"Trying it won't make things worse," Zhu Yanyi said, turning to Sikong Xuran. "Senior Brother Sikong, please help."
Sikong Xuran waved her hand slightly and went to take she Laoniang’s pulse. After a moment, she looked surprised. "Junior Sister, come look. It seems Auntie she also has signs of a gu poison in her body."
Zhu Yanyi was startled and hurried over. She took She Laoniang’s pulse and indeed saw a gu worm about the size of a thumb inside her. "So it is a Soft Gu."
"Really a gu worm?" He Atu felt like he was going crazy. "Who did this to our family?"
Ju Xiu’s eyes turned red. Her mother-in-law had originally been a kind person, but she had become paralyzed and unable to speak, like someone asleep. In normal circumstances, people might have given up, but Ju Xiu was a good daughter-in-law. She never complained and cared for her silently. She never imagined her mother-in-law was harmed by someone.
"Stop being sad. Let’s remove the gu worm from Auntie She first," Zhu Yanyi said calmly.
"What do we need to do? Do we still need sour plums and vinegar?" He Atu asked.
Zhu Yanyi shook her head slightly. "Auntie She’s gu is different from yours. Yours needed sour plums and vinegar, but hers does not. The Soft Gu absorbs the body’s vital energy, making a person too weak to stand, which causes paralysis. Once we remove the Soft Gu, Auntie She will wake up and be able to stand again. However, since she has been paralyzed for years, she will need rehabilitation to stand immediately. I will teach you later. For now, the priority is removing the gu."
"How do we remove it? What do we need?" He Atu asked urgently.
Zhu Yanyi smiled slightly. "Auntie She is quite lucky. The things she needs, we happened to collect yesterday. One is bamboo water, and the other is snow water from an old plum tree. Honestly, I don’t know if heaven is on your side. Bamboo water is easy to get, but snow water from an old plum tree is hard to find."
She Atu was surprised by the coincidence and felt relieved. "What do we do next?"
"Don’t worry. The most important thing now is to make Auntie She’s kang very hot. Senior Brother Qingyun, please find people to help heat the kang," Zhu Yanyi said.
"Okay." Yu Qingyun hurried to find the old lady. Since they only knew the she family in this village, she naturally went to her first.
When the old lady heard that Auntie she was also poisoned by gu, she didn’t hesitate. She pulled Old she along to help.
"Child, child, I heard. Is Atu’s mother really poisoned by gu too?" the old lady asked anxiously.
Zhu Yanyi nodded. "Yes, Auntie. Please help heat Auntie She’s kang. It needs to be hot enough to make her sweat, so I can proceed with the next step."
"Okay." The old lady immediately went to help. There was no need for Zhu Yanyi to explain further; everyone started helping right away.
Zhu Yanyi watched as sweat poured from Auntie She’s forehead. She then asked Yi Yunfei to bring a jar of snow water. She added bamboo water to it and stirred slowly, mixing in some medicinal powder. The room filled with a strange herbal scent.
At first, Auntie She seemed calm, but gradually, she looked in pain. Everyone could clearly see something moving under her skin. When Zhu Yanyi felt it was time, she made a small cut on Auntie She’s palm and placed it over the jar of snow water. Very little blood flowed out, as if Auntie She had no blood at all.
After a while, a sudden burst of bloody smell erupted, and a black object, looking like a dried sea cucumber, fell into the jar.
Zhu Yanyi quickly pulled Auntie She’s hand away and told Yi Yunfei to cover the jar.
She then applied medicine to Auntie she’s wound and prepared a bowl of medicinal water for her to drink. Only then did she say to the old lady, "Auntie she is covered in sweat. She needs to be wiped down and changed into clean clothes. Also, the kang doesn’t need to be this hot anymore."
"Okay." The old lady controlled the kang’s temperature, then brought hot water to wipe Auntie she down and change her clothes. She even washed the dirty clothes separately.
Zhu Yanyi glanced at the jar and said to Yi Yunfei, "Senior Brother, take this jar of snow water outside and dispose of it later." In other words, find a quiet place for Binglan to destroy the evidence.
Yi Yunfei understood and kept an eye on the jar to prevent any mistakes.
Zhu Yanyi continued, "Auntie She has been bedridden for a long time. You must massage her every day to help her body’s functions recover slowly before she can walk."
She then turned to she Atu. "You need to rest for three days. During these three days, I will come every day to massage Auntie she. After three days, you will start learning how to massage her yourself."
"Okay." He Atu agreed immediately. "But how did my mother get poisoned by gu?"
Zhu Yanyi was speechless. "If you don’t know, how would I? But perhaps Auntie She knows."
That was true. To them, she was just a doctor. How they got poisoned was unclear. "When your mother wakes up, ask her yourself. Think about what happened before she became paralyzed and who she met. There might be some clues."
"Thank you, Little Divine Doctor. No matter what, we owe you everything this time." She Atu’s face was full of gratitude. Their family was nearly broken, but Zhu Yanyi had given them a chance.
Zhu Yanyi waved her hand slightly and smiled. "We are all medical students. The most important thing in medicine is to save lives and cure diseases. So, you should thank heaven. If it weren’t for this snow, we might never have met you."
"That child is right. If it weren’t for this snow, I wouldn’t have sent my old man out to look. He wouldn’t have brought back those few trapped by the snow, and we wouldn’t have saved your family," the old lady said. "But honestly, could Wang Xiuliang have poisoned the old sister-in-law too?"
Zhu Yanyi was surprised by the sharp suspicion. She had suspected the same, but no one knew for sure. The answer would only come when Auntie She woke up.