The scene in front of her felt familiar to the young girl. Several words were ringing in her mind as if someone was saying rapidly, "Heimlich Maneuver…"
She mumbled while staring at the patient with her narrowed hazel eyes, "Hold him from behind, put one fist above his navel, grasp the fist with the other hand, and give five quick upward thrusts as if lifting the person."
Though they found her initial words strange, the villagers quickly followed her later instruction on Master Hong's nod. On the fifth thrust, a piece of stiff meat shot out of the man's mouth. The man coughed heavily to clear his throat and thanked meanwhile, "Tha-nk you *cough* *cough* thank you so much."
Turing towards another big wooden table filled with several herbs and small white packets, she quickly picked out one and handed it to the patient, "Chew this for a while and inhale inwardly before swallowing it." The man finally could breathe freely after a minute.
Whereas, seeing him, everyone looked at the young girl in astonishment.
The most shocked ones were Master Hong and Xinxin. They had been trying hard to make this young girl speak, but she didn't utter a single word, almost making them believe that she was mute.
Master Hong asked, "How did you know? C-Can you recognize them?"
Her hazel eyes returned to the table and she smirked, "Huoxiang for abdominal problems, bai tou weng for intoxication, mountain henbane for shock, ziwan for fungal infection…" One by one, she named every herb and its uses without even taking a moment to think.
After she was done, no one spoke anything
Whereas Master Hong remembered the words of a certain old monk,
'Don't hesitate, listen to your sincere heart and save her. Heavens don't let things happen for no reason.'
He finally realized the meaning, "It was a full moon that day. Heavens has sent the divine physician for us! Everyone, greet our Goddess!!" Master Hong stated loudly and knelt in greeting.
All the villagers quickly followed him and knelt as well.
Whereas the young girl looked at them with an unfamiliar gaze.
'Who am I?' she asked herself.
…
Later at night,
"Who am I?"
The sudden voice startled Master Hong. He turned around and saw the girl standing with aloof face. "I don't know," Master Hong sighed, only to get fired back by her, "Where did you find me? Why did you save me if you don't know about me? What is this place?"
Master Hong patted his frightened heart and said, "Wait, let me tell you what happened that night,"
FLASHBACK
A few months ago,
On the Full moon night,
A man with a long white beard was walking through the forest at the end of the valley, "Heavens!" he was shocked seeing its steepness.
When he squatted down to drink some water from the small river current, his keen eyes saw a red flow in it. "Blood?" with a creased forehead, he walked forward by tracing it.
"God gracious!!!!" the man went numb seeing a girl lying in a pool of blood, the expensive silk clothes indicated that she was a noble lady. When he turned her around, her face was heavily wounded and her silk hanfu was dirty and torn. The fresh blood indicated that it happened not long ago. When he checked her pulse, he found nothing. She was almost dead.
When he got up to inform the local office, a monk came from the opposite side, "Amitabha… Child, aren't you going to help her?" Bowing to him, the man replied, "I wanted to… but this poor lady is barely living her last moments."
The monk smiled, "Don't hesitate, listen to your heart and save her… she needs you" looking up at the full moon, he continued, "Heavens don't let things happen for no reason"
The man bowed when the monk left and looked back at the girl, "She needs me?"
He squatted down and held her wrist only to get another huge shock. Quickly, he pressed his three fingers and checked her pulse with the utmost concentration, there existed a very weak, nearly unnoticeable pulse.
Tearing the corner of his shirt, he quickly bandaged her wounded forehead and picked her up. When he looked up for help, the monk was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, under the bright shiny moonlight, he noticed a pair of footsteps in the soil. Picking her up gently, he followed them as quickly as possible and finally, came out of the forest…
Meanwhile,
At a certain place, the monk was standing alone, "Amitabha… Almighty gives everyone a second chance who sincerely realizes their mistakes, but ultimately, it's in their hands… whether to correct their mistakes and live peacefully, or make the same mistake and ruin everything again."
He looked down from the cliff at the old man carrying a noble lady and saw the golden carriage returning at a distance. He sighed as he noticed the carriage.
FLASHBACK ENDS
At present,
Master Hong finished telling the story.
'At the end of North-eastern valley… so I must be from an aristocratic family living in the northeastern side,' Changxi thought.
As if guessing her thoughts, Master Hong shook his head, "That time, I thought the same, but it is a small village like us. I checked the neighboring villages too. Though there were many wealthy households, none of them had a missing daughter." With no memories about herself, she decided to live on a single familiar thread, being a physician.
On the full moon, when the whole village gathered to celebrate the harvest, unanimously, they named the young girl 'Changxi', the moon goddess sent by heaven. They started including her among themselves more.
Over time, the almost mute Changxi started talking with others, beginning with Master Hong and Xinxin. She had prepared a separate book for each category of medical cases they treated and noted them precisely. For the rest of the time, she and Master Hong would share their knowledge about various illnesses and herbs.
Xinxin became her close friend. She and the other girls would take Changxi with them for a hot bath or just wander around. Even if she wouldn't talk, they never pressured her to do so, which made Changxi feel comfortable while living this new life. Unknowingly, Changxi became everyone's close acquaintance, irrespective of her silent and distant temperament.
And just like that, one year passed, from the day Master Hong discovered her.