The night was deep, and the post house was silent.
A'rui lay in bed.
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
The blanket had been sent by the Governor's wife. It was thick and soft, wrapping her in a cozy warmth that should have made it easy to fall asleep.
Yet the moment she closed her eyes, the events of the day replayed before her.
In particular, a child of about five or six had left a deep impression on her.
The child was extremely thin, his ribs clearly visible, cradled in his mother's arms as he drew weak, shallow breaths.
By the time she had rushed over, the child had already lost consciousness, his teeth clenched tightly and his face a sickly gray.
In her desperation, she could only try to mimic the acupuncture techniques she remembered her mother using to save lives, treating him as a last resort.
The child vomited twice.
At the time, she had been so nervous that her tears fell continuously, yet she still gritted her teeth and tried again and again.
She did not know how much time had passed, but the child finally opened his eyes slowly.
Seeing her crying so hard, the child hesitated for a moment before trembling as he reached out his tiny hand to her.
“Don't cry, Big Sister... Have some candy... It's sweet and yummy...”
Half a piece of malt candy was clutched in his hand, melted and sticky against his palm, looking quite dirty.
Yet it was the sweetest candy she had ever tasted.
Afterward, the child's parents had thanked her profusely, and the people around them praised her for having such incredible medical skills at such a young age.
In truth, only she knew that saving the child had been pure luck, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.
A'rui suddenly felt her nose tingle with emotion. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.
The middle-aged female physician from earlier that day was her mother, whom everyone called Madam Zou.
Her mother was the only female physician in the surrounding villages. Ever since A'rui was very young, her mother had taught her to identify herbs and memorize prescriptions.
But she was too clumsy and had a poor memory. She would always forget the beginning of a prescription by the time she memorized the end, and sometimes she even mixed up the herbs.
“How can you be so foolish!”
Her mother would glare at her and slap the table in anger. “When I was your age, I was already diagnosing patients!”
She would shrink her neck, not daring to utter a sound.
Perhaps realizing that she truly lacked talent for medicine, her mother stopped scolding her and rarely taught her anymore, only letting her help out with simple tasks that required no thought.
Grinding herbs, brewing medicine, and handing over tools.
Because of this, she had never believed she could actually save anyone.
Until today, when she saved that child.
It wasn't just helping out or assisting; she had personally dragged someone back from the gates of death.
She had never felt such a profound sense of fulfillment before.
It was also at that moment that she suddenly wanted to study medicine properly. She wanted to memorize all the prescriptions her mother had taught her, recognize every herb, and never mix them up again.
She wanted to save more people...
With this thought in mind, A'rui flung off her blanket and sat up, then slipped on her outer coat and quietly slipped out of the post house.
She was going to the medical clinic in Yecheng to buy some medicinal ingredients.
If her mother found out about this idea, she would surely point at her nose and scold her for being foolish and clumsy again.
In truth, she knew very well that trying to make medicine all by herself was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water.
But she still wanted to help as much as she could, even if it was just a little.
The night was dark and the streets were silent. She walked briskly with a lantern, her shadow stretching long behind her.
Turning a corner into an alley, the silhouette of the medical clinic appeared before her.
The door was not closed, and light shone from within.
A'rui was taken aback. She quickened her pace, walked up to the door, and pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.
Inside, the room was brightly lit and packed with people.
Some were writing prescriptions, some were grinding herbs, some were pounding medicine, some were sorting ingredients, and some were brewing decoctions...
Everyone was buried in their work, busy and focused.
The fragrance of medicine filled the air.
The rhythmic thumping of the medicine pestles echoed continuously.
“Mother, why are you all...” A'rui stared blankly at the scene before her.
Madam Zou looked up and frowned instinctively when she saw A'rui at the door. “Why have you come here so late? Hurry back to the post house. Tomorrow morning, you will return to Xindu with Physician Lin and the others. Stop causing trouble.”
This was the decision they had unanimously agreed upon after their discussion: they would send all the young physicians back to Xindu, while the older ones would remain in Yecheng to treat the plague.
The young people were the future of medicine. How could they let them perish in Yecheng at such a young age?
This was especially true for Physician Lin, Lin Xun. He possessed the medical encyclopedia bestowed upon him by the Divine Lady. If he were to perish in Yecheng, it would be a tragic loss for the entire mortal world.
They would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!
“I'm not going back! I want to stay in Yecheng!” For the first time, A'rui argued back against her mother.
Madam Zou's frown deepened. “For every moment you waste of my time, I make one less pill, and another citizen of Yecheng goes without medicine!”
“I don't have time to worry about you, A'rui. If you still listen to your mother, go back to the post house.”
Having said that, she buried her head and resumed pounding the herbs.
A'rui wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, walked firmly to Madam Zou's side, and silently began handing her herbs.
Seeing this, Madam Zou only let out a soft sigh and said nothing more to chase A'rui away.
Mother and daughter pounded medicine side by side. The sounds of handing over herbs and the thumping of the pestle overlapped, creating a rare sense of tacit understanding.
The other physicians also focused on their respective tasks. No one spoke, and their hands did not pause for even a moment.
Just then,
a sudden rush of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door, disorganized and stumbling, as if someone had run a long distance.
Before long, the door was pushed open.
Everyone turned to look.
The young physician standing at the doorway was pale, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.
It was Lin Xun.
His robes were crumpled, his sleeves stained with dark medicine, and his hair was slightly disheveled. He looked utterly exhausted, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Yet his eyes were bright.
“It's done,” he said in a hoarse voice, panting heavily as he leaned against the doorframe to steady himself. “I... I've made it.”
“I modified the prescription to save several ingredients.” He swallowed hard. “I tested it three times. The efficacy is almost the same, but it saves nearly fifty percent of the ingredients.”
The room fell silent for a brief moment.
“Is that true?”
“It is true.” Lin Xun nodded heavily, a thin sheen of tears welling up in his bloodshot eyes. “I have tested it repeatedly. There is no mistake.”
“That's wonderful... That's wonderful...”
Everyone's eyes welled with tears of joy, and they were filled with immense excitement.
Cheng Ji arrived just half a step behind Lin Xun, leading his men to carry chest after chest of medicinal ingredients into the clinic.
“Your righteousness is profound, gentlemen. I will not waste your time with empty words while you are saving lives. Once Yecheng gets through this crisis, I will personally lead the citizens to express our gratitude to you all.”
He cupped his hands together and bowed deeply, saluting every physician present one by one.
On the other side, Yun Shu and the system watched everything happening in Yecheng through their surveillance.
“Host, I always feel like this world is different from the ones where I did tasks before.”
“The hosts I bound with in the past either had their food stolen by refugees when they arrived in this world, were framed as witches, or were taken advantage of...”
The little fox's nine tails swayed back and forth.
“You're really amazing. You've made so many people turn into good, kind-hearted souls.”
“System, have you forgotten?”
“I have eyes that can see through good and evil.” Yun Shu patted its head. “They didn't become good because of me; it's because they were already wonderful people to begin with.”
The little fox blinked its eyes.
Just as it was about to chat a bit more with Yun Shu, it noticed an anomaly and said in surprise, “Host, there's unusual activity outside the city. A troop of men and horses is rushing toward Yecheng.”
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