The Parasite Part 1

The next day, Mesa and Cang Yue walked into the Imperial Palace together. Their objective was to have Mesa look over Emperor Cang Wanhe and maybe figure out once and for all what is truly going on with him. With Cang Yue by his side, no one in the Imperial Palace stood in his way and they soon reached the Emperor's Chambers.

Walking inside, Mesa saw a man lying in bed with an elderly man and his two attendants standing next to the bed. Looking at this man in the bed, Mesa instantly knew that he was the Emperor. What was different though, was that the Emperor didn't look pale and weak, but looked like he was in bed because he had a fever.

Walking towards the elderly man, Cang Yue humbly greets him with respect: "Master Gu, it is so good you came. How is my father's condition?"

'So, this that Gu Qiuhong guy that implanted that parasite into the Emperor and is acting like his only lifeline.' Thought Mesa to himself.

Hearing Cang Yue call out to him, Gu Qiuhong turns around and warmly greets her back: "So it was your highness the Princess. This morning, I came to check up on his highness the Emperor. Ever since two months ago, he has miraculously been getting better. Though he is no longer as weak as he was before, the matter of his Life Veins. Please forgive this one's incompetence for I still haven't found a way to solve it."

"No please, don't blame yourself Master Gu. If not for you, treating my father for all these years, I wouldn't dare to think what could happen to him. Thank you so much for everything you have done." Said Cang Yue gratefully to him.

Ever since he entered the Emperor's chambers, Mesa had his Sharingan's active and been watching Gu Qiuhong attentively. He noticed that, though he hid it pretty well, he was making very subtle movement that betrayed his true thoughts. He would notice him sometimes frowning for a split second, clenching his teeth and balling his fist.

'So, you're frustrated that the Emperor's condition is improving and your true employers are not happy about that I reckon. Don't worry you filthy little snake, I will ruin so much more of your work and your reputation forever.' Thought Mesa to himself observing Gu Qiuhong.

Shortly after, Qu Qiuhong took his attendants with him and left the Emperor's chambers. Giving a quick glance at them leaving, Mesa turned to Cang Yue and said: "So, that is the Medical Saint huh?"

"He is the Master Gu that I mentioned before, during these years, he has been the one who has been treating my father's illness. It was only because of Master Gu that my father had been able to struggle with death until now." said Cang Yue with an overtone of respect in her voice.

"Is that so? Come on, let's go to your father." Said Mesa as he and Cang Yue arrived at the Emperor's bedside.

"Father, we just bumped into Master Gu. How are you feeling?" asked Cang Yue concernedly.

"Do not worry, dear daughter. Though we still feel weak, we have never felt so good in years. And it is all thanks to the most scrumptious food that you have been bringing back to us." Said Emperor Cang Wanhe with a warm smile on his face to his favorite child.

Seeing that Cang Yue and her father were busy talking, Mesa decided to not disturb them and just stood back and waited for them to finish talking. As they were talking, Emperor Cang Wahne looked over to Mesa and told Cang Yue to introduce him.

Mesa walked forward and gave the Emperor a little bow: "Blue Wind Profound Palace Inner Palace disciple Uchiha Mesa, pays his respects to your majesty."

"Oh!! So you are Uchiha Mesa! It is truly great to meet you! We have truly enjoyed the food you made for us! Hahahahaha…..COUGH…COUGH…COUGH" Said Emperor Cang Wanhe elatedly before he beset with a coughing fit causing Cang Yue to immediately get worried.

"Father! Please do not overexert yourself." Said Cang Yue concernedly.

"Yes dear daughter, you are right. We just got a little too excited at finally meeting the man who has been making the food that came straight down from the heavens themselves." Said Emperor Cang Wanhe with a big smile.

"Your Majesty is flattering me. But it is always good to hear that someone likes my food." Said Mesa humbly with a smile.

"Hahaha… It is no wonder our dear Yue'er speaks so fondly off you every time she brings our dinner. She has told us that not only are you incredibly strong but also like a god-like being when it comes to food and I agree with her. In all these years of being the Emperor, we have had some of the best food available, but none come anywhere close to the food you have made for us. And best of all, it has helped us feel much better than we have felt in years. So you have our utmost gratitude." Said Emperor Cang Wanhe.

"Father, I have brought Mesa here today because he told me he is a practitioner of the medical arts. He would like to take a look at you and maybe figure out what has caused your Life Veins to be so damaged." Said Cang Yue.

"Oh?" Cang Wanhe's face revealed his growing interest, "You're also versed in the medical arts? Could it be that you intend to treat our illness?

"I will try my best." Replied Mesa conservatively.

Even Gu Qiuhong couldn't do anything, so it was impossible for anyone else in the Blue Wind Empire to be able to treat him, let alone a seventeen-year-old youngster. But Cang Wanhe did not refuse and gently replied, "It's rare for someone to have such compassion, and since you are also the person Yue'er brought over, we naturally do not have any reason to refuse. Only, we have to tell you first, that according to Master Gu, what we have isn't an illness, but rather permanent damage to our life veins due to accumulated labor; therefore, there is no need to force yourself if you don't know what to do."

And so Mesa walked up to Emperor Cang Wanhe and placed his hand on his wrist and felt his pulse. Feeling something amiss, Mesa sat on the floor in a lotus position, under the questioning gazes of both Cang Yue and her father.

"I need total silence for a moment, please." Said Mesa as he closed his eyes. A few minutes later, black marking around his eyes and on his forehead started to appear. After the formation of these marking had completed, Mesa opened his eyes once more. Both Cang Yue and her father looked at Mesa in astonishment. His aura suddenly changed. Though they saw him stand in front of them, it was like he was part of the Profound Energy that surrounded them.

"What is this? Mesa, what happened to you?" asked Cang Yue.

"This is a special state of mind and body that I call Sage Mode. In this mode I am one with nature. I am also much more sensitive to the flow of Profound Energy and to the energy of other living beings. I took on this special mode because I felt something very wrong with your father earlier. But now that I am in this mode I am 100% certain. Your father is not suffering from an illness and it is also not some poison. It is a parasite inside him that is draining his vitality." Said Mesa with utmost serious face.

"Oh? How did you determine this?" Cang Wanhe was still, nevertheless, calm and indifferent. It was very clear that he didn't believe Mesa's words. This was not because he did not trust Mesa, but because he trusted Gu Qiuhong even more. In these past three years, his condition remained stable under Gu Qiuhong's care. Moreover, Gu Quihong's name shook the entire Blue Wind Empire as the number one doctor and the other was a mere seventeen-year-old youngster. No matter who it was, they could not believe the words of a youngster and question a person who possessed a century of fame as the number one genius doctor.

"This type of parasite is called the 'Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite'. It is not like other parasites that you can pick up from outside like a tick or a flea. This is a special parasite that must be implanted inside the body and near the heart because it relies on the heart's blood to mature. After it has matured, it lives by consuming its host's vitality. Though it is a small parasite, it requires an immense amount of vitality to sustain itself, nearly half the host's vitality. The reason why your health has been declining all these years is because your majesties vitality has been consumed by this parasite inside your body." Said Mesa gravely.

Cang Wanhe's expression was as calm as before. Then, he revealed a trace of suspicion, "If it is truly as you say, then there is no way this formidable parasite that had been implanted in our body should have gone undiscovered by Gu Qiuhong, whose medical expertise had been the absolute best since long ago. It would be possible if you were to say that he wasn't able to discover it in the first treatment, but in these three years, Gu Qiuhong has been treating us for several dozens of times. It is extremely unlikely that he was unable to discover it every single time. Uchiha Mesa, could it be that you have misunderstood something somewhere?"

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. I purposefully went into Sage Mode to confirm my suspicions and it has. Looking at you right now, your majesty. I can feel a second life sign inside your body, near your heart and it is consuming your vitality at an alarming rate. It is only because of the special food that I had been making for you that it hasn't gotten worse. The energy in the special food has been substituting the vitality that it usually drains from you, but as long as that parasite is inside you, it will be just a temporary fix to this problem. If your majesty still doesn't believe me, let me prove it to you. There must be a scar on your chest that was used to implant this parasite. If your majesty will allow me to cut it open, you can see the parasite with your own two eyes." Said Mesa resolutely.

Cang Wanhe immediately wrinkled his eyebrows. How noble was his imperial body? How could he let a little youngster cut open his body? Before he said anything, Cang Yue had already opened her mouth, "Father, I believe him, and I even more so, believe in his character. He would never do anything that would harm Father's body. Father's illness has never changed for the better from the start; even Master Gu could not do anything. It is through his miracle food that you have been feeling better these past few months so he shouldn't have any reasons to harm you. Even if he is unable to produce a favorable change, it would at least, not bring about any harm."

Listening to Cang Yue's words and seeing that she fully trusted him, Emperor Cang Wanhe swallowed down the words he wanted to say. He looked Mesa in the eyes for a few moments before he replied: "Very well then, I will allow you to cut open this wound. We will not blame you even if it was for naught."

Mesa nodded and approached the emperor. Pulling apart his clothes, he could see the scar on his chest, though it has faded a lot, it was still there. Concentrating his Profound Energy on his finger, Mesa shaped it around his finger like scalpel. Cutting lightly along the scar, Mesa placed his other hand on the wound and let out a wisp of Phoenix Flame energy into the wound and found out where the parasite was hiding. Since these parasites feared fire, Mesa was able to quickly lure it where he wanted it to, the wound he just cut open.

"It's coming out." Said Mesa

After he said that, the wound on Cang Wanhe's chest suddenly started to wiggle. Afterwards, a golden parasitic worm about half an inch long, stretched out half of its body and violently wriggled. Causing both Cang Yue and her father to scream in horror.

"DON'T MOVE!!"