Shiinahkz

Today was just like any other day, with Ai Hua tending to Bubu Pharmacy. She sat quietly, reading a book that Xingqiu had given her the day before. Wanting to understand this era better, she had asked him to recommend books about the present time. Besides, there were no patients at the moment.

“Hoaam... looks like it's a peaceful day,” Ai Hua yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had just finished her book.

“Ah, I'm so bored,” Ai Hua muttered, resting her head on the table.

Out of nowhere, an image of someone with dark green-tinted hair flashed through her mind.

“I wonder what Xiao is doing... He said he’d drop by once I’m done with work,” she murmured to herself.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside Bubu Pharmacy.

“Help! Please, someone help!” A couple cried out desperately as they rushed in, carrying a young boy—no older than seven—his small body covered in blood, unconscious.

Ai Hua immediately sprang to her feet, hurrying toward them so quickly that she nearly tripped over herself.

“What happened?” Without wasting a second, she gently took the boy from them and laid him down on the sofa inside.

“Please, call Baizhu-sensei! My son… please save my son!” the father pleaded, his voice trembling. His entire body shook violently, his hands and clothes stained with his child's blood. “He—he was attacked by a monster while playing...”

Ai Hua worked quickly to stop the boy’s bleeding. She couldn’t call Baizhu—he was away, tending to a patient in Qingce Village.

Seeing the child in such a dire state, her heart ached. Without hesitation, she transferred his pain to herself.

“Ughh…” A violent shudder ran through her body as the pain seeped into her.

But even after that, the boy remained unconscious. He had already lost too much blood—his face was growing pale, and his fingernails had turned blue. Ai Hua bit her lower lip, searching for a solution while struggling to endure the pain herself.

Baizhu’s words echoed in her mind.

“You must never use your power to transfer wounds to your own body. Your ability is incomplete, and it will only destroy you from the inside. You may transfer pain, but even that must not be done too often. Remember, Ai Hua—don’t be reckless.”

She had healed minor injuries before, but nothing like this. Baizhu had warned her—strictly—not to do it again.

But as she looked at the boy, so fragile and barely breathing, she made up her mind.

“Sensei, I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I have to do this.”

Ai Hua closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The sounds around her started to fade and grow distant. She placed her hands over the child’s body. A fleeting image of the man who had promised to meet her later suddenly appeared in her mind.

“Xiao,” she whispered softly.

A warm light began to radiate from her hands. The wounds started to appear one by one on her own body, and blood had already begun to trickle from her mouth.

“AI HUA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Suddenly, an adeptus appeared behind her, but she had no intention of stopping.

“Sorry for calling your name so suddenly.”

Xiao ignored Ai Hua’s apology and walked closer, intending to stop her immediately.

“Xiao, please take care of my flower garden.”

Right after saying that, Xiao quickly grabbed Ai Hua’s hand, but it was too late. Her body had already lost its strength, and her eyelids had already closed.

“AI HUA!” Xiao called out, shaking Ai Hua’s body.

────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ─────

Xiao sat beside Ai Hua’s bed. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes were filled with guilt and worry as he gazed at her. The moment she lost consciousness, without a second thought for those around him, he had immediately taken her to Baizhu.

Baizhu, who had been tending to patients at the time, was startled but wasted no time in treating Ai Hua. After examining her, he realized she had broken the rule he had once given her.

“It seems she will remain like this for a while. I will take care of her at Bubu Pharmacy.”

And now, here she was—still unconscious, with Xiao by her side, refusing to leave.

“Your face looks so peaceful, but I don’t like seeing it this way,” Xiao muttered.

“Hurry up and wake up... I’m not good at taking care of flower gardens.”