Days as a Wet Nurse in the Jiang Mansion

Chapter 225

Li An opened his eyes, surveyed his surroundings, and reached a conclusion from the three stone walls.This was a cave, a cave used to imprison people.

Footsteps approached from a distance.

Zhao Hong stood outside the cell door, still smiling gently.

"Should I call you First Madam Zhu, Great Philanthropist Zhao, or Big Sister?"

"Doctor Li certainly lives up to his reputation of coming from the capital." Zhao Hong sat back. Someone behind her gently set down a chair.

Zhao Hong sat down and smoothed her skirt.

"Doctor Li, why don't you guess why I invited you here?"

"Your daughter."

Zhao Hong raised her hands and clapped lightly. "Doctor Li, you truly are one of the rare, smart people I've ever met."

"And this smart person has still fallen into your hands."

"I like dealing with smart people. The smarter they are, the more wealth they can bring me." Zhao Hong smiled smugly and reached out her hand. The middle-aged man behind her handed over a bottle.

Zhao Hong took the bottle. "Take this, and I will let you go."

Zhao Hong offered the bottle.

"Impossible." Li An refused flatly, without a hint of hesitation.

"Do you know what is in this bottle?"

"Yingmeng."

"Does Doctor Li know what Yingmeng is?"

"A harmful poison."

"I disagree with you there, Doctor Li. Yingmeng is a good thing; even the Emperor wants it." Zhao Hong looked at the bottle in her hand as if looking at a rare treasure.

"The Emperor wants Yingmeng? Why haven't I heard of this?"

"It seems Doctor Li's status in the capital is not low."

"I am untalented, but my master is an imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital." Li An did not hide it.

Zhao Hong dropped her smile. "Is your master's surname Gu?"

"You know my master?"

"He destroyed my family. I would recognize him even if he were turned to ashes," Zhao Hong said in a bone-chilling tone.

"Disciple, remember when you travel outside, if you encounter someone full of malice towards our Gu family, they must be a descendant of our ancestor's senior martial brother, Zhao Miao. Zhao Zhong is the one who developed Yingmeng. The Gu family has a precept: if you meet a descendant of Zhao Miao, pull them up by the roots." Gu Cundong's final words were full of murderous intent.

"Who is Zhao Miao to you?"

"My great-grandfather." Zhao Hong said as she handed the bottle to Zhao Zhong behind her. "Force feed it to him."

Having finally encountered someone from the Gu family, Zhao Hong naturally wouldn't let him off.

Zhao Zhong took the bottle with both hands and signaled the people beside him to follow.

The cell door opened, and Zhao Zhong walked toward Li An step by step, gripping the bottle.

Li An darted his eyes left and right, trying to find an escape route.

The cave wasn't large, and the way out was completely blocked by Zhao Zhong and his men.

Li An had nowhere to run.

Li An clenched his fists and threw a punch at Zhao Zhong in a final struggle.

Zhao Zhong reached out to block it with disdain.

With a crack, Zhao Zhong's arm broke.

Zhao Zhong widened his eyes in disbelief. "You..." His body went limp and he fell to the ground, dying with his eyes wide open.

Another man pulled out a dagger and lunged at Li An.

Li An waved his hand, throwing a handful of powder at the man.

"Ah—" the man screamed, covering his eyes as two trails of bloody tears flowed down the corners of his eyes.

In an instant, the situation in the cave changed. The seemingly fragile Li An had taken on two opponents alone.

"Kill him," Zhao Hong's voice was somewhat shrill. "Quickly, kill him."

The people behind Zhao Hong all attacked Li An in unison.

Li An dodged left and right, evading the first wave of attacks. He snatched a knife from one person's hand and counterattacked.

While studying medicine, Li An had never forgotten to practice martial arts. By studying medicine, he understood human joints better. He was very skilled at dismantling people in the most efficient and effortless way.

There were too many people, and Li An couldn't fully maneuver. In a moment of carelessness, he was slashed.

Seeing Li An losing ground, Zhao Hong revealed a smile.

Someone rushed in frantically.

"Big Sister, the a-ar-army is attacking."

"What nonsense are you saying?" Zhao Hong's expression changed drastically. The valley was her biggest secret base.

"Surrender without a fight, Zhao Hong, and you might still leave an intact corpse," Li An panted as he blocked a wave of attacks.

"Are you from the imperial court?"

Before Li An could answer, a swishing sound was heard.

"Ah—"

A sharp arrow struck Zhao Hong's arm. The momentum forced her to stagger back a few steps and fall to the ground. "Quick, save me!"

The men surrounding Li An pulled back and went to help Zhao Hong.

Arrows flew in one after another.

Zhao Hong and her subordinates were shot full of arrows like hedgehogs.

Li An escaped disaster inside the cell.

The sound of arrows ceased, and Li An walked out. The ground was covered with arrows. He looked toward the entrance, but there were only chaotic footprints left.

He turned his ear to listen, but there was no movement.

Li An checked the people lying on the ground, finishing off anyone who still had a breath with his knife.

Finally, he came before Zhao Hong.

Zhao Hong still had one breath left; she was on the verge of death.

Li An took out silver needles and quickly pierced several of her acupoints. Zhao Hong's breathing grew heavier.

"Save... me..." Zhao Hong's voice was very light and airy. Her eyes were filled with a thirst for life.

"Did you ever regret luring and forcing him to take Yingmeng?"

Li An grabbed an arrow and pulled hard. Flesh and blood were torn from Zhao Hong's body along with it.

"Ah—save, save, save me. I... I don't want to die. I, I..."

"Your blood is red too, huh." Li An said as his hand moved to the arrow in her chest. He gripped it and pulled hard.

Her chest was torn open, revealing the faintly beating heart inside.

"Your heart is actually red too?" Li An said, even reaching out to poke at it, wanting to confirm if he was seeing things wrong.

How could this woman's heart be red?

"De-devil..." Zhao Hong's body trembled. "Let go... of me."

"Did you let go of those who begged you for mercy?" Li An pressed against the heart, feeling its beat.

"Let... let..." Zhao Hong wanted to escape, but couldn't move.

She could only watch as Li An sliced downward from the position of her heart.

"My master said that the best doctors must understand the human body extremely well. Shi Jiao took me to dissect corpses before.

I thought my understanding of the human body was sufficient. But now I feel that I still know too little..." Li An muttered to himself as his hands kept moving, studying the living organs.

Until footsteps approached.

"An'an, I'm late. It's all my fault, you..." Fifth Young Master's heartbroken voice stopped abruptly when he saw Li An's actions.

His voice was incredibly light, "An... An... what are you doing?"

This must be a hallucination before his eyes, a hallucination. His An'an was gentle, he wouldn't...

Fifth Young Master closed his eyes and opened them again.

Li An, with his hands covered in blood, turned his head and smiled.

"I'm doing research. You came at just the right time, light a torch. It's a bit dark, I can't clearly see where the gallbladder is."

Li An beckoned Fifth Young Master over to provide him with light.