Chapter Twenty-Eight: Wronged
About half an hour after the fifth watch in Lingshan County, the sky was just beginning to lighten, with a fine drizzle still falling. On the streets of the town, a few early risers could already be seen, scattered here and there, carrying various rain gear as they made their way either out of the city or into it.
Suddenly, a rapid clatter of footsteps broke the morning calm—a sound as if someone were running. The passersby paused, turning in surprise to witness a strange spectacle unfold nearby.
A burly man, strong as an ox, was fleeing for his life, with a young man hotly pursuing him. Both had beads of water dripping from their heads, their clothes soaked through, though none could say whether it was sweat or rain.
“Master... you...” Shan Kui, clutching Bean Sprout, ran in great strides, glancing sideways as he spoke.
“I’m fine—go, hurry!” Li Sanjian, drenched in sweat and breathless, urged, “Cover Bean Sprout, don’t let her get wet anymore.”
Bean Sprout had suddenly fallen ill, leaving Li Sanjian frantic with worry. Following the shopkeeper’s advice, he had come to seek a physician.
She must have a fever, Li Sanjian thought as he ran.
Though he understood Bean Sprout had a fever, Li Sanjian was utterly helpless. All he could do was search for a doctor, and quickly, for a child so young might face grave danger if not treated in time—of this, Li Sanjian was painfully aware.
Disregarding the curious glances of those around them, the pair soon arrived at a pharmacy in Lingshan County.
“You go knock,” Li Sanjian said, taking Bean Sprout from Shan Kui.
Shan Kui nodded, then turned and knocked on the wooden door so loudly it echoed through the neighborhood, waking the neighbors.
“I’m coming, I’m coming, take it easy—you’ll break the door!” A pharmacy assistant, yawning, unlatched the door and opened up, grumbling at Li Sanjian and Shan Kui, “What are you doing so early in the morning?”
Their shabby clothing prompted the assistant to speak without any courtesy.
“Where’s the doctor? Please... save a life,” Li Sanjian pleaded anxiously.
“Who’s sick?” The assistant looked at them with a touch of disdain. “Do you have any medi—”
Before he could finish, Li Sanjian produced two strings of coins and threw them onto the counter, the clatter of copper coins ringing out.
“Get the doctor immediately!” Li Sanjian shouted.
“Right away, sir.” The assistant, seeing the money, stopped his complaints and hurried to fetch the master from the backyard.
He’s surprisingly generous for someone so young, the assistant thought as he ran.
...
“It seems to be intermittent fever,” the pharmacy doctor said, feeling Bean Sprout’s pulse.
“What is intermittent fever?” Li Sanjian asked in alarm.
He knew that if it were merely a common cold, treatment should be straightforward, but what was this pestilence?
The doctor glanced at Li Sanjian and explained, “Intermittent fever is caused by wind; the south is rife with miasma. This illness is brought on by such miasma, an invasion of external evil...”
What nonsense is this? Li Sanjian thought silently. Watching Bean Sprout, her eyes closed and sweat streaming down her face, he anxiously asked, “Can she be saved?”
...
“To treat intermittent fever, one must first determine its type to prescribe the right medicine. The fever is categorized by onset time into five kinds: night fever, chronic fever, alternate-day fever, three-day fever, and fever with no fixed onset. By symptoms, it’s divided into eight types: cold fever, warm fever, miasma fever, wind fever, female fever, six-channel fever, five-organ fever. By cause, it’s divided into three...” The doctor shook his head as he spoke. “But it could also be a common cold. If it is, a few doses will do. If it’s intermittent fever, then...”
“Is it a cold or intermittent fever? Can you treat it? Please, sir, examine her quickly!” Li Sanjian pressed.
He still did not truly understand what intermittent fever was, but the doctor’s lengthy explanation suggested it was a serious illness. Anxiety grew in Li Sanjian’s heart.
Although he had once been a stranger to Bean Sprout, he pitied her fate—sold as a child, and after these days spent together, had come to regard her as family. Now, Li Sanjian would give everything he had to save her, whatever the cost.
“Young man, mind your manners,” the doctor said, annoyed by Li Sanjian’s desperate tone. “If it’s intermittent fever, curing her is nigh impossible—it depends on her own fortune. Even if she survives, life will be worse than death. I’ll prescribe a few doses, then you should leave.”
Intermittent fever had a high mortality rate and was contagious, so the doctor wanted to be rid of them quickly, hoping they’d leave before anyone else became infected.
What? Li Sanjian’s fury surged. He could see this quack was only going through the motions, intending to send them away without even trying to treat her.
Angry as he was, Li Sanjian still tried to plead, “Please, sir, for the sake of her youth, save her—I beg you!”
“Go, go, quickly!” The doctor showed no sympathy, shooing them with impatience. “There’s no such thing as a guaranteed cure—leave now, don’t delay my business.”
With that, he stood to leave.
Had it not been for the money, he would have thrown them out already. Seeing their shabby appearance, he guessed they were no wealthy household—why bother being polite? Better to send them away quickly and avoid trouble.
“Brother... brother...” At that moment, Bean Sprout woke and saw the doctor, nestling timidly in Li Sanjian’s arms. “I’m alright... let’s go home.”
Seeing Bean Sprout’s effort to suppress her pain, Li Sanjian’s grief and anger redoubled. He shouted, “Shan Kui!”
Though Shan Kui appeared simple and honest, he was no fool. He had long understood their predicament and was seething inside, only restrained because Li Sanjian had not acted. Now, hearing the call, he grabbed the doctor’s collar and lifted him off the ground with one hand.
“Will you treat her or not? If not, today will be your last!” Li Sanjian could no longer restrain himself—this was his first outburst since arriving in this world.
If the doctor truly could not treat Bean Sprout, Li Sanjian would have nothing to say. But it was clear he was dismissing them because they were powerless and poor, fueling Li Sanjian’s rage.
Terrified, the doctor kicked his legs in the air and stammered, “Inter...mittent fever... I truly cannot cure it—I am powerless...”
If you couldn’t treat her, you should have said so earlier! Li Sanjian thought angrily. All this pretending and delay...
His anger mounting, Li Sanjian shouted, “Do it!”
Shan Kui roared and prepared to throw the doctor out.
“Wait! Wait!” The doctor begged, “I cannot cure her, but someone else can...”
“Speak up! Who can? Where are they?” Li Sanjian demanded fiercely.
...
“It’s just an ordinary cold,” said an elderly doctor, nearly sixty, in a house outside Lingshan County, after carefully checking Bean Sprout’s pulse and symptoms.
Li Sanjian breathed a great sigh of relief, suddenly feeling as though his whole body were about to collapse, drained of all strength.
After leaving the quack’s pharmacy, Li Sanjian and Shan Kui had hired an ox cart and hurried to this place, laboring for several hours, leaving Li Sanjian utterly exhausted.
“Sir,” Li Sanjian asked, “Can she be cured?”
The old doctor looked at Li Sanjian and asked, “What is she to you? Why are you so anxious, young man?”
“She... she is my little sister...” Li Sanjian answered after a moment’s hesitation.
“And he—what is he to you?” The old doctor looked at Shan Kui, who was also relieved.
“He... he is our elder brother,” Li Sanjian replied.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” the old doctor said sternly. “How could you three possibly be siblings?”
Their attire clearly marked them as from different places; the old doctor saw through Li Sanjian’s lie.
“I...” Li Sanjian was speechless.
Why ask such irrelevant questions? he wondered. No wonder the quack had warned him that this doctor was eccentric—if angered, he would never treat anyone.
The old doctor had diagnosed a common cold and begun to ramble, which meant Bean Sprout could be saved. Though perplexed, Li Sanjian recounted the story, including Shan Kui and Bean Sprout’s past as trafficked slaves.
The old doctor said nothing, but walked to the desk, sat, and began to write a prescription. “I’ll prescribe medicine for three days; after three doses she’ll improve, and in three days she’ll be out of danger.”
Overjoyed, Li Sanjian bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir, for your great kindness. I have no way to repay you, but hope one day to do so.”
...
“Yanzhou, it seems you misjudged this young man. He is so compassionate and kind-hearted, pitying the unfortunate, yet you refused him entry to your school,” the old doctor said to Huang Huan, who had come out of the inner chamber after Li Sanjian and his companions left.
“You’re right, Master Pang. I truly misunderstood him,” Huang Huan nodded.
The old doctor shook his head and asked, “How did you know they would come here and instruct me to ask those unrelated questions?”
Huang Huan smiled, “I happened to rise early today and saw them looking as if the sky had fallen, seeking doctors everywhere. Is there a physician in Lingshan County? Earlier, I refused him admission, thinking he would either be resentful or furious, but unexpectedly he left calmly. That made me pay attention to him.”
“So that’s how it is...” the old doctor replied.