Chapter 5 Grateful for the Doctor (Part I)
Seeing the four dead bodies on the ground, Yuxiao realized what he had done. He felt everything he ate coming up and vomited. His face was pale and his eyes were filled with fear. He tossed the knife and got back onto the carriage to head south as quickly as he could.
He had no idea how long it took for him to come back to his senses. The burns on his butt and the knife wounds on his body made him dizzy. While trying hard to stay awake, he saw a village ahead that was bigger than the one earlier and hurried toward it.
Yuxiao asked the villagers for any doctors nearby, but no one talked to him when they saw his bloody clothes; everyone was afraid he was a wanted killer. Yuxiao had no choice but to stop at a restaurant and inn; however, the waiter blocked his way.
“Why can’t I go in?”
Yuxiao demanded of the waiter.
The waiter saw all the blood on Yuxiao and was afraid to offend him. “Sir, I’m sorry, but the way you look will scare everyone here. I’ll be fired if I get in trouble.”
Yuxiao stared at him. “Just give me a room. I’ll stay inside and won’t scare anyone!”
“Sorry sir, but our inn is full right now.” The waiter was too afraid not to lie.
Yuxiao felt weak allover and was seeing stars, too. If I wast any more time with you, I’ll die here. He pushed aside the waiter to go in. The waiter wanted to stop him, but also didn’t want to get hurt. “Sir, please stop. We really are out of rooms!”
The waiter’s loud shout got the manager’s attention. When he saw a bloody young man headed inside the inn, he came out from behind the counter, but didn’t want to touch Yuxiao, either. The guests inside the lobby all scattered, seeing Yuxiao’s arrival, and some even ran outside.
“Young man, what can I do for you?” asked the manager. He was more suave than the waiter.
“Give me a room now, and get me a doctor.” Yuxiao took out a gold coin.
Seeing how generous Yuxiao was, the manager’s eyes lit up. He quickly said, “The second floor has a room. Room 203, this way.”
“Tell someone to get me a pan of water and get me a doctor who’s good at wounds,” Yuxiao said with a pale face as he walked upstairs.
The manager sent a waiter to show Yuxiao the way and another person to get the water. When Yuxiao followed the waiter inside the room, he whispered to another waiter, “Get Dr. Wang here, and if you see any guards on the way, bring them here, too.”
The waiter understood the message and ran out of the inn.
Yuxiao used cold water to rinse and felt a little more alert. He took off his bloody shirt and his underwear and washed his wounds. When he was done, he washed his shirt in the wooden pail, tore the shirt into strips, and wrapped the fabric over his wounds. Pain forced him to stay awake. Gritting his teeth, he shouted. “Get me three pounds of beef and some soup! Make it quick!”
“Right away!”
The waiter rushed to the kitchen to fill his order.
Yuxiao felt close to passing out from fatigue. He forced himself into a lotus pose on the bed and tried to focus his qi so that he didn’t faint.
With the exhaustion and pain, he could feel the qi coming up with difficulty. Ten breaths later, he was able to discard all wayward thoughts, and all of a sudden, he felt a fingernail-sized burst of qi in his abdomen. Unlike before, his mind told him to let the qi go downward instead of up. Maybe it could cycle through his whole body.
Even as he thought about this, he did it. After a while, the small burst of qi started to change; it didn’t get bigger, but it turned into a ball of energy. The energy turned around and around in his abdomen, and he could feel other bursts of qi from other parts of his body joining the first one.
Chapter 5 Grateful for the Doctor (Part I)
Seeing the four dead bodies on the ground, Yuxiao realized what he had done. He felt everything he ate coming up and vomited. His face was pale and his eyes were filled with fear. He tossed the knife and got back onto the carriage to head south as quickly as he could.
He had no idea how long it took for him to come back to his senses. The burns on his butt and the knife wounds on his body made him dizzy. While trying hard to stay awake, he saw a village ahead that was bigger than the one earlier and hurried toward it.
Yuxiao asked the villagers for any doctors nearby, but no one talked to him when they saw his bloody clothes; everyone was afraid he was a wanted killer. Yuxiao had no choice but to stop at a restaurant and inn; however, the waiter blocked his way.
“Why can’t I go in?”
Yuxiao demanded of the waiter.
The waiter saw all the blood on Yuxiao and was afraid to offend him. “Sir, I’m sorry, but the way you look will scare everyone here. I’ll be fired if I get in trouble.”
Yuxiao stared at him. “Just give me a room. I’ll stay inside and won’t scare anyone!”
“Sorry sir, but our inn is full right now.” The waiter was too afraid not to lie.
Yuxiao felt weak allover and was seeing stars, too. If I wast any more time with you, I’ll die here. He pushed aside the waiter to go in. The waiter wanted to stop him, but also didn’t want to get hurt. “Sir, please stop. We really are out of rooms!”
The waiter’s loud shout got the manager’s attention. When he saw a bloody young man headed inside the inn, he came out from behind the counter, but didn’t want to touch Yuxiao, either. The guests inside the lobby all scattered, seeing Yuxiao’s arrival, and some even ran outside.
“Young man, what can I do for you?” asked the manager. He was more suave than the waiter.
“Give me a room now, and get me a doctor.” Yuxiao took out a gold coin.
Seeing how generous Yuxiao was, the manager’s eyes lit up. He quickly said, “The second floor has a room. Room 203, this way.”
“Tell someone to get me a pan of water and get me a doctor who’s good at wounds,” Yuxiao said with a pale face as he walked upstairs.
The manager sent a waiter to show Yuxiao the way and another person to get the water. When Yuxiao followed the waiter inside the room, he whispered to another waiter, “Get Dr. Wang here, and if you see any guards on the way, bring them here, too.”
The waiter understood the message and ran out of the inn.
Yuxiao used cold water to rinse and felt a little more alert. He took off his bloody shirt and his underwear and washed his wounds. When he was done, he washed his shirt in the wooden pail, tore the shirt into strips, and wrapped the fabric over his wounds. Pain forced him to stay awake. Gritting his teeth, he shouted. “Get me three pounds of beef and some soup! Make it quick!”
“Right away!”
The waiter rushed to the kitchen to fill his order.
Yuxiao felt close to passing out from fatigue. He forced himself into a lotus pose on the bed and tried to focus his qi so that he didn’t faint.
With the exhaustion and pain, he could feel the qi coming up with difficulty. Ten breaths later, he was able to discard all wayward thoughts, and all of a sudden, he felt a fingernail-sized burst of qi in his abdomen. Unlike before, his mind told him to let the qi go downward instead of up. Maybe it could cycle through his whole body.
Even as he thought about this, he did it. After a while, the small burst of qi started to change; it didn’t get bigger, but it turned into a ball of energy. The energy turned around and around in his abdomen, and he could feel other bursts of qi from other parts of his body joining the first one.
