In order to strive for fairness, it takes a lot of time to stipulate various rules before the duel. But once the start is announced, 90% of duels will end in an instant. If you don't watch carefully enough, you will fast forward to the ending just like accidentally pressing the double speed button.
This sense of fragmentation in time was particularly acute for those who had gathered around the restaurant from the beginning to watch.
After a brief contact, the two thin swords [1] each chose a neutral position to attack the other's torso.
Compared to Alphonse's tall stature, Li Ben was a bit shorter. The disadvantage of insufficient arm length made it impossible for him to attack the opponent's tightly guarded upper body vital points. He could only seek opportunities at Alphonse's waist during dodges.
Neither of their swordsmanship was very high, and the space on the street was limited, so they soon showed their flaws.
Alphonse made a strong and heavy gesture and took the lead in attacking. He stabbed Li Ben in the chest with his sword, forcing him to take several steps back and fall to the ground.
Judging from the balance of the scene, Li Ben has always been at a disadvantage, and it is reasonable to throw up his hands and admit defeat after retreating.
But in fact, when Li Ben was hit, he also retaliated with a sword very covertly. From Alphonse's perspective, they should be considered a tie. It was only because of the opponent's surrender that he won the duel. .
"Congratulations, brave Mr. Alphonse, you won the duel!" Kawei stepped forward and stopped him. "Mr. Li Ben was stabbed firmly in the chest with a sword."
Alphonse had no real feeling of victory, and still held the thin sword tightly in his hand: "Strong? I didn't pierce his heart at all, how strong is this?!"
He couldn't bear the end of a duel like this, and wanted to continue attacking, but as soon as he lifted his feet, his body went limp, and he lost his center of gravity and leaned on Kawei. Kavi and Bergt stopped him and announced the end of the duel:
"Mr. Li Ben has been injured and has admitted defeat. According to the previous agreement, the duel is over."
"No! Coward! Coward! You just stabbed each other and you gave up?" Alfons broke away from the embrace of the two of them and shouted, "Come again! I will tie you like a sieve for draining vegetables today. !”
"That's enough, Mr. Chef!"
The patrolman on the side stood up: "This is an established rule. Unless he agrees to continue the duel, everyone present and I will conclude that your duel is over and you have won."
"No! I don't agree! I don't accept it!"
Seeing that he still wanted to persist, Kawei slapped him directly on the thigh regardless of what was indecent or indecent. Or to describe it in more accurate anatomical terms, it is a relatively tender and hidden position on the outer and lower side of the gluteus maximus: "Don't make trouble, you are injured too."
Suddenly, a heartbreaking pain swept through Alphons's back, and most of his strength was reduced.
Kawei stretched his neck and looked around: "Is there a coachman? Carriage driver, please send the wounded to the hospital quickly~"
"Which hospital?"
"Municipal General Hospital!"
...
In fact, in terms of distance, Roche Shuate Restaurant is closer to Graz Hospital, and you only need to walk through two streets to get there. Carriages charge a fixed fee or hourly rate. It is more profitable to take Graez there, and the coachmen also recommend going there.
But if they were offered double fares from the beginning, they would choose to shut up and be willing to take a long detour of about 20 minutes, using the city scenery along the way to ease the pain of the injured.
Of course, slight bumps in the car are inevitable.
Faced with the same question from Alphonse, Kavi's answer was natural: "You are injured and need treatment as soon as possible, and the Municipal General Hospital has the most powerful Dr. Ignatz in Austria and his best assistant. "
"Actually, there's no need to go to the hospital. It's just a minor skin injury. Just lie down for two days and it'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Kawei used the intimidation tactic that he has mastered for a long time. This tactic has been tried repeatedly. "The location of the injury is so ambiguous. This kind of sword injury may break the nerves. If you are unlucky, it may also affect some daily life. Physiological functions.”
Alphonse lay flat on his seat, pressing his butt with a handkerchief in one hand and supporting his head in the other, and his head was full of question marks:? ? ?
"To put it simply, I need surgery."
"You haven't checked yet."
"No need to check. Surgery is necessary. That's where you sit on the chair."
"All right."
Alphonse's mind was not on his butt, but he was still thinking about the little German noble: "If I had stabbed more accurately just now, and moved half a finger outward, maybe I could avoid the bone. Give him a break."
"Don't think so much." Kavi explained with a smile, "Everyone knows that you won the duel. This is an irrefutable fact."
The words are indeed true. Regardless of the injuries of the two men, at least in terms of courage, Alphonse is the winner. Many people will return to their senses after calming down, and Alphonse also knows that the result of the duel means everything: "It's a pity that this white shirt is stained with his dirty blood."
"Let's take a good bath after we get back to the hospital."
"Fortunately, it's white. Just find a laundry shop to bleach it."
"Um......"
Kawei looked out the window and suddenly realized that he seemed to have missed something crucial. He turned around and asked, "What did you just say?"
"What are you talking about? When washing clothes, you have to wash away the blood stains. They are too dirty!"
"No, why did you just say you were looking for a laundry?"
"Oh, bleach."
"bleach?"
Alphonse was not surprised and said with a smile: "No wonder, you have never been a laundry worker. Of course you don't know that white clothes can be bleached."
Kawei is just a clinician and does not know the history of the development of bleaching powder [2]. The original owner is also too young and has no knowledge and experience in this area. If the bleaching powder here is really the calcium hypochlorite he thought, then the disinfection work can take a big step forward.
Of course, the priority must be alcohol first. However, if alcohol cannot be prepared effectively, bleaching powder can be used as a substitute.
It just smells bad, is flammable and explosive, and hurts the skin. Compared with the extremely high probability of wound infection nowadays, these are completely acceptable.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Oh, I was thinking about those rabbit heads. I forgot to take them away just now because I was an assistant."
Alphonse changed his position and finally made his butt, which was still bleeding, more comfortable: "I don't know why you want those rabbit heads, it's mysterious. But as I said before, I will find someone to give them to you tomorrow. You send it."
"How long are you going to cook rabbit meat for?"
"Still in testing phase."
"It looks like it can last for a while."
"What on earth do you want to do?"
Kawei finally revealed some inside information: "Make medicine."
"Are you still a pharmacist?"
"No, it's just a prescription left by my father. I want to try it out, maybe it will be useful."
Alphonse had no interest in medicine to begin with, so he just asked casually, and soon the topic of the two returned to the duel.
"Speaking of tomorrow, the report about the duel between you and Mr. Li Ben will definitely be on the front page of tomorrow's morning newspaper. I must buy a copy and take a good look." Kawei said with a smile, "The heroic French chef fought hard Deutsch, who speaks freely...what's wrong with you?"
"You just said you would publish it in the newspaper?"
"I have seen several of the people watching just now at the entrance of Laszlo's manor. They should be newspaper reporters." Kawei guessed, "This is a duel on the edge of the Ring Road, and there are so many people watching. , they have no reason to miss it.”
Alphonse miscalculated the Austrians' views on the duel, and did not expect the reporter at all, so he was careless: "No, this matter must not be published in the newspapers!"
Kawei's thinking is still unable to integrate with the upper class people of this era: "What's wrong?"
"This duel is too child's play, it's all nonsense."
"Don't worry, readers have short memories and will forget it in a few days."
"But I am the chef of a top French restaurant in Vienna. From now on, whenever customers see me in the restaurant, they will think of tonight's incident, and what about him?" Alphonse clenched his fists again, "He is just here to relax. It’s just a guy, who knows him?”
"If you say that, they will remember it even if you don't report it."
"No, this is different! Look at the reaction of the onlookers tonight when you appeared on the stage. This is the power of the front page headline of the Vienna Evening News. And what I want to publish in the daily newspaper will only be more outrageous!"
Alphonse suddenly thought of a way: "I think the outcome of the duel should be changed."
Kawei didn't understand what he meant yet: "Huh? Do you want to be a loser?"
"No! I mean to change the negative impact this duel has on me."
"The duel is over, how can we change it?"
"This time it's over, but there will be another time!"
...
Time quietly passed 0 o'clock, and the two carriages galloped along the avenue and finally arrived at the entrance of the Municipal General Hospital.
The hospital was silent under the night sky, with only a few wards still lit by candlelight. There are no doormen, no nurses to respond, and it is impossible to have emergency doctors on call to diagnose and treat patients. 【3】
Kawei and the coachman lifted Alphonse out of the carriage together, while Li Ben on the other side was helped off by Berget.
Suddenly the street seemed to have been paved with a thick layer of nitrocellulose [4], and everywhere was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
"Please tell me your address immediately, and I will rewrite a duel invitation letter and send it to your house within 48 hours." Alphonse had difficulty walking, but he was full of momentum. "This time we use guns. I have already I’ve thought of a place for the duel, a very suitable place to bury you.”
"I reject."
"You are in no position to refuse."
Li Ben was puzzled: "According to the duel rules, we are already clear."
"No, you still offended me."
"I didn't say a word after admitting defeat. How could I be offended?"
"Your surrender seems to be giving me victory. This is offensive and I won't accept it!" Alphonse said with reason, "So we need another duel to cause trouble for each other!"
"Ha, I think you are the trouble!"
"What did you say???"
"Okay, okay, you're still dueling with your butt like this." Kawei and Berget stood up at the right time and separated the two again, "You send Mr. Liben to the orthopedic ward, and I'll take Alfon Mr. Si goes to the surgical ward."
Soon they split into two groups, and Kawei pushed Alphonse directly into the examination room with a trolley.
"Lie down and take off your pants."
"Take off now?"
"Yes, now." Kawei found a piece of lye soap from the cupboard, "I happen to be here. If there is nothing wrong after checking, I can help you sew it up now."
Although he had been in the newspaper and Alphonse was a semi-acquaintance, he still couldn't completely trust Kavi: "You said Dr. Ignatz is here, where are the others?"
"Oh, the teacher is going home to rest tonight and is not in the hospital."
"Then let's check it out tomorrow." Alphonse always felt awkward and turned sideways to hide his injured butt.
"I'm his assistant. What do you mean by an assistant? An assistant is a helper. It's my job to help Mr. Ignaz." Kawei poured another basin of water from outside the house and washed his hands clean. "Check breakfast early." I will think of an operation method for you, and the teacher will be able to operate on you when he comes tomorrow morning."
"But......"
"It's nothing good." Kawei came to the bedside and pulled his hand away. "The teacher is a baron after all. How could he help a Frenchman inspect a place like that?"
For Alphonse, who has been working in the French court all year round, this is a pretty good reason, and Kavi just took the opportunity to lift the blood-stained handkerchief.
Many harmless improvements have been made to the dueling sword, including removing the blade and health groove, but the sharp sword head is still very deadly. Li Ben's blow seemed random, but when Alphonse happened to be attacking from the side, the sword tip penetrated a very sensitive position intentionally or unintentionally.
"How is it?" Alphonse asked, enduring severe pain.
"Not so good..." Kawei sighed and said, "The sword wound is a bit troublesome. I definitely can't handle it on my own. I guess I'll have to wait until the teacher comes tomorrow morning to decide on the surgical plan."
Hearing this, Alphonse didn't think it was anything, it was just an insignificant injury. Coupled with the blessing of the other party's identity, even diseases like Laszlo can be cured, and his small sword wounds are not easy to catch.
"Okay, it's up to you."
However, things were not as easy as he thought.
"Don't get up in a hurry." Kawei held his back and continued, "Before specifying the surgical plan, I have to determine the specific location of the sword wound."
"Location?" Alphonse felt strange, "Isn't the location right on the buttocks?"
"This is where the sword head enters. You can see it with your eyes." Kawei picked up the alkali soap that had been dipped in water and moistened his fingers. "But there are still places that are invisible to the eyes, such as the sword head. Last inserted position."
Alphonse's face twitched, thinking that he was going to expand the wound, and said quickly: "You don't want to check it now, do you want to give me some ether first?"
"Ether? No, it's not that troublesome."
Just when Alphonse was still in a daze, an object that was moderately soft and hard with a smooth touch suddenly entered an unspeakable place...
