Chapter 62: Fragrant Ink Stanches the Bleeding

A flash of cold light.

A blade slashed down through the air.

Su Chen was shielded by Third Brother Song, but the blade still struck Third Brother Song's shoulder. Fortunately, Third Brother Song was wearing thick clothing, yet even so, the blade tore right through the fabric.

Third Brother Song collapsed to the ground.

At that exact moment, the few assassins were knocked unconscious by a shower of falling objects.

"Third Brother Song!"

Su Chen cried out, shaking him, and his hands immediately touched a pool of warm blood.

Enduring the agonizing pain, Third Brother Song saw that Su Chen was unharmed and finally let out a sigh of relief. Without a second thought, Third Brother Song had thrown himself in front of Su Chen. Perhaps it was because Su Chen had once saved his father's life, prompting him to pledge his absolute loyalty ever since. Even if it meant death, he was willing to follow the young master, so what did taking a blow or two from a sword or blade matter to him?

"Young master, are you alright?"

Even as he lay on the ground, Third Brother Song's only concern was Su Chen's condition.

Su Chen was completely unscathed, but Third Brother Song was bleeding profusely. The blade had not remained lodged in his shoulder, leaving the wound wide open and exposed.

While the first few assassins had been knocked out by the barrage of heavy objects, the remaining dozen or so were swiftly brought down by Su Gui with heavy blows.

Initially, the laborers had been gripped by fear, but now they saw over a dozen men in black lying on the ground, groaning miserably. Earlier, when those men had rushed at them with blades drawn, everyone had cowered. Yet seeing them sprawled on the earth now, the workers regained a sliver of courage. They were no longer terrified, knowing that the men on the ground had lost all fighting capacity.

Furthermore, seeing their foreman, Third Brother Song, bleeding and fallen on account of taking a blade, the workers felt a surge of loyalty. They had received many favors from Third Brother Song; the generous wages provided by Su Chen to accelerate the construction had all passed through Third Brother Song's hands. Naturally, they regarded Third Brother Song not just as their leader, but almost as kin.

"They can't get up anymore! Rush them, pin them all down, and tie them up!"

Dozens of workers charged forward.

The assassins lying on the ground were immediately pinned. Having lost almost all ability to resist, any attempt to struggle was futile against the workers, whose strength far outmatched theirs. Several men piled onto each assassin, holding down a limb each, while other workers fetched ropes.

Already, several of the assassins were dead; Su Gui had held back none of his strength, and anyone he struck on the head was essentially done for.

"Damn it, I actually got grazed! I was hacking down several men just a moment ago," Cheng Chumo muttered, eyeing a gash on his left arm. The battle should have been utterly flawless, but this single wound ruined its perfection.

Seeing that the dozen or so assassins were successfully subdued, Su Gui hurried back to Su Chen's side.

Su Chen was completely fine, but Third Brother Song had lost an alarming amount of blood. Had they been in a medical hall, abundant supplies would have made treatment simple. But they were outside Chang'an City, and even transporting him back into the city would take time—by then, he might have bled to death.

Although Su Chen's medicine chest was right beside him, he hadn't packed any hemostatic agents. His destination that day had been Ouyang Xun's residence, where young Ouyang Tong had merely been running a fever, making styptics unnecessary. Faced with such a crisis now, without immediate staunching, Third Brother Song's life would be in mortal peril. In this era, blood transfusions were utterly impossible due to the lack of conditions and equipment.

"Right, I still have those dozen ingots of ink given by Ouyang Xun!"

In his anxiety, Su Chen had almost forgotten. High-grade ink sticks contained pine soot and gelatinous binders—substances that, whether taken internally or applied externally, served as exceptional remedies for stopping bleeding.

Recalling this, Su Chen hurriedly produced his ink sticks. He instructed several workers to fetch some warm water, dissolved a portion of the ink in the water, and had others gather a handful of fresh weeds from the roadside thicket. After mashing the weeds into a pulp, he mixed them into the concentrated ink, then applied the mixture as a poultice directly onto Third Brother Song's wound.

Superior ink sticks possessed a dense, viscous gelatin content. Taking a portion orally could help stop internal bleeding, while applying the rest externally worked wonders.

In an instant, the bleeding from Third Brother Song's wound stopped completely.

Watching from the side, Cheng Chumo found it nothing short of miraculous, though he shuddered at the thought of drinking such pitch-black, unappealing liquid. Only someone with blind faith in Su Chen, like Third Brother Song, could possibly swallow it. Still, the topical application looked astonishingly effective, halting the flow of blood immediately.

"Brother, hurry, put some on me too! My arm got grazed as well."

Cheng Chumo's left arm also bore a minor injury. Although the cut was not severe and he had hastily wrapped it with a strip of cloth to slow the bleeding, leaving it untreated until they returned to Chang'an City posed no threat to his life. Nevertheless, Cheng Chumo wanted to try Su Chen's miraculous medicine.

Su Chen promptly applied some to Cheng's arm. The gelatin in the concentrated ink quickly adhered to the skin, sealing the blood vessels at once.

Even the surrounding workers watched in absolute astonishment. Who would have guessed that pitch-black ink sticks possessed such powerful hemostatic properties? Truly, the things scholars used were entirely different.

"These are top-quality ink sticks," Su Chen explained as he stood up, having finally finished tending to the injuries. "Fine ink not only requires quality pine soot, but also incorporates a portion of precious medicinal herbs. The better the ink, the finer the ingredients used, making them exceptionally effective for both stopping bleeding and reducing fevers."

With everything handled on their end, Su Chen turned his gaze back to the dozen assassins.

They were all lying motionless on the ground. Although bound by ropes, one would expect at least a little struggling. Yet, strangely enough, not a single one of the dozen prone men made a single movement.

The workers had been too preoccupied to pay attention to the assassins earlier, and Su Gui had returned straight to guarding Su Chen, leaving the killers unnoticed.

"Not good! Could they have bitten their poison pouches to commit suicide? Go check on them immediately!"

A sudden realization struck Su Chen, and upon closer inspection, he found that all dozen assassins were already dead.