Daughter of Heaven

Chapter 7 : The Doctor

Yu Zhu could see that Hua Er's face was ashen and her breath was becoming shallower. Yu Zhu felt an overwhelming sense of blind panic as they ran through the silent city, past the shuttered windows. This was disastrous. How could a incognito trip to the outside world go so horribly awry. She had just wanted to have fun with Hong Gege for a day, but now Hua Er might die. Yu Zhu prayed to the gods that if Hua Er lived, Yu Zhu would go back to the palace and be the most obedient princess in all of history.

Soon they had entered the poorest district, here the wealth and the opulence of the festival was a distant memory. They arrived at a small brownish grey door lined with broken cobblestones and ragged weeds. Yu Zhu ran and began pounding the fragile looking door with both fists, "Hurry! Someone is dying out here!" Candles flickered as footsteps were heard shuffling to the door. Too slow, Yu Zhu thought as she pounded harded, they needed to get Hua Er inside now.

"Please move. Let me." Yu Zhu turned around and moved away as Xu Long Hui spoke.  Xu Long Hui, carrying Hua Er, walked to the door and kicked it. The wood splintered and broke like chopsticks.

"Stop pounding that door! I can't afford another one if you break it!" A voice roared just as the door crumpled inward. Inside the court yard,  A young man in pajamas stared at the three in sleepy annoyance. That annoyance soon turned into astonishment as he saw the man carrying the injured girl. "Long Hui!" The man gasped.

"Doctor Li, my friend, she's dying. Help me." Xu Long Hui leapt through the door and blew past the incredulous doctor.

"Of course, put her down in here" Doctor Li caught up and threw open the door into his bedroom ushering Long Hui in. There he and Long Hui gently laid Hua er on the straw cot. Doctor Li quickly  unfastened the drenched handkerchief on Hua Er's leg. He cursed as he saw the cut.  "Long Hui, you idiot. You should have gotten her here sooner. " He looked to Yu Zhu, "You, little one, go boil water. Long Hui, get over here and help me stop the bleeding." Yu Zhu ran to do what the doctor told, forgetting she's never once boiled water in her life.

"Can you save her? You are the best doctor I know." Long Hui stared intensely into Doctor Li's face, "You have to save her".

The young doctor nodded but did not say anything. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed from a sleepy young man to someone who was completely in control of the situation. He felt for her pulse and muttered, "She's lost a lot of blood, I'm going to give her a pill that slows down her body, it'll slow her heart down to a crawl, keep the blood from getting out too fast. Come here Long Hui , I need you to put pressure on her leg."

Something like hesitation flickered on Long Hui's face, but was quickly replaced with determination. "Very well."

Yu Zhu ran back into the room with hot water. She placed it on the table and watched the doctor. He was incredible.  Every movement was made with rapid precision, his hand never quivered as he meticulously stopped Hua Er's bleeding. There was no hesitation has he sewed the cut on Hua Er's leg, nor did he have to stop and think to pick the herbs for his medicinal brew. Though he was young and baby faced, there was a look of ancient knowledge in his eyes as he muttered under his breath of various treatments. Here was a man who had absolute confidence in his skills and knowledge, whose long and arduous practice of medicine had elevated his skills to that of an artist.

Doctor Li sighed and straightened his back; "That cut was deep and made by an excellent swordsman. If she hadn't been a martial artist, she would have died before you had gotten to me" Long Hui nodded, he held onto the sleeping girl's hand, his eyes staring intently into her face.

Doctor Li took notice and asked Long Hui sharply, "You told me that you would never interfere with the affairs of other people. What's going on?"

It broke Long Hui out of his reverie, he gently let of of Hua Er's hand and shook his head with a knowing smile.

Doctor Li sighed ruefully, "What was I thinking?  The Empress of the Heaven would lose her immortality before tight lipped and mysterious Long Hui revealed all his secrets. So much being friends with you for five years"

Yu Zhu, who had been holding herself back from where Hua Er slept, flew to the bed and gripped Hua Er's hand. "She will be fine, there won't be anything wrong with her?"  She asked the doctor, worry written in her face. Hua Er was like a sister and mother to her, she would never forgive herself if something happened to Hua Er.

Doctor Li, stared at the little girl dressed in young noblemen's clothing. Just who on earth were these people Long Hui has brought to my home, he wondered. But he smiled good naturally, "Yes, she'll be fine, but she'll have to rest here tonight, even the best healers can not undo the damage of a sword within a night." Doctor Li scratched his head and wondered aloud, "I've got a little storage room where Long Hui and I can sleep, you and ...." He looked at Yu Zhu quizzically, "I don't even know who you and this young lady are."

Long Hui, who had been observing the scene, clasped the doctor on the shoulder "Perhaps I should introduce my friend," He gestured to the young doctor, "This is Doctor Li Sun, one of the most skilled doctors of his generation."

Li Sun rolled his eyes, though he bowed in greeting to Yu Zhu, who leapt up from Hua Er's bedside and exclaimed, "No Doctor Li, I should be bowing to you." She said as she bowed gracefully, "You and Xu Long Hui have saved our lives, even though we are strangers to you." She straightened in a fluid motion, "You can call me  Zhu Er and the injured girl you treated tonight, her name is Hua Er"

Li Sun straightened and stared at the young girl with surprise.  A moment ago the young girl seemed to be frightened child, but now she was the epitome of elegance. Undeniable power exuded from her every movement and speech. He threw a questioning look at Xu Long Hui, but Long Hui once again gazing at the injured girl on the bed with an unfathomable expression.

Li Sun shrugged inwardly at his friend's odd behavior and smiled warmly at the little girl, saying, "Well, it's very nice to meet you Zhu Er, formally. Even if Xu Long Hui had to break down my...." Suddenly the doctor's face was horrified as he remembered how Long Hui had gotten in, "Oh God! I don't have a door anymore, do I?" With that he  sprinted outside. Yu Zhu and Xu Long Hui stared at each other for a moment when they suddenly heard a wail cut through the night air, "NOOO. My Door. My beautiful.... door..."

Long Hui shook his head, "Though he's very smart and skilled, he tends to be a little bit dramatic." Yu Zhu, though exhausted after the long night, broke out in a what felt like the first smile in a long time.