"Bring a bag of medicine and follow me." Sanruwi suddenly appeared while Minnie and Jax were happily chatting.
"Oh." Minnie responded obediently, thinking they must be going to see a patient. Otherwise, why bring medicine? But after following Sanruwi through several turns, they ended up in a courtyard.
"Sanruwi, isn't this the kitchen? Why are we here?" Jax, who came with them, was the first to ask. Sanruwi definitely didn't seem like someone who could cook, so it made sense for him to wonder.
"The doctor, everything's ready." Boss Hayes came out from a small kitchen. The whole courtyard was used as a kitchen, with various rooms and different sizes of stoves. The room Boss Hayes prepared only had one stove, usually used for making delicate food.
Sanruwi led the two inside, walked around, and nodded.
"Why is the stove like this?" Jax asked curiously, seeing that the stove was nearly level with the ground. It was just a few inches above ground level, and the floor had been dug out underneath to allow more firewood. Around it, a rectangular wall made of clay bricks was built, much taller than the stove, enclosing it tightly for some unknown purpose.
"Doctor Sanruwi asked for it this way." Boss Hayes explained. He also didn't know why Sanruwi had them remove the old stove and rebuild it, including the chimney.
"Where's the large ceramic jar I asked you to find?" Sanruwi asked.
Boss Hayes had someone bring it over and asked, "Doctor, is this size okay?"
The ceramic jar looked like a small water tank, about two feet tall, round in the middle, and sturdy in appearance.
"Place it on top and let's test it."
The jar was set on the stove and sat very steadily. Its opening was level with the outer wall of the stove. Sanruwi nodded with satisfaction and asked again, "Where's the bamboo mat?"
The bamboo mat was just a regular one, made of thin bamboo strips woven together. There were five of them in total.
"Minnie." Sanruwi called.
"Huh?"
"Your turn."
"Me? What am I doing?"
"Boiling medicine!"
Minnie looked at the medicine bag in her hand. "Use this?"
"Put the medicine into the jar, add water, and boil it!" Sanruwi was getting increasingly annoyed with her slowness.
Minnie poured the herbs into the jar but paused again when it was time to add water. She stood beside the water tank, hesitating for a long while.
Sanruwi asked impatiently, "What now?"
"How much water do I add?"
"One inch below the rim!"
Minnie looked worriedly at the ladle in her hand, then at the oversized jar. How many scoops would it take to fill it that high? The thought of going back and forth made her dizzy.
Jax picked up the jar with one hand and smiled. "Let me do it." He tilted the water tank just right, and the water flowed smoothly into the jar.
Once it reached exactly an inch below the rim, he returned the tank. Then he lifted the jar again and placed it back on the stove without spilling a drop.
Minnie stared in amazement. It was like watching a performance.
"Stop spacing out, get to work!" Sanruwi shouted.
"Do what?" Minnie asked blankly.
"Start the fire and boil the medicine!"
"Start the fire?" Minnie looked at the flint placed in the corner of the stove. So this was that legendary fire starter? But how did you use it?
She picked it up and kept turning it over in her hand.
Jax stepped in to help.
"Minnie probably hasn't done this kind of rough work before. I'll do it." He had traveled widely and often camped outdoors, so starting a fire was nothing new to him.
In just a short while, Jax had the fire going. When he looked up, Minnie was squatting beside him, watching intently. Maybe it was the glow of the flames, but her eyes looked especially bright, and the reflection of him inside them was unusually clear.
Jax's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down and smiled. "Done."
"Let me try!" Minnie said eagerly, reaching for the flint. Jax handed it to her.
She struck the flint. Sparks landed on the kindling, and soon a flame appeared. She added some dry grass and twigs, and then thicker branches to keep it burning longer.
Once it was lit, she grinned and let out a silly laugh.
Jax couldn't help but laugh too. He had never seen anyone get this excited just from making a fire.
"Back to work." Sanruwi, who had been waiting nearby, was already impatient.
Minnie poured the medicinal herbs into the ceramic pot, laid out five layers of bamboo mats along the courtyard wall, and added a thick layer of soft mugwort leaves on top. Sanruwi then told Boss Hayes to bring over a certain item. When Minnie saw it, to put it bluntly, it looked like a coffin lid, just a thin wooden board.
On the wider end, there was a curved hole, and on the long sides, several small holes were drilled, each with a small wooden block attached by a string to plug the holes. It looked just like Minnie suddenly remembered a magician's illusion box, the kind where the performer sticks out their head through the curved hole, and the other holes would be for hands and feet.
Of course, Sanruwi wasn't going to perform any magic tricks. He quietly stood beside the ceramic pot, carefully watching the fire and constantly asking Minnie to add more wood, while occasionally reaching into the box.
Before long, steam began to escape from the ceramic pot, passed through the bamboo screen, and entered the box. Sanruwi sealed the side openings and tested the temperature through the front curved hole.
"Boss Hayes, you can bring her in now," Sanruwi suddenly said.
Boss Hayes quickly ran out and soon returned carrying a blanket rolled into a tube. His wife, Yiying, was wrapped inside. Jax came to help remove the box lid, and Boss Hayes carefully laid Yiying on the mugwort leaves. Once the lid was closed, Sanruwi started to send people away. "You can all leave now."
"This…" Boss Hayes hesitated.
"I don't like having people around when I work," Sanruwi said coldly.
"Boss Hayes, let's just step out for now. If you're worried, you can stand guard outside," Jax advised.
Boss Hayes hesitated a moment, then gritted his teeth and left. He really didn't want to risk upsetting Sanruwi and causing any accidents.
The hardest part of the steaming treatment was controlling the heat. If anything went wrong, the steam could easily scald someone. Besides, Yiying was frail and weak, not like a normal person.
It was also Sanruwi's first time treating such a difficult case, so he had to give it his full attention, constantly checking the temperature.
If it got too hot, he had Minnie pull out some firewood and opened the vents to release steam. If it cooled down, he sealed the holes and told her to add more fuel.
Steam started to fill the space, dampening Sanruwi's upper body. His long hair clung to him, and his face was wet. His eyes looked even darker and more piercing.
As Minnie fed the fire, she occasionally looked toward Sanruwi through the mist. He looked like a water spirit, so captivating that anyone could lose themselves just by staring. She was completely mesmerized until Sanruwi called her several times and snapped her out of it.
Seeing Minnie spacing out while staring at him, Sanruwi was annoyed but didn't lash out. First, he had seen this kind of reaction too many times to be truly bothered. Second, it was a crucial moment in the treatment, and he couldn't afford any distractions.
He kept a close eye on Yiying's face and breathing, then checked her pulse. Finally, he said to Minnie, "It's done. Take out the fire."
Minnie responded.
Sanruwi raised his voice, "Boss Hayes, you can come in now."
As soon as he spoke, Boss Hayes stepped inside, followed by Jax.
"Why are you here too?" Sanruwi frowned.
Jax smiled. "I wasn't doing anything anyway, so I waited outside with him."
Sanruwi gave a snort and said to Boss Hayes, "Take her back and let her rest. I'll start the acupuncture in the afternoon." Boss Hayes hurried to agree.
"Minnie, why are you still in the kitchen? Come out and get some fresh air." Jax saw Minnie still crouching and said.
"I can't move," Minnie said painfully. "My legs have gone numb." She wanted to move, but the two legs felt like they were pricked by countless needles, and many ants seemed to be biting the muscles. The pain was unbearable.
Minnie supported herself with both hands, her face twisted in pain. She carefully stretched out her right leg and moved it slightly but screamed sharply and dared not move again.
"You've been squatting like this for almost an hour?" Jax asked.
Minnie nodded pitifully. She didn't notice it earlier because she was too focused on her work. Now that she relaxed, she wished these legs belonged to someone else. After the discomfort eased a little, Minnie carefully stretched her right leg out half an inch and gasped from the pain.
Jax squatted down beside her.
"Don't move. I'll massage it for you." Jax pressed a few acupoints on Minnie's leg. Jax was strong, and Minnie couldn't help but cry out in pain, but the massage worked. Soon Minnie could hold onto Jax and stand up.
Minnie moved her legs and sighed, "Finally saved."
"Next time don't squat like that. Get a small stool to sit on. Sanruwi, you should remind her."
"What does it have to do with me?" Sanruwi wiped his face and frowned, touching his sleeve. He was about to leave, then turned back and said, "Minnie, clean the kitchen."
"Huh?"
"If you don't clean, how will you use it next time?" Sanruwi said impatiently and went back to his room to bathe and change.
Cleaning the kitchen meant gathering the mugwort leaves, rolling up the mats, and cleaning the ceramic pot. It was a big job for Minnie, but with Jax's help, everything was done quickly.
"You should go wash up too. You've been by the fire for so long and must be sweating." Jax left with Minnie.
Minnie stared blankly at the sun in the sky and suddenly asked, "Jax, did we meet around this time yesterday too?"
"About the same." Jax also looked at the sun.
Minnie suddenly ran off, and Jax followed quickly.
"Minnie, where are you going?"
"Down the mountain."
Phoenix Mountain wasn't easy to come and go freely, but Minnie met Rhett. Rhett saw Minnie's urgency and listened when she said she wanted to go to the place where they met yesterday. Although he and Jax didn't understand why, it wasn't difficult, so he led Minnie there.
Minnie walked back and forth dozens of times where she and Jax met until her legs grew weak. She crouched down, burying her head in her knees.
"Minnie, is something wrong?" Jax patted her shoulder.
Minnie shook her head, still silent.
"Miss Minnie, if there's any difficulty, just say it." Rhett hurried to say. "Even if I Rhett am weak alone, Phoenix Mountain has eight hundred brothers. If one brother can't handle a tough problem, eight hundred brothers together will wear it down."
Though Rhett's words were not quite what Minnie thought, their comfort still lifted her spirits. She stood up, "It's nothing. Let's go back."
On the way back, Minnie couldn't help but glance back at the mountain road behind her. It was still the same winding path, disappearing into the distance, endless as if it had always been that way. But if so, how did I come to this world? Minnie felt endless confusion in her heart but had no one to tell.