Chapter 37 37 Superfluous Yin Qi

Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Superfluous Yin Qi

Nora was kneeling at her side, clasping her hand devotedly, and watching helplessly as her mother suffered. She cursed out loud;

"When I lay my eyes on that brat, I'm going to kill him! Where's the damn healer?!!!"

Nexus heard her own pain- and it was deep.

His face softened as he looked at them empathetically. Seeing both mother and child like this, made him begin to think. Maybe, just maybe, this might actually be why he had been given massage powers. He had to help. Or at least try.

So, in slow steps, he pulled away from the door, and walked towards the sick lady. His eyes widened and widened as he got closer, and closer.

"This is strange," he mumbled out loud; "Her Yin qi is weirdly off the charts."

Nora's head jerked in his direction.

"What was that?" she rasped.

"I said your mother appears to have an over abundance of Yin qi. It's eating her from the inside, making her weaker and weaker. See how she struggles to breathe? She's in pain."

Nora stared at him blankly.

He asked her; "She's gotten progressively weaker over time, hasn't she?"

She nodded slightly.

"And her internal organs, they're slowly shutting down right?"

She nodded.

"A medical diagnosis may tell you that her blood is tainted- maybe leukemia or anaemia or some other blood related disease. But that's just the medical perspective."

He pointed at Lady Russell;

"But I am categorically telling you that it's because of the Yin qi. It's slowly destroying her from the inside and it's causing her great pain. I have a feeling that her immune system has been compromised because of the blood condition. So, she will certainly react to the slightest infection or cold."

Nora stared at him breathlessly- with fear in her eyes. She was scared of having hope. She had been down this road many times before. And she had only ended up getting her hopes dashed to pieces mercilessly.

"What are you talking about? Are you some kind of physician or something?"

"Trust me on this Nora. I know what I'm saying."

She looked away, back to her mother, and began to recount to him;

"My mother has been sick for so long, it's getting difficult to remember a time when she wasn't this way. You should have seen her in her youth Nexus. . ."

A twinge of joy streaked her tone;

"She was an epitome of beauty. I can't remember the sound of her laughter anymore, but I remember how her eyes twinkled each time she did."

"But father died. And in a way, I think she also died as well."

The rain began to ease up in moderate showers. It was still pouring outside, only without the rage of a violent thunderstorm.

"No one has been able to tell us exactly what it was, and it breaks my heart that she's suffered like this for years on end."

Nexus walked to the opposite side of the bed and stood there;

"What kind of treatments has she undergone?"

"At first, they told us it was a grief related incident, and it would pass. When she took a turn for the worse, we began to look towards herbs. She drank loads and loads of different kinds of that stuff. Herbs and painkillers became her diet."

"Pain killers? What kinds?"

"Molass and opiods mainly. She can't sleep without that stuff. But we had to take her off the stuff because the physicians said it could become more than just a coping mechanism, her body could actually grow to depend on it, and develop and immunity to its effects."

He exhaled deeply; "I see. . ."

"Huh?"

"That's also part of the problem- substance abuse."

The confused look on her face betrayed her ignorance on the topic. He paused, and explained some more;

"The physicians were right in their analysis concerning the painkillers. However, they failed to take into account the effects the withdrawal would have on her."

Her frown extended further. And Nexus knew he had to re-examine his entire approach to the matter.

He realized the problem with a start!

Of course, he had been looking at this all wrong. Was it possible he had grossly overestimated the people's understanding of medicine in this Isekai? He immediately wanted to kick himself. That was a rookie mistake. He looked at Nora and he saw the confusion clouding her eyes like a misty fog.

Nexus quickly doubled back.

Very slowly, as one would do to a three or fourth grader, he began to break his language further down, into less ambiguous words, and simple explanations. The rain had relapsed into gentle showers now, and Lady Russell's moans came intermittently.

Nora listened aptly. At the end, she had only one thing to say;

"What you've explained sounds like a sickness caused by distortion of mana in one's soul. But you keep saying qi. Don't you actually mean mana?"

And there it was, the real root of the problem.

It was not that the people here were totally ignorant. Actually, they were well-versed in the various diseases caused by mana. But when it came to qi, they knew virtually next to nothing about it. Nexus sighed inwardly. How could he even begin to explain this to her?

He was still locked in this mental battle when the system's voice came;

[NEXUS.]

His browed arched instinctively.

[YOU HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH A NEW MISSION:]

[MISSION DETAILS: CURE LADY RUSSELL OF HER INFIRMIRTIES COMPLETELY.]

[METHOD: FREE REIGN.]

[TIME LIMIT: T MINUS TWENTY MINUTES.]

[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: YOU MAY CHOSE TO EITHER MASSAGE HER USING PRESSURE POINT TECHNIQUES.]

[OR YOU MAY CHOSE TO MAKE USE OF YOUR SEMEN.]

[DISCRETION IS ADVISED.]

[MISSION WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE MARKED AS COMPLETE AS SOON AS IT IS DONE.]

[PROCEED.]

Nexus exhaled deeply.

The system was certainly getting the hang of sarcasm. How could it even up the suggestion of making use of his semen? On Nora's mother? How would that even go like? Nexus nearly chuckled aloud. He would most likely be executed as a perv.

He pushed the morbid thoughts, and silenced his internal monologue.

It was time to get to work.

"Nora, it's pointless sitting and talking about it. I think it would be better if I show you instead."

Her lips parted slightly with an 'o.'

"Show me? As in. . .?"

"I mean show you, as in cure her."

Nora could not help herself. Tears stung her eyes.

"Nexus, please, don't do that okay. . .don't do that. . ." she said mournfully; "Don't give me hope. . ."

The emotion in her voice was so raw, so genuine, that it moved Nexus. He suddenly wanted to do it for her. He wanted to save her from the state of hopelessness she had looped herself into.

She did not weep.

But her eyes howled mournfully.

Nexus tried to assuage her; "Look me in the eye Nora, I'm going to heal your mother today. The end has come to all this. Now is the appointed time."

Nora stared at him, soaking his words in. And at the same time, fighting to keep her walls standing. Her internal turmoil was evident. It was remarkable she had not lost her mind after all these years.

"I've endured this torture for so long Nexus. Watching my mother in so much pain has torn me apart, and I can't let her feel this way any longer."

She got up from her kneeling position. Facing Nexus, she squared her shoulders;

"Mister Nexus, if you say you can heal her, then go ahead. Do it. Do everything you can- for my mother."

She was putting on a brave face. She sounded brave. She even looked brave. But deep down, at this point, she was not holding out any hope anymore. Any more dashed hopes might actually make her run mad.

Nexus nodded.

And returned his gaze to the woman on the bed.

He rolled up his sleeves as he mentally recounted the information he had gleaned from the system. He furiously rubbed his hands together to generate enough heat, and gently placed his left palm horizontal on her forehead.

The response was immediate. Nora's eyebrows went up in surprise. For the first time since she had gotten here, her mother stopped trembling. Nexus left his palm there, gazing intently at her as she sunk deeper into the feathered pillow, opening herself to feeling more comfortable.

"Castor oil. I need some castor oil."

Nora moved fast. She practically bolted towards the antique wooden cabinet behind her, and came back holding a vial.