Han Li grumbled inwardly, but to maintain his image as a miraculous doctor, he still had to put on a calm, knowing smile as if everything was under control.
His composed demeanor had fooled everyone present into thinking that the pill's effects were all part of his plan, and their admiration for him only deepened.
Sect Master Ma was beaming with delight, a hint of smugness creeping into his smile, as though Han Li were already in his pocket. Perhaps he believed that, as things stood, he was still the most likely to win Han Li's allegiance — which was why he laughed so heartily.
But before long, the situation changed.
"Something's wrong!" Zhang Xiuer cried out.
"The dark qi on Uncle's face seems to be rising again."
Her words startled everyone. Several of the more hot-tempered people rushed forward for a closer look, Elder Zhao among them.
Han Li was momentarily taken aback, but he didn't crowd in with the others, pushing his way to the bedside.
Madam Li, however, was a perceptive and observant person. She quickly halted the two juniors, ordering them to step back from the bed and make room for Han Li — the miraculous doctor — to step forward and examine the patient.
Only when Han Li saw that there was space at the bedside did he walk over unhurriedly and begin a careful observation.
After roughly half an incense stick's worth of time, Han Li finally confirmed that this was not a resurgence of dark qi. It was merely residual poison that hadn't been completely flushed out, leaving a faint, barely perceptible trace of black on Elder Li's face.
Once he had his conclusion, Han Li cast a slight sideways glance at Zhang Xiuer, feeling the girl had made a bit too much of nothing.
Though no one else noticed this mildly reproachful look, Li Feiyu — who had been watching Zhang Xiuer intently the whole time — caught it. He shot Han Li a glare in return, clearly offended that Han Li had slighted his goddess.
Han Li was speechless. It seemed that once Li Feiyu had fallen in love, he was the type to put beauty before friendship without a second thought.
He decided not to waste any more energy on this simple-minded fool besotted by a pretty face, and turned his attention back to examining Elder Li's condition.
Apart from the dark qi on his face that hadn't been fully cleared, the poison spots on Elder Li's body had stopped shrinking once they reached the size of soybeans and remained unchanged. The rest of the residual poison had left him unconscious and unable to wake.
Seeing this, Han Li knew that the follow-up measures he had prepared would be needed after all. He no longer had to worry about covering up for what he had said — in fact, this was a perfect chance to demonstrate his foresight.
"Bring a washbasin filled to the brim with clean water," Han Li said in a tone that brooked no argument.
This time it wasn't Zhang Xiuer who fetched it — Ma Rong answered eagerly and dashed off at a trot.
Han Li then turned back and addressed Elder Qian and Sect Master Ma solemnly:
"What I need from you both next is to use your internal force to drive the remaining poison in Elder Li's body into a few specific acupoints. After that, I'll use a gold needle bloodletting method to drain the poisoned blood. Would you be able to do that?"