The eunuch surgeon efficiently finished everything.
Ding Wei's sensory awareness was in such agonizing pain that his head kept shaking back and forth.
He let out muffled wails from his throat.
Once the surgeon finished, he pulled the cloth gag from Ding Wei's mouth and muttered, "Bravery doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
Two surgeons immediately stepped forward, untied the cloth strips binding him, and—while he grimaced in pain—helped him toward another room with sealed windows.
Upon reaching the doorway, the two men made him stop and instructed, "Support yourself against the wall and walk around a few circles."
Then, the two surgeons patrolled the room, continuously kicking with their feet anyone lying motionless on the floor.
Those who remained unconscious and unresponsive were treated as dead and carried into another room.
The pain made Ding Wei's nerves dance.
The burning, agonizing pain made everyone in the room wish they were dead, filling the entire space with groans and cries.
This heart-rending pain made Ding Wei want to pull his consciousness back into his main body.
Yet his main body was still hidden in the pile of miscellaneous items in the outhouse, and this avatar was currently in too much pain to even manage the short walk there; if he acted rashly and got discovered, he would lose his life.
After some thought, he decided not to take the risk.
The best option right now was to try using that divine oil.
With that thought, he could no longer worry about anything else.
Taking one or two steps while leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way to a corner.
Once there, he looked over his left and right shoulders to make sure no one was paying attention.
He hurriedly retrieved the divine oil from his system storage space and popped the stopper out.
Then, acting like a thief, he stealthily tucked up his trousers with one hand, reached his other hand containing the medicine into his crotch, and poured half of the divine oil down.
As the medicine hit the fresh wound, an excruciating pain instantly struck, making stars dance before his eyes.
The stars gradually vanished, his vision went black, and he instantly passed out from the pain.
After a few breaths, he slowly regained consciousness.
Fortunately, it had only been a few breaths, so he hadn't collapsed onto the floor.
Moments later, the pain began to subside.
He sighed inwardly: This truly is divine oil!
Once the pain lessened, Ding Wei looked at the musty, urine-soaked, foul-smelling straw mats scattered across the ground.
He walked over, squeezed in among the crowd, found a slightly cleaner, damp patch of floor along the side, and slowly lay down.
At that moment, a dark, thin boy crawled over and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Ding Wei nodded in response.
The dark, thin boy introduced himself.
"My name is Hou Gui, also called Monkey or Little Gui."
...
Within three days, Ding Wei used his consciousness to travel back and forth between the room and the outhouse once a day.
Along with his daily check-ins, the system also rewarded him with small miscellaneous items.
When the three days were up, it was time to remove the tubes.
Once the tubes were removed, everyone had to find their own lodging, and after three months of healing, they would enter the Imperial Palace together.
During the tube removal, the surgeon looked at Ding Wei's wound in amazement.
His wound was healing much better than anyone else's.
Having practiced this profession for so long, this was the first time the surgeon had encountered such a case, and he mistakenly believed his surgical skills were simply superb.
Looking at the handsome and tall Ding Wei, he began to scheme and said to him, "Kid, if you ever want to redeem your 'treasure' in the future, just come straight to me."
Ding Wei nodded blankly. "Alright, thank you!"
The surgeon continued, "Seeing that you're a handsome lad, when Eunuch Chen comes to pick people up, I'll ask him to recommend you."
Ding Wei thought to himself: Do I even need your recommendation? You're just doing routine work anyway. Though he thought this, he politely replied, "Thank you!"
With the tube removal complete, Ding Wei did not join others in renting shared accommodation or pay a bit of silver to stay in those empty rooms; instead, he rented an inn all by himself within the Imperial City.
Time flew by, and Ding Wei lived in comfort every day.
Maintaining the daily exercise habit he had developed in modern times, he persisted with push-ups and sit-ups, all in preparation for entering the Imperial Palace and yearning for a happy life.
During this waiting period, he obtained from the system:
A cucumber.
Two taels of silver.
A box of cold medicine.
A bottle of hair removal cream.
Two taels of silver, and a reward of three Divine Strength Pills.
......
Apart from obtaining many items unknown to this era—which he stored in the system space—he consumed or used up everything else that was edible or applicable.
At the same time, he exercised frenetically day and night.
Though the period was short, his body became much sturdier and stronger than before.
His chest grew broader and thicker, with prominent pectoral muscles.
Although he didn't have an eight-pack, the faint outline of a six-pack was visible.
With the reinforcement of the Divine Strength Pill, he could feel a continuous, endless source of strength surging through his dantian and entire body.
While he couldn't strike an ox across a mountain or shatter boulders, he probably wouldn't have any trouble splitting a few bricks with his bare hands.
The three months were up, and today was the day to enter the Imperial Palace.
At the appointed time, Ding Wei arrived early to gather in the courtyard of the castration room.
The other eunuchs who had survived the ordeal arrived one after another, either individually or in groups.
Before long, several eunuchs arrived from the Imperial Palace.
As soon as they stepped through the courtyard gate, Liu Yidao, the head surgeon, went up to meet them with an ingratiating smile.
"Eunuch Chen, you're here!"
The lead senior eunuch had a pale face that looked like it had been coated with lime powder. Expressionless, he merely nodded.
With his hands clasped behind his back, his sullen gaze swept over the dense crowd, and his shrill voice suddenly rang out.
"How many handsome ones are there this time?"
Liu Yidao smiled all over his face and made a gesture of invitation.
"Please come inside, Eunuch Chen. Let's step aside to talk."
Led into the inner room, Eunuch Chen sat down, picked up the prepared tea set on the table, lifted the lid, and rhythmically blew across the surface with his lips as he asked pointedly once more, "Well, are there any?"
The surgeon looked toward the door, and making sure no one was paying attention, he replied hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes! I'll bring them out right now for you to inspect."
With that, he pulled out a pouch of silver and placed it on the table before him.
At the sight of the silver in the pouch, Eunuch Chen's eyes lit up.
"Why haven't you brought them out for me to see yet?"
Before finishing his sentence, he reached out, grabbed the silver, weighed it in his hand, revealed a hint of a smile, and put it away contentedly.
Liu Yidao trotted back to the courtyard, brought Ding Wei and two others, and returned to the inner room.
Eunuch Chen sized up the three of them with a hawk-like gaze for a moment before finally shaking his head.
"Just these three?"
Bowing with his hands rubbed together, Liu Yidao asked anxiously, "Eunuch, should we select a few more?"
"No need. The Empress, Consort Xiang, Consort Li, Consort Ju... their demands are extremely high. These two won't do; this one barely qualifies."
With that, he pointed at the other two men and waved his hand to signal that they should be taken outside, leaving Ding Wei behind alone.
Ding Wei thought to himself: Look at all the preparation I put in. Success belongs to those who are prepared.
The quality of this batch was exceptionally poor, leaving Liu Yidao feeling quite depressed. Unwilling to give up, he carefully asked once more, "Then, shall we pick some more?"
"They can pick for themselves after entering the palace. It all depends on the fortune of these lowly wretches."
Having said this, Eunuch Chen gave a wave of his hand.
"To the palace!"
Eunuch Chen beckoned to Ding Wei, motioning for him to follow.
The other eunuchs in the courtyard led the rest of the group behind them, and in a grand procession, they entered the Imperial Palace.