Treatment

At sunset, this patrol squad—survivors of what could only be called a bloody battle—barely reached the small town at Nanshan.

At the main road into town, a dozen or so patrol inspectors had clearly been waiting for a long time. Doctor Li from town was also standing to the side with seven or eight apprentices, evidently having been notified in advance.

"Quick, save my uncle!"

"My uncle's hurt the worst!"

"Save me... I don't want to die yet..."

"Mother, I don't want to die..."

For a moment, the originally dreary group erupted into clamor.

Xu Yuan moved quickly as well. Supporting Chu Mu, he pushed past several patrol inspectors blocking the front and started shouting.

"Doctor Li, hurry and take a look at my Mu Ge'er! He's the worst hurt..."

"My Mu Ge'er's about to die, Doctor Li..."

Listening to Xu Yuan's yelling, the corner of Chu Mu's mouth twitched, but right now, he truly had no extra strength to speak.

At this moment, he had only one feeling: exhaustion like he had never known before. If he had not been gritting his teeth and holding on with everything he had, he really would have wanted to collapse where he stood and fall straight into a deep sleep.

But he truly was not sure that if he slept now, he would ever wake up again.

Perhaps because they had met several times before, after seeing Chu Mu covered in blood and filth, Old Li Doctor actually passed over several injured patrol inspectors and strode quickly up to Chu Mu.

"Help him over there to sit first. Take off his clothes!"

After glancing at the bloodstains on Chu Mu's abdomen, Doctor Li pointed toward a bonfire that had already been lit nearby.

"Doctor, my Brother Mu's going to be all right, isn't he?"

Xu Yuan had just helped him take off his armor and thick padded coat when he asked impatiently.

"The wound itself is all right. It didn't injure the organs. The main issue is that it's been delayed for too long."

"It's not a big problem. This old man will treat it for you first, then write you a prescription. Take that for now."

"In a couple of days... the day after tomorrow, yes. Come to this old man's medicine hall the day after tomorrow to have the dressing changed. Rest for about a month, and you'll be fine."

After saying that, Doctor Li raised his hand and began treating the wound on Chu Mu's abdomen.

Only after hearing Doctor Li's words did the heart Chu Mu had been holding up finally settle back down.

Though he did not understand medicine, he at least knew what infection was.

With a wound like this, there was no need to think to know infection was absolutely unavoidable.

In this era, with these medical conditions, infection was probably basically the same as death.

But Doctor Li before him kept saying it was not a big problem, clearly with great confidence.

Chu Mu... clearly could only Hope For Doctor Li's "not a big problem."

"Doctor Li, what is that?"

When he saw Doctor Li take out a short needle threaded with line, Chu Mu could not help but freeze.

"Suturing."

Doctor Li looked up at the astonished Chu Mu and explained, "A large wound like yours has to be sutured first before it can heal better."

"You don't need to worry. The suture thread is made from Azure Tree Silk. As the wound grows, it can merge into the flesh and blood. Once the wound heals, there's no need to remove the stitches."

After saying that, Doctor Li smiled instead. "In any case, your Patrol Inspectorate isn't short on money. Good things won't be lacking for you lot."

Hearing this explanation, Chu Mu was visibly even more astonished. Suturing, and suturing that did not require stitches to be removed at that—this kind of treatment did not fit the era at all.

Chu Mu could not hold back from asking, "Do other doctors suture like this too?"

"Medicine is vast and profound. As for the principles within it, even if this old man exhausts his entire life, I have only learned the fur."

"This suturing is merely one method for treating severe wounds."

At this point, Doctor Li lifted his head and glanced at Chu Mu. "If your injuries were a little more serious, and you were still alive enough for this old man to treat you, I would first have to clean the wound, then help you move qi and blood to dissolve stasis..."

"If you practiced martial arts and had cultivated your qi and blood to some success, then injuries like these would be even simpler to treat."

"All you would need is a prescription to boost qi and nourish essence. On ordinary days, you would appropriately move your qi and blood yourself, and the wound would naturally heal..."

Chu Mu's astonishment turned to wonder, and he asked impatiently, "Qi and blood are that miraculous?"

"The human body is itself a treasure trove. Martial arts nurtures qi and blood, and that is the key to opening this treasure trove."

"Once you come into contact with martial arts yourself one day, you will naturally understand."

"Martial arts is only the key?"

Chu Mu was slightly startled. Instinctively, he felt there was something unusual about those words and was just about to ask more when a tugging pain instantly cut off the words at the tip of his tongue!

He looked down and saw that Doctor Li was already passing needle and thread through the wound on his abdomen. Those waves of tugging pain were clearly coming from the short needle piercing through flesh again and again, pulling at the wound.

Chu Mu gritted his teeth. "Is there... isn't there... medicine to reduce the pain?"

"There is, but those who can use that medicine all have major injuries!"

Old Li glanced at Chu Mu, his tone clearly carrying a bit more dissatisfaction. "In Nanshan Town, the ones with major injuries are from your Mine."

"This old man's pharmacy hasn't been used in a long time, so I never prepared any. There's no time now, either. Just bear with it!"

Hearing this, Chu Mu could only grit his teeth hard, not daring to speak again.

If he spoke again, he was truly afraid he would bite his own tongue! The wound already hurt to the bone from the slightest tug, and right now, every time Old Li passed the needle and thread through, it undoubtedly pulled at the wound again! Every second felt like a year!

That indescribable, piercing agony actually continued for roughly a quarter of an hour before it finally ended.

"Hah..."

He had been gritting his teeth the whole time. Now that the pain had eased, Chu Mu's jaw had even gone stiff, and he could barely make a sound.

"All right, I'll apply some medicine for you, and then you'll be fine."

Old Li handed the needle and thread to the apprentice beside him, then took the prepared medicine jar and busied himself with Chu Mu's wound once more.

Inside the medicine jar was a pitch-black mass, clearly the result of several medicinal materials being ground up and mixed together.

The seemingly unremarkable medicinal paste covered Chu Mu's wound, and in that instant, Chu Mu's expression, which had only just regained a trace of calm, twisted completely! "The medicine is the key. It can suppress the wound from festering and promote healing!"

"The pain usually lasts for roughly a quarter of an hour or so, then weakens as time passes."

Old Li packed up his things, and the words he spoke immediately added a few more shades of ferocity to Chu Mu's already twisted face.

This kind of pain for a quarter of an hour! This treatment was practically more painful than torture!

When he caught sight of the faint smile at the corner of Old Li's mouth, Chu Mu's heart trembled. Thinking back to what Old Li had said earlier, how could he still not understand?

All that talk about not having prepared medicine to reduce the pain was probably just an excuse.

This Old Li simply wanted to make Patrol Inspectors like them suffer a little!

Under the intense pain, Chu Mu could no longer speak.

And around them, as Old Li continued treating people, the gradually rising, overlapping howls of pain were practically about to form a chorus.

Only after a good while had passed beyond a quarter of an hour did Chu Mu barely recover from that tide-like, piercing agony.

His whole body was as if it had been placed in water, sweat streaming from head to toe.

"Help... help me back..."

Just those few simple words took Chu Mu a tremendous effort to force out.

Supported by Xu Yuan, Chu Mu moved his feet with difficulty, staggering with every step, like a tottering old man.