Sanruwi was furious and wanted to leave. Boss Hayes and Jax were desperately trying to comfort him when suddenly someone said, "Because you hate women, you refuse to treat them? How can you do that? That is such poor medical ethics."
The speaker was Minnie.
Sanruwi was very angry and sneered, "What did you say? Huh, what did you say?"
Minnie ignored Sanruwi's anger and said firmly, "What you are doing is wrong. You should treat all patients equally. We all took an oath when we entered medical school." She recited the Hippocratic Oath seriously, "No matter where I go, whether to men or women, nobles or servants, my sole purpose is to seek happiness for the patients and to avoid any harmful or immoral acts, especially seduction or assault."
"Seeking happiness for patients, isn't that the purpose of studying medicine? What else is medicine for?" Minnie said with conviction.
"Ha! Miss Minnie is so kind, a goddess on earth. Why don't you just save her yourself!" Sanruwi was extremely angry, his face bright red.
Jax quickly went over and pulled Minnie, trying to make her say less. He found it strange because Minnie usually seemed cautious and timid. Why was she arguing with Sanruwi now? He noticed Minnie's cheeks were flushed and her eyes fixed on Sanruwi without their usual sparkle. He wondered if maybe...
Minnie ignored Jax and spoke honestly, "If I could save her, I would. But I don't have the skill. You do, so you have to save her."
"Why? I just don't want to treat women!" Sanruwi swore angrily.
"You are a doctor!" Minnie frowned. "Even if your skills are better than others, you can't use that to threaten people. If others had your skill but refused patients, no one would come to them. You should cherish every patient; it's fate!"
"Nonsense fate!" Sanruwi cursed loudly. He stepped close to Minnie and shouted, "You short ugly girl, don't think I won't do anything to you just because you're a woman. I, I..." He was shaking with rage.
Jax was afraid Sanruwi would do something rash, so he held him back and said, "Don't be angry. Miss Minnie is just, just..." Jax stopped, not knowing what to say. He forced a smile and said, "She's probably drunk and just talking nonsense."
"Drunk?" Sanruwi was stunned.
"Drunk?" Minnie tilted her head and blinked. "Am I drunk?" She looked confused, then nodded and smiled. "No wonder I feel different. It's like my brain isn't controlling my mouth. Whatever pops up in my head just comes out. So I'm drunk!" She laughed, as if she had solved a big mystery.
Sanruwi was even more annoyed, "Drunk words are true words. She's speaking her mind!"
Jax was very tired of this. These two acted like children. Boss Hayes looked at the angry Sanruwi, then at Minnie's smiling face. He probably felt there was no hope for his wife's recovery. He sighed deeply and sat by the bed, watching Ah Qing lying still.
Minnie frowned, "Sanruwi, I heard Jax call you Sanruwi, so I will too."
"What relation do you have with me that you can call me that?" Sanruwi started to ask but Minnie interrupted.
"Why don't you want to treat women? Did a woman hurt you before? Were you bullied by women as a child? You are a grown man, why do you still care about women?" Minnie shook her head. "Even if you're good looking, with that attitude, you might never find a wife."
Sanruwi's handsome face turned darker than ever. Jax twitched his mouth, thinking Minnie's words hit the mark.
"You just talked about fumigation, herbal baths, and acupuncture. What about those? My hospital has a herbal bath center that always smells of medicine. I heard it's good for skin diseases. It's basically washing in medicated water that has been boiled with herbs. I learned a little acupuncture with my classmates; it's not difficult. But I've never seen fumigation. It sounds like steam therapy and is also external treatment, right?"
Sanruwi sneered, "I was wrong. Miss Minnie, you are not only good at delivering babies but also knowledgeable and can do acupuncture. I didn't know when our country produced someone like you."
Minnie shyly scratched the back of her head and smiled, "I'm not that skilled. I started acupuncture to lose weight. I asked my classmate who studies Chinese medicine to do it for me, but she was too lazy and only taught me points and methods. So I had to do it myself. Later, all the girls in our group came to me for free acupuncture for weight loss, toothache, stomach pain, muscle strain..."
Minnie said whatever came to her mind. Sanruwi's face darkened, his chest rising and falling, fists clenched tightly. Jax saw the situation and quickly put a hand on Sanruwi's shoulder to calm him, "It's all drunken talk, Sanruwi. Don't take it to heart."
Sanruwi took a deep breath twice and pushed Jax's hand away. To everyone's surprise, he smiled.
His smile was faint. His eyes sparkled softly. He spoke gently, "Since Miss Minnie has a kind heart and can do acupuncture, it solves my problem. Miss Minnie, how about we treat the patient together?"
"Treat together?" Minnie asked, dazed, staring at Sanruwi. She thought, this person is really handsome. Most handsome boys lose their looks as they grow up. But he hasn't. Yes, this is a demon! Minnie nodded, mumbling quietly, "A demon, a charming demon."
Sanruwi didn't hear clearly and asked again, "Miss Minnie, what do you think?"
"What?" Minnie was completely out of it.
Sanruwi frowned but kept calm. He spoke politely, "I mean I will write the prescription, and Miss Minnie will prepare the medicine. For acupuncture, I will tell Miss Minnie where to put the needles. You just need to do the acupuncture. This way, my difficulty is solved. No one can complain, and Miss Minnie can still save the patient. How about that?"
"Sanruwi..." Jax called out.
Sanruwi glared at him, then looked at Minnie and softly asked, "Miss Minnie, is that okay?"
"Okay." Minnie smiled and agreed. Jax shook his head, watching Sanruwi's sly smile. He whispered, "Don't go too far."
"Don't worry. No one will die." Sanruwi said lightly.
At this point, Boss Hayes was the happiest. He thought his anger at Sanruwi meant no hope for his wife, but now the situation changed. His beard could not hide his smile. "Great doctor, what should I prepare? We have plenty of common herbs on Phoenix Mountain..."
"Take me to see them." Sanruwi raised his eyes.
Boss Hayes personally took Sanruwi to the room where herbs were stored. Jax and Minnie naturally followed.
The room had dozens of large paper packages labeled with herb names. Sanruwi kept opening them, checking the herbs. Sometimes he lifted them to his nose to smell, sometimes broke off small pieces to taste. He looked up and saw Minnie standing drowsily, yawning now and then. He had a plan and said, "Miss Minnie, these herbs are stored badly and are damp. They need to be dried in the sun."
"Oh?" Minnie looked at him in confusion.
"So," Sanruwi smiled, "preparing the herbs is Miss Minnie's task. Later, I'll have to trouble Miss Minnie to take them outside to dry."
"Huh?" Minnie yawned halfway and stared at Sanruwi with her mouth wide open.
Sanruwi frowned inwardly at her uncouth behavior but still smiled. "What, Miss Minnie, are you going back on what you just agreed to?"
Minnie thought for a moment. "I'm really sleepy right now. Can I take a nap first and dry them later?"
"No," Sanruwi's face turned stern. "It's already getting late. The sun will only be good for another hour. Who knows when you'll wake up? How will the herbs get dried then?"
Minnie rubbed her eyes, looking exhausted. Boss Hayes hurriedly said, "Why trouble Miss Minnie? At Phoenix Stronghold..."
Sanruwi looked at Boss Hayes with a smile, and he wisely shut his mouth.
"Sanruwi, everyone just came down from the mountain today. We're all tired..." Jax tried to reason.
"No." Sanruwi's tone was firm.
Jax glanced at the dazed and clueless Minnie and slightly regretted keeping her there. She thought that if Sanruwi was going to order people around like this, she'd have to step in.
She should also find a chance to talk to him. But before she could take action, Sanruwi had already called her away, leaving Minnie alone with the herbs.
Sanruwi had played a trick on Minnie and was in a good mood. Even his attitude toward Boss Hayes improved. He asked for paper and brush, wrote with sweeping strokes, and soon filled several large pages.
While writing, he said, "Boss Hayes, go get Kai. I have something for him to do."
Boss Hayes had been planning to release Kai anyway, so he agreed readily and sent someone to fetch him.
Kai arrived quickly, but when Boss Hayes saw him, he almost didn't recognize him.
"Fifth Brother." Kai called out miserably, "I'm itching to death."
Jax was shocked too. "Kai, what happened to you..." She didn't finish the sentence before realizing it was Sanruwi's doing.
She said helplessly, "Sanruwi, why did you mess with him?"
Kai's face was covered in big red bumps, making it look swollen and round.
"This isn't a prank. It's revenge," Sanruwi replied without looking up, still writing.
"If it weren't for that brat, I'd be having a great time right now."
"You got your revenge. Now give him the antidote."
Sanruwi stopped writing and picked up the paper to blow the ink dry. He said slowly, "I don't have any antidote."
"Huh?" Kai was about to cry. After leaving the banquet and returning to his room, he'd felt something was off. His face started itching, and after scratching a bit, he found a huge bump.
A look in the mirror scared him badly. Now Sanruwi said there was no antidote. Not only was the itching unbearable, but how could he go out looking like this?
What if Yiying saw him... "Sanruwi, stop scaring him. Where's the antidote?"
This was the downside of having a childhood friend. Sanruwi thought silently. He folded the thick stack of paper and put it into an envelope, then said to Kai, "I have a task for you. Do it well, and you'll get the antidote."
Kai was overjoyed and agreed quickly. "I have an apprentice named Shuran. He's currently at the Yuelai Inn at the foot of the mountain.
Find him and give him this letter. Tell him to prepare the herbs listed in it. Someone will pick them up later. Also, have him send my medicine box along."
"What about my antidote?" Kai asked anxiously.
"Shuran will make it for you," Sanruwi said with narrowed eyes.
Kai headed down Phoenix Mountain with a cloth over his face. He hurried to the Yuelai Inn and found Sanruwi's apprentice Shuran.
When he handed over the letter, Shuran read it and agreed immediately, then gave him a large box of ointment.
"Apply this on your face. It'll be gone by tomorrow morning."
Kai quickly smeared it on, and soon the itching eased a lot. He was thrilled and said to Shuran, "This box is way too much for me. You should keep the rest."
"Trust me, you'll need it," Shuran said seriously.
The next day, Kai understood what he meant. When he woke up, the bumps on his face were gone, but new ones had popped up on his chest.
After those faded, they spread to his arms. The bumps appeared endlessly like bamboo shoots after the rain. On the way home, Kai couldn't get any peace.
Thankfully, Sanruwi showed some mercy. By the time he was about to meet Yiying, the bumps had finally cleared up. He managed to save face in front of the one he liked.