Volume One, Chapter 30: Rotting Firefly Grass

According to the "Divine Emperor’s Medical Canon," the Corruption Firegrass emits a faint, firefly-like glow at night, which can look exceptionally beautiful when growing in clusters.

If someone is parasitized by Corruption Firegrass, a leaf-shaped mark will appear under the base of their tongue. Beyond growing in soil, this organism can also thrive within the bodies of humans or animals, absorbing their vital energy to fuel its growth. Practitioners at the Qi Refining stage are the most ideal hosts for the Corruption Firegrass. Once it enters the body of such a practitioner, it migrates to the Dantian, where the vital energy is most concentrated. There, it quickly takes root and grows rampantly, feeding off the host's energy until it is completely drained, ultimately leading to the death of both the parasite and the host.

Historical records describe the Corruption Firegrass as extremely small; even when fully mature, it is no larger than a little finger. Its seeds are even smaller, no bigger than the tip of a needle, making them nearly impossible to detect without careful inspection. Those who accidentally ingest them usually die quietly, and as the grass withers and dissipates along with the host, the cause of death is difficult to trace.

"This thing is truly dangerous!" Ye Tian’s expression grew somber. Fortunately, he had successfully identified the root of the illness; with the right treatment, his master could be saved.

After washing his hands, Ye Tian prepared to treat Zheng Qiankun. Naturally, he had to ask the nurses stationed in the ICU to leave first. The method he was about to employ was somewhat unconventional, and letting it be known could lead to unnecessary trouble.

...

Once the nurses had left the ward, Ye Tian began the treatment. He did not require any special techniques, auxiliary equipment, or medicine. The Corruption Firegrass, despite its minuscule and elusive nature, was not inherently difficult to handle. Had Zheng Qiankun been at the peak of his strength, such an organism would have been beneath notice—he could have grabbed a handful and chewed them up without issue. Unfortunately, years ago, Zheng had been hunted by enemies and barely escaped with his life. That battle left him severely wounded, and his cultivation had regressed to the Qi Refining stage. Caught off guard this time, he had failed to detect the presence of the seed, which was how he fell victim to it.

Using one of the methods outlined in the "Divine Emperor’s Medical Canon," the treatment was relatively simple for Ye Tian. He placed his hand over Zheng Qiankun’s Dantian, channeled his internal energy, and, focusing his intent, slowly permeated the Dantian area. This infusion of internal energy was far more intense than the initial examination. Under normal circumstances, a practitioner’s Dantian would already contain a large amount of internal energy; an outsider’s energy forcing its way in would trigger violent conflict and rejection, causing unbearable agony to the recipient. This is often used as a form of torture for martial artists. However, at this moment, Zheng Qiankun’s Dantian was essentially empty, making it the perfect time for Ye Tian to proceed.

As Ye Tian’s energy entered the Dantian, it met no resistance. Instead, a faint suction pulled his energy deeper inside. Ye Tian followed this pull, carefully probing the depths of the Dantian. Before long, he discovered the Corruption Firegrass. It had already grown to the size of a little finger, and the remnants of a withered flower at its tip indicated it was about to bear seeds.

It clearly could not be delayed any longer. Ye Tian hesitated no more; he split several strands of internal energy from his hand and manipulated them to cautiously approach the Corruption Firegrass. The plant seemed to sense the intrusion, as if it possessed a consciousness of its own. It began to wave its leaves, attempting to draw Ye Tian’s energy threads into its roots.

"Greedy by nature!" Ye Tian let out a cold snort as a thought crossed his mind. His energy threads suddenly veered, precisely wrapping around the main stem of the grass. With a slight exertion of force, he uprooted it entirely, giving the parasite no chance to resist. Immediately after, his energy threads turned violent, acting like a shredder, and quickly tore the entangled grass into pieces. The Corruption Firegrass perished before it could struggle. After checking that the Dantian was thoroughly cleared, Ye Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

...

Waiting a moment and seeing that his master had not yet awakened, Ye Tian quietly left the ICU. Seeing him emerge, Xia Liyan and the others quickly gathered around.

"How is it? Is Old Zheng alright?"

"He is fine now. His body is just a bit weak and will need time to recover." Ye Tian signaled that there was no cause for alarm.

Xia Liyan and the others felt a wave of relief. Most of the inmates and prison guards had been treated by Ye Tian before and knew his medical skills were extraordinary. While happy that Zheng Qiankun was safe, they were also relieved; as Zheng was a prisoner, any accident would have required them to write exhaustive incident reports.

However, before they could congratulate Ye Tian, Dr. Liu, the physician from before, hurried over with his nurses.

"What have you all done?! Who let him into the ICU to treat the patient? He isn't even a doctor! He doesn't have a medical license! If anything happens to the patient because of your reckless behavior, I won't take any responsibility!" Dr. Liu was frantic. If a patient died under his watch, his chance of winning the "Outstanding Young Doctor" award this year would be ruined.

Seeing Dr. Liu’s behavior, Xia Liyan and the others could barely suppress their smiles. They had been ready to celebrate, and the doctor’s sudden attempt to shirk responsibility felt absurd. Seeing that no one spoke, Dr. Liu assumed they were intimidated, gave a heavy snort, and rushed into the ICU to check on Zheng Qiankun.

"What the hell!"

Only a few minutes later, an exclamation erupted from the ICU. All the monitoring equipment displayed readings that were steadily rising, approaching normal levels. Barring any surprises, the patient whom he had just issued a critical condition notice for would soon be fully recovered.

"What is going on? How could he have improved so suddenly..."

Inside the ward, not only was Dr. Liu stunned, but the nurses stared at the monitors as if they had lost their wits.

Ye Tian was not surprised by their fuss. Although the problem of the Corruption Firegrass was solved, a more important task awaited him: investigating how his master had been poisoned. As the prison warden, Xia Liyan was directly responsible, and he answered all of Ye Tian’s questions without reservation.

According to Xia Liyan, Zheng Qiankun’s sudden illness had occurred only three days ago. Initially, Zheng had fainted, and because the prison’s medical facilities were limited and the prison doctors lacked expertise, they could not identify the cause. Helpless, they had him transferred to the city hospital. Unfortunately, even the city hospital was powerless, leaving them no choice but to call Ye Tian to see his master one last time.

Xia Liyan and the others were curious about the nature of the illness. Ye Tian, unable to explain the full truth, simply said, "Old Zheng was poisoned by something very rare. It seems someone wanted to harm him..."

Xia Liyan grew anxious. "Hey, hey, Little Ye, you can't go around saying things like that. Our prison management is so strict—how could someone smuggle poison inside? This doesn't make sense! Old Zheng has been serving his sentence here for so many years—longer than I’ve been warden! If someone wanted to harm him, why wait until now? He’s been safe for all these years; it’s impossible that someone suddenly decided they couldn't stand him and wanted him dead."

Indeed, Zheng Qiankun was a unique figure in the prison. He had been there for many years and was treated differently from the average inmate; he lived in a private cell, had his own personal belongings, and kept his own books... Apart from being unable to leave, he lived no differently than a retired official in a nursing home. An elderly prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment who was entirely harmless—who would want to harm him?

Ye Tian couldn't fathom it, which was exactly why he had to get to the bottom of it.

"Regardless, whoever poisoned Old Zheng must be someone within the prison—either an inmate or one of your staff. In any case, Old Xia, you must help me investigate everyone who has had contact with him recently. Include the guards and the inmates, and report every unusual occurrence in the prison. Don't leave anything out!" Ye Tian’s expression was stern.

"Understood." Xia Liyan nodded heavily. Even if Ye Tian hadn't asked, he would have investigated this to the end. It was his duty. If the culprit wasn't caught, and another poisoning occurred among the many inmates, his career would effectively be over.