People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 26, The Life-Saving Medicine: Allicin

Xu Qing left the Crown Prince's residence with only Imperial Physician Wang and Eunuch Han, leaving the other medical officials to continue stabilizing Crown Prince Han's condition.

"Eunuch Han, Imperial Physician Wang, please return to the palace and retrieve all the medicines I need. I will go home to get my alchemy furnace," Xu Qing said.

"it is good."

The eunuch Han and the imperial physician Wang did not ask any further questions. Xu Qing was in charge of treating the crown prince, and they were merely accompanying him.

Xu Qing parted ways with the two men and rode in a carriage towards his home.

Before long, Xu Qing returned home, walked quickly to his bedroom, and took a large box out from under the bed.

The box was opened, revealing gleaming gold ingots inside.

Aside from the various rewards received from the King of Han's palace, the rest of these gold ingots were kickbacks from merchants in the medicine trade.

The Imperial Physician Wang had already told them that Xu Qing would be the next Imperial Physician, so these merchants spent a lot of money to build a good relationship with Xu Qing, giving him one hundred and twenty gold coins at once.

However, Xu Qing wasn't packing his valuables to run away. Instead, he took out the small bronze stove next to the gold cake and the bag containing garlic.

"It's up to you guys this time," Xu Qing said, looking at the small stove and the bag.

Xu Qing certainly didn't know how to refine pills; the so-called pill refining was just an excuse to obtain the rare spiritual herbs stored in the medicine storehouse.

Xu Qing had been eyeing those spiritual herbs for a long time, but he had never had the opportunity. Now that he had the chance, he naturally wanted to seize it. He was going to risk everything to get those spiritual herbs.

His confidence in treating Prince Han stemmed from the third-rank opportunity he had previously obtained: garlic.

Allicin in garlic has remarkable antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and can also boost immunity.

In this era, allicin is arguably a life-saving medicine. Xu Qing originally intended to keep the garlic for himself as a life-saving measure, but unexpectedly, he used it on Crown Prince Han first.

If even allicin can't save Prince Han, Xu Qing will have no choice but to run away.

Having consumed the ginseng and other elixirs he had tricked into giving him, Xu Qing believed his strength would greatly increase, making his escape journey much safer.

As for the small stove, it was a distiller that Xu Qing had previously commissioned craftsmen to make. Although rudimentary, it was sufficient for the task. (Bronze distillers existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty, as shown in the image below. Given that the Western Han Dynasty had them, it's reasonable to assume that the world of Qin's Moon could also create one.)
Xu Qing wrapped the garlic and small stove in a cloth and carried them on his back before preparing to leave.

After reaching the door, he returned to the room and took the silver needles he had previously crafted to be used as concealed weapons.

Xu Qing's ears twitched slightly, his eyes flashed, and a silver light flashed past.

With the help of internal energy, the silver needle was instantly embedded in the door frame like a streak of light, and a fly was stuck in the needle.

For the past two weeks, he has been practicing the nameless acupuncture technique every day, and has already mastered it to perfection; all that's left is to put it to the test in actual combat.

"I hope we won't have to use them." Xu Qing hid the silver needles in his belt.

He has been forced into the power struggle between Han Yu and Ji Wuye. Given Han Yu's personality, he will certainly not easily let go of this opportunity to kill the Crown Prince.

As the person who was supposed to save Prince Han, Han Yu would definitely try to stop him from doing so, and might even arrange for someone to assassinate him. Therefore, he had to protect himself.

Carrying his bundle, Xu Qing left home, boarded a carriage, and sped into the Han King's Palace.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Hospital, Han, the eunuch, and Wang, the imperial physician, had been waiting for a long time with the many medicinal herbs that Xu Qing needed.

"Xiao Xu, all the medicinal herbs you requested have been taken from the medicine storehouse. These are 500-year-old ginseng, 300-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, and 400-year-old Polygonum multiflorum," Physician Wang placed the boxes in front of Xu Qing.

Physician Wang wiped the sweat from his brow, his gaze fixed on the boxes. Although he had served as the Imperial Physician for over twenty years, this was the first time he had used these long-treasured medicinal herbs.

He used to think it was a luxury just to look at it, but now he had to give it all to Xu Qing to use. To be honest, he was very envious.

These rare medicinal herbs, some hundreds of years old, are extremely rare and hard to come by, even if they are just scraps.

"Alright, leave the rest to me. Physician Wang, I need two days to refine the pills. No one should disturb me during these two days, otherwise everything will be in vain," Xu Qing said solemnly.
"Han, you have men bring six sheets of three-foot-long black cloth to block all the windows of my room. Then have thirty-six eunuchs, each holding a flag of my state, sit outside the room, and each envoy recite the Tao Te Ching once. Then..."

As Xu Qing listed his requests, Eunuch Han and Physician Wang took careful notes. Although they didn't know what purpose Xu Qing's requests were for, they gained more confidence in his ability to refine pills.

For no other reason than that the conditions Xu Qing proposed were completely incomprehensible to them, yet they matched their imagination of what refining life-saving pills should look like.

"Alright, leave these to me, I'll go arrange for people to handle them right away," said Eunuch Han.

"I'll go prepare for the alchemy first. Once I have everything ready, I'll start refining the pills," Xu Qing said.

Seeing the way the two looked at him, Xu Qing knew that he had achieved his goal. He made these requests to make others believe that he could really refine pills, thus buying himself some time.

The art of alchemy is a mysterious and enigmatic subject for ordinary people. Without some special requirements and arrangements, how could it be convincing? As for his requirements, they were a complete copy of the old Three Kingdoms prime minister's plan to borrow the east wind. "Good."

Xu Qing carried the box and walked towards her room, while Physician Wang and Eunuch Han went to prepare various matters.

After closing the door, Xu Qing took out the garlic and the bronze distillation furnace. He had previously tried distilling allicin at home. Although he was not very skilled, he was able to produce impure allicin.

Xu Qing looked at the eight boxes on the table. Each of these boxes contained a spiritual herb. He opened one of them, and a rich fragrance wafted out.

"What a miraculous medicine!" Xu Qing took a deep breath of the medicinal fragrance in the air.

Inside the box was a 500-year-old ginseng, which had already taken on a human form, complete with all five limbs, and its skin texture was like that of an old man, with a warm and lustrous color.

Xu Qing did not rush to take the ginseng. He had to wait until everything was ready and no one was disturbing him before taking it.

Just as Xu Qing was waiting for Eunuch Han and the Imperial Physician to prepare for the various matters, Mo Ya and his Hundred Birds Assassins had already set off.

A large number of assassins known as Hundred Birds were lurking near the Fourth Young Master's residence, closely monitoring the every move of those inside. Mo Ya himself had gone to the Imperial Hospital to secretly protect Xu Qing.

"What are they doing?" Bai Feng asked as she appeared beside Mo Ya.

Mo Ya shook his head as he looked at the crowd hanging black cloths and waving flags.

"This was arranged by Physician Xu, and it must be related to alchemy. He said that he cannot be disturbed in any way while he is refining pills, otherwise all his efforts will be in vain," Mo Ya said.

"Do you think the Fourth Young Master Han Yu would send someone to cause trouble?" Bai Feng said coldly.

"It's not just my opinion, but the General ordered that no one related to Han Yu be allowed to contact Xu Qing or get close to the Imperial Hospital." Mo Ya leaned against the wall and looked at Xu Qing, who was talking to Eunuch Han at the door.

"I understand. I will arrange for people to protect the Imperial Hospital." As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, her figure disappeared, leaving only two white feathers.

"Alchemy? I hope you can really cure His Highness the Crown Prince, otherwise I don't mind having another innocent soul in my hands." Mo Ya revealed a cold smile, and a black feather appeared in his hand.

In less than half an hour, Han, the eunuch, had arranged everything Xu Qing needed. All the windows in the room that let in light were covered with black cloth, and the courtyard was filled with eunuchs who held flags, chanted scriptures, and so on.

"Remember what I said. Under no circumstances should anyone disturb me while I am refining the pills. If I am disturbed, all my efforts will be wasted, and His Highness the Crown Prince's life will be in danger," Xu Qing instructed Han, the eunuch.

"Don't worry, Physician Xu, His Majesty has mobilized a battalion of imperial guards, which have completely surrounded the Imperial Hospital. Not even a fly can get in," said Eunuch Han confidently.

Xu Qing nodded and then looked at Physician Wang.

Physician Wang nodded slightly, giving Xu Qing a look that indicated there was no problem.

Xu Qing said nothing more, turned and went into the room, locked the door from the inside, and called out to the outside.
"Recite the scriptures!"

Under the direction of Han, the young eunuchs in the courtyard began to recite the Tao Te Ching in unison.

Hearing the chanting coming from outside, Xu Qing lit a candle, illuminating a corner of the room.

"The person who was watching me just now must have been sent by Ji Wuye. With the protection of the Hundred Birds, there shouldn't be any major problems," Xu Qing thought to himself.

He clearly felt someone watching him from the shadows, but the other party did not attack him or show any malice. Therefore, Xu Qing guessed that it was Ji Wuye who sent him to protect him.

Crown Prince Han is Ji Wuye's puppet, and with Han Yu watching him like a hawk, it's normal for him to send people here.

Xu Qing stopped thinking about it, opened the box containing the ginseng, and started biting into it.

Although he understood that eating raw medicinal herbs would not be as effective as refining them, he had no idea how to do it and no recipe to refine them, so he could only use the most primitive method: eating them raw.

In no time, Xu Qing swallowed the entire ginseng.

In an instant, Xu Qing felt his blood and qi surging throughout his body, his body burning hot, his eyes bloodshot, two streams of blood flowing from his nose, and it felt as if a furnace had appeared in his abdomen.

"Damn, no wonder it's a 500-year-old ginseng, it's potent!"

Xu Qing immediately steadied himself and began circulating the Evergreen Technique to digest the medicinal effects within his body.

As the Evergreen Skill was activated, the medicinal power brought by the old ginseng began to be refined and flowed through the meridians along with the internal energy, and a faint medicinal fragrance emanated from Xu Qing's body.

Outside the door, the young eunuch chanted sutras continuously, dozens of flags waved incessantly, and imperial guards patrolled incessantly. In the shadows, Mo Ya and Bai Feng led the Hundred Birds Assassins to survey the surrounding area.

Inside the gate, Xu Qing frantically circulated the Evergreen Technique, constantly depleting the medicinal power within his body.

Just as everything was normal inside the Han royal palace, Han Yu returned to his residence as a young master.

(End of this chapter)