Chen Xing took a bath in a hurry, put on his clothes quickly, and returned to the tent. Meanwhile, Xiang Shu wore his underclothes and didn"t attempt to shun anyone. He had breakfast in his tent while entertaining guests; a lot of people came and went. Some were there to pay their respects to the sovereign, some were there to send their greetings, while some came to discuss matters with him. Although Xiang Shu was dressed in white from head to toe, and his wet hair hung loose as it draped over his shoulders after his bath, it didn"t conceal his kingly demeanour at all.

"How do you write "sick" and "see a doctor" in the Tiele language?" After Chen Xing had breakfast, he sneezed. He didn"t want to serve Xiang Shu anymore, and he asked the young man who spoke in the Xianbei language before him.

The other party looked baffled and wrote it out for him on the ground. Chen Xing asked again, "How do you say "doctor"?"

The other party taught him. So Chen Xing went out, found a plank, wrote it down, and hung it outside Xiang Shu"s tent.

Xiang Shu, “……”

That afternoon, some people came to see a doctor. Half of Xiang Shu"s tent was used to entertain guests, while the other half was being used by Chen Xing to see patients. The Tiele person first looked around for a moment. Chen Xing moved a short table over and sat down, then waved at the outside of the tent to motion for him to come in. He then started taking his pulse and checking what illness he was suffering from.

"Can you speak Xianbei?" Chen Xing took a wooden stick and pressed down on his tongue. He asked the patient, "What are you sick with?"

That person jabbered away in a long string of words, and question marks could be seen hovering all around Chen Xing"s head. In the end, Xiang Shu had to send all his guests away and thank the ones who had come that day. He said, "His stomach hurts."

Chen Xing said, "Help me translate, what are you just sitting around for?"

Xiang Shu stared at Chen Xing in disbelief and said, "Where did you get your nerve from?"

Chen Xing, "He"s your clansman! Ask him what he has eaten recently, and how long his stomach has been hurting for."

So Xiang Shu could only suppress his anger and translate. Chen Xing identified the patient"s ailment smoothly and prescribed some medicine for him, then got Xiang Shu to write in the Tiele language on a piece of paper with a charcoal brush to help him find the medicinal ingredients.

Xiang Shu didn"t expect Chen Xing to start ordering him around for an entire afternoon, but he was the only one who knew the Han language throughout the whole Chi Le Chuan, and the ones who were sick were his clansmen, so he couldn"t just leave them alone. If it was just translation, then so be it, but the others did not understand the medicinal ingredients of the Hans, so the Great Chanyu himself had to sit at one side and play second fiddle to Chen Xing.

"Could you open up shop somewhere else?" Xiang Shu couldn"t help but ask when there were no patients around.

"I can"t." Chen Xing said, "If there are a lot of patients, how would I be able to close shop? You"re the Great Chanyu, they won"t dare to pester you at night as well."

"You……" Xiang Shu really wanted to hit Chen Xing, but in a twinkling of an eye, someone was here to see a doctor again. In Chi Le Chuan, no matter if they were Tiele, Xiongnu, or any of the sixteen Hu tribes, they were all considered Xiang Shu"s clansmen, and they regarded the Great Chanyu as their parent. Xiang Shu couldn"t bear to see his clansmen be ill either. The doctor of the plains would only come once every few months; he didn"t have a fixed residence and would just travel everywhere to treat people. When people fell sick, most of them could only let it drag on or resign themselves to fate, and when the doctor came, he would only just perform some bloodletting treatment. This move by Chen Xing was clearly of great help to the Ancient Chi Le Covenant.

In less than three days, the valley was full of people waiting in line to see a doctor. Xiang Shu"s royal tent was so crowded that not even a drop of water could trickle through. He couldn"t do anything else every day, and could only simply sit next to Chen Xing and help communicate with the patients through various Hu languages.

Another day pa.s.sed. The conditions of the patients who had come to see Chen Xing were all taking a turn for the better, one after another, regardless of whether they had a cold or a fever. His fame as a "divine doctor" spread like wildfire, and most of the patients in Chi Le Chuan flocked to the Tiele settlement. Eventually, Xiang Shu had no choice but to move his royal tent to the center of the open s.p.a.ce outside the valley.

"How long has it been growing for?" Chen Xing looked at the Xiongnu elderly with much concern. There was a tumour growing on the patient"s back. Chen Xing thought that if Feng Qianyi knew that he was treating Hu people, he would probably berate him thoroughly from the underworld.

"Three years." Xiang Shu translated indifferently.

"Why would you only come get it treated now?" Chen Xing asked.

Xiang Shu couldn"t be bothered to translate such senseless words. Chen Xing prescribed her some medicine to apply on the tumour, then got the next patient to come over. During the inquiry, he suddenly saw Xiang Shu staring at him, his expression a little dazed, and Chen Xing"s hair was standing on end from how Xiang Shu was looking at him.

"Wei!" Chen Xing said, "Say something ah!"

That "wei" instantly frightened everyone in the tent so badly their souls scattered. Xiang Shu snapped out of his stupor and said impatiently, "Rheumatism! Knee pain! Foot ache!"

"What about here?" Chen Xing attended to another old man. He didn"t mind the old man"s festering wound at all and cleaned it first before prescribing him some medicine.

A woman came up.

"What about you?" Chen Xing asked, "What are you sick with?"

Xiang Shu answered, "Been having nightmares, can"t sleep well at night."

Chen Xing, "I can"t help with that, prescribe her some Anshen Decoction. There are still some ingredients at the back, help me bring them over."

Xiang Shu helped him dispense the medicine. He didn"t expect that as the Great Chanyu, he would actually be ordered around like this by Chen Xing. After getting treated, all the patients would thank Chen Xing first, then kowtow and thank Xiang Shu. Xiang Shu just waved his hand to send them away.

"Why are you always looking at me?" Chen Xing said, "Look at the patients ah."

"You……" Xiang Shu took a deep breath, wanting to say something but holding himself back.

"Nothing." Xiang Shu said, "His ribs hurt, and it"s been half a year now."

Chen Xing pressed down on the man"s chest and said, "Do you always lie down on your stomach to sleep? Go back and soften your bed a little, don"t always lie down on your stomach……next."

A hubbub suddenly erupted outside the tent. A girl"s wailing could be heard, and Chen Xing immediately had a hunch that a patient was here, and the patient was on their last legs, so he got the patients in line to wait first and said, "Come in!"

Xiang Shu frowned slightly, then a young man was carried in on a stretcher.

"Che Luofeng?!" Xiang Shu immediately got up, lunged forward, and fell on his knees.

Chen Xing hurriedly motioned for everyone in the tent to get out. He saw that the young man lying on the stretcher had a ghastly pale complexion. His body was riddled with wounds, and there was a earthenware bowl on his stomach. A stench was emanating from his whole body.

"Che Luofeng!" Xiang Shu cried anxiously.

"Shulü……Kong." That young man murmured.

"The two of you know each other?" Chen Xing glanced at Xiang Shu. Ever since they met, this was his first time seeing Xiang Shu in such a fl.u.s.tered mess — he now seemed like a completely different person!

"Quick, save him," Xiang Shu grabbed Chen Xing"s wrist, his voice trembling, "He"s my Anda, you have to save him no matter what! I"ll do anything you want me to!"

"I will!" Chen Xing"s wrist hurt; Xiang Shu"s grip was so strong that his wrist almost broke. He said, "Let go! I"ll save him even if you don"t promise me anything!"

At one side, a young woman and a Rouran woman were crying. Chen Xing couldn"t focus because of their cries, and he said, "I"ll try my very best to save him! Where"s the injury? What was he hurt by?"

Chen Xing untied the bandage on Che Luofeng"s belly and gently uncovered the bowl. Sure enough, as he expected, his stomach had a gaping hole, and his intestines were spilling out. Two wounds that were the result of being sliced through by a sharp blade could be seen on this young man"s abdomen — his stomach had been sliced open.

Aside from that, there were a lot of scratches on this young man"s body that were left behind by the claws of a wild beast.

"Wolf claws and a knife wound." Chen Xing muttered.

Xiang Shu hugged Che Luofeng"s upper body and let out a prolonged breath. He was struck with grief as he held him tightly in his embrace.

"St.i.tch his stomach up first." Chen Xing went to prescribe medicine, then said, "Simmer a bowl of Mafei Soup for him to drink, I"ll prepare the needles."

—

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