Qin Yuhang couldn't be bothered to waste words with him, grabbing his hand and placing it on his wife's wrist, urging, "Stop talking, Uncle, and check her pulse quickly." He thought to himself how much better it would be if his master, Tianqi Daoren, were here - a scholar of heaven and earth, with no illness he couldn't cure.
Qing Tian placed his index and middle fingers on Ye Hui's wrist, his expression serious, then puzzled. After pondering for a moment, he went to his medicine box and found a small package for acupuncture, opened it, and picked up a fine needle. Qin Yuhang, seeing him about to pierce Ye Hui's skin, quickly stopped him and ordered A Jin to bring a pot of boiling water, into which he threw the needle.
"What are you doing?" Qing Tian looked confused.
Qin Yuhang recalled his wife's frequent comments and said, "Who knows where this needle has been, what diseases it might have touched - syphilis, tuberculosis? What if you bring a virus into my wife's body? You'll be in big trouble. Not by my hand, but by the palace guards, officials from Ping Province, even the crown prince would seek your life."
Qing Tian scratched his head, frowning: "Sounds somewhat reasonable. I'll be more careful when practicing medicine in the future."
Qin Yuhang took the needle from the boiling water, wiped it with a clean towel until it cooled, and handed it to Qing Tian.
Qing Tian pricked Ye Hui's wrist and then withdrew the needle, but there was no obvious change. He went to the window and held it up to the sunlight, noticing a slight golden shimmer on the needle tip. Qing Tian stuck out his tongue and licked it, his face showing a hint of realization: "Could it be the imperial court's 'Drunk Dream Departure'?"
Qin Yuhang didn't know what 'Drunk Dream Departure' was, but Old Ten and Old Eleven understood, and they were shocked, exchanging glances with pale faces. Old Eleven said, "I've heard of Drunk Dream Departure - those poisoned will gradually die in their sleep, but I've never heard of a cure."
Old Ten knelt before Qing Tian: "Master, since you've identified the poison, you must be able to save her. Please save the lady's life. I'll do anything - be your ox or horse."
Qing Tian frowned: "Young man, why talk such nonsense? You're a prince. Would it make sense for me to want you as my ox or horse?"
"Uncle Qing Tian, what exactly is this Drunk Dream Departure? How can it be neutralized? Please tell us quickly!" Qin Yuhang was growing impatient.
"It's not exactly a poison, but a very special sedative. Once administered, it allows a person to die unknowingly in their sleep. Originally from the southern barbarian tribes, it was later brought to the Ying Tang court by local chieftains who offered the secret recipe. It was specifically used to punish imperial consorts' lovers and qualified court officials, but not everyone could use it - only those of high status and noble birth."
The rarity of Drunk Dream Departure was comparable to poisoned wine, but while those who drank poisoned wine would suffer greatly, those who took Drunk Dream Departure would suffer briefly before peacefully entering a dream and dying happily.
Qing Tian sighed, "It's said that people who survived Drunk Dream Departure never wanted to wake up because in their dreams, they saw the people and things they most wanted to see."
Qin Yuhang didn't believe it: "No matter how good the dream, it can't be better than reality - where she has her beloved husband and children. Her maternal family is in the real world, and even though her father died early, she was too young to remember."
Qing Tian shook his head: "Who knows? Perhaps she dreams of her deepest desires, or perhaps of a past life..."
"Uncle, can you save my wife or not?"
"Yes, Master, can you?"
The men spoke in unison, caring nothing about the type of poison, only about Ye Hui's survival.
"There is a way, but it's quite terrible. You'll need to shout loudly in her ear to call her soul back. I'll use needle stimulation on her acupoints to stimulate her brain nerves. It will be extremely painful - this needle technique is unbearable for ordinary people, but to keep her alive, we have no choice."
Ye Hui was in the midst of a beautiful dream, returning to a past life...
The scene was misty, with no visible boundaries, but she sensed light ahead and continued moving - or rather, floating, requiring minimal effort to travel far.
She felt unusually light, like a cloud, like the wind.
Floating for a long time through a colorful tunnel, surrounded by light that gathered and dispersed, constantly passing by her.
She floated, losing track of time - perhaps a day, perhaps two days. Just as her spirit neared collapse, a peculiar landscape appeared in the distance.
It seemed familiar, and she floated towards it without hesitation. Suddenly, the colorful light vanished. She found herself in a bustling world with a hundred-meter-wide road filled with vehicles moving like ants - BMWs, Audis, Mercedes-Benzes, Geelys... along with motorcycles, bicycles, and rickshaws.
The sidewalks were filled with various people, seemingly during the morning rush hour - people going to work and school, with backpacks and briefcases, each following their own path. At the intersection, when the red light stopped and the green light appeared, impatient people rushed onto the pedestrian crossing.
Ye Hui unconsciously followed the crowd crossing the street, with three or four schoolchildren with backpacks behind her. The green light had gone out, and the red light was on. A BMW suddenly slanted across, and it looked like a schoolchild was about to be hit… Ye Hui reached out to pull the child, but her arm passed through his body. She paused, and in the next second, she flew towards the BMW, whooshing into the car, and without thinking, blew a breath on the driver’s neck.
