Chapter 156: I Am Rather Tired (Part 1)

"Simple?"

Hearing Li Yi say this so casually, the imperial physician Luo standing nearby felt his facial skin twitch uncontrollably.

He had just told Li Shimin that even after searching through ancient books and medical texts, he only had a twenty percent chance of successfully treating this wandering soul syndrome.

Yet the moment Li Yi opened his mouth, he casually tossed out the word "simple" as if it were nothing.

An impulse to punch Li Yi instantly arose in Physician Luo's heart.

However, upon second thought, recalling that Li Yi's medical skills were not only profound but also consistently and miraculously unexpected, Physician Luo managed to calm his mind for the moment.

"I must follow Physician Li and properly learn the skill of treating wandering soul syndrome!" Physician Luo thought to himself.

After all, wandering soul syndrome was no ordinary minor ailment; it was a difficult and stubborn affliction passed down since ancient times without a single definitive method of cure.

For people like Physician Luo, this was an extremely intractable "severe illness."

Although many ancient books and medical texts contained brief records of it, applying the methods listed within them did not guarantee success.

Otherwise, Luo Jihai, an imperial physician of the Imperial Medical Academy well-versed in classical medical texts, would not have been utterly helpless upon diagnosing wandering soul syndrome.

Physician Luo stared eagerly at Li Yi, quietly waiting for him to reveal the solution for curing the "wandering soul syndrome."

Seeing this, Emperor Li Shimin and Empress Changsun simultaneously turned their gazes toward Li Yi and asked in unison, "Li Boan, tell us quickly, what is the exact method?"

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, ancient texts state: civet bone can be used as medicine, and wandering soul syndrome will be resolved easily."

Li Yi cupped his hands in a salute, smiled faintly, and continued, "Your Majesty, one simply needs to use civet bone to boil a bowl of broth and have the Grand Emperor drink it, and this wandering soul syndrome can be completely and thoroughly cured."

"Civet bone?" Hearing this, everyone stared at Li Yi in utter astonishment. Li Shimin asked with disbelief, "Li Boan, treating this condition is really that simple?"

"Replying to Your Majesty and Your Highness, it is indeed this simple!" Li Yi nodded with a straight face.

"Uh..."

At this, not only Li Shimin and Empress Changsun were left stunned and bewildered, but even Physician Luo nearby widened his eyes in sheer disbelief.

In his view, a wandering soul syndrome—previously an "insoluble" and stubborn disease—could be resolved in Li Yi's hands simply by using civet bone as medicine to boil a bowl of broth.

"What the heck, this is too bizarre!" Physician Luo was inwardly alarmed.

Seeing their reaction, Li Yi did not waste words with them. Instead, he turned directly to face Physician Luo and asked bluntly, "Physician Luo, may I ask if the Imperial Medical Academy has any civet bone on hand?"

"This..." Physician Luo hesitated for a moment, then squeezed out a bitter expression, shook his head with deep regret, and sighed, "Physician Li, the Imperial Medical Academy does not possess such an item."

Li Yi looked surprised and said, "The Imperial Medical Academy doesn't have civet bone?"

Noticing Li Yi's astonishment, Physician Luo gave a bitter smile and explained, "None of us ever imagined that civet bone could be used as medicine, so the Imperial Medical Academy never kept any in reserve."

"I see." Li Yi nodded, understanding what Physician Luo meant.

Indeed, this could hardly be blamed on Luo Jihai.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's brow furrowed with displeasure as he cast a slight sideways glance at Luo Jihai. Then, swinging his sleeve with a flick of his arm, he called out toward the entrance of the hall, " Eunuch Gao!"

"This old slave is here." Hearing the summon, Eunuch Gao hurried in from outside the door, bowed respectfully with cupped hands, keeping his head slightly lowered.

"Send people out of the palace immediately to find where there is civet bone and buy it back for Us!" Li Shimin commanded urgently.

"...Yes, Your Majesty. This old slave will send men immediately." Eunuch Gao was slightly startled, but he quickly turned and hurried out of the hall to dispatch men to procure the civet bone.

Only then did Li Yi breathe a slight sigh of relief inwardly.

However, noticing the particularly wretched and embarrassed expression on Physician Luo's face nearby, Li Yi instantly understood the situation and said with a smile, "Physician Luo, could you please write a calming prescription to help the Grand Emperor sleep?"

"Uh, this..." Luo Jihai hesitated for a moment, then looked at Li Yi with a gaze filled with gratitude, naturally understanding the underlying meaning of Li Yi's words.

He had originally been summoned by Li Shimin, but returning empty-handed now would certainly have earned him no favor.

Although Li Yi had already provided the cure, leaving the task of prescribing the calming medicine to him was clearly a gesture to let him share in the credit.

Yet, since Li Shimin had not yet spoken, Luo Jihai dared not readily agree out loud.

Suddenly, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and glanced at Li Yi.

Being a man of supreme intelligence, how could he fail to understand what Li Yi implied? Li Shimin knew very well that Luo Jihai was currently losing face, and Li Yi was simply offering him a way out of an awkward situation.

Moreover, Li Shimin knew that Luo Jihai was an veteran physician of the palace; although somewhat inferior to Li Yi in certain aspects, Luo Jihai's medical skills were otherwise flawless.

Seeing this, Li Shimin was quite willing to spare him some dignity.

"Minister Luo, what are you standing there blankly for? Why haven't you gone to write the prescription yet?" Li Shimin waved his hand, stared at Luo Jihai, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hearing this, Luo Jihai hurriedly cupped his hands in a bow to express his gratitude.

Disregarding the messy surroundings, he squatted down right on the spot, wrote a calming prescription on his medicine box, and then handed the medical slip to Li Yi with a smile, saying, "Physician Li... why don't you take a look and see if this prescription is appropriate?"

Li Yi pushed the prescription right back.

Waving his hand, Li Yi smiled gently and declined, "Physician Luo, you are a senior expert. You are undoubtedly far more proficient in writing such prescriptions than I am; I merely understand a few unorthodox tricks."

Luo Jihai was stunned for a moment, then nodded and smiled. He immediately took the prescription, handed it to the palace maids outside the door, and instructed them to brew the medicine in the herbal kitchen.

At this moment, seeing that Li Yuan had finally fallen asleep, Li Shimin turned back to Li Yi and asked, "Minister Li, what method did you use just now to make My father pass out instantly?"

As soon as Li Shimin asked this, Empress Changsun and Luo Jihai also turned their gazes toward Li Yi, filled with intense curiosity.

They all wanted to know what trick Li Yi had used to effortlessly make Li Yuan lose consciousness.

Seeing this, Li Yi gave a slight bow with cupped hands and said straightforwardly, "Your Majesty, this is hypnosis."

"Hypnosis?" Li Shimin furrowed his brow instantly, his expression looking somewhat heavy.

Empress Changsun and Luo Jihai also furrowed their brows in deep thought.

They had never witnessed anyone from the Central Plains master such a bizarre and uncanny skill.

No matter how one looked at it, it resembled the bewitching arts of the Western Regions.

"If such unorthodox arts were used in the heat of battle—sending someone stealthily into the enemy camp to knock out the opposing generals—it would undoubtedly be a brilliant tactic."

"But if misused, it could also invite countless troubles."

Pondering this inwardly, Li Shimin stared solemnly at Li Yi and asked, "Minister Li, compared to the sorcery of the Western Regions, which one is more powerful?"

"Uh..." Li Yi was somewhat amused and cried a little on the inside. He bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty, hypnosis is merely somewhat useful for treating patients. If it were used in combat, I'm afraid... unless it is someone who deeply trusts you, hypnosis is completely useless."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin shook his head with a trace of disappointment.

However, Physician Luo nearby was extremely interested. He immediately took two steps forward, bowed respectfully and deeply to Li Yi, and said, "Physician Li, would you be willing to teach this hypnosis to this old man?"

Li Yi naturally understood what Luo Jihai was thinking. He smiled first, then nodded and said, "Of course. Hypnosis is indeed quite useful for patients who are emotionally unstable. Later on, I will write a manual on hypnosis and present it to Physician Luo."

"In that case, this old man thanks Physician Li in advance." Luo Jihai said with a beaming smile, feeling exceptionally happy and rejoicing inwardly, "Once I have this hypnosis technique, I won't feel awkward when encountering such patients in the future!"

Just the mere thought of it made Luo Jihai overwhelmingly joyful.

Empress Changsun and her husband could not be bothered to pay further attention to him.

Before long, Eunuch Gao hurried back, holding the civet bone. He presented it to Li Shimin and joyfully reported, "Your Majesty, the civet bone has been bought."

Li Shimin did not speak, but instead turned his gaze to Li Yi, signaling him to explain what should be done next.

Li Yi smiled faintly and said, "Eunuch Gao, please take this to the herbal kitchen and have someone boil it into a bowl of bone broth immediately. Remember, do not add any other medicinal ingredients, otherwise the therapeutic effect will be counterproductive."

"Yes, Physician Li." Eunuch Gao nodded, bowed once more to Li Shimin, and personally carried the civet bone off to the herbal kitchen.

About an hour later, Eunuch Gao returned.

Li Shimin took the medicinal soup from Eunuch Gao's hands and walked personally to the side of the bed. Li Yi pried open the corners of Li Yuan's mouth, and Li Shimin fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.

After half a bowl of the medicinal soup went down, Li Yi produced his "hypnosis device," leaned close to Li Yuan's ear, and softly uttered two words: "Wake up!"

Li Yuan, whose eyes had been closed tightly, suddenly and obediently opened them.

"Father!" Seeing Li Yuan wake up, Li Shimin cried out joyfully and hastily handed the remaining soup to Eunuch Gao waiting nearby.

Empress Changsun also stepped closer.

"Erlang, why are you here?" Li Yuan opened his eyes, suddenly seeing Li Shimin present, and asked with a confused expression.

"Father, do you not remember anything that happened just now?" Li Shimin asked.

"Just now? What happened just now?" Li Yuan blinked, looking thoroughly puzzled.

"It's nothing, as long as Father is fine, that's all that matters." Li Shimin smiled.

However, Li Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly. Clearly disbelieving Li Shimin's words, he pushed himself up from the bed, propped his back against the bedpost, and with a single glance, spotted the scattered and broken items on the floor of the hall.

Li Yuan immediately frowned, stared at Li Shimin, and asked with mild anger, "Erlang, who broke all these things?"

"..." Li Shimin was speechless.

"Ahem, Father, you broke these things yourself; you just fell ill." Li Shimin replied honestly.

Li Yuan instantly became displeased.

Puffing out his cheeks, he stared solemnly at Li Shimin, patted his chest, and declared, "My body is robust and healthy, how could I possibly fall ill?"

However, the moment Li Yuan patted his chest, he could not help but let out a light cough.

"..." Everyone nearby was speechless.

Seeing this, Li Yuan waved his hand with a somewhat unnatural expression and said, "I'm a bit tired. Erlang, you all should go back first."