Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter Four: An Unexpected Turn

It was unclear what time it was when Liu Heng slowly regained consciousness once more. He struggled to sit up, but the movement strained his frail body, triggering a fit of violent coughing.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The sound immediately alerted those outside. The door was flung open, and Uncle Jing’s weary, aged face peered in.

Seeing Liu Heng’s eyes open as he leaned against the couch, the old man’s dull eyes lit up; it seemed only the young Marquis could bring light to them.

"My Lord! You’ve awakened! Heavens... Heavens be praised!"

Uncle Jing practically threw himself to the side of the couch, his voice thick with the familiar sound of weeping.

"How do you feel? Are you better? Would you like some water? Are you hungry? I’ll go at once..."

He was incoherent, scrambling in a panic to fetch water, then reaching for food.

"Water..."

Liu Heng didn't know whether to be angry or amused, so he spoke up to interrupt him.

"Yes! Yes!"

Uncle Jing hurriedly brought over a warm pottery bowl, carefully feeding him a few sips.

After drinking, Liu Heng turned his head toward the door. His heart stirred. He saw the petty official in charge of the relay station, now masked with a piece of coarse burlap, directing several station workers to distribute boiled cloth strips to the curious, peering residents outside the compound wall.

Although he was too far to hear what was being said, he saw the residents hesitantly accept the strips. Seeing the boiling water being splashed about the station, even their faces began to show a mix of skepticism and hope.

A single spark... Liu Heng thought to himself. This method works! And it is beginning to spread!

"Uncle Jing..."

Liu Heng withdrew his gaze, his voice still hoarse but much clearer.

"Is there... any news from Doctor Liu Tao?"

This was his greatest concern right now. That "Essential Guide to Surviving the Plague," pieced together with his own life on the line, was his only straw to grasp.

The excitement on Uncle Jing’s face froze, replaced by an expression of complex, mixed emotions. He swallowed hard, leaning slightly forward. "Yes! My Lord! There is news! Doctor Liu Tao, he believed it!"

Liu Heng’s heart leaped, and he held his breath.

"I delivered the silk to Doctor Liu’s residence!" Uncle Jing’s voice was laced with lingering fear. "The Liu household was in chaos! I heard the Doctor himself is quite ill! The servants were panic-stricken, and I was nearly beaten out as someone trying to profit from their misfortune..."

He caught his breath, a strange light erupting in his eyes. "But after Doctor Liu read what you wrote—he only read the first few lines! He changed... he changed completely! He struggled to sit up from his couch, his hands trembling! He read the silk over and over, and then... then..."

Uncle Jing’s voice drifted with excitement. "Then he gave a death order! The entire household was to immediately follow your instructions! Even his old servants, who were ill, struggled to rise and obey! I saw it with my own eyes! The Liu residence is doing it even more fiercely than we are! Boiling water is splashed everywhere! The burlap is boiled until it’s nearly falling apart!"

It worked! A massive weight lifted from Liu Heng’s heart. Liu Tao believed him! And he acted immediately! Such decisiveness—he was truly worthy of being the admonishing official who dared to scold the Emperor in the history books!

"Doctor Liu also asked me to bring you a message..."

Uncle Jing’s voice was filled with absolute reverence; he looked at Liu Heng as if gazing upon a deity.

"He said... 'This method from the Marquis of Yangwu is written in blood and saves lives with every word! It is a merit that will save countless souls!' He also said... you are 'a pillar of the imperial clan, who, while on a sickbed, keeps the common people in your heart and discerns the source of the plague!' He told you... to be sure to take care of your health! He will certainly present this method to the Emperor! He will have the court distribute it throughout the empire to save the masses!"

Present it to the Emperor! Distribute it to the world!

Liu Heng felt a surge of hot blood rush to his head, making him dizzy. It worked! It really worked! This crude "survival manual" was truly being treated as a lifesaver!

Liu Tao’s endorsement might not be a complete talisman, but as long as this news spread and the preventative methods began to show results, that old quail Zhang Rang would have to think twice before moving against him!

He, Liu Heng, was no longer just a trivial, sickly relative who could be crushed at will. He was the "hero" who had produced an effective solution amidst the plague sweeping through Luoyang—a figure the imperial court might even rely upon!

A surge of joy and a desperate will to live flooded his limbs, and even his physical weakness seemed to lighten.

"Good... good!"

Liu Heng gasped, finally revealing the first truly genuine smile since his transmigration, even if it remained weak and unsightly.

However, the excitement and reverence on Uncle Jing’s face were replaced by terror in the next moment. He grabbed Liu Heng’s arm, his voice breaking into sobs. "But... My Lord! Something has happened! A terrible disaster!!"

Liu Heng’s heart sank. Damn it, what was with this habit? Could he not finish what he had to say all at once?

"Just... just on my way back from the Liu residence!"

Uncle Jing’s voice turned shrill with extreme fear. "The streets were full of soldiers... with gleaming blades! They surrounded Doctor Liu Tao’s residence!"

A bolt from the blue! The smile on Liu Heng’s face froze instantly.

"It must have been... people from the palace! The leading commander was a fierce, murderous man!"

Uncle Jing was weeping uncontrollably. "They... they stormed into the Liu residence! They said... they said they were acting under the orders of Attendant Zhang! They claimed the Doctor held hatred for the court, spoke of omens, and was secretly colluding with rebels... They were there to arrest him. I... I hid in the mouth of an alley and watched with my own eyes as they dragged the Doctor out of his home..."

By the end, Uncle Jing was sobbing so hard he could not speak, his body shaking like chaff.

Liu Heng’s mind buzzed. A metallic, fishy taste surged up his throat, and stars danced before his eyes!

Zhang Rang! You old eunuch dog! Damn it, how could you move so fast!

He had just seen a glimmer of hope, just grasped a lifesaver! And Zhang Rang had uprooted that straw and crushed it into the mud!

Now that Liu Tao had been arrested—if he remembered correctly, Liu Tao would be thrown into the Yellow Gate North Temple Prison, tortured daily, until finally, unable to bear the humiliation, he would commit suicide in prison!

The hope that had just risen was instantly pulverized! He seemed to see Zhang Rang’s sinister, pale face emerging from the darkness, wearing a cruel sneer, a claw-like hand slowly tightening around his own throat!

"My Lord! My Lord, what’s wrong?! Don't frighten me!"

Seeing Liu Heng’s vacant, unfocused eyes, Uncle Jing was terrified and began shaking him frantically.

The violent shaking and Uncle Jing’s cries dragged a sliver of Liu Heng’s consciousness back from the brink. No! He could not fall! It could not end like this!

He steeled himself and bit the tip of his tongue hard! God, that hurt!

"Pah!" He spat a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva onto the ground.

"What are you panicking for!"

Liu Heng’s voice was still hoarse, but it carried a fierce edge.

He grabbed Uncle Jing’s arm, staring into his terrified, desperate eyes. "Listen! Uncle Jing! Listen clearly!"

"First! Immediately! Spread the news that Doctor Liu Tao has been imprisoned! Spread it as far as you can! Don't say it openly, just whisper it to those families who took our cloth strips! Tell them... tell them that Doctor Liu was arrested by the palace eunuchs because he wanted to save them! Tell them... if they want to live... they must do as I said before! Splash the water! Cover your faces! Wash your hands! This is what Doctor Liu taught! Let them... let them decide for themselves what to do!"

Uncle Jing was stunned by the frantic, murderous light in Liu Heng’s eyes and nodded subconsciously.

"Second!" Liu Heng gasped for air. "Find everyone in our courtyard who followed my instructions... who stopped getting sick... or who are recovering! Have them... stand at the courtyard gate! Let everyone outside see clearly! Let them know... this method... is effective! It can save lives!"

"Third! Prepare a carriage. The Marquis of Yangwu has an imperial decree to enter the palace and meet the Emperor!"

"Meet the Emperor? My Lord, look at you, how can you go to the palace like this!"

Uncle Jing was completely bewildered. Could the sickly young Marquis really meet the Emperor?

"Not only will I enter the palace, I will strike the Admonishment Drum!"

"Strike... strike the Admonishment Drum?!"

Uncle Jing was so frightened he nearly collapsed.

The Admonishment Drum! It was set up outside the palace gate for those with grave grievances to petition the Emperor directly! One was not to strike it unless there was a monumental injustice! Striking the Admonishment Drum was like tearing a hole in the sky! You either reached the Emperor’s ears, or... you were beaten to death on the spot!

"My Lord! You cannot! You absolutely cannot!"

Uncle Jing wept and hugged Liu Heng’s legs. "That is a path to death! Those eunuchs in the palace... they are waiting for an excuse to grab you! You have an imperial decree to enter the palace, but striking the drum means thirty lashes first! In your current state, that is suicide!"

Liu Heng knew that striking the drum meant thirty lashes, but given Liu Tao’s status among the literati, many well-informed officials were likely already seeking an audience with Emperor Ling. The Emperor, weary of their petitions, might not see him.

However, "The Admonishment Drum is at the west of the palace steps, the drum-keeper reports to the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven comes out to hear the petitioner" was the rule. Even Emperor Ling would not openly break the custom, especially since the one striking the drum was himself, the Marquis of Yangwu, the Emperor’s own nephew!

In the current situation, he had to gamble. He would gamble that the Emperor would show mercy and waive the thirty lashes to see him.

"Suicide?"

Liu Heng shoved Uncle Jing away and struggled to stand up from the couch. His body swayed, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright. "Staying here is waiting for death! That old dog Zhang Rang... will he let us go? Liu Tao has been arrested... we are next! Instead of being dragged out like a dog and beaten to death... I would rather go and strike the drum myself! Gamble on it, win or lose..."

He gasped for air. "I will strike it! I will strike it for the Emperor to hear! I will strike it for those cowardly ministers to hear! And I will strike it for the people outside who are about to die!"

"I want to tell everyone! Doctor Liu Tao is innocent! This method... is a lifesaver! Those eunuch dogs!"

"I want to tell everyone! This plague... has a cure! There is a way to live! It is not some damn plague god taking lives!"

"I want to tell everyone! That group of eunuch dogs, for the sake of petty grudges! To cover up their own incompetence! They are pushing this life-saving method... pushing Doctor Liu Tao... pushing thousands upon thousands of lives... into the fire pit!"

Liu Heng’s voice grew louder and louder, filled with hysterical madness!

He pointed to himself. "I! Liu Heng! A clansman of the Han! The Marquis of Yangwu! Today I will use this life I’ve clawed back! To strike that Admonishment Drum!"

"Either! The court distributes this method! Releases Liu Tao! And saves the masses!"

"Or! I will splatter my blood on the palace gates! Let the whole world see! Beneath the palace walls of this glorious Han dynasty... what kind of hearts are buried!!"

The roar echoed through the silent courtyard. The servants who heard it were frozen in shock. Chen Si looked at the young Marquis roaring like a mad dog; seeing the blood-tinged foam at the corner of the Marquis's mouth, Chen Si wanted to help him wipe it away.

Fear, pushed to the extreme, gave birth to a sense of tragedy.

Uncle Jing slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face. Looking at Liu Heng’s resolute back, he knew he could not stop him. The Marquis... was truly gambling with his life! Gambling on that one in ten thousand... no, one in a million chance!

Liu Heng looked at no one. He leaned against the wall, stumbling toward the copper basin in the corner of the room.

The surface of the water reflected his pale, haggard face with its sunken eyes.

"Uncle Jing."

"Yes, I am here," Uncle Jing wiped his face messily, responding in a low voice.

"I am hungry. Let us eat first. Once we are full... we enter the palace!"

Watching Liu Heng slowly shovel food into his mouth, Uncle Jing’s face was filled with heartache, and tears welled up in his eyes once more.

"Open the door!"

Liu Heng set down his bowl and chopsticks, took a deep breath, and stood up straight, despite the act causing black spots to dance before his eyes.

Uncle Jing gave a muffled "Yes," then walked to the courtyard gate, looking back every few steps, and pulled out the bolt!

"Creak—"

The heavy wooden door was pulled open a crack. Outside was the Luoyang street, shrouded in plague. Further away, the towering, grim walls of the imperial city!

Liu Heng took one last look at the terrified, bewildered faces in the courtyard, at Uncle Jing’s desperate old face, and at the old yellow dog whimpering softly at him.

Then, he moved his weak, unsteady legs, and with one step, he crossed the courtyard threshold!

Enter the palace! Meet the Emperor!