Chapter 416: I’ll serve you for a lifetime (2/2)

That trip had been worth it.

She saw His Highness Duke of Qin being happy, being angry, and even what he looked like when he kissed someone. Even if it was tiny details like that, as long as they concerned him, she wanted to know all about it, much less big developments like that. She always felt a little closer to him after getting to know him more.

Han Yunxi was extremely professional during her examination and only spoke when she was finished. “13 days. The Beauty’s Blood will be fully completed in 13 days.” This was an important fact, but Baili Mingxiang was still too lost in her own little world to hear her.

Han Yunxi lifted her head and furrowed her brows. “Mingxiang!”

“Ah?” Baili Mingxiang recovered her senses.

Han Yunxi felt defeated. “Did you hear what I just said?”

Baili Mingxiang felt a little embarrassed. “I…didn’t hear clearly.”

“It’s possible that you only have 13 days left to live!” Han Yunxi said in a strict tone.

Baili Mingxiang only smiled slightly. “Since esteemed wangfei said that she’d save me, she definitely will. The 13 days are only a countdown until Mingxiang’s sufferings end.”

Han Yunxi finally released her hand and rose to her feet. “You trust me that much?”

Baili Mingxiang looked at Han Yunxi with a sweet smile. “Mhm!”

“How come? I still haven’t completed the antidote yet, even now!” Han Yunxi asked curiously.

Baili Mingxiang had too many reasons to say, but in the end she settled on one. “Because…His Highness’s choice would never be wrong.”

“I finally realized how much of a sweet talker you are today,” Han Yunxi laughed. As a doctor, what she needed the most was her patient’s trust. She sat back down and explained in detail her efforts in the past six months.

Though her explanation was based in responsibility, it served two other purposes. One, to determine the levels of poison within Baili Mingxiang’s body; two, to refine the antidote formula against those very same toxins. She was using the chance to simulate a copy of Baili Mingxiang’s poison for experimental purposes. Though it wasn’t an identical sample, it wouldn’t differ by much.

Because there were only 13 days left before the Beauty’s Blood was complete, Baili Mingxiang’s blood composition had more or less stabilized. There wouldn’t be many fluctuations in her blood by now. She could even take a sample directly into her detox system for further tests. Her system would only need half to a whole day’s worth of work to manufacture a full Beauty’s Blood by combining the sample with the 15 remaining poisons. After that would come the work of matching her antidote to the toxin and making slight adjustments to its present formula, which was simple enough.

Though Baili Mingxiang didn’t understand everything Han Yunxi told her, she managed to grasp the general idea. “Esteemed wangfei, why didn’t you just wait until now to take my blood? Doing all those tests with simulated samples seems extraneous,” Baili Mingxiang asked curiously.

“If I took your blood now, I’d have only a dozen or so days to craft an antidote. I don’t have skills like that!” Han Yunxi had made incomplete blood samples just so she could save time crafting the final antidote. Taking into account the viable nature of Baili Mingxiang’s blood, her final product would probably differ from the current prescription in only one or two ingredients. 13 days was more than enough for her to find where to make adjustments. Baili Mingxiang only had a hazy notion of what she meant, but she nodded her head all the same and tried to get out of bed.

“Lie down, I don’t need you to get up to take your blood,” Han Yunxi barred her way.

“Esteemed wangfei, there’s one thing Mingxiang has to get up and do,” Baili Mingxiang said with a smile.

Han Yunxi assumed that she needed to use the restroom, so she hastily helped her up. But as soon as Baili Mingxiang got out of bed, she dropped to her knees. “Esteemed wangfei, Mingxiang vows here to never marry and pledge my life to serve you if I survive the poison!”

Han Yunxi was shaken by the revelation, and quickly went to pull her up. “Don’t be like that! I said so already, I saved you to avoid an affront against Heaven! After all, most of the poisons you took came from my hands.”

“Esteemed wangfei, even if you didn’t give me those poisons, His Highness would’ve found them from someone else. It’s all the same,” Baili Mingxiang stubbornly refused to rise.

Han Yunxi was left feeling helpless. As a medical professional, she’d seen too many cases where patients had swore equally grateful things, only to forget their words and their resolve once they had recovered. Such extremist thoughts came from patients who were willing to offer anything as long as their illnesses were cured.

“Alright, I’ll give you that, so hurry and get up,” Han Yunxi said as she went through the motions of agreeing. She knew that Baili Mingxiang wouldn’t accept anything else right now. In any case, once the girl’s poison was cured, she could taste the flavor of a normal life. She’d naturally want to live well and marry, then perhaps bear children. Words like ‘I’ll serve you for a lifetime’ were best taken as a joke with a smile.

Han Yunxi placed Baili Mingxiang’s blood sample in a pre-prepared bottle before slipping it into her medical pouch—and then mentally shifting it into her detox system. The system needed two processes to scan the poisons in the sample and conduct tests on the blood itself, but since both actions dealt with the same toxins, the work should be light. Despite this, Han Yunxi felt dizzy and lightheaded the entire trip back. As soon as she reached the Leisurely Cloud Pavilion, she laid down and fell asleep.

By the time Han Yunxi woke up again, it was to discover a strange fact: Baili Mingxiang’s blood wasn’t human blood at all, but closer to that of a fish! The final conclusion of the detox system told her that—this was mermaid blood!

Han Yunxi was stunned. She never expected the Baili Clan to be made up of merpeople! “No wonder! No wonder!” she muttered to herself. “General Baili didn’t have any prior experience, but still managed to create such a massive naval force!”

Does Long Feiye know this? Too busy to worry about her exhaustion, Han Yunxi made for his quarters right away.

1. crow’s beak (乌鸦嘴) – wuyazui, crows were considered unlucky animals, so anyone who made inauspicious remarks were said to be talking with a crow’s beak.