It was around afternoon, and the Wang Household was having a meal at home. Though the mage was absent, they had still reserved the seat of honor for him. His whereabouts had always been unpredictable.
Not long after the meal began, a servant suddenly hurried into the dining hall and spoke in some alarm.
"Master, something terrible has happened! Mage Wu was gravely wounded and collapsed in the street, bleeding all over the ground. He's already been taken to a medical clinic!"
"What?!" "Ah!"
The Wang father and son rose to their feet one after the other, one shocked, the other terrified.
Unable to eat another bite, the Wang family rushed to a medical clinic in the city.
The clinic belonged to that renowned old physician in Pingzhou City. In a room in its rear courtyard, Wu Sunheng lay on a bed, his breathing faint, his eyes closed as though he were still unconscious.
As soon as the Wang family arrived, a servant keeping watch there hurried over to greet them.
"Master, you're here. We found him while we were out on an errand just now. Thank goodness we discovered him early."
Nearby, the old physician was washing his hands. The water in the wooden basin had been stained red.
"Doctor, how is the mage?"
The old physician looked at the Wang family. He still remembered their young master's illness well; it had only been a little over a month, after all, and such strange, sinister ailments were rare. Seeing that this mage was connected to them, he formed a few suspicions.
"Alas! A sharp weapon pierced this mage's chest. Fortunately, it seems to have been very slender and doesn't appear to have severely damaged his internal organs. I've cleaned and stitched the wound and applied medicinal herbs. But my