Three days later, at the Yuan Mansion in Great Qian's Capital.
Yuan Ziliang, president of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, an elderly man past sixty, lay on his side in bed with a hot towel on his forehead. He was weak and looked utterly listless.
News that his only son, Yuan Hong, had apparently been abducted by Little Prince Huai of Qingliang Prefecture had reached the Capital on the very day of the battle in Chijin. The terrible news had sent Master Yuan into such a fit of anxiety that an old ailment flared up, leaving him bedridden for three days.
Yuan Ziliang was also an awakened Supernatural Ability User, but his talent was far too mediocre. Cautious by nature and protective of his life, he strongly resisted venturing into dangerous Secret Realms. Now past sixty, he was only at Second-Rank Perfection.
In his younger years, he had visited a Secret Realm and accidentally ingested a peculiar Gu Poison, which required a special medicinal catalyst to eradicate. He had searched desperately for half his life without finding that rare ingredient, so whenever he became anxious or agitated, poisonous sores broke out all over him. Sometimes they appeared on his arms and torso, sometimes on his chest or back. In short, the location of each outbreak was entirely random.
With his immense fortune, he could naturally afford better High Grade Medical Practitioners, but even they could only suppress the condition with precious pills, treating the symptoms rather than the cause.
This latest fit of anxiety had caused an outbreak on both buttocks. More than a dozen poisonous sores had formed, the flesh ulcerating and blood and pus flowing incessantly. A High Grade Medical Practitioner had already prescribed pills, but there had been little improvement. After all, the body was easy