Physician, Not A Consort

“Xiao'hai, where did you go? Why did it take you so long to return?” Li Junyue looked at Lin Haihai anxiously. 

“Didn’t I tell you that I entered the palace?” Lin Haihai answered him while checking his medicine box. Well done, all kinds of drugs in a messy pile. A whole lot of anti-inflammatory drugs, some painkillers, even morphine, anaesthetics, scalpels, IV equipment and IV drips. Lin Haihai nodded with satisfaction and gave Li Junyue an OK gesture. Li Junyue extended his hand, "Let's do it!"

Lin Haihai took his hand, "Let's do it!” Rapport was very important. Now, there was trust and rapport between them; their cooperation was seamless.

Lin Haihai walked into the hall. The imperial physicians were currently treating patients. Because of the abrupt change in weather and the incoming rainstorm, there were only a few patients left. Lin Haihai called Qing Feng and Ming Yue in, "Please inform everyone to gather in the backyard!" 

Qing Feng and Ming Yue left upon receiving the order. Before long, the disciples stood in neat lines before Lin Haihai. Today, five imperial physicians came and stood in line with the disciples.

"Please set aside whatever you've been working on because you have a more important task at hand. The disciples are to be divided into three groups to guard each exit. If someone comes in, shout loudly at once. Remember, don't get into a fight with them, and when you see those who look menacing, run away immediately!" Lin Haihai said solemnly. The disciples were young and fearless. The more dangerous something was, the more it piqued their interest. But these children had no foundation in martial arts and couldn’t fight off the enemies by themselves. To avoid unnecessary casualties, Lin Haihai repeatedly told them not to get caught up with their opponents.

"The imperial physicians are to assist Physician Li and I. I forgot to introduce him to you. Physician Li is a fellow brother disciple of mine and knows no less than I. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to approach him."

“Yes, we understand!” the royal physicians answered politely. 

The sky was getting darker, and thunder rumbled occasionally. A gust of wind blew and scattered the yellow leaves all over the sky. The place ushered in the typhoon season before its due and the windows rattled with the wind.

After some time, the wind seemed to stop as the sky gradually brightened. For a split second, the sun smiled. It was so dazzling that people could not open their eyes.

Yang Hanlun and Zheng Feng arrived one after another with over ten imperial guards tailing behind them. Judging from their lithe steps and swift moves, Lin Haihai was sure that they were martial arts experts. Li Junyue was a little confused about the setup. Lin Haihai had told him about her adventures. He had also seen Lin Haihai, in a second, turn a big stone into ash with his own eyes. He believed that no matter how powerful the enemies, they wouldn't be her match. Why did she have to gather so many people and attract so much attention?

Lin Haihai smiled mysteriously and gestured to him to not ask any questions. Yang Hanlun was currently mobilizing the staff. Lin Haihai sterilized the scalpels, forceps, and pliers. The air became more and more depressing. An unusual and strange atmosphere pervaded the hospital. 

The disciples began to get impatient. The imperial physicians sat with their eyes closed and said nothing. The guards took their positions and looked imposing. Li Junyue felt a stifling stuffiness in the pit of his stomach. He looked around and wanted to find the source of it, but he didn't know what to look for. He began to tug at his collar, unconsciously feeling restless.

Lin Haihai cried inwardly that the situation was bad. It seemed that the enemy had already started their attack. She circulated the vital energy in her Dantian and said with a smile, "Relax, everyone. We are performing surgery soon. Let me sing everyone a song to ease the tension." Her speech seemed to come from another world, carrying a unique ethereal aura.

"Now, close your eyes and listen carefully to every note and lyric of my song. We'll have a spot check later. If someone can't repeat a single line, it proves that you haven't listened carefully. Then I’ll be very upset.” Seeing that everyone had closed their eyes, she shook her sleeves and a strong air current diffused around her. She cleared her throat and began to sing the lyrics of the only song she had memorized fully. "Flowers in the basket are fragrant. Listen to me singing, singing. Come to Nanniwan. Nanniwan is a nice place, a nice place, a nice place with good scenery..."

Her voice was mixed with a fierce internal energy, dissipating the weighing suppression in the air. Everyone was listening to her angelic voice with rapt attention and slowly calmed down. At first, they were afraid of not being able to remember the lyrics, but gradually, they were hooked in by the beautiful melody and unconsciously drowned in the sweet and pleasant tune.

At the end of the song, everyone opened their eyes; they wanted to hear more. Lin Haihai smiled. "The performance is over. Take your place, everyone! Remember, no matter what unusual sound you hear, don't follow the sound. If someone comes in, the children should run and leave the rest to the guards. Remember, I don't want anyone to get hurt or die. If you can't beat them, run!" She then leaned close to Li Junyue's ear and said softly, "I just sang so well, didn’t I? You’re all dumbfounded!"

Li Junyue shot her a reproachful look. For so many years, she could never sing another song but this one. Even if she could, she could only hum a word or two. And the reason as to why she remembered this song so well was that her whole class participated in a city-wide singing contest when they were in Grade Five. She practised for three months and finally won first place! Her prideful expression remained fresh in Li Junyue’s memory. 

Yang Hanlun and Zheng Feng looked at each other. They couldn’t deny that this song was very beautiful. But, why did she sing at this particular moment? The two of them had a considerably high internal cultivation. Naturally, they were not disturbed by the unusual atmosphere and did not feel the danger just now. They were just on the alert as usual.

Everyone didn't quite understand Lin Haihai. Why should they run if they couldn't beat their opponents? What if they ran and the enemy entered the room? Wouldn't that directly endanger those in the room? But no one refuted it. Lin Haihai's words were as irrefutable as an imperial edict.

The wind started blowing again. The sky grew darker rapidly, and dark clouds closed in from all directions. Li Junyue had improvised the operating room. The windows were tightly shut and countless lit candles filled the room. A bronze mirror was placed behind each candle, and a larger bronze mirror hung over the operating bed. Li Junyue had made use of the bronze mirror behind the candles to concentrate the light onto the big bronze mirror above the operating bed. The big bronze mirror would then reflect the light onto the patient. He had calculated the angles precisely such that the light would cast no shadow. The principle was different from that of a shadowless lamp, but it achieved the same effect.

Everyone put on the masks brought by Li Junyue. Li Junyue was the anesthesiologist while Lin Haihai was the chief surgeon.The imperial physicians would temporarily take on the role of nurses. 

"Can your eyes really see where the blood vessels and nerves are?" Li Junyue confirmed once again. There was no room for mistakes in this matter. Sometimes a deviation of even 0.1 mm could be fatal!

“Mm, I can see them! Don't worry, inject the anaesthesia! " Lin Haihai guaranteed prudently. It was a life at stake; she wouldn't be negligent as well.

Li Junyue shaved General Chen's hair and then injected the anaesthesia. The imperial physicians stood by the side. They hardly blinked for fear of missing this rare medical spectacle.

Sixth Prince and Zheng Feng waited outside the door and didn't dare to step away. They listened carefully to the movements inside the room. The disciples were at the ready and did not dare to relax as well.

Lin Haihai drew a line before picking up the scalpel and making a slit on the line. Blood oozed out immediately. Although the imperial physicians had given themselves a mental pep talk, they were still unable to cope with it. Lin Haihai swiftly found the site of the blood clot. There were many nerves near the blood clot, and breaking any one of them would have unimaginable consequences.

"Gauze!" Lin Haihai commanded decisively, but the imperial physicians were rooted at their positions and motionless. Li Junyue immediately handed over the gauze. Lin Haihai had no time to pay attention to the imperial physicians’ reactions. She looked solemn as her hands continued to move.

The wind blew so strongly that a pile of yellow leaves fell quickly. Each leaf cut the disciples' clothes like a saw-toothed knife. The disciples remembered what Lin Haihai said and retreated to the inner hall. 

A group of men dressed in black descended with the wind. The guards swooped out, entangling themselves with the men in black. The men in black uniformly used short swords, while the guards used long swords. In this hand-to-hand combat, the long sword proved to be slightly clumsy, while the short sword was extremely flexible. The large disparity was quickly revealed. The men in black gained more and more ground, while the imperial guards retreated further and further! Some of the imperial guards were already wounded, and the remaining few could not withstand more than a few blows.

Yang Hanlun shot a glance at Zheng Feng, which the latter understood instantly. Zheng Feng flew to the front and unsheathed the sword at his waist. He twined about his enemy like a dragon. In an instant, several people fell to the ground! Hearing the sound of fighting outside, Lin Haihai got anxious. She hoped that Zheng Feng and Yang Hanlun could buy more time for her.

Li Junyue saw Lin Haihai's slightly hastened movements and snapped, "Calm down! Pay no attention to outside matters!” Lin Haihai suddenly awakened. Yes, I shouldn’t be influenced. Otherwise, it would be easy to make the wrong judgement! She threw a grateful look to Li Junyue, who clenched his fist and made a cheering gesture. Lin Haihai gathered her mind together and passed the pliers to Li Junyue. “I’m going to circulate my internal energy to move his blood clot. As soon as you see the blood clot leaving the central nervous system, you can start immediately!" Li Junyue raised his hand to make an 'OK' gesture.

Lin Haihai placed her hand on General Chen's forehead, and her internal force flowed endlessly into General Chen's body. The blood clot showed signs of moving, but touched a nerve in its path. General Chen let out a low groan.

The clot slowly dislodged, and Li Junyue decisively guided it away from the central nervous system. The remaining task was disposal. Lin Haihai retracted her internal energy and helped Li Junyue to clear out the blood clots. Now, all that was left was suturing the wound.

The fight outside was getting more and more intense. The men in black, who had been losing ground, suddenly let out an ear splitting roar. Their offensive gradually became fierce. They launched at Zheng Feng from various directions, their strange moves mixed with internal energies. There was only one Zheng Feng and he resisted with difficulty, but before long, he seemed to be on the losing end! Yang Hanlun also rushed up. With a flurry of sword moves, he saved Zheng Feng from his tough situation.

The men in black probably didn't expect that there would be so many highly-skilled martial arts experts on guard. And each one of them was more skilled than the one before! How many more had yet to join the battle? 

Yang Hanlun took advantage of the enemy's distraction and cooperated with Zheng Feng to unleash a quick offence. Several uninjured imperial guards swooped in from the left and right. The men in black were overwhelmed and retreated one after another.

Just as they were preoccupied with the offence, a man in black flew over the battleground. He somersaulted through the window into the room like a lithe swallow. Lin Haihai, still suturing the wound, was surprised. Her actions sped up.

Next to her, Imperial Physician Chen returned to his senses. He picked up a stool and threw it at the man in black. The man in black jumped and dodged it. Soon after, Yang Hanlun arrived and threw him a soaring palm. The man in black leaped and suddenly appeared behind Lin Haihai. Lin Haihai stopped suturing and turned around just as soon as the man in black placed his sword against her neck.