Chapter 155: Soul-Departure Syndrome (Part 2)

"The side hall?" Li Yi asked, his face a picture of pure confusion and perplexity.

While gesturing to the maid in the green dress to catch her breath for a moment, he suddenly asked, "What is there to do in the side hall? Whose command have you come to convey?"

"Hoh... hoh..."

The green-dressed maid took several deep, ragged breaths and rolled her eyes, only to suddenly realize in a panic that her anxiety had caused her to deliver the wrong message entirely.

"No, Physician Li, it was my mistake just now! We aren't going to the side hall, it's the Da'an Palace!"

"Yes, exactly, the Da'an Palace!"

The green-dressed maid shook her head first, then put on a dead-serious expression and spoke with great solemnity, "Physician Li, His Retired Majesty in the Da'an Palace has fallen ill. The Empress specially sent me to summon Physician Li to the Da'an Palace!"

Upon hearing the green-dressed maid's words, Li Yi finally understood.

"Let's go then." Li Yi nodded. As he began to walk forward at a leisurely pace, he turned to the green-dressed maid and asked, "Has the Emperor already summoned the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau to go ahead of us?"

"They have already been summoned, Physician Li," the maid answered honestly, nodding.

"Good, that's fine then." Hearing this, Li Yi felt a slight weight lift from his heart. He then accompanied the maid toward the Da'an Palace.

...

Inside the Da'an Palace, located in the North Park of Chang'an City.

Because Li Yuan had suffered a sudden attack, the entire main hall where he resided had instantly descended into utter chaos, and the atmosphere inside had grown intensely strained.

At this moment, Li Shimin, Empress Changsun, and the others were all standing near the entrance of the main hall, not daring to advance or take a single rash step forward.

"Ghost... A ghost!... Don't come near... None of you come near!"

Li Yuan's hair was disheveled and his clothes were in utter disorder as he glared at the crowd by the hall doors. His footsteps swayed unsteadily and erratically, and every object within his reach was sent crashing down in a chaotic clatter.

Terror filled the depths of Li Yuan's pupils, as if he were truly gazing upon a ghost.

"Your Imperial Father, it is I, your son!" Seeing this, Li Shimin took a tiny step forward while reaching a hand out toward Li Yuan, saying urgently, "Your son is Erlang, Father..."

"A ghost! Don't come near me... A ghost! A ghost...!"

Li Yuan trembled violently, his head shaking as he shivered. While angrily shouting at Li Shimin, he grabbed whatever was close at hand and hurled it fiercely toward him with a sudden, sharp crash.

Right on the spot, Li Shimin was startled into leaping hurriedly to the side, narrowly dodging the missile just in time to avoid being struck by what Li Yuan had thrown.

"Father, your son is not a ghost, I am Erlang, Father..." Li Shimin said with a bitter expression.

"A ghost...! Don't come near me! Don't come near!! Don't come near!!!"

Seeing that Li Shimin was ignoring his warnings and continuing to approach him, Li Yuan shook his trembling head and grabbed another object, hurling it wildly and frantically at Li Shimin once more.

Inside the main hall, a rapid succession of violent, crashing thuds echoed continuously from the floor.

Seeing this, Li Shimin felt a profound sense of helplessness and had no choice but to retreat quickly, maintaining a safe distance from Li Yuan.

Sudden-eyed as he turned his head back, Li Shimin looked toward Imperial Physician Luo behind him and asked anxiously, "Imperial Physician Luo, what on earth has happened to make His Retired Majesty lose his wits in such a manner today?"

Imperial Physician Luo did not answer immediately. Instead, his brows furrowed slightly as he took a deep breath internally and carefully observed Li Yuan's bizarre behavior.

Pondering for a brief moment, he first glanced at Li Shimin and then looked at the people on either side of him. Hesitation writ large on his face, Imperial Physician Luo spoke with reluctance: "Your Majesty, His Retired Majesty's illness... this humble subject... this humble subject fears it is difficult to put into words."

Seeing Imperial Physician Luo stutter and hesitate in this manner, Li Shimin instantly understood the severity of the situation.

With his brows knitted into a tight frown, Li Shimin waved his large sleeve and hurriedly dismissed the attendants inside the hall: "All of you, withdraw."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall had long since been frightened into shrinking back in terrified silence. Hearing Li Shimin's order, they scrambled in a panic to exit the hall and keep watch outside.

In the main hall, only Empress Changsun now remained behind by Li Shimin's side.

At this point, Li Shimin looked toward Imperial Physician Luo and asked, "Imperial Physician Luo, if there is anything you wish to say, speak your mind without reservation."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Now devoid of hesitation, Imperial Physician Luo bowed slightly to Li Shimin in salute. Then, with utmost gravity, he said, "Your Majesty, in this humble subject's foolish opinion, the affliction plaguing His Retired Majesty is, nine times out of ten, none other than the Soul-Departure Syndrome."

"What? Soul-Departure Syndrome?!"

Upon hearing Imperial Physician Luo's declaration, not only was Li Shimin profoundly shocked, but even Empress Changsun beside him widened her eyes in sheer terror.

Neither of them had ever expected that the illness afflicting Li Yuan would turn out to be Soul-Departure Syndrome!

Soul-Departure Syndrome, as the name implied, occurred when a person's three souls and seven spirits were incomplete, leading to symptoms such as chronic terror, frequent nightmares, sleepless nights, and raving, erratic behavior.

Once someone afflicted with Soul-Departure Syndrome suffered an attack, even the patient themselves would lose all sense of who they were.

Moreover, if an affliction of this nature could not be completely cured, the prognosis was invariably grim!

Both Li Shimin and his wife understood the gravity of the disease, and their hearts ached with anxiety.

"Imperial Physician Luo, is there... still any hope of curing my father's illness?" Li Shimin asked urgently, casting a painful look toward Li Yuan, who was still frantically smashing things near the edge of the bed.

"This..." Imperial Physician Luo's expression instantly turned bitter.

Shaking his head first and then letting out a heavy sigh, Imperial Physician Luo spoke in a bitter, distressed tone: "Your Majesty, I fear... this humble subject must return to consult medical texts and examine ancient medical records before I can have even a twenty percent chance of success. In this brief moment, this humble subject... truly can find no solution!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin's expression grew profoundly bleak.

Yet the more he watched Li Yuan's deranged state, the more restless he felt, and the more his heart ached with unbearable anguish.

Noticing this, Empress Changsun took Li Shimin's hand and offered words of comfort: "Your Majesty, do not worry for now. I have already sent someone to summon Physician Li. Perhaps... Physician Li will have a way to resolve this."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hearing Empress Changsun's words, Imperial Physician Luo's eyes lit up as he chimed in loudly, "Physician Li possesses supreme medical skills. Perhaps... perhaps Physician Li truly does have a solution!"

A glimmer of hope rose in Li Shimin's heart upon hearing this. But as he glanced around and failed to see Li Yi's figure, he furrowed his brows and asked with a heavy sigh, "Has Physician Li still not arrived yet?!"

Just at that moment, Li Yi had already arrived outside the main hall of the Da'an Palace.

Eunuch Gao, who was keeping watch outside the palace doors, spotted him and offered a quick smile of greeting before turning swiftly to enter the hall and announce his arrival to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, Physician Li has arrived and is waiting outside the door," Eunuch Gao reported deferentially, keeping his head lowered.

"Summon him! Quickly have him enter!" Li Shimin commanded Eunuch Gao urgently.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Gao offered a slight bow and immediately turned to head outside.

Before long, he led Li Yi into the hall.

Upon stepping into Li Yuan's main hall, Li Yi witnessed Li Yuan engaged in his frantic rampage of smashing objects, while Li Shimin, Empress Changsun, and Imperial Physician Luo all wore expressions of absolute distress and helplessness. A profound sense of astonishment washed over him.

Without asking unnecessary questions, Li Yi offered a slight bow with cupped hands, preparing to pay his respects.

"No need for formalities." Seeing Li Yi arrive, Li Shimin waved his hand dismissively and said, "Physician Li, Imperial Physician Luo states that... my father has fallen victim to Soul-Departure Syndrome. Take a look and see if you have any method to treat it."

"Soul-Departure Syndrome?" Hearing these words, Li Yi's brows twitched sharply in surprise as he glanced at Imperial Physician Luo nearby.

Seeing this, Imperial Physician Luo immediately nodded and smiled at Li Yi, bowing with cupped hands as he said, "Physician Li, my diagnosis just now suggests that the affliction suffering His Retired Majesty is indeed Soul-Departure Syndrome. However, it is entirely possible that my eyes are failing me—perhaps Physician Li would care to take a look?"

"Imperial Physician Luo is too modest." Li Yi smiled and nodded, turning his gaze toward Li Yuan.

Noticing that Li Yuan was still endlessly flinging objects while screaming curses such as "Ghost, don't come near..." and the like, Li Yi took a deep breath and directed his attention to Imperial Physician Luo's medical box.

"Imperial Physician Luo, might I borrow your medical box for a moment?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

"Please go ahead, Physician Li." Imperial Physician Luo nodded with a smile and handed the medical box directly to Li Yi.

"Many thanks, Imperial Physician Luo!" Li Yi nodded in gratitude, swiftly opening the medical box. He rummaged through its contents before extracting a small iron chain with a tiny metal ring hanging from it, then slowly stood up.

In an instant, Li Yi's bizarre action left everyone present staring in utter bewilderment.

"Physician Li, what are you doing?" Imperial Physician Luo asked curiously.

Li Shimin and his wife stared at Li Yi with equal curiosity and confusion.

"Putting His Retired Majesty into a hypnotic trance so that I can make a proper diagnosis." Li Yi smiled. He picked up the makeshift "hypnotizer" and walked slowly over to Li Yuan, gently swinging the dangling device back and forth.

"Your Retired Majesty, look at this!" Li Yi said softly.

Li Yuan, who had been ranting and smashing things in a frenzy, was instantly captivated by the novel "hypnotizer" in Li Yi's hand.

His wide, terrified eyes began to sway gently to the left and right in time with the small arc of the swinging device.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

After those three counts, Li Yuan's rolling eyes suddenly went blank, and his body went completely limp. Seeing this, Li Yi rushed forward in two strides and caught Li Yuan's collapsing form.

Seeing this, Li Shimin also rushed over to help place Li Yuan onto the bed.

Li Yi seated himself smoothly on the edge of the bed, narrowed his eyes slightly, and quietly began to take Li Yuan's pulse.

Meanwhile, Imperial Physician Luo, Empress Changsun, and Li Shimin were struck with profound shock upon witnessing how Li Yi had managed to render Li Yuan unconscious merely by counting to three and swinging a trinket.

However, mindful that Li Yi was currently taking Li Yuan's pulse, they held their tongues for the moment, though their inner astonishment defied description.

After a long while, Li Yi finished taking the pulse, let out a long breath of relief, stood up, and bowed slightly to Li Shimin. "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Luo's diagnosis was correct. The affliction suffering His Retired Majesty is indeed Soul-Departure Syndrome!"

Hearing this, the boulder of worry in Imperial Physician Luo's chest finally plummeted to the ground.

Yet Li Shimin's brows remained tightly locked in a deep frown as he asked with anxious concern, "Then is there... a method to cure this condition?"

Li Yi grinned and said, "Your Majesty, treating this condition is actually quite simple."

Haha, let's leave you all in suspense; tomorrow's update will reveal the cure for Soul-Departure Syndrome. It's too exhausting, time for rest. Good night everyone, QAQ...