“Doctor Bai, I… How is my mother?”
Bai Yi had only just stepped outside when a child of about ten hurried up to him to ask. The child was holding a cup of clear tea.
“Don’t worry. She’s only caught a bit of chill. She’ll be fine after taking the medicine and resting for a few days.”
“Here’s the medicine. Take it twice a day, and remember to dissolve it in warm water.”
After speaking, Bai Yi took three pre-prepared doses from his medical case and handed them to the boy.
“Thank you, Doctor Bai! Then… what about the cost of the medicine?”
Though it was only a common chill, even an illness like that could be deadly in ancient times, so house calls and medicine weren’t cheap.
The boy wore plain, simple clothes, and there was no man of the house in sight. His family was probably in dire straits financially.
When the boy asked about the cost, he looked troubled, as if he were terrified of the answer…
Bai Yi studied the child more closely. He looked about eleven or twelve, but his limbs were sturdy and rough from hard use. He must have done a lot of heavy labor.
And when Bai Yi thought back to how there hadn’t been any man of the house around earlier…
Bai Yi could guess more or less what the family’s circumstances were. He gave the boy a kind smile and said,
“It’s all right. I picked these herbs myself in the mountains and boiled them myself, so they didn’t cost much.”
“Mm… I’ll charge you fifty wen for the visit and the medicine.”
At first, the boy didn’t seem to register the price. Then he hurriedly bowed to Bai Yi and thanked him.
“Really?! Thank you, Doctor Bai! Th-this is just some plain tea. If you don’t mind—”
“Think nothing of it. It’s only a cup of water. What’s there to mind?”
Bai Yi took the cup of tea from the boy. The cup was still warm to the touch, so he simply drank it all right there, then returned it to the boy.
“Thank you.”
“By the way, I travel around treating patients every day. I can make it to Hexi Town about once every five days.”
“If your mother isn’t getting better, or if anything else comes up, you can find me under the willow tree on the south bank at the edge of the village in five days.”
The boy nodded over and over like a chick pecking at rice, his face full of gratitude.
“Thank you, Doctor Bai! I’ll go get the money for you right now.”
With that, the boy started to run back into the house. Seeing how clumsy and flustered he was, Bai Yi couldn’t help smiling a little—but he still stopped him.
“D-Doctor Bai?”
The boy looked confused and uneasy.
Bai Yi only shook his head gently.
“Your mother has just had her medicine applied and gone to lie down. She needs to rest, so it’s better not to disturb her. You can pay me next time.”
“S-sorry, Doctor Bai. I was too impatient.”
Bai Yi smiled faintly and patted the boy on the head. Then he took a small paper packet from his medical case.
He untied the thin string in front of the boy, revealing several neat, square pieces of white sugar inside.
“Medicine may be bitter, but it helps to have something with it, doesn’t it? Take these sugar cubes. They’ll come in handy when your mother takes her medicine.”
The boy stared at the neat, delicate sugar cubes in Bai Yi’s hand, his eyes full of shock. He hurriedly protested,
“B-but, Doctor Bai, I can’t accept this! You’ve already been so generous with the visit and the medicine.”
“Sugar like this is so precious. How could I possibly accept anything else from you?”
Seeing the boy frantically refuse, Bai Yi was touched by how sensible he was. He waved a hand casually.
“What’s so precious about it? Is a little food more important than a patient?”
“Besides, I’m not giving it to you. I’m giving it to your mother. What good would refusing do?”
“Take it.”
With that, he pressed the packet of sugar into the boy’s hands.
The boy stood there dumbly, staring at the sugar cubes in his hands. Tears began to well in the corners of his eyes. But when he came to his senses and remembered someone else was there, he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve and spoke, overcome with emotion.
“Thank you, Doctor Bai! If I ever have money someday, I’ll repay your kindness, I promise!!!”
The boy bowed deeply several more times. Now, it was as if Bai Yi’s very presence made his eyes shine.
Bai Yi smiled without saying anything more and gently stroked the boy’s head again.
…
For a child like this, being a hundred times kind to him means less than showing his mother even a little kindness…
Bai Yi packed up his things and prepared to leave.
But not long after he stepped outside, the boy came chasing after him again, panting hard, his cheeks flushed red.
Bai Yi looked puzzled.
“What is it, kid? Is there something else?”
The boy, who’d seemed so composed just moments ago, now looked awkward and fidgety, tugging at his hands behind his back.
“I-it’s just…”
Bai Yi: “?”
The boy took a long time to work up the courage before speaking again.
“M-my mother isn’t married, and, sir, you’ve seen for yourself that she’s very young and beautiful…”
Bai Yi was a little bewildered by what the boy was saying, but he nodded along.
When Bai Yi had gone inside to treat that woman, he’d thought she was the boy’s older sister. He hadn’t expected her to be such a young mother. She looked barely fifteen, and she was quite pretty, too…
But… why had the boy suddenly come out to tell him all this?
As if he’d noticed Bai Yi’s confusion, the boy hurriedly continued, stumbling over his words.
“…Before, people from many households in the village came to arrange matches for her. But my mother has always been frail and can’t do much hard work, so every time, I chased them away…”
The more Bai Yi listened, the more something felt off…
“So…?”
The boy fell silent and took a deep breath, as if he’d made up his mind about something. Then he steeled himself and looked straight at Bai Yi.
“If… if you’re interested, sir, I can talk to my mother for you—”
“No need!!!!”
Bai Yi knew it! The boy had misunderstood him from the very beginning! Aaaaaah!
“Huh… S-sir?”
The boy beside him was completely confused now.
Bai Yi held his forehead, a dark line across his face, and shook his head. Then he gave the boy’s shoulder a firm pat and spoke with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Kid… I can promise you that everything I did just now was simply a doctor’s duty. I had absolutely no other intentions.”
At that, the boy went blank. He stared at Bai Yi, his face turning red as a kettle coming to a boil, like smoke was about to come out of his ears.
“Huh—???!!!!”
“S-sorry, I’m sorry… Doctor Bai, I got all ‘Wuhu!’ about it!!”
Bai Yi: What do you mean, “Wuhu”? You mean you misunderstood, right?!
Bai Yi stopped paying attention to the boy and hurried off, leaving him standing there in utter bewilderment.
The system panel opened automatically—Notification
—Thank you for completing today’s commission
A Healer’s Compassion 4/4
Reward: 630 wen
…
Bai Yi looked at the money in his hand, still unable to believe that this so-called “system” could really make money appear out of nowhere for him…
But there was plenty of time to figure it out. If it didn’t cause any trouble, then he could still…
—Notification: Your customized game time is up. Log out?
Bai Yi stared at the words that had suddenly appeared in midair, a little dumbfounded.
“…Ga-game? What game…?”
Suddenly, something seemed to flash through his mind, and Qin Heng remembered.
“Oh, man! I got so caught up playing that I forgot—I’ve got a banquet tonight!”
“Logging out, logging out!”
……………………
