Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The two words landed lightly, yet weighed as heavily as a thousand pounds.

This was Zhou Wenqing's choice.

Rather than being consumed by raging fire, having your heart and veins squeezed dry, and slowly withering away until you're completely exhausted, it's better to take a gamble.

Even if it's a near-death experience and unbearable suffering, there's still a glimmer of hope for a phoenix-like rebirth and a miraculous recovery.

Looking at his pale yet resolute expression, all the people felt a lump in their throats, unable to persuade him, hesitate, or waver.

Physician Lü did not hesitate any longer.

He lowered his eyes to take out the needles, and steadily pulled out one long needle after another from the needle pouch with his fingertips.

These needles are longer and thicker than ordinary silver needles, their blades gleaming coldly and radiating a chilling light in the dawn's first light. They seem less like healing instruments and more like thin blades waiting to penetrate the skin.

He repeatedly rubbed the cool needle with his fingertips, then brought the needle close to the candle flame, burned it, rubbed it again, burned it again.

With all the silver needles ready, he raised his eyes and said in a deep, resonant voice, "Young Master."

Fusu stiffened, abruptly looked up, and said in a slightly tense voice, "Physician Lü."

"First, help Zhou Neishi sit up. When administering acupuncture, the pulse must be straightened and the qi restored; it must not be crooked."

Fusu gritted his teeth, suppressing the bitterness and fear in his heart, and carefully helped Zhou Wenqing straighten up. The teacher's back was pressed against his chest, thin, hot, and burning.

The boy closed his eyes to calm his mind, knowing that he could not stay still by himself, so he turned slightly to the side.

Without being told, Li Yi stepped forward, knelt down behind him, and firmly locked Zhou Wenqing's shoulders with his arms, pressing against his trembling back.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the top of his husband's head. He was very familiar with this spot—he was always here when his husband collapsed. If he could, he would rather be the one who collapsed here.

Yao Jia and Han Fei, one on each side, firmly gripped his arms, silently lowering their eyes and remaining silent.

Physician Lü took a piece of old ginseng from his medicine box and held it to Zhou Wenqing's lips, his tone stern and solemn:

"Hold it in your mouth, do not swallow it. Hold onto your vital energy, stabilize your mind, and remember to keep your teeth closed. Do not bite the root of your tongue, and do not let your vital energy dissipate."

Zhou Wenqing slightly opened his mouth and held the ginseng slice in his mouth.

The slightly bitter and pungent taste instantly filled his mouth and throat. He gently pressed the ginseng slice against his tongue, holding it firmly between his teeth, and slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, they were clear. He nodded slightly, indicating that he was ready.

However, the next second, he realized that he hadn't prepared enough—

Just watching that slender, cold, and gleaming silver needle slowly approach the skin, feeling the chilling aura spreading along the flesh, and feeling the terrifying pressure of the needle tip hanging above the meridians of the heart, is enough to make one's scalp tingle and one's mind tremble.

And the real hell followed closely behind.

The needle pierces the skin without any cushioning.

The next instant, a violent, brutal, and devastating pain exploded through my internal organs!

It's like someone holding a red-hot iron bar, piercing it in and twisting it inch by inch along the veins.

Zhou Wenqing's pupils contracted sharply, his back straightened, and his body arched violently, almost leaping off the hands that were holding him down, but he was firmly pressed to the spot, unable to move.

Even the painful cries in his throat were forcibly stopped by himself. He ground the ginseng in his mouth between his teeth, and all the groans, gasps and wails on the verge of collapse were locked in his throat, not a drop of them escaped.

The deafening roar around him allowed him to clearly see the anxious, parting lips of the people around him, and the beads of sweat on Lü Yiling's forehead. The broken and urgent calls of "Sir" and "Zicheng" were layered upon each other, seemingly so close yet separated by a thousand layers of water, ethereal and distant, difficult to discern.

I can't hear clearly.

I can't hear anything clearly.

All that's left is pain.

The excruciating pain, like a churning ocean, a ripping of veins and scraping of bone, was cruelly real, relentlessly gnawing at his flesh and will. Every meridian was burning, every muscle was spasming, and every breath felt like swallowing a knife.

But he can't faint.

He silently repeated it to himself over and over again.

Hold on... Don't fall...

Don't faint... stay alert...

Just a little longer... just a little longer... it'll be over soon...

One silver needle after another was inserted into the acupoints, and the pain piled up layer by layer, endlessly, from excruciating pain to a complete breakdown of numbness and despair.

Behind him, Li Yi could clearly feel the continuous spasms and tremors. His eyes were red and he was in agony, but he could only remain motionless, his body taut to the extreme.

Left and right, Han Fei and Yao Jia's eyes were filled with reluctance and helplessness. Their knuckles were stiff from the force, and their white knuckles trembled slightly, but they dared not loosen their grip even slightly, for fear that if they relaxed their strength for a moment, the person would slip from their hands and fall into eternal damnation.

Fusu called out "Master" again and again, his voice hoarse, but he could only watch helplessly as his master, gentle and refined, with a smile always in his eyes, became unfocused and focused, focused and unfocused, shattered to the point of almost collapsing.

Physician Lü's gaze sharpened, his fingertip hovering over the last, and longest, silver needle, as he said in a deep voice:

"One last injection, just bear with it."

Unfortunately, Zhou Wenqing couldn't hear clearly.

He didn't know how much time had passed, or how much longer he had to endure. He clung desperately to the last sliver of clarity in his mind, like a drowning person grasping at the last piece of driftwood.

A metallic taste of blood seemed to spread in my mouth, a sticky, warm sensation that trickled down my lips, across my jaw, and into my neck.

In a daze, he felt someone hold his jaw, gently but firmly prying open his unconsciously clenched teeth. The ginseng slices that had long been crushed into pulp were replaced, and new ginseng slices fell between his teeth, carrying a fragrance that spread through his mouth again.

A moment of clarity returned to my ears, and my scattered consciousness briefly returned.

He heard someone calling his name.

"Didn't you say you'd set an example for me, Zicheng? Are you going to go back on your word?"

Ah... Mr. Wei Liao...

He's here. The mutinous troops... they should be all cleared out by now...

Before the thought had even settled, a flash of cold light appeared, and Physician Lü dropped the last needle—

In an instant, all the excruciating pain vanished.

Instead, a bone-chilling cold spread from his heart to his limbs, freezing Zhou Wenqing's consciousness inch by inch.

He only felt a flash of white light before his eyes, too bright, too intense, like a thunderclap, splitting the string in his mind that had been stretched for too long.

so cold...

it hurts……

I can't hold on any longer...

My heart was desolate and cold; boundless weariness and despair completely swallowed up the remaining clarity.

The last vestige of his silent thought vanished completely, leaving only a faint idea swirling within him—

I don't want to break my promise, but...

Perhaps... this time, we really can't make it through.

That's all for now...

Her thick eyelashes trembled violently, then fell heavily to the ground.

His tense mind suddenly collapsed, and all the light, shadows, and other phenomena vanished before his eyes, plunging him into an endless, dark, and hazy chaos.

"teacher!"

"Zicheng!"

When they felt the person their men were holding suddenly collapse, Fusu, Han Fei, Li Yi, Yao Jia, and the others felt their hearts skip a beat almost simultaneously.

"Medical Master Lü!" Wei Liao turned to the side, his voice suddenly rising.

"Okay, it's alright now."

Physician Lü slowly removed the last silver needle, let out a long breath, and raised his hand to wipe away the cold sweat soaking his forehead.

"Let him get a good night's sleep. He'll recover slowly tomorrow and should be fine for now."

Finally, it's over...

It worked!

Fusu had held back his tears for a long time, but at this moment, they finally rolled down with a "plop," but this time, they were tears of joy.

Li Yi maintained his original posture, but the strength in his hands involuntarily loosened, leaving him stiff and motionless.

Han Fei released his grip on Zhou Wenqing's arm; his fingers were so stiff they couldn't bend back. He clenched his fist, then released it, looking down at the bloody marks on his palm from his fingernails, remaining silent.

Yao Jia stood up, but his legs went weak and he almost fell over. Wei Liao caught him.

"Good...that's great...Zicheng...is alright..."