Chapter 5 Crisis

Hou awoke with a start. He was still on the floor. Usually at this time he would be in his bed with at least one doctor looking at him. Admittedly this wasn't the first time Hou had pushed himself so far he lost consciousness but this WAS the first time he woke up where he had fallen. Something must be happening in the family. 

Stepping out into what was normally a peaceful courtyard Hou was greeted by the site of sprinting physicians, elders and researchers of the centipede hall. This peaked his interest as it wasn't often he saw these hermits leave their laboratories. Following the stream of people Hou could now clearly see that they were running in and out of...his fathers room.

A cold sweat broke out. For a moment the world collapsed around Hou, his vision blurring and all sounds replaced with the sound of his blood rushing. Then all at once the sensations came rushing back in. He could help! He HAD to help. 

Hou sprinted towards his father. Throwing the doors open he saw his father laying on a slab of refined 1000 year old cold iron and yet he was still steaming. An elder of the toad hall was sat next to his father channelling qi into golden acupuncture needles across his fathers torso. Judging by the heat emanating from the streams of qi it could only be elemental fire qi, but what could need these contradicting treatments?

"What's wrong with father!?" Hou called to his mother. Once she noticed he had entered the room she appeared before his eyes. Her movement arts were still unmatched he thought. Obscuring his vision with her robes she hurried him out of the room. 

"Its not your concern. Your father is in a very delicate state right now."

"Mother. What's wrong with him? I deserve to know!"

"Someone has poisoned your father. His Yin qi has solidified in his dantian freezing it while his yang qi runs rampant through his body. You can't tell anyone about this. If it gets out that your father, an elder of the Tang clan is succumbing to poison there will be chaos."

His father had been poisoned!? Who woul...who coul...Hou couldn't think straight. Memories of his previous life came flooding in. On earth he had been the son of a farming family, and in order to boost their crop yields the family began to use arsenic based pesticides. However this was prior to their side effects being well understood and before anyone realised what it was doing to them it was already too late. 

Slowly his fathers skin darkened, and then the lesions began to appear. Hou, unable to do anything had to watch as his father withered away in front of him. If only he'd had access to pharmaceuticals capable of separating out the arsenic from his fathers blood, but alas that sort of treatment was too expensive for his family to even consider. 

It was this event that set Hou on that path to becoming a pharmaceutical researcher. He wanted to develop cheaper and more effective treatments for families like his. And while he wasn't able to achieve his goal in the last life he wouldn't let his father die in front of him again. 

"Let me see his blood mother!" Hou pleaded. Although he wasn't sure, maybe if he could see his fathers blood the effect of identification he had experienced with the herbs would allow him to discern the toxin afflicting his father.

"What are you talking about Hou?" He could see his mothers confusion. 

"Remember what I was talking about with father? I might be able to help. Just let me see his blood. Nothing more"

His mother took a moment to consider the proposal. He could see her weighing up her options. 

"Ok you may but you are to only look." His mother gestured into the room.

"physician!"

A man in white robes left his station to attend to his mother.

"Yes madam?"

"Show Hou a sample of his fathers blood."

"As you wish madam." The physician made his way to a side table that had been made into a make shift pathology station. He retrieved a vial and brought it before Hou. 

Staring at his fathers blood Hou concentrated his Qi into his eyes but it wasn't enough. He couldn't see anything. There was only one choice. Channelling more and more qi he began to weep blood. His mother grabbed his shoulder clenching it with a raw panic.

"Hou! Stop!"

But her ignored her and as the blood trickled down his face Hou continued to focus. Utilising his concentration to the extreme he stared deeper and deeper into the sample. A crimson red was beginning to seep into the corners of his vision when he could finally make out small glowing particles in his fathers blood. This must be the toxin! His qi was running out now. Before he had to release his technique he checked the description and two words stood out. Heavy-metal. 

He knew how to treat this! Just like his original father his father in this world needed something to cleanse his blood. The chemical structure was etched into his mind. Hou sprinted towards the back mountain. He couldn't request the herbs through official channels or the family might find out about his fathers poisoning. He had to get the them himself.