Xiahou Yuan followed the others through the main building and into the rear courtyard. He looked around with genuine curiosity, and his first thought was that the place did not resemble a medical clinic in the slightest.
The courtyard was sprawling, filled with every variety of domestic poultry and livestock one could imagine. Cages lined the walls, pens occupied the corners, and, to his surprise, he spotted two iron-barred enclosures containing actual monkeys.
If no one had told him beforehand that this was a place of healing, Xiahou Yuan would have bet his own head that he had somehow wandered into the preparation yard of a bustling restaurant.
A second look, however, revealed something deeply disturbing.
Something was wrong with the physical condition of the animals.
Xiahou Yuan was no sheltered shut-in. He had traveled extensively and had seen plenty of rural life firsthand, so he knew how farmers operated. When rural vendors brought poultry to the marketplace, they would always boast about how lively and vigorous their birds were. After all, a healthy animal was far easier to sell, and every merchant wanted potential buyers to see creatures full of energy.
The animals occupying these cages displayed the exact opposite qualities.
In some cages, chickens and ducks slumped against the bamboo bars, their bodies looking weak and lethargic. Their feathers were dull, their eyes half closed, and every breath came with a wet rattling sound from their throats. They looked like they were suffering from some severe plague.
Other cages presented a far more terrifying sight.
The enclosures containing the monkeys and dogs were in complete chaos. The animals repeatedly hurled their bodies against the iron bars, barking and shrieking with an intensity that bordered on madness. Their teeth were bared, their eyes wide and bloodshot, and their movements were so frantic that they looked less like ordinary animals and more like creatures possessed by something unseen.
Xiahou Yuan watched as one of the monkeys seized the iron bars and shook them with frantic strength. He had absolutely no doubt about what would happen if someone opened that door.
Those beasts would not run away.
They would throw themselves straight at the nearest human being and tear flesh from bone without the slightest hesitation.
In short, after looking around the entire courtyard, Xiahou Yuan could not find a single animal that appeared healthy enough to be sent to a kitchen chopping block.
The murderous glare in the eyes of the manic animals irritated Du Xi, while the sickly appearance of the poultry filled him with an even deeper sense of disgust. His throat felt dry, and he swallowed heavily before finally speaking.
"Doctor Zhang," Du Xi began, his voice trembling slightly. "What the hell exactly is happening in this place?"
Zhang Zhongjing had no interest in wasting time on pleasantries. He simply turned his head and answered with blunt simplicity.
"Every beast and bird in this courtyard has been regularly consuming Five Mineral Powder."
Xiahou Yuan could not hold himself back.
"Hahahaha! Du Xi, look at that animal. It is sick because of the powder. Now I finally understand. This whole time, you must have been sick too."
The sound echoed across the courtyard, wildly inappropriate given the grim atmosphere. Fortunately for him, nobody in the group seemed to care enough to correct his manners.
Du Xi ignored the general and frantically scanned the cages, his eyes darting from the crazed dogs to the dying chickens. Zhang Zhongjing likewise allowed his gaze to travel across the menagerie until he found the enclosure he was looking for. He raised a steady finger and pointed toward a bamboo cage filled with ducks.
"The Five Mineral Powder consumed by the poultry in this particular cage is identical to the powder you consume," Zhang Zhongjing explained. "The formula matches your personal supply without the slightest difference."
He stepped closer to the cage.
"One bird receives two doses each day, with each dose weighing exactly three coins. Today is the sixth day of this regimen. Yesterday afternoon, one of the birds became violently ill and died."
As he spoke, a particular memory surfaced in Zhang Zhongjing's mind.
Hua Tuo.
The memory of the man's tragic death twisted his expression. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward into a smile that contained not the slightest trace of warmth.
He fixed his cold, unblinking gaze upon Du Xi and spoke with deadly seriousness.
"Perhaps these ducks simply lack the divine destiny required to enjoy the blessings of the immortals. General Du is clearly a man of superior standing. If you continue consuming your powder according to schedule, your body will surely become as light as air. You will defy death itself, and the glorious day of your ascension to the heavens must surely be approaching."
Zhang Zhongjing paused, and his smile widened by the slightest fraction.
"Or perhaps General Du is feeling adventurous. Would you prefer to test a dose of my Alpha One-grade powder instead?"
The icy sarcasm contained in the doctor's smile struck Du Xi like a physical blow. Terror washed over him, followed by a chill that began at the base of his spine and shot straight up to the crown of his head.
The power of suggestion was a terrifying thing.
The moment Zhang Zhongjing mentioned the symptoms, Du Xi became acutely aware of his own body. The skin around his shoulders and neck had felt mildly itchy two days ago, and now those same areas seemed to throb with a dull, menacing ache.
Panic seized his muscles.
Du Xi stumbled backward, taking two clumsy steps away from the doctor.
Only moments earlier, he had snatched his precious packet of Five Mineral Powder back from the young medical assistant. Now that same packet felt like a piece of glowing charcoal resting in his palm. His fingers weakened, and he could no longer maintain his grip.
The packet slipped from his hand and fell toward the ground.
The paper struck the dirt, its folds springing open as the pristine white powder spilled across the ground. The substance Du Xi had purchased with gold scattered through the dirt like worthless ash.
Zhang Zhongjing saw the powder fall.
Jian Yong saw it too.
The two men reacted with exactly the same instinct.
Without exchanging a word, they both stepped backward, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the spilled powder, retreating as far from the toxic dust as the courtyard allowed.
Zhang Zhongjing tried to retreat another step, but his escape was unsuccessful.
Du Xi lunged forward and seized the doctor by the sleeve of his robe. His grip was desperate, his knuckles turning white.
"Doctor Zhang," Du Xi pleaded, his voice cracking. "Is that really true? This substance on the ground. Is it truly a deadly poison?"
The pathetic sight was too much to bear. Even Zhang He could no longer keep his mouth shut.
He frowned and spoke in a stern, reprimanding tone. "Zixu, if you do not trust the doctor's expertise, why torture yourself by asking him these questions?"
The truth about Five Mineral Powder was, in many ways, a matter of cultural divide.
In the current era, the drug had not yet gained widespread popularity in major political centers such as Yecheng or Xuchang. Its use remained largely confined to a very specific social circle, spreading primarily among wealthy and privileged scholars who shared the same aristocratic background as Du Xi.
Military commanders and veteran soldiers, meanwhile, generally kept their distance from the substance.
The reason was simple.
Five Mineral Powder was not a new invention, nor was it some miraculous medicine.
Medical records concerning the substance stretched far back into history, reaching all the way to the reign of Emperor Wen of the Former Han. A legendary doctor named Chunyu Yi had documented the drug extensively. In those ancient times, the substance was known by a slightly different name.
Five Color Powder.
Chunyu Yi had witnessed its consequences firsthand. He had treated patients who swallowed the powder because they believed it would help them become immortal. Instead of ascending into the heavens, those unfortunate people developed rotting ulcers across their bodies and eventually died in agony.
People in the current era might not know those gruesome historical details, but anyone with common sense understood one basic fact.
This powder had nothing to do with building physical strength or maintaining a healthy body.
There was also a simple economic reality behind its use.
Five Mineral Powder was a luxury vice. It could not prey upon the poor because the poor could not afford it in the first place.
Military generals lived according to an entirely different value system.
When a warlord rewarded a general with gold, that wealth was invested in practical things. They bought horses with famous bloodlines and exceptional speed. They purchased blades forged from the finest steel available. They commissioned armor capable of withstanding heavy blows.
Generals spent their wealth to secure greater glory on the battlefield.
No veteran commander would willingly waste an entire chest of gold on a small packet of powder that did nothing except make him dizzy.
That cultural gap explained everything happening in the courtyard.
It was why Xiahou Yuan could watch Du Xi's entire mental breakdown with barely concealed amusement. It was also why Zhang He felt a growing sense of embarrassment on behalf of his own faction.
He desperately wanted Du Xi to stop humiliating them in front of the enemy.
The group eventually left the farmyard behind and returned to the still interior of the main hall, taking their seats on the woven mats.
The brief walk gave Du Xi enough time to regulate his breathing. He forced his emotions back under a layer of control that was fragile at best. He sat without speaking for a moment, pondering the situation, before finally looking up and asking a logical question.
"Doctor Zhang, did you summon me here to understand the exact nature of its toxicity?"
Zhang Zhongjing shook his head, his expression remaining clinical.
"The toxicity is already displayed with crystal clarity on the bodies of the beasts in the yard."
The bluntness of the statement triggered another reaction from Xiahou Yuan. A snort escaped him, and he doubled over with laughter, slapping his knee as he pointed at Du Xi.
"Hahaha! Oh my, oh my, Du Xi! Look at that animal! Full of poison! Now I finally understand. Your brain is completely full of poison too!"
Du Xi snapped his head sideways and glared at Xiahou Yuan with anger blazing in his eyes.
Damn this Xiahou Yuan. Damn his entire family.
Back in the courtyard, Du Xi had been too panicked to process the background noise. Now, his mind was clear enough to connect the dots. He understood exactly why Xiahou Yuan found this situation so hilarious. The rugged general was enjoying the sight of a refined scholar realizing he had been eating literal poison.
Zhang Zhongjing ignored the tension between the two generals. His voice remained crisp and efficient.
"I brought you here to understand its addictive properties. Beasts cannot speak, after all."
Du Xi possessed many flaws, but he was not a coward when faced with the truth. He decided to be entirely transparent, nodding his head slowly.
"You have clearly exposed the toxic nature of this powder. By doing so, you have done me a favor. You have likely saved my life. I acknowledge this debt. Therefore, if I know the answer to your questions, I will speak without hiding a single detail."
Having made this concession, a spark of curiosity that was dark and desperate ignited in the mind of Du Xi. He leaned forward slightly.
"Doctor Zhang, I must ask about the Alpha One grade powder you mentioned outside. If a man consumes that specific mixture, does he truly drop dead in an instant?"
Zhang Zhongjing shook his head again.
"That claim was the wild exaggeration of a foolish child. The young boy spoke out of turn. The monkey in the cage has been eating the Alpha One batch for five full days. As you saw, the beast shows no signs of lethargy or weakness yet."
The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If that specific batch is meant to cause death, it will require at least half a month of continuous feeding to achieve a fatal result."
Zhang Zhongjing was speaking the truth based on his current observations. He faced a unique problem. He possessed a formula that originated from a future era. The modern refinement process of this powder was sophisticated. The creators had designed the drug to hide its toxic nature during the early stages of consumption.
The doctor had theories about the varying reaction times. He wondered why a duck died quickly from a weak dose while a monkey thrived on a strong dose. He suspected the answer related to the volume of blood and vital energy within the subject.
It worked on the same principle as certain toxic plants found in the mountains. A warrior who was huge and muscular could eat a poisonous root and experience nothing more than a mild stomach ache. If a fragile child ate the exact same root, the child would die beyond the hope of salvation.
The underlying medical theory was complex. Zhang Zhongjing knew he could never explain the nuances of blood volume and poison resistance to a layman like Du Xi in a few sentences. Therefore, he kept his theories to himself.
His lack of explanation produced a disastrous result. Without a detailed breakdown, Du Xi followed a path of logic that was wildly incorrect.
Du Xi heard the doctor's explanation and immediately began making his own desperate calculation. His eyes lit up, and he slapped a hand against his knee.
"Doctor Zhang! If that is true, could you give me two doses of that Alpha One powder?"
The request struck the room like a thunderclap.
Zhang Zhongjing and Jian Yong both jolted backward in shock, their eyebrows shooting toward their hairlines.
Xiahou Yuan sprang to his feet.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Zhang He grabbed Du Xi by the shoulder, genuine alarm rising in his voice.
"Zixu, stop this nonsense right now!"
Du Xi shook him off.
"Let go of me."
He turned back toward Zhang Zhongjing, his expression suddenly stubborn.
"If a small monkey can eat the drug without dying, then a grown man like me will obviously suffer no harm from two tiny doses."
"That is not how poison works," Zhang He snapped.
"You are not a doctor," Du Xi shot back.
Xiahou Yuan threw both hands into the air.
"He may not be a doctor, but he is not an idiot either, which is more than I can say for you right now."
Du Xi ignored them both. His eyes remained fixed on Zhang Zhongjing as he waited for the doctor's answer.
What if this miraculous medicine only revealed its true potential when consumed by a human?
And what if the great Doctor Zhang was completely wrong about the whole thing?
He kept both thoughts buried deep inside his chest, where no one else could see them.
Zhang Zhongjing did not argue.
He did not raise his voice.
Instead, he calmly reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out his small notebook. He picked up his writing brush, and an intense, clinical fascination settled over his face as he began writing rapidly.
He was documenting the psychological breakdown unfolding directly in front of him.
The patient had ceased consuming the drug for merely half a day. As a result, the patient had already lost his mental clarity.
The patient falsely believed that he was calmly calculating the risks and benefits. From an outside perspective, however, the truth was painfully obvious. He was suffering from unbearable impatience and was willing to take risks that were both extreme and irrational.
He desired another dose of the powder so desperately that he was willing to ignore the immediate threat of death.
Based on these observations, the addictive nature of the formula could be considered extreme, fully confirmed, and deeply terrifying.
Zhang Zhongjing's brush continued moving across the page.
He paused for a moment and looked at the man sitting before him.
Du Xi had once been a famous scholar of Yingchuan.
He was educated. He was disciplined.
When circumstances demanded it, he had demonstrated considerable tactical brilliance. He had betrayed Xiahou Yuan in the middle of a battle and surrendered his forces in order to save his commander's life. Since his capture, he had spent every single day shouting insults at Lord Liu Bei in order to protect his political reputation back home.
The man knew when to advance.
He knew when to retreat.
He was a master at calculating political survival.
Yet the man sitting on the mat before him now looked like a degenerate gambler who had completely lost his mind at a dice table.
Two entirely different souls seemed to occupy the same body.
Zhang Zhongjing dipped his brush into the ink again and added another line to his notes.
Prolonged consumption of this substance guarantees a fundamental alteration of the patient's core personality. Tragically, the patient remains entirely oblivious to the transformation.
He finished writing and looked up.
Du Xi was still talking.
"Doctor Zhang, just one taste. A small taste. That is all I am asking. You have plenty. I saw the cages. You have more than enough."
Zhang Zhongjing closed his notebook and calmly tucked it back into his sleeve.
"Doctor Zhang, are you listening to me? I said one small taste."
The doctor raised one hand and made a sharp, sweeping gesture toward the door.
Two heavily armed guards immediately entered the hall.
Zhang Zhongjing pointed firmly at Du Xi.
"Take him. Lock him in the woodshed behind the courtyard. Do not open that door until I say so."
The guards seized Du Xi by both arms and hoisted him from the mat.
"What are you doing? Let go of me! Doctor Zhang! Doctor Zhang, I am not finished talking to you! Do you hear me? I am not finished!"
They dragged him across the floor. His voice cracked as he struggled against their grip, but the guards did not slow down. They hauled him through the doorway and out into the courtyard.
The door slammed shut.
The room went still.
Zhang Zhongjing gently closed his notebook, leaving one hand resting upon its cover. Slowly, he turned his head away from the door and fixed his eyes directly upon Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He.
His face was a mask of deep contemplation, while a predatory, analytical gleam remained in his eyes.
"I have heard many rumors," Zhang Zhongjing said softly.
His voice was smooth, gentle, and somehow dangerous.
"I hear that the children of the elite families in Yecheng and Xuchang consider Five Mineral Powder to be a highly fashionable trend."
The doctor leaned forward and rested his elbows upon his knees.
"General Xiahou, given your high status, I assume you possess a very clear and detailed understanding of this particular social phenomenon."
Zhang Zhongjing offered them a polite smile. Somehow, that smile was even more terrifying.
"Would you care to enlighten me?"