The Luofu was no more peaceful today than it had been yesterday.
Its streets looked ordinary enough on the surface, but beneath that calm veneer, undercurrents churned without end.
It could not be helped. Though the Luofu's upper echelons had done an excellent job concealing the truth about the Stellaron, the activities of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had only grown more frequent in recent days.
Their followers were like rats in the sewers—impossible to catch them all, impossible to exterminate them completely.
The Realm-Keeping Commission had already deployed most of its manpower, and even then it could barely keep the situation under control.
And precisely because of that, the Luofu's High Elder, Bailu, had once again managed to sneak out.
Unfortunately for her, not long after escaping, she seemed to have been cornered by a very strange patient.
"Oh?" Bailu tilted her head and looked up at the tall woman before her. "Judging by the way you look, Big Sister, are you here to get your eyes treated, or is there something else wrong with you?"
The woman standing before Bailu had long white hair, wore an eyepatch, and carried an air of icy detachment.
But for some reason, even without being able to see the woman's eyes, Bailu had the uneasy feeling that the way this person was looking at her was... odd.
As though they had known each other before.
Could it be that this woman had once been one of her patients?
After all, as a long-lived species, Bailu might look very young, but she had already treated many, many people.
Naturally, it was impossible for her to remember every single one of them.
"My name is Jingliu," the woman said.
Rather than answering Bailu's question, she simply introduced herself.
"Uh... Jingliu?" Bailu scratched her head. "That's not a name I've heard before."
She searched her memory, but no corresponding image surfaced.
"So, Big Sister, are you here to see me for treatment?" she asked again.
"For treatment?" Jingliu gave a slight shake of her head. No emotion could be read from the face hidden behind the eyepatch. "No. I did not come here seeking treatment."
Bailu blinked and tipped her head to one side in confusion. "Then did you come to play with me? Sorry, but I finally managed to sneak out today. I don't have time to play with grown-ups."
She turned as if to leave, but Jingliu spoke again.
"...I came to see you."
Bailu stopped in her tracks.
She turned back and stared at the cold, austere woman in puzzlement.
See me?
What was there to see?
She had always been rather popular on the Luofu, but this was the first time anyone had ever come straight to her and said, I came to see you.
"See me? Big Sister, do you know me?" Bailu pointed at herself.
Jingliu fell silent.
Then, after such a long pause that the atmosphere became unbearably awkward and Bailu nearly decided to bolt again, she finally spoke.
"My apologies. I misspoke just now. I did indeed come to see Lady Bailu for treatment."
Bailu eyed the woman suspiciously.
A moment ago she had said she was not here for medical treatment, and now she was changing her story?
Still, as a physician, Bailu was not about to turn away a patient.
"All right then. Tell me where it hurts. Your eyes?" she asked, planting her hands on her hips and trying to look like a proper little professional.
Jingliu answered at last.
"My eyes are fine. I cover them only because I do not wish to see old things and fall into inner demons."
"...But lately my thoughts have been troubled, and from time to time I am haunted by disturbing dreams. So I wished to ask Lady Bailu whether there is some way to calm the spirit."
Bailu listened with a thoughtful look.
"Troubled thoughts, disturbing dreams?"
"Uh... that doesn't really sound like the kind of thing I handle..."
But then, as if remembering something, she hurriedly shook her head.
"Pah, pah, pah. That was careless of me. A healer of the Alchemy Commission doesn't pick and choose patients."
"Big Sister, hold out your hand. We'll start by taking your pulse. Then later I'll have you take some Shadow-Seeking Beetles so I can examine you more carefully."
As she spoke, Bailu rose on tiptoe and did her best to strike a professional healer's pose, holding out her little hand to indicate that Jingliu should offer her wrist.
Jingliu lowered her gaze to the tiny figure before her, and for a moment, something like a trance passed through her.
Then she gathered herself and silently extended her wrist.
Bailu placed her small hand over Jingliu's pulse.
At first, she wore an expression of total confidence.
But very soon, her little brows began to knit together.
"Hm?"
She blinked, adjusted her fingers, and checked again.
"Huh?"
Jingliu watched her expressionlessly, letting the small dragon-girl fuss over her wrist as much as she pleased.
"This isn't right. This really isn't right." Bailu let go, circled Jingliu twice, and sized her up from head to toe.
Her pulse was almost nonexistent, and yet all of her outward signs of life seemed perfectly normal.
It was the first time Bailu had ever encountered such a thing.
At last, she spoke with visible embarrassment.
"Sorry... Big Sister, but I really don't think I've ever seen a case like yours before."
"Um... but I can prescribe you some Revitalizing Qi Powder first. Go home, drink plenty of hot water, and your condition will definitely improve!"
"Then once I go back and study it a little more, I'll absolutely be able to cure you!"
Even Bailu herself felt that those words lacked confidence the moment she said them.
Still, as the High Elder of the Luofu, she had her own pride.
Even if this big sister's pulse was strange, if she went back and researched it for a few more days, she was sure she would figure it out.
Jingliu merely looked at her calmly.
"There is no need."
"If even Lady Bailu cannot understand this ailment, then there are very few people in this world who can."
Bailu froze, then scratched her head awkwardly.
"Ahaha... Big Sister, if you flatter me like that, I'll really get embarrassed..."
Then midway through the sentence, she suddenly realized something.
Wait.
That did not sound like praise at all.
"Um, Big Sister, what exactly do you mean by that?" Bailu raised her head suspiciously.
But when she looked up again, Jingliu was already gone.
"Huh? Where'd she go?"
Bailu turned in place, trying to spot any trace of her.
"Lady Bailu! You slipped out again!"
Just then, two Vidyadhara came running toward her, panting hard, relief written all over their faces.
"We finally found you. Please come back with us quickly. The elders have already asked for you several times..."
Bailu's face instantly fell.
...
...
Meanwhile, Jingliu stood high above, gazing down at the small figure as it gradually disappeared into the distance.
Her expression remained as unreadable as ever, but at some point, the hand hanging at her side had clenched into a fist.
Bailu.
Jingliu repeated the name silently in her heart.
It was her.
And yet, it was not her.
Join here to read ahead.
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I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
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Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
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Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
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Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
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I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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