Chu Chenye didn’t bring the gold that very night. He only left behind a black jade token.
“Come to the Night Prince’s Residence tomorrow.”
Wan Yuting held the jade token, turning it over and over. “What if I don’t go?”
“You’ll lose your chance.”
“No. You’ll lose yours.”
The corner of Chu Chenye’s lips twitched, but the smile vanished so quickly that no one could be sure they hadn’t imagined it.
The next morning, Wan Yuting arrived at the Night Prince’s Residence with a small medicine chest. The estate was unusually quiet. The servants looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
Everyone knew that the Night Prince hated people who claimed they could cure him more than anything.
Over the past three years, famous physicians from across the land had come here one after another. Some made promises, some bragged, and in the end, every one of them was thrown out.
Wan Yuting was led into the study.
Chu Chenye was already waiting. An open chest of gold sat on the table, its gleam illuminating the entire room.
“Check it.”
Wan Yuting didn’t look at the gold. She walked straight to his legs and rolled up his pant leg.
A guard immediately drew his sword.
“Stand down,” Chu Chenye said coldly.
Wan Yuting placed a hand on his knee, checking his pulse and the skin that had turned black.
“The poison has seeped into the bone. Ordinary medicine can’t save you.”
“How long do you need?”
“Three days to remove the poison completely.”
“Last time, you said five minutes.”
“I said five minutes to get you standing. I didn’t say five minutes for your body to recover.”
Chu Chenye narrowed his eyes.
Wan Yuting took a small syringe from the chest. To people from the ancient world, it looked no different from a magical artifact.
“What is that?”
“Medicine.”
“What kind?”
“Medicine that will let you walk again.”
A murderous aura pressed down over the room.
Chu Chenye suddenly reached out, grabbed her by the throat, and pulled her close.
“You think this prince will let someone of unknown origins inject this into him?”
Wan Yuting’s breath was cut off, but her eyes remained calm.
“If you’re afraid, you can keep sitting in your wheelchair.”
The fingers around her throat tightened.
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
“I’m afraid of being poor.”
Her blunt answer left the entire room silent.
Wan Yuting looked him straight in the eye. “Ten thousand taels of gold is enough for me to live in comfort for the rest of my life. But if you kill me, you’ll have to find someone else who knows exactly what kind of poison this is. You don’t have much time left.”
Chu Chenye released her.
Wan Yuting coughed twice, straightened her collar, and held out her hand.
“Where’s the gold?”
The Night Prince looked at the fair hand before him and suddenly felt that this woman was like a stray cat. Small and thin, but with her claws already hidden and ready.
He pushed the chest of gold toward her.
“Cure me, and all this gold is yours.”
“No.” Wan Yuting shook her head. “Give me half up front. I’ll take the other half after you stand.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Merchants don’t survive on trust.”
This time, Chu Chenye actually let out a soft laugh.
“Fine.”
Wan Yuting exchanged System points and took out a sealed biological antidote. Using a needle, she injected the medicine into the acupoints around his knees.
A fierce wave of pain crashed over him. The tendons in Chu Chenye’s legs stood out, and cold sweat trickled down his temples.
Wan Yuting held his shoulders firmly.
“Don’t circulate your energy. Don’t fight the medicine.”
“Who exactly are you saying that to?”
“The most difficult patient I’ve ever had.”
After five minutes, the darkened skin gradually began to fade.
Outside the door, the guards held their breath and waited.
Chu Chenye stared at his legs. For the first time in three years, he felt a warm current run from the soles of his feet up to his knees.
He braced his hands against the arms of the chair.
Wan Yuting immediately stepped back.
The Night Prince stood up.
The entire room fell deathly silent.