Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 990 Cooling and Relieving Heat
The stains trickled down the wrinkled, soaked nightgown, spreading into filthy patches on the once-elegant bed sheets.

His breathing was rapid and shallow, aggravating the largest festering sores on his chest, causing his broken body to tremble uncontrollably, bringing even more intense pain.

My fingers were already swollen and swollen, like carrots that had been soaked for a long time, with dark red blood constantly seeping from under my nails.

His arms and legs were covered with purplish-red patches, as if branded by a vicious curse.

The most horrifying thing was his face, swollen like over-fermented dough, distorting his features. His eyes were deeply sunken, like two dried-up wells, empty and lifeless, only occasionally revealing extreme pain when they turned.

His entire body felt as if it were being continuously roasted over an invisible fire, emitting a sickly high fever and a nauseating stench.

"This person... is still alive?"

When Xu Xuan saw the creature lying on the bed that could hardly be called "human," even with his vast experience, he couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

It looks like it's just one step away from being fully cooked. Nine-tenths done and well-done... what difference does it make to him?

There was no need to examine his pulse or tongue; based solely on the visible horror and the pervasive sickness in the air, Xu Xuan had already formed his own conclusion.

This is:

When the internal fire is blazing, the yin fluids are depleted, the mind and spirit are not nourished, and the fire poison attacks the heart.

Furthermore, the patient suffers from yin deficiency and excessive fire, and the yin fluid has been depleted to the extreme, leading to the outward escape of deficient yang. This is a critical sign of yin exhaustion and yang collapse!
The carbuncles and sores covering the entire body were caused by the stagnation of fire toxins in the skin, leading to stagnation of qi and blood, and eventually the putrefaction of flesh and the formation of pus; the stagnation of pathogenic toxins in the intestines also led to stagnation of qi and blood and obstruction of the internal organs.

To put it simply, in all his years of medical practice, Xu Xuan has never seen anyone develop a "fire" syndrome, which is a mixture of deficiency and excess, to such an extreme degree.

However, this person is still clinging to life because of a longan-sized, light blue bead floating directly above his forehead.

The bead was slowly rotating, emitting a pure and gentle water energy that seeped into the patient's body like sweet rain, struggling to balance the raging internal fire.

Its strength was abundant yet gentle, and it did not violently clash with the fire toxins in the patient's body. Instead, it maintained a sliver of life in a subtle and pervasive way.

This thing is clearly an extraordinary treasure!
High-level magical artifacts often fall into two extremes: either they require extremely high cultivation levels from the user, making them impossible for ordinary people to control; or they are designed so ingeniously that even ordinary people with no cultivation can borrow their power without any side effects.

The aquamarine jewel before us clearly belongs to the latter category, and its value is immeasurable.

Looking at the bed beneath him, it was found to be entirely made of warm jade.

The warm, smooth jade exuded a faint life force, continuously flowing into the patient's riddled body, forcibly sustaining his fading vitality.

Xu Xuan remembered that when Bai Suzhen gave Li Yingqi a piece of warm jade the size of a brick, it was already an extremely generous and rare reward, enough to make Xiaoqing envious.

The bed in front of us, although mostly made of fragments of jade of slightly lower quality and more recent age, is still enormous in size!

How much raw jade material would that require?

That's truly...extremely extravagant!
Xu Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. First, there was the rare pearl that could balance the fire poison; second, there was the life-extending bed made of warm jade…

Just who is this person?
Or rather, what significant connection did he have that made the King of Liang go to such lengths to spare such astonishing resources to hold him back from the brink of death?

However, even with these two rare and precious items to keep him alive, it was already a drop in the ocean, and there was no cure.

The patient's life force was like a candle flickering in the wind. The life force supplied by the Water Spirit Pearl and the warm jade bed could only offset part of the spontaneous burning power within the body and delay the final collapse, but could not reverse the destructive process that eroded the soul.

As for this body, I'd say there's no point in even thinking about treating it.

Xu Xuan even had a rather sinister thought: to find a wicked cultivator who was proficient in the art of corpse refining and refine this body, which was not completely dead and had such a strong innate fire element, into a "fire-evil living corpse." Perhaps that would be the best choice to make the most of it and give full play to its final value.

After all, this is a natural fire demon body, and once it is mastered, its ferocity will surely be terrifying!

At the same time, he finally remembered why he felt a strange familiarity with this intense and destructive aura from the very beginning.

This feeling... is somewhat similar to... divine punishment!
Back in Guobei County, he personally experienced a righteous heavenly tribulation. The majestic heavenly might, carrying the will of purification and destruction, almost killed him and caused his soul to perish. He still remembers it vividly to this day.

The friend in front of me, who is "very hot-tempered," is far from being "abandoned by heaven and man" and directly killed by divine lightning from the heavens.

However, the domineering fire within him, capable of burning everything, had already touched the edge of some kind of rule of heaven and earth, carrying a trace of "punishment" and "destruction".

To have managed to turn myself into this state, I guess I'm not bad.

No wonder that despite the connections and resources that King Liang has demonstrated, including gathering Buddhist and Taoist masters and rare treasures, he still cannot save him.

This goes beyond the scope of ordinary medical skills or even Taoist magic and supernatural powers; it involves a deeper level of cause and effect and karma.

Having grasped this point, Xu Xuan instantly understood why King Liang dared to send this "outsider" to examine him, even in such a sudden and somewhat out-of-control situation. Because, whether it be renowned physicians or highly skilled cultivators, no one dared to claim any understanding of divine punishment.

From this ravaged body alone, one cannot discern the true cause and effect and secrets hidden behind it.

At most, we can only determine that this is a rare and incurable disease that has never been heard of before.

Of course, those peerless masters who have already reached the pinnacle of humanity and are on the verge of "refining the void and uniting with the Dao" might be able to glimpse a sliver of heavenly secrets from it.

But such figures are already detached from worldly affairs, appearing and disappearing like dragons. Why would they easily step into the mortal world and get entangled in karma for the sake of a prince's secret?

King Liang's move, though seemingly risky, was in fact a calculated assessment of information barriers and cognitive limitations.

He never expected that the seemingly young "miracle doctor" in front of him was actually one of the few who had truly witnessed and withstood divine punishment.

Next, both parties tacitly went through the "diagnosis" process.

Xu Xuan was a proper doctor, skilled in all four steps of diagnosis: observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, none of which could be omitted.

I have already looked, and I can see it clearly and plainly.

I don't want to smell it.

Xu Xuan asked, somewhat perfunctorily, about the course of the illness and the symptoms. The King of Liang remained unfazed and casually fabricated a plausible story, such as a qi deviation during practice or accidental ingestion of a rare poison.

Ugh… Xu Xuan looked at the swollen, pus-filled wrist, almost entirely devoid of undamaged skin, and had absolutely no desire to touch it. It was too filthy, and what if it got covered in something unclean…

So, the unpredictable Physician Xu pondered for a moment, picked up his pen, and wrote a prescription to clear heat, reduce inflammation, nourish yin, and moisten dryness.

The combination of medicinal materials is exquisite, with clear distinctions between the principal, assistant, adjuvant, and guide herbs. The medicinal properties are indeed very "appropriate" to the symptoms. At least on paper, there is nothing wrong with it.

Xu Xuan handed the prescription to King Liang, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority: "This prescription can treat terminal illnesses, clear residual toxins, and strengthen the body's foundation. As for its effects... it varies from person to person, so let's see what fate has in store."

King Liang accepted the prescription with both hands, his face showing just the right amount of gratitude and heaviness: "Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Xu. On behalf of... on behalf of the patient, I thank you."

He then warmly invited Xu Xuan to dine with him as a token of his gratitude.

During the banquet, both host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely. The Prince of Liang even presented a generous consultation fee, which included not only the usual gold and silver but also several fine scholar's objects and medicinal herbs.

"This is to apologize to Scholar Xu for my son's rudeness today," Prince Liang said sincerely. "The other is to ask Doctor Xu to understand that this matter concerns the patient's reputation and the dignity of the Prince's residence. I earnestly hope that you can keep this a secret and not spread it outside."

Xu Xuan accepted it readily, neither refusing nor saying much, but simply nodding slightly: "Your Highness, rest assured, a doctor has the ethics of a doctor."

In the afternoon, Xu Xuan left the Liang Prince's residence unharmed, accompanied by the still silent Prince Shi, as if it were just a routine house call.

Inside the Prince's mansion, Li Gongfeng frowned as he watched Xu Xuan's departing figure.

Unable to resist, he whispered to Prince Liang, "Your Highness, this man has already discovered the secrets of the inner courtyard, why not..."

He made a gesture, a cold glint in his eyes, "The north has been in turmoil recently, and the neighboring state of Pei has even experienced the celestial phenomenon of 'rising day and night,' with the situation in chaos. It's only natural that a few scholars from this year's examinations will die."

King Liang stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep, and slowly shook his head: "He was having a very pleasant conversation with Huiren and others from Linji Temple at the entrance of the palace, which clearly indicates that they have a close relationship."

"We must not act rashly. We are still within the territory of Liang, so there is still time to do whatever we want."

The Prince of Liang had a very high degree of control over both the palace and its surroundings.

He was able to arrive at the scene of the emergency in the backyard in time, and naturally he also learned about the incident involving the high monk of Linji Temple at the gate immediately.

"Of course, we'll have to ask that...my son what they talked about." When the prince mentioned his son, the King of Liang's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of helplessness and anger.

Looking at the prince's expression, Li Gongfeng hesitated to speak.

King Liang also looked embarrassed and a hint of barely suppressed anger.

This time, the trouble truly arose from within, yet they sought to eliminate those outside.

The biggest flaw actually lies with his own son!
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice, "Lian'er has been spoiled terribly by the Princess Consort since he was a child, and has been neglected in his upbringing, which has led to today's disaster. This time, I will use some means to properly 'discipline' him and teach him a lesson!"

The coldness in his words sent a chill down the spine of Li Gongfeng, who was standing to the side.

Of course, he only reacted with a cold shoulder, without saying a word of comfort, and even tried to fan the flames.

(End of this chapter)