The waiter, clutching the two taels of silver, felt a surge of pleasure. While money was always welcome, it was the first time he’d received it from such a beautiful woman. Seeing that Wanwan’s attention was now elsewhere, he pocketed it and quickly replied.
“It’s an old gentleman who is ill. There are no doctors in this area, and he doesn’t have much money to afford one from the big city. He can only endure it here.”
“Oh,” Wanwan replied, preparing to return to her room. Unexpectedly, Yun Xiao had also overheard the conversation and had already risen and walked to the doorway. Her expression was serene, the dim, yellow lamplight casting a soft glow on her face, blending into something as gentle as spring water.
“Little brother, could you take me to see that gentleman and then fetch my medicine chest from the carriage?”
Yun Xiao spoke slowly. The waiter was stunned, surprised that this young master was a physician. He nodded with delight, “Saving a life brings blessings, young master. You will surely have a long and prosperous life. Please follow me.”
As Yun Xiao moved, Liu Xing and Jing Yun, who were in the room by the side, flashed out, anxiously questioning, “Master.”
“It’s nothing. You two rest. Do not come out. I am fine.”
Yun Xiao commanded in a deep voice, forbidding them to come out. After ten days of relentless travel, day and night, no one could endure such hardship. If there truly was an epidemic within the pass, she feared they would not be able to hold out. Therefore, she would not allow them to overexert themselves.
Liu Xing and Jing Yun exchanged a look, their expressions tinged with disagreement. However, seeing the sharp, resolute look in their master’s eyes, they dared not say anything more.
Although they had not been with their master for long, they had become familiar with her personality.
She was usually smiling, like a harmless paper tiger, but when she truly became angry, someone would have to pay the price. Furthermore, she was very capable in her actions. Thus, how could they dare disobey her command? They nodded in assent.
“Master, please be careful.”
“It’s nothing,” Yun Xiao nodded with satisfaction, gesturing for the waiter to proceed, “Thank you, little brother.”
“Let’s go.” The waiter’s heart had been racing upon seeing Liu Xing and Jing Yun appear, fearing that these two would ruin everything. It seemed this master was not as gentle and harmless as she appeared, at least these subordinates were quite afraid of him.
The waiter led the way. It was only a few steps away. The inn was not large, and they were on the same corridor, merely separated by the directions.
As the three approached the guest’s door, a cough erupted, as if the person needed to cough up their liver and lungs to feel better. One cough followed another, seemingly shaking the entire floor. Yun Xiao raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking at the waiter.
“With him coughing like that, aren’t any guests complaining?”
“What guests? Besides him, it just so happens that the other rooms are occupied today. Otherwise, with only one guest, the innkeeper didn’t charge him much for the room. He just felt sorry for him, thinking that even if he died, he should die in a room, not on the street.”
Although the waiter said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Yun Xiao and Wanwan were still deeply moved. Their chests felt full, wondering how people could be so different.
Some, in positions of authority, did not fulfill their duties, while others, though poor, possessed such rich spirits that shone with a brilliant light. This was the difference between people, or perhaps, the difference between humans and beasts.
After the waiter finished speaking, he pulled open the door. The room was not large, and there were few furnishings. The layout was similar to Yun Xiao’s room: a bed, a round table, and a stool, with no other items. Because there were few things, the room appeared quite spacious.
However, the person on the bed was emaciated and sallow, his body ravaged by illness to the point of being unrecognizable, leaving only skin and bones. His eyes were hollow, sunken in, devoid of any flesh, looking truly terrifying.
If he walked on the street in such a state, people would undoubtedly mistake him for a wandering ghost.
After a series of coughs, blood trickled from the corner of his lips. Against his jaundiced face and shallow breathing, it seemed this person was beyond saving.
The waiter’s face fell, almost to the point of tears. He rushed over, “Mr. Ximen, Mr. Ximen, are you alright? I’ve brought a doctor to see you.”
The person on the bed, whether from extreme fatigue or being critically ill, did not move for a long time.
Just as everyone thought he was about to breathe his last, he painstakingly opened his eyes, looked at the waiter, and a grateful glint appeared in his gaze. His clouded eyes shifted from the waiter’s face to Yun Xiao’s, and finally, gasping for breath, he spoke.
“Thank you, but it’s no use.”
Seeing that he could still speak, Yun Xiao took a step forward and took his wrist to feel his pulse. Wanwan brought the only stool from the room and placed it beside her master, helping her to sit down.
Yun Xiao slightly closed her eyes, remaining motionless, listening to the pulse. The room was silent, not a sound to be heard.
In fact, this person was not gravely ill. Yun Xiao felt his pulse once, then again to confirm. It had started as a common cold, which later developed into pneumonia and a fever.
Pneumonia with a fever was a troublesome condition, even in modern times, let alone in ancient times.
The technology was far inferior to modern standards, and there were no medications like penicillin available. Therefore, even she was not confident in treating such severe pneumonia, but since she had undertaken it, she had to try.
“Little brother, please bring the medicine chest and some brush and ink.”
The waiter’s eyes lit up at these words. Since the doctor had said this, he must be savable; otherwise, they would have given up directly. He responded with a good cheer and darted away like a rabbit, faster than ever before. xxs1
In the room, Yun Xiao looked at the person on the bed. He was advanced in years, and although he was gaunt, his features were well-defined.
“May I know your esteemed surname, sir?”
Yun Xiao asked softly, inwardly wondering why this person had fallen into such a state of destitution, with no one to care for him. Did he have no wife, children, or elderly parents? As she pondered this, the man laboriously replied.
“My surname is compound, Ximen. My given name is Yao.”
After speaking, he no longer uttered a word, breathing heavily again. Yun Xiao knew that he was likely about to cough again.
She stood up and stepped back. Pneumonia could be contagious, so it was best to be cautious. Indeed, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, the person on the bed began to cough again, coughing so violently that it seemed as if the onlookers’ hearts were being coughed out.
Yun Xiao watched him, and as she watched, she suddenly remembered something. He said his name was Ximen Yao. Ximen Yao. Several voices exploded in her mind. This person was actually named Ximen Yao. Who was that person in the palace?
Or perhaps it was someone with the same name. At this moment, Yun Xiao could no longer concern herself with contagion. She walked to Ximen Yao’s side and began to pat his back. When his coughing subsided somewhat, she spoke in a rapid succession of questions.
“Are you the strategist Ximen Yao, known in the martial world as ‘Resourceful strategist’?”
Ximen Yao seemed hesitant to speak, but then, perhaps recalling Yun Xiao’s kindness and sensing she was not a malicious person, he slowly nodded, “In truth, this old man merely bears an undeserved reputation. That was given by friends.”
With a resounding bang, something detonated in her mind. The first time they met, on that night at the Qingfeng Pavilion, he had been playing the flute by the lake, and she had sat on the embankment listening.
Amidst the ethereal flute music, she always felt a gaze upon her. When she looked up, she could only see a retreating figure, melting into the clear moonlight.
When enemies attacked, he actually cared about a complete stranger. He was clearly a person who did not involve himself in worldly affairs, and his heart should have been cold, yet he made an exception for her.
And she had not even paid attention to such a detail, yet it turned out there was a hidden significance…