Qin Fang awoke again, this time to pain.
It felt like a red-hot knife was slicing into his left shoulder. The intense pain made him furrow his brow before he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a gaunt, elderly man in his sixties, standing at his head with intense focus.
His consciousness slowly returned. His nose was completely stuffed, making it hard to breathe.
He opened his eyes, and the old man's movements paused for a moment. Then, the man spoke in a slightly cold tone.
"The wound on your left shoulder has gone rotten. I have to carve out the dead flesh for it to heal... You're a tough kid, I'll give you that. To hold out this long with an injury this severe before it finally flared up."
Qin Fang didn't speak. He struggled to lift his head and look at his left shoulder.
The old man held a small, curved knife. It was extremely sharp, its blade glinting with a cold light as it cut into his wound.
The wound looked like it had been cleaned—the grime was gone, but this only revealed the severity of the injury... It was completely rotten, with black pus oozing out and covering the entire gash. The surrounding skin was red, swollen, and taut.
The small knife was plunged inside, carving away the blackened, necrotic flesh.
'It's this bad?'
Then he let out a muffled groan...
The man continued to cut.
The knife felt like it had been heated, searing hot. He could even feel the slick sensation of the blade slicing through the tissue inside him.
It was enough to make one's hair stand on end.
The man wasn't just cutting the wound itself, but starting from the swollen area around it. It was ruthless!
As his consciousness sharpened, so did the pain.
In just a short while, his forehead was beaded with sweat, and his whole body was trembling.
But he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.
He didn't dare to move.
He did his best to cooperate with the man's treatment.
Fortunately, the old man's hands were quick and nimble. Soon, he had carved out a large piece of rotting flesh and placed it on a porcelain plate. It was black, and even the pus was black. The sight was nauseating and horrifying.
'It's finally over...'
Qin Fang was just sighing in relief.
But then, a wave of pain far more intense than before struck him. Even Qin Fang couldn't stop a muffled groan from escaping, and he sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
He looked again and saw the old man forcefully squeezing his wound.
"The poisoned pus isn't completely cleared out. We need to see fresh blood."
The old man was merciless in his actions, but his expression remained cold.
This was far more painful than the knife carving out his flesh. Even Qin Fang eventually couldn't help but groan aloud, his body shaking violently from the pain, almost convulsing.
Finally, fresh blood seeped from the wound.
The old man wiped the wound with a cloth of some unknown material, drying the blood. He then picked up a jar from the side, used a bamboo sliver to scoop out a sticky, black substance, and carefully applied it to Qin Fang's wound.
Once the entire wound was coated, he covered it with another cloth of unknown material that looked very much like gauze.
Miraculously, once the black ointment covered the wound, the excruciating pain was gradually replaced by a cool, tingling sensation that effectively suppressed the agony.
Only then did Qin Fang let out a long breath.
Then he spoke.
"How long until my wound heals?"
He only realized how hoarse his voice was when he spoke.
The old man's hands didn't stop as he answered calmly, "Hard to say. It depends on the person. Some people have strong bodies and heal faster. But for you... at least half a year."
Qin Fang's brow furrowed. 'I'm a refugee, my body really is at its limit.'
After a moment of silence, he asked, "What about the people who brought me here?"
The old man's hand paused for a fraction of a second before he resumed his work. He said calmly, "They're waiting outside... This old man is quite curious. The men from the Iron Tiger Gang are famous for their cruelty. How did a vagrant like you get them to have a sudden change of heart and save you? And they seem to be in quite a hurry, too..."
Qin Fang's face twitched at his words. He didn't answer, instead asking in a low voice, "The Iron Tiger Gang?"
"You don't know them?"
Qin Fang shook his head.
The old man raised an eyebrow, a curious expression on his face.
'This kid doesn't even know of the Iron Tiger Gang, so how does he know Wang Long?'
'Wang Long is a notoriously ruthless scoundrel in True Martial County. If this kid doesn't know him, why would Wang Long personally bring him here for treatment?'
'And seem so anxious about it?'
'And even...'
'...spared no expense.'
'He spent a full ten taels of Silver.'
...Prying silver from the fingers of scoundrels like Wang Hu is no easy feat.
Seeing that Qin Fang had no intention of answering, the old man didn't press the matter. He said, "The wound on your waist still needs to be treated, but it's not as bad as the one on your shoulder. Brace yourself."
The injury on his waist was from a hoe. The wound covered a larger area but wasn't as deep as the one on his shoulder, so it was relatively less severe.
Qin Fang just let out a soft breath, nodded, and said no more.
He wanted to ask about the Iron Tiger Gang... but he didn't know this old man or his relationship with them, so he didn't dare to ask rashly.
Cooperating, he forced his body up and turned onto his side. He could feel the fever persisting; his body ached, and he had no strength.
In the process, he glanced at his feet... they were already wrapped in bandages and seemed to have been treated.
Indeed, there was a cool, tingling sensation coming from the soles of his feet... It didn't hurt too much.
The old man took up his small knife again, passed it over a flame, and began to cut away the rotten flesh.
Qin Fang once again felt that extreme pain.
But he clenched his jaw, sweat pouring down his forehead, and didn't cry out.
Fortunately, the old man was quick. A few minutes later, he had carved away more rotten meat and squeezed out fresh blood.
After applying the same ointment, Qin Fang finally let out a long breath.
He completely relaxed.
The moment he relaxed, his head began to spin again... The ordeal had drained too much of his energy.
He was already weak, and suffering through this ordeal made him feel even worse.
"He's a tough one."
The old man had been observing Qin Fang's reactions the entire time and couldn't help but nod slightly.
Just as he was thinking this, there was a loud BANG BANG BANG on the door.
"Old Wu, are you done yet? Is he awake?" someone asked impatiently from outside.
From the sound of the voice... it was that brutish-looking fellow.
Qin Fang's heart sank, and a gloomy look flickered in his eyes.
The old man frowned slightly. He glanced at Qin Fang's reaction, then said after a moment of silence, "It seems... they expect to gain something from you?"
Qin Fang froze for a second. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "I couldn't hold on. I had no other choice. It's better to appeal to their greed... than to their kindness."
The old man had a moment of realization and nodded.
The urging voice sounded from outside again. The old man finally called out coldly to the door, "If you think it's too slow, why don't you come do it yourselves?"
The commotion outside immediately quieted down. Then, a different voice spoke up, "Master Wu, please, don't be angry. We were just worried... Is he awake?"
Old Wu didn't answer, turning to look at Qin Fang instead.