Chapter 13: Lin the Instructor is Poisoned, An the Divine Doctor is Helpless

Zhang Yue, hearing that Instructor Lin was in trouble, didn’t bother to ask further. He quickly asked Cao Zheng to lead the way, and they all went to Lin Chong’s residence.

Song Jiang didn’t even enter the door before he knelt down outside, kowtowing deeply and crying, “Instructor Lin, it’s my fault, Black Third Brother! If I hadn’t stopped you from killing Gao Qiu, you wouldn’t have died of grief!”

“What? Instructor Lin is dead?” Wu Song was startled. He kicked open the door and rushed in. The crowd immediately became chaotic, pushing their way into the room.

Zhang Yue flipped over and landed inside the door, spreading his arms to block the crowd. He shouted, “Brothers, don’t panic!”

Seeing that it was Zhang Yue, everyone stopped. Zhang Yue turned to Song Jiang and said, “Chief Song, Brother Cao Zheng just said that Instructor Lin was in trouble, he didn’t say that Instructor Lin was dead! Why are you so sad? And why are you so sure that he’s already dead?”

Song Jiang was speechless. The other heroes, hearing Zhang Yue’s words, also felt that Song Jiang’s reaction was unusual. A few of the more astute ones had already understood the situation and secretly felt sorry for Lin Chong.

Lu Junyi looked at Lin Chong lying on the bed from the doorway and said sadly, “Since Brother Gongming has said so much, Brother Lin Chong is probably in a bad way.”

“Impossible. Instructor Lin has a tough physique. He has been persecuted by villains so many times, but he has always been unharmed. How could he die from a few cups of wine?”

“Yes! Yes! Unless it was poisoned wine!”

Everyone started arguing. Zhang Yue quickly said, “Everyone, calm down. I’ll go in and see what’s going on with Instructor Lin. Please wait patiently and don’t move. If Instructor Lin really died an unnatural death, we need to protect the scene so we can find out the truth and comfort Instructor Lin’s spirit in heaven!”

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, everyone stood quietly in the courtyard. Song Jiang was now sweating profusely. Zhang Yue grabbed his hand and said, “Come on, Chief Song, let’s go in and see if Instructor Lin is alive or dead!”

Zhang Yue, Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, and others entered Lin Chong’s room one after another. Zhang Yue went to Lin Chong’s bedside and saw that Lin Chong’s face was ashen and he was lying stiffly on the bed.

Zhang Yue quickly touched Lin Chong’s forehead and found it was cold. He then put his finger on his nose and found that he was only breathing in, not out.

Zhang Yue quickly called for Lu Zhishen to bring hot water and asked Wu Song to help Lin Chong sit up. He opened his mouth to check, but there was nothing there. It seemed that he hadn’t choked on vomit after getting drunk.

Song Jiang didn’t go forward to check Lin Chong’s condition. After Zhang Yue finished examining him, he asked, “Brother Zhang Yue, is Instructor Lin alive or dead?”

Zhang Yue helped Lin Chong lie down slowly and said calmly, “I learned some medical skills from my master. When I traveled with him, I treated many difficult cases, but I’ve never seen a situation like Instructor Lin’s!”

Lu Zhishen slammed the basin down with a bang and said anxiously, “Brother, you’re killing me! Just tell me, is Instructor Lin alive or dead? Is there any hope?”

Zhang Yue looked at Lin Chong, who was unconscious, and said with a heavy heart, “Instructor Lin is neither alive nor dead. It’s more agonizing than suffering in eighteen layers of hell!”

Wu Song drew his saber from his waist, stepped forward, and said decisively, “Instructor Lin is a hero. How can we let him suffer like this? We should live a life of revenge and die a courageous and quick death! Brother, I’ll send you on your way!”

“Captain Wu, hold on!” Song Jiang stepped forward and grabbed Wu Song, continuing, “Brother, have you forgotten that we have the divine doctor, An Daoquan, on Liangshan? Quickly invite him here!”

Cao Zheng quickly went to fetch him. After a while, an old man wearing a square scarf and a linen robe, carrying a medicine box on his shoulder, walked in. After greeting everyone, he went straight to Lin Chong’s bedside, took one look, and said, “Strange! Instructor Lin has been poisoned!”

Everyone was startled. Lu Junyi stepped forward, grabbed An Daoquan’s shoulder, and scolded, “You old man, have you looked carefully? You’re saying he’s been poisoned?”

An Daoquan impatiently pushed Lu Junyi away and pointed at Lin Chong, saying, “Gentleman, look. Instructor Lin’s face is ashen. Look closely at his mouth, eyebrows, and ears. Are there any small red dots?”

As An Daoquan spoke, he paced back and forth in the room. Lu Junyi and the others, following An Daoquan’s instructions, checked Lin Chong’s mouth and other areas. Sure enough, they found many small red dots!

An Daoquan continued, “You can also unbutton his clothes and check his armpits and the back of his knees. You’ll find the same small red dots!”

Wu Song rolled up Lin Chong’s pants leg, flipped open the back of his knee, and took a look. The small red dots were clearly visible!

“This is strange! Who on Liangshan would poison Instructor Lin?” Lu Junyi was baffled.

An Daoquan also muttered to himself, “Strange, strange, really strange! How could there be palace poison on Liangshan?”

“Where is Dong Li Ning!?” Song Jiang suddenly roared.

Dai Zong immediately sent someone to call Dong Li Ning.

Soon, a soldier came back to report that Dong Li Ning was dead.

“No!” Song Jiang roared, saying with a heavy heart, “It must be that scoundrel, Dong Li Ning. He must have held a grudge against Instructor Lin for publicly scolding him, causing him to lose face. He took advantage of Instructor Lin’s drunkenness and poisoned him, then committed suicide out of fear of punishment!”

Song Jiang cried, saying that he wished he had known this would happen, he would have given Dong Li Ning a small leadership position. He would have given him his title of Heavenly Constellation Star, the first leader, if he had to!

Everyone was saddened by Song Jiang’s words, but only Zhang Yue noticed the medicine bowl placed by the brazier.

He picked up the bowl and saw that the bottom was red. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the bottom of the bowl. There was red powder stuck to the handkerchief.

He quickly called for An Daoquan and asked him to look at the red powder to see if it was the poison that Lin Chong had been poisoned with.

An Daoquan came over, took a look, and nodded, “It is this substance. But I have one thing I don’t understand. How could we have this poison on Liangshan?”

Everyone heard this and gathered around, asking An Daoquan what he meant. Since he knew what the poison was, could he save Lin Chong?

An Daoquan then slowly said, “The poison Instructor Lin has been poisoned with is a rare poison from the imperial palace. It’s called Black Heart Red Pill!”

It turned out that An Daoquan’s ancestor, An En Tai, was a skilled physician in the palace. He was highly regarded by Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, so he often served by his side.

One night, Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin called An En Tai to his private chamber and took out a delicate box. When he opened it, there was a blood-red pill inside.

Emperor Taizu smiled and asked An En Tai if he recognized the substance. An En Tai was startled and knelt down, saying, “This is a rare poison created by a strange person in the palace during the Later Zhou Dynasty. It was made by combining forty-nine different poisons from all over the world. It is said that there is no antidote. How could Your Majesty have this?”

Hearing that the poison had no antidote, Emperor Taizu was satisfied and dismissed An En Tai.

However, not long after, Emperor Taizu secretly invited his younger brother, Zhao Guangyi, to drink in the palace late at night. He died mysteriously that night. Later, An En Tai secretly performed an autopsy and found that Emperor Taizu had died from this poison.

An En Tai soon resigned from his post and returned to his hometown. This incident became a secret passed down through generations of the An family.

Therefore, An Daoquan only knew the symptoms of poisoning by the rare poison, “Black Heart Red Pill,” but he didn’t know the antidote. He also said that he was powerless to save Instructor Lin from the poison!