Winnie, who was observing at the side, nodded. “I’ve recorded it in my phone’s memo.”
“Good! Now, you need to pay attention to the time. Usually, the needles will stay on the patient’s body for around twenty-five minutes. You may extend the period according to the patient’s condition. Now that the patient over here isn’t moving, I’ll check the medicine you grabbed earlier.”
“Okay!”
Just as she finished her sentence, she heard Xavier’s voice.
He sounded gloomy, as though he was aggrieved. “Come over here, Dumbo.”
She was stunned for a second before realizing she had been focusing all her attention on studying and had totally forgotten about his existence. “Can I go there and take a look at him myself, Old Mr. Xander?”
The old man waved his hand avoidantly. “Go ahead. Although, remember not to talk too much with the patient.”
Then, he quickly stepped toward the medicine cabinet. Couples nowadays sure do love giving each other weird nicknames. Even though Winnie is such an intelligent woman, her husband calls her Dumbo.
When his train of thought ended there, Sebastian had goosebumps.
Currently, Winnie was standing next to Xavier, who was lying down.
Looking down at him, she pressed her finger to his lips. “Don’t talk. All you need to do right now is to lie down here quietly. Just pretend you’re a dummy.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “You’re abandoning me?”
“You don’t have to worry about me going too far away. In a while, I’ll be heading out to prepare your medicine. You’ll be able to hear me talk even when I’m outside.”
“Why are you learning these things?” Xavier frowned even more intensely. “There’s no need for you to do this. You can let somebody else do it instead.”
“No. There are some things that I wish I can do it myself!”
When Sebastian placed the needles into the acupoints earlier, she saw the old man’s hand trembling. If everything went according to his wishes, his granddaughter, Yolanda, would take over his responsibilities.
While the old man wholeheartedly believed in his granddaughter, Winnie was worried about putting Xavier in Yolanda’s hand.
Xavier’s mouth opened. “But—”
“No buts!” Winnie hated how fussy he was. He’s wasting my precious time arguing about this with me.
Thus, she cut him off. Since no one was around them at the moment, she lowered her head and kissed his lips.
Even though she only gave him a light peck, he felt as though he had tasted ambrosia and wanted more.
Sensing Xavier’s intention, Winnie directly pressed his neck to stop him and warned, “Behave yourself! Otherwise, once I learn acupuncture, I’ll cripple you. Be a good boy, all right?”
“You’re getting bolder, Dumbo!” Despite his furrowed eyebrows, he couldn’t muster any anger as he stared at her.
In fact, he liked it when his Dumbo acted like that.
Winnie couldn’t be bothered to talk nonsense with him any longer, so after she gave him another peck, she went straight to Sebastian.
When she arrived, Sebastian had completed the examination.
“Not bad. Sixty grams of aconite, forty grams of dried ginger, twenty grams of turtle shell, ten grams of cinnamon, twenty-five grams of amomom, and twenty grams of licorice. All six of these ingredients are exactly the right amount, no more, no less. I noticed how fast and accurate you were when you were grabbing the ingredients. I almost can’t tell you’re new to this. You’re quite suitable for this job,” he praised.
Despite his compliments, Winnie still acted very humbly. “As you said, this isn’t anything noteworthy. There is more for me to learn.”
It brought joy to the old man to see a youngster who was neither arrogant nor impatient like her.
“Take your time to learn the art of medicine one step at a time. There’s no way anyone can master it overnight. Oh yeah, why hasn’t your doctor friend returned yet? He seems to have been gone for a long while.”
“Indeed. I’ll give him a call. Maybe he had an emergency.”
“Go ahead. All we’re missing is the well water.”
Winnie immediately called Josiah, but he didn’t pick up even after she called him twice.
“What’s going on with him?” With her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she turned to Sebastian. “I think I need to go and look for him. He’s not answering his phone.”
“Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye here,” the old man replied.
“Okay.” She glanced at Xavier one more time. The two of them just so happened to make eye contact.
Knowing Xavier had overheard her conversation with Sebastian, she walked out of the room.
Upon exiting the room, she saw Louis, who was standing guard outside.
When he saw how hurried she appeared to be, he quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Mrs. Fairchild?”
“Where’s Josiah? Did he come by earlier?” Winnie questioned directly.
“No! Dr. Houghton mentioned he was going to fetch water from the well in the backyard before heading there with a bucket. He hasn’t returned yet. I thought maybe the well is far away.”
“No. The well shouldn’t be that far. I tried calling him, but he didn’t pick it up. I don’t know what’s going on with him.”
Throughout the years Louis had known Josiah, he had never heard about Josiah failing to answer the phone.
Subconsciously, he knew something was wrong. “I’ll look for him with you.”
Soon, the duo arrived in the backyard.
The backyard of the Xander residence had many herbs, to the point that it almost seemed like it was part of nature. However, that didn’t mean wild grasses were growing everywhere, and there was also a green stone path in the backyard.
As Winnie and Louis walked down the stone path, they soon saw someone next to a large honeysuckle bush.
That person was lying down on the ground. Based on his attire, it seemed like he was Josiah.
“It’s Dr. Houghton!” Louis exclaimed in shock before running toward the doctor.
Winnie followed behind.
“Wake up, Dr. Houghton! Can you hear me?” Since Louis had no idea what had happened to Josiah, he didn’t dare to move the latter’s body around carelessly. Instead, he gently slapped the doctor’s cheeks.
As Josiah’s body had no blood, Winnie determined it wasn’t caused by an external injury.
After swiftly examining his body, she realized the entirety of his left leg was swollen.
Upon rolling up his pant leg, she saw two round, deep, and bloody circles on his calf. Clearly, he was bitten by a snake.
Her reaction was fast. She immediately tore his pant leg away, pulled out her foldable knife, and swiftly drew a cross on the wound with the knife to squeeze out the venom.
Then, she bandaged his calf to stop the venom from spreading further into his body. “Quick, carry him back to Old Mr. Xander! He must’ve been bitten by a venomous snake!”
When Louis saw Josiah’s leg as well, he realized the snake that bit the doctor was definitely not an ordinary one.
He hurriedly carried Josiah on his back and ran back to the building.
Initially, Winnie was going to return with him. However, her attention was grabbed by a nearby plant.
Without hesitation, she sprinted toward that wild flower.
When she returned to the building, Sebastian had already fed Josiah an antidote.
Upon seeing Winnie’s return, the old man praised, “You treated Dr. Houghton’s wound very well. There are indeed snakes in my backyard, and I was able to guess which one bit him. The antidote I gave him earlier is specially used to treat a wound from this kind of venomous snake. After a while, pinch his philtrum. He should wake up pretty soon. However, the external injury on his leg still needs to be treated with herbs from the backyard.”
“You mean this one?” Just as the old man finished speaking, Winnie handed over the plastic bucket in her hand.
The interior of the bucket was already covered with a shallow layer of herbs.
Those herbs had oval, elongated leaves, thin stems, and faint pinkish-white petals that resembled half of a lotus flower.
“If my memory serves me right, I believe this is called lobelia. When I was reading a book about the foundations of traditional medicine earlier, I saw a case mentioning this particular herb. It said that lobelia could be used to treat snake venom effectively, whether it was applied on the wound or consumed,” Winnie explained.
“That’s right!” Sebastian was impressed. “It is remarkable how well you can apply your knowledge to practical use. Come, I’ll teach you how to treat the wound.”
Following the old man’s instructions, she mashed the herbs and applied them to Josiah’s wound.
Then, she pinched Josiah’s philtrum. As expected, he quickly woke up.
When Josiah saw Winnie’s face the moment he opened his eyes, he thought he was dreaming.
With that thought in mind, he dazedly stretched his hand toward her face.
Just as his hand was about to touch her face, Winnie grabbed his wrist and furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s going on with you, Josiah?”
Her voice instantly pulled him back into reality. Upon returning to his senses, he realized Sebastian and Louis were next to her.
Thank goodness she stopped me in time. Otherwise, things are going to be awkward…
When Josiah’s thoughts ended, he exclaimed, “A snake bit me on the leg! It had a red flower pattern on it! “
However, for some reason, he felt as though it wasn’t everything that had happened. He tried to recall what was missing, to no avail.
“What’s going on with you?” Seeing how he was spacing out, Winnie asked, “Are you feeling unwell anywhere else?”
He frowned. “I went to fetch some water earlier, right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then I was bitten by a snake?”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “How would I know? I wasn’t following you.”
“Where did you guys find me?”
“Under a bush of honeysuckle. What’s the matter?”
Lowering his head, Josiah stared at his still swollen calf. “This feels so weird. Even though the snake bit me, I didn’t feel anything.”
“Maybe the venom numbed your nerves?”
“Is that so? Maybe.” He rubbed his head, unable to shake the feeling that there was a painful spot up there, as though he had been stabbed by something.
He thought about it and showed Winnie his head. “How about you take a look at my head and see if the snake bit me there?”
Winnie found Josiah’s train of thought odd. “I don’t think so. The snake doesn’t know how to fly. How can it jump to your head to bite you? Besides, if the venom had directly gone into your brain, you’d be dead by now.”
Despite her comment, she still agreed to check his head.
As she pushed his hair away, Yolanda suddenly approached them expressionlessly.
“What’s going on?” Yolanda asked coldly.
“Dr. Houghton was bitten by a snake in the backyard earlier,” Sebastian explained. “Remember to sprinkle some poisonous powder at the side of the road when heading back. It’ll drive the pests away.”
“Got it,” she replied before turning to Winnie and Josiah. “I thought he was bitten on his leg. Why are you looking at his head?”
“Can’t I have my head examined?” Josiah couldn’t help but raise his head and look at her.
The moment he met her eyes, he felt a little strange. Her eyes appeared as though they were vortexes from his perspective, which made him feel dizzy.
“Don’t move!” Winnie pressed his head down when he suddenly lifted it.
“All right.” Her examination was swiftly concluded. “There aren’t any wounds on your head.”
When Yolanda heard that, the edge of her mouth imperceivably curved upward.
Since acupuncture needles were extremely fine, and people had many hairs on their heads, it would be difficult for anyone to detect traces of acupuncture there. It was why Winnie didn’t notice it.
Yolanda stabbed a needle at one of his acupoints earlier because he overheard something he shouldn’t have. I usually really hate traditional medicine, but acupuncture is pretty handy sometimes. I was able to render him unconscious in around ten minutes with acupuncture and hypnosis that I have been practicing diligently.
When Josiah collapsed earlier, he was holding a venomous snake in his hand.
Yolanda could hardly be blamed for that because the snake was going to bite him initially.
She simply allowed the animal to do that after making him faint.
The moment he was bitten, he didn’t even feel any pain. She considered that mercy on her part.
To her surprise, he was lucky enough to be found so quickly by his friends.
Still, even though he was saved, it didn’t pose any problems to her. Under the guidance of the acupuncture and her hypnosis, he had already forgotten that he had seen her in the backyard earlier.
“You came at the right time, Yolanda. I have something to discuss with you.” Seeing how his granddaughter was finally in the mood to come out and meet people, Sebastian said, “I’m planning to take this daughter of the Garland family as my disciple.”
“What?” Yolanda thought her ears were playing tricks on her. “What did you say? Who are you going to take in as a disciple?”
The old man took in a deep breath and repeated, “It’s the woman standing right in front of you.”
“Grandpa!” Disbelief was written all over her face. “This is the first time you’re meeting this woman! You’re going to take her in as a disciple? Just like that?”
“That’s right. Fate plays a part in a person’s search for a master or a disciple. In this case, it’s fated that Ms. Garland will be my disciple. She has a talent for traditional medicine. More importantly, she has the heart to learn it. It doesn’t matter who I’m teaching since I’m still doing the same thing. Besides, she’s willing to learn.”
“I don’t agree with that! What did she give you, Grandpa? Did she offer you money or her body?”
“Yolanda Xander!” Sebastian was shocked that his granddaughter would say such a thing. “How dare you speak about her like that! Who do you think you’re insulting?”
“What else do you think I’d say? That you’re insane? In any case, I refuse to accept this! It’s either me or her! If you insist on taking her on as a disciple, then I’m not your granddaughter anymore!”
“You unfilial brat! Not only do you refuse to learn traditional medicine properly, but you’re also now forbidding me to teach someone else about it?” The flame of anger was burning in Sebastian’s eyes.
Winnie frowned. “Let’s make a deal, Ms. Xander. Even though I technically don’t need your permission to regard Old Mr. Xander as my master, I don’t want to destroy your relationship with him. Tell me, what will it take for you to agree to this arrangement?”
“You want my agreement? Well, you have to make me concede first!”
“Oh? How so?”
“Compete with me! If I win, you’ll get out of here immediately!”
“Very well.” Winnie smiled. “That’s a promise, then.”
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