276 Repay the Favor in the Future
When Lu Jiao showed up, Mo Bei made the introduction, “This is…”
He then recalled that Lu Jiao was pretending to be a man and changed his statement, “This is master Lu. He was the one who reattached your arm.”
Wang Kui looked at Lu Jiao in awe. When he heard the story of what happened, he thought the person who operated on him would be old. He didn’t expect to see someone so young.
“Thank you master Lu for saving my arm.”
Right now, he was mostly worried about his ability to hold a bow. If he was unable to hold a bow, then the rest of his life was over.
That thought dampened Wang Kui’s mood. He was already unwell and appeared sickly and now, he appeared even worse.
Lu Jiao naturally noticed this and asked caringly, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Now that the anesthetic has faded away, the injured area must be burning.
Wang Kui however, shook his head, “I’m okay. Though there’s some pain, I’m used to injuries since I’m a soldier. This is not a big deal. I’m very worried that I am never going to regain strength in my arm and be able to hold a bow again.”
Lu Jiao smiled gently, “You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t think getting your strength back will be an issue. Once your arm reattachs, you should be fully functioning like before. Even if it’s not fully like before, it’d be 70-80% like before.”
This news excited Wang Kui. He looked towards her and asked, “Master Lu, you’re speaking the truth?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “It’s true. Don’t worry.”
Wang Kui was so excited he tried to get out of bed. Mo Bei stopped him, “What are you doing?”
He responded shrilly, “I need to kneel for master Lu. I have to thank him.”
Lu Jiao began to sweat. She did this for the money, not out of kindness.
Lu Jiao didn’t hide it, “You don’t have to thank me. It’s a job and I was paid for it.”
Despite her honesty, Wang Kui remained grateful, “This isn’t about the money. Not only did you save my life, but you also gave me the opportunity to continue my career. If you ever need me, tell me and I will do whatever it takes to do what you need.”
Lu Jiao was pretty happy to hear that, “You’re being too generous.”
She checked out this patient a bit more. He was so crestfallen before and he was giving off a stubborn aura.
Lu Jiao suddenly realized what his identity was. He likely was a general from the capital city.
The sight of him reminded Lu Jiao of the second born. The second born wanted to be a general one day.
If there ever comes a day when he becomes injured to this extent while defending this nation, she would be devastated. Despite so, she wasn’t going to stop him.
Lu Jiao realized she was thinking too far ahead. She didn’t even know where she’d be when that time came.
She found herself a little sad about leaving but she nipped that feeling in the bud. She looked at the patient and cautioned, “Take some time to rest. You will be okay. Don’t get too anxious, it affects how well you heal.
Don’t worry, though the reattachment of your arm was difficult, it was doable. I have confidence in my skills and I am sure it was a success. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Dr. Qi what he thinks of my medical skills.”
Qi Lei quickly gave Lu Jiao a glowing review, “My master pulled out an arrow for the fifth young master. She’s also operated on a handicapped patient. That patient can now walk without issues.”
Qi Lei’s words confirmed Wang Kui’s confidence. He also picked out some keywords from that statement and raised an eyebrow, “He’s your master?”
Wang Kui knew Qi Lei. He was born into a family of doctors. Every generation of the Qi family managed to raise an imperial physician who treated those inside the palace. For someone like Qi Lei to recognize a master like master Lu meant he had amazing skills.
Wang Kui couldn’t help but stare a little. He noticed that despite master Lu’s very average appearance, he had beautiful eyes.
Qi Lei happily agreed, “That’s right. He’s my master and he’s phenomenal.”
He then smiled proudly.
Inside the room, Mo Bei rolled his eyes. Did Qi Lei have to act so proud as if he was talking about himself? Wasn’t he embarrassed that he had such a young person as a master when he was born into a family of doctors? If Qi Lei’s father knew, he might just whip Qi Lei.
Qi Lei had no self-awareness and continued to talk Lu Jiao up, “My master is a miracle doctor. He’s healed many who were poisoned by snakes. None of those people ended up with side effects from treatment. You probably don’t know, but normally, those poisoned by snake venom could only wait for death. Yet my master cured them. He’s able to cure all sorts of illnesses that others don’t know how to cure.”
Lu Jiao’s face was now red from all the flattery. She glared at him, “Qi Lei, does your throat feel dry?”
Qi Lei was so excited he shook his head, “It doesn’t. Let me tell you, my master saved someone who jumped into the river. Others said the lady stopped breathing but my master saved her.”
Lu Jiao wanted to slap Qi Lei. That was nothing to brag about.
“Qi Lei, the patient needs rest. Get out of here.”
Wang Kui truly did appear exhausted. He had lost a lot of blood and his arm was detached and reattached, meaning he was still very physically weak. However, since he was so worried about the functionality of his arm, he pushed himself to stay awake and now that he was relieved to find out his arm will be fine, all energy had drained.
Qi Lei smiled, embarrassed, “You rest. I will tell you all about it later.”
Lu Jiao stared him down. Was he really going to talk about her more?
Inside the room, Mo Bei asked everyone to leave so Wang Kui could rest. With Lu Jiao heading out, Wang Kui thanked her again, “Thank you, master Lu. I am going to repay you for this.”
Lu Jiao quickly brushed it off, “Please rest.”
She then warned Qi Lei, “Get some ginseng and ganoderma for him to consume. Due to blood loss, his body is weak and he’s healing slowly. He needs more supplements.”
“OK, master.”
The two chatted and headed out. Behind them, Mo Bei and Zhao Lingfeng followed.
Qi Lei then said to Lu Jiao, “Master, I want to host a ceremony where I officially announce you as my master. What do you say?”
Though he started calling her his master, he’s never gone through the official process and felt like the ceremonial gestures were missing. He felt bad about that and wanted to make it official and have others witness their formal apprenticeship. Once the ceremony was done, he would truly be working under Lu Jiao.
Before, his master didn’t want scholar Xie to know about her skills. Now that scholar Xie has found out everything, he should be okay with Qi Lei asking Lu Jiao to be his master.