically take some time.

Physician Yan quickly moved forward and took the ointment from the eunuch. There wasn’t much ointment left in the bottle, just a dozen drops or so.

“Young Master Liu, can you give me this bottle?” Physician Yan said agitatedly as he carried the ointment bottle.

He was immersed in medicine and had no interest in wealth or fame. This was why Guo Buqiu had obtained the title of the best physician in the Great Yan Dynasty.

Liu Wuxie offered, his forehead creased as he pulled out another bottle from his pouch. He always kept the ointment handy for emergencies, and it wasn’t something that could be bought in the market. After all, not all external injuries could be healed with pills.

Yan Ruyu, who was Physician Yan’s niece, had once lent Liu Wuxie a zither when he was facing suppression from the Xue Clan at the academy. Therefore, giving Physician Yan a bottle of the ointment could be seen as returning the favor.

“Thank you, Young Master Liu!” Physician Yan gratefully accepted the ointment and stored it away, planning to examine it further when he returned.

A crowd had gathered around the patient, pointing and commenting. The decayed flesh on his face had completely disappeared, replaced by fresh skin. Only his eyes were still in the process of healing.

“Look, his breathing is recovering!” The officials from the Ministry of Rites exclaimed. The Ministry of Justice, War, Personnel, and Finance had practically joined Prince Yongxian’s faction.

Only the Ministries of Rites and Labor were still in the Emperor’s faction, but these two ministries had the least authority.

When the patient slowly opened his eyes, he looked around blankly before returning to his feet. When he touched his face, his cracked lips had recovered, and his eyes no longer hurt as much as before.

When the eunuch took out a bronze mirror and placed it before the patient, the patient cried out after looking at his reflection.

The patient fell to his knees and gave Liu Wuxie three kowtows. He said, “Please save the rest of my tribe!”

The man’s action was the best proof that his illness had been treated.

Guo Buqiu and the other imperial physicians exchanged looks of disbelief. They were astounded that Liu Wuxie had managed to treat a condition in fifteen minutes that had baffled them for decades.

“Get up first. Since Young Master Liu has treated you, I believe he has a way to treat your tribe.” Physician Yan supported the man back on his feet.

A hush fell over the Divine Martial Hall. The sound of a cup cracking echoed through the silence as the cup in Prince Yongxian’s hand crumbled to dust and fell onto the table.

“This is impossible! There’s no way it can be treated; he must have used witchcraft!” Guo Buqiu screamed hysterically, his headband torn and his hair disheveled. He appeared like a madman.

Throughout the process, Liu Wuxie remained seated at the table, merely giving instructions that an eunuch carried out. He had simply thrown some herbs into a brazier and used some ointment to treat a disease that had confounded all the imperial physicians for decades.

“How dare you!” Chen Yusheng roared in response to the outrageous claims being made in the Divine Martial Hall.

“Guo Buqiu, you have already lost! Surrender yourself now!” The Vice-Minister of Rites stepped forward, signaling their counterattack.

This might seem like an ordinary celebration banquet, but it was a life-and-death confrontation.

“I refuse to accept this unless he tells me what the disease is and how it’s cured! Who knows if this is an illusion, and the disease will relapse in a few days!” Guo Buqiu said, refusing to be convinced by the result.

“Physician Guo is right! Don’t be fooled by him!” The officials in Prince Yongxian’s faction intervened to support Guo Buqiu.

“How shameless can you get? I’ll let you die fully convinced then.” A devilish smile rose on Liu Wuxie’s lips. He appeared harmless, but it made everyone tremble in fear, and no one dared look him in the eye.

Over a hundred pairs of eyes turned to Liu Wuxie, awaiting his response.

“Stop beating around the bush!” Xue Chunyu said impatiently.

Liu Wuxie’s icy gaze swept over Xue Chunyu, causing him to shudder. Liu Wuxie’s stare seemed as if it could penetrate his soul.

“This isn’t a disease but a form of poison. More precisely, it’s due to poisonous insects!” Liu Wuxie dropped this bombshell, revealing that the issue wasn’t a disease but poison. His words immediately caused a commotion in the hall.

“Wuxie, what exactly are these poisonous insects you speak of?” Chen Yusheng asked, clearly perplexed. Physician Yan asked uncertainly. If it was poison, why couldn’t they find any clues about it over the years?

“Wuxie, what kind of poison are poisonous insects?” Chen Yusheng asked in confusion.

This was the first time everyone, including the twelve imperial physicians present, had heard of it. Some were experts in poison, but even they were perplexed by what Liu Wuxie said.

“Poisonous insects differ greatly from other types of poisons. These insects are living organisms that parasitize the human body or plants. Their omnipresence makes them difficult to defend against. If my conjecture is correct, the tribe he hails from is likely surrounded by vast marshlands,” Liu Wuxie elucidated without going into further detail.

“How do you know that there are marshes near the tribe?” This time, the patient spoke.

Their tribe was nestled deep within the mountains and had minimal contact with the outside world. This was largely due to the fact that a majority of the tribe members were afflicted by the ‘disease’ and had chosen to isolate themselves.

“The venomous insect residing in your body is known as the Dark Spirit Insect, and marshlands are its natural dwelling place,” Liu Wuxie revealed.

This was the first time everyone had heard of these poisonous insects, and they began looking at each other in confusion.

“Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. Once they infect a person, they spread rapidly in the crowd as they’re highly contagious. Given how close you are, I reckon you’ve all been infected by it.”

When Liu Wuxie said that, the Divine Martial Hall became chaotic as everyone distanced themselves from the patient.

After all, the poison was contagious, and no one in the Great Yan Dynasty could treat it except Liu Wuxie.

“Liu Wuxie, don’t try to scare us. How can poison be possibly transmitted to others?” The Vice-Minister of Justice sneered. He was standing beside Guo Buqiu earlier and wasn’t far from the patient.

Even Physician Yan and Chen Yusheng had been near the patient.

“You’ll soon find out if I’m making things up. In five minutes at most, your abdomens will start to itch terribly, gradually spreading until it reaches your brain. The insects will slowly devour your brain, and you will die in agony.” Liu Wuxie was indifferent as their life and death had nothing to do with him.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

“It’s itchy!” Guo Buqiu suddenly scratched his lower abdomen; he was the first person to come in contact with the patient. Next were the imperial physicians standing behind him. They were all scratching their lower abdomens, leaving behind red marks.

“I can’t take it any longer! It’s too itchy!” An imperial physician suddenly fell on his knees, scratching his lower abdomen with all his might. Shortly after, he began scratching his chest before moving to his head.

A few minutes later, a white worm emerged from his nose, sending everyone nearby into a state of panic. “Liu Wuxie, please save me! I don’t want to die!” Apart from Guo Buqiu, the other imperial physicians fell to their knees, begging desperately for treatment.

All eight imperial physicians were known to be aligned with Prince Yongxian’s faction. The other officials, who had maintained their distance and thus were not infected, quickly retreated upon witnessing this scene, fearing they might contract the infection.

In addition to Guo Buqiu, the faces of the nine imperial physicians began to show signs of decay.

“Wuxie, why are we fine?” Chen Yusheng was baffled because he and Physician Yan had also come in contact with the patient, but they were fine.

“That’s because I smeared insect repellant on the bottle I gave Physician Yan, and those poisonous insects won’t dare to get close,” Liu Wuxie said.

Since Chen Yusheng was standing next to Physician Yan, he wasn’t infected by the poisonous insects either.

“Liu Wuxie, you’re despicable! Why aren’t you treating them?!” The Vice-Minister of Justice roared, urging Liu Wuxie to treat the imperial physicians quickly.