The whistle echoed again.
Short.
Urgent.
The Little Fairy Doctor had already slung her medicine satchel across her shoulder before Xiao Feng reached the gate.
“North.”
She spoke with certainty.
“The sound came from the northern ridge.”
“You can tell?”
She smiled faintly.
“I’ve listened to those whistles for years.”
“They all sound different.”
Without another word, she started running.
The forest was darker now.
Only scattered moonlight slipped through the branches.
The Little Fairy Doctor moved with surprising confidence.
She avoided exposed roots.
Stepped over loose stones.
Never hesitated at a fork in the trail.
It became obvious this mountain was more familiar to her than Wu Tan City had ever been to Xiao Feng.
“You’ve walked this route many times.”
“Hundreds.”
She didn’t slow down.
“Sometimes three times in one day.”
Several minutes later, voices drifted through the trees.
“Doctor!”
“Over here!”
Three mercenaries stood beside a small fire.
One of them sat against a rock, his left thigh wrapped with a blood-soaked cloth.
The moment they saw the Little Fairy Doctor, relief washed across their faces.
“Thank goodness you came.”
She knelt immediately.
“What happened?”
“Horned Wild Boar.”
“It charged from the brush.”
She carefully removed the bandage.
The wound was deep.
Fortunately…
Not fatal.
“Hold him still.”
The injured man forced a grin.
“I can handle—”
The Little Fairy Doctor looked at him.
“You’ll scream.”
“…”
“…Fair enough.”
She worked quickly.
Cleaning the wound.
Removing dirt.
Checking for broken bone.
Every movement was practiced.
There was no hesitation.
No panic.
Only concentration.
Xiao Feng stood nearby, watching.
He noticed something.
Not because the patient needed to know.
Because it calmed them.
A frightened patient moved.
A calm patient stayed still.
That alone made treatment easier.
A small detail.
Yet an important one.
“Thread.”
She extended one hand without looking up.
One of the mercenaries hurriedly searched his pack.
“I…”
“I can’t find—”
Xiao Feng quietly handed her a roll.
She accepted it automatically.
Only afterward did she glance at him.
“…Thank you.”
The stitching took nearly fifteen minutes.
When she finally tied the last knot, the injured mercenary let out a long breath.
“I thought I’d lose the leg.”
“You almost did.”
She packed away her tools.
“Don’t walk for several days.”
“No alcohol.”
“Change the bandage every morning.”
“If you ignore any of that…”
She looked directly at him.
“…I’ll charge double next time.”
The mercenaries laughed.
“So scary.”
“Doctor, you’re becoming stricter.”
“Someone has to be.”
One of the men reached into his pocket and produced a heavy pouch.
“Your payment.”
She accepted it without counting.
“As always.”
The mercenary scratched his head.
“You trust us?”
“If I counted every payment…”
“I’d spend half my life counting.”
He laughed awkwardly.
“…Fair point.”
As they prepared to leave, the youngest mercenary noticed Xiao Feng.
“Haven’t seen you before.”
“My name’s Liu Hu.”
“Xiao Feng.”
“You a mercenary?”
“No.”
“Bodyguard?”
“No.”
The man looked confused.
“Then why are you following the Doctor into the mountains?”
Before Xiao Feng could answer, the Little Fairy Doctor spoke first.
“He’s my guest.”
“Oh.”
That explained everything.
No more questions followed.
On the journey back, neither spoke for a while.
Finally, Xiao Feng broke the silence.
“You’ve done this many times.”
“Hm.”
“Do you ever get tired?”
She thought about it.
“Sometimes.”
“Then why keep doing it?”
The answer came almost immediately.
“Because if I don’t…”
“…someone else doesn’t make it home.”
The simplicity of the answer caught him off guard.
No grand speech.
No declaration.
Just quiet certainty.
After another stretch of silence, Xiao Feng asked,
“Has anyone ever failed to pay you?”
She laughed.
“Many.”
“And you still treated them?”
“They were injured first.”
“The money comes later.”
“And if it never comes?”
She looked toward the stars above the trees.
“Then it never comes.”
“I became a physician to save people.”
“Not to become rich.”
Back at the cabin, she washed the blood from her hands.
The water slowly turned red before disappearing into the earth.
She noticed Xiao Feng still thinking.
“What?”
“I was wondering…”
“If everyone thought like you…”
“The world would probably be quieter.”
She smiled.
“And probably much poorer.”
Both laughed.
Late that night, after the cabin had grown silent, Xiao Feng sat alone outside.
He looked toward the moon.
In his previous life…
Readers always called her the Little Fairy Doctor because she was kind.
Now that he had seen her work…
He understood why.
It wasn’t kindness alone.
It was discipline.
She never asked whether someone deserved treatment.
She treated the wound first.
Everything else came afterward.
Perhaps…
.”
That was what made a real physician.
The rewritten parts are clearly marked as “Rewritten” near the sections that have been updated.