The mountain area was as picturesque as a poem.
The man dropped his hoe and rushed back.
Although his Old Mother was usually fine, it wasn't strange that she wasn't, or rather, it wasn't considered strange.
Just as he reached the door, he heard a strange woman's voice from inside saying, "Divine Doctor, we are fated; stop asking questions, saving a life is what matters!"
The Woman was decisive: "Save her! Tell us how to save her?"
That young but commanding voice said, "Carry her out to a spacious area."
The Man glanced at the doorway; the room was already crowded, so she should be moved out.
Ye Man stepped back first, sizing up the situation, and directed the Man, "Remove the door panel."
The Man was sensitive and quickly asked, "What are you doing?"
Inside, the girl and the Woman lifted the Old Madam, shouting, "Grandmother is cold!"
Ye Man didn't shout louder, but she was more commanding: "It's cold this morning, you'll get cold too! Stop the nonsense and save her quickly!"
This time the Man wasn't sensitive; his Old Mother was cold, and she could still be saved—she absolutely must be saved. Wasn't she called a Divine Doctor?
The Man didn't care about the Divine Doctor's image; since the title carried the word 'Divine,' she must be somewhat divine.
He was strong and removed the door panel by himself; usually, a dead person would be laid on a door panel.
Ye Man told the Woman to carefully place the Old Madam onto the door panel.
"Wait!" The Man rushed into the house and ran out holding a quilt, spreading it on the door panel.
Ye Man thought he might have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
They placed the person in the Main Hall, but this Main Hall was also small; it was crowded with just a few people inside.
Ye Man gave an order, pointing at the Woman: "Except for you, everyone else get out!"
The girl, about ten years old and slightly older than Ye Man, didn't go out; instead, she retreated further into the room.
The Man retreated into his room; the father and daughter facing each other created a rather Poetic scene.
Ye Man didn't care, as long as they weren't in the way. She asked for a stool, laid it down, and placed the stool legs under one end of the door panel.
This positioned the Old Madam with her head higher than her feet. Ye Man checked again; the airway should be fine.
The Woman asked, "What else needs to be done?"
"Not for now." Ye Man climbed onto the door panel and knelt over the Old Madam.
The Woman also knelt beside the door panel, watching intently, ready to assist at any moment.
Ye Man hadn't performed CPR in a long time, but this procedure wasn't difficult.
First, thirty chest compressions, followed by two rescue breaths.
She couldn't bring herself to do mouth-to-mouth, so she mobilized the tiny bit of Spiritual Energy she had just absorbed; this method would work even better.
The Woman watched her procedure, completely bewildered, then looked at how serious she was, and then saw that her Mother-in-law showed no reaction at all.
Whether it was treating a dead horse as if it were alive, or because others understood even less, they could only watch her.
The Woman looked at how small and thin she was, wondering where she had run off from. After pressing for a while, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her straw-like hair was completely damp—wouldn't she get sick?
The Woman looked at her complexion again; it was abnormally red, yet abnormally pale.
Even if she didn't know medicine, the Woman had life experience, so she called out to her daughter, "Go make food, and boil some more water."
The girl obeyed, squeezing out from the side of the door panel.
Her mother instructed further, "Boil two Eggs, and we'll kill a chicken later to nourish your Grandmother."
The girl looked back at the Divine Doctor's back; she was still pressing intently.
The girl had slept with her Grandmother since childhood and really didn't want her Grandmother to pass away.
She prayed for her Grandmother to wake up quickly!
"She moved!" the Man shouted.
The girl turned and came back, standing at the Door Sill to watch.
The Woman glanced at her daughter and called out, "Your Grandmother is fine now; go quickly, she's waiting for Chicken soup!"
Ye Man sent the last bit of Spiritual Energy to the Old Madam, exhausting herself until she sat on the door panel, panting heavily.
The Woman felt embarrassed and quickly asked, "What should we do now? Divine Doctor, please rest?"
Ye Man was breathless; an Old Ancestor could die on an operating table, but saving a life required a different kind of exertion.
Fortunately, the Old Madam was spirited; she was recovering very well now.
Ye Man told the Woman, "Get her settled first, don't let her get cold."
The Woman looked; even the Divine Doctor was cold, with a runny nose, looking quite pitiful in that state.
The Woman gritted her teeth: first, she would attend to her aunt, and then she would attend to the Divine Doctor.
The Old Madam recovered and asked, "What happened to me?"
The Man cried tears of joy, "Mother, you just fainted; this Divine Doctor saved you."
The Man didn't say another word; he knelt down and Kowtowed to the Divine Doctor, three solid Kowtows.
The Woman said, "First, pour the Divine Doctor a bowl of water to drink."
The Man scrambled up to pour water, then took out a clay jar, scooping two large spoonfuls of sugar into the water.
Ye Man watched and felt that this Poetic life was becoming cloyingly sweet.
An old friend prepares chicken and millet, but they never mentioned sugar. That a Mountain Villager could afford this showed it was truly Poetic, not a tragic poem.
That family's Young Gentleman returned.
Fourteen or fifteen years old, cleaner than that other person, possessing inherent Poetic quality, yet also showing a degree of premature maturity.
Children from the Mountain Area should be getting married at fourteen or fifteen, although some people remain childish even at fifty.
The Young Gentleman wore simple clothes; not only were his trouser legs rolled up, but he also wore Straw Sandals barefoot. That other Man didn't even wear Straw Sandals.
The Young Gentleman glanced at the stranger but didn't stare long—do not look at what is improper—instead, he asked the Woman coming out of the house, "Mother, what happened to Grandmother?"
The Old Madam came out shortly after, seemingly completely fine: "I'm fine."
Ye Man drank the overly sweet sugar water and told the Old Madam, "Not yet recovered, please sit."
The Old Madam turned to her excitedly, "It's all thanks to you."
Ye Man accepted it calmly and asked, "Do you have paper and a brush? I need to write a Prescription."
The Young Gentleman said, "I'll go borrow some."
Ye Man nodded, "I've only just reincarnated as a Divine Doctor, so please don't spread that around."
The Woman understood! If she wasn't a Divine Doctor, how could she have saved someone?
The Young Gentleman promised, "We won't tell anyone outside."
Ye Man gave further instructions, "Prepare a pot; I need to boil medicine. Get me something to eat too; I traveled all night, so I'll rest here for a day before continuing my journey tomorrow."
The Woman quickly agreed and cautiously asked, "Is sleeping in this room alright?"
Ye Man nodded. After all, there were only Three Main Rooms, even if they were two rooms deep. The Man and the Woman slept on one side, the Old Madam and the Granddaughter on the other. That Young Gentleman seemed to sleep in the outside Thatched Hut.
Ye Man had observed earlier that although the Old Madam's room was small, it was kept quite tidy.
The Woman brought water into the room and called to the Divine Doctor, "The weather is quite nice today; if you wash the clothes you took off, they'll dry by evening."
Ye Man nodded. Although she had changed clothes yesterday, spending a night crawling through the Mountain Area meant she needed a change.
She told the Woman, "I need to change into men's clothes. Does your son have any clothes? Or perhaps you could buy two similar sets when you go to fetch the herbs."
The Woman replied, "My son has clothes, if you don't mind them."
Then the Divine Doctor took out one string of money, and then another.
The Woman wasn't being nosy, but she truly didn't know where she produced them from.
Moreover, how could she accept money for two sets of old clothes?
The Woman was so moved she was about to get angry: "The Divine Doctor just saved my aunt."
Ye Man was forceful: "One matter is separate from the other. Saving the person was also the Old Madam's Good Fortune."
The Woman was also quite determined; while serving her, she asked, "Where is the Divine Doctor heading? What do you like to eat?"
Ye Man said, "I need to go to the Prefecture City first. For food on the road, anything is fine, like a Steamed bun."
The Woman was startled: "That far? Then please ride our donkey."