Beauty and the Bodyguard

“Holding on? Yes, that’d be fine if it were _just_ holding on.” Xuemin sighed. “You know it yourself- those sedative painkillers cause huge damage to your body. Let’s not even talk about whether the medicine works, or if your body develops drug resistance…… You’ll have long fallen to the painkillers before any of that would’ve taken effect…...”

“Ah, that’s right……” The prescription Lin Yi gave him crossed his mind. He’d gotten a couple of medicines from a pharmacy, thinking that it was worth a try…

He boiled the medicine when the pain prevented him from falling asleep- and it turned out to be extremely effective! His body stopped hurting not long after that, and he slept through the whole night until sunrise, waking up with an indescribable freshness in his body. It was much better than waking up from the pain in the middle of the night with the painkillers, after they’d worn off. He only needed to use Lin Yi’s medicine once.

Yang Huaijun never expected it to be that effective, especially when it wasn’t something he’d went to great lengths to make for him. He’d been able to contain his pain with Lin Yi’s medicine the last couple of days, and Huaijun couldn’t help but be impressed.

As expected of Eagle, a godly existence within the team…… It wasn’t just Huaijun who admired him so, too- anyone who’d fought alongside Lin Yi respected his abilities.

As a result, none of the boys envied Lin Yi when their goddess fell in love with him- something like that was only bound to happen, after all. It was only natural.

Huaijun considered telling Xuemin about Lin Yi’s prescription. He was never told to keep it a secret, but Lin Yi might very well be undergoing a special mission- it was a possibility that he’d cause him trouble if he shared the prescription with someone else.

But Guan Xuemin was his elder- Huaijun would’ve been dead long ago if it weren’t for Xuemin. The doctor’s acupuncture and the painkillers were the only things keeping him alive after he’d left the battlefield……

“Grandpa Guan…… So a friend of mine gave me a prescription a couple of days ago, to replace the sedative painkillers…… I tried it, and the results were really prominent- the effects don’t wear off as fast, too, and I don’t need to take it twice like how I do with the painkillers every night……” Huaijun said, deciding to leave part of the secret hidden. He’d be respecting both sides with this option.

“Prescription to replace the painkillers?” Guan Xuemin asked, his eyes wide. “Eastern medicine prescription?”

“Yes……” Xuemin nodded, feeling a little shy from how Xuemin was staring at him.

“And you said it’s effective on you..?” It was one big shock after another today! First there was Tianyi mentioning a twenty year old Eastern masseur who’d saved Elder Liu from angina pectoris with just massaging, and now Huaijun was saying that his friend’s prescription replaced the painkillers, stopping the pain attacks with prominent effects!

What was happening? Since when was the world of Eastern medicine so filled with medical prodigies?

“To tell the truth, Grandpa Guan- this prescription’s actually really effective. Getting rid of the pain is just one thing; there’s always this refreshed feeling I get when I wake up the next day after taking the medicine……” Huaijun continued honestly.

“Oh? Can I see the prescription?” Guan Xuemin was concerned that there might’ve been opium or some sort of illegal drug mixed into the prescription- prominent sedative effects could be achieved through that mean, but it’d cause immense harm to the body, as well! More thought into the matter, however, and Xuemin realized that that couldn’t be the case. The man was a cop, and a criminal police captain, at that- he’d be pretty familiar with drugs like opium, and he’d never get anywhere near that kind of thing. Substances like those weren’t commonly found in pharmacies, as well.

If Huaijun had gotten the medical ingredients from a pharmacy, then it was only natural to assume that the prescription would contain medicines readily available at regular pharmacies. Xuemin realized that he was complicating things upon further thought.

Xuemin smiled bitterly at the face Huaijun was making- he seemed to be in a tight spot, and Xuemin understood: many prescriptions were kept secret because of their value. Taking the current miracle doctor, Doctor Kang, for example- the guy had founded an empire of medicine based on just one prescription that healed wounds, propelling the Kang family into the world of top tier houses because of that!

The prescription hadn’t any side-effects, so if what Huaijun had described were true… Then that recipe had to at least be on the level of the miracle doctor’s prescription, in terms of value…..

Him asking for the prescription did indeed put Huaijun in a bad position, and Xuemin explained his intentions immediately. “Yang, don’t jump to any conclusions- I know well that prescriptions are usually kept secret. I only meant to see if there were any ingredients with side effects involved……”

“It’s not a prescription we should be revealing to outsiders, but Grandpa Guan- it’s still fine if you’d like to see it……” Huaijun said. “I’ll get it for you right now, but please don’t tell anyone else about it before my friend gives his permission……”

“Of course! I’m familiar with those rules, rest assured, Yang. Grandpa won’t put you into a hard spot- I’ll make sure to keep the prescription secret until you friend consents otherwise.” Xuemin said, joyed at Huaijun’s words- after all, even just looking at a prescription like that would enlighten him significantly.

Huaijun had always kept the prescription with him even after he’d gotten the medicines from the pharmacy. He pulled it out and handed it to Xuemin, aware that someone like Lin Yi would’ve made sure to tell him if he’d wanted something kept secret. This meant that Lin Yi didn’t need the prescription kept secret, but even so, Huaijun wanted to make sure and have Lin Yi’s consent before he let Xuemin share the prescription with anyone else.

Xuemin received the prescription carefully. He didn’t react too much as he read the first parts, but it wasn’t long before Xuemin’s expressions turned into shock and surprise as he went through the herbs and ingredients listed……

“This is the prescription?” Xuemin couldn’t believe it- the ingredients on there were absolutely ordinary! There wasn’t a single ingredient that was particularly expensive or rare, but some of them, like gastrodia for example, did provide sedative effects. Xuemin had given these ingredients to Huaijun before, as well, but the results weren’t very prominent. Did these ingredients hold a different effect when mixed together?

Xuemin was stunned, but he was still the Dean of Eastern Doctors, at the end of the day… He understood that the prescriptions in Eastern medicine were susceptible to drastic changes with just the difference of one ingredient……

The ingredients prescribed weren’t too dissimilar- they all targeted the pain in the muscles, and there wasn’t anything special about them. What Xuemin was certain of, however, was the fact that all these ingredients were clean- there wouldn’t be anything like opium inside of them……

“Yeah, that’s the one. Is there a problem, Grandpa Guan?” Huaijun asked, curious at the stunned face Xuemin was making.

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap