Chapter 776: Does mixing blood to prove relations work? (2/2)

Gu Yuntian felt ajolt of alarm, but he quickly calmed down. The sole person involved with this matter, Gu Qishao’s mother and his wet nurse, had long been eliminated. He refused to believe that Gu Qishao could bring out any evidence against him now.

“You have proof? Heheh, then release this old man first! Bring out your evidence and let everyone see. Show this old man as well! If it’s really my fault, then this old man can’t escape in front of all these righteous heroes and men today. If you’re cooking up wild tales to smear me and Medical City, then don’t blame me for being brusque!” Gu Yuntian’s self-assurance put everyone at ease.

After all, if Gu Qishao was really Gu Yuntian’s son, then many things would lose direction as a result.

“Good!” Gu Qishao waved his hand and dismissed the vines, which fell to the floor. Gu Yuntian quickly walked out of their area and into safety.

“Where’s the proof?” he demanded coldly. Right now, everyone was fixated on Gu Qishao to wait for him to show them the goods.

“Just what is he planning?” Han Yunxi had no confidence at all as she knitted her brows at Gu Beiyue. “This guy…”

Nearby, the Northern Li imperial doctor was staring at Gu Qishao like a hawk. Waiting for answers took but an instant; everyone in the crowd soon grew restless.

Department Head Lin from the medical academy cried out, “Gu Qishao, where’s the proof? Bring it out and let us see.”

“That’s right, what’s with all this dawdling? Hurry and bring it out! Or can’t you?” another department head shouted.

Gu Qishao raised an elegant hand before pointing rudely at Gu Yuntian. “Do you have the guts to mix our blood and prove relations?”

Dead silence fell upon the crowd. Nobody expected Gu Qishao to propose such a method. It was common practice for both proving relations and for use in court. Did Gu Qishao really have a handle on things? Was he actually Gu Yuntian’s son, after all? Even the two department heads shut up and looked towards Gu Yuntian, who remained calm without a trace of fear.

Gu Yuntian wasn’t afraid? But if Gu Qishao wasn’t so certain, he wouldn’t cheat himself like this either!

As uncertainty loomed over the crowd, everyone grew doubtful as to who to believe. Han Yunxi was smiling. As soon as she heard Gu Qishao said “drops of blood” to verify relations, she almost burst into laughter. There was nothing scientific about this method at all, but Gu Qishao wouldn’t suffer any losses for trying! In this time period, mixing drops of blood to prove paternity was a standard test. Leaving aside Gu Qishao, even Gu Beiyue by her side and Cloud Realm’s number one medical expert, Academy Head Gu Yuntian all deeply believed in the method.

There were two ways to check for blood relations with the drip test. One was dripping blood upon the bones, the other was mixing two drops of blood together. The first simply dropped a sample of blood on the bones of the subject’s deceased parents. If the blood could be absorbed by the bones, then they could prove familial relations. The famous medical manual Record of Washed Grievances 《洗冤纪录》, the world’s first legal forensic text, had detailed such methods within its pages. Although its use was meant for cracking cases, it created more incidents where people were wrongly charged and sentenced. That was because different bones had different absorption rates for blood. If the skeleton wasn’t withered and still contained traces of soft tissue, then blood from both relatives and outsiders alike would be repelled from the bones. If the bones were utterly rotten and bleached white from exposure, then the skeleton would show signs of corrosion and absorb any blood that touched its surface. Thus, using blood to prove relations all relied on a matter of probability.

Fortunately, Gu Yuntian was still alive, so Gu Qishao didn’t have to use the bone-dripping method. He just needed their blood to mix to prove they were family. This method was very common and mixed two subjects’ blood into a bowl of clear water to see if the droplets would combine. If they did, then the subjects were related; otherwise, they were strangers. Once again, errors abound in the method.

That was because any type of blood from two people--or even a person and an animal--could mix together eventually! If Gu Yuntian agreed to Gu Qishao’s test, then Gu Qishao would win for sure! Han Yunxi still wasn’t convinced that Gu Qishao was truly Gu Yuntian’s son, but she knew if Gu Qishao won, then their work would go much smoother!

“Father,” Gu Qishao called out sweetly. “Do you dare?”

“I dare!” Gu Yuntian actually agreed.

Han Yunxi firmly believed that Gu Qishao wouldn’t lie under these circumstances because the consequences were too severe.So where did Gu Yuntian get the guts to stand firm?

“Someone come, bring over a bowl of water!” Gu Yuntian said briskly.

A complicated look flickered past Gu Qishao’s eyes. He too, seemed taken aback by Gu Yuntian’s reaction, but he remained firm and bit into the skin of his finger first. The water soon arrived, but before Gu Qishao could drip his blood into the bowl, a worried Han Yunxi called out.

“Old Fiend, hold on!”

Everyone looked over at her voice. Fortunately, she had disguised it to sound hoarse and husky. Ignoring their stares, Han Yunxi strode forward to take a taste of the water. Once she was certain that no salt or other acids had been added into the liquid, she grew at ease. Although any type of blood could mix in water, acids and salts in the liquid would keep the blood inert instead of mixing.

Gu Yuntian agreed so easily that she had to help out Gu Qishao’s side, too. Tasting it showed that this truly was nothing but clear water.

Now Han Yunxi grew bewildered. So which of these two is lying?

“Who are you supposed to be?” Gu Yuntian asked Han Yunxi coldly.