Be a proper Taoist priest in The Condor Heroes

The official roads in the north were covered with bricks and stones crushed by horses' hooves and dried bloodstains, while the road in front of us, though not smooth, was tamped down by farmers, and there were even unknown wildflowers growing by the roadside, swaying gently in the wind.

Su Yan slowed her pace, her gaze sweeping across the field ridges on both sides. Several farmers, wearing straw hats, were bent over, working the land. The rhythmic rise and fall of their hoes was steady, and the bamboo baskets by the field ridges were filled with freshly picked wild vegetables, exuding a vibrant fragrance.

Smoke curled from the chimneys of nearby villages and towns, and the calls of vendors could be faintly heard. Although the pedestrians were cautious, their eyes did not show the deep-seated numbness and despair typical of the North.

In times of chaos, the greatest merit is to enable people to live and work in peace. As for court disputes and the gains and losses of territory, for ordinary people, nothing is more real than a bowl of hot porridge or a safe house.

Su Ye, who was standing beside her, had unusually shed some of the coldness left by the battlefield. She stared at a pale purple wildflower by the roadside, hesitated for a moment, then gently touched the petal with her fingertip before quickly withdrawing it, a hint of barely perceptible curiosity flashing in her eyes.

This peaceful scene felt somewhat unfamiliar to her.

"Let's go, let's find a place to rest before dark."

Su Yan spoke softly, interrupting Su Ye's daze. Su Ye nodded, gripped the iron sword at her waist, but unconsciously slowed her pace, her gaze occasionally falling on the children playing by the roadside.

As darkness fell, the two found an abandoned, dilapidated temple.

The temple gate was already rotten and crooked, making a creaking sound when pushed open. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and the hall was covered with cobwebs and thick dust. Only the corner of the wall was relatively dry and sheltered from the wind.

Su Yan gathered some dry branches and lit them with sparks. The fire quickly blazed up, dispelling the twilight and chill.

Su Ye leaned against the corner of the wall, wiping her iron sword. The cold light of the sword reflected on her calm profile.

Su Yan sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, reviewing the journey from Chongyang Palace in his mind and pondering the possible location of the Xiangyang Sword Tomb.

Just then, the silence was broken by the rapid sound of horses' hooves and heavy footsteps outside the temple. Su Yan suddenly opened his eyes, and Su Ye instantly gripped his iron sword, his body tense. The two moved tacitly to the inside of the fire, their eyes warily fixed on the doorway.

More than ten figures escorted three caravans and walked quickly towards them. The leader was a burly man with a dark face, a shallow scar on his forehead, a thick-backed sword at his waist, and sharp eyes like an eagle. He was Zhou Tai, the head of the Changfeng Escort Agency.

As soon as he stepped into the temple, he sensed that there were people inside and immediately raised his hand to signal the bodyguards behind him to be on guard.

"Who is here?"

The bodyguards drew their weapons, placed their hands on the railings of the caravan, and formed a tight defensive formation with tense expressions.

Seeing this, Su Yan slowly stood up and raised her hand to indicate that she had no ill intentions.

"A passing traveler simply rested at the temple."

His tone was calm, his gaze open and honest, without the slightest hint of evasion.

Zhou Tai sized up Su Yan and Su Ye, noticing that although they were dressed in coarse Taoist robes, they were upright and their swords, though not drawn, exuded a hidden sharpness, indicating that they were no ordinary refugees.

He felt a little calmer, but he remained vigilant. Just as he was about to speak, a series of rapid coughs came from behind him.

Two bodyguards carried a stretcher and hurried forward. On the stretcher lay a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, his face as pale as paper, his lips bluish-black, a broken arrow stuck in his chest, the arrow feathers stained with blood, his breath so weak that it seemed he would die at any moment.

"Headguard, Awuta..."

The bodyguard carrying the stretcher spoke with a choked voice, his eyes reddening before he could finish his sentence.

Zhou Tai's face darkened, and he quickly walked to the stretcher. When his gaze fell on the boy's bloodless face, his sharp, eagle-like eyes softened instantly, filled with unconcealed heartache and helplessness.

He turned to look at Su Yan, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, his tone carrying a hint of urgency and pleading.

"Young hero, I apologize for disturbing you, but I hope you can do me a favor. We've been traveling south all the way, and this is the only dilapidated temple we've found to stay in these desolate mountains. If we go any further, I'm afraid the child won't make it."

He deliberately omitted the name of the security escort agency, only speaking vaguely.

"We are from the Changfeng Escort Agency in Xiangyang City. We were ambushed by remnants of a caravan robbery on our journey. The arrows were poisoned, and we fear we won't survive the night."

After saying that, he added another sentence, his tone becoming even more earnest.

"We only ask to rest in a corner of this temple. If it is inconvenient for you, young hero, we will simply stand guard at the door from a distance and would not dare to disturb you."

Su Yan walked to the stretcher and bent down to examine it.

The moment her fingertips touched A-Wu's wrist, she sensed a chilling toxin spreading along his meridians, its pulse so faint it was almost imperceptible.

A thought flickered in his mind: this poison was aconite, a common poison in the north. It was potent but not particularly difficult to cure. However, the delay had been too long, and the toxins had already invaded his internal organs. If it had been another half an hour, even a god could not save him.

"I have some medical knowledge; perhaps I can save his life."

Su Yan straightened up, her tone calm yet resolute.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai's eyes flashed with disbelief.

He traveled to several villages and towns, but the renowned doctors all shook their heads and refused to treat A-Wu after seeing his appearance. This young man looked to be no more than twenty years old, yet he dared to make such a boast? But right now, A-Wu was on his last legs, and there was no other way but to try anything as a last resort.

"If you can save him, young hero, our Changfeng Escort Agency will reward you handsomely!"

Su Yan said no more and took out the wound medicine and silver needles she had brought from Chongyang Palace from her bag.

He held the silver needle between his fingertips, closed his eyes, and concentrated, quickly searching his mind for the medical books he had studied. The "Collected Annotations on the Materia Medica" clearly states: "If a poisoned arrow hits a person, they will die; an antidote should be administered immediately." The general principle of antidote is to first stop its spread, and then guide the poison out. Sun Simiao's "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold for Emergency Use" further details the treatment methods for poisoned arrow wounds: immediately drink cold water to soak the wound, and guide the poison deep into the wound. The methods are different, but they are largely the same.

Based on the previous investigation, it was determined that A-Wu had been poisoned with aconite-derived poison, which had accumulated at the Tanzhong acupoint and was spreading along the Sanjiao meridian to the limbs, just as described in the "Collected Annotations on the Materia Medica": "When it congeals at the Tanzhong acupoint, the patient dies."

Unfortunately, we are currently in a deserted temple, and there are no antidotes recorded in medical books such as blue juice, soybean juice, and bamboo sap. We can only use silver needles to seal acupoints to block the poison, use internal energy to guide the poison, and supplement with qi-tonifying products to prolong our lives.

A moment later, when he opened his eyes, his gaze was incredibly precise. The silver needles pierced into A-Wu's chest at the Tanzhong acupoint, his wrist at the Neiguan acupoint, and his Spleen Meridian at the Sanyinjiao acupoint. These three acupoints guarded the core channels through which the toxins spread, which was the key to "blocking the toxins from the internal organs" as recorded in medical books.

The movements were quick and steady, without the slightest hesitation.

Zhou Tai and the bodyguards held their breath and watched intently. They saw that A Wu's originally tense body gradually relaxed, and his bluish-black lips even lost some of their darkness, indicating that the poison had been contained.

Su Yan dared not delay. He placed his palm on A Wu's Xinlingtai acupoint on his back, his internal energy gentle yet cold, slowly flowing into his meridians. Like a stream, he pushed the gathered toxins towards the broken arrow in A Wu's chest, neither using brute force to avoid damaging his internal organs nor allowing any residue to remain.

"Lend me a clean dagger, and some clean water."

He began to speak.

One bodyguard quickly handed over a dagger, while another brought over a pottery jar of water.

Su Yan first sterilized the dagger with fire, then rinsed the area around A Wu's arrow wound with clean water. Then, he pinched the broken arrow fletching, and in the instant that he forced all the poison to the vicinity of the arrow wound with his internal force, he suddenly pulled out the broken arrow. Dark purple poisonous blood gushed out instantly, carrying the pungent fishy smell unique to the poison of the arrow.

He continued to channel his internal energy to expel the poison, while the bodyguards constantly rinsed the wound with clean water until the blood gradually turned dark red, confirming that most of the toxins had been expelled, before stopping.

Take out the wild ginseng slices you carry with you, put them in a ceramic bowl by the fire, and boil them with hot water to make a thick medicinal broth.

"Pry open his mouth and slowly pour it down his throat."

Su Yan gestured to the bodyguard.

"Wild ginseng can sustain his vital energy and temporarily suppress the remaining toxins."

Half an hour later, A-Wu's chest began to rise and fall evenly, a faint blush returned to his pale face, and his breathing became steady from as weak as silk.

Zhou Tai checked his pulse and found that although it was still weak, it was steady and strong. He was both surprised and delighted. He clasped his hands and bowed to Su Yan, speaking with utmost sincerity.

"Young hero, your medical skills are truly admirable! We are deeply grateful!"

The other bodyguards also gathered around, their eyes filled with awe.

Among the crowd, a bodyguard named Zhang Cheng stood out. He was of medium build with a reserved face. His eyes were filled with eagerness as he looked at Su Yan, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

The precision with which Su Yan performed the acupuncture and the composure with which she expelled the poison reminded him of his ailing mother at home. He had already considered asking for her help, but he hesitated to be too forward since they had just met.

Zhou Tai straightened up, his gaze falling on the long swords on Su Yan and Su Ye's backs. He recalled the internal strength and medical skills that Su Yan had just displayed, and he had already made a judgment in his mind.

These two are no ordinary travelers; they must be masters of the martial arts world. He pondered for a moment, then clasped his hands in greeting again.

"Young hero, your accent doesn't sound like a local. You must also be heading to Xiangyang? There are still remnants of caravan robbers and bandits roaming this road. Although my escort agency isn't a top-tier force, we do have some manpower. Why don't you travel with us? It would be good to have someone to look out for you."

Upon hearing this, Su Yan pondered. The journey to Xiangyang was still long, and there was indeed a possibility of unexpected events along the way. Traveling with the caravan would not only reduce unnecessary troubles but also allow them to use the caravan's connections to gather information about the Sword Tomb and Wang Xingyi, making it a safer option.

He looked at Su Ye beside him, who nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with the suggestion.

"In that case, we'll have to trouble Chief Escort Zhou."

Su Yan nodded in agreement.

"However, we both have personal matters to attend to, and we hope you will understand if there is any inconvenience during the journey."

Zhou Tai laughed heartily.

"Young heroes, you are too kind! It is an honor for our escort agency to travel with you two!"

The fire crackled and popped, casting a warm glow inside the dilapidated temple.