"And that's two hundred!" Zero announced happily. Hua Tuo let him sleep in today so Zero wasn't cranky in the morning.
Zero's first task as a doctor's apprentice was to prepare pills for the villagers who were still mostly sleeping. According to Hua Tuo, many of them would be suffering from something called hangover - a side effect of drinking too much alcohol. Zero nodded and followed the instructions carefully. They made two hundred pills to hand out to anyone who might need them later.
"Good. Now get washed up, we will visit Cleo for breakfast and pass the pills to her for distribution. We'll be having a busy morning so do your best to keep up."
Zero beamed and swiftly followed after Hua Tuo who disappeared down the trapdoor.
"We're following the dark blue crystals this time," Hua Tuo told his student. "Cleo lives in a tree apartment near the farms. She's the village's herbalist and shares the apartment with Lovina, the village witch and healer. Lovina makes the tastiest pancakes so we're heading over for breakfast."
Zero blinked. He didn't know what pancakes were but if Hua Tuo said that it was good, Zero can't wait to try some.
The dark blue crystal underground tunnel came to an end and Zero found them walking up a slope. He could see some light at the end of the road and wondered if that was how the exits looked like. Zero was amazed by how well hidden the exit was when they emerged from beneath some tree roots.
Zero tottered along the slightly damp grass behind Hua Tuo. He didn't know where the farm was located but he didn't think there would be one in such a dense forest. Hua Tuo proved Zero wrong when they entered a small clearing with a small clear stream running through it. Zero blinked at the dazzling sight. The farm looked similar to what Hua Tuo had in his fields outside the hut. However, Zero was interested in how such a farm did not get noticed. Half Moon Village was a very mysterious place.
"Cleo and a few others live over there, let's visit them first. You can check out the farm on another day. Harvest happens in tomorrow so there is no hurry."
The brunet agreed and skipped along the stones to cross the small stream. They reached the tree apartment and Zero looked up. The apartments were very well concealed in the tree and from the bottom, he couldn't exactly tell where they were unless he tried to sense their presence.
"Who else lives here?"
Hua Tuo stroked his beard and frowned. It had been some time since he last visited. "If I recall correctly, Cleo and Lovina are on the third floor. Wiser is on the topmost floor. Qin Yun is on the second, Moona and Latitia are on the first."
Zero blinked. He was expecting to see something when Hua Tuo mentioned that there were people living on the first level. However, he couldn't see anything except for a sturdy tree trunk. Could it be...?
The physician grinned. His student was learning fast. "You're right. That's Lovina's illusion."
Zero grinned. "Are we going to climb again?"
Hua Tuo mocked horror. "Are you asking this old bag of bones to climb such a horrifyingly tall tree? Of course not! Why climb when we can use this conveniently located teleporting circle?"
Zero blinked. He looked at the ring of flowers and raised a brow. That was a teleporting circle? Zero thought teleporting circles were far more complicated than some neatly grown flowers. Hua Tuo noticed the look of doubt on Zero's face and smirked. His student had much to learn, bringing him on a trip was a good idea. Normally, fairy rings were avoided as they can teleport a person to a random location that often proves dangerous. Some say that stepping into a fairy ring can bring a year's worth of bad luck. However, the truth was that fairy rings were created by fairies as a form of friendship.
Only those the fairy who created the circle consider a friend or ally may step through it safely and arrive at their homes. The circle was made by Latitia and it brought them to the 'lobby' of the tree inside. From there, they would take one of the modes of transport up to the respective occupant's apartment. For Wiser, there was the pulley. For Lovina and Cleo, there was the magic circle. For Qin Yun, they had to step into a foxfire platform which could prove to be a little scary the first few times. As for Latitia and Moona, all they had to do was knock on the door.
Without telling Zero anything, Hua Tuo walked into the fairy ring and disappeared. Zero was quick to follow, not wanting to be left behind. The brunet blinked as the surroundings changed as soon as he stepped into the fairy ring. He saw Hua Tuo standing by a magic circle and grinned. Now he understood why Hua Tuo was so sure. Two cheeky looking ladies were waiting by the circle with Hua Tuo.
The lady with copper hair, freckles on her cheeks and green eyes beckoned to him. Using Mind's Eye, Zero knew that she was Latitia. The semi-transparent lady with silver hair and silver eyes who looked more spirit than nymph was Moona. Hua Tuo waited patiently as Zero walked over and greeted the ladies. Moona smiled politely and Latitia giggled as Hua Tuo placed his hand on the magic circle.
The platform below started to bring them upwards and Zero blinked. He didn't know flying magic could be used on objects without active control. Perhaps, it was the power of the magic circle?
They arrived fairly quickly and Cleo greeted them at the door.
"Good morning everyone! Wiser is still sleeping but Lovina is already up. She's flipping pancakes as we speak."
Hua Tuo nodded in greeting and Zero examined the half Dryad. Cleo had hair similar to Gaia with vines, twigs and leaves making the majority of it. Her eyes were hazel brown and under the light sometimes appeared yellow. She had barks covering her skin at some places and Zero blinked when she made a flower bloom in her hand.
"This is for you, welcome to our tiny village, Zero!"
The brunet accepted the flower and thanked her brightly. The small crowd entered and made themselves comfortable while the smell of pancakes wafted through the air. Zero's stomach growled as if acting as a cue for Lovina to bring a stack of delicious fluffy pancakes from the kitchen. Cleo came back with plates and utensils but most importantly, she came back with honey.
"Enjoy breakfast everyone!" Lovina smiled. The side of her eyes crinkled and Zero blinked. The witch didn't look a day over twenty-five with her short stature despite her high heeled boots. She had loose curly black hair, green eyes and wore a long black robe. The only indication that she was a magician was that classic oversized pointy hat that drooped to a side.
Ignoring that, Zero dug in and was surprised to find how good they were. He cleaned the first plate quickly and so did everyone else. Lovina was already dishing out seconds and Zero wondered how anything could taste so divine.
Breakfast was a quick affair and there were no leftovers, unsurprisingly. Cleo served some herbal tea while Hua Tuo passed the herbalist the hangover pills.
"Make sure to distribute them to anyone who needs it. Lady Zenobia should need it badly. She finished an entire barrel of wine by herself last night."
Cleo chuckled. "I'll be sure to do that. Also, thank you for dropping by for breakfast. We really did want to spend some time with Zero here. Did he help to make these pills?"
Hua Tuo nodded, pride swelled up in his chest. Zero was slightly embarrassed at how everyone seemed impressed with his contribution but the warm feeling in his chest wouldn't fade away.
"As much as I would love to stay for a chat, Zero and I have to check on Karris and Grandma Moppo today. Perhaps we could stay for a little longer another time. We're staying in this village for two weeks, I'm sure there will be plenty of future opportunities to do so."
Lovina saw them out and the ladies decided that they should get going to tend to the fields. Zero waved goodbye and followed Hua Tuo back to the underground passageway.
"Let's follow the turquoise path now. I have a clinic there so we should drop by after checking on Karris and Grandma Moppo. It's been a while since I last visited so we might have to do some cleaning before we can officially say that the doctor is in," Hua Tuo warned.
Zero didn't look deterred. "What do we do at the clinic after cleaning?"
Hua Tuo grinned. "We wait for patients. You may get to witness how an actual assessment is done but not today. Everyone is too badly hung-over for any check-ups. There will be a health screening tomorrow so be ready for it."
"Yes, sir!"
Hua Tuo put on his sternest face and Zero suddenly felt nervous. "Zero, I need you to help me with healing magic when we meet Karris and Grandma Moppo. Karris is heavily pregnant and Grandma Moppo is experiencing very bad pains. Do you still remember how to cast calming and numbing buffs?"
The brunet nodded.
"I'll need you to hold up a calming buff while I examine Karris and pain-numbing buffs when I examine Grandma Moppo. At this point, medicine is useless for either of them and we can only rely on healing magic to ease their suffering."
Zero swallowed nervously. He had faith in his skills but practising it on a patient for the very first time felt a lot more stressful than practising it on fishes and animals that they caught. For the first time, Zero doubted himself. What if he did something wrong?
"Zero, listen to me. Even if you doubt yourself, do not doubt the training. As a future doctor, you must keep calm at all times. Your patient is as good as dead if you lose control over your rationality. Their lives are in your hands and as a doctor, you must do whatever you can to save them. Failure is not an option."
Nervous and slightly frightened but determined, Zero followed after Hua Tuo. This was his first trial and Zero made the decision to become a doctor when he finished his training. He was going to travel the world, maybe even between worlds. He was going to visit many foreign places, meet many new people and encounter many new phenomena.
Zero wasn't going to fail here. His journey had yet to begin.