Chapter 161

Chapter 161: Prince, Why Aren’t You Smiling? Can’t You Smile?

Yu Zhi Yi said calmly: “In the Mystic Sect we have many skills, but anything used on the human body works best the first time and gets weaker after.”

“Before, when I treated Prince Xiao Yao, I used a Healing Talisman. The first time I used a Healing Talisman, it could heal bones and regrow flesh with ease.”

“But the second use won’t be as strong. How far it can heal, I cannot promise. That is why I refused, Your Highness.”

“Because I do not want to disappoint Your Highness.”

The empress dowager’s well-kept face was full of disbelief as she asked: “He truly cannot be as before?”

Yu Zhi Yi sighed and said: “If Your Highness insists, I can try. But if the result is not so good, please do not blame me.”

The empress dowager was still torn. After court, the emperor heard that Yu Zhi Yi had entered the palace and hurried over. He entered the hall just in time to hear what sounded like her dodging responsibility, and he frowned and asked: “What is going on?”

Yu Zhi Yi repeated what she had said, then added: “If Your Majesty and Your Highness promise not to hold me responsible, I will act. Otherwise, you can lock me up.”

The empress dowager felt offended. In her eyes, Yu Zhi Yi was only a fake. Even though the emperor had promoted her, she was just a fifth-rank physician. How dare she act bold before the empress dowager? She said: “Yu Zhi Yi, do you think because you helped me once, I will not move against you?”

Yu Zhi Yi said calmly: “Your Highness misunderstands.”

The empress dowager felt a little better, but then Yu Zhi Yi said: “Last time I acted under Your Majesty’s order. The cause and effect lie between me and the emperor, not with Your Highness.”

The empress dowager went silent with anger. In this story of three, did she not even count?

The emperor felt a headache and said: “Minister Yu, say less.” Then he looked at the empress dowager and said: “Empress Mother, Minister Yu speaks… plainly, but she never lies. Since she says she cannot promise a cure, we should not force her.”

The empress dowager still was not pleased. The emperor added: “Empress Mother, think of Xiao Yao’s state now.”

The empress dowager’s face changed. After that day, Prince Xiao Yao was useless from the waist down. Before, he was also ruined, but it was hidden. Except when he lost control of his body, he still looked like a normal person.

Now his waist and hips were pierced through, and afterward the imperial physicians had made his wounds worse trying to pull wood splinters from his body. The middle of his body was a blur of flesh and blood, and because the splinters were not fully out, the physicians did not dare let the wounds fully close.

Now even using the toilet was a luxury for Prince Xiao Yao. Urinating hurt; passing stool felt like ripping his insides out. In a short time he had grown skin and bones, with no more of his old spirit.

The empress dowager did not mind his lost spirit; she feared he might die at any time, and feared even more that he would suffer without end. She closed her eyes, then ground her teeth and said: “Fine. Treat him as you see fit. No matter how far you can heal him, I will not blame you.”

[She nearly blurted out: And if I kill him by accident?]

When she saw Prince Xiao Yao again, even knowing he was in bad shape, Yu Zhi Yi was still shocked. The once handsome, noble man was pale and so thin he was almost just skin. He was not much better than the demonic cultivator.

Incense filled the room, but it could not cover the mix of waste and blood.

As Yu Zhi Yi neared the bed, the prince sensed it and opened his eyes. Seeing her, he raved and said: “It was you, wasn’t it? You harmed me!”

Yu Zhi Yi ignored him and said: “Prince, please keep a good mood. That will help my treatment work.”

Prince Xiao Yao was speechless. So were the palace attendants. The prince looked like this; how could he keep a good mood?

Yu Zhi Yi did not think she had said anything wrong. Seeing him only glare at her, at a loss for words, she asked with some doubt: “Prince, what is it? Can you not feel happy?”

Prince Xiao Yao stayed silent. If speaking were not so hard, he would have cursed her to death. [What nonsense.]

Yu Zhi Yi did not want to waste time, since she still wished to reach Cao South Village, so she took out a Healing Talisman. With a flick of her finger, the talisman paper turned into specks of green light. They fell on the prince, and in a blink his face grew a bit rosy.

Others could not see what changed under his blanket, but Yu Zhi Yi knew. His rotting skin closed fast. The fragments embedded in his flesh turned into life force and joined his bones and blood, without harm.

When the last green light faded, Yu Zhi Yi said: “Done.”

The prince brightened, remembering that last time he could move right away. He tried to rise but found his body still heavy. His face darkened and he said: “You dare toy with this prince!”

Yu Zhi Yi looked innocent and said: “Before coming I told Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager the pros and cons. If you are unhappy, ask them.”

He shouted: “Yu Zhi Yi, you must cure this prince! Yu Zhi Yi, come back!”

Yu Zhi Yi ignored the voice behind her and went to the main hall, saying: “Your Majesty, Your Highness, I have finished the treatment. If you are not at ease, you can send the imperial physician to check.”

The empress dowager did not offer praise and sent the imperial physician in.

Soon he came out, surprised, and said: “Reporting to Your Majesty and Your Highness, the prince is much improved. He still cannot get out of bed, but his most fatal flesh wounds are fully healed. And though he has no feeling below the waist, his normal living will not be affected.”

His words were veiled, but all understood. He would no longer soil himself.

The empress dowager, mood mixed, tried to bargain and said: “Minister Yu, is there truly no chance of full recovery?”

Yu Zhi Yi spread her hands and said: “First, we have used up the Healing Talismans. Second, as I said, the first use works best, and after that the effect fades. Also, a Healing Talisman is only a talisman, not a person. It can heal, but it cannot choose how to heal based on our wishes.”

“After three, the effect is close to nothing.”

“Your Highness, are you sure you want to waste talismanic seals on a problem that is no longer deadly?”