Chapter 330: Got The Keepsakes 5

Dong Jing and several guards rushed over in the blink of an eye. Dong Jing stood in front of the two.

“Master!!” Dong Jing’s expression had changed drastically.

Lu Yan was looking worse by the second.

His complexion had instantly turned pale and bloodless.

Several guards quickly surrounded the two.

Si Jin realized something had happened and quickly brought the children back. Si Jin rushed and broke through the circle, glancing at both their conditions.

“Sister?”

Qi Qingyao quickly checked over Lu Yan’s condition and knew that things were bad.

She made a snap decision and said, “Si Jin, bring the kids home first.” After that, she said to Dong Jing, “Dong Jing, where is the closest property of the Lu family? Hurry and take me and your master there. I need to remove the arrow and tend to his wound!”

“This servant will bring you there at once.” Dong Jing glanced at the arrow in Lu Yan’s chest and then at Lu Yan’s paper-white complexion; he knew that the situation was bad.

After the servants drove two carriages over.

Dong Jing and a few others supported Lu Yan into the carriage first. Qi Qingyao directed Si Jin to get into the other carriage.

“Si Jin, stop dazing! Bring the children home.”

The children were holding onto their candied haws. Seemingly understanding the gravity of the situation, they looked at Qi Qingyao mutedly, not daring to say anything.

Qi Qingyao smiled and rubbed their heads.

“Be good, you three. Don’t leave the house before I come home.”

“Mommy, we won’t run around.”

Xiaobao answered for them.

Si Jin carried the children and got into the carriage. After Dabao got in, he stuck his head out of the carriage window and said goodbye to Qi Qingyao.

Qi Qingyao also waved goodbye to the children as if nothing had happened.

After watching the carriage take off…

Qi Qingyao rushed into the other carriage, her expression heavy as she looked at Lu Yan who was struggling to breathe.

…

…

Inside the carriage, Dabao asked Si Jin seriously, “Uncle, just now, Uncle Lu was hit by an arrow. Is he dying?”

Si Jin replied very solemnly, “I don’t know how bad the wound is.”

Dabao looked at Si Jin’s expression and said nothing more.

Erniu asked in a pure and innocent manner, “Will he die?”

Si Jin shook his head and replied, “I don’t know.”

Xiaobao on the other hand asked, “If he dies…would Mommy be in trouble?”

“Probably.” Si Jin nodded again.

Xiaobao pondered for a bit before nodding somewhat solemnly, “Then I hope Uncle Lu will be safe and sound.”

Unruffled, Si Jin said, “Heaven help the worthy.”

Erniu was eating her candied haw as she thought about how uncle was right. That heaven would definitely help the worthy ones. Lu Yan had helped Mommy many times so he should definitely come out of this safe.

The second carriage was driving off in the other direction. In just a minute, the carriage came to a stop at the gate of a teahouse. Qi Qingyao had no doubts or hesitation and was certain that this teahouse was one of the Senluo Chamber of Commerce’s.

Dong Jing supported Lu Yan off the carriage. Several people then carried Lu Yan to the back courtyard of the teahouse.

Immediately afterward, Dong Jing took only a few minutes to empty out the entire teahouse. When the owner of the teahouse knew that the master had been injured, he was almost scared to death. He dismissed the temporary workers and asked the four permanent workers to wait for further instructions at any time.

Everyone worked under the Senluo Chamber of Commerce. When they knew that the injured was the person in charge of the chamber, they all panicked till their entire bodies went numb.

Qi Qingyao was checking Lu Yan’s wound as gave instructions.

“Dong Jing, get people to guard this place. You go and investigate who released the arrow.”

“But the master…” Dong Jing could not stop being worried.

Qi Qingyao had already used scissors to cut open the clothes on the upper half of Lu Yan’s body. “I’m here. If he can’t come out of this, then that’s fate. Either way, I will do all I can to save him.”

“…” Dong Jing was still hesitating.

Qi Qingyao added, “I’m asking you to investigate this now because the person can’t have gone far yet. They’re probably still within Qingzhou City. If you dally anymore, they’re going to get away! That said, what can you even do here anyway? Stand and watch ?”

At once, Dong Jing replied, “I understand. I’ll go investigate immediately. I’ll leave the master’s life in your hands.”

Qi Qingyao had already cut up most of Lu Yan’s clothes. Looking at the arrow embedded in his chest, she estimated how far its position was from his heart as she replied, “He saved me, I have a responsibility to save him too.”

Dong Jing looked at his master’s wound, expression heavy, and turned around to leave.

He could not allow his master to be injured in vain. He must be sure to track the culprit before they get away.

Two guards remained inside the building, awaiting orders.

…

…

Qi Qingyao inspected how deep the arrow went and first got someone to prepare some medicine as well as needle, thread, bandages, and the like. After ensuring that everything was prepared, Qi Qingyao then said, “This arrow wound is very deep, at least two inches! I’m afraid he might lose a lot of blood if I simply remove the arrow…”

The guards’ complexion was not much better than Lu Yan’s.

They were Lu Yan’s personal guards. If Lu Yan were to die, they would be buried alive.

Their insides were in turmoil but they could only watch wide-eyed at Qi Qingyao as she tried saving him.

Qi Qingyao said sternly, “You two, press him down! I’m going to remove the arrow.”

The guards met each others’ eyes and hurriedly went forth.

They each held down one side of Lu Yan’s body.

Qi Qingyao gripped the arrow, her emotions turbulent because she knew the moment she pulled out the arrow, he would definitely bleed like a geyser.

After steeling herself for a few minutes, Qi Qingyao forcefully pulled the arrow out.

As she threw the arrow aside, she saw the spurting of fresh blood.

Qi Qingyao realized that the two guards had loosened their grips and she hurriedly pressed down on his chest.

The guards looked as if Lu Yan was already dead, and began falling apart in tears.

“Stop wailing, he’s not dead yet! Needle and thread, give me the needle and thread!” Qi Qingyao instructed roughly, “Go get a few pails of hot water.”

The two guards rubbed their red eyes and promptly went to fetch the hot water.

Qi Qingyao steeled herself. Alone, she stitched up the wound on his chest. At that, Lu Yan’s complexion was still ghastly pale like a ghost’s. After stitching up the wound, she then dabbed some basic wound treating medicine on his chest!

She would first give his body some time to rest before she blended the rest of the medicine and apply it on him!

After she bandaged him.

The two guards came in carrying hot water.

“I’ve already stitched up the wound and given him the medicine.” Qi Qingyao wiped the sweat on her forehead. She began using the hot water to clean the bloodstains beyond the bandages on his body. “If he can make it through the night, there’ll be hope of him living. If not, we will need to prepare for what comes after.”

The guards, “…”

Qi Qingyao instructed someone to bring her an inkstone, a brush, and some paper and at once scribbled down some prescriptions. She then got the guards to go and get the ingredients immediately.

Fortunately, there was a pharmacy under the Senluo Chamber of Commerce next to them. Whatever medicine they needed, they could very quickly get hold of them.

Qi Qingyao began pounding the medicine.

“You two, I’ll look after him tonight. You can go down first.”

The guards, “…”

Seeing them not moving, Qi Qingyao added, “He’s too wounded now. If there are too many people in the building, the air will get impure! So head down and I’ll keep watch here.”

The guards, “…”

Qi Qingyao said exasperatedly, “If you guys really want to, just stand guard outside!” She was not actually chasing them out for fear of the air getting tainted. She was actually incredibly nervous and did not want the guards to realize that she, the doctor, was the most nervous one in the room!

The guards looked at each other, then turned and left.

Qi Qingyao pounded the medicine as she watched Lu Yan who was still unconscious, looking as if he had already died.

She thought to herself that the wound had been really close to his heart but probably did not hit it. However, only God knew if the man’s heart was slightly inclined to the side or not! If it was… then the man would not live to see another day.

“Lu Yan, you can’t die!

“If you die, I fear the entire Lu family will bury me alive.

“So, I’m earnestly praying to you, please don’t die. You have to be alive come tomorrow morning.”

Qi Qingyao muttered as she looked at Lu Yan. She mixed the large pile of medicinal herbs and after mashing the medicine into a fine paste, she set a portion aside and then stored the rest in a large can.

She unwrapped his bandages and smeared the freshly pounded medicine onto his wound.

Qi Qingyao sat by the bed and began waiting as calmly as she could.

With more calmness came more anxiety. As the sky gradually darkened, Qi Qingyao lit a candle and quietly watched over the man in the bed.

She hated this kind of situation the most, having someone take an arrow for her.

Looking back, it was tantamount to her owing Lu Yan a favor.

So be it.

She would just treat his disorder and not ask for a consultation fee.

Qi Qingyao’s mind was filled with gloom. When it was midnight, she suddenly realized that Lu Yan’s complexion had changed from ghastly pale to bright red. He looked as if he was experiencing a momentary recovery right before death.

She cursed silently.

Writing down a prescription and the decoction method, she rushed to the gate and opened the door.

The two guards sat up, rubbing their eyes blearily. “Has the master awakened?”

“He’s running a fever! Go boil the medicine, with haste!” Qi Qingyao threw the prescription to them.

The two guards said nothing, immediately running faster than a rabbit as they hurried to go and boil the medicine!

Since this was an emergency medicine, they boiled the medicine directly over a high fire before they sent it over. The two entered the room one after the other and brought the medicine to the bedside.

Qi Qingyao was sitting on the head of the bed and helped Lu Yan sit up a little.

“I’ll hold him up, you two feed him the medicine.”

The guards blew on the boiling hot medicine. One of them pried open Lu Yan’s mouth. However, the medicine they fed came flowing back out of his mouth and the guards cried in a panic. “D—doctor, he’s not drinking it…”

Qi Qingyao held her forehead, her whole head drenched in sweat.

“He can’t even drink medicine now that he’s unconscious, darn it!!” She sighed heavily.

Qi Qingyao motioned for one of the guards to come over and support Lu Yan up halfway.

Then, she said resolutely, “Give me the medicine!”

As the guard held up Lu Yan’s body, Qi Qingyao went forth and took a mouthful of the medicine. With one hand, she forced Lu Yan’s mouth open before directly using her mouth to force the medicine into his. With a deep exhale, she let the medicine roll down his throat.

The guards were stunned at this scene but they dared not say anything.

The medicine was so bitter that Qi Qingyao’s expression stiffened. She muttered angrily, her words muffled, “You better not die, Lu.”

Cursing, she used her mouth to pass another mouthful of medicine into Lu Yan.

Fortunately, there was not much inside the bowl of medicine.

Within five to six mouthfuls, the base of the bowl could already be seen.

After feeding him all the medicine, Qi Qingyao’s face wrinkled up.

“F*ck, it’s so bitter!”

She motioned for the guards to lay Lu Yan out flat.

The guards looked in panic at the man who was burning up. “Doctor!”

Qi Qingyao waved her hand, expression dark as she said, “Keep boiling the medicine, give me three more brews of this medicine! Boil it over a slow flame this time, and we’ll continue feeding him after three hours!”

At once, the two guards cupped a hand over their fists in obeisance. “As you command!”

After Qi Qingyao tidied the bed, she went out. There were still servants keeping guard in the courtyard. Qi Qingyao requested for them to brew some tea and bring it over. The servants scuttled away immediately to prepare it.

“Remember to make it as strong as you can!”

“Understood!”

They soon brought the tea over.

Qi Qingyao looked at the pot of strong tea and drank a few sips. The tea was much too concentrated and was starting to become bitter. Qi Qingyao frowned.

In the end, she just sat there till morning came.

The second brew of medicine had been boiled.

After it was delivered, Qi Qingyao eyed the concentrated medicine and sighed ruefully. “His fever hasn’t receded. Hopefully with this medicine, there’ll be some improvement.”

Qi Qingyao fed him the medicine the same way as before.

Her complexion became even worse this time.

This f*cking medicine was ten times more bitter than the medicine from last night or the tea!

If she had known, she would have just taken the arrow herself! At least she would be in a coma, which was much better than just staying here like a fool!

During noon, Qi Qingyao fed Lu Yan another portion of the medicine. She even changed the medicine for his wound, and rebandaged it.

Soon it was evening, and night was approaching.

The entire grounds began to cloud up before sleet started pattering down.

Dong Jing knocked on the door once. He waited for Qi Qingyao to answer before pushing the door open and entering.

He noticed that Qi Qingyao was sitting at the head of the bed like a statue.

“Mistress, has our master awakened?”

“Not yet. His fever has not receded.” Qi Qingyao let out a yawn, suppressing her drowsiness as she answered quietly.

“…” Dong Jing noticed that the face of the man on the bed was bright red, as if his fever had not subsided.

As for the person waiting by the bed, the tangled blood vessels in the whites of their eyes stood out quite clearly. Blood had also intertwined in the black of their pupils. Her eyes, forced wide open with effort, were obviously dull with sleepiness, but she was struggling to maintain the last ray of clarity.

Dong Jing felt that it was getting hard for Lady Qi so he went up to her and said, “I’ve looked into most of the things you asked of me.”

“Speak.” Qi Qingyao tilted her head slightly as she let out another yawn. She hurriedly drank a cup of tea to preserve the last of her wakefulness.

Dong Jing’s eyes were also bloodshot. “It was a rank nine archer.”

Qi Qingyao almost smacked the table. “Nonsense! Of course I know it’s an archer. And since they were able to shoot the arrow from that far made it obvious they were experts. So them being a rank nine is nothing surprising. I wanted you to find out who they were!!”

Dong Jing felt embarrassed for a bit before continuing, “There are three people in the world who are ranked nine archers. They are Na Lanjie from Wushuang, Gao Zhongchan, a follower of the Shen family in Eastern Ling, and the leader of the imperial guards of the Southern Ming Imperial Palace, Wuying.”

Qi Qingyao pulled a chair to the head of the bed and asked Dong Jing to take a seat.

She even poured him a cup of tea.

She then said, “Eastern Ling? Gao family? A follower? The assailant can’t possibly be Gao Zhongchan or the leader of the imperial guards of Southern Ming Imperial Palace. Why would they suddenly come to Qingzhou City looking for trouble? So that leaves this person from Wushuang City. That said, what is Wushuang City even? Where is it? Is it in Northern Liang?”

Dong Jing realized that she really did not know and could only explain, “My lady, I can’t explain the situation with Wushuang City clearly in just a few sentences. Do you know the Zhaixing Administration?”

“I don’t,” Qi Qingyao said, lowering her eyelids.

Dong Jing continued, “The Zhaixing Administration is the strongest intelligence organization in the mainland.”

“…oh.” That sounded very impressive.

“There is a most notable organization in the mainland, called the Wushuang Ghost Organization,” said Dong Jing seriously.

“So this Wushuang refers to Wushuang City, I get it. Then what does the Ghost Organization refer to?” It sounded like an unusual thing.

Dong Jing scratched his head and said, “It’s called the Ghost Organization because the building doesn’t have a sign so no one knows what it’s called. Eventually, people just called it the Ghost Organization.”

“There is a building without a sign in Wushuang City, I get it.” It was sounding even more unusual now.

Dong Jing continued awkwardly, “It’s rather embarrassing talking about it. No one knows where Wushuang City is. No one knows either if the ghost organization even exists… because no one has seen it.”

“If no one has seen it before then where did the news of it originate?” How mysterious.

Dong Jing continued, “Considering the existence of the Zhaixing Administration, the Ghost Organization is divided into three halls and four chambers. The three halls are, the Wanhua Hall, which is in charge of drug research and medical treatment and houses only top-notch doctors; Wenchun Hall, which is in charge of planning and goal settings and is filled with advisers; and Pili Hall, which is responsible for the development of secret weapons and the punishment and purging of rebels. The four chambers are, the Zhaixing Administration which collects and delivers information; the Wangyue Administration that is in charge of infiltration and undercover work; the Qilin Administration which handles public finance, and the Xuanwu Administration that is in charge of assassinations!” After a pause, Dong Jing added, “Everyone likes to buy information from the Zhaixing Administration.”

A ghost organization that dealt with information. Qi Qingyao quickly sorted through this information. “So what you mean to say is that Na Lanjie is possibly part of this ghost organization. The one who attacked is also possibly him.”

Dong Jing also felt that he was the assailant. “By means of elimination, there’s no one else but him.”

The ghost organization?

F*ck.

“Have I offended a ghost organization?” Qi Qingyao sighed helplessly as she cradled her forehead. “Could Jiang Siliu have hired Na Lanjie with a hefty sum to kill me?” Her sleep-addled mind was becoming more irritable after learning these terrible things.

Dong Jing said, “That’s impossible. The Jiang family knows that you are close to the master, and they wouldn’t want to offend the Lu family. The Jiang family who has chosen to avoid conflict from the start wouldn’t choose to do something stupid at a time like this. That said, Na Lanjie is not some small character that anyone can hire either.”

Even if Qi Qingyao was sleepy, her brain was still online. “So does that mean that someone among the upper echelons of the ghost organization is messing with me?”

“This servant thinks so,” Dong Jing replied seriously.

“Now that we have a clue, let’s stop here.” The ghost organization… she would keep this in mind. Qi Qingyao yawned. “There are some things that can’t be figured out overnight. I’ll have to be careful in the future. ”

Dong Jing poured himself a bowl of tea and drank it in one gulp.

Qi Qingyao stuck her legs up and looked at Lu Yan. “Dong Jing, change his medicine.”

Dong Jing acknowledged her order with a grunt.

Peeling back the blankets, he unwrapped the bandages and prepared to change the medicine for Lu Yan. He paused all of a sudden and hurriedly called for Qi Qingyao to take a look.

Qi Qingyao stretched out her head to see what he was pointing at.

“Sh*t, it’s starting to fester around the wound. We need to relieve the fever as soon as possible!”

Even though Dong Jing was anxious, he did not dare scream. He could only look pleadingly at Qi Qingyao.

Qi Qingyao rubbed her chin. “It seems that the fever-reducing medicine alone is not enough. Get me a big bag of ice cubes! Hurry.”

Dong Jing quickly went to prepare the ice cubes.

Qi Qingyao, meanwhile, walked to the side and opened the window! She let the cool air flow in invitingly.

The portion of fever-reducing medicine for that night was soon delivered.

Dong Jing had also just delivered the ice cubes. Qi Qingyao had Dong Jing stuff the ice cubes into the blankets immediately!

She then instructed Dong Jing to help Lu Yan up to a sitting position.

After that, Qi Qingyao took a sip of the medicine, intending to pass it to Lu Yan directly.

Dong Jing was stunned at what he saw. “My lady?”

“Don’t make a fuss. He can’t drink the medicine by himself.” Qi Qingyao accidentally swallowed a bit of the fever-reducing medicine—it was so bitter her expression wrinkled up. She handed Dong Jing the medicine bowl, “Why don’t you feed him this way?”

Dong Jing looked at her expression and knew that the lady was not doing this to take advantage of Lu Yan. He hurriedly said, “Nonono, it’s better if you do it. You’re the doctor!”

“If it weren’t for him saving me…” Qi Qingyao cursed while she passed all the medicine to Lu Yan. It was so bitter that she ran to the side and grabbed an apple immediately after she was done, munching away at it.

Dong Jing did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw this.

“My lady, you’ve watched over the master for a day and a night now. You should go get some rest, I’ll keep watch.”

“No! I will watch over him! It’s my moral obligation, or I’ll have a guilty conscience.” If Lu Yan were to really kick the bucket here, she had to be the first to witness it! Then she must prepare herself mentally to be buried alive!

“…”

Dong Jing was incredibly moved, he wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes.

Qi Qingyao had him go take a rest first. “Go to sleep first, I reckon he’ll be up tomorrow. When you’re well-rested, I’ll have you take my shift.”

Dong Jing understood Qi Qingyao’s intentions and did not argue with her anymore.

Qi Qingyao looked after Lu Yan alone. When midnight came, she fed him medicine again. She was so sleepy that her eyelids had been glued together ages ago, but she still forced herself to maintain her clarity.

Sitting in the room surrounded by piercing cold winds, Qi Qingyao was chilled to the bone. In the middle of the night, Lu Yan’s fever seemed to have receded from the continuous servings of medicine. She hurriedly ran to shut the windows, then added some charcoal to the brazier.

Dawn arrived.

After two days and two nights of sleeplessness, Qi Qingyao’s spirit had reached its limit. Her consciousness was getting a little blurry.

She thought to herself that if Lu Yan was still going to remain unconscious, she would be happy to plunge a knife into him and be done with it.

In the end, after another half hour…

Lu Yan, whose fever had receded, finally opened his mouth in a daze.

“Water…”

Qi Qingyao gave a start and jumped. She hurriedly grabbed a tea bowl and gave it to him. “You wanted water?”

Qi Qingyao passed the tea bowl to his mouth. She only realized after making sure that he had gulped down the contents that—oh no—she had given him the tea!

However, what was done was done…

After drinking the bitter tea, Lu Yan was a little more awake. He almost could not hold back the grimace due to the pain in his chest.

Lifting his heavy hands, he rubbed his eyes.

“You…” His voice was unbelievably hoarse.

…

Jiang Yeqian had been waiting for news from Na Lanjie ever since he gave out the order that night. In the end, he waited two days and still had not received a report from Na Lanjie. Before Na Lanjie even returned, he instead received the news that Lu Yan had been heavily injured!

Jiang Yeqian’s expression darkened.

It seemed that they did not manage to figure out Si Jin’s skills. Instead, Lu Yan had sacrificed himself!

He sent people to investigate the Qi Residence. The guards at the Qi Residence were like iron barrels, their defense so foolproof that even a mosquito would not be able to get in!

They did not manage to learn anything.

Qi Qingyao and Lu Yan also seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Jiang Yeqian was so angry that he threw a tantrum at Tan Xiangdie. “It’s all because of your stupid suggestion! Now not only have we not managed to feel out Si Jin’s skills, Lu Yan has gotten hurt instead.”

“Can you really blame me?” Tan Xiangdie was not just unhappy, he was also somewhat worried.

Lu Yan was wounded. The situation was now… difficult.

With the Lu family’s power, the attack would definitely be thoroughly investigated once Lu Yan recovered.

While they did instruct Na Lanjie to use different arrows… there were only three rank nine archers in the world, just that few!

Would they be able to hide given that?

Tan Xiangdie was utterly depressed. Why had the youth named Si Jin not been by Qi Qingyao’s side? Instead, Lu Yan had been the one to take the arrow.

He said, puzzled, “Considering Lu Yan’s personality, do you think he’s the kind to take an arrow for someone else?”

“…”

Jiang Yeqian opened his mouth, his expression gloomy.

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