After Jing Zhongyue left, Yun Zhonghe turned his gaze toward Physician Lu Zhanyuan.
Petty guy, weren't you so remarkable just now? Weren't you trying to snatch my credit? Didn't you want to rob me of my divine medicine?
"Physician Lu, come, come. For Master Wubian, for the good of mankind, there's no time to lose," Yun Zhonghe said.
Lu Zhanyuan was trembling all over as he screamed, "How dare you? How dare you? What do you think you're doing? I've served the residence of the castellan faithfully for eight years. Even if I made no meritorious contribution, I did my work laboriously. You, a mere beggar, actually dare to cause me harm? This is just you taking personal revenge on me in the name of the public interest!"
Yun Zhonghe said, "Congratulations, you got it right. I am just taking personal revenge. What's wrong with that? I'm so narrow-minded, what's wrong with that? I have such unrivaled good looks, what's wrong with that?"
D*mn you…
Lu Zhanyuan said, "Lady Cold Jade, you heard him too. This beggar, Yun AoTian, is taking personal revenge; it's personal revenge!"
Lady Cold Jade acted as if she had not heard anything, because Jing Zhongyue's orders were imperial decrees in Torn Gust Valley. Unless she withdrew her orders, no one would be able to save Lu Zhanyuan.
Lu Zhanyuan turned toward Lady Torn Gust, knelt down, and kowtowed to her as he said, "Madame, spare my life. Save me! I've faithfully served the residence of the castellan for eight years. Even if I've not made any great contributions, I've put in a lot of hard work. Madame, help!"
Lady Cold Jade directly tore off Lu Zhanyuan's lower jaw without saying a word.
She did so because she was worried that Lady Torn Gust would really spare Lu Zhanyuan's life, and that would be going against Jing Zhongyue's orders.
This would affect the unity of the residence of the castellan, and very soon, word would spread that Jing Zhongyue and her mother did not get along with each other.
Lady Cold Jade waved her hand, and Lu Zhanyuan was dragged away as though he was a dead dog.
Blue Immortal was still resting his mind with eyes closed, as though nothing had happened. On the contrary, that disciple of his, Xiao Yu, looked at Yun Zhonghe with a gaze that was filled with resentment.
***
In a certain secret room, Lu Zhanyuan's body was stark naked and tied to a pig slaughtering board.
"Yun AoTian, you will not die a good death. You will not die a good death. Blue Immortal will definitely not let you off the hook," Lu Zhanyuan said in a serious voice.
Yun Zhonghe went up to him, took out a knife, and sighed as he said, "Lu Zhanyuan, you are making things very difficult for me. I have the heart to let you go, but you've got such grit and tenacity that you are not begging for mercy, nor are you willing to yield under a soft approach. Even if I have wanted to let you go, I can't find a way for you to step down."
Lu Zhanyuan asked, "I, if I beg for mercy, will you let me go?"
"Of course, I have nothing against you. So long as you admit your mistake, we can still remain good comrades," Yun Zhonghe said.
Lu Zhanyuan hurried shouted, "Yun AoTian, I was wrong. I am as blind as a bat. I failed to recognize you for who you are and actually went against you. Please let me go, please spare this lowly life of mine."
Yun Zhonghe said, "You know you've done wrong."
"I know."
Yun Zhonghe said, "Shout father."
Lu Zhanyuan shouted in utter humiliation, "Father."
Yun Zhonghe said, "Shout grandfather."
Lu Zhanyuan was so overwhelmed with agony that he would rather die, but he shouted, "Grandfather, your grandson has done wrong. Please forgive me."
Yun Zhonghe said, "Since you know that you are wrong, then don't blame Grandfather for punishing you. After all, I am not exactly punishing you without any prior teaching."
Then, deceptively, he took a sharp knife out and cut into Lu Zhanyuan's glistening, fair body a few times.
Lu Zhanyuan let out a miserable howl all of a sudden.
"Yun AoTian, I'll kill your whole family, I'll kill your whole family..."
Yun Zhonghe smiled and said, "Grandson, bear with me a little while more. Grandfather is going to spread dung on your wounds."
Then, he took the boiling dung water and applied it to Lu Zhanyuan's wounds.
"Good grandson, I know it hurts, but you have to bear with it. We are doing this for the good of mankind."
Sure enough, just a few hours later, Lu Zhanyuan's wounds became infected and inflamed. He started running a high fever.
Yun Zhonghe gave him penicillin.
And once again, something miraculous happened. Lu Zhanyuan's fever subsided very quickly.
After stopping the medication, his temperature went back up. Yun Zhonghe administered the medicine for the second time, and Lu Zhanyuan's fever subsided again.
Although much of this was already expected, Lady Cold Jade still found it amazing.
This was truly a divine medicine. It was a divine medicine that could produce an immediate effect. Not only could it save Jing Wubian, but there was also no telling how many more people it could save on the battlefield in the future. It might even hold an epoch-making significance.
If this medicine could be mass-produced, it could change the entire battlefield landscape.
The contribution that Yun Zhonghe made this time was much too significant.
"Lady Cold Jade, we don't have much of the divine medicine left now. It's barely enough to treat Master Jing Wubian. Are we still going to waste it on some Tom, Dick, and Harry? Besides, Physician Lu Zhanyuan is also dying for the future of mankind. It is a glorious death. Don't you think?"
Lady Cold Jade left without saying a word.
The next thing that happened was that the Physician Lu Zhanyuan howled miserably for an entire day and night.
Then, he died!
Yun Zhonghe felt a twinge of pity for him. After all, this was the first time someone had ever called him grandfather. He had felt a little emotionally attached.
***
Yun Zhonghe took over all of Jing Wubian's treatment.
It was a combination of Chinese and Western medicines, with penicillin to combat inflammation and traditional Chinese medicine as its supporting treatment.
It was truly a miracle when a dying person was brought back to life. Jing Wubian got better with each passing day.
First, his fever was gone entirely. Then he stopped coughing up blood, and his breathing also gradually became smoother.
After that, the swelling of the lymph nodes also subsided.
The festering wounds all over his body were also beginning to form scabs.
The rate of which he was recovering was so fast that it was astonishing, and all the physicians were simply amazed.
It was really beyond anyone's expectations that this dirty, messy, and unsightly beggar, Yun AoTian, even possessed such miraculous healing skills. It was really a situation where one should never judge a book by its cover.
And what really made Jing Wubian ecstatic was that one fine morning, after waking up from his sleep, he could not hold his bladder and so, having mentally prepared himself to face hell, he went to pee.
It was a nightmare for him every time he had to pee. That fiery, burning, knife-cutting pain simply agonized him to the point where he felt like dying.
Honestly speaking, he was still not very happy, even if Yun Zhonghe had saved his life.
Because it really was better to die than to live in such pain.
However…
This time, when he peed, it was as though something was different.
It was actually… not as painful.
This… This… Was this an illusion?
And what he did pee was no longer blood.
Jing Wubian still did not dare to take it lightly, for his only fear was that this might just be a momentary relief.
But after that, every time he peed, he could feel some difference.
The fiery, burning pain grew lighter and milder.
Also, he had completely recovered from the horrible festering and discharge.
Until one fine day, when he peed, he no longer felt the slightest twinge of pain.
God!
I, Jing Wubian, am saved.
How many years has it been?
Finally, boundlessly, I can feel carefree without inhibitions again.
***
More than half a month passed.
When Jing Wubian got up from his bed and made his way to Yun Zhonghe's little courtyard, everyone knew that Master Jing Wubian was mostly healed.
This beggar, Yun AoTian, had really saved Master Jing Wubian's life.
And he also cured him of a terminal sickness that had tormented him with such unbearable pain that he would rather die. He had given a new life to this son of a lord.
At this time, Yun Zhonghe was refining a new batch of penicillin.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Jing Wubian rushed in.
His eyes looked straight at Yun Zhonghe.
He had just recovered. Of course, acute nephritis was not that easily cured. But, so long as anti-inflammatory measures were in place to prevent any complications, and Jing Wubian strictly abstained from certain foods, this sickness would heal itself within a few months.
The only trouble was his prostatitis, which was really difficult to effect a permanent cure for. And also, there was still a chance of relapse.
But so long as medication was properly administered and the condition was brought under control, it would not cause Jing Wubian much pain.
At least the most painful urethritis was considered completely cured.
"Master Jing Wubian, what are you doing? I know that I'm very handsome and filled with infinite charm, but… certain taboos are better left unbroken," Yun Zhonghe said timidly as he instinctively took a few steps back while covering his buttocks.
"Kneel down." Jing Wubian said with an unprecedented austerity.
Yun Zhonghe hesitated for a moment, then knelt down.
Jing Wubian suddenly went down on one knee as well.
"Heavens above and Earth below, from this day on, I, Jing Wubian, and Yun AoTian, will be brothers, albeit with different surnames. We don't seek to be born on the very same day, but may we die on the very same day," Jing Wubian said.
This… This was just too sudden, was it not?
Then, Jing Wubian's gaze moved toward him.
Yun Zhonghe hurriedly recited the oath, saying, "Heavens above and Earth below, from this day on, I, Yun AoTian, and Jing Wubian, will be brothers, albeit with different surnames. We don't seek to be born on the very same day, but may we die on the very same day."
At that time, it was as if the song that his teacher, Mr. Liu, was familiar with, was playing in his ears:
With this bow, I met my soulmate with the spring breeze blowing, and even the peach blossoms are smiling at the altar;
With this bow, I aspire with an unselfish willingness, to seek to protect my country and safeguard my nation. I will show my great ambition through building my country and establishing its industries.
***
The background music supplemented by his mind ended, and the ceremony where the two of them took the oath of brotherhood ended as well.
Jing Wubian said, "AoTian, how old are you?"
Yun Zhonghe asked, "Then how old are you?"
"Twenty-one," Jing Wubian said.
"Brother!" Yun Zhonghe replied.
Jing Wubian was startled. He looked at Yun AoTian, who looked like a forty to fifty-year-old beggar, and could not help grimacing.
Then he looked at Yun Zhonghe with an incomparably serious gaze and said, "AoTian, I'm a lunatic, but I'm not a fool."
Yun Zhonghe nodded in agreement.
Jing Wubian said, "I don't care who you are. I also don't care what your real name is. But you are my one, true brother, and I can give you anything you want. If someone wants to harm you, I will risk my life to protect you. Throughout the entire City of Torn Gust, I've got your back."
"But… AoTian, tell me honestly, what exactly did you want to do when you came into the residence of the castellan? If you want to be rich, just with this divine medicine of yours, that you made out of rotten watermelons, you can enjoy a lifetime of richness. What exactly do you want?" Jing Wubian said, "No matter how terrible it is, you can tell me about it. I am never going to tell anyone else."
Jing Wubian looked at Yun Zhonghe seriously and said word by word, "I can even swear that if I leak out as much as half a sentence of it, my ancestral graves would be dug up and their bones and remains would be chewed to pieces by wild hounds. I will die a terrible death, and even after death, my body will be fed to the hounds."
Yun Zhonghe was shocked.
Brother Wubian, you… Are you having fun? Cursing your ancestors, cursing yourself, and yet you do it with such extremity. This is really my first time seeing something like this.
"AoTian, you are my brother, so no matter what your purpose is for finding your way into the residence of the castellan, I can understand, and I will definitely help you if it's within my means." Jing Wubian was still very serious.
Yun Zhonghe said, "This is really a difficult subject to talk about."
"What could be so difficult to talk about? You're crazy, and I'm also a lunatic. Both of us are out of our minds. What else can we not say to each other?"
Jing Wubian said, "Speak up. If you really see me as your brother, you can just tell me about it."
Yun Zhonghe said, "My goal is very simple. It is money, power, and beauty. Now that the Land of No King is in chaos, it is the right time for me to make contributions and establish my career. It is the moment where I can realize my noble life ambition."
Jing Wubian said, "Don't beat about the bush. Be more direct."
More direct, was it? Yun Zhonghe said, "A straightforward person does not resort to insinuations. I have set my sights on your sister, your blood sister!"
At that very moment, a peerlessly beautiful figure appeared outside and glided in!