Chapter 709: Chapter 239: Holding Hands_2
Lu Tong walked to the table and sat down; Ji Xun set down his medical kit and took out the Golden Needle.
"Doctor Lin has changed your dressings for you. Do you feel any pain today?" Ji Xun asked.
Lu Tong shook her head, "No."
As Ji Xun took up the needle, Lu Tong lifted her sleeve. The Golden Needle slowly pierced her flesh, and Ji Xun’s gaze fell upon the scars on her arm.
Those scars crisscrossed, resembling ink stains on her slender arm, rough and uneven to the touch.
Ji Xun suddenly found it somewhat dazzling to the eye.
His movements paused, he said, "Your constitution is special now. Ordinary Wound Medicine is useless for you. Even after the Blood Exchange, the medicines used are unusually fierce. Continue to recuperate, and gradually your body will return to its former state. By then, medicines will have an effect on you, and I will re-formulate the Scar-Removing Medicine for you."
It was unexpected for Ji Xun to take the initiative to talk about this, and Lu Tong, slightly surprised, then said, "It’s okay, it’s not that important."
Ji Xun stopped for a moment, said nothing more, and continued with the acupuncture.
Gradually, there were fewer and fewer needles on the velvet cloth. Finally, as the last needle went in, he withdrew his hand, rolled up the cloth and fell silent for a while before suddenly asking, "Doctor Lu, when we first met in Su Nan, was the poison you had the Cold Silkworm Rain?"
Lu Tong was taken aback for a moment before nodding, "Yes."
Ji Xun felt a tightness in his heart.
The booklet that Lu Tong kept, noting the reactions to the medications, shocked every privy to it.
Ji Xun had later flipped through the entire booklet, and when he came upon the page for Cold Silkworm Rain, he suddenly recalled the symptoms as familiar. That’s when he remembered first meeting Lu Tong on Su Nan Bridge, checking her pulse, sensing the poisoning, and forcibly taking her to an inn to remove the poison for half a month.
At that time, she must also have been a Medicine Man.
No wonder, back then, when he wanted to take Lu Tong to the medical hall, she refused at all costs. Later in the inn, when he asked her where her parents lived, she didn’t say a word. But at that time, he was solely focused on treating the illness, with no mind to understand the other’s past experiences, thinking that leaving her with White Jade after treating her was considerate enough.
But now, he began to regret.
He regretted the indifference of his youth, overlooking the deeper sorrow in her eyes. If he had been more attentive then, picked up on any clues, he might have discovered the truth of her medication trials, avoiding her tragic fate, instead of missing by inches, passing by her side.
"I’m sorry," he said. "If I had asked you more at the time..."
Lu Tong was surprised.
"Doctor Ji has already helped me a lot," she said. "If it weren’t for that, the poison I’d been subjected to wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly."
But Ji Xun felt even worse in his heart.
"When you first joined the Medical Officer Institute, I misunderstood you a great deal. It was my failing to distinguish right from wrong."
He recalled his own reprimanding and lecturing Lu Tong because of the matter with Jin Xianrong and Hong Fangxu; recalling the times he discussed the principles of using medicine and poison with Lu Tong in the medicine room. He had always disapproved of Lu Tong’s overly forceful and domineering medical practice. Now, it seemed, all had their answers.
She was different from the students in the Imperial Medical Bureau, who were carefully instructed by teachers.
She had no teacher at all.
Just a Medicine Man, full of scars, used for testing drugs.
A child used as a tool for drug trials, who later grew to be a doctor with exceptional medical skills. The heart and effort that must have been expended is evident, and her resilience and perseverance are touching, as is her silent suffering.
Compassion.
As if belatedly realizing some subtle thoughts of his own, he was startled.
Lu Tong said, "Doctor Ji, there’s no need for self-reproach. It’s all in the past. The priority now should be dealing with the epidemic in Su Nan. The epidemic is showing signs of improvement, so it will likely be very busy next."
Ji Xun watched her.
The woman’s features were serene, her eyes clear, talking to him with an even temperament, devoid of her past cool indifference.
Lu Tong seemed to have changed from before.
As if having walked through the Ghost Gate, letting go of many things, she had become lighter, gentler, and when facing him, as comfortable as with a friend.
He felt some relief. And with that relief came a faint sense of loss for some reason. Not knowing what to say, he fell silent.
It wasn’t until the acupuncture session was finished, he put away the Golden Needle, and gave a few instructions to Lu Tong, that he finally left with his medical kit on his back.
The room grew quiet once more.
Lu Tong sat at the table.
The night deepened, the candle on the table flickered. She stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
A gust of cold air rushed in.
Ever since she had woken up, she had been confined to her room, not allowed to step outside. Chang Jin was fearful that the wind and snow might chill her. Being cooped up for so long made her limbs feel somewhat stiff.
Lu Tong thought for a moment, then picked up a lantern from the corner and stepped outside.
She had only taken a few steps when a voice came from behind her, "Where are you going at this hour?"