Chapter 59: Surgery

"These two people are of unknown origin. That woman came and went from the Prince's mansion, and Meng Tao and the others didn't even notice. Her skills seem to be even better than theirs. Whatever they did, it not only alarmed the Ministry of Punishments but also drew the attention of the Imperial City Guard." Zhao Cheng touched his gun several times but put it down each time. In his previous life, these two would have been dead long ago. His principle was to eliminate anyone who threatened his safety during a mission, dealing with everything after the kill. But today, he hesitated. He knew he was committing a grave mistake, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity. Listening to their conversation, he felt there was something he wanted to know, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

"If you speak one more word, I'll cut out your tongue and make you a mute!" Xiao Mei turned her head, glaring fiercely and shouting.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. The truth is often hard to hear!" Zhao Cheng hunched his shoulders as if he were very afraid, but he perked up his ears to listen to their conversation.

"Ah, this child is right. I was just hoping for the best. We fell into their trap. After all our scheming, we ended up being outsmarted. With that old villain's ruthlessness, they are likely in grave danger!" The man sighed, his face ashen.

"Master, once you recover, we can rise again!" Xiao Mei said through gritted teeth.

"Hehe, I never thought I would hear you call me Master before I die. I, Lu Xiaoyao, can die without regrets!" The man laughed, ignoring the blood gushing from his mouth.

"Master, you won't die, you won't!"

It seemed they had a close relationship. The man, with his slim waist and broad back, could have been a male model, but his face was covered with stubble, making it hard to see clearly. Seeing the woman's devoted affection, he must have been a handsome man. "You two are being so affectionate in front of the child, don't you feel ashamed? If you don't want to be disturbed, we'll leave. It's almost lunchtime!" Zhao Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted them.

"Then, then you leave. Don't tell the adults about seeing us." Lu Xiaoyao, embarrassed by Zhao Cheng's words, waved his hand.

"Master, we can't let him go. This kid is very cunning! He's never seen us, but he deduced our numbers and heights from the bloodstains and footprints on the ground. He even knew where you were injured. If I hadn't gone out, we would have been captured!" Xiao Mei immediately stopped her master's kindness.

"Oh, he has this ability. This child is interesting!" Lu Xiaoyao turned to look at Zhao Cheng.

"Hehe, flattery will get you nowhere. Hurry up and treat his injury, or the lovebirds will become lone geese!" Zhao Cheng said with a grin.

"My injury, I know, is probably beyond saving!" Lu Xiaoyao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Whether it can be saved or not, we won't know until we try!" Zhao Cheng untied the rope on his leg.

"Little brother, you know medicine?" Lu Xiaoyao asked in surprise.

"A little. Since you said it's beyond saving, let's treat it as if it's still alive!" Zhao Cheng walked over and lifted the straw mat covering Lu Xiaoyao.

"Don't touch him, don't have any funny ideas!" Xiao Mei grabbed Zhao Cheng's hand.

"Sister, saving him is saving myself. I won't risk my own life. Let go!" Zhao Cheng twisted his wrist and broke free from Xiao Mei's grip.

"Ah!" Xiao Mei exclaimed in surprise. Lu Xiaoyao waved at her to stop interfering.

Zhao Cheng lifted the straw mat and immediately smelled a foul odor. He lifted the man's shirt and saw a black and purple wound with a short arrow almost completely embedded in his right rib, the tip protruding slightly from the other side. Some golden wound medicine was scattered around the wound, but blood still seeped out.

"Through-and-through wound, severe infection, but it probably didn't damage any internal organs, or he would have died already. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived for several days!" Zhao Cheng made an initial diagnosis. As a special forces soldier, he often had to operate independently. If someone was injured, they had to rely on self-rescue, so they all received rigorous first aid training. Some, like Zhao Cheng in his previous life, even reached the level of a general surgeon.

"He was hit by a crossbow bolt. The wound is deep, and the arrowhead is stuck between the ribs. We need to perform surgery to remove the arrow!" Zhao Cheng felt the wound with his hand.

"Little brother, can you do it?" Lu Xiaoyao asked.

"As long as you can bear the pain, I can remove the arrow!" Zhao Cheng smiled.

"No problem, little brother, go ahead!" Lu Xiaoyao said without hesitation.

"Good, Zhao Xin, go to Guifang and get a few feet of white cotton cloth and some needle and thread. Ask Jianxi to bring a jar of new wine from the kitchen and a sharp knife. Tell him I'll be here a while, and not to look for me. Bring lunch back too!" Zhao Cheng instructed Zhao Xin, but seeing Xiao Mei's worried look, he glared at her. "Sister, don't worry. I'm a hostage here; he won't say anything. Go boil some water!"

About half an hour later, Zhao Xin returned. It was hard for the child. He carried the wine jar, a food box, and a roll of white cloth under his arm, constantly looking back to see if anyone was following him, running back like a frightened rabbit.

Zhao Cheng smiled, took the items, and unfolded the white cloth, tearing it into several pieces and a ball of thread, which he threw into the boiling water. He then heated a needle over the fire, bent it, and made a curved needle for suturing. Finally, he unwrapped the bandage on his left hand and had Zhao Xin pour half the wine into a basin, soaking his hands in it.

"Second Young Master, does your hand hurt?" Zhao Xin asked, seeing Zhao Cheng wincing in pain.

"Of course it hurts. I'll deal with that evil woman sooner or later!" Zhao Cheng couldn't help but curse. "Is this your knife?" He asked, eyeing the knife Zhao Xin brought.

"Uh-huh!" Zhao Xin nodded.

"This is a good knife, but only the nobles of Liao use such knives!" Lu Xiaoyao took the knife and played with it for a moment.

"Don't care about the knife. As long as it can cut your flesh, it's a good knife!" Zhao Cheng grabbed the knife and disinfected it over the burning alcohol.

"This wine is good too. It can be ignited, so it must be strong!" Lu Xiaoyao's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips.

"Once you get through this, the rest of the wine is yours. Get drunk to avoid the pain!" Zhao Cheng said.

"Good, good, I can't wait!" Lu Xiaoyao sniffed the wine and said.

Zhao Cheng didn't waste any more time and immediately prepared for the surgery. He hung the disinfected white cloth in the sun to dry for use as a bandage. He then had Lu Xiaoyao turn over and lie on his side, exposing the wound. He rinsed the wound with cool boiled water until the pus and blood were washed away, and then disinfected the area around the wound with alcohol.

"How does it feel, very painful?" Zhao Cheng asked with a smile.

"Yes," Lu Xiaoyao admitted, his mouth twisted in pain.

"Um, it won't hurt in a moment!" Zhao Cheng leaned in and patted Lu Xiaoyao's face affectionately. Suddenly, he raised his elbow and struck Lu Xiaoyao's jaw, causing him to lose consciousness. Xiao Mei, who had been watching closely, only managed to gasp in surprise before Zhao Cheng finished.

"Don't move, he's not dead, just unconscious!" Zhao Cheng said to Xiao Mei, who was drawing her knife. "He's a sick tiger now, but if he struggles during the surgery, we won't be able to hold him down, and it will be truly hopeless!"

Xiao Mei saw that her master was still breathing and didn't argue further, but she didn't put down her knife. She watched Zhao Cheng's every move, knowing her master's skills were among the best in the martial world. Being knocked out by a child's elbow, even while injured, still made her wary.

Zhao Cheng ignored her, folded a piece of cloth, and placed it between Lu Xiaoyao's teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue if he woke up. He then held the knife, felt the position of the arrowhead with his left hand, and made a cut. He widened the wound, cut the arrow shaft, and carefully removed the arrowhead from between the ribs. Finally, he slowly pulled out the arrow shaft.

With no anesthesia, no hemostatic drugs, and no way to transfuse blood, Zhao Cheng had to work quickly to prevent excessive bleeding. He completed the first step in ten minutes. He then cleaned the wound again, cutting away the rotten flesh, draining the pus and blood, and rinsing the wound before suturing it.

Zhao Cheng thought he had done all he could. Whether he could survive the infection was up to fate. He turned to see Xiao Mei standing there, pale and dazed, clearly shocked. Zhao Xin, however, was not particularly surprised but watched with great interest as Zhao Cheng "dissected" a living person. "Put away your knife. Do you have any wound medicine? Why don't you help? Don't you see I'm injured too?"

"Oh!" Xiao Mei came to her senses, seeing that Zhao Cheng's hand, which had been hit, was swollen like a bear's paw after such "intense" activity. She quickly put down her knife, took out a bottle of wound medicine, and applied it to the wound, then bandaged it with the white cloth.

"Everyone, burn all the bloodstained items. Don't leave any traces!" After "treating" Lu Xiaoyao, Zhao Cheng, slightly tired, sat down and instructed Xiao Mei to clean up the scene while Zhao Xin set the table for lunch.

"Second Young Master, aren't you going to invite her to eat with us?" Zhao Xin asked in a low voice as he set the table.

"What's wrong with you? They tied us up, beat us, and cursed us. We didn't hold it against them and treated their injuries. Now we have to feed them too? We'd be ruined!" Zhao Cheng glared at Xiao Mei and said loudly.

"Who needs your food!" Xiao Mei coldly snorted and turned to tend to her master.

"Master, you're awake!" Before Zhao Cheng finished his meal, he heard Xiao Mei's joyful cry. He shook his head, put down his chopsticks, and marveled at the man's toughness. He estimated that his blow would keep him unconscious for at least another half hour, but it seemed he had miscalculated.

"Little brother, you're not bad!" Lu Xiaoyao ignored Xiao Mei and looked at Zhao Cheng. "Hehe, you're not bad either!" Zhao Cheng felt a strong killing intent, but he didn't back down, smiling and meeting his gaze.