The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter Sixteen: An Increasingly Complex Situation

Outside, Zhang Bangli ordered his soldiers to fetch the young boy, Ajiu, and then pulled Zhang Danshi aside, asking with an extremely serious expression, "How is the Ming King?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Danshi suddenly recalled Mo Bai's words from earlier: "A doctor's virtue is paramount; with a benevolent heart and skillful hands, one would never dare to joke with life."

But the thought vanished in an instant under Chief Zhang's authoritative aura. He said softly, "I'll say it again. The medicine has taken effect after I administered it, and the Prince is temporarily out of danger. However, to ensure absolute safety, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would be best to supplement with the Guiyuan Pill..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bangli gave a wry smile. He had casually mentioned this matter when he reported to His Majesty, but His Majesty seemed not to have heard it at all and did not say a word about the Guiyuan Pill.

He immediately understood and dared not ask any more questions. It was clear that His Majesty was unwilling to waste this pill on a person who was destined to die. If he continued to press the matter, wouldn't His Majesty appear to his subjects as completely uncaring about their father-son relationship?

Seeing that Zhang Bangli remained silent, Master Zhang Dan asked softly, "Chief Zhang, when will the Ming King depart?"

Zhang Bangli was slightly taken aback, not expecting that Master Zhang would ask about this secret matter. Although he believed that Master Zhang had already guessed it, asking it out loud made a difference.

His gaze swept across Zhang Danshi's face, noticing his composed expression. He thought to himself that this man truly seemed to be someone His Majesty trusted, and there was no need to hide anything. He said in a deep voice, "First thing tomorrow morning!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zhang pondered for a moment, then his eyes flashed as he said, "Chief Zhang, without the Guiyuan Pill, things could easily get complicated. It's best to prepare as soon as possible!"

"The royal family has its own dignity; how can we be in such a hurry?" Zhang Bangli gave another wry smile, but said no more. He cupped his hands towards Alchemist Zhang and said, "Alchemist Zhang has rendered great service this time; His Majesty will surely reward him handsomely. I have already ordered someone to escort you back to the palace!"

"Serving His Majesty is my duty, and I dare not seek honor!" Upon seeing Zhang Bangli's expression, Master Zhang knew that the matter was settled and could not be changed, so he did not try to persuade him further and bowed towards the direction of the palace.

Chief Zhang had no desire to talk to him any longer: "Very well, I have other important matters to attend to, so I won't personally see the alchemist off."

"General Manager Zhang, there's no need for such formalities!" Master Zhang nodded and smiled.

Watching Zhang Zongchang's departing figure, Master Zhang turned back to look at the closed room, his smile vanishing. "How could this be? After the medicine was administered, Mingwang clearly benefited. He should have regained his life force, exhausting his potential to survive temporarily... But why did Mingwang's pulse just now indicate that the medicine hadn't worked at all? Moreover, instead of showing signs of burning away his remaining life force, strangely enough, a wisp of life force actually appeared. How is this possible?"

Master Zhang was far from calm. No one knew better than him how potent the medicine he had personally used was. Let alone someone like King Ming, who was already riddled with wounds, even an ordinary person would find it difficult to tolerate the effects of the medicine.

This was actually a deadly medicine, but the King of Light drank it as if it were warm water, and even benefited from it.

Master Zhang's heart churned. He slowly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head slightly, but showed no joy at Ming Wang's improvement. Instead, a grim expression appeared on his face: "However, this is probably even more troublesome. Although he shows signs of improvement now, it's entirely due to the effects of the medicine. If he rests and receives careful treatment, he might be able to hold on for a while longer, and even a full recovery is not impossible… But things have come to this point. His Majesty, based on my judgment, has finally made a decision after several unexpected events. And now I've said that Ming Wang is curable, or at least won't die. Such back and forth will surely displease His Majesty, and he might even suspect me. He might even interrogate me on the spot. Even if he trusts me again, if Ming Wang is truly entrusted to my continued treatment, given the recurring nature of his illness, I have no real confidence. If he encounters another problem, I'm afraid I still won't have a good end!"

"Master Zhang, please!" Just as I was thinking about these things, a voice came from beside me.

He composed himself slightly and looked toward the source of the sound. Several soldiers were already standing quietly, looking at him respectfully.

Master Zhang smiled slightly: "Alright, let's go!"

With a start, Master Zhang followed them, but a trace of worry still lingered on his face: "However, the Ming Prince's condition is different from what was expected, and the situation is truly unpredictable. He still has the medicinal power to sustain him for now; if we set off immediately, traveling by carriage, he might be able to hold on for a while longer. But delaying until tomorrow adds more uncertainty. Perhaps after the medicinal power runs out, the exhaustion from the journey won't allow him to survive until tomorrow night, and he will immediately succumb to his injuries. If that happens, and His Majesty's important plans are jeopardized, I will also be held responsible!"

Zhang Danshi was undecided, but under the escort of his men, he boarded the carriage and headed towards the palace.

After much deliberation, he finally decided that no matter what, he must not reveal the truth, otherwise he might really have no way to survive.

Actually, if he could run now, he definitely would, but he can't. Although he is a Taoist, he is not alone. If he runs, Emperor Dingwu will surely vent his anger on his entire family. If Emperor Dingwu couldn't control him, he wouldn't have dared to send him. However, Emperor Dingwu never imagined that he would mess things up to such an extent.

Zhang Danshi's mind was in turmoil. Could Ming Wang hold out until tomorrow night?

Ultimately, he still felt uneasy, and a sudden flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes: "I remember Chief Zhang saying that the life or death of Prince Ming is related to the marriage alliance between Shangqing Mountain and the Lin family. Hmm... If Lin Huayao finds out about the royal family's plan, he will definitely not let the royal family succeed, lest they forever lose the opportunity for a marriage alliance with Shangqing Mountain. He will definitely find a way to sabotage it. And then there's Shangqing Mountain. Since they revealed their identities to assassinate Prince Ming and put him to death, they will surely take further action after learning of the royal family's plan. They might even attempt another assassination. No matter what they do, as long as they take action, if something happens to Prince Ming, it will never involve me..."

"No matter what, it's better to be prepared than not prepared at all!" Master Zhang finally made up his mind.

Mo Bai probably never imagined that by revealing a glimmer of hope, he was seeking a chance to stay in the capital.

However, the result led Zhang Danshi to have such thoughts, which made the situation more complicated and made the danger he faced even more difficult.

But who can say for sure how things will develop?

……

At this point, Mo Bai could not possibly have foreseen the future, but he had already begun making preparations.

Ajiu stood before him, gazing into the clear eyes of the Sixth Master, and for some reason, he felt a sense of unease.

He was still young, and he did what Sixth Master had instructed him to do, but he couldn't understand what he was doing at all.

"A-Jiu?" Mo Bai said softly.

"Sixth Master!" Ah Jiu didn't notice the hint of doubt in Sixth Master's words.

Mo Bai had many things to understand, but time was limited. Regardless of whether A Jiu would suspect anything, he asked, "Do you know if, besides you, there is anyone else in this manor who is truly loyal to me?"

Ajiu was stunned, staring blankly at Mo Bai, clearly not understanding what he meant.

Unable to explain further, Mo Bai could only say, "This time, someone attempted to assassinate me, so I must find a few trusted men to protect me!"

Upon hearing this, Ah Jiu immediately understood, but for some reason, she suddenly burst into tears again, kneeling down on the ground and pleading, "Sixth Master, please spare Brother Tie, he really wanted to save you..."

"Stop crying!" Mo Bai couldn't bear to see the crying and scolded in a low voice.

Ajiu was startled and could tell that the child was somewhat afraid of him. Mo Bai didn't know the reason, but he noticed the "Brother Tie" the child mentioned and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

Soon, they learned what had happened from Ajiu. It turned out that Brother Tie's real name was Tie Xiong, and he was Mo Bai's former bodyguard. This time, Mo Bai was injured on his way to the bridal chamber, and Tie Xiong, being of low status, could not accompany him.

As it turned out, something went wrong, and Tie Xiong was subsequently imprisoned on the spot for failing to provide adequate protection.

This matter was actually a miscarriage of justice, but once something happens, there's no question of injustice or not. If Mo Bai dies, half the people in this manor will not have a good ending.

"How can you be sure he's loyal?" Mo Bai felt that asking a child this question was indeed a bit unwise.

But he had no other choice. He saw that although Ajiu was afraid of him, he was also somewhat affectionate towards him, and his loyalty was beyond question. He was a close confidant of his and would certainly not speak carelessly.

"Sixth Master..." A-Jiu's gaze grew increasingly strange, but seeing Mo Bai's composed expression, he dared not ask, and could only whisper, "Brother Tie, Ning'er, and I were all brought back by you together. Whatever Sixth Master says, we do..."

"Wait, you said..." Mo Bai noticed the key point: Tie Xiong, A Jiu, and Ning'er were together, and he had brought them back.

Just as he was about to ask for clarification, Zhang Bangli's voice came from the doorway again: "Your Highness, are you ready?"

Mo Bai glanced up at the doorway, took a deep breath, stood up, and said to A Jiu, "Let's go, take me to see Tie Xiong!"