45: Medical skills save lives; Xiaowen's background revealed.
Inside the Courtyard House of the Chen family.
Chen Changsheng was in the study researching medical texts when a sudden, urgent pounding on the door rang out.
Chen Changsheng frowned, put down the medical texts, and walked out the door.
"Dad, this is bad! Second Brother is hurt and is currently unconscious!"
Eleven-year-old Chuanjie ran over in a rush. Usually quite calm, he was now filled with panic!
"Where is he? Where is he?"
Chen Changsheng felt a jolt in his heart and immediately became tense, quickly asking Chuanjie.
"He's in the living room, Sister Xiaowen is looking after him!"
Chen Changsheng hurriedly stood up, intending to head to the bedroom, but his footsteps suddenly paused, and he turned to say to Chuanjie:
"Chuanjie, don't panic. First, seal off the news; do not let our servants spread word of this."
"And don't tell your mother or sister-in-law. We two will handle this matter; don't let them worry!"
Chen Changsheng said in a serious tone, because he suddenly remembered that Chuanwen had once mentioned that Xiaowen's background was problematic and might involve an Immortal Official.
Chen Changsheng had lived for nearly seventy years across two lifetimes and was already an old fox; he instantly sensed that something was amiss and that Chuanwen's injury was likely related to Xiaowen.
Therefore, he quickly sealed off the news, deciding to wait until he had investigated the matter clearly before making any further arrangements.
"Understood, I'll go pass on the word right away!"
Seeing his father's serious expression, Chuanjie dared not delay and hurriedly ran out to seal off the news.
Chen Changsheng then jogged all the way to the living room.
In the living room, the floor was already splattered with quite a bit of blood.
As soon as Chen Changsheng entered, he saw Chuanwen lying pale in Xiaowen's arms. His eyes were tightly shut, his brows furrowed, and a three-inch small sword was thrust into his chest!
Xiaowen looked somewhat dazed, holding Chuanwen and weeping silently!
"Uncle Chen, you're finally here. Please, save Chuanwen!"
Seeing Chen Changsheng's figure, Xiaowen's dazed face regained a flicker of life, and she hurriedly spoke in a hoarse, tearful voice.
"Xiaowen, don't panic. Let me take a look!"
Chen Changsheng knew that what was needed most at this moment was calmness. He comforted Xiaowen and walked quickly to Chuanwen's side.
In his previous life, as a postgraduate student of Traditional Chinese Medicine, although Chen Changsheng was not an expert in surgery, he could still handle ordinary knife wounds without any problems!
Chuanwen's wound was mainly on his chest. Chen Changsheng used scissors to tear open Chuanwen's shirt to observe whether the wound had damaged any internal organs.
Fortunately, the small sword had penetrated two inches into the flesh, missing the heart by a hair's breadth.
"It hasn't damaged any internal organs; the problem isn't too serious. Xiaowen, go find Chuanjie now and have him prepare cotton, clean water, scissors, cloth strips, and a jar of strong liquor!"
"Lay Chuanwen's body flat. Be careful not to pull out the short sword; otherwise, once there is massive hemorrhaging, Chuanwen will surely die!"
Chen Changsheng gave the instructions decisively, then headed to his medicine refining room.
Fortunately, he had previously exchanged for the [spiritual plant manual], which allowed him to understand the medicinal properties of 467 types of spiritual plants.
It was also fortunate that their family needed five elements soup for martial arts training, so Chen Changsheng had stockpiled a batch of medicinal herbs!
This gave him the conditions to use the Traditional Chinese Medicine knowledge from his previous life and his understanding of the medicinal properties of this world to concoct a sufficiently powerful hemostatic agent!
In Chuanwen's condition, it was too late to go to the county town to find a doctor. Moreover, this matter hadn't been sorted out yet; once it spread, given Chuanwen's current status in the county, it would surely cause a huge stir throughout the city!
Therefore, Chen Changsheng had no choice but to do it himself and prepare a dose of hemostatic powder!
Perhaps because it was a critical moment and his love for his son erupted, Chen Changsheng's medicine refining this time went extremely smoothly. Not only was the ratio of medicinal materials correct, but even the temperature of the fire refining was mastered perfectly, and he successfully concocted his self-created hemostatic powder!
Chen Changsheng wrapped the snow-white hemostatic powder in paper and came to the living room without a moment's delay.
At this moment, Xiaowen and Chuanjie were waiting anxiously. Xiaowen was crying while whispering to herself:
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't come to Kaoshan Village, if it weren't to save me, Brother Chuanwen would never have been injured!"
Chen Changsheng couldn't spare the time to comfort Xiaowen. He glanced at the medical equipment Chuanjie had prepared and walked to Chuanwen's side.
"Sigh, Ancestral Master Hua Tuo bless me, I hope this surgery goes smoothly!"
Chen Changsheng prayed silently in his heart, then took out the white liquor and splashed it onto Chuanwen's wound. This was for debridement and disinfection; after all, many patients didn't die from knife wounds, but from inflammation.
The strong liquor poured onto the wound made Chuanwen's expression contort in pain, even though he was unconscious, and his body began to writhe!
"Chuanjie, hold your brother down, don't let him move!"
Chen Changsheng immediately asked Chuanjie to assist, then began the most important step: pulling out the small sword!
Once there is massive hemorrhaging, Chuanwen will truly be beyond saving!
Chen Changsheng took a deep breath, then quickly pulled out the short sword. The movement was fast and accurate, quite reminiscent of the flair of a famous surgical director from his previous life wielding a scalpel!
The moment the short sword was pulled out, Chen Changsheng pressed down on the wound to stop the bleeding, and then began applying the hemostatic powder to Chuanwen!
The self-made hemostatic powder had excellent effects; within a few seconds, it mixed with the blood and congealed the wound!
Chen Changsheng let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and finally managed to save his son's life!
Then, he used the strong liquor to disinfect the cotton and cloth strips and bandaged Chuanwen's wound!
"Chuanjie, carry your brother to the bedroom. Your brother's life is saved; he should wake up before long. Have the kitchen staff stew a bowl of chicken soup to replenish your brother's Qi and blood!"
Chen Changsheng instructed, and Chuanjie immediately picked up his second brother and walked toward the bedroom. Xiaowen wanted to help, but was stopped by Chen Changsheng.
"Xiaowen, wait a moment. I have something to ask you. What happened with Chuanwen's injury?"
Chen Changsheng said in a low voice without looking up, while cleaning up the bloodstains and equipment in the living room.
"Uncle Chen, I... I..."
Xiaowen looked at Chen Changsheng and fell into a struggle. She didn't know how to speak for a moment. To explain Chuanwen's injury, she would inevitably have to confess her background, and she didn't know if the Chen Changsheng before her was worth trusting.
Seeing Xiaowen's conflicted expression, Chen Changsheng did not urge her. He knew that Xiaowen actually had nowhere else to turn and could only tell the truth!
Xiaowen looked at Chuanwen, the scene of him blocking in front of her flashing through her mind. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said:
"Uncle Chen, let me tell you the truth! Actually, my name isn't Xiaowen; my name is Ma Yuwen."
After saying this, Xiaowen—no, Ma Yuwen—seemed to have put down a heavy burden. No longer needing to pretend, she began to pour out her entire background:
"My father was originally an Immortal Official of Longkou County. Ten years ago, when the Annan Prefecture went to war with the barbarians, my father was transferred to participate in the battle!"
"I was still young at the time, living with my younger brother and mother. Father was afraid that the three of us would suffer, so he entrusted his sworn brother, the Military Official of Longkou County, Zhao Zhiyi, to take care of our family..."
"Everything was fine at first, until five years ago when the imperial court was defeated and news came that my father had also disappeared, with his life or death unknown. Zhao Zhiyi then revealed his true colors..."
"He coveted the path of Immortal Cultivation, so he murdered my mother, seized our family's spiritual plant fields, forced us to reveal our family's ancestral Immortal Cultivation Manual, and usurped the Ma Family estate!"
"At that time, Zhao Zhiyi was powerful, and my brother and I were powerless to resist. To survive, we had to cooperate with him. Fortunately, he was careless regarding us two children, so we found an opportunity and escaped!"
"But on the way, I got separated from my brother. I came to Kaoshan Village and lived under an assumed name at Aunt Liu's home. I didn't expect that Zhao Zhiyi's subordinates would eventually track me down!"
"They learned that my father hadn't died on the battlefield and were afraid he would return for revenge, so they wanted to silence me. I didn't expect Brother Chuanwen to suddenly appear, kill Zhao Zhiyi's accomplices, and save me, but Brother Chuanwen was also injured in the fight!"
Upon hearing Ma Yuwen's account, Chen Changsheng's mind felt as if a bomb had been dropped into it!
This young girl's background was truly shocking. The trouble brought by saving her was terrifyingly large, but the potential benefits she could bring were also shockingly great!
The trouble was: the suspected Immortal-cultivating Military Official in the neighboring Longkou County, as well as the influence he had cultivated for many years!
The benefits were: a living Immortal Cultivation Manual, and the gratitude of a potentially returning Immortal Official!
Chen Changsheng couldn't help but lick his lips. Chuanwen had really made a huge gamble, making Chen Changsheng, who always prioritized stability, unable to help but feel his blood boiling!