Chapter 96: Let This Old Man Take a Look at Him!

"I'm fine..." Ling Xiao's face had gone grim, one hand pressed to his chest. Everyone, anxious over his condition, crowded close, but he still forced himself to insist that he was all right.

Ever since he had come into the pavilion to rest, he had felt a tightness and discomfort in his chest, and had meant to quietly circulate his inner energy to set things right. Yet by now it had only grown worse and worse.

But seeing Zhang Xiaolan and Elder Fu chatting merrily, he wanted to bear with it a little longer first. The blood at the corner of his mouth was only from where he had bitten his lip while enduring the pain; it was not blood vomited from within his body.

"Bad! The poison in him may be flaring up again. Open your mouth and take the medicine at once!"

Zhang Xiaolan was visibly flustered and hurriedly pulled a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, tipping out a tiny pill for Ling Xiao to swallow. It was the All-Clearing Pill she had "taken" from Li Rui, and she had kept it on her at all times. She had never expected Ling Xiao to relapse so soon.

After Ling Xiao swallowed it, he immediately guided his inner energy through his channels, and only then did some color return to his face. Zhang Xiaolan and the others finally felt a little relieved. Hai Zi was seeing Ling Xiao have an attack for the first time, and could not help growing worried as well.

"Miss, what you just gave him was the All-Clearing Pill, wasn't it?"

Seeing Zhang Xiaolan anxious yet not panicked, and noticing the medicine bottle when she took it out, Elder Fu had already guessed that it was the All-Clearing Pill.

This medicine had been painstakingly refined by Elder Fu over several years of study in alchemy. It could neutralize a hundred poisons, and it also had an excellent effect in soothing the breath and refreshing the spirit.

But the medicine was not easy to obtain. Because the ingredients were exacting and the refinement took a long time, it could be said to be a scarce treasure. Only when the emperor occasionally bestowed it upon officials would anyone have a chance to get it. So at that moment, he was wondering which official surnamed Zhang might have received it.

"Yes. This All-Clearing Pill can suppress his condition, but after a while it will flare up again. It's all my fault for neglecting Ling Xiao lately."

Zhang Xiaolan did not dare say that Ling Xiao had been poisoned, nor did she find it strange that Elder Fu knew it was the All-Clearing Pill. Perhaps he was a physician, and that was why he recognized it.

"Let this old man have a look at him!"

Hearing Zhang Xiaolan say that, Elder Fu could tell the All-Clearing Pill was not enough to cure the young man's illness. Judging by the look of him, it was clearly no ordinary affliction, so he wanted to examine him personally.

"Thank you, Elder Fu." Zhang Xiaolan knew he came from a distinguished medical line and must have exceptional skill. Hearing that he was willing to treat Ling Xiao naturally delighted her.

"This young man's pulse is shallow and somewhat irregular. As for his tongue and complexion, they are both signs of poison gathering over a long period."

After placing his fingers on the pulse and examining him in silence for a while, Elder Fu merely glanced at Ling Xiao again and then determined that it was poisoning, not the onset of some ordinary illness.

"Elder Fu is truly remarkable. With just one pulse check, before even finishing the full examination, you could tell it was the result of poison accumulating in his body over time."

Zhang Xiaolan had not expected that, despite hiding the fact that it was poisoning, Elder Fu would identify it so quickly. With a single look he had already discerned that Ling Xiao was coughing blood because of poison, not because of any other ailment, and that only deepened her admiration.

"There is no need to praise me so quickly. Young brother, tell me—do you know what poison you have been struck with?"

Elder Fu remained solemn and gave no heed to Zhang Xiaolan's praise. If one wished to undo the poison, one first had to know what kind of poison it was.

"The poison was given as a decoction. It doesn't taste very bitter; there is only a faint sourness, with a slight coolness to it." Ling Xiao could only shake his head and describe the taste of the medicine in those terms.

"Hm. With only that much to go on, I cannot cure this poison right now." Elder Fu stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then spoke these words.