After a night of falling snow, it finally stopped.
The morning in the northern desert town was peaceful and beautiful, warm sunlight spilling across the silver-clad earth, everything tranquil.
Madam Yu rose earliest of all, but unlike usual, she didn’t go straight to making breakfast upon waking.
Instead, she hid herself in her room and, using some kind of medicinal powder, mixed up a small bowl of hot broth. Originally black, after her constant stirring it turned colorless and tasteless, like a bowl of plain boiled water!
Once it was ready, she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, then carefully carried it into Yu Xiaomeng’s room.
An extra bed had been added to Yu Xiaomeng’s room. These past two nights, Yu Xiaomeng had slept in the same room as Ziqing, drifting in and out of sleep as she watched over her, afraid Ziqing might suddenly wake in the middle of the night.
“Creak…”
The door was carefully pushed open. Madam Yu saw Yu Xiaomeng sleeping as soundly as a pig, and the corner of her mouth curved into a fond, loving smile. She didn’t wake her, but instead crept quietly to Ziqing’s bedside.
She dipped her finger into the hot broth and carefully smeared it along Ziqing’s lips.
Before long, Yu Xiaomeng stirred groggily awake, and upon seeing Madam Yu, immediately grew suspicious. “Mother, what are you doing?”
“Feeding her a little water. Even if she can’t swallow it, at least her lips should get a bit wet — it’s been so many days already,” Madam Yu explained calmly.
“What water?” Yu Xiaomeng asked as she got out of bed.
“Just plain boiled water.”
“Is it hot? Don’t burn her mouth.”
“Don’t worry, I tested it already!”
“Will this actually work?”
“At least it wets her lips — better than nothing!”
Yu Xiaomeng didn’t understand any of it either, so she just nodded and was about to go eat breakfast.
But just then, a knock came at the door.
“Who is it, so early…”
Yu Xiaomeng yawned as she went to open the door, and there stood the clan’s old witch doctor.
“Old doctor, why are you here so early!” Yu Xiaomeng asked, puzzled — seeing the old witch doctor usually required getting in line.
“Your mother came looking for me several times these past two days, but I kept getting held up with other matters, so I rushed over first thing this morning to take a look.” The old witch doctor was no younger than seventy, yet his body was still quite sturdy.
“Come in, quickly!” Yu Xiaomeng said happily, knowing full well her mother had the kindest heart.
Once inside, Madam Yu had already put away the hot broth and greeted him with a smile. “Old doctor, making you come all this way so early in the morning — I’m truly sorry.”
“The patient comes first. I couldn’t very well have the two of you carry her over to me, could I? Now, what exactly happened?”
As the old witch doctor spoke, he examined Ziqing, who still lay unconscious on the bed.
“It’s this girl again, bringing home another person from the Central Plains. She’s been unconscious ever since, and we don’t know why,” Madam Yu said helplessly.
“How did she fall unconscious? Any illness or pain?” the old witch doctor asked as he sat down to take Ziqing’s pulse.
“She was clawed a few times by wild wolves, escaped the wolves’ jaws, and then fell unconscious,” Madam Yu said, without going into much detail.
“Wild wolves!” The old witch doctor was quite shocked — the people of the northern desert clan generally kept a respectful distance from wild wolves.
“Sigh, the child doesn’t know any better, doesn’t know how dangerous the world is!” Madam Yu sighed helplessly.
“To encounter wild wolves and still come back alive — that’s the ancestors watching over her!”
The old witch doctor took her pulse for a long while, his brow gradually furrowing, tighter and tighter. Yu Xiaomeng brought over some hot tea, and seeing his expression, immediately grew anxious, quickly asking, “How is it, will she wake up? Before she passed out, she was actually still quite alert!”
The old witch doctor pondered for a long while before speaking. “Going by her pulse, there’s nothing seriously wrong — she’s just severely exhausted, worn down from overexertion. With a few days of rest, she should recover. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Yu Xiaomeng asked, very tense.
“It’s just… this old man simply cannot understand it — she shouldn’t be unconscious for this long. Given her condition, it shouldn’t be possible for her to remain unconscious for three days.” The old witch doctor stroked his beard, looking thoughtful.
“Maybe her constitution is just too weak,” Madam Yu quickly explained, her gaze shifting evasively.
“Hmm, that’s possible too. This young lady’s foundation isn’t very strong. Going by her pulse, it seems that not long ago… she suffered a serious illness. The injury wasn’t light either.”
The old witch doctor kept stroking his beard. Though this possibility existed, he still couldn’t quite make sense of it. He took Ziqing’s pulse again, and couldn’t help muttering to himself, “She should have woken up already… should have woken up already…”
“Does she need to drink some medicine?” Yu Xiaomeng asked quickly.
“I’ll write out a prescription. Go get the herbs later and find a way to get her to drink it down — they’re all nourishing tonics, she must drink them. If she still hasn’t woken, I’ll come by again to check,” the old witch doctor said.
Yu Xiaomeng nodded quickly. The old witch doctor finished writing the prescription and, without lingering further, made to leave in a hurry.
“Old doctor, won’t you sit a while longer? Stay for breakfast before you go.” Yu Xiaomeng warmly tried to keep him.
“No, no, I still need to head over to young master Xuanyuan’s place. I’ve been busy lately, haven’t been to see him in several days,” the old witch doctor said with a smile.
Young master Xuanyuan — those words were absolutely a spell to Yu Xiaomeng. She immediately grew anxious. “What’s wrong with him, did something happen? Is it serious?”
Madam Yu, standing off to the side, immediately let her old face stretch even longer than a horse’s, clearly displeased.
“It’s nothing, nothing. It’s just that this old man has some medical principles he doesn’t understand, and wants to consult him about them!” The old witch doctor said this somewhat awkwardly, but it couldn’t be denied — no matter how experienced a witch doctor’s knowledge, it still couldn’t compare to a young physician from the Central Plains!
He had discovered by chance that young master Xuanyuan actually knew a fair bit about medicine.
“He knows medicine?” Yu Xiaomeng was pleasantly surprised.
“He says he knows a little something. I go consult him now and then about Central Plains medical principles,” the old witch doctor said honestly.
“Then have him come take a look at this young lady!” Yu Xiaomeng blurted out.
This immediately embarrassed the old witch doctor, and Madam Yu burst out scolding her, “What nonsense are you talking! Young master Xuanyuan only knows a bit about medicine, he’s not a physician. Just go get the herbs the old doctor prescribed — she’ll surely wake up once she drinks them!”
Yu Xiaomeng really was simple-minded — the old witch doctor was a venerable elder of the northern desert town. When he said he went to consult Xuanyuan Lige, that was just a modest way of putting it!
If she suggested having Xuanyuan Lige come look at the patient, wasn’t that denying the old witch doctor’s own medical arts?
Only then did Yu Xiaomeng belatedly realize this, and hastily tried to explain.
But the old witch doctor was quite humble about it, laughing. “Haha, what Xiaomeng said isn’t a bad idea at all!”
“No, no, that won’t do. Young master Xuanyuan isn’t a physician after all, is he? He only knows a bit about medicine — how could we have him examine her! Take the medicine first, taking it will surely wake her up!” Madam Yu said again.
Yu Xiaomeng fell into a sulky silence, saying nothing more. In truth, she hadn’t really meant for young master Xuanyuan to treat the girl — she knew perfectly well his medical skill couldn’t match the old witch doctor’s.
She just wanted to see young master Xuanyuan, that was all. Wanted him to come sit at her house again, that was all.
Under Madam Yu’s urging, she could only go off to fetch the herbs.
“Go quickly and come back quickly. I have something to attend to later and need to go out — if you’re not back, don’t expect me to watch over her!” Madam Yu threatened, clearly afraid Yu Xiaomeng would run off to foolishly keep vigil near Xuanyuan Lige again.
“I know, I know!” Yu Xiaomeng waved her hand and dashed off without a backward glance.
The old witch doctor, being a shrewd judge of character, could tell at a glance that Yu Xiaomeng still had feelings for young master Xuanyuan. He gave a helpless smile, bid farewell to Madam Yu, and headed off toward Xuanyuan Lige’s place.