After finishing up, the young attendant led her to another bath.
This time, it wasn’t clear water but a tub with a medicinal scent.
Xi Fuhong didn’t ask much; if the attendant wanted her to soak, she soaked.
Besides, the water had a warm, grassy fragrance that was quite soothing.
After a while, the attendant told her to jump into another tub, and she started to resist.
“Aren’t I just supposed to bathe?
I’m already clean, why soak again?
My skin’s going to fall off.”
“Shut up!
Just soak when you’re told to.
Why so much nonsense?
Don’t you want to save the little girl?”
Hearing this, Xi Fuhong obediently sat in the water and looked up at the attendant, asking, “Didn’t the Divine Doctor agree to save her?”
“Which ear of yours heard the master say that?
I only said I’d bring you inside, don’t get ahead of yourself!”
Xi Fuhong protested, standing up in the tub, “You tricked me!”
The attendant retorted, “You’re the one who insisted on clinging to my leg, demanding I report it!”
Just as they were glaring at each other, another young attendant, who looked almost identical but with a more composed demeanor, came in.
She whispered something to the first attendant and then left.
“The master wants to see you, hurry up and get dressed!”
She tossed a set of plain white clothes to Xi Fuhong.
“If I see the Divine Doctor, will she treat the little girl?”
“You’re so annoying!
I said let the master decide.
If you keep nagging, I’ll poison you mute!”
The attendant feigned ferocity.
Without getting an answer, Xi Fuhong had no choice but to obediently dress and follow the attendant.
When they reached the main house, the attendant turned back and sternly warned her not to look around or speak out of turn.
Xi Fuhong nodded honestly, and only then did the attendant open the door and lead her inside.
As soon as Xi Fuhong entered the room, she was stunned.
The house was draped in white cloth from top to bottom, with no chairs or tables.
Thick layers of fabric divided the space into many sections.
She took a deep breath, noticing the strong medicinal scent mixed with something like incense, making her feel a bit dizzy.
“Come here, stand here, and put your hand through the cloth,” the attendant instructed, pointing to a small platform.
Xi Fuhong looked at the attendant with confusion but followed the instructions.
She stood on the platform and extended her hand between two pieces of white cloth.
She felt something soft wrap around her wrist, followed by a cold touch.
Initially, Xi Fuhong was startled, but then she realized the coldness was a hand, as if it had been soaked in icy winter water.
She wondered if this was the Divine Doctor the attendant mentioned, but why was the Divine Doctor’s hand so cold?
Aren’t healthy people’s hands warm?
While Xi Fuhong was lost in thought, the attendant punched her lightly, “What are you daydreaming about?”
“W-what?
Did the Divine Doctor agree to treat the little girl?”
Xi Fuhong asked expectantly.
The attendant squinted, sizing her up, “Are you agreeing to this?”
“As long as the little girl can be saved, it’s fine,” Xi Fuhong nodded sincerely, afraid of upsetting the attendant.
The attendant didn’t say anything further, just pulled her along.
They entered a narrow house on the right side of the courtyard.
Xi Fuhong looked around and found it even more basic than her previous home, with just a wooden bed and a chair.
“You’ll stay here from now on.
You can’t leave without permission,” the attendant said.
“Why do I have to stay here?
What about the little girl?”
Xi Fuhong asked, confused.
Seeing her expression, the attendant got angry, “Didn’t you just agree?
Are you going back on your word?”
“I-I said it’s fine to save the girl, but what’s that got to do with staying here?”
Xi Fuhong felt wronged by the scolding.
“Hmph, the master said you can save her, but you have to be the master’s medicine person,” the attendant said seriously.
Medicine person?
What’s that?
As if reading her mind, the attendant impatiently said, “Anyway, if you want to save her, stay here.
You won’t die.”
The attendant left Xi Fuhong and walked out.
Just outside, she saw another girl who looked just like her, carrying two baskets of herbs.
She took one of the baskets, and the two of them sat in the courtyard, sorting out the better quality roots and grinding the rest into a paste to pour into porcelain bottles.
“Mu Er, what do you think the master is thinking?
Why is she willing to save that little girl?”
The attendant, named Cao Er, grumbled as she crushed the leaves in the mortar.
She couldn’t understand why their usually stubborn master had changed her mind today and was willing to save the girl.
Could it be that the master thought they were useless and wanted to take in another child as a helper?
“Cao Er, the illness period is approaching,” the calm Mu Er said, not looking up as she peeled away the worm-eaten leaves.
Hearing this, the irritable Cao Er suddenly realized.
“Oh!
I’ve been so busy picking herbs that I forgot about the master’s illness!”
Cao Er turned to Mu Er and asked, “You’re in charge of the medicine, did the master say when to give the medicine person the medicine?”
Mu Er finished sorting the herbs, looked up at Cao Er’s round eyes, and calmly said, “Tomorrow.”
The room was filled with the scent of medicine, slightly bitter and sweet.
Xi Fuhong sat weakly on the chair, holding a bowl of medicine.
She felt like she had drunk ten years’ worth of medicine in just a few days.
Every morning, Mu Er would bring a bowl of porridge and a bowl of thick medicine, then again at noon, and in the evening, it was the same.
She was starting to forget the taste of solid food.
After drinking the last sip of medicine, Xi Fuhong grimaced.
She didn’t consider herself afraid of bitterness, but the medicine was indescribably bitter, and the nauseating taste lingered in her mouth for hours.
She went to the window to look at the courtyard, seeing Cao Er and Mu Er watering the herbs.
Over the past few days, she had gradually learned to distinguish between the two similar-looking girls.
The one with round eyes and a sharp tongue was Cao Er, while the more composed and taciturn one was Mu Er.
It was always Mu Er who brought the medicine, and she hadn’t seen much of the outspoken Cao Er lately.
Returning to the bed, she lay down and yawned.
This had become a habit recently; as soon as she lay down, she felt sleepy.
She didn’t know if it was the effect of the medicine.
Since she was stuck in the wooden house all day with nothing to do, she might as well sleep.
She usually dreamed every time she slept, but she would forget the dreams upon waking.
However, today was different; the dream was unusually vivid.
She dreamed she was hanging from a dead tree, the branches binding her limbs.
She struggled uneasily, trying to see her surroundings, but it was pitch black.
Suddenly, a branch seemed to come alive, moving toward her arm, and with a swish, it cut her skin, causing tears to well up from the pain.
How could a dream hurt so much?!
She screamed silently in her mind, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a blood-stained knife in her blurry vision.
“Hey!
Don’t move!”
Cao Er pressed down on Xi Fuhong’s hand to stop her from struggling.
She finally saw her situation clearly.
Her limbs weren’t bound by branches but tied with hemp ropes.
Cao Er had cut her arm, and blood was slowly dripping into a clay bowl, which was already quite full.
“What are you doing?!”
Xi Fuhong asked in panic.
“Can’t you see?
I’m drawing blood,” Cao Er replied with a roll of her eyes.
Xi Fuhong’s face turned pale at the words.
Draw blood?
Would a normal person want to draw someone’s blood?
She looked up and saw herself tied up tightly, looking at Cao Er with a face full of grievance.
But the little girl didn’t show her any kindness, pinching Xi Fuhong’s thigh hard, making her cry out in pain.
“I told you to look! What? Feeling wronged? Hmph, as a medicine person, you better accept your fate,” Cao Er scolded.
“What are you drawing my blood for?”
Xi Fuhong bit her lower lip and asked.
