Since Sanruwi didn't hold a grudge and chose to let it go, Minnie took her learning seriously. Under Sanruwi's guidance, Minnie began practicing with the silver needles on Jax.
Minnie's hands were soft and her movements gentle. Although the needle pricks caused some pain, Jax could barely feel them. Being so close, he could clearly see the fine hairs on her cheeks and feel her breath brushing his skin, which immediately heated up.
His heartbeat grew chaotic, and his breathing quickened uncontrollably. He wanted to move away to calm down, but couldn't move at all. Jax had never felt time pass so slowly. He wished it would hurry along, yet deep down, a tiny voice whispered, "Slower, slower, just stay like this."
After Minnie had tested all the unfamiliar needles, Jax's body was dotted with red marks. "Does it hurt?" Minnie asked worriedly. "I'm fine."
Meeting her concerned gaze, Jax's heart skipped again. He quickly looked away and pretended to be busy getting dressed.
After dinner, Rhett came again, this time with two other men carrying a large bath barrel. This barrel was different from regular ones. It was wrapped in a layer of iron so it could be directly heated by fire.
Inside it had steps for sitting. "Doctor Sanruwi, your medicine boy asked us to bring this over," Rhett said with a smile. "Where should we put it?"
"The kitchen." "The kitchen?" Rhett was surprised. "Also, get someone to build a stove platform and place this barrel on it."
Rhett immediately gave the order. Then, smiling, he turned to Minnie and asked, "Miss Minnie, have you eaten?" Minnie nodded.
"Why not take a walk to help digest?" Minnie shook her head. "I'm tired today, don't feel like going out." Rhett looked a bit disappointed, then said, "Let's visit Erina. Her baby is growing well, so adorable."
That piqued Minnie's interest. She really wanted to see the baby, and since Servant He had brought her some clothes from Erina today, it was a good chance to thank her too. Thinking that, she agreed.
Rhett was overjoyed and proudly went out with her. "You're not going?" Sanruwi suddenly asked. "Why would I?" Jax replied.
"Rhett's always hanging around her. Maybe she'll start to like him eventually." "Isn't that a good thing?" Jax said calmly. "Really?" Sanruwi squinted at him.
"Too bad you can't see your own face. You blushed so hard just now when she was treating you. Can you really say your heart didn't stir?" Jax was silent for a while, then said, "Minnie is a good girl. I see her as a friend."
"Keep lying to yourself," Sanruwi scoffed. Compared to steaming or acupuncture, the herbal bath was much more relaxing.
First, a small amount of water was added to boil the herbs, then cold water was mixed in to control the temperature. Since thick wooden boards separated the water, it didn't get too hot during the process.
The only concern was that Madam Qing might not be able to sit steadily. Minnie's job was not only to watch the fire but also to make sure Madam Qing didn't slip under the water. Sanruwi was completely at ease.
He even had time to sit nearby, sipping tea and reading. On the fourth day, after checking Madam Qing's pulse, Sanruwi prescribed another formula.
The dosage wasn't as heavy as those used for steaming or bathing. It was even lighter than what regular people used. As usual, Minnie couldn't read his handwriting.
Holding back his irritation, Sanruwi read the prescription out loud. It contained about thirty types of herbs. Minnie took the paper and tried to read it from memory, guessing at the words.
She got two of them wrong. Sanruwi mocked her again and then pointed out the mistakes. Minnie looked at the prescription and felt she had improved.
Last time, she could barely recognize a couple of characters. Now she understood ten or twenty percent. It was true what they said, you just need to get used to it.
Still, it was strange. Why make twenty doses? Was that much really needed? After preparing the medicine, she handed it to Sanruwi.
Without looking up, he said, "Go find Servant He." When Servant He arrived, Sanruwi gave her the herbs and told her to boil them using the small stove.
The two stoves were to take turns, ensuring a bowl of medicine was always ready. Servant He was overwhelmed with emotion. "Is my mistress going to wake up?"
"Maybe in the next day or two," Sanruwi said calmly. Servant He thanked him repeatedly and left with the medicine.
Minnie found it amazing and asked, "How do you know she's about to wake up?" Sanruwi snorted and didn't bother answering.
He really was skilled. On the fifth evening of their treatment, Madam Qing finally woke up. But right after waking, she was made to drink a big bowl of medicine before she could eat anything.
Sanruwi and Minnie rushed over. Boss Hayes was overjoyed. "Your skills are amazing, doctor. My wife is saved."
Sanruwi's expression didn't change. He calmly took Madam Qing's pulse, examined her tongue, asked a few questions, then watched as she fell asleep again.
She woke again that same day, and then another five days passed. Minnie felt that Sanruwi's temper was getting worse. He would scold her for the smallest things.
She did feel a bit wronged, but couldn't win an argument against him, so she let it go. Every day was either steaming or herbal baths, with acupuncture every other day.
Minnie slowly got used to this life. Jax would help her during the steaming sessions with heavy tasks, but she didn't see him much otherwise. Phoenix Mountain was large enough to explore.
She went down the mountain almost daily, always returning to the spot where she had first met Jax, trying to see if she could travel back. When she had free time, Rhett, Kane, and others would come to chat with her.
Or she'd visit Erina's baby. Everything was going well. "Stop pacing and sit down, can't you?" Jax watched Sanruwi walk back and forth and began to feel restless himself.
"Didn't Boss Hayes's wife get better? She doesn't sleep as much now and stays awake longer." "What's the use?" Sanruwi frowned.
"She only stays awake for less than half an hour and still wakes every five days." Even if five days was a little shorter than before, Sanruwi didn't think it was enough.
"If only she could take all the medicine," he muttered. "That way the poison would clear faster." He knew it wasn't possible though.
He suddenly thought of what Minnie mentioned before, a stomach tube. That would solve everything, but the material used, rubber, was unheard of here.
It was probably impossible. Sanruwi kept thinking, then suddenly shouted, "Minnie, Minnie." She was mixing herbs nearby and ran out when she heard him yell.
"Doctor Sanruwi, what's wrong?" "That thing you said before, how do you treat this kind of illness where you're from?" Minnie was confused. "Treat what how?"
"You said your people would give this kind of patient some sort of medicine..." Minnie thought for a moment. "Oh, I know. It's a central nervous system stimulant."
"Right, it's this thing." Sanruwi clapped his palms. "Why take this stimulant?"
"Ah?" Minnie was a little confused. Seeing Sanruwi's sharp gaze, she collected her thoughts and said, "We believe sleep is controlled by the brain."
Sanruwi nodded. "The brain is the head of the organs."
"Wanting to sleep is related to brain fatigue. If the brain becomes excited, naturally you don't want to sleep, like when someone feels sleepy but after drinking strong tea they can't fall asleep."
"Exactly, exactly," Sanruwi nodded repeatedly. "You don't always have to detoxify. Instead, do the opposite—use medicine that excites people. Once she wakes, detoxifying will be easier later. Not bad, not bad." Sanruwi smiled at Minnie. "You finally have some use. You're not that stupid!"
Should I feel happy? Minnie thought weakly.
Sanruwi was excited and quickly wrote out a large stack of prescriptions to send to Shuran at the foot of the mountain. Within a few days, these medicines were brought up the mountain by Shuran.
"Minnie!"
"I know, I know, I'm packing the medicine now." Minnie heard Sanruwi calling and knew what it was about.
Minnie was obedient and did things well, never complaining about hardship or tiredness. She could recognize most of the prescriptions Sanruwi wrote these days. Even when he scolded her, Minnie didn't get angry and sometimes argued a little, always acting silly like she accepted the scolding. A girl with such a good temper was hard to find, but somehow Sanruwi always seemed dissatisfied. His irritation was growing. It was like he was unhappy if he didn't trouble her every day.
After Minnie packed the medicine and went to reply to Sanruwi, she found him staring out the window, lost in thought.
"Sanruwi?" Minnie called. She never liked calling him "Doctor Sanruwi," so she kept calling him "teacher" like before. At first, Sanruwi said it a few times but later accepted it.
Sanruwi frowned, coming back to reality. "What is it?"
"Medicine is packed. Didn't you write a prescription?" Usually, Sanruwi would have a prescription ready for her to prepare medicine.
Sanruwi was stunned. He realized he forgot to write the prescription because of daydreaming. He got angry and embarrassed.
"Do I need you to teach me how to do my job? Who said I need a prescription now?"
Sanruwi's sudden anger left Minnie a bit stunned. She said blankly, "Okay, call me when you finish the prescription."
Minnie sighed after going out.
"What, got scolded again?" Jax's voice sounded behind her.
Minnie brightened and looked at Jax. "You're back."
Jax nodded and comforted her. "These days, because the treatments haven't gone well, Sanruwi's temper is worse. Don't take it to heart."
"No, I won't be mad at Sanruwi." Minnie hesitated then asked, "Jax, have you been busy these days?"
Jax was a little surprised and said vaguely, "Not really."
"Sometimes I don't see you all day…" Minnie complained.
Jax felt his heart tighten but still smiled. "I can't help much with healing. So I've been training and sparring with everyone."
"That's good." Minnie relaxed. "I wanted to ask you for days. I was afraid you found me useless and annoying."
"How could that be?" Jax said softly.
"As long as you're not annoyed," Minnie smiled happily. "When you're gone, I feel insecure and always worry about handling things alone."
Jax felt some joy but quickly suppressed it. "You're doing well now. Don't worry. If anything happens, everyone will help you."
Minnie nodded but suddenly frowned. Her expression changed and her eyes widened in panic.
"What's wrong, Minnie?" Jax asked quickly.
"I'm fine." Minnie said and ran into the room.
"Minnie, are you okay? What happened?" Jax knocked on the door. He could tell something was wrong. Though he was afraid of falling deeper for Minnie the more they were together, he hoped to help if she really needed it.
"Minnie, what's wrong? Speak!" Jax became more anxious when she didn't answer.
Sanruwi came out after hearing the noise. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. Minnie locked herself in the room."
After a while, Minnie's weak voice came. "Jax, please ask Servant He to come."
"Why ask Servant He?"
Minnie paused. "Just go get her quickly."
"Alright, I'm going now." Jax didn't wait and used light steps to bring Servant He.
"Minnie, Servant He is here. Open the door." Jax called.
Servant He was outside too. "Miss Minnie, the woman is here. What do you need?"
The door cracked open a little. Minnie looked pale. She saw Servant He's eyes light up and pulled her inside, shutting the door on Jax and Sanruwi.
Servant He stayed inside for a while without moving. Jax grew worried and asked Sanruwi, "What do you think is wrong with Minnie?"
"How should I know?" Sanruwi's face looked bad.
Jax listened closely and was a bit confused. He heard words like "that," "trouble," and "woman" quietly between Minnie and Servant He but it was unclear. No wonder Jax was anxious. He thought Minnie might have gotten into serious trouble.
After some time, Servant He came out. She looked surprised to see Jax and Sanruwi standing like guards outside, then quietly closed the door.
"Minnie okay?" Jax asked.
Servant He looked strange. "Miss Minnie is fine, just not feeling well. Nothing serious."
"Not feeling well?" Sanruwi raised his eyebrows. "How not well?" He tried to push the door but was stopped inside by frustration. He was proud of his medical skills and didn't understand why Minnie didn't come to him but called Servant He instead. Was her medicine better than his? He even forgot his own rule of Doctor San.
Servant He stopped him. "Doctor, it's not convenient for you to come in now."
"Why not?"
Servant He hesitated then said the truth. "Miss Minnie has no serious illness, it's just a woman's matter."
"A woman's matter?"
Seeing their confused faces, Servant He finally said clearly, "It's that time." She smiled slyly and left.
That time means the few days each month when women have their period. This was a big deal. When a girl had her first period, her family would celebrate. It showed she could bear children and continue the family line. So these days were called "good days" in secret. Girls were pampered and cared for even more during this time.
Though it was a good thing, it was private. Family was one thing, but others…
Sanruwi and Jax looked at each other, both embarrassed and uneasy. They stood in front of Minnie's door for a while and left quietly.
How did we not think of this? So embarrassing. Luckily, no one knew. Both felt the same.
In a rush and worry, feelings got mixed. Maybe the other felt the same?
Jax sighed and took his sword to go spar with Kyron.
Sanruwi stood blankly by the window. Through it, he could see Minnie's room. He didn't know how long he stood there until he saw Servant He enter Minnie's room again. He turned quickly, nervous, not wanting anyone to notice what he was watching.