"This illness, I can cure it." A Jiu's heart ached, but even with her head bowed, she gritted her teeth and insisted she could handle it.
"This is my ninth sister, A Jiu. You all heard her, she can cure it. Everyone go wait outside, I'll handle things with the chief."
Tuoba Yan, holding his long saber like a commanding leader, shooed them away.
"Ninth sister, A Jiu, this illness is incurable. Everyone in the city knows. Aren't you supposed to be farming? Why are you getting involved in this?"
When he turned to speak to A Jiu, his eyes were filled with worry. This sickness was fatal, what if something happened to A Jiu?
A Jiu stared intently at Hui'er's mother, wondering if she had inserted the needle inaccurately at the gallbladder meridian acupoint.
Seeing that A Jiu didn't respond, Tuoba Yan stood silently beside her.
Just then, Hui'er cried out, "Mother, Mother!"
She spat out a mouthful of blood.
A Jiu herself recoiled several steps, stunned and unable to recover for a long while.
Was this the venom of a king cobra, killing her?
"Ninth sister, A Jiu, there are worms in this blood," Tuoba Yan suddenly said.
A Jiu looked blankly at Tuoba Yan, then at her aunt, before finally focusing on the blood her aunt had vomited.
Under the torchlight, a shimmering, moving luminescence could be seen in the dark red blood. Upon closer inspection, worms were visible.
The worms wriggled for less than a breath before becoming still.
A Jiu frowned. So that's how it was. This wasn't a plague, but more like a parasitic worm described in the Ling Gui Ba Fa.
"Quick, give your mother some water." A Jiu naturally used the spiritual spring water.
Terrified, Hui'er shakily held the bowl to her mother's lips.
This time, her mother's hand, withered like a dead branch, lifted and held the bowl, drinking it down herself.
Hui'er wiped away her tears and continued to watch her mother. After a long while, she smiled, "Ninth sister, A Jiu, my mother stopped spitting."
A Jiu's back was drenched in sweat. She slumped into a chair, realizing how exhausting it was to save someone.
She wiped her sweat and said, "I'll check on her situation first thing tomorrow morning."
A Jiu remembered the soldiers waiting outside. As she got up, she glanced at the impoverished state of the house. She took a peach from her怀 and handed it to Hui'er:
"This is the only one I have. You and your mother eat it separately; it can serve as a meal."
There was nothing else A Jiu could help with for now. Everything would have to wait until tomorrow for the results.
As soon as A Jiu stepped out, she saw several officials from the city who immediately surrounded her.
"Don't block her way, this is my ninth sister, A Jiu." Tuoba Yan, though he didn't understand the situation, knew that if A Jiu wanted to leave, he didn't need others to dictate.
"Tuoba Yan, how are we supposed to report back? These are the people villagers reported for having these symptoms, which is why we came."
"Yes, if we don't bring the person back, how do we report to our superiors?"
"I told you, I'll handle things with the chief. This is not your concern." Tuoba Yan's eyes never left A Jiu.
She stood calmly in place, waiting for these people to clear a path. Once again, Tuoba Yan helped her out of a difficult situation:
"If there's no effect by tomorrow, you can come back, and I won't stop you." A Jiu herself was uncertain, but a sliver of hope bloomed in her heart.
"Make way." Tuoba Yan waved his hand.
The men parted to create a path.
A Jiu walked away gracefully.
"You all go back and report. I'll stay here and wait for tomorrow's results, is that acceptable?"
"Alright."
Tuoba Yan's words successfully dispersed them.
"Ninth sister, A Jiu, why are you crying?" Tuoba Yan, leading his horse, caught up to her and was stunned.
"I'm not crying, I was just scared earlier." A Jiu spoke the truth. She was just a young girl who had learned a bit of acupuncture. She had never seen such a patient before, and the emotional turmoil was overwhelming.
"Were we the ones who scared you?" Tuoba Yan felt guilty.
"No, I saw Hui'er's mother's condition, and it terrified me. For now, don't talk so much, just let me be quiet."
A Jiu was truly frightened. That was king cobra venom, a tiny amount could kill a cow.
"Oh, then I won't talk." Tuoba Yan looked at A Jiu's profile, her smile gone.
"However, I want to tell you a joke."
"Go ahead and tell it." A Jiu now wanted to cast off the burden in her heart, though she wasn't sure if Tuoba Yan's joke would be funny.
"You'll definitely be happy when I tell you," Tuoba Yan said smugly. "I was patrolling the city today and saw Li Dachang. He was buying salt at the post station. I beat him up then and there."
A Jiu didn't find it funny, only surprised. "Why did you beat him?"
"Who told him not to be a salt merchant, making it so I couldn't buy salt for you, A Jiu?"
Tuoba Yan was still grinning.
A Jiu was startled. "Did you break his bones again?"