novelraw Chapter 666 - 665: The Thorough Inspection
Chapter 666 - 665: The Thorough Inspection
Once those words were spoken, the people who had been clamoring a moment ago fell silent.
The broken leg looked truly ghastly, and none of them had the skill to heal such an injury.
Zhu Yu actually paid no attention to their chatter. When she focused on her work, the surrounding noise faded into a meaningless hum, regardless of how many people were speaking or what they were saying.
The injured person had been affected by the confusing smoke, fallen, and lost blood. Though he was unconscious, Zhu Yu prudently instructed the talisman to bind his hands and good leg to prevent him from waking suddenly, which might cause him to struggle wildly and ruin everything. It could even be life-threatening.
After securing the patient, Zhu Yu washed the bloody wound with heated liquor, cleaned away the excess flesh, carefully aligned the broken leg bone, and used silk thread to sew together the external muscles torn apart by the fall.
The fall had been severe, tearing some flesh beyond repair. They had to be removed, and only after the internal wounds were sewn up did the outer wounds continue to seep with blood.
"Rune, melt those candles," Zhu Yu ordered Rune without looking up as she continued to stitch the wounds.
Rune deftly crushed the candles, melted them in a small mortar, and brought them over.
Zhu Yu sprinkled powdered bloodroot charcoal on the stitched wounds, then directed Rune to carefully pour the hot wax over the bleeding and freshly stitched areas.
When the wax first dripped onto the patient’s body, he instinctively twitched from the heat, but eventually showed little to no reaction.
Zhu Yu inspected the wax to ensure no new bleeding occurred. Relieved, she asked Fu Lu to pass over the small wooden sticks he had just cut, tightly binding them around the patient’s leg. Only after confirming the stability did she wipe the sweat from her brow and stand, stretching her sore back.
"Second Master, is it done?" Rune asked, noticing the bleeding had stopped and the patient seemed calmer, his breathing more stable.
"It’s temporarily handled," Zhu Yu nodded, calculating, "In a couple of days, I’ll need to reopen the wax-sealed wound to check the healing process and see if there’s any necrosis or inflammation to address. If not, that’s great. If there is, it’ll be up to fate."
After saying this, she tried to crouch down to pick up the tools, but Lu Qing pulled her back.
"You’ve exhausted yourself. Rest for a while. Let Rune and Fu Lu handle these trivial tasks," he said, guiding Zhu Yu to a cushion where she could sit and not worry about the cold floor.
Rune and Fu Lu quickly took Zhu Yu’s tools aside for a meticulous cleaning with water.
The brothers were well accustomed to how their mistress cherished her tools, and knew expertly how to handle them.
The "mountain bandits" who had watched the entire process of Zhu Yu treating their comrade’s injured leg were now eerily silent.
Though ignorant of wound treatment, they clearly saw the lean young gentleman’s meticulous focus and exhaustion during the process, recognizing his genuine effort to mend the completely broken leg.
Realigning two broken bone fragments and clearing away fragments were no easy tasks.
Originally, everyone thought the leg was a hopeless case, but now there seemed to be an optimistic chance it might heal, thanks to the young gentleman’s treatment.
Now that the leg was treated, no one spoke, leaving the atmosphere strangely quiet.
The group eyed Lu Qing and company with puzzled expressions, unsure of what these people aimed to achieve by going to such lengths to bring them here.
If their intentions weren’t malicious, they couldn’t believe it, as they were all tied like crabs ready to be steamed.
Yet if their motives were purely evil, the young gentleman’s effort in treating the leg was far from effortless...
Lu Qing had long noticed their surreptitious glances, but didn’t rush, waiting until Zhu Yu was settled and comfortable before strolling over to them. He instructed Rune and Fu Lu to adjust their positions so they faced him, facilitating conversation.
"Apologies, everyone," Lu Qing nodded to them, "but for the sake of discussion, I’ll have to inconvenience you like this for now."
The oldest among them, a man with a big beard looking over fifty, became instantly guarded, snorting, "What do we have to talk about with you!"
"Why not?" Lu Qing smiled politely, "We only wish for you to tell us the whereabouts of Prince Lan’s legitimate grandson. That’s all, with no intention to trouble you further."
The big beard glared icily, "Is this gentleman jesting with us?
We’re just mountain bandits, a rabble surviving by looting. How would we know anything about the capital’s nobles?"
Lu Qing was unsurprised by this claim, signaling Fu Lu, "Inspect."
As before, Fu Lu examined their hands and arms, finding calluses and marks indicative of long-term martial practice.
Some even had scars on their arms.
Lu Qing watched them closely, noticing they frequently glanced at the big beard, signaling he was their leader. Though some grew visibly displeased with Fu Lu’s inspection, a brief exchange of looks with the big beard made them grudgingly endure it.
Lu Qing pointed to the big beard, "Rune, Fu Lu, inspect him.
Thoroughly."