Bai Yanzhou walked through the front hall, signaling Bai Jimu to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, a young man in a courier uniform was supporting a pale-faced middle-aged woman at the entrance.
The woman appeared to be around fifty years old. Her right hand clutched her left arm tightly, and blood was faintly seeping through her fingers.
“Dr. Bai, this lady got scraped by an electric scooter at the street corner. Her arm is bleeding,” the courier said anxiously. “I saw she was bleeding quite a bit, and your place was the closest, so I hurried her over.”
“Please, come in.” Bai Yanzhou immediately stepped forward to help, and together with Bai Jimu, they supported the injured woman to the examination chair.
The woman gasped in pain, cold sweat beading on her forehead. “Thank you, doctor… I was just going to buy groceries, I didn’t expect…”
“Don’t worry, let me check the wound first.” Bai Yanzhou skillfully put on gloves and carefully examined her left arm.
The wound wasn’t deep, but the area was large and covered in dust.
Bai Jimu had already shrewdly brought warm water and fresh gauze, his eyes observing the wound sharply. “Bro, there’s grit in the wound. We need to rinse it with saline first. I’ll go get the Panax Notoginseng[1]TN: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it’s prized for stopping bleeding (hemostasis), dispersing blood stasis, reducing swelling/pain, and tonifying blood. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1834330_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1834330_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); powder; it stops bleeding well.”
“Third cabinet on the left, the dark brown porcelain bottle,” Bai Yanzhou instructed without looking up, a hint of approval in his tone.
“Got it!” Bai Jimu walked quickly to the medicine cabinet, accurately retrieving the needed medicine with clean, efficient movements.
Ming Shu had arrived from the backyard at some point. She leaped silently onto the counter, observing the patient’s condition from a distance.
Coal Ball sat by the door, his golden pupils quietly watching everything.
“The wound needs debridement and disinfection,” Bai Yanzhou said gently to the patient as he worked. “It will hurt a bit, please bear with it.”
The woman nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.
Just then, Bai Xuan peeked out from the backyard, his small face filled with worry.
Ming Shu glanced back at him and shook her head slightly, signaling him not to approach.
Bai Yanzhou cleaned the wound with practiced ease, his movements gentle yet highly efficient.
Bai Jimu stood by, handing over medicine and tools at just the right moments, their coordination seamless.
“Doctor, you’re really skilled,” the patient said, relaxing slightly and unable to help but comment. “Even more efficient than the nurses at the community hospital.”
Bai Yanzhou smiled faintly but didn’t reply, continuing to focus on the wound.
Disinfecting, applying medicine, and bandaging—it was done in one smooth sequence.
“Don’t get the wound wet for the next few days, and come change the dressing once a day,” Bai Yanzhou instructed carefully after finishing the bandage. “If you develop a fever or if the wound becomes red and swollen, go to the hospital immediately.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Bai,” the woman said repeatedly. “How much is it?”
“It’s a small matter, no charge.” Bai Yanzhou waved his hand. “Just go back and rest well.”
After sending off the patient and the kind courier, the clinic returned to temporary calm.
“Bro, were you satisfied with the wound treatment?” Bai Jimu swayed his head smugly.
Ming Shu flicked her tail, surprisingly refraining from a sarcastic remark. “Indeed, not bad progress. The noisy, dumb dog is somewhat useful after all.”
Bai Xuan also praised softly, “B-Brother Mumu is amazing…”
A trace of a smile flashed in Bai Yanzhou’s eyes.
Just as he was about to speak, Coal Ball walked silently to his feet and rubbed his head against his pant leg.
Bai Yanzhou looked down, meeting those golden eyes.
For some reason, he felt Coal Ball’s gaze was exceptionally deep at this moment, as if conveying a message.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Yanzhou asked softly.
Coal Ball just gave a soft “meow,” turned, and jumped onto the windowsill to continue looking outside.
Bai Yanzhou looked thoughtfully at the black cat’s back, a vague feeling arising that today’s accident might not be simple.
He turned to look at Bai Jimu, who was organizing herbs, and suddenly asked:
“When treating the wound just now, did you notice anything special?”
Bai Jimu put down the herbs, his expression turning serious. “That lady’s wound was indeed a bit abnormal. An ordinary scrape shouldn’t bleed that much, and the blood color was dark, as if influenced by some special power.”
Ming Shu’s ears twitched slightly. “There was some red mud on her shoes. It doesn’t look like it’s from around here.”
Bai Xuan added in a small voice, “H-Her necklace… had a black stone on it, and it w-was glowing…”
At this, everyone looked at Bai Xuan.
“Glowing?” Bai Yanzhou pressed. “What kind of light?”
Bai Xuan tried hard to gesture. “Very, very faint light… flickering… like, like stars…”
Bai Jimu looked thoughtful. “Come to think of it, when she came in, I did smell a peculiar scent, not something an ordinary person should have. And her footsteps were very light, almost inaudible.”
Ming Shu’s pupils contracted slightly. “A black stone? Can you describe the shape?”
Bai Xuan shook his head. “It was b-blocked by her collar… I only saw a little bit…”
Bai Yanzhou frowned slightly.
Ordinary patients wouldn’t wear glowing necklaces, nor would they have red mud not belonging to this area on their shoes.
This accident didn’t seem as simple as it appeared.
“Bro, is there a problem?” Sensing the change in atmosphere, Bai Jimu became serious as well.
“Not sure yet.” Bai Yanzhou walked to the window, joining Coal Ball to look in the direction of the street. “But I feel we might see that lady again.”
Coal Ball flicked his tail gently, as if agreeing with him.
The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the window glass, plating a layer of gold onto his jet-black fur.
No one spoke in the clinic for a moment. Only the old wall clock above the medicine cabinet ticked away.
This seemingly ordinary evening seemed to be brewing something extraordinary.
Night fell quietly, and Baizhou Hall was brightly lit.
Bai Yanzhou sat behind the counter, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
Ming Shu remained in cat form, feigning sleep on the rattan chair by the window, but the occasional twitch of her ear tips revealed she wasn’t asleep.
Bai Jimu sat quietly to the side, a rare occurrence, his gaze darting toward the door from time to time.
“Bro, do you think she’ll come back?” Bai Jimu finally couldn’t help asking.
Bai Yanzhou didn’t answer immediately. His gaze fell on the box of snacks Ms. Zhao (the patient) had left on the counter.
It was a box of exquisitely made osmanthus cakes, emitting a faint sweet fragrance.
“If she really has a purpose, she will definitely come back,” Bai Yanzhou said slowly. “However…”
His words were interrupted by a rapid knocking on the door.
This time, the knocking seemed particularly panicked, accompanied by a woman’s voice crying out:
“Dr. Bai! Dr. Bai, help!”
Bai Jimu rushed to open the door in one stride.
Ms. Zhao stood at the entrance, her face pale as a sheet. Her right hand clutched the wound on her left arm tightly, and blood had already soaked through the bandage.
“The wound… the wound suddenly got worse…” Ms. Zhao’s voice trembled. “It hurts… like fire burning…”
Bai Yanzhou immediately stood up and helped her inside, examining the wound carefully under the light.
The wound, which had already scabbed over, was surrounded by an abnormal purplish-red color, with faint black qi lingering around it.
“This is…” Ming Shu had arrived nearby at some point, her amber pupils contracting slightly.
Bai Yanzhou looked grave.
A trace of imperceptible white light appeared at his fingertips as he gently swept over the wound.
When the black qi encountered the white light, it writhed like a living thing.
“Poison?” Ming Shu asked in a low voice.
“Not ordinary poison,” Bai Yanzhou said deeply. “It’s demon poison.”
Hearing this, Ms. Zhao’s face turned even paler. “D-Demon poison? How is that possible…”
Bai Jimu quickly fetched the silver needles. “Bro, here.”
Bai Yanzhou nodded approvingly, his hands moving nonstop. He quickly took the silver needles and inserted several around the wound.
Each needle carried a trace of pure demonic energy, slowly forcing the eerie black qi out.
“Bear with it, it might hurt a lot.” As soon as Bai Yanzhou finished speaking, Ms. Zhao let out a suppressed cry of pain.
Under the pressure of the silver needles, the black qi actually condensed into the shape of a tiny black snake, struggling and twisting at the wound.
“Is this… a Snake Demon’s curse?” Ming Shu exclaimed.
Bai Yanzhou’s gaze sharpened.
The white light at his fingertips intensified, instantly and thoroughly purifying the black snake-shaped curse.
As the curse dissipated, the purplish-red color around Ms. Zhao’s wound gradually faded, returning to a normal blood color.
“Now, can you tell us the truth?” Bai Yanzhou put away the silver needles, his gaze calm but carrying an undeniable authority. “Who exactly are you? Why are you cursed by a Snake Demon?”
Ms. Zhao slumped in the chair, smiling bitterly as she touched the necklace around her neck. “It seems… I can’t hide it anymore.”
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