The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Does It Make a Difference

Seeing that the Undying Poison Doctor was unwilling to accept the Cold Bone Yan Mink, Huangfu Jingchen placed the young Cold Bone Yan Mink back into his sleeve and said, ”Senior, it was my greed. As you said, our transaction was only supposed to be about a little Cold Bone Yan Mink; I shouldn’t demand so much more from you!”

The Undying Poison Doctor replied, ”You can make your demands; I’m idle anyway, and don’t mind treating over two thousand people! So, don’t be afraid, you can choose those villagers!”

Huangfu Jingchen looked at the Undying Poison Doctor with curiosity and asked, ”Senior, of course, I choose Xia Wenjin!”

”Oh?” the Undying Poison Doctor said, ”You’re an interesting kid. Do two thousand lives not compare to a single life?”

Huangfu Jingchen said calmly, ”Two thousand lives are lives, and one life is also a life!”

The Undying Poison Doctor said in surprise, ”Don’t you young people love to act heroically and make a name in the Jianghu? If you save all the villagers here, you’ll be a true hero renowned throughout the world! Wouldn’t you want that?”

”I don’t want that!”

The Undying Poison Doctor sneered, ”Young people often say one thing and mean another. If you didn’t have a heart for righteousness, these villagers have nothing to do with you, so why would you two outsiders muddy these waters?”

Huangfu Jingchen didn’t speak. Who doesn’t have a compassionate heart? It all depends on what weighs heavier in one’s heart. In the beginning, he also persuaded Xia Wenjin to leave. If Xia Wenjin hadn’t stayed, he wouldn’t have stayed either.

He would’ve only sent people with medicine after leaving, spending more Silver if necessary, but he wouldn’t stay here.

The Undying Poison Doctor saw him silent and thought he was hesitating, saying, ”A hero puts great righteousness first and sacrifices small righteousness for great righteousness. Between you and that little love interest of yours, it’s just a small righteousness. If you’re willing to save all the villagers, that’s great righteousness. Ten, no, twenty, or a hundred years from now, when someone mentions it, they will give you a thumbs up and praise: That’s a model of compassion and a paragon of heroism! Many people spend a lifetime chasing that, and now it’s all within your reach with just one choice!”

Huangfu Jingchen gave the Undying Poison Doctor an even stranger look and said, ”Senior, did you forget that I traveled day and night to find you to treat Xia Wenjin? Now, halfway there, should I abandon Wenjin to save others?”

”That’s not just others; that’s over two thousand people!”

”Is there a difference?” Huangfu Jingchen said calmly, ”I’m an ordinary person; I know what I care about! Don’t speak of two thousand people, even twenty thousand or two hundred thousand, in my heart, they’re not as important as Wenjin! It was my greed that led to this misunderstanding with you!”

In this world, there are so many people, but only a few matter to him.

Among those few, there’s only one person he’s willing to wager his life on!

The Undying Poison Doctor didn’t expect Huangfu Jingchen to be so stubborn, still saying that even two hundred thousand people couldn’t compare to one.

If others heard this, they would certainly criticize Huangfu Jingchen as selfish, disregarding over two thousand people for one. Yet, the Undying Poison Doctor laughed heartily and said, ”Boy, although your choice surprised me, I like it!”

Huangfu Jingchen said, ”Please accompany me to see Xia Wenjin!”

The Undying Poison Doctor nodded, not delaying any longer, and followed Huangfu Jingchen to the Severe Epidemic Area.

On the way, the Undying Poison Doctor sniffed the air and said, ”Tsk tsk, this epidemic isn’t simple. I’ve lived over a hundred years and never seen such a dangerous and cunning epidemic before!”

Seeing him use the word ”cunning,” Huangfu Jingchen couldn’t help but say, ”An epidemic isn’t a person; how can it be called cunning?”

The Undying Poison Doctor sniffed again, glancing sideways at Huangfu Jingchen and said, ”You think only people can be cunning? This epidemic is ingenious—it seems real and fake, like a mixture of miasma, cold, and tuberculosis... It easily leads to misjudgment. Once mistaken for another illness and treated with the wrong medicine, it becomes ten times harder! And this epidemic keeps evolving, so the treatment varies for each person. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a strange outbreak!”

”Can it be cured?” Huangfu Jingchen couldn’t help but worry; this was his utmost concern.

Xia Wenjin had only four days left, and if a cure couldn’t be found in that time, the consequences would be unimaginable!

The Undying Poison Doctor rolled his eyes: ”How would I know? I’ve lived a bit longer, but I’m not an immortal!”

Huangfu Jingchen’s heart was in turmoil. Just now, the Undying Poison Doctor tempted him to choose saving the villagers over Xia Wenjin, claiming it was possible, but now he spoke so ambiguously. Can it be treated or not?

At that moment, a doctor was heading to the Light Epidemic Area, carrying a tray of herbal medicine, nodded towards Huangfu Jingchen in greeting from a distance, and continued to walk inside.

”Stop!” the Undying Poison Doctor blocked him.

The doctor turned back, puzzled, glancing at Huangfu Jingchen, seemingly wondering why this person, amidst his busyness, would get involved and what it was about!

Huangfu Jingchen gave him a reassuring look.

The Undying Poison Doctor took the medicine, sniffed it close to his nose, raised an eyebrow, and asked, ”Who prescribed this?”

The doctor said, ”Doctor Xia prescribed it!”

Huangfu Jingchen quickly asked, ”How is Doctor Xia?”

The doctor’s eyes showed admiration and helplessness as he said, ”Doctor Xia has lost a lot of weight these past few days, researching the cure around the clock, fainting twice from exhaustion! We advise him to rest a bit, but he won’t listen!”

Huangfu Jingchen’s heart filled with both pity and worry. He understood that Xia Wenjin probably hadn’t mentioned getting the epidemic herself. She wasn’t working tirelessly to avoid her own death but feared that if she died before finding a cure, more infected would hopelessly perish.

As expected, Huangfu Jingchen understood Xia Wenjin; she indeed thought this way.

Though a cure might not emerge in a few days, her further steps would make fewer steps for others in the future.

And in the process of researching the cure, she also had to care for severely ill patients in the Severe Epidemic Area.

Although she herself was a severely ill patient, she still had to fight her way through.

Wangshan Town lacked doctors and medicine, relying on those brought by Shang Jingwang, others conscripted by Kong Tixin, plus those attracted by high rewards from Xia Wenjin and Huangfu Jingchen.

More than forty people, not a small number.

However, compared to over a thousand epidemic patients, the number of doctors was still insufficient, and medical skills varied vastly.

Even among those attracted by the reward, many only had rudimentary medical knowledge. Yet amidst the severe shortage of doctors, those with high medical skills were needed as much as those with only basic skills.

In any case, at this quarantine point, everyone was very busy.