Chapter 147: Healing the Sick and Saving Lives

Fang Nian had truly forgotten how much ancient people valued such intimate physical contact; even doctor-patient relationships could not cross certain boundaries.

It was much like how unmarried women from prominent families would not allow physicians to take their pulse directly when ill, which was why the method of feeling the pulse through a suspended silk thread had come into being.

Only after hearing Jia Xu's words did Fang Nian react. This was, after all, ancient times! To pull back a man's wife's lower garments right in front of him was indeed...

"Uh..."

Fang Nian wore an awkward expression, thinking to himself that ancient times were truly troublesome. As the saying went, medicine knew no taboos of modesty; in the eyes of a physician, what distinction of gender could there possibly be? Much like in modern times—were there not male obstetricians and gynecologists?

Modern young girls practically wished to wear as little as possible, but ancient people did not think that way; they simply could not understand. Besides, Fang Nian had merely caught a glimpse of his wife's lower abdomen.

Fang Nian halted his movements and looked over at Jia Xu.

"Go right now and prepare a hollow reed stalk, a thin blade, a flask of wine, and a needle with thread."

Hearing this, Jia Xu looked as though he had completely failed to comprehend Fang Nian's words. He did nothing except desperately try to break free from Zhou Cang's restraint.

Fang Nian was somewhat speechless. In front of these ancient people, was chastity truly more important than life?

After a moment's thought, Fang Nian directly motioned for Zhou Cang to tie Jia Xu to a nearby chair and sealed his mouth with a strip of cloth. Then, he stood up and began preparing the necessary items.

Truth be told, Jia Xu was truly miserable at this moment. He could only watch helplessly as Fang Nian tended to his dying wife, utterly powerless to do anything himself.

For a moment, Jia Xu—already consumed by profound melancholy—became even more depressed, wishing he could simply bash his head against a wall and die.

By the time Fang Nian finished preparing everything, Jia Xu's wife had already lost consciousness.

Without dwelling on it further, Fang Nian decisively disinfected all the items with alcohol, including the lower abdomen of Jia Xu's wife.

A short while later, Fang Nian picked up the thin blade and made a very small incision directly on the lower abdomen of Jia Xu's wife.

Watching this scene unfold before him, Jia Xu instantly broke down in tears, emitting muffled sounds from behind his gag, yet remaining utterly helpless.

The moment Fang Nian cut open the wound, fresh blood welled up. Fang Nian took the cotton he had previously pulled from his clothing to absorb the overflowing blood while simultaneously applying acupuncture to pressure points to staunch the bleeding. Very soon, the blood flow stopped.

Next, Fang Nian took out two chopstick-like instruments and inserted them carefully along the incision. After probing for a moment, he made a precise grip and pulled—extracting a wooden splinter the length of a finger.

And precisely at that moment, Jia Xu's wife—who had been unconscious and gasping for breath—suddenly took a deep, shuddering inhalation. Her breathing gradually grew steady, and a soft moan of comfort escaped her lips.

***

Watching everything before him, Jia Xu quieted down for the very first time. Before Fang Nian performed these procedures, he knew his wife's condition all too well. Every single day, she had to gasp heavily just to sustain her life; the sensation of finding even breathing to be an agonizing struggle was heartbreaking just to contemplate.

Yet the instant Fang Nian extracted the wooden splinter from her body, everything seemed to have changed. Although his wife was still unconscious, her current state was clearly vastly more comfortable.

Fang Nian had pulled out the splinter without causing massive hemorrhaging, which indicated that the splinter had not punctured her lung lobe.

Fang Nian let out a sigh of relief, then inserted the hollow reed stalk into the wound to release the excess air trapped inside the chest cavity before finally suturing the incision.

When all of this was completed, the condition of Jia Xu's wife had clearly improved significantly. Her breathing was smooth, and the deathly pallor on her face was slowly being replaced by a healthy flush.

However, Fang Nian collapsed heavily onto the floor, panting for breath as large beads of sweat poured down his face.

One had to admit that practicing acupuncture and surgery was truly no simple task. It might have looked like just a few simple actions, but the mental tension was far more ferocious than physical exhaustion.

Coupled with the fact that Fang Nian had to constantly guard against infection and channel his internal energy for the acupuncture during this minor surgery, the energy consumption was even greater.

Jia Xu had completely lost his temper by this point. The moment Zhou Cang released him from the chair, he rushed frantically to his wife's side, falling to his knees and crying out,

"My wife... My wife..."

Seeing this, Fang Nian hurriedly said,

"She has just recovered and requires quiet rest. Do not shake her like that—do you want to kill her?"

Hearing Fang Nian's words, Jia Xu finally stopped and turned back to ask,

"My wife... has she been saved?"

Fang Nian nodded, then asked Zhou Cang to bring paper and brush so he could write a restorative herbal prescription.

"Your wife's ailment was caused by a wooden splinter from a past injury remaining lodged in her body and piercing the pulmonary pleura. Fortunately, the splinter did not pierce all the way through the lung lobe; otherwise, even I would not have been able to save her."

Only then did Jia Xu understand that the young man before him had acted as he did purely to save his wife's life.

Thus, he turned around and dropped straight to his knees before Fang Nian.

"I thank my benefactor for saving her life! I, Jia Xu, am willing to brave mountains of blades and seas of fire for you, to serve as an ox or a horse, I—"

Seeing Jia Xu act thus, Fang Nian hurried forward to help him up, saying,

***

"What is Master Wenhe doing? There is no need for this, truly no need. I merely did what a physician ought to do."

Jia Xu refused to listen and continued kneeling on the ground. Having no other choice, Fang Nian dropped to his knees as well to bow in return—a scene that left Zhou Cang standing nearby utterly dumbfounded.

Once everything was properly settled, Fang Nian bade farewell to Jia Xu, returned to the inn, and told him he would come back to check on him in a couple of days.

Three days later, Fang Nian used the hundred taels of silver from the young Miss Cai to purchase all the necessary supplies, and then set off to visit Jia Xu once more.

On one hand, he wanted to check on the recovery of Jia Xu's wife; on the other hand, he intended to recruit Jia Xu to join him in his search for the ancient tomb.

However, when Fang Nian and Zhou Cang arrived at Jia Xu's residence, they discovered that a large contingent of guards had gathered outside the doorway at some point, appearing to be troops from the official garrison of Jialuo City.

Fang Nian's brow furrowed slightly.

"Why are so many government soldiers gathered here? Given Jia Xu's current status, he hasn't yet displayed his talents to the world; surely they wouldn't be paying a formal call to recruit a wise scholar?"

At that moment, Zhou Cang suddenly pointed toward Jia Xu's house and said,

"Elder Fang, someone is coming out."

Fang Nian looked back and indeed saw several military officers stepping out of the house, then dispersing to stand guard on either side of the entrance. Fang Nian recognized one of those officers—it was none other than the general surnamed Zhang who had rescued Jia Xu in the marketplace earlier.

"With him standing guard here, it means someone is inside talking with Jia Xu right now. Could it be her?"

Fang Nian thought of the woman who had negotiated the city-entry fee with him inside the carriage; she must have been the so-called Miss Cai.

Realizing this, Fang Nian knew he could wait no longer. He had to find a way inside; if he went in too late, Jia Xu might end up leaving with someone else.