Chapter 124: A Stroke of Genius
Several imperial physicians hurriedly grabbed the prescription Qin Mu had written and went to fetch the ingredients. Before long, the herbs were brought, but the physicians stood there without making a move, instead looking on with expectant faces, waiting to see Qin Mu refine the medicine.
Qin Mu's primordial energy burst forth, lifting each medicinal herb into the air. Without using a furnace, he refined the medicine directly in midair, employing various extraction techniques and refining methods. He didn't use water to boil and decoct, but instead directly extracted the medicinal power from the herbs, baking and fusing them with primordial energy. His fingers danced like musical notes and runes, moving so beautifully that the white-haired Physician Yu was moved to tears.
"To witness such a refining technique once in this lifetime is enough!" Physician Yu sighed with emotion.
Qin Mu was completely focused, concentrating solely on refining the medicine, and didn't hear their words. Had he heard them, the young man would certainly have curled his lips. His refining technique had only just passed muster—in the eyes of Grandpa Pharmacist at the Crippled Elderly Village, he barely scraped by with a passing grade.
Before long, the spiritual medicine was refined, and the physicians watched in rapt fascination. Physician Qu said, "Young divine physician, earlier you used this technique to stir the water patterns, extracting medicinal power with water. Why did you suddenly switch to fire?"
Qin Mu placed the refined spiritual pill into a jade cup on the tray and said, "That particular herb requires the mutual complement of water and fire, so I used water first and then fire to fully extract its medicinal power."
Physician Yu's hands moved, manipulating primordial energy to bake the medicine, and he hastily asked, "Young divine physician, look at my technique—does it resemble yours?"
Qin Mu observed for a moment and said, "Your primordial energy flow is somewhat sluggish. The beauty of my refining technique lies not in the hand movements but in the subtle application of primordial energy. The primordial energy must circulate twelve times before reaching perfection."
Physician Yu suddenly understood and said eagerly, "I was only grasping at the surface. Also, when you were extracting the wufuzi, was there any particular significance to the technique you used?"
The physicians gathered around Qin Mu, discussing enthusiastically, while Lord Yan frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Everyone, you can discuss this later. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is still present!"
The physicians came to their senses, and Physician Qu hastily said, "Young divine physician, the Empress Dowager must take her medicine."
Qin Mu said, "I also need one thousand and twenty-three three-legged green-eyed toads."
Physician Qu and the others' eyes lit up, and they clapped their hands and laughed, praising, "A stroke of genius, a stroke of genius! This old man is completely convinced! Quick, quick—go buy three-legged green-eyed toads!"
The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall hurriedly went to the market to purchase the green-eyed toads. After much bustling about, the toads were brought—each the size of a fist, with three legs.
Qin Mu had them place the toads inside the hall, then ordered all the maids and eunuchs to withdraw. He presented the spiritual pill to the Empress Dowager and said, "In a moment, the sovereign poison of the Thousand Mechanisms Poison will be replaced by the poison within the spiritual medicine, and the other toxins will collapse, becoming violently potent in an instant. These poisons have been inside Your Majesty's body, combined with your primordial energy, and have already developed spiritual nature. Toads feed on poison—these toads will take the opportunity to devour the poison within Your Majesty's body, and you will be cured."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "You all withdraw, lest the poison harm you."
Qin Mu, the physicians, and Lord Yan exited the hall. Inside, the Empress Dowager took the spiritual pill. At first, she felt nothing unusual, but the next moment, the medicinal effect suddenly erupted. A strange poison surged out from within the spiritual pill, instantly replacing the sovereign poison within the Thousand Mechanisms Poison.
The Empress Dowager let out a cry and spat out a mouthful of blood—black as ink—spraying it across the jade couch and the curtains.
Immediately after, the Empress Dowager felt the host of poisons erupting throughout her limbs, bones, and even her skin and hair. With the sovereign poison replaced, the remaining one thousand and twenty-two strange poisons suddenly exploded, conflicting and colliding with one another, causing her intestines to feel as though they were being torn apart, the pain unbearable.
Just as these poisons erupted violently, their toxicity merged with her primordial energy. The Empress Dowager gasped for breath, her face turning completely black, her skin darkening as well, on the verge of festering and dying. Her primordial energy was now occupied by one thousand and twenty-two types of poison, surging through her body and carrying the toxicity to every part, causing her to lose control of her primordial energy. She was about to die from poison.
Suddenly, another surge of medicinal power rushed out from the spiritual pill she had swallowed. This medicinal power instantly penetrated her entire body, even reaching deep into layer after layer of divine reservoirs. The medicinal power blazed fiercely, suddenly forcing all the primordial energy out of her body—even the primordial energy within her divine reservoirs was expelled by that medicinal force!
A thunderous boom echoed from within the hall. Although the Empress Dowager had been poisoned for decades, although her cultivation was not what it once was, her primordial energy remained incomparably vast. As it left her body, it transformed into over a thousand types of poisonous creatures, swimming and circling in the air around the jade couch—poison scorpions, poison snakes, poison insects, poison ants, poison beetles, and other venomous beings, all formed from the combination of her primordial energy and the strange poisons!
Croak, croak, croak.
The sound of frog calls came from within the hall. One by one, the three-legged green-eyed toads suddenly croaked in unison, opened their mouths, and lashed out their long tongues, curling around those creatures formed from primordial energy and strange poison, swallowing them into their bellies.
In an instant, the hall returned to clarity. One toad that hadn't gotten any poison to eat hopped onto the jade couch, opened its mouth toward the Empress Dowager, and sucked in. The Empress Dowager couldn't help but spit out blood, expelling a poison insect—the strange poison creature formed from the poison Qin Mu had hidden in the spiritual pill to replace the sovereign poison.
This toad ate the poison insect, then hopped off the jade couch. The Empress Dowager felt refreshed and light, quickly rising from the couch. She felt that the illness that had plagued her for decades had been swept away completely, and her heart was filled with joy.
"Someone!"
The hall doors opened, and a crowd of maids and eunuchs hurried in. Seeing the jade couch and curtains covered in poison blood, they were startled, and with toads hopping about everywhere in the palace, it was also somewhat frightening.
Qin Mu, the physicians, and Lord Yan also hurried inside. The Empress Dowager looked at Qin Mu and smiled, saying, "Truly a divine physician. Have these green-eyed toads released into the Qingbo Pond. They have shown kindness to me, so let them live in the pond."
The eunuchs and maids quickly acknowledged. Lord Yan was both shocked and delighted, and hurriedly ran out, saying, "This old minister will report this wonderful news to His Majesty!"
The Empress Dowager walked outside, smiling, "Divine physician, it's dirty in here. Let us speak outside."
Qin Mu acknowledged and followed her out, with the physicians quickly trailing behind. The Empress Dowager looked at the sunlight outside, raised her hand to shield her eyes, and smiled, "It has been so long since I last walked out of this palace. The Thousand Mechanisms Poison—was it created by the Jade-Faced Poison King?"
Physician Qu nodded and said, "The Jade-Faced Poison King is said to have disappeared over two hundred years ago. That man was ruthless, poisoning countless experts. He had too many enemies, but no one knew his true identity. It's said he was betrayed by his disciple, the Little Poison King, who exposed his true face, making it impossible for him to remain, so he cut off his own face and fled."
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "I have heard of this matter as well. Speaking of which, I have also met that Jade-Faced Poison King. We had several secret rendezvous, and in those days, I was quite smitten with him."
The physicians dared not speak.
The Empress Dowager said softly, "Who would have known that the famed Young Master Jade of his generation would turn out to be the infamous Jade-Faced Poison King? When his disciple exposed his affairs, how many young maidens' hearts were broken. The late emperor had died, and I was enamored with this Young Master Jade at the time. I met with him several times. When he was cornered with nowhere to go, I told him I could protect him, and there were a few other wretched women who also wanted to protect him. Hmph, those little sluts ultimately couldn't compete with me, but I couldn't compete with them either. He left anyway... Thinking about it now, fate truly plays cruel tricks. The strange poison that kept me bedridden for decades, unable to leave this palace—it came from the hand of my lover."
Cold sweat beaded on the physicians' foreheads. They felt that having heard this secret, their heads were no longer safe on their shoulders, and inwardly regretted not having left with Lord Yan earlier.
Qin Mu's heart stirred. This Jade-Faced Poison King gave him a familiar feeling. "It couldn't be Grandpa Pharmacist, could it?"
"Then does Your Majesty know who administered the poison?" Qin Mu asked.
"It wouldn't be Young Master Jade."
The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and said, "Then naturally it was the Little Poison King, Fu Yuanqing. I heard Fu Yuanqing has thrown in his lot with the Imperial Preceptor. His poisoning of me was naturally done at the Imperial Preceptor's behest. The Imperial Preceptor has wanted me dead for a long time now. I suppose he found some of my actions objectionable, and he wanted me dead so I would no longer stand in his way."
The physicians' faces turned ashen. Suddenly, they fell to their knees with a thud and dared not rise.
The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "The Imperial Preceptor dared to poison me, and he isn't afraid. What are you afraid of? Rise and speak."
Physician Qu and the others rose trembling, silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to utter a word.
The Empress Dowager looked at Qin Mu and suddenly said, "Your master is Young Master Jade, isn't he? How is he?"
"The Young Master Jade she speaks of should be Grandpa Pharmacist. How to cure the Thousand Mechanisms Poison was also something Grandpa Pharmacist taught me. Only the creator of the Thousand Mechanisms Poison could know it so thoroughly."
Thinking this, Qin Mu bowed and said, "To answer Your Majesty, he is well."
The Empress Dowager let out a breath and said softly, "Was it he who sent you to save me? So he still has me in his heart..."
Qin Mu blinked, feeling she was reading too much into it, but found it awkward to say so directly.
The Empress Dowager, having just recovered from a long illness, was also somewhat fatigued. She waved her hand and said, "You've all been up all night. Go back and rest early."
Qin Mu acknowledged, and the physicians, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted, left with him. They hadn't gone far when shouts of "Make way!" and "Make way!" came from ahead. Physician Qu hastily pulled Qin Mu to the side of the road, and then they saw Emperor Yanfeng approaching at a rapid pace, with guards running behind him and maids carrying ceremonial canopies hurrying along as well. Besides the emperor, there were several elegantly dressed men and women—likely the empress, princes, or princesses.
"Cowherd!"
Suddenly, a crisp, delighted voice came from the crowd—somewhat familiar. Qin Mu looked up and saw a young woman in the crowd, radiant and beautiful.
"Cowherd boy, it really is you!"
The young woman said in surprise, "How did you end up here?"