Chapter 419: We have to find Gu Qi Sha
The Beauty’s Blood bleeding from Baili Mingxiang’s body and the quasi-Beauty’s Blood concocted by Han Yunxi were actually…
“Completely identical!”
Han Yunxi gaped and wondered if the detox system had malfunctioned somewhere. She switched it off and restarted the system before doing a second scan, just to make sure. When the results matched the first time, she murmured indistinctly, “I’m a genius…”
Her experimental copy was actually a clone of the actual specimen. They really were completely alike. That meant the solution was simple. She didn’t even need to make any adjustments to the formula. As long as Baili Mingxiang took this antidote, everything would be resolved! Han Yunxi expelled a long sigh of relief as she looked at the woman’s still form. The weight that had been on her heart for the past six months finally fell. A result like this is probably Heaven’s mercy to Baili Mingxiang as well.
She immediately took out the antidote and prepared to put it into a needle, only to realize something important.
I haven’t taken out the Beauty’s Blood yet!
Really, she’d been too overexcited and forgotten something so crucial. If she had cured the poison just then, all their efforts would’ve been for nothing. With Long Feiye’s personality, wouldn’t he just make Baili Mingxiang re-cultivate the Beauty’s Blood all over again?
She went to open the doors and invited Long Feiye inside with General Baili, then told them what had happened. Since both the Beauty’s Blood and Baili Mingxiang’s life had been preserved, both men were very pleased.
General Baili fell to one knee and said, “Your Highness, Mingxiang didn’t disappoint you, did she?”
“When has the Baili Clan ever disappointed your lordship?” Long Feiye asked back. That was his greatest expression of conviction in General Baili’s eyes.
He hastily clasped his hands before his chest and bowed. “Many thanks to Your Highness for your trust!”
“Your Highness, how much blood do we need?” Han Yunxi murmured under her voice.
At this, General Baili took the initiative and excused himself. His daughter had suffered for years with her life on the line, but to this day, neither of them knew what the Beauty’s Blood was for. Sacrificing any life in the Baili Clan for Long Feiye’s sake was but a trifling show of loyalty.
“Unclear. There’s not much of the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion to begin with, so you can make the estimate yourself,” Long Feiye muttered back.
Beauty’s Blood, when mixed with Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, was the key to unlocking its secrets. Since Baili Mingxiang’s life was on the line, Han Yunxi didn’t think twice before pricking the woman’s finger and getting a small bottle of fresh blood. The quantity was more or less equal to that of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion.
Once that was done, Han Yunxi immediately injected Baili Mingxiang with the antidote. Thank goodness she’d done so many tests, because everything went smoothly today. The antidote required some time before it took effect, but at least Baili Mingxiang’s life was out of danger now. Han Yunxi next cleaned up her things and settled to sit by the bed and watch over her patient. Besides her, was there anyone else who felt distress for this woman’s sake?
As she studied Baili Mingxiang’s quiet face, Han Yunxi even felt a bit of anticipation. She looked forward to the moment the woman opened her eyes and found out she was fully recovered. What kind of expression will she make then? Those cool and tranquil eyes would definitely be filled with the spark of new life and all its hope! That was the greatest prize that a doctor like her could get as a reward.
Time trickled by. Han Yunxi’s detox system had been monitoring Baili Mingxiang the entire time and knew the poison in her body was getting weaker. Long Feiye was much too impatient to spend his time waiting around for some unconscious woman. Since Baili Mingxiang was out of danger now, he’d stopped worrying.
Instead, he said, “Your lordship will be waiting for you in the guest hall, come out when you’re done.”
“Heartless man!” Han Yunxi muttered to herself. Unfortunately, neither Long Feiye or General Baili heard her. The latter had accompanied him to the guest hall to discuss formal matters. But they’d hardly left the courtyard when Han Yunxi started yelling again.
“Your Highness! General Baili!”
What happened?
Long Feiye and General Baili immediately backtracked, only to see Han Yunxi holding onto the Baili Mingxiang’s hand with a pale and horrified face. This was the hand she’d pricked to get a vial of Beauty’s Blood, but the bandage binding the cut was already completely soaked and more blood was dripping from the injury.
“What’s going on?” General Baili said in alarm.
“Something’s gone wrong with her coagulation process, her blood won’t clot properly!” Han Yunxi’s voice had started to tremble. She had only noticed it after taking up Baili Mingxiang’s hand. She had only made a minor prick, so the wound should’ve stopped bleeding after she applied medicine and bandages. But after she undid the bindings, she found out there was a problem!
The so called coagulation referred to the ability of blood platelets to solidify into a gel and stop bleeding. Whenever there was an injury to the body, the platelets would undergo hemostasis and close the wound. When Han Yunxi started up the detox system, she realized that Baili Mingxiang had an abnormally low platelet count. Low platelet concentration could lead to spontaneous bleeding even when no injury was present on the body. Blood could rupture and flow beneath the skin, from the gums of the teeth, or from the nose. In severe cases, even the internal organs or the brain could start bleeding, putting the person’s life in danger.
Baili Mingxiang’s platelet count had been decreasing by the minute. If this kept on, she’d definitely suffer a critical shortage. Leaving aside the fact that she was already weakened, even a normal, healthy body would be in danger under these circumstances! Han Yunxi didn’t know why this was a side effect of the antidote, but she surmised that it had something to do with Baili Mingxiang’s high intake of poisons. Her unique constitution, combined with the Beauty’s Blood one-of-a-kind composition, could only leave residual effects that were hard to track or predict.
Under the current circumstances, it’d be impossible to figure out the origin of the deficiency, even with enough time. All they could do now was to treat the problem! Still, it was this very conundrum that was causing Han Yunxi’s voice to shake. There were four different solutions to the present emergency: 1) blood transfusion, 2) hormone therapy, 3) excising the spleen, or 4) treating the blood itself. These were all Western practices, but her hands had neither equipment or tools to accomplish the task. What was she supposed to do with only a detox system on her hands?
“Coagulation processes?” General Baili had no idea what that was, but he was starting to burn with impatience. In the past, he’d resigned himself to Baili Mingxiang’s death after the Beauty’s Blood was extracted. As long as her daughter could devote herself loyally to His Highness for the Baili Clan’s sake, it would be fine. But now that Han Yunxi had given him a glimpse of hope, he couldn’t deal with the sudden reversal…
General Baili’s iron heart had just started to soften, so how could he face such a cruel turn of events? How could anything bear the sensation of hope, only to have it ruthlessly disappointed?
“That’s…it’s just a disease of the blood! A very serious illness,” in Han Yunxi’s memories, Chinese medicine would probably consider this case a blood-related ailment.
“Then…then what do we do?” General Baili asked anxiously.
“Hurry and summon all the estate’s doctors!” Han Yunxi said simply. Although Baili Mingxiang’s present emergency might be incurable by Chinese medicine, it was her only hope left. Han Yunxi’s detox system had been monitoring the woman nonstop. During the course of their brief conversation, Baili Mingxiang’s platelet count had dropped again.
Very soon, Baili Mingxiang’s personal doctor arrived on the scene and confirmed that it was a disease of the blood. But the condition was too severe and deteriorating too quickly for him to do anything about it.
“Find Gu Beiyue!” Han Yunxi said immediately. She could never stand by and simply watch as a young life ebbed away. Nor was she willing to see all her six months’ worth of effort go to waste! No matter what, she’d try to save Baili Mingxiang as long as the woman was still breathing!
“Someone come, go to the palace and summon Imperial Physician Gu. Just say that Miss Mingxiang’s fallen ill again!” Han Yunxi ordered. But none of the servants obeyed her command. Inside the room, General Baili glanced at Long Feiye with a complicated expression.
Only then did Han Yunxi recall Baili Mingxiang’s unique constitution. Both her body and her blood were unusual, and her condition dealt with the blood as well. It was probably inconvenient for outsiders to know of her situation. After all, doctors could see peculiarities in the blood very easily.
But this is a human life at stake! A life that loyally served Long Feiye for over a decade!
Both Long Feiye and General Baili remained silent. They had to consider the big picture. If saving a single Baili Mingxiang meant exposing the secret of the Baili Clan, the losses would outweigh the gains. Seeing this, Han Yunxi felt bitterly disappointed. “How would Mingxiang feel if she knew you two were like this?”
After that, she instructed the doctor to take good care of Baili Mingxiang before turning to walk out the door.
“Where are you going?” Long Feiye chased after her.
“If you’re not going to save her, I’ll do it myself! Don’t worry, I won’t expose any of your secrets!” Han Yunxi shot back angrily.
“At least tell your lordship how you’re planning to save her,” Long Feiye ended up proposing a compromise.
“I’m going to find Gu Beiyue. At the very least, I can ask him how to treat urgent blood disorders,” Han Yunxi said truthfully. Although she was furious and frantic, she still maintained the cool composure of a doctor.
Long Feiye gave a soft sigh. “I’ll take you to the palace. Quickly.” Han Yunxi didn’t reply, so Long Feiye simply brought her on a horse with him once they left the gates and galloped towards the Imperial Physician Courtyard. Fortunately, Gu Beiyue was on duty today. Long Feiye waited outside the walls while Han Yunxi went in by herself. She didn’t say any details beyond asking how to treat emergency blood disorders.
“That’s a very serious case, hurry and let me see the patient!” Gu Beiyue grew anxious as well.
“You don’t need to come or ask too much questions. Just tell me if there’s a way to save them,” Han Yunxi was very blunt.
Gu Beiyue was a smart man, so he immediately realized that the situation was complicated. He didn’t ask any questions, but simply wrote Han Yunxi a prescription. “Use this prescription to stabilize the patient first, then hurry to Pill Fiend Valley and ask Gu Qi Sha for a certain pill. If you can feed it to the patient within five days, you’ll gain enough time to nurse them back to health. Otherwise…”
“What’s the pill?” Han Yunxi asked urgently.
“Heart of Cinnabar,”1 Gu Beiyue said seriously.
“Thanks a lot!” Han Yunxi rejoiced. She knew that Gu Beiyue could give her hope! She clasped her hands before her chest and gave him a bow before grabbing the prescription and leaving. Han Yunxi ordered someone to deliver the prescription to General Baili’s estate, then told Long Feiye, “Your Highness, let’s head for Pill Fiend Valley right away. We have to make it back within five days!”
“Gu Qi Sha isn’t at Pill Fiend Valley right now.” Long Feiye had no idea what a Heart of Cinnabar was, but the steward of the valley would have no authority to dispense such a precious item.
“He’s not? How do you know?” Han Yunxi was caught off guard.
Long Feiye subconsciously averted his eyes. “I heard it from people who’d left the valley two days ago.”
Han Yunxi was more curious about why Gu Qi Sha wasn’t home than how Long Feiye had found out in the first place. “Forget it, then. We’ll search it out ourselves if we have to! Let’s go immediately!”
She was so determined that Long Feiye had no room to refuse. All he could do was comply.
1. Heart of Cinnabar (丹心) – danxin is the original name of the pill. While dan means “cinnabar,” danxin is also a phrase that means “loyal heart, loyalty.” Rather fitting, in my opinion.
