"Are you really okay with agreeing so quickly?" Qingcheng looked at him and asked, while thinking to himself, "Does this guy not have a single ounce of vigilance? How naïve can he be! He's like an innocent child."
"Bring it on!" Roger replied with a cheerful smile.
"In that case, let's begin. Oh, right..." Qingcheng reminded him, "It's going to hurt—a lot. Far more painful than the agony caused by 'Lokas'."
"It's fine. I can endure it," Roger said, lying down.
"One of you, go get some food ready. Bring a lot," Qingcheng said, turning his head.
"I'll go," Jaba volunteered and then left.
Qingcheng opened the vial and drew a full syringe, carefully resealed the bottle, and put it back. Then, he turned to inject Roger—in the abdomen, since that's where the Lokas poison bacteria were most concentrated.
"Crk crk."
Barely ten seconds after the injection, Roger clenched both fists, his pupils contracted, and veins bulged all over his body.
"Crk crk crk crk!"
Within three minutes, Roger's body arched like a bow, twitching uncontrollably. Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth and his palms. Qingcheng stood watchfully beside him, using his spiritual pressure to monitor the spread of the toxin and Roger's physical condition.
"AHHH!"
After twenty minutes, a terrifying scream erupted from Roger's mouth, sending ripples through the air. Along with it surged a massive outburst of uncontrolled Conqueror's Haki.
"Damn it," Qingcheng, who was closest to Roger, felt as if his head had been smashed by a hammer. His head jerked back, and blood trickled from both ears. It wasn't the Haki that caused this, but the sheer volume of Roger's roar—his eardrums were likely ruptured.
Rayleigh's expression changed drastically at the same moment. If something happened to Qingcheng—if he passed out—Roger might not survive. But then he saw something shocking: not only had Qingcheng not fainted from the blast of Conqueror's Haki, but he had also stuffed his own wrist into Roger's mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue.
"Damn, damn, damn! What kind of Pirate King cries out in just twenty minutes? His endurance is not even a tenth of Garp's, and he still has the nerve to call himself Pirate King?" Qingcheng felt like he had been utterly screwed. Still, he forced himself to focus on Roger's condition.
"Mmm mm mm!"
"Still moaning? Moan your damn self!" If Qingcheng could hear right now, he'd probably be yelling again. Unfortunately, all he could feel was pain. This guy must be part dog! Qingcheng thought. His hand was nearly useless now.
Time continued to fly by. Over thirty minutes passed, and everyone in the room anxiously watched the sweating figures of Roger and Qingcheng.
"His upper body is almost completely purple... just a bit more... almost there," Qingcheng murmured.
"It's time. Now!" Qingcheng opened his eyes with a low shout, releasing a surge of spiritual energy. He channeled it through his still-functioning right hand into Roger. Three minutes later, Roger's face returned to normal. After ten minutes, his arms recovered. Gradually, his entire body began healing at a slow but steady pace.
"My body feels heavier... Is that from Conqueror's Haki? No... it feels a bit different," Rayleigh thought as he observed.
"Huff..."
Thirty more minutes passed before Qingcheng fully expelled the toxins from Roger's body and began treating the internal damage they caused. As time trickled by, and Roger was finally healed, Qingcheng let out a sigh of relief.
"You're still biting?! Are you a damn dog?!" A loud "Bang!" followed as Qingcheng punched Roger in the head.
Roger yelped and opened his mouth—only then realizing he had bitten through Qingcheng's wrist.
Looking at his fractured wrist, Qingcheng thought, No wonder it's numb. Damn it, what kind of doctor goes through this? And all that blood loss... how many days will it take to recover? I could cry right now.
Though furious, he still began treating himself.
"Sorry... I didn't expect it to hurt that much. I've never experienced anything like it," Roger said awkwardly.
Seeing Roger's mouth moving, Qingcheng snapped, "Go play somewhere else! My eardrums are blown—I can't hear you! Don't distract me while I'm healing!"
"My bad..." Roger shrugged awkwardly, then glanced at Rayleigh and the others before stepping out of the room with them.
Rayleigh: "Captain, how do you feel now?"
Roger pouted, "It really hurts."
Rayleigh: "..."
Jaba: "..."
Bluese: "..."
Seagull: "..."
"I'm serious—it really hurt! I've never felt anything like that. If I weren't so good at enduring pain, I would've screamed ten minutes in. If it were you guys, I bet none of you would've lasted even three minutes," Roger said proudly, flashing a smug grin.
Rayleigh rolled his eyes. "I meant—how's your body? Are you fully recovered?"
"Gurgle gurgle."
Roger looked down. "I'm starving."
Rayleigh turned and left without another word. "I've got stuff to do."
"I've got things to do too. Gotta go."
"I'm out, Captain."
"Captain, I already asked someone to prepare food. You go ahead—I'm not joining," Jaba said and vanished.
"You guys..." Roger muttered. "Did I say something wrong?"
Back inside, Qingcheng, having healed himself, collapsed into bed and passed out. The ordeal had completely drained him—he'd even exhausted his spiritual energy.
On the deck—
"Senior Rayleigh, before I fainted, I think I heard the captain screaming... Is he okay?" Buggy asked nervously.
Rayleigh chuckled. "Screaming? I didn't hear anything. Our captain's doing just fine. His illness has been cured by Doctor Qingcheng."
"Really?"
"The captain's really cured?"
"Haha, that's awesome!"
"Yeah!"
"Of course it's true. He'll come up after he eats. If you don't believe me, just wait and see," Rayleigh told the crew with a smile.
"Vice-captain, when he comes up, you have to make sure the captain asks Qingcheng to stay as our ship doctor! He's incredible—no other doctor could cure the captain, but he did it!"
"Yeah! I agree. That way we won't have to fear serious injuries anymore!"
"You idiots! His enemy is Whitebeard! If we make him join us, we'll be inviting a terrifying enemy!" Buggy shouted.
"Whitebeard? What's he got to do with us? He's just someone who set sail earlier than us. We're the Roger Pirates!"
"Exactly! And with Doctor Qingcheng's insane skills, we won't have to worry about fatal injuries ever again!"
"This deal's worth it!"
...
"Heh." Rayleigh chuckled softly in response. He didn't think Qingcheng would agree to stay on as their doctor. And if he really was enemies with Whitebeard, then that tattoo on his chest wouldn't be a complete Whitebeard Pirates symbol.
--------------------------------------------
If you want to read a few chapters ahead and support me:
Patreon.com/DaoOfPeeking