Chapter 296 - Detoxification and the Poisoner (1/2)

“It’s done. The poison has been thoroughly detoxified.”

Xie s.h.i.+ raised his head and told everybody the good news after finis.h.i.+ng a minute examination of Yuwen Tong’s body.

Ling Zhang heaved a long sigh of relief. Having traveled a very long distance to get to the capital city, he still looked quite weary. It was not until he fully relaxed that he began to feel somewhat tired. “I’m so glad you’re okay now.”

Yuwen Tong held his hand and looked at his fatigued face, his heart aching. “You should go and wash yourself and then have some sleep.”

Ling Zhang raised no objection. He had barely had any rest during his journey from Tanyang to this city. Even a man of steel would be exhausted after so many sleepless nights. He had a quick shower, simply took a couple of sips of congee, closed his eyes the moment he lay down onto the bed, and soon drifted off.

Yuwen Tong walked to the bedside, pulled the thin quilt over to cover Ling Zhang’s belly and stroked his palm which was full of bruises from gripping the reins for days, waves of heartache sweeping over him. He held Ling Zhang’s palm to his lips to kiss it, and then put it back onto his abdomen.

“Marshal, although the poison has been detoxicated, it’ll still take two days to nurse you back to health. You should rest as much as possible during the next two days,” observed Xie s.h.i.+.

Yuwen Tong gave a nod, left the room to find Miao s.h.i.+san outside and asked him what had happened in Tanyang.

Miao s.h.i.+san gave him a detailed account of the whole process. “… At that time Master Ling was still unconscious. Before we arrived here, we’d received a letter from Tanyang saying that he’d already woken up and regained his memories.”

“Good. Did they say anything else in that letter?” asked Yuwen Tong.

“The letter only said that Master Ling was still having a rest cure. There’s nothing else,” answered Miao s.h.i.+san.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head.

Then Miao s.h.i.+san added, “Childe Ling’s grandfather mentioned something about that pill. It seemed to have something to do with Childe Ling’s cultivation method and the Force of Blood. I didn’t quite understand it, so I could only repeat their exact words to you.”

And then Miao s.h.i.+san gave him a blow-by-blow account of what Ji Yin and Mr. Mu had said on that day.

The look on Yuwen Tong’s face slightly changed. “I see. Don’t tell him this matter has come to my knowledge.”

Miao s.h.i.+san bobbed his head. “Yes, Marshal.”

…

In the depths of a palace.

“Your Highness, it’s been so many days, but Yuwen Tong has neither sent for a physician nor left his house. I wonder if he’s really poisoned or not.”

“What about those people? They haven’t found out about it?”

“No. Their hands are tied now. Gathering that team of a.s.sa.s.sins was the best they could do.”

“Humph, those good-for-nothings couldn’t even kill one man. If it weren’t for my contingency plan, all our previous efforts would’ve gone to waste.”

“Your Highness, our next step is…”

“He rejected my invitation twice. It seems that I’ll have to have my father intervene.”

“A very wise decision, Your Highness. On no account would Yuwen Tong decline His Majesty’s invitation. Also, it’ll be an opportunity to sound him out.”

…

Ling Zhang was fast asleep and didn’t wake up until the next day. The whole Ling Mansion was cloaked in a shroud of tension, with guards on duty everywhere. The security was so tight that even a fly might not be able to get in.

“How do you feel?” Ling Zhang spotted Yuwen Tong as soon as he opened his eyes, his lingering drowsiness instantly vanis.h.i.+ng, gazing at him nervously.

“I’m okay now. I just need to rest more than usual during the next two days.” Yuwen Tong was lying beside him, and the two of them were in each other’s embrace. After a good night’s sleep, he also appeared refreshed and much more energetic.

Ling Zhang sat up and felt Yuwen Tong’s pulse. He had little medical knowledge, but he had become more discerning in this regard after starting to cultivate internal energy, and was able to tell from a person’s general pulse condition whether he or she was healthy or not. After a while, he confirmed that Yuwen Tong’s pulse was robust and vigorous, and with that he felt greatly relieved.

“Sorry. What with my carelessness during the fight, you were unable to stay in Tanyang keeping Uncle Ling company when he regained his memories.”

Yuwen Tong’s heart was aching when he was making this remark. When he’d been holding Ling Zhang in his arms the night before, he had distinctly perceived that Ling Zhang was thinner. They had first traveled to the Millennium Pavilion, then to Tanyang, and then returned to the capital city; Ling Zhang first had been deeply worried about his father, and then about him when he’d been on his return journey to the capital city. These days he’d been on the run all along and hadn’t been sleeping well, and definitely hadn’t been eating well, which was why he’d lost weight. Feeling heartache, Yuwen Tong cuddled him, unwilling to let him go.

Ling Zhang wanted to get up. “Stop hugging me. I’m hungry and need to go get something to eat. You’ve just rid yourself of the poison and could use some nouris.h.i.+ng food as well.”

Yuwen Tong wanted to spend some more time staying with him in this room. He stroked Ling Zhang’s sagging belly, gave a sigh and then let go of him.

Ling Zhang summoned Xia Feng. “What did you have them prepare for dinner? Yuwen Tong needs something nutritious.”

Xia Feng replied, “Rest a.s.sured, Young Master, the nouris.h.i.+ng stew for the Marshal is ready. I’ve instructed them to deliver it to the dining room the moment I heard the sounds from your house.”