" Master, I've found the perfect house to use as our temporary base in the Dark City. You will be definitely satisfied with my choice. "
Xia Lian's smile widened after hearing the good news. Her initial gloomy mood totally disappeared like the wind while her face was bright like a thousand watt bulb within seconds.Having money wasn't necessary to be happy, but it made life incredibly much easier though.
" Let's go. We need to forget sleep for a few days as it's going to be busy soon." Bao Su nodded, even though he had no idea about what was going on.
Xia Lian repeatedly nodded her head and praised Bao Su after carefully observing their new house. It was so much better than what she thought it would be, as it had many rooms. There was so much space to work with.
After the initial shock subsided, Bao Su started to describe the history of this spacious house, " This place was formerly owned by Wu Gong and this was his first hospital, back in the day. "
What a pleasant surprise! Xia Lian never expected that she would stumble across her master's first hospital.
Bao Su continued speaking "After careful search I just couldn't find a single house big enough to accommodate a large number of people, so I went to look for former businesses. I found this property in the afternoon and was surprised for it to be empty, even though it was in such a nice location and due to the large space, the potential for business was unlimited. Later on, I researched about the origin and due to master Wu Gong's name being a taboo across the continent, no one wanted to invest in his former first hospital."
" Master, do you know that Wu Gong's name is a taboo?" Bao Su asked the question which was bothering him the most. He knew that Wu Gong saved her life, but she needs to know about this. Xia Lian nodded. She was his student, how could she not know?
Master Wu Gong's name was indeed a taboo, but Bao Su only knew that he was Xia Lian's benefactor and saved her brother before. That was the only reason he dared to make the decision and purchase the property without asking for his masters consent first. But what he didn't know, was that Wu Gong was the one who taught her everything about poison concoction. Everyone only knew about Wu Gong the godly doctor, but no one knew about his identity as the deadliest poison master of all time.
Bao Su had no idea that Xia Lian was his student. If he knew, may be he would not have worried so much in the first place. After making sure that there are no signs of displeasure on his masters face, he continued his explanation, " Even though this place is abandoned, this is the only place which is best for us. So,I immediately purchased it and ordered a thorough cleaning. If we find anything out of place, we can just renovate the whole place."
Xia Lian finally understood why her master knew so much about the Dark City. It was his first hospital and it must have meant a lot to him, obviously anyone feels the same about their first practice. The best way to repay his teaching and clean his name, was to rebuild his former hospital and bring glory to its name!
"No need for any drastic changes." Xia Lian's face was full of smiles as patted Bao Su on the shoulder, "You've found the right place. Nothing could be more perfect than this."
" Thank you.." Xia Lian sincerely thanked him. Now,this was going be her first hospital as well. She wouldn't change much about the buildings as she found that they are good enough to accommodate various patients.
Xia Lian examined all the rooms carefully. They were specially built to accommodate the sick patients. There were sufficient windows to allow free circulation of fresh air and to allow ample sunlight. Sunlight was very important because she was sure that many of the outcasts were suffering from leg pain due to lack of Vitamin D.
Then she was in for another surprise, because she noticed that the hospital had many partitions and she decided to turn each partition into a wing for each specialty. It was important to keep a strict system of order.
Xia Lian slowly took in all her surroundings of the very huge hospital. What hundred? This hospital could accommodate about a thousand people. She now finally recognized the former glory of her master and she was able to figure out his tragic fall. The higher the glory, the deeper and more desperate the fall.
Each room was additionally equipped with many wooden beds covered with new quilts. The quilts were new but the wooden beds were pretty old. Bao Su explained to her that he only managed to buy the quilts on time and the beds were already there before he arrived. But those beds, even though old, were not rotten or eaten away by termites. Apparently, someone must have taken care of this place without anyone knowing about it.
Xia Lian truly wanted know her master's secret admirer. Naturally, she only wanted to thank him or her for taking good care of this place. Otherwise, it would have been a great pain to replace all these beds and clean up the place. Nevertheless, she pushed this matter for later because the task to do now was to get ready for treating everyone she freed earlier today.
Afterwards she hurriedly visited her little bunny who apparently was fast asleep, with Fan Ling closely guarding him. Motioning Fan Ling to follow her out, Xia Lian exited the room and Fan Ling immediately followed her gently closing the door behind her, without making any unnecessary noise.
" I need the both of you to help me in the upcoming couple of days and be warned, I will not go easy on you guys in the slightest. If you can't surpass the hurdles of the next days, I will reevaluate your position next to me." Xia Lian spoke sternly while looking at her two subordinates.
After receiving a determined conformation from both of them, she started giving out orders. " Bao Su, place a quail filled with water near each bed."
" Fan Ling, cut the cotton silk into several strips vertically. Each strip's width should be roughly the size of your palm."
" Now start the work assigned to you while I visit the patients." She needed to have a close look at everyone to determine what they are suffering from. She then needed to separate them as per their conditions. Those with mild injuries can be left for later, but those in dire or life-threatening situations must be treated first.
" M-master.. You are really going to treat them all?" Bao Su asked a totally stupid question.
Xia Lian and Fan Ling stared at him with an expression of, ' It's so obvious! And are you really that stupid to ask such a foolish question after preparing so much to receive them afterwards?' In the end, he could only rub his nose in embarrassment and clear his throat while hurrying away to start his work. Fan Ling also followed suit, full of determination to not disappoint her master.