Even bandits fighting wouldn’t be this badly injured. Looking at these people’s clothing and attire, they didn’t look like bandits either, but rather each wore luxurious clothes and golden crowns.
Watching the roomful of doctors take turns trying but still unable to stop the bleeding, chattering that with so much blood lost the patients couldn’t be saved, one of the large men who had brought the injured roared and kicked a bench to pieces, frightening the entire room into silence.
“Doctor Liu has already been summoned. Are you all useless? If you can’t save lives, can’t you at least stop the bleeding?” the large man bellowed.
This man was like a black tower, with a sword hanging at his waist, scaring all the apprentice doctors into trembling.
“This… this truly… the wound is too large… the medicine we sprinkle on has no effect at all,” the senior disciple said reluctantly. “Perhaps when Master returns…”
“You useless bunch!” Hei Dahan shouted, kicking another bench to pieces.
All the apprentices in the hall fell silent and shrank back.
“Bandage it first, use more bandages and sprinkle on all the medicine…” the senior disciple could only urge the others frantically.
The whole room bustled with activity.
“Just sew it up.”
A low voice suddenly came from behind, which greatly annoyed the senior disciple who was sweating with anxiety.
“Who’s making trouble here!” he turned and scolded in a low voice.
The apprentices who weren’t causing trouble quickly moved aside, revealing a young apprentice standing at the back.
That apprentice was speaking quietly with another when he was suddenly exposed, startling him.
“Hu San! Who let you in? Go back to the rear courtyard!” the senior disciple shouted angrily upon seeing this person.
This young man called Hu San was the Doctor Hu who had once treated A’Ru’s brother.
Being scolded by the senior disciple and seeing the contemptuous looks throughout the room, anger flared in his heart.
He too came from a medical family, though not very famous, and his father died early without passing on the true teachings. But he couldn’t abandon the family trade, so he had struggled to get connections to enter Qianjin Hall as an apprentice, hoping to learn good medical skills and revive the family reputation. But after three years here, he hadn’t even had a chance to get close to Liu Pucheng, let alone learn medicine, and had to be ordered around by these apprentices.
What skills do you have? You still can’t treat such injuries—you’re not as experienced as me!
“I know how to treat this,” Hu San shouted hotly.
The hall immediately fell silent.
Having shouted this, Hu San panicked. Seeing all eyes on him, his heart pounded even harder.
“Get out of here,” the senior disciple glared and shouted.
The hall resumed its bustle as everyone went back to their tasks. Hu San was left standing there, and he couldn’t help feeling relieved.
“I told you that you lack experience, but you wouldn’t believe it…” he muttered with self-congratulation on his face, but wanting to save some face, he turned to leave.
Just as he lifted his foot, he heard a loud shout from behind.
“That fellow, come here and treat him!”
This voice frightened Hu San so much his legs went weak and he nearly collapsed.
“Sir, this is just a handyman here… he only picks herbs and such daily… he doesn’t know how to treat illness at all…” the senior disciple hurriedly explained to that person. Although Hu San was annoying, he still carried Qianjin Hall’s name, and if something went wrong, Qianjin Hall would be the one in trouble.
“Are you not just handymen too? You still can’t treat him—you’re all useless anyway!” the large man shouted. With a wave of his hand, two cold-faced attendants with swords strode over, lifted the weak-kneed Hu San, and pressed him before the injured person.
“Treat him quickly!” the large man shouted.
Hu San wanted to cry but had no tears, his face pale as death.
“I, I…” he stammered, not knowing if saying he couldn’t treat would result in the large man slapping his head clean off.
“I’ll treat him,” he gritted his teeth and shouted, extending his trembling hands. “Bring water!”
The others hadn’t expected him to actually say this, and for a moment they were all stunned.
“Senior Brother, we’re done for. Hu San has been scared into madness…” someone whispered to the senior disciple.
Hu San shouted with such authority that an apprentice nearby was also stunned and actually brought him water.
Hu San, with shaking hands and staring eyes, thought of the scene he had witnessed that day. Gritting his teeth, he tore off the cloth wrapping the wound. His clumsy movements caused the injured person to cry out in pain, making the large man’s eyebrow twitch, though he forced himself to endure.
“I… I’m now going to… to clean… clean that wound…” Hu San said, trembling as he looked at the bloody, mangled wound exposed before him. As he spoke, he pressed his hand on the wound and poured the water over it.
The injured person shuddered from the sudden stimulation, and blood and water scattered on the ground.
“You…” the large man stood up, glaring at Hu San, gritting his teeth but still holding back.
Having taken the first step, Hu San became bolder. He asked for more water to wash the wound, and even when the injured person howled in pain, he dared to say a few words.
“…This… is infected… those… cells… something… need to wash it clean… otherwise it won’t… won’t heal… bear with it. That day, that fourteen or fifteen-year-old child could endure it—you’re a grown man, you can’t be worse than a child…”
The injured person became conscious from the severe pain and, hearing his unclear muttering, gritted his teeth and truly endured it.
The black-faced large man and several others slowly relaxed their muscles, making cracking sounds that scared the surrounding apprentices pale.
“Good…” Hu San, sweating profusely, finally finished washing. Though blood was still flowing, at least the wound area wasn’t as messy. “Bring needle and thread…”
He extended his hand again.
The apprentices looked at each other.
“What needle and thread?” the senior disciple asked with a dark face.
“We definitely don’t have that kind here… then… then bring sewing thread… it’s all sewing anyway…” Hu San muttered and said aloud.