Chapter 77
Chapter 77
“Bring out your physician. Our Witch Doctor will test her.”
After speaking, Sude looked over the Xiao Family.
Lu Shuangshuang handed Xiao Jingyu to Madam Liu and stepped forward.
Sude looked her up and down without speaking, then turned respectfully toward the woman behind him.
The Witch Doctor approached, felt Lu Shuangshuang’s face and head, then nodded.
Neither Lu Shuangshuang nor anyone in the Xiao Family understood what that meant.
Her test was nothing more than feeling Lu Shuangshuang’s bones?
They had never heard of such a thing.
“Fine. You follow me inside. Everyone else stays here.”
Sude pointed at Lu Shuangshuang.
Xiao Jingmo immediately stood beside her. “No. I’m going with Aunt Lu. Otherwise, we won’t treat him.”
Sude hesitated until the Witch Doctor murmured something unintelligible to him.
Only then did he nod and point at the two. “Both of you, come.”
Lu Shuangshuang glanced back at her son, then strode toward the birch-bark hut with Xiao Jingmo.
The moment they entered, the damp smell of birch bark mingled with the earthy scent of soil washed over them.
More than ten pine logs formed the structure. Whole sheets of birch bark overlapped in layers across its roof and walls.
The floor was black, unworked soil, packed hard beneath countless feet.
A fire pit stood in the middle, with a three-legged clay pot bubbling above it.
A storage trough rested against one wall.
Several untanned deer hides covered a raised area at the back, where a man lay.
He was about twenty-five or twenty-six and had once been a sturdy hunter. Now he was little more than skin and bone. This was Sude’s brother, Su He.
Several women and children knelt beside him.
When Lu Shuangshuang and Xiao Jingmo entered, they immediately moved aside.
Lu Shuangshuang approached and examined him carefully.
Su He struggled to breathe, each inhalation rasping like a broken bellows.
When he exhaled, blood-streaked mucus seeped from the corner of his mouth.
His neck was red and swollen like a steamed bun, its skin shiny and dark purple in places. Veins bulged beneath it as though they might burst at any moment.
Dark red spots the size of copper coins covered his exposed skin.
Lu Shuangshuang crouched to feel his pulse.
But Su He suddenly convulsed, both hands clawing at his throat and his mouth gaping like a fish pulled from water.
The women and children rushed forward to restrain him.
Sude paced in panic, roaring continuously. He even shoved Lu Shuangshuang and gestured for her to hurry.
Xiao Jingmo pulled Lu Shuangshuang behind him and shielded her.
His glare forced Sude to stop.
Sude seemed to understand and stepped back with a cold snort.
Lu Shuangshuang tried again and released Su He’s wrist only after a long while.
“Second Young Master, could you bring Old Master Han inside? I need to question the family, and I’m afraid they won’t understand me.”
“Aunt, will you be all right alone?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Go and come back quickly.”
Xiao Jingmo nodded and gestured to Sude, who allowed him to leave.
Before long, Xiao Jingmo returned with Old Han.
“Physician Lu, ask whatever you need. I’ll translate.”
This was the first time Old Han had seen such a strange illness. It resembled poisoning.
“Old Master, please ask whether the patient touched any rotting plants or animals.”
Old Han immediately asked Su He’s wife.
She nodded.
After Lu Shuangshuang asked several more crucial questions, she confirmed the diagnosis.
“Old Master, the patient has been poisoned by Throat-Locking Miasma. The poison is extremely vicious and has lodged in his throat. Ordinary herbs can’t cure it. We must mix processed dried house-centipede powder with small amounts of mint and pearl powder, then blow it deep into his throat in repeated tiny doses.”
“Once the congested blood is cleared, we can brew medicine to remove the remaining poison.”
“The dosage is difficult. Too much will worsen the poison; too little won’t be strong enough. We must test it bit by bit.”
“I have the dried house-centipede powder, the most important ingredient, but we have neither mint nor pearl powder.”
Mint would cool and protect his throat, while smooth pearl powder would keep the medicine from sticking.
Old Han looked troubled too. He had neither ingredient. Mint could be found, but where would they obtain pearl powder?
Seeing them talk endlessly without acting, Sude’s anger flared.
“What are you doing? If you can’t save my brother, all of you will accompany him in death.”
Afraid of provoking Sude into a fight, Old Han quickly explained their difficulty.
Unexpectedly, Sude spun around and ran out. He soon returned carrying a large wooden chest.
He dropped it with a crash and roughly threw open the lid.
“Look through this. Is what you need inside?”
Xiao Jingmo stepped forward. The chest was filled with gold, silver, and jewels that appeared quite old. There were indeed many pearls.
“Aunt Lu, come look. There are so many pearls. Will they be enough once we grind them?”
Xiao Jingmo casually picked up a pearl bracelet.
Lu Shuangshuang took it and examined it carefully.
“Yes, but we should boil the pearls before grinding them. They’ve been stored for years and have dirt on them. Boiling will also soften them and make them easier to grind.”
After she spoke, Xiao Jingmo picked out another pearl bracelet and took both apart.
Old Han heard everything and translated for Sude at once.
Sude was delighted. Once he heard his brother could be saved, he eagerly cooperated with every request Lu Shuangshuang made.
Water was already boiling in the hut. Xiao Jingmo dropped in the pearls and removed them after less than the time needed to drink a cup of tea.
Once the water on their surfaces dried, they could be ground into powder.
Meanwhile, Sude sent someone to gather mint.
His people had lived along rivers for generations and ate fish more than anything else. Once, they accidentally boiled fish with mint and discovered it tasted far better than fish cooked in plain water. From then on, the Red Fox Tribe transplanted mint wherever they traveled.
Once everything was ready, Lu Shuangshuang found a slender bone tube in the tribe.
The Red Fox Tribe possessed many bone implements and excelled at making them.
Lu Shuangshuang boiled the tube, then used a needle to take a little processed dried house-centipede powder. She mixed it with pearl powder and blew tiny doses into Su He’s throat.
After every dose, she squeezed in a little mint water to keep his throat cool.
Sweat covered Lu Shuangshuang’s palms throughout the procedure.
It was her first time performing the treatment herself. She had only read about it in books.
So she was extremely nervous.
Half an hour later, Su He suddenly vomited a large amount of black, bloody phlegm.
Only then did Lu Shuangshuang release a long breath. “It worked.”
After Su He expelled the black blood, the swelling on his neck subsided considerably and his breathing eased.
Lu Shuangshuang wrote a prescription, but no one in the Red Fox Tribe could read.
In the end, she recited the instructions to the Witch Doctor.
The treatment was finally complete.
Sude gave Lu Shuangshuang the Red Fox Tribe’s highest salute.
Old Han explained the gesture for him.
Lu Shuangshuang was overwhelmed by the honor. A smile appeared on Xiao Jingmo’s face. They had overcome this obstacle.
The entire Xiao Family was invited into the birch-bark hut.
With so many additional people, there were not enough wooden stools.
Sude ordered two felt blankets spread over the floor.
Old Han’s eyes lit up the moment he saw them.
He nudged Xiao Che.
“Marquis, do you see those blankets? They’re remarkable. Water can’t soak them, they’re light and warm, and they burn well. Once lit, they last twice as long as ordinary firewood.”
Xiao Che and Xiao Jingmo looked at the blankets together.
“Grandpa Han, what are they made from? Do you know?”
Xiao Jingmo’s interest was piqued.
“I heard they’re sewn from the fur of Fire Rats.”
Old Han had only heard of them. This was his first time seeing one too.
Xiao Jingmo’s eyes lit up, disbelief spreading across his face.
“Fire Rats? Aren’t they extinct? The Bestiary of Exotic Beasts says: ‘In the north lives a rat called the Fire Rat. It hides deep underground, with thick fur and abundant fat. Its pelt does not soak in water, withstands long exposure to flame, and is the finest protection against cold-a priceless treasure.'”
Yet the Red Fox Tribe treated what the world considered a priceless treasure so carelessly. It was a terrible waste.