Chapter 47: The World is Full of Injustice, Blood Summons the Thunder

Hu Bugui carefully sprayed the scalpel with grain liquor, his gaze as intensely focused as if he were carving a rare and priceless treasure.

He understood all too well the vital importance of sterilizing the surgical instruments, making sure not to miss a single corner.

"This young girl's foot injury is far too severe. I must ensure the tools are completely sterile; there is no room for error," Hu Bugui muttered to himself.

After finishing the spray, he placed the scalpel over the flame and roasted it continuously. The firelight flickered across his face, the dancing shadows weaving together with his solemn expression.

"The grain liquor is the key. I only hope this time I can pull this child back from the gates of hell, but this condition... is truly tricky."

"Old Lu, you are in great luck. The entirety of Chang'an has only my supply of this grain liquor. Without high-proof alcohol like this, this foot cannot be treated!"

Hu Bugui spoke aloud while watching the heat of the flame, a trace of relief evident in his voice.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingshuo's eyes immediately flashed with a hint of joy, the light in his gaze resembling that of a drowning person catching sight of a drifting lifeline.

"What? You can save her?"

Hu Bugui, however, slowly shook his head. His expression grew even graver than before, a flash of helplessness and regret crossing his eyes.

"This young girl's foot injury exceeds all imagination. A fifty percent chance of success is the absolute highest hope I can offer, though what that means for her... I truly dare not imagine."

He looked toward Lu Jingshuo and slowly began, "A fifty percent chance, but ultimately it depends on fortune. The young girl's foot is no longer simply a matter of a festering wound; what you see is merely the surface."

He paused, his brows knitting tighter together, and continued with a face full of sorrow: "Inside, it has already formed a diseased core, and everything has rotted away. Right now, all I can do is cut away all the rotted flesh so she can survive. Therefore, it does not depend on me, but on just how badly her foot has rotted."

He looked at Lu Jingshuo, his gaze filled with helplessness.

"She will certainly survive! In a case like this, losing a portion of the sole is quite normal, and a wheelchair will definitely need to be prepared. If fortune smiles upon her and most of the sole is saved, she may still walk in the future; if fortune is unkind, she will require a wheelchair for the rest of her life!"

Hearing Hu Bugui speak thus, Lu Jingshuo pressed his lips together, turning them somewhat pale from the force.

His inner self fell into a dilemma of struggle. On the one hand, he hoped Song Jingshu would survive; on the other, he worried she would be unable to accept the outcome of disability.

He looked at Song Jingshu, his eyes fraught with complex emotions—pity, worry, and a trace of reluctance.

He said softly, "Speak for yourself. Will you undergo the treatment or not? Refuse, and you die; treat it, and you become lame."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Song Jingshu felt her heart overflow with confusion and terror, as though she had been cast into a dark abyss with no path of escape.

Hu Bugui's words echoed relentlessly in her mind: Was she destined to become a cripple?

The thought pierced her heart like a sharp blade.

She thought, "I cannot be lame. I still have matters of such importance left undone. Yet if I refuse treatment, I shall die, and what of my family? Their grievances have yet to be avenged..."

A whirlwind of thoughts tangled in her mind, causing her excruciating pain.

"I will not be treated. Thank you, Doctor Hu."

Though her voice was faint, it carried an unyielding determination, as if she had spent the very last ounce of her strength.

Hu Bugui looked solemnly at Song Jingshu, a trace of pity in his eyes.

"You poor child, you do not understand. Life is the most important thing of all."

With earnest sincerity, he said, "If these two feet of yours are left untreated, the wound will continue to inflame and fester, and you will not survive two months. If during this time you still attempt to walk on these two feet, you will not survive a single month."

After laying out the stark realities without reservation, he handed the decision over to her, silently praying in his heart that she might change her mind.

Song Jingshu resolutely shook her head, a flash of absolute determination shining in her eyes.

She cried out, "I will not be treated! I still have things left undone!"

Hu Bugui turned to look at Lu Jingshuo and said helplessly, "Old Lu, it is not that I am unwilling to help. She refuses the treatment!"

Lu Jingshuo gazed deeply at Song Jingshu, his gaze piercing as fire, attempting to read the depths of her soul.

This young girl must be harboring unspeakable secrets. What on earth could drive her to cast even her life aside?

He took a step forward, his expression softening further.

"Your foot must be treated. Whatever matters you have, this official will handle them for you!"

Song Jingshu kept her head lowered in silence, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her garment.

She dared not meet Lu Jingshuo's eyes, fearing her resolve would waver.

"My lord, you have already helped me far too much, but this matter is mine alone to execute. I cannot drag you down with me."

"Little girl, do you have any idea what kind of uniform this official is wearing?"

Lu Jingshuo shifted his tone.

As a brocade-uniform guard, he acutely sensed that this young girl concealed numerous secrets. Initially, he had hoped to gradually uncover them, but the situation was now critical, leaving him no choice but to attempt swift guidance.

He hoped this might capture her attention and earn her trust.

Upon hearing Lu Jingshuo's words, Song Jingshu, who had just kept her head down, suddenly lifted it, a glimmer of hope surfacing in her eyes like the first ray of dawn piercing through the dark.

Lu Jingshuo caught Song Jingshu's gaze and felt a quiet surge of joy, sensing he had found a clearer path to guide her.

Song Jingshu shook her head to indicate she did not know.

"The uniform I wear is known as the flying-fish robe. I am a sixth-rank thousand-户 of the Brocade Guard, on duty in Xianyang, personal guard to the Son of Heaven."

Lu Jingshuo puffed out his chest, feigning a proud demeanor as he displayed his status.

"The authority to execute first and report later, sanctioned by imperial power—do you understand?"

Listening to Lu Jingshuo, Song Jingshu nodded with partial comprehension.

"My lord, I have a question. We are complete strangers, why are you treating me with such deep care?"

This question had been weighing upon Song Jingshu's heart from the very beginning. She simply could not fathom why an official she had encountered purely by chance should show her such attentive concern.

She looked at Lu Jingshuo, her eyes filled with perplexity.

Lu Jingshuo looked back at Song Jingshu with a puzzled expression, as though she had asked an utterly bizarre question.

He paused, his expression turning entirely natural and frank.

"Because I am an official! And you are a commoner! It is only right and natural for us officials to work for the common folk!"

"Is there any need to ask?"

Hearing Lu Jingshuo's reply, Song Jingshu felt as though she had been struck by lightning, her body trembling slightly.

She quietly stared at Lu Jingshuo as tears streamed unceasingly down her face, the suppressed and agonizing memories of her past rushing back like a tidal wave.

"Then why! Why did the officials in my hometown slaughter my entire family!"

Song Jingshu's voice carried a choked sob, her eyes filled with grief and righteous indignation, every single word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Why did the officials in my hometown seize all the grain from our household!"

"They beat my grandfather to death, and dragged away my mother and elder sister. When I went to find them, they had been cast out into the open, stripped of every single garment upon their bodies!"

Her body trembled more violently from the agitation, the harrowing scenes of her family's suffering flashing relentlessly before her mind's eye.

"I do not understand! Neither did my grandfather understand! He asked them why they had to rob our family of our grain!"

"That official told him that His Majesty was waging war and therefore required our grain, telling us to take our grievances to Chang'an and ask His Majesty ourselves!"

Endless hatred flashed through her gaze.

"He said even if I walked all the way to Chang'an and saw His Majesty, His Majesty would never care! Because they bear the surname Wang, belonging to the Taiyuan Wang clan! Born superior to ordinary mortals!"

A blazing fury ignited within her heart.

"By what right? By what right are they permitted to act with such lawless tyranny?"

Song Jingshu's emotions intensified further, and she cried out in a hoarse, desperate shriek toward Lu Jingshuo: "I refuse to accept this! I walked and walked, all the way to Chang'an!"

"I only wanted to ask the Son of Heaven sitting in Chang'an! Does he even know? Our family relies on that tiny sliver of grain to survive the entire year! Only I am left of all my family!"

"Can the Wang clan truly murder with impunity, treating us common folk like pigs and dogs? I merely wanted to ask His Majesty! Does he care or not?"

Her voice cracked and grew hoarse, and her body weakened from excessive exertion, yet the anger and grievance within her heart forbade her from stopping.

"I want justice for my family, even if I must forfeit this worthless life of mine! I demand justice!"

She wept continuously, her tears falling like shattered strings of pearls, every single drop carrying the weight of her boundless anguish.

Lu Jingshuo stood beside Hu Bugui before the bed, remaining entirely silent.

He clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned pale, a fierce wave of anger surging within his chest.

"To treat human lives with such utter contempt!"

He closed his eyes, attempting to calm himself, yet the vivid scenes described by Song Jingshu continued to tear at his heart.

He turned to leave, but Hu Bugui, observing his departure, hastily grabbed him with a look of extreme urgency.

"Old Lu, you must not act rashly. This is not a problem you can solve alone."

He shouted aloud, "Old Lu, where are you going? Stop right there!"

"I am going to see His Majesty!"

Lu Jingshuo's voice was low and firm, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

"Only His Majesty can uphold justice. I must make him aware of the suffering of the common people."

"You cannot see His Majesty. Your rank is insufficient; you can only pass the news upward to Xianhuai brother and have him report it to His Majesty."

Hu Bugui pulled firmly on Lu Jingshuo, trying to force him to calm down.

He worried that such rash actions would bring catastrophe upon Lu Jingshuo himself.

Lu Jingshuo halted his steps and looked at Hu Bugui, a trace of disappointment in his gaze.

With a hint of anguish, he said, "Old Hu, even you will not help me?"

Hu Bugui slowly closed his eyes, a look of helplessness spreading across his face.

"I know you are driven by justice, but now is not the time. You cannot ruin yourself on an impulse, nor can you add trouble for His Majesty."

"I know what you intend to do. His Majesty does not yet have the capacity to deal with these aristocratic clans; acting against them now would trigger a chain reaction. I will not let you go. I know you wish to beat the grievance drum, deliberately using an audience with His Majesty as an excuse for me to hear. Do I not know the kind of person you are?"

Hearing Hu Bugui's words, Lu Jingshuo quieted down, though the fire of anger still burned within his eyes.

"Must we truly stand by and watch these aristocratic clans continue to commit evil? Does His Majesty truly possess no means?"

He asked with deep reluctance, "Will His Majesty truly refuse to intervene?"

Hu Bugui looked at Lu Jingshuo, his eyes brimming with helplessness.

"Old Lu, you are always so impulsive. Some matters are simply beyond our power to change."

He said slowly, "You are a Brocade Guard, it is not as though you do not understand—indeed, you understand even better than I do. Have the aristocratic clans committed few evil deeds? Have we not witnessed them before? Are they not universally abhorred by gods and men?"

"Do you not know to what extent His Majesty detests the aristocratic clans? It is not that he ignores them, but that he cannot manage it yet. When the time comes, he will sweep away the clans in one fell stroke. As your brother, I beg of you, do not beat the drum! Grant your brother this favor! If you strike that drum, you shall become a disloyal subject! How would you leave His Majesty to face this? Think on how His Majesty treated us in Xianyang!"

He offered earnest and persistent counsel, hoping to persuade Lu Jingshuo to abandon his reckless notion. Every word was laden with concern for his friend and the helplessness dictated by the political landscape.

Lu Jingshuo looked at Song Jingshu, who had wept until she was utterly exhausted, and then glanced at the soles of her feet worn down to the bone, a flash of resolute determination crossing his eyes.

"Come! Upon this official's back, and this official shall carry you to seek redress!"

With those words, he hoisted Song Jingshu directly onto his back and declared firmly, "Hold tightly onto me!"

He felt that the burden upon his back was not merely a young girl, but a weighty responsibility.

Hearing Lu Jingshuo's words, Song Jingshu mustered her remaining strength to wrap her arms tightly around his neck, as though grasping the final straw of salvation.

"You have lost your mind, Lu Jingshuo!"

Hu Bugui shouted out, consumed by burning anxiety yet entirely powerless to stop him.

"Old Lu, this journey places you in mortal peril. I only hope you will not live to regret it."

Lu Jingshuo remained mute. Carrying Song Jingshu upon his back, he stepped out the door. His departing figure appeared exceptionally resolute beneath the sunlight, as though declaring war upon the injustice of this world.

He chanted silently in his heart: "In a world rife with injustice, let blood summon the thunderbolt!"

Only a single conviction filled his heart: to secure justice for Song Jingshu and the suffering common folk, even if it meant being dashed to pieces.

His gaze gleamed with steadfast fearlessness, and every step he took toward the imperial palace was unshakeably firm, marching steadily toward the destination of justice residing within his soul.