Chapter 80: Chapter 59: You Are Right
Translator: 549690339
“No more patients?” A cold voice came from the figure at the stone table.
Zhou Ze looked over and saw a man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a resolute face, and dressed in blue clothes who looked like a righteous young martial artist in Jianghu.
Yet it was this man, who appeared to be a Jianghu youngster, who had taken his whole family hostage and forced him to treat his injuries under the threat of their lives.
Filled with hatred in his heart, Zhou Ze dared not show any on his face and respectfully replied, “Yes, the patient has just been treated. I will prepare the medicinal soup for you.”
The man in blue nodded, “Go ahead.”
Preparing medicine was not originally Zhou Ze’s responsibility; his son Zhou Qing could handle it.
However, a few days ago, this man suddenly appeared in their house and directly took Zhou Ze’s daughter-in-law, Tang Huaping, hostage.
Young and impulsive, Zhou Qing could not bear to see his pregnant wife being held hostage and directly wanted to fight the man.
The result was needless to say.
Facing a second-rate martial arts expert, Zhou Qing, a man who had never practiced martial arts, was severely injured, with countless broken bones throughout his body.
Now, thanks to Zhou Ze’s rescue, Zhou Qing’s life was no longer in danger, but it would take at least half a year for him to recover from his injuries.
To prepare a medicinal soup that could treat the internal injuries of a martial arts expert was not a simple task; one needed to have some knowledge of medical herbs and control the heat properly.
So, the task of preparing medicine fell into Zhou Ze’s hands, as his daughter-in-law Tang Huaping was unable to do it.
But because of this, he had the opportunity to add a sedative to the medicine.
In the kitchen, Tang Huaping was preparing lunch. The young pregnant woman glanced at her father-in-law with an expression full of worry and fear,
“Father.”
“It’s fine, go on with your cooking.” Zhou Ze nodded at her reassuringly, then lit the stove to begin preparing the medicinal soup.
Preparing medicine takes a lot of time.
Tang Huaping finished cooking lunch, while Zhou Ze was still only halfway through the medicine preparation. She took the cooked meal out to the man in blue clothes.
Zhou Ze remained in the kitchen, taking advantage of the absence of people. From his pocket, he took out a prepared pouch of Seven-step fragrance and poured it into the soup.
Watching the powdery substance dissolve into the thick black bitter soup, his eyes flashed with satisfaction, but he quickly hid it.
Continuing to add the herbs in order and after a while, the medicinal soup was finally ready.
Instead of serving it right away, Zhou Ze estimated the time, waiting for when the man in blue was at his most relaxed and sluggish after eating his meal.
Only then did he pour out the medicinal soup and serve it.
“Your medicine is ready.”
Zhou Ze set the soup on the table and stood to the side, his face maintaining its usual dull calm, but his heart beating rapidly.
The man in blue picked up the medicine and sniffed it at the tip of his nose. As always, the bitter, spicy, and pungent smell had no abnormalities.
But he still cautiously glanced at Zhou Ze, but it was impossible to see anything from the old fox’s face, so he soon withdrew his gaze.
“You may leave.”
The man in blue waved his hand, signaling Zhou Ze to leave. He wanted to recuperate after taking the medicine and did not want anyone around.
Zhou Ze obediently turned to leave, and as he did so, he saw from the corner of his eye that the man in blue had already drunk the medicine.
Upon seeing this, his heart beat even faster.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Zhou Ze counted his steps and waited for the effects of the drug to take effect.
According to past experiments, the sedative would take effect after about seven steps, which is the origin of the name Seven-step fragrance.
But he had only taken five steps when he suddenly saw the man in blue beside him abruptly swing his sleeve, splashing the soup on the table onto the ground.
Upon hearing the noise, Zhou Ze quickly turned his head.
Then, he saw the man in blue’s pale face distort in an instant, his eyes filled with murderous rage, as he roared, “You dared to poison me!”
With that, he drew the Long Sword from his waist, leaped forward and thrust it straight at Zhou Ze.
Facing the sudden attack of a second-rate martial arts expert, an ordinary person like Zhou Ze had no chance to dodge, and he could only watch helplessly as the sword pierced his chest.
With a soft ripping sound,
a wave of intense pain flooded his senses. As the Long Sword was pulled out, Zhou Ze’s body fell to the ground.
The original judgment made by Doctor Zhou was correct.
Even with the help of sedatives, ordinary people like him had no power to resist in the face of a true martial arts expert.
Just like now, even with a plan in place. But when it came time to execute it, mistakes were made due to a lack of strength.
And the price was his own life.
Lying on the ground, Zhou Ze looked up at the sky, his eyes gradually
becoming unfocused as he lost himself in his thoughts.
After stabbing Zhou Ze, who had poisoned him, the man in blue clothes suddenly felt dizzy, with a wave of nausea coming over him, and his limbs gradually growing weak.
The intense activity just now had spread the sedative throughout his body, and now was the time for it to take full effect.
At that moment, Tang Huaping, who had been in the kitchen washing dishes, heard the commotion and came out, and let out a scream when she saw her father-in-law killed by a single stroke of the sword at the doorway.
Her scream immediately caught the atten tion of the man in blue clothes.
At this point, he knew that he had already fallen victim to the sedative and would most likely be knocked unconscious later.
If he were to leave a person with a grudge against him at this point, it would undoubtedly be a death sentence after he fell unconscious.
And so, he didn’t hesitate.
Feeling too dizzy to rush and kill the person, he still raised the Long Sword supporting his body and threw it at the screaming Tang Huaping.
He sent the sword out with a grudge, striking Tang Huaping in the abdomen with great force, and the impact sent her, along with the baby in her belly, flying back, and both were pinned to the wall by the sword.
Painful moans emanated from her, and fresh blood streamed down.
After struggling for a few moments, Zhou family’s daughter-in-law eventually dropped her head in exhaustion.
After killing another person, the man in blue clothes still wasn’t satisfied.
There was still one more son in this family. Although he was lying on the bed, unable to move, it would still be dangerous to leave him alive.
He planned to eliminate this last hidden danger as well.
However, as he tried to move his feet, a bigger wave of dizziness came over him, making his steps wobble like a drunk, and his vision darken.
The man in blue clothes quickly mobilized his Inner Strength to resist. But just then, a gust of wind came from behind him, causing him to sense danger and try to dodge.
But in his current state, there was no way he could do that.
He had barely shifted his body when a powerful palm strike hit him squarely in the back.
With a loud bang.
With a terrifying force accompanied by a domineering Inner Strength, the palm strike directly penetrated the man in blue clothes’ heart meridian, cutting off his life force.
His body swayed for a few moments, before crashing to the ground.
Lu Yuan, having killed the man in blue clothes with a single palm strike, quickly withdrew his hand and ran to Zhou Ze’s side.
“Old Zhou, Old Zhou.”
He held up Zhou Ze, who was weak and soaked in blood, and called out to him.
“Cough, cough…”
Groggily, Zhou Ze regained some clarity, glanced at Lu Yuan, and asked with a cough, “Is that guy dead?”
“Dead.”
“Then … good, Xiaoqing … is he alright?”
“He’s fine.” Lu Yuan’s expression was full of grief.
“Thank you.” Feeling relieved that his son was safe, Zhou Ze turned to look at his sorrowful friend, and with great difficulty, managed a smile. “You were right.
In this world, without martial arts, you can’t even protect your family.
I was wrong, learning medicine is useless. It can save others, but not myself.
Can I ask you for one more favor?”
“Speak.’
“Can you take care of Xiaoqing for me?” Hope flickered in Zhou Ze’s eyes.
“Don’t worry. Xiaoqing is like my little brother, I will take care of him.” Lu Yuan nodded solemnly.
“That’s good … that’s good …” With a smile on his lips, Zhou Ze’s breath faded away, and he was gone..