Chapter 32

Mo Shaolín saw through Murong Feiyan's intentions. He quickly drew two arrows from his quiver and ran in the same direction as Murong Feiyan. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Two arrows were released, both aimed at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian lay motionless on the ground, his mouth wide open, his eyes filled with terror. His life was now completely out of his control, and he could only watch helplessly as the two arrows flew straight toward his chest and abdomen.

Murong Feiyan, holding the reins in one hand, leaned to the side, and her long sword swung continuously, deflecting the two arrows one after another. She then sheathed her sword, grabbed Hu Xiaotian's arm, and pulled him up with all her strength, making him lie on the horse's back again.

At this moment, Mo Shaolín shot another arrow. The black arrow pierced through the rain at an astonishing speed, hitting Murong Feiyan's left shoulder. The arrowhead penetrated from the front and emerged from her back shoulder. The pain almost made her faint. She bit her lip tightly, endured the pain, and struck the horse's buttocks with her hand. The horse, in pain, let out a neigh and galloped away into the distance.

Mo Shaolín tried to shoot again, but the horse had already run out of his range.

Rain and blood dripped onto Hu Xiaotian's face, some of it flowing past his lips, tasting salty and bitter. Because he was lying on the horse, he couldn't see Murong Feiyan's condition, but he could tell she was injured from the continuous drops of blood.

Murong Feiyan's face was pale, whether from blood loss or the rain, her vision became increasingly blurry. She vaguely saw the sign of Yi Yuantang in the storm. Murong Feiyan could no longer hold on, her body softened, and she collapsed onto Hu Xiaotian.

Although Hu Xiaotian couldn't move his limbs, he could still speak. He shouted, "Help! Help!"

Someone inside Yi Yuantang finally heard the commotion and came out. They were all shocked by the scene. Soon, a few more people came out, led the white horse, and carried Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian into the building.

Hu Xiaotian was not injured, just his acupoints were blocked. The second-in-command of Yi Yuantang, Yuan Shiqing, recognized him immediately. As for Murong Feiyan, she was a familiar face at Yi Yuantang.

Yuan Shiqing first released Hu Xiaotian's acupoints. Hu Xiaotian didn't have time to explain what had happened; he immediately went to Murong Feiyan's side. The arrow was still embedded in her body.

This arrow was different from ordinary arrows. It had barbs on the shaft that only triggered when it entered the body, causing the barbs to spring out. If it were forcibly removed, it would cause significant damage to Murong Feiyan. Yuan Shiqing had never seen such a strange arrow and didn't dare to act rashly without understanding its mechanism.

Murong Feiyan regained consciousness from her brief faint. She frowned, saw that Hu Xiaotian was unharmed, and said weakly, "You have a strong life force."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "A cheap life isn't that easy to die." In his heart, he was grateful to Murong Feiyan, but he wasn't about to thank her at this moment. The priority was to find a way to remove the arrow from her body.

Murong Feiyan glanced at the arrow's fletching and whispered, "Canine-toothed barbed arrow... There's a mechanism on the shaft... It can't be pulled out forcefully..." She couldn't finish her sentence due to the pain.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you know where the mechanism is?"

Murong Feiyan shook her head.

Yuan Shiqing said, "Is it on the fletching?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "It must have been triggered when the arrow penetrated the flesh." He started examining the arrow from the tip, but found no mechanism on the exposed part of the shaft. The only possibility left was that the mechanism was inside Murong Feiyan's body. This meant they would need to perform surgery to find it, which would require enlarging her wound. In the past, if Hu Xiaotian had modern medical equipment, this wouldn't be a problem, but in this era, even a simple surgical procedure was extremely difficult and risky.

Yuan Shiqing, though the second-in-command of Yi Yuantang and a well-known physician in Dakan, was at a loss with Murong Feiyan's injury. He quietly instructed his disciples to invite Li Yifeng, the head of Yi Yuantang.

Hu Xiaotian asked for paper and a pen and immediately drew the necessary surgical instruments: a scalpel, hemostat, tissue forceps, scissors, tweezers, needle holder, suture needle, and suture thread.

Yuan Shiqing looked at the diagrams Hu Xiaotian drew and was puzzled, "Mr. Hu, what are these?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "To remove the arrow from Inspector Murong's body, we need some tools. I've drawn these diagrams to scale. I wonder if Yi Yuantang can find similar or close items." In reality, Hu Xiaotian didn't have much hope of finding modern surgical instruments in this era.

Yuan Shiqing studied the diagrams for a while and pointed to the scissors, "We have these, but they are a bit large!"

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Is there any other way to find them?"

Yuan Shiqing said, "I'll have someone look into it!" He showed the diagrams to the warehouse manager. Yi Yuantang, a centuries-old medical hall, had countless generations of medicinal tools and herbs, and even Yuan Shiqing, the second-in-command, wasn't sure if they had similar instruments.

Hu Xiaotian also asked for alcohol, gauze, and a steamer. He disinfected a dagger and scissors he found. Regardless of whether they found suitable instruments, they had to find a way to remove the canine-toothed barbed arrow from Murong Feiyan's body. Even if the arrow wasn't poisonous, it had caused a through-and-through injury and continuous bleeding, and the longer it stayed, the higher the risk of infection.

After arranging these things, Hu Xiaotian realized the servants at the Shangshu Mansion must be worried. He hurriedly asked Yuan Shiqing to send people to inform the Shangshu Mansion and the Jingzhao Prefecture.

After about the time it takes to smoke a pipe, the warehouse manager returned. Based on the diagrams, he found a small knife, scissors, and pliers. To Hu Xiaotian's surprise, he even found a curved suture needle, which, though not specifically designed for human skin, was similar in shape to the surgical needles used in the past. The warehouse manager didn't know its purpose.

Hu Xiaotian selected the勉强能用的器械，一股脑扔入锅内煮沸消毒，然后再上笼蒸馏。在他对器械进行消毒的时候，易元堂的大当家李逸风也到了。

李逸风见多识广，他一眼就认出射中慕容飞烟的这支箭是犬齿倒钩箭，也知道必须要先找到箭杆上的机关，将犬齿收回，方才能将这支箭从她的体内拔出。在这一点上他和胡小天的判断相同，认为机关就在慕容飞烟的体内。至于如何从慕容飞烟的体内找到机关，他就没有太好的办法了。过去曾经有过这样的病人，通常做法就是将伤口扩大，找到机关，往往会造成更大的创伤和出血，有些伤者因为伤情加重而死亡。

胡小天悄悄将李逸风请到一边，把自己的处理方案告诉了他，李逸风听说胡小天要切开扩大慕容飞烟的伤口，通过这种方式找到箭杆上的机关，不由得皱了皱眉头，其实除了这个方法，并没有其他的办法，李逸风道：“只是这样一来，会不会给慕容姑娘造成更大的伤害，甚至可能会伤及她的元气，而且扩大伤口会让以后的伤痕变得更大。”话虽然这么说，但是李逸风心中已经明白换成他来处理，肯定也得采用这样的方法，只是难免会在伤口处留下极大的伤痕。

胡小天道：“没有其他的选择，时间耽搁的越久，感染的几率就越大，我有信心在切开最小伤口的前提下找到箭杆上的机关。”

李逸风道：“会不会有问题？”

胡小天道：“如果说有问题，就是术中可能出现的出血，还有一个就是术后的缝合，我没有合适的缝线。”

李逸风瞪大了双眼：“你是说，要将她的伤口缝合起来？”在现代人看来极为平常的一个手术操作，在这个时代却显得惊世骇俗。

---

Please support the author by adding to your collection and recommending the book. The early stages of a new book are crucial.

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends