Luo Qi 2
Zhao Yan wasn't aware of his identity when they met for the very first time. It was about two months ago in a restaurant. She was quietly eating together with Chun Lan and enjoying the dishes when a panicked scream came from the other room, startling them.
Zhao Yan was just as equally shocked so she along with Chun Lan, went to look at the commotion.
Zhao Yan was startled to see a young man whose face was swelling and looking like he couldn't breathe. He was salivating quite badly. There was a broken bowl of fish prawns and fish soup lying on the floor.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was puffer fish soup. Noticing the young man's blue face that was swelling and his difficulty in breathing as well as his other obvious symptoms, Zhao Yan could make a rough guess of the situation.
"You fool! If something happens to the young master, this restaurant is doomed!" Cried out a servant that was kneeling before the young man. There was also another tall man crouching behind while carrying a sword. He looked like a bodyguard.
The restaurant manager was not looking good as he ordered, "Get a doctor!" One of the restaurant staffs stumbled and ran to do the errand.
Because of this large commotion, people started whispering around her, pointing at the broken bowls and at the young man. They didn't seem like they could do anything to help at all aside from gossiping and making an entertainment out of this life and death situation. The manager of the restaurant was growing increasingly pale and faint as every second pass by. He knows that he would be doomed if this young master dies here today.
"Excuse me." A soft, supple voice sounded and interrupted the uneasy atmosphere, making the crowd part.
They saw a thin lit figure wearing light colored clothes of green with auspicious peonies embroidered on the skirt. Her fair face and innocent black eyes looked forward without a care in the world as she headed straight to the young man. Her dazzling aura nearly blinded them.
Who was this beautiful fairy?
The onlookers were a bit dumbfounded, pausing their conversations to look at the new arrival.
"Chun Lan, my needles please." Zhao Yan said in a smooth and crisp voice as she extended her hand.
Without straying her gaze from the young man, she said," Please help him sit up. I am a doctor. I will administer acupuncture to alleviate the symptoms." Then she looked at the servant. "Please prepare a basin. This young master will start vomiting soon."
The servant was shocked by the sudden command. He did not know what compelled him to do it but he obeyed the girl's orders and went to grab a basin.
Chun Lan handed Zhao Yan her needle set. Seeing the seemingly innocent girl pull out such long needles made the crowd back away with terrified expressions.
A firm hand grabbed her wrist. It was the young man's bodyguard.
"What are you doing?" The low voice was laced with threat as a pair of dark eyes narrowed dangerously at her. Zhao Yan felt the pain from his tight hold but did not complain.
"As I said, I am a doctor. I can treat your young master. From my observation, he is suffering from pufferfish poison. The symptoms begin with numbness and tingling around the mouth, salivation, nausea, and vomiting. It has only been a few minutes since he has eaten, right? He has already displayed difficulty in breathing which only happens after two or three hours during the time the poison was ingested. This means he ingested a large amount of toxin." Zhao Yan remained calm as she said this.
The guard looked at her doubtfully, unsure whether or not she could be trusted. It must have been because she looked younger than her actual age.
"If you do not care for your young master, I will leave as you wish but be warned. Pufferfish poison may progress to paralysis, loss of consciousness, and respiratory failure which can lead to death. I know how to treat him and prolong his life until the medicine is made. If you still doubt me, I will leave now." Seeing his still doubtful expression, Zhao Yan said this and was about to pack up.
The guard, Luo Hanting immediately panicked. If what the girl said was true then the young master was really in a dangerous situation!
"I b..brought the basin.." The servant from earlier came back and placeed the basin down.
Zhao Yan looked at the guard expectantly, waiting for him to decide.
Luo Hanting gritted his teeth. "Please help the young master. If you are able to save him, we will be in your debt. Likewise, if you cause him to die, I will not hesitate to kill you!"
Luo Hanting said the first sentence in an almost polite tone before he became threatening and spoke loudly towards her. As a trained bodyguard in swordsmanship and martial arts, the terrifying aura he released was no joke.
Even the onlookers felt scared just by looking at him.
Zhao Yan smiled before taking her needles out once again. With precise movements, she inserted the needles in various acupuncture points.
She grabbed the basin and placed it beside the young man.
The next moment, the vomiting started, making people disgusted.
"Turn him onto his side, quickly. He must vomit the unabsorbed toxins." Zhao Yan instructed.
The sight of the young man vomiting from pufferfish poisoning made many people terrified this instant. Additionally, the large needles sticking out of the young man's limbs were so frightening that many onlookers felt faint and nauseous themselves.
Zhao Yan removed the needles and made more instructions to move the young man to a room. She wrote a prescription and handed it to the bodyguard.
"These herbs can be bought at the nearby medicine shop." Of course, she did not tell him that she owns the medicine shop. He quickly left and ran off to buy the necessary herbs. Meanwhile, Zhao Yan was alleviating the young man's symptoms through acupuncture.
He was actually conscious for a few minutes long enough for his bodyguard to arrive.
"Young master.." Luo Hanting called out. Zhao Yan immediately went to the kitchen to make the concoction before coming back to feed it to her patient.
She supported him as he drunk the medicine.
The young man's complexion was still pale but he looked better than before and he seemed like he wasn't suffering in too much pain anymore.
"W..who are you..?" He mumbled out while looking at Zhao Yan through blurry eyes. He could only make out her fair face and dark hair but they were blurry. Nevertheless, his shaking pupils followed after her image like a moth to a fire.
"It is not important." She said, pressing him back to lie on the bed.
"What you must do is get some rest and recover. You ingested a lot of tetrodotoxin that could be found in marine animals like pufferfish. I have written a prescription and given it to your bodyguard. Drink the medicine twice a day for one week and you will feel much better."
In a hoarse voice, he tried to speak again. "N...Name.. tell me."
Zhao Yan was a little surprised when he grabbed her sleeves but she merely adjusted his grip and placed his hand back on the bed. His breathing was starting to stabilize as well.
When he seemed better, Zhao Yan was about to leave but another doctor arrived, the one the restaurant manager called.
"I heard a patient was poisoned from eating pufferfish?!" Old man Xu of the medicinal hall happened to be in the area so he was immediately called to the restaurant.
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