You can't!
Han Yunxi's exclamation was loud enough to awe everyone into silence still enough to hear a pin drop. Nobody expected such a delicate looking girl to have such pluck.
"Han Yunxi, you have some nerve! Do you know who you're speaking to right now?" Lady Lianxin was the first to recover and rage.
No matter how well-bred Third Elder was, he couldn't endure such provocation! Only the medical academy head spoke to him in such tones. This Han Yunxi, simply unforgivable!
"Qin Wangfei, this old man didn't argue with you just then to give the Duke of Qin face. Don't reach for a yard after getting an inch!"
So Long Feiye had some face with the Council of Elders too. Of course, Han Yunxi didn't bother with that tidbit now. Her primary goal when faced with a patient was to save them as quickly as possible. If one took 10,000 steps back and put aside saving them, she'd still do it for her own dignity and right of speech. In this world, no matter where you went, there was a thing called actions speak louder than words when you wanted people to remember and accept your words, thoughts, and decisions. It wasn't so simple to simply convince them with speech alone.
Han Yunxi raised her chin up high and looked coldly at Third Elder. "Third Elder, could it be that you're afraid to check Tianning crown prince's wrist joint? Scared that you're really wrong?"
"You're shameless!" Third Elder immediately flared up, striking the table as he rose to his feet. "Someone come, take this uncultivated slip of a girl and drag her outside. From now on, she isn't allowed to take half a step into Medical City!"
This girl, she wasn't simply unforgivable, but completely uncultured! If he didn't show her a thing or two, she might really forget what kind of place the medical academy was!
The guards outside rushed in as soon as Third Elder spoke. Seeing this, Gu Beiyue said, "Third Elder, it's not too late to drag the person away after you've examined the crown prince's joints. Otherwise, people might gossip that an elder like you is bullying his juniors."
The atmosphere was tense, with sword and daggers drawn, but Gu Beiyue remained as calm and serene as ever. His words were neither slow nor rushed, but temperate and mild. Still, the meaning behind them was significant like a needle hidden in silk floss, though it calmed those who heard it. These words gave Third Elder no excuse to refuse. He huffily stared at Gu Beiyue, unable to believe that the man who always minded his own business would speak up for Han Yunxi this way.
"Third Elder, as I see it, Imperial Physician Gu's words have merit. We shouldn't have people assume that our Council of Elders are looking down on the Duke of Qin's estate," Fourth Elder spoke up again.
Han Yunxi realized just then that her words and actions were representing the figurative man behind her, Long Feiye. Thinking up to here, she couldn't help but wonder where Long Feiye was at this very moment. Was he searching through the storehouse of the medical academy's old Poison Sect? Did he know everything that was going on in the medical academy right now?
As things stood, the ever-busy Long Feiye was sitting right on top of the roof, looking expressionlessly at everything happening inside…
When Han Yunxi noticed that Third Elder didn't immediately reject the proposal, she hastened to add, "Third Elder, you don't need to drive me off. If the Tianning crown prince isn't poisoned, I'll leave Medical City of my own accord and never come back again. If…"
"There is no 'if'!" Third Elder cut her off disdainfully. "Heheh, very well. You won't shed tears until you see the coffin, is it? This old man will examine Long Tianmo's wrist joint right now!"
Third Elder had hesitated before, not because he believed that Long Tianmo was poisoned, but because he was uncertain about the large dosage of Numbing Soup. Though he wasn't specialized in poisons, he understood enough to see that Long Tianmo's complexion didn't look like he was poisoned at all, much less with a hypertoxic toxin. His decades of experience had to be at least equal to the skills of a girl like Han Yunxi.
When Han Yunxi saw that Third Elder was about to start his examination, she suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute!"
"What? Is it this old man who's afraid, or you yourself?" Third Elder seized the chance to answer back sarcastically.
"Someone who's afraid wouldn't talk conditions!" Han Yunxi's eyes flashed with a crafty gleam that no one else noticed. At a time like this, she wouldn't be called Han Yunxi if she couldn't wrest some advantage from the situation. Anyone who didn't trust her in the field of poison arts was destined to pay the price.
"What a glib tongue, hmph!" Third Elder scorned.
"If Tianning's crown prince is poisoned, then I asked Third Elder to agree to one thing for this junior," Han Yunxi seized the chance to make her demands. She had no connections whatsoever in Medical City, but if she could take this time to grab hold of someone like an elder, it'd be best. Naturally, she was 100 percent certain that there was poison, but less sure of whether Third Elder would agree to her request.
Unexpectedly, Third Elder's reply went beyond her expectations. "Qin Wangfei, this isn't how you make demands," he said.
"Then how do I do it?" Despite the surprise, Han Yunxi was still unafraid and steadfast.
Third Elder smoothed out his beard with his fingers and said slowly, "If this old man cures Tianning's crown prince, then you'll leave the medical community from hereon…"
This really was a harsh condition, but Han Yunxi fearlessly grinned and nodded her head. Third Elder snorted and added, "If you cure Tianning's crown prince, then you can command this old man to do as you like!"
This…
Third Elder's conditions were in a completely different realm than that of Han Yunxi's. If she cured him? He didn't care about the diagnosis, but only the results, as long as she cured him?
So Third Elder had finally revealed himself to be a spicy old ginger when he calmed down! In Han Yunxi's case, curing Long Tianmo meant getting rid of his poison. This was her strong point, but her heart could only skip a beat at these words.
Shoot!
She was 100 percent certain that Long Tianmo was poisoned, but as for the cure… Fine, forgive her for not considering the problem carefully enough.
A cure for poison needed an antidote!
Even if she needles to expel and detoxify the poison, antidote was still needed to make it work. Otherwise, it'd be impossible to get rid of all the poison's traces when it had already spread so much. But as for the antidote…
Han Yunxi couldn't help but mentally slap herself. Bone Poison was a completely new strain of poison, so the detox system hadn't created an antidote for it yet! It was easy for the poison pond inside her system to come up with new toxins, but it needed time to create the corresponding antidotes. Those who needed less time required around one to two months, while the others might need a year and a half or so. Han Yunxi hadn't overlooked these facts, but gotten used to old habits. As long as the detox system could recognize and identify a poison, it would usually be able to treat it. Even if it didn't have supplies for specific antidotes on hand, it still knew at least the prescriptions, so she never had to think too much about the specifics. Whenever she needed an antidote, the detox system would always provide one.
But this time…Han Yunxi had stumbled! And it was on none other than her all-knowing detox system!
"How is it, Qin Wangfei?" Third Elder was waiting for an answer.
Han Yunxi lightly bit her lip, hesitant. Actually, there was no use hesitating, she knew. Without an antidote, there was temporarily no way to cure Long Tianmo. As time went on, his only fate would be to die from the pain.
"Qin Wangfei, the purpose of your trip here was for a doctor's' consultation to determine the Tianning crown prince's illness. It's also a chance to absolve your criminal name. How about this? Let's skip the consultation and have the people here stand as witnesses. We'll set three days as the deadline, and this old man will let you treat him first. I hope that you can give us a clear explanation, both on the Tianning crown prince's previous swollen stomach and his current source of pain."
Heavens…
Not only did she have to cure him, but she had to explain why his "chronic ailment" flared up and how his "illness had changed." He wasn't an elder of the medical academy for nothing. Ruthless and fierce! What should she do in this situation?
If she agreed, it would be something she couldn't do at all. If she didn't, she might not care about the face lost, but Third Elder wouldn't spare her all the same. She wouldn't be allowed to take half a step into Medical City, making her the laughingstock of everyone under Heaven once news got out. Han Yunxi was stuck in a dilemma between the devil and the deep blue sea.
"What do you think, Qin Wangfei?" Third Elder pressed. He could tell that Han Yunxi wasn't as confident as she was before. Everyone else was observing her as well, while Gu Beiyue had long noticed how different Han Yunxi was acting.
Third Elder and the rest didn't understood her, but he knew her very well. As he understood it, Han Yunxi could cure any poison she could find, so she should be glowing with brilliance right now. What was she hesitating over? Could it be that she was pretending, so as to seize the chance to trip up Third Elder some more?
When Third Elder was about to pressure her again, Han Yunxi spoke up. "Everything will be as Third Elder says, it's just one point…"
Third Elder never thought that Han Yunxi would agree. If he wasn't the one being offended today, he might even admire this girl. "Which point?" he asked with interest.
"This junior isn't used to others yielding for her. Moreover, Third Elder is a senior, so you should go first." Han Yunxi's manner was very steady and filled with principles, but her heart was already making calculations. If she couldn't treat the poison and cure Long Tianmo, then how could Third Elder cure him if he couldn't even diagnose his patient?
In this gamble, whoever went first was the first to lose.
Third Elder's eyes flickered with scorn. He was sure this girl was afraid, but he was determined to see her make a fool of herself today. Then she'd know what it meant when people said, 'as high as the heavens and as deep as the earth.'
"This old man didn't even make his diagnosis before esteemed wangfei determined that Tianning's crown prince was poisoned. Naturally, you should go first," Third Elder urged again.
"That won't do. There's no such logic like a senior yielding for a junior," Han Yunxi said in all seriousness.
"There is when it comes to this old man. What, are you afraid?" Now it was Third Elder's turn to make fun of Han Yunxi.
Han Yunxi was about to retort when Qinwang Rong finally saw his chance to butt in. "Stop arguing, you two. Saving him is more important, hurry and find a way for Mo'er to calm down."
Third Elder and Han Yunxi looked over at the same time to see Long Tianmo pained to the point of death, dripping with sweat that stained the sheets damp.
"Saving people is more important. How about you two decide by drawing straws?" Fourth Elder said.
Han Yunxi didn't want to since it was a 50-50 chance, but Third Elder nodded, making it impossible for her to refuse. Lady Lianxin quickly prepared two pieces of paper and placed them into an urn, each written with either "First" or "Later." She brought the urn to Third Elder and Han Yunxi. He took a paper first, while Han Yunxi sucked in a deep breath and drew the second.
The two of them exchanged glances before unfolding them at the same time…