The Almighty Martial Arts System - Chapter 148

“1,000 gold coins!” Jiang Fei grimaced in pain. His entire fortune amounted to just over 1,800 gold coins, so this would wipe out more than half of his savings!

These gold coins were far more valuable to him than RMB. To earn back 1,000 gold coins, even with the Jiang Family Clinic as his “guild,” he’d need to make 500,000 RMB in profit!

In other words, these two pills weren’t just costing him 1,000 gold coins—they were costing him 500,000 RMB!

“Even a single ‘Little Li Flying Dagger’ only costs 800 gold coins, and with this amount, I could’ve bought two of Li Mochou’s ‘Ice Soul Silver Needles’! This is really bleeding me dry,” Jiang Fei thought bitterly.

As much as it pained him, he had no choice but to go through with the exchange. He couldn’t just stand by and watch Old Master Ye Zhennan slowly die because he was reluctant to part with his gold coins.

And he had to act fast.

This potent poison was growing stronger by the minute—the longer he delayed, the greater the danger. There was no time to waste.

Seeing Jiang Fei’s expression shift several times before finally settling into calm composure, Ye Zhennan asked hopefully, “Have you found a solution?”

Truthfully, Ye Zhennan had no desire to die—let alone perish in such an ignoble way, poisoned like this. A week was far too short. He likely wouldn’t even have enough time to exact revenge.

“We can give it a try,” Jiang Fei nodded.

By now, he had already exchanged the Niuhuang Xuejie Dan and Yulong Suhe San from the system shop. His inventory now contained two pills—one brown, the other red—while his wallet had suffered a heart-wrenching deduction of 1,000 gold coins, leaving him with just over 800.

With a thought, the two pills materialized in a small vial in his hand, completely unnoticed by Ye Zhennan lying on the hospital bed beside him.

“Well, at least the system provides free packaging when you buy pills. Not bad,” Jiang Fei mused silently as he glanced at the vial before slipping it into his pocket.

He was long accustomed to this feature. The inventory functioned like a small storage space—items could be retrieved or stored at will. He had discovered this ability back when he first leveled up and obtained the Summon Beast Evolution Serum.

“No time to waste. I’ll have them bring the acupuncture tools so I can start expelling the poison as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the harder it gets—the sooner, the better,” Jiang Fei said.

For the sake of plausibility and avoiding suspicion, the most logical approach would have been for Jiang Fei to return home and come back the next day to treat Ye Zhennan. That way, when he produced the Niuhuang Xuejie Dan and Yulong Suhe San, it wouldn’t seem so abrupt.

But as things stood, Jiang Fei had arrived at the sanatorium unprepared and was now suddenly about to administer the two pills to Ye Zhennan—an undeniably odd situation.

However, desperate times called for desperate measures. With lives at stake, Jiang Fei couldn’t afford to delay. He had to act immediately.

To treat the poison, he would need assistance—someone to bring in the silver needles and help with the procedure. Jiang Fei asked, “Old Master, do you want to keep your poisoning a secret? Or should we announce it?”

He wasn’t sure what Ye Zhennan’s intentions were. Did he want to continue feigning ignorance, keeping the poisoning under wraps so the perpetrator wouldn’t realize he was onto them, allowing for a covert investigation? Or did he plan to reveal the truth outright, shaking the enemy’s confidence?

Ye Zhennan’s eyes flashed, narrowing slightly as he replied, “No secrecy! I’ll announce it soon—let everyone who needs to know, know! There’s no point hiding it. If someone could infiltrate this sanatorium to poison me, they’ve already erased all traces. A quiet investigation won’t uncover any evidence. So I’ll make it public. If I don’t die, it’ll be their turn to panic! And when they panic, they’ll slip up!”

Jiang Fei felt a chill at the murderous intent in the old man’s tone.

“Looks like some high-ranking figures in Jin City are in for a stormy time ahead…”

With Ye Zhennan’s decision made, Jiang Fei quickly opened the ward door and allowed Ye Yuanyuan, Uncle Hu, the doctors, and the others back inside.

When she entered, Ye Yuanyuan shot Jiang Fei an angry glare, her eyes red with worry. But despite her frustration, she obediently refrained from asking about her grandfather’s condition.

Having grown up in a military family, she understood discipline far better than most. If Jiang Fei had kicked everyone out earlier, there had to be a reason—some aspect of the illness that couldn’t be disclosed. So no matter how anxious she was, she held her tongue.

The others shared similar thoughts. Unless Jiang Fei or Ye Zhennan voluntarily revealed the diagnosis, none of them dared to ask.

Just as the tension in the room reached its peak, Ye Zhennan suddenly spoke:

“Dr. Jiang has already examined me. This isn’t an illness—it’s… poisoning.”

Gasp!

The revelation sent shockwaves through the room.

The news was even more shocking to them than it had been to Ye Zhennan when Jiang Fei first broke it. One of the Republic’s most senior generals, a former head of Jin City’s military district, a national treasure—poisoned!

And not just anywhere—inside the heavily guarded military sanatorium!

The security here was among the tightest in the country, surpassing even many high-level government facilities in the capital. For an outsider to enter and poison someone like Ye Zhennan without detection was unthinkable.

What did this imply?

What kind of power and influence stood behind this?

“P-poisoning? Th-that’s impossible, right?” The middle-aged doctor broke out in a cold sweat, his voice trembling. He wasn’t just any physician—he was Ye Zhennan’s personal doctor.

Earlier, he had worried that the symptoms might be due to food poisoning, which would have made him culpable.

But now, the truth was even worse—deliberate poisoning!

The other sanatorium officials turned pale, their faces drained of blood. If this matter was pursued, none of them would escape blame.

“How could it be poisoning? We ran every test and found no trace of toxins!” one of them protested.

These officials were no small fry—their positions were equivalent to directors of top-tier hospitals, at least at the departmental level or higher. In the eyes of ordinary people, they were important figures.

But compared to Ye Zhennan? They were nothing.

If the poisoning was confirmed, whether or not Ye Zhennan held them accountable, they would still face investigations—and none of them would emerge unscathed.

“By the time you could detect it, Old Master would already be beyond saving—not even a god could help him then,” Jiang Fei said coldly, eyeing the doctors who were more focused on defending themselves than admitting fault.

If they had noticed Ye Zhennan’s condition earlier and called Jiang Fei yesterday, he wouldn’t have needed to exchange the Niuhuang Xuejie Dan and Yulong Suhe San—and wouldn’t have wasted 1,000 gold coins.

“But—” The doctors paled further, still trying to argue.

Jiang Fei cut them off with a wave. “Save the explanations for later. Bring me the acupuncture tools now—I need to expel the poison immediately. Any delay, and even I won’t be able to help.”

The group hurriedly nodded, rushing to fetch the equipment.

No matter what, the priority was saving Ye Zhennan. As long as the old general survived, the fallout could be managed.

But if Ye Zhennan died from the poisoning…

The mere thought sent shivers down their spines.

Soon, the silver needles arrived. Jiang Fei retrieved the small vial from his pocket, pouring out the brown Niuhuang Xuejie Dan and the red Yulong Suhe San into his palm.

“Old Master, take these two pills first,” he instructed.

Though the pills looked unusual, they weren’t the kind of mystical elixirs that emitted fragrance like the Jiuhua Yulu Wan from Peach Blossom Island.

The doctors tensed, stepping forward in alarm. “Dr. Jiang, what are these medicines?”

Ye Zhennan had just been poisoned—should they really be giving him more unknown pills?

But before they could interfere, Ye Yuanyuan’s eyes blazed with fury.

“Who cares what they are?! You couldn’t even detect the poison, let alone cure it! Now that Jiang Fei is treating him, you dare interfere?!”

After working with Jiang Fei for the past month, Ye Yuanyuan had complete faith in both his skills and his character. She had no doubts about his intentions.

Under her fiery glare, the doctors backed down. When the Ye family’s young lady was angry, her presence was overwhelming.

Ye Zhennan took the two pills, asking, “Should I chew them or swallow them whole?”

Jiang Fei nearly facepalmed. Of all the questions…

“Just swallow them,” he replied.

Ye Zhennan nodded and, without hesitation, downed both pills.

“The system shop’s products—I haven’t even had the chance to try them myself, and now the old man gets to enjoy them first,” Jiang Fei grumbled internally as he prepared the needles.

With the antidotes taking effect, it was time for acupuncture to expel the poison.