943 Dispelling the Curse

He had thought of going there as well, but he stopped considering the man's relationship with Miao Xihe. That King Pharmacist Miaojiang had been studying in the Valley of Thousands of Medicine for quite a while under the previous chief, who had been Miao Qingshan's grandfather. The previous chief held Wu San in extremely high regard, lauding him for his unparalleled talents and as rare prodigy for the art. Due to village rules, the previous chief withheld teaching him some of the most closely guarded secrets of their art. Despite so, Wu San's proficiency in the art was still regarded as astonishing by those from the village. Furthermore, due to all the medical knowledge he had accumulated throughout the years, his skills in medical treatment were probably almost on par with that of Miao Xihe.

"Alright, that settles it," Miao Tianchuan said. "It's getting rather late now. I'll take care of the procedures to get you discharged first thing in the morning. You can relax now."

That was all the comforting he could provide Miao Chengtang at the time.

The next day, the doctor, who had been contacted to assist the patient, was in his office looking into Miao Chengtang's case. He was baffled when he heard that Miao Chengtang wanted to be discharged.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked. "We haven't gotten to the bottom of what is happening to him. Being discharged at this point isn't sensible."

"We know, Doctor," Miao Tianchuan said. "If it were possible, we wouldn't want him to leave either. Unfortunately, something happened back home, and he needs to head back. It's something urgent."

"Well, alright, but you will need to write something verifying that he is getting discharged willingly," the doctor said.

"No problem."

They settled the discharged procedures. Miao Chengtang was able to leave that day.

Guo Zhenghe, who was in a county thousands of miles away, had gotten word of him being discharged. He was even informed of the detailed procedures regarding the tests.

"Discharged? Why the hurry?"

"Well, I could guess something," Xu Xinyuan said.

"Some of the medical staff said they heard them talk about some Heart-eating Curse. That Miao Chengtang guy might have been cursed." Xu Xinyuan was currently in Jing.

"Cursed?"

"Indeed. Two others came to visit him after he was admitted. From the looks of it, they seemed to be close acquaintances of his. I checked his background. He has no direct blood relatives back in the valley. He was also not the type who would have showed up outside as well, so it is quite possible that those two were also from the valley."

"Where could they be going?" Guo Zhenghe asked.

"I'm not sure," Xu Xinyuan said. "I tried tailing them and lost them. One of the three men seemed to be something else. That man has a very intense aura of hostility about him. It was as if he was able to tell when I had gotten even an inch closer."

"Very well, thanks for all that information, Uncle Xu. Watch yourself out there."

"Yeah," Xu Xinyuan replied.

On the road somewhere in Jing…

"Someone was following us back there," Miao Tianchuan said.

"Who?" Miao Chengtang anxiously asked.

"Someone I don't know," Miao Tianchuan replied. He was able to tell that the other man was a veteran of sorts, possibly someone who was in the same line of work as he was. His senses had been so keen that he realized his cover was blown the very second Miao Tianchuan detected his presence. That other man then gave up following them right away.

"I don't know then. Could it have been someone sent by Miao Xihe?" Miao Chengtang was quite traumatized. His fear of Miao Xihe had reached new heights. The mere mention of the name caused him to shudder as if he had heard ghosts calling out to him.

"I don't think that is possible here," Miao Tianchuan said.

"Who could it be then?" Miao Chengtang asked.

"Maybe it was someone working for Yang Guanfeng," Miao Tianchuan replied.

Miao Chengtang was still unable to truly be at ease even after hearing that. He was scared. Miao Tianchuan patted his shoulder for a bit.

Within a day, they returned to southern Yunnan. They met with Wu San, the man who was called the King Pharmacist of Miaojiang.

"Oh, Qingshan, it's you." Wu San was able to tell who he was from one look.

"It's indeed me, Uncle."

It was not out of that place for Miao Qingshan to call Wu San uncle.

"What brought you here?" Wu San curiously asked.

He was not all that informed of what was going on outside of where he was. In truth, he was not all that concerned with what was going on outside. He simply focused on doing what he liked doing.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What would that be?" Wu San was stunned for a bit hearing that.

"I'd like to seek treatment."

"Seek treatment? Are you sick?" Wu San asked.

"Not me. It's a friend of mine."

"Someone from the village?"

"Yes."

"Why not look for Miao Xihe instead?" Wu San quickly realized something was going on and immediately asked. "Have you escaped too?"

"Yes."

Wu San pondered the situation for a bit.

"Tell him to come in."

"Hello," Miao Chengtang cheerfully greeted Wu San as soon as he entered.

"Have a seat. So, what's wrong with you?"

"My heart. I suspect that I've been cursed with the Heart-eating Curse." Miao Chengtang immediately voiced his suspicions.

"The Heart-eating Curse?" Wu San was stunned hearing about the curse.

He thoroughly checked Miao Chengtang.

He frowned slightly and said, "It's for real!"

"Who did this?" Wu San asked.

Miao Chengtang gritted his teeth and answered, "Miao Xihe!"

"Him?" Wu San was slightly baffled.

"It's been a while since I've last seen this curse," he replied in an exasperated tone.

"Can you cure it?"

"Of course."

"Well, what would be the cost?"

"Cost?" Wu San glanced at Miao Qingshan.

"I'll help you out this one time for your grandfather," Wu San said.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Miao Chengtang anxiously thanked the other man. He was almost on the verge of getting up and kowtowing for his would-be savior.

"Alright. Lie down."

"Yes, Sir."

Wu San quickly began dispelling the curse poison for Miao Chengtang.

"I haven't done this for many years," he muttered to himself.

He saw a case of someone cursed with the Heart-eating Curse more than a dozen years ago, and his memory of it remained fresh. He tried treating that case back then, but it was considered a failure. It was fortunate that Miao Qingshan's grandfather was around to help. It enabled the afflicted person to stay alive. He had also learned how to dispel the curse from Miao Qingshan's grandfather.

"Drink this first." Wu San handed a bowl of soup to Miao Chengtang.

"What is this?"

"Just drink it," Wu San coldly replied.

"Sure." Miao Chengtang gulped every drop of the soup in one go. He passed out not long after that.

By the time he came to, it was already nighttime. His upper body was bare, and there were bandages around his chest.

"You're awake!" After he came to, Miao Qingshan, who was sitting by his side, asked, "How are you feeling?"

"My chest still stings a little bit," Miao Chengtang said. "I feel rather weak."

"Is the curse gone?"

"It is," Miao Qingshan replied.

"Uncle Wu said that you'll need five to six days of rest, so we'll just stay here for the time being."

"Five to six days. That long, huh?"

"You lost a lot of blood, so you definitely need to rest. Otherwise, it will further harm your body."

"Is staying here such a long time a good idea?" Miao Chengtang asked. "We are still in southern Yunnan. What if Miao Xihe finds out?"

"Are you really that afraid of him?"

"Of course. You really have no idea how terrifying he is."

"Relax. We are in a very secluded place now. Furthermore, it isn't certain that he knows we're here."

Miao Chengtang was still worried after hearing that, but there was little else they could do. He was unable to leave even if he wanted to, so he was stuck there for a few more days.

In the north, thousands of miles away, snowflakes filled the sky, but the snow was not heavy.

Wang Yao was treating a patient at his clinic—an old man from the village who was in his 60. He was not tall, and his hair was almost gone. His eyes were yellowed, and he had been coughing ever since he came into the clinic.

"Do you smoke?"

The old man coughed as he answered, "I do."

"A pack a day at least, I take it."

"Yeah, I can't do without it."

"Booze?"

"I drink twice a day," the old man said.

"If you want this illness of yours treated, you'll need to kick the smoking and drinking habit altogether, or there is no need for treatment," Wang Yao said.

"Huh!?" The old man was dumbfounded.

"I've had those habits for decades!" the old man exclaimed. "It's just too difficult!"

It was not that he had never tried. He had just never succeeded because he was unable to deal with the withdrawal.

"If you keep those habits, you'll end up with more than just places hurting," Wang Yao said.

That old man had lung and kidney problems, and they were severe ones. His illnesses were caused mostly by his living habits. Both drinking and smoking wore down his body throughout the years, causing his Qi and blood flow to become frail. If the old man continued living as he had, he would end up being sick to the bones.

"Just give me some meds to deal with the pain," the old man said.

"I won't be doing something of that sort," Wang Yao replied. "It wouldn't help anyway. Just go home and think about it."

"Yao, please. Couldn't you just give me one dose at least?" the old man pleaded.