Gu Nan Yi sleeps on the rooftop of the room that is filled with the smell of medicine, playing his leaf flute softly, from morning to night, as if playing it would prevent the thing he fears the most from happening. Taking off again and again, Gu Nan Yi brings back odd looking bottles and pour the contents into Zhi Wei. Ning Yi doesn’t stop him but watches on. At this point, they need all the help they can get, he is willing to try anything. 

Yan Hui Shi couple refuses to leave Zhi Wei’s bedside. The academy students have been barred from entering into the courtyard by Ning Yi so they could only wander around right outside all day like lost souls. 

Helian and Yao Yang Yu returned excitedly from finishing their mission at the granary. They were all ready to report in detail to Zhi Wei about how they beat up all the granary officials and were completely caught off guard to hear of Zhi Wei’s illness. If it wasn’t for the academy student holding Helian back, he would’ve charged over to Yan manor with his sword. 

Countless people are wrecking their brains to find a way, numerous priceless medicines have been used, all have helped to prolong Zhi Wei’s life. The physicians said this sort of illness usually occurs very quickly and few people could live past twenty-four hours but for some unknown reason inside Zhi Wei’s body there is something that is preventing the illness from spreading quickly. However, that unknown something is only delaying, Zhi Wei is still getting weaker by the day. 

Every one of them is trying to find the famous physician they know. Helian has even sent his men back to the wild grassland to find their supreme witch doctor but of course the travel time is extensive. Just as it will take the royal physician from the Capital a bit of time before they will get here. 

Everyday Gu Nan Yi would make a few rounds around the city gate, then everyone would avoid him when he gets back– afraid they would end up getting smashed like the walnuts in his hands. (Looks like Gu Nan Yi had sent for a doctor as well)

Despite the illness being the contagious kind no one would choose to put the patient in isolation. All of them are just extra diligent in changing clothes, washing hands and before entering into the area they would first wipe themselves down with medicinal spray in a room off to the side. Ning Yi knows well that no matter how much urgency they feel, no one else can get sick, especially himself. If he falls as well, then it would become even more hopeless for Zhi Wei to survive which is why he diligently washes countless times every day until the skin on his hands starts to peel. 

At night, he sends all the servants out and sleeps by himself in Zhi Wei’s room. (Nobles usually have at least one servant who stays right outside of the room. In times of sickness at least one servant would be in the room at all times.) He would get up every two hours to check on her. Zhi Wei’s condition is still so very nerve wracking. One moment her body would be as hot as fire, one could feel the heat just by standing close to her. Another moment she would be as cold as ice, lowering the temperature of the room along with her. He would one second be putting an ice bag on her then in no time he would have to pull it off, rush to add blankets on her and stoke up the fire. He would do this back and forth for who knows how many times in one night. One time, he fell asleep from exhaustion, in a daze he suddenly was hit by the feeling that Zhi Wei had stopped breathing. Leaping up, he lunged himself to Zhi Wei’s bedside. His vision still impaired, he was in too much of a rush that he knocked over the teapot on the table. The broken teapot slit opened his finger but he didn’t notice it at all as he reached out a hand to feel her breathing. When he felt her warm breathing on his bleeding finger, he finally dared to let out a long sigh of relief. 

That night, he wrapped his hand around his bleeding finger in the darkness. In the long silence, he did not dare to fall asleep again. 

In a few days Ning Yi lost a stunning amount of weight. His face was so pale that bluish veins could be seen under his skin. In contrast, his eyes were fiery bright that made people nervous just by meeting his gaze. Ning Cheng finally couldn’t take it anymore and barged into the room one night, threw himself on Ning Yi’s tiny bed refusing to leave. Unfortunately, Ning Yi promptly kicked him out. Ning Cheng clung onto the door and sobbed which resulted in Ning Yi breaking a porcelain vase over his head. 

Three days later, Gu Nan Yi knocked Ning Yi out and dragged in another bed to sleep on. After sleeping for a bit, Gu Nan Yi decided the bed was uncomfortable and went over to sleep at the foot base of Zhi Wei’s bed. Curling up on the base, he suddenly remembered that’s how Zhi Wei had slept on his bed’s foot base as well. At that time he would wake up in the middle of the night and would see her curling up in a ball grabbing onto her blanket tightly. At that time he thought she looked like she was sleeping soundly and the foot base should be very comfortable. Now he knows that it actually is not that comfortable. 

He is uncomfortable and can’t sleep, he is just waiting for Zhi Wei to wake up as he did in the middle of the night and leans down to look at him. What should he say at that time? He needs to give this some thought. 

After waiting for a long time, Zhi Wei never did lean down to look at him. He has already thought of what to say but he doesn’t have the chance to say it. With his eyes closed, he can feel that stuffy feeling coming up again. For some reason the autumn night is extra cool, the cold silently seeping into one’s bones. 

In the end, Gu Nan Yi stopped waiting. He got used to the foot base and felt it was quite convenient. If she is hot, then he just needs to reach out a hand for the ice bag. If she cooled down, then he just needed to drag over the blanket and light the fire basin. He can even go right back to sleep. 

On one drizzling rainy night, Ning was inside in the room, Gu Nan Yi is still sleeping on the rooftop not coming down. The long melody of the leaf flute mixed in with the sound of the drizzling rain tugs at everyone’s hearts until it aches. They are all waiting in the courtyard, listening intently as the door slowly opens and the best physician in South Sea comes walking out. His face devoid of color, the man kneels down and bows towards the room. 

Ning Yi didn’t come out, the room was utterly silent, a continual white smoke surrounded the area forming a strange eerie picture. (Smoke due to all the medicine being brewed?)

Yan Huai Shi falls to the ground, kneeling in the rain as if he has lost his soul.

Letting out a loud yell, Helian runs out, some unlucky chap will probably get beat up.

The academy students stood stunned in the rain, their faces wet with rain or something else. A dead silence enveloped the whole courtyard, every single person stood as if they had been transformed into wooden statues, the physician’s head making banging hollow sounds as it came in contact with the wooden corridor. The banging sound makes one’s heart hurt. The yellowing pale tree leaves being beaten down by the autumn drizzling rain matches the look on everyone’s faces. 

No lanterns were lit in the room. Behind the half open door not much can be seen in the darkness other than a fuzzy outline of Ning Yi’s’ gaunt looking figure. Sitting with his back to the door, Ning Yi didn’t move at all. 

After a long deathly silence, his voice came without emotion.

“Get out.” 

(In dramas poor physicians will often lose their lives when they fail to save VIP patients. This happens most often when it involves the emperor or the princes, so that’s why this particular physician is so scared.) 

The physician hurried off, every single one of his wrinkles vibrating relief from narrowly escaping death. The man stumbled when he passed by Hua Qing who instinctively reached out a hand to steady him. Looking at the most famous physician in all of South Sea in such an embarrassing state, Hua Qing offers with a trace of sympathy “I will escort you out.” 

 Hua Qing escorted the physician all the way to the door and is about to turn around when the door guard walks in complaining loudly “What a jerk! To dare to come try to scam us at a time such as this!”

Puzzled, Hua Qing pokes her head out and sees a person loitering around near the door. The door guard behind her continues on angrily “He has been here a few days already and he won’t leave! He must be greedy for the reward we have promised! But even South Sea’s best physician can’t do anything then how could he, a guy who can’t even write out a proper prescription do anything? We are just asking for trouble if we let him in to see His Highness!” 

Hua Qing met the person’s hopeful gaze, thought about it for a bit then promptly waved him over. 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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