Chapter 169: The Isaacites’ New Year
Haridi was also an Isaacite, a student of a sage and an excellent craftsman.
When the Isaacites discussed this matter in the meeting, they did not overlook his reasoning.
But he did not participate in the matter, merely remaining silent.
He was already prepared when he was brought into Caesar’s room. No matter how the other party wanted to punish him, whether being hung upside down or receiving whipping, he would gladly accept it.
In any case, Caesar could be considered his benefactor, and he had saved his life not just once. Even if he repaid with his own life, he had no grounds for resentment.
But unexpectedly, Caesar not only allowed him to sit in his presence but also instructed Longinus to bring a cup of clear water and a large candelabra with many candles inserted, instantly brightening the room.
Then Caesar dismissed Longinus, leaving only him and himself in the room.
The young Knight of Bethlehem carefully took out a piece of parchment about three feet square from the drawer.
This size was rare among parchment, after all, parchment was peeled from sheep, then soaked in lime water, stripped of wool, scraped thin on both sides, stretched, dried, and polished through these processes, meticulously treated to become the current parchment.
In the entire process, if there was any carelessness, cracks and holes would appear on the parchment, resulting in a originally large piece of sheepskin ultimately being cut into small pieces for use.
He had thought the other party would show him some relic or scripture. Unexpectedly, after unfolding the parchment, Haridi only saw a few strange patterns—or rather, to those not skilled in this, just strange patterns, but as a craftsman with exquisite and proficient skills and forward-thinking, he could tell at a glance that it seemed to be a small weapon that could inject poison into an enemy’s body.
As he thought, ah, this day had finally come. This Christian knight had kept him precisely for this purpose? But at the same time, a feeling of disgust involuntarily rose in his heart—he had indeed once personally crafted harmful apparatus, but at that time he was nearly mad, everything he had already destroyed in the mouths of the hyenas brought by Sultan Nur al-Din.
His teacher, his clansmen, his wife and daughter all died, he wandered alone like duckweed, hard to take root.
Indeed, as Saladin said, he still retained some desire to survive, he could not suicide, nor acquiesce to others killing him, but because he had lost those ancient scrolls, he could not return to their secret place as his teacher instructed, to pray for protection from his clansmen.
He disdained to do so, but he equally could not accept that in the future he could only craft these things that took human lives.
Those people were not necessarily all heathens and murderers like Sultan Nur al-Din, they might be a promising monarch, or possibly a wise scholar.
He knew these Christians, knew these Knight Masters, perhaps they had good reputation outside, but when it came to acting for interest, they were merciless.
“Can you tell what this is?”
Haridi was about to refuse, even if the other party flew into a rage and immediately strangled him to death, he did not care. But then he saw another device, which looked like a complete set of extraction equipment, but more complex than for extracting floral dew…
“What do you intend to use this for?”
He spoke the first sentence since entering this room.
“To save people.” Caesar said.
He had originally thought he would see surprise and relief on Haridi’s face. But in fact, he merely looked at Caesar full of doubt, as if trying to discern any compassionate qualities from this Christian knight.
Afterward, he picked up the large parchment and examined it up and down, over and over several times, “Do you also agree with the blood transfusion balance theory?”
What he referred to here was not the blood transfusion with certain medical ideas and practical innovations that would only appear centuries later.
This hypothesis was still based on Hippocrates’ theory of bodily fluids. Priests believed that when a person fell ill, it was due to imbalance of fluids in the body, so draining some fluids—known as bloodletting—or inputting some fluids, could not that restore the person to health?
This view gained support from many, and as early as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome, there was bloodletting treatment. But blood transfusion could only exist on paper, no one had truly implemented it, mainly because they did not know how to get others’ fluids into their own body.
The only attempt they could make was direct ingestion or application, like the beautiful women of Ancient Rome, who often collected blood and sweat left by gladiators after training or combat, mixed them in wine and drank, believing it could enhance their charm.
People of Ancient Egypt also directly sipped the blood of strong men, believing it could treat epilepsy.
In the world of Christians, consuming blood and flesh appeared more in various evil sacrifices, believers worshiping the devil also shared the blood and flesh of victims, believing they could draw from him things they lacked—like youth, health, and such.
Even for Isaacites, people firmly believed they ate infants.
Haridi had indeed heard of Caesar’s fame, but honestly, he did not believe it much, he had seen many officials and nobles, Christians had less credit with him than Saracens, they set up a false idol and regarded it as the Holy Child sent by God to earth, believing he had redeemed all human sins with his own death.
But how could that be possible, the Messiah would only appear before people when the end times came. As recorded in the scriptures passed down through generations, at that time he would lead the sinless souls through Ayyarasa Road, escorted by angels and saints, ascending to heaven.
Before that, any savior was false, a swindler, a heretic, who should be directly cast into hell.
And for him, if he encountered a Christian lord who extorted taxes, was greedy and cruel, he would regard it as a matter of course and treat it calmly.
Although he might escape, or possibly feign obedience while acting otherwise.
But likewise, he did not believe there truly existed such a perfect and selfless person in the world.
He frowned and looked for a while longer, now he could basically confirm that this thing indeed had some similarities to his previous works, but more precise.
As a highly skilled craftsman, he could not help wanting to try it. “No, this is not for bloodletting or blood transfusion.” Not to mention whether bloodletting and blood transfusion would benefit Baldwin’s current physical condition, even if they would, Caesar did not have the courage to do it. Among other things, blood type—with current medical technology, there was no way to determine each person’s blood type, once transfusing blood of incompatible types, Baldwin would only die faster.
“I want to extract some medicine, using a syringe—this apparatus—to inject these medicines into the patient’s body, to make them recover as quickly as possible.”
“You mean herbs, cannot herbs be ingested?”
“Some ailments can be treated by ingesting herbs, but if herbs pass through the mouth, throat, stomach, then to the large and small intestines, the effective components the patient can absorb are too few—the stomach and intestines have acid fluids that can corrode anything.
But if the useful parts can be extracted and then directly input into the patient’s body, that would be twice the result with half the effort.”
He explained this way, not worried that Haridi would not understand, he was a sage’s student, which meant he was also a doctor and teacher in the Isaacite community.
“Did your teacher teach you this?” Haridi asked. If it was that Patriarch Heraclius, he and his student truly had great courage—he was teaching a knight how to be a doctor, and this knight actually had some ideas of his own, “Have you tested it? That method you mentioned.”
Of course, only in another world, and centuries later.
Caesar certainly could not say that, “There is a relatively simple verification method, it’s just a bit uh… a bit embarrassing.”
“What do you mean by embarrassing?” Haridi showed a suspicious expression: “If possible, I would like to understand.”
The other’s request was reasonable, perhaps surprisingly to later generations, people at this time already had some understanding of blood circulation, as Caesar said, not making the patient drink potion, but directly injecting into the blood through blood vessels, perhaps indeed feasible.
The syringe could not yet be made, but Caesar did have a way to prove it.
“You know humans have more tiny blood vessels densely distributed in the intestines than elsewhere,” Caesar gestured slightly, “You can find a person, have him drink a bottle of wine directly, and…” He did not continue, but Haridi already understood, “Then observe carefully, see which time he gets drunk faster.”
In fact, his statement was not entirely correct. But at this time, he could not produce an entire system out of thin air, could only let Haridi slightly understand what he was going to do, he must let Haridi know, otherwise the thing Haridi made would not meet his requirements.
Haridi was greatly shocked, besides the unusual verification method, it was that this Christian knight, lord of Bethlehem, was openly confiding in him things that only priests should do.
“You know if I report you to the Church, you might be excommunicated?” Haridi said, but immediately denied his guess: “No, they would not accept an Isaacite’s denunciation.”
Haridi thought and found it completely made sense, “I understand, you mean you hope I can complete this matter, if something unexpected happens—”
An Isaacite doing some witchcraft, would that not be normal?
He said self-righteously, “Yes, you saved my life twice, and just for this… I can take all the responsibility, then let them burn me to death.”
Caesar knew he should be happy, but he felt more helpless. He found Isaacites seemed divided into two extremes, one extreme wanting to be master of all, the other extreme wanting to be slave of all.
Before, when he offered generous treatment, Haridi only wanted to escape, but now asking him to be a scapegoat, to die, he gladly accepted.
Caesar found he completely could not figure out what these Isaacites were thinking.
But since Haridi was willing to craft this thing for him, things became simple.
He gave Haridi a box of Roman gold coins as materials and payment needed to craft this thing, and sent him back to Bethlehem.
Before Haridi left, Caesar called him, “Do you know Neili?”
“No, I do not know any Christian woman.”
“Alright, but I still thank you.” Caesar said, “After returning to Bethlehem, go work at the church, pay attention to your own safety.”
Neili, for previous favor, specially ran to Holy Cross Castle to inform Caesar, this seemed an utterly ordinary matter.
But thinking carefully, how could such an uneducated, crude and barbaric woman know the malice hidden behind good deeds? She might discard Isaacites’ gifts aside, or indifferently eat them.
But for her to think deeper, probably impossible.
It could only be said that someone deeply knowledgeable gave her a reminder, telling her to warn Caesar, that she appeared before Caesar.
But this was indeed something that could not be spoken aloud, Isaacites’ punishment for traitors was far more vicious than Christians.
