Chapter 198: Gu Poison!
Chapter 198: Gu Poison!
The System said with utmost seriousness, “Respected Host, you are mistaken. I never refused to admit fault. The Medical Sage Secret Manual was left behind by your human ancestor, Hua Tuo himself. When this System controlled your body to perform the treatment last time, it strictly followed the methods taught within that manual. Logically, a relapse shouldn’t happen. Even if it truly relapses and the treatment proves ineffective, that would mean the secret manual your venerable ancestor left behind simply doesn’t work. It has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
Tang Chen really wanted to stab this damned System to death. Its ability to twist logic actually surpassed his own. It was clearly its incompetence that failed to fully cure Elder Du, and now it dragged their human ancestor into this. How absurd could this bastard be?
Tang Chen didn’t bother arguing with the System anymore. The taxi arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes later. As soon as Tang Chen stepped out of the cab, he saw a tall middle-aged man standing by the hospital entrance, looking around intently. It was none other than Major General Du.
“Major General Du!” Tang Chen called out and quickly jogged over to greet Du Hongde.
The moment Du Hongde saw Tang Chen, he warmly came forward to meet him. He said with a smile, “Sorry to trouble you, Young Tang. Whether we can wake my father up now depends entirely on you.”
Tang Chen said, “Major General Du, it’s absolutely no trouble at all. Please don’t stand on ceremony with me. As for Old Master Du’s condition… I can only say I will do my best. After all, he was cured last time. This relapse likely presents significant difficulties.”
He didn’t dare beat his chest and promise he could definitely save him. Damn it, this unreliable System! What if it failed again this time? It would be an utter embarrassment.
Du Hongde sighed. “That’s alright. Just do your best. Let’s go in.”
Tang Chen didn’t reply further. The two of them walked into the hospital together and arrived at Elder Du’s ward. Old Master Du lay on the bed, small tubes attached all over his body. A middle-aged man, obviously a doctor, was there checking on him.
“Major General Du, who is this?” The male doctor saw Tang Chen enter and set down his notebook, asking with evident confusion.
Du Hongde introduced them. “Young Tang, this is Doctor Xie, he is specifically handling my father’s post-operative care. Doctor Xie, this Young Tang is the little miracle doctor who treated my father the last time back in Z City.”
A flash of something shrewd and hostile flickered in Doctor Xie’s eyes. He asked sarcastically, “Oh? So this is the ‘little miracle doctor’ Old Master Du often speaks of? Such a young man. May I ask which great master you studied under?”
Tang Chen had no interest in such pointless talk. He didn’t even glance at Doctor Xie and instead addressed Major General Du. “Major General Du, first tell me exactly what symptoms Old Master Du is showing?”
Major General Du nodded. “According to Doctor Xie’s diagnosis, it was a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, right, Doctor Xie?”
Although unhappy with Tang Chen’s attitude, Doctor Xie answered obediently when Du Hongde questioned him, “That’s correct, Major General Du. A sudden cerebral hemorrhage. Although we saved him for now, he hasn’t regained consciousness.”
Tang Chen nodded, then said to Du Hongde, “Major General Du, I need to examine Old Master Du. Do you object?”
Du Hongde stated solemnly, “Of course not. I called you here precisely because I trust you. Doctor Xie, please step aside. Let Young Tang examine my father.”
Doctor Xie grunted in acknowledgment and moved aside to let Tang Chen pass. At the same time, he sneered coldly at Tang Chen, “Be careful, little miracle doctor Tang. Old Master Du is still in a critical phase. Proceed with the utmost caution.”
Tang Chen frowned. This bastard was getting bolder. He’d ignored him repeatedly, yet this git kept making snide remarks. Was he asking for a beating?
Du Hongd also looked displeased. “Doctor Xie, what kind of language is that? Young Tang knows what he’s doing. There’s no need for your concern.”
Seeing Du Hongde’s growing anger, Doctor Xie forced an awkward smile. “Major General Du, I’m merely worried about the Old Master. Please don’t take it badly.”
Tang Chen didn’t want to waste time. He walked up to Elder Du’s bedside. The Old Master looked waxen and terrifyingly weak.
“System, check this out for your Young Master. Find out what’s really wrong with the Old Master,” Tang Chen commanded the System mentally. Right now, he had to rely on its help once more.
The System agreed readily, “Certainly, respected Host. It’s simple. Leave it to me. But, as always, I will need to take control of your body.”
Tang Chen was accustomed to the System taking over by now. He automatically closed his eyes. Five seconds later, his eyes opened again; his body was now under the System’s command.
“Huuu!” The System, speaking through Tang Chen, let out a breath. Then, Tang Chen’s hands were placed on the Old Master’s chest. A white mist slowly began to rise.
“What is this?” Doctor Xie exclaimed, hurrying closer to Elder Du’s bedside. He saw a patch of blackish-gray gas swirling just above Old Master Du’s chest!
“This is Witchcraft! This isn’t medicine!” Doctor Xie cried out urgently, sounding genuinely terrified. “Major General Du, stop him! He’s going to kill Old Master! I’ve never seen any doctor treat a patient like this!”
Du Hongde glanced at the scene and replied gravely, “He won’t. I trust Young Tang. That’s why I called him. Doctor Xie, just observe quietly.”
The sight involuntarily reminded Du Hongde of that miraculous scene back in Z City. He hadn’t really believed Tang Chen could cure his father then, either. But reality had taught him that miracles could indeed happen.
A moment later, Tang Chen withdrew his hands. The blackish-gray gas above Old Master Du’s chest gradually dissipated. The System then relinquished control of Tang Chen’s body.
“How is it, System? What happened?” Tang Chen anxiously demanded the answer he desperately needed.
The System responded seriously, “Respected Host, the situation exceeds even this System’s prior assessment. Old Master Du is not suffering from cerebral hemorrhage. He has been poisoned. Gu Poison!”
“Gu Poison?” Tang Chen was momentarily stunned. “I’ve only ever read about it online, stuff like ‘this Gu’ or ‘that Gu’ over in Xiangxi. System, what exactly is so-called ‘Gu’?”
The System explained, “This System just consulted the records left by your human forebears. So-called ‘Gu’ refers to mysterious organisms cultivated through special methods over many years. They can be large or small, usually animals, often formed in pairs (though very rarely plants exist too). The method of planting the Gu can be direct or indirect. Crucially, Gu can only be raised and planted by women; men are incapable of it.
“Gu is an ancient, mysterious form of sorcery, passed down exclusively among the Miao women of Xiangxi, strictly following the matrilineal line. No other ethnic groups possess it, even if their practices may seem vaguely similar, they are nowhere near comparable.
“Initially, among the ancient San-Miao peoples, it was used in love pacts. Two Gu form a pair, also called ‘Love Gu’. If one party betrayed the vow, that person would commit suicide. The Gu within them would fly out, triggering its counterpart inside the other person’s body to burst out as well. This inflicted excruciating pain lasting seven days before death.
“Later, Han Chinese men entered the Miao territories. Witnessing the passionate nature of Miao maidens, some settled among them. But after a few months, they would make excuses to leave and never return. The Miao maiden would then commit suicide, causing the Han man’s Gu to fly out and kill him, resulting in widespread fear—just the mention of ‘Gu’ could cause terror.
“Scholars recorded and passed these tales down through writing. Some medical texts documented methods to counter Gu poison, but many of these recorded methods are impractical or downright ineffective. There are many types of Gu. To cure a patient’s Gu-related disease, one must identify the specific Gu and treat it accordingly.”
Tang Chen said, somewhat bewildered, “Right… ignoring all that confusing background info you clearly just grabbed from Baidu… can Gu poison actually save people?”
The System: “Everything has two sides. Gu can heal and harm. The Gu poison afflicting Elder Du is ‘Crazy Gu’ or ‘Mad Gu’, often said to be crafted by the Zhuang people. It involves burying snakes in the soil and harvesting a specific fungus to harm people. It’s also known as ‘Snake Gu’.”
“Ah… I see…” Tang Chen murmured. Before this, he thought the System’s earlier cure using the Medical Sage Secret Manual hadn’t worked. Now he knew: it had cured Old Master Du. The problem was someone had poisoned him with Gu since then! “But who? Who would do this to the Old Master?”
“Young Tang, what’s the situation?” Du Hongde, seeing Tang Chen’s deeply serious expression, quickly stepped forward to ask. “Can my father still be saved?”
Tang Chen was about to answer when footsteps sounded outside the door. Immediately after, a middle-aged man and woman entered. The man spoke the moment he saw Du Hongde, “Brother, what exactly is going on? Doctor Xie told me on the phone you brought some quack doctor from who knows where to treat Father… is it this kid?”