Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

”Xiaohua, stay near the livestock brigade for the next few days, or just stay at the brigade itself. Don’t go too far,” Elder Gu said while sipping his soup. ’Ah, this clay pot chicken soup is delicious!’

Hua Yusen nodded. ”Yes, Elder Gu. I have indeed noticed some peddlers coming to our village these past couple of days.”

Sun Haoran was taken aback and questioned, ”It’s normal for peddlers to come here, isn’t it? After all, for little things like needles and thread, you can’t always go to the county town. Besides, it’s not like you use money; you trade for things.”

”But those peddlers... they dress the part, but their demeanor is off. And they’re coming too frequently. Before, we were lucky if they showed up three times a month. Now, they’ve come three times in a single week. And they’re not just loitering in the village; they’re even wandering over to the livestock brigade,” Hua Yusen answered. ”This morning, I tailed one of them all the way to Liujiawan before I turned back.”

Zhao Nuanyue froze. She knew there were peddlers in the village—she’d even bought needles and thread from one. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed anything strange about them. ’I’ve been so careless and unobservant.’

”Now that you mention it, that is strange,” Zhao Nuanyue murmured. ”My awareness still isn’t sharp enough!”

”Heh, my specialty is reconnaissance, so it’s only natural that I’m better at it than you are.” Hua Yusen glanced at Zhao Nuanyue. ”I’ve already told Datou to keep tailing them and see who’s behind this.”

”Good,” Gu Qingyu nodded. ”Time is flying. It’s about time to begin.”

Hua Yusen, Zhao Nuanyue, and Sun Haoran felt a thrill of excitement. ’I hope everything goes smoothly and they take the bait, so we can finally set our plan in motion.’

Sun Haoran looked at Zhao Nuanyue and chuckled. ”Nuanyue, I see you’re always reading, and you even ask Qian and Sister-in-law Qian for help when you’re stuck on math problems. Are you really planning to take the college entrance exam?”

”Of course,” Zhao Nuanyue nodded. ”If I get into college, I’ll be assigned a good job. If I don’t, I’ll probably just end up as a factory worker. It’s unskilled labor, and I wouldn’t like that.”

”Heh, I’ve noticed you have a good memory, and you’re a smart girl. Why don’t you study medicine with me?” Sun Haoran looked at Zhao Nuanyue hopefully. ’This girl is so loyal and values her relationships. She’s helped me so much during these hard times, and I’ve been wondering how I could ever repay her. But I have a lifetime of medical knowledge. I can teach her medicine.’

Hearing Sun Haoran’s words, Zhao Nuanyue froze. She looked at Hua Yusen, then at Elder Gu, her heart bursting with delighted surprise.

”Heh, Nuanyue, you should do whatever you want in the future. But you’re right to keep up your studies; educated people have more opportunities,” Elder Gu said with a soft chuckle. ”And studying medicine wouldn’t be a bad choice, either. Younger Brother Sun is a renowned doctor. If he takes you as his apprentice, you could learn a great many useful things.”

Hua Yusen also nodded. ”Whether you do it or not, think it over carefully.”

Sun Haoran grew nervous, rubbing his hands together. ”If you can’t decide right now, you can take some time to think. I know studying medicine is very difficult, and many people aren’t willing to do it.”

In her previous life, Zhao Nuanyue had been a socialite. ’I always wanted a proper profession,’ she thought, ’but aside from dressing up, maintaining my looks, and making myself beautiful, I wasn’t capable of anything else.’

Now that a renowned doctor of his generation was ready to take her as his apprentice, Zhao Nuanyue knew she couldn’t let the opportunity pass. She knelt directly before Sun Haoran, kowtowed three times, and declared, ”Master, my father passed away long ago. As my master, I will respect you as I would my own father.”

Elder Gu, Hua Yusen, and Sun Haoran had not expected Zhao Nuanyue to perform such a formal ceremony.

This was the ancient rite for accepting a master. Teachers in this day and age wouldn’t dare accept such a profound gesture.

In the old hierarchy of Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parent, and Teacher, a master was considered almost the same as a father.

Sun Haoran already admired Zhao Nuanyue for her intelligence and kindness. He quickly helped her up, saying, ”My, I thought I was just taking on a student, but it seems I’ve gained a true apprentice. Since you’ve shown me such sincerity, I will naturally hold nothing back in my teachings. I hope you can carry our national medicine forward and bring it to greater heights.”

A student and an apprentice were two different things.

”Thank you, Master,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. ”Back when Nuanyang’s illness was severe, everyone said my little brother was a simpleton, but I knew he wasn’t. Back then, all I could think was, ’If only I knew medicine, I could cure my brother.’ I still wanted to learn after I grew up, but I never got the chance. I wanted to ask to learn from you when I saw your skills, but I was afraid of causing you trouble, so I never brought it up. But I did often secretly watch you process your herbs, and I’ve even learned several of the methods.”

”HA HA!” Sun Haoran burst out laughing. ”No wonder you were always coming over to help me! So you were hoping to learn all along. You really could have just told me; I would have taught you. Study hard, and you will achieve great things in the future.”

Seeing how happy Zhao Nuanyue was, Hua Yusen thought it was a fine thing for a girl to be a doctor. He smiled and said, ”Well, now your wish has come true. Make sure you study hard.”

”I will,” Zhao Nuanyue said excitedly. ’This is my new life, so of course I need new skills to get by.’

Gu Qingyu said cheerfully, ”Well, you’ve taken on a fine apprentice. Aren’t you going to give her a token of your acceptance?”

Sun Haoran wasn’t embarrassed at all, just smiled and said, ”To be honest, I don’t have a single valuable thing on me right now. But once we get to Jincheng City, I have some things stashed away from before. I’ll pick out something nice for Nuanyue then.”

”Master, I didn’t give you an apprenticeship gift, so you don’t need to give me one either,” Zhao Nuanyue said guiltily. ’My master is being too courteous, and it seems a bit forward for Elder Gu to be asking for a gift for me right now.’

”You’ve already given me a great deal. Those clothes, the spare sets to change into... you made them all for me,” Sun Haoran said softly. ”They may not be valuable, but they were exactly what I needed. Truly, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

”Heh, Nuanyue, don’t be so polite. Just hold him to it; Younger Brother Sun has plenty of treasures,” Gu Qingyu said. ”Alright, it’s getting late. You two should head back and get some rest. Be extra careful for the next few days.”

”Yes, sir,” Hua Yusen nodded.

Zhao Nuanyue said her goodbyes to Elder Gu and Sun Haoran once more, then left with Hua Yusen.

Watching their retreating backs, Elder Gu turned to Sun Haoran with a light laugh. ”You’ve gained a good apprentice. Are you happy?”

”Happy? Of course I’m happy.” Sun Haoran was beaming, the smile seeming to smooth the wrinkles on his face. ”Gu, you might laugh, but the truth is... the reason I ended up in this situation has everything to do with my second apprentice. He’s the one who betrayed me, claiming I was hoarding secret formulas...”

But as he spoke, though Sun Haoran was still smiling, his eyes welled up, glistening with unshed tears.