Chapter 146 - Lost Empire

The Emperor and his men quickly arrived at Doctor Lou's pharmacy. The doors were opened so they just walked in, cautiously. As they entered, Doctor Lou immediately perked up on his desk, "Visitors! Oh, have you come to see me? Of course, you did...I'm sorry I didn't prepare anything. I can go get some wine though hehe~"

"Where is she?" The Emperor flatly asked, he was not in the mood to deal with the crazy ramblings of this old man. He had asked for him to come here and now he was behaving oblivious which further annoyed the already irritated Emperor.

"Who?" Doctor Lou asked blinking at the Emperor with a confused expression.

The Emperor immediately brought his sword up to Doctor Lou's neck and narrowed his eyes at him, "Don't test me."

Doctor Lou glanced down at the sword and then looked down with a pout and quietly mumbled, "Can't take a joke brat, so ungrateful. You should be thanking me..." Then he glared at the Emperor as he used a finger to tap the blade on his neck, "Hmph! I was just trying to lighten the mood...You look like you're about to kill someone, you even assaulted me this old, old man...What if she sees your face and her heart stops, what then? I can't resurrect a heart...Or maybe I can hehe~ we can test it out if you want?" Doctor Lou finished with a chuckle.

The Emperor knit his brows then let out a breath and lowered his sword. Doctor Lou then stood up, "Okay, you can follow me." Then he turned and walked towards the back and the Emperor and his men followed behind. Doctor Lou suddenly stopped and glanced behind the Emperor and squinted the others following along and said, "I was talking to only him."

The Emperor frowned but before he could say anything, Doctor Lou said, "It's my house and I don't like people roaming about it making it dirty. Not allowed! They can't come." He finished squinted at the Emperor and folding his arms with a stubborn and determined expression.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at him and then remembered Ah Jin's reaction and realized that Lei Xing may be in a bad state and it might be problematic for others to discover. But he also felt this doctor could not be trusted. He thought for a bit and weighed his options and made a decision. He ordered the rest of the men to stay back and for Commander An to come with him. 

Doctor Lou frowned at him and the Emperor glared at him and ordered, "Move."

Doctor Lou pouted and begrudgingly went ahead, while grumbling to himself about the ill-treatment. The back of the shop opened to a small garden , with a small pavilion on the side and a house in the back. Doctor Lou led them around the side and stopped in front of a door and then glared at Commander An. The Emperor then turned to Commander An and said, "Wait here." Then Doctor Lou was satisfied and opened the door and they went in.

The Emperor went up to Lei Xing on the bed and saw needles sticking out of her head, the bruise on her forehead and her red cheek. The Emperor sat beside her and lightly touched her red cheek and then glared at Doctor Lou and asked, "You hit her?"

Doctor Lou immediately shook his head and defended, "I didn't!... I only hit the back of her neck." Seeing the Emperor's angry expression, he quickly added, "It was for my safety!... I mean, her safety, our safety!... She would have attacked me or killed herself, one of the two...I was helping." 

The Emperor blinked and then coldly ordered, "Killed herself? Explain..." 

Doctor Lou quickly obliged with a smile, "Well you see, that wound on her head she got from ramming her own head into a wall...That slap was from some stupid brat defending his friend who she kicked in his..." Doctor Lou winced and said, "...You know, down there...Nothing to worry about, I've treated her and they'll be better by the morning. You can trust my hehe~."

"Someone assaulted her?" The Emperor asked, feeling even more anger towards Bi Lo and Bi Lu for losing her, as well as, increasing anger at Prince Yi for stupidly letting her wander off alone.

"Ah, well three people..." When he saw the Emperor's face change, he smugly added with a grin, "...But I saved her...You know it was a very heroic scene, I ha- Ah, don't move her!" Doctor Lou quickly shouted when the Emperor was about to pick her up, intending to leave, irritated with everything and Doctor Lou's rambling was not helping his mood.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at him and Doctor quickly explained, "Well you see those three gold needles on her head? It's to keep her from attacking people...And if you move her, they could kill her, very sensitive spots they're in...But if I remove it, she'll start attacking people again. Very dangerous." Doctor said nodding and stroking his beard.

"What do you mean by attacking?" The Emperor finally asked, he had been distracted by Doctor's Lou's other shocking words.

Doctor Lou smiled and then went, "That's why you're here. To help her...Ah, let me show you..." Doctor came forward and went to grab Lei Xing's arm, he saw the Emperor glare at him and so he added, "Excuse me?" The Emperor then trained his eyes back on Lei Xing's face.

Doctor Lou picked up her arm and then moved the sleeve to show the Emperor the red spots on it, "You see some evil person gave her an aphrodisiac, they poked her several times too...I know this method very well, I may or may not have - ...Hehe~ That's a story for another day. Anyway, she must have eaten some qing lu root today. On its own, it's harmless and very sweet. Great with wine too, I use it quite a bit...It's a secret ingredient. You need to try it, I have some h-" Doctor Lou stopped and pursed his lips when he saw the Emperor was not sharing in his amus.e.m.e.nt.

He cleared his throat and clarified, "All it does is make you relaxed and happy!... Anyway, when you mix it with the seyu potion it becomes a powerful aphrodisiac..."

"Seyu?" The Emperor asked tightly knitting his brows. The name sounded familiar.

Doctor Lou nodded and then knit his brows as he stroked his beard, "I haven't seen Seyu in a long time though, you might be too young to know this but it was made by..."

"Dong country's queen...A longevity drug isn't it?" The Emperor asked knitting his brows in annoyance as he looked at Lei Xing, the situation now felt a lot more complicated. He had heard his father mention wanting to acquire it during their siege on Dong country, but by the time they won the war and their men entered the Dong royal palace they found the royal family had all poisoned themselves taking the formula to their graves.

Even if his father won the war, they refused to allow him the luxury of extending his life to rule over this newly acquired Empire. But now this potion was here in his country?

"Are you certain?" The Emperor asked with a frown.

"It definitely is! I could recognize it even in my dreams. I've played with it for quite a long time. Plus I never forget things like this." Doctor Lou confidently responded.

The Emperor's frown deepened. 

{...If this is true, things might be a lot more complicated than they appear...}