363 The Journeying Woman
"How much longer?" Kili groaned loudly, as she lay on her back and waved her legs in the air.
"I told you, there's still some work left for us to do," Jean responded with an amused smile.
"But you said that we were returning home! I need to get back before Dora gets stronger, and I can't defeat her any more," Kili argued.
Jean waved her hand dismissively and reminded, "I don't think you should be using your powers before we know what exactly is happening to you. Learning through experimentation is all well and good as long as it isn't your body that you are messing around with."
Kili released another loud groan before rolling over and shoving her face into her pillow.
"Physician Rasmus! Physician Rasmus!" A frantic voice called out, which was immediately followed by rapid knocking on her door. Jean stood up from behind her desk and moved towards the exit briskly.
As she opened the door, she was greeted by the tear-stained face of an elderly man, hunched over and garbed in dirt-ridden clothing. A relieved expression flashed past his face before it was once again drowned in despair.
"Oh, thank goodness you are still here!" The man exclaimed amidst heavy breaths... "Physician Rasmus... My grandchild-"
Jean interrupted the struggling man with a raised palm and said, "Lead me to her."
She then turned to Kili and gestured for the girl to follow along.
The man nodded before hobbling back the way he came and down the steps. Together, they left the inn's premises and walked northwards.
After cleaning up the Plagued Lands, Jean intended to return to the Sect for some rest and recuperation. It was an arduous affair that had drained her. However, along the way, she stopped by a village where she observed and was involved in a rather peculiar event - the birth of conjoined twins.
Jean had only ever heard of such successful births through rumours in the medical circles because it almost always resulted in the death of the foetus or the mother. Luckily for the women going through childbirth, Jean was present and knowledgeable about the Caesarean section, thanks to which they were able to overcome the dangers of naturally birthing the conjoined twins.
Of course, the challenge did not end after childbirth, since something had to be done about the twins who were born with a defect. The villagers were quick to dismiss the deformed twins, who were joined in the head, as they didn't believe the two could survive (which would be the case since there was no medical procedure to safely separate them). The mother, though, wasn't on board with this dismissal and was adamant to see her children grow up to be fully functioning and independent adults.
At this juncture, Jean decided to step in. And although she didn't make any promises of success, she assured the mother that she would try her best.
She then explored the physique of the conjoined twins with great detail. She observed their neural, circulatory and skeletal systems in particular, to see how the conjoining affected them. After all, separating the two wouldn't be as simple as just cutting them at the point of intersection.
And true to her assumption, she was greeted with the sight of a supper-massive brain spanning the volume of both their skulls. The two shared a large brain.
Jean then spent three entire days, focussed completely on tracing out neural and circulatory pathways to surgically separate the twins. It was tiring and highly involved. Ultimately, the twins were separated.
Unfortunately, her attempt was only a half-success since one of the twins could not be saved. Jean was dismayed by the outcome, but the mother was overjoyed - which was understandable. She was expecting the loss of two children, but one survived. In a world where the success of childbirth grows more capricious as the number of children being born at once increases, having a success rate of 2 out of 3 was unbelievably generous.
In fact, the completion of the procedure also pushed Jean into the Internal stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. But Jean did not feel the mood to celebrate, as she was more preoccupied with burying the forgotten body of the expended twin.
This was Jean's second loss after advancing (the first being Josie), and it was another notch in her heart. After working through the sorrow, Jean resolved to cancel her return and continue her initial objective of travelling around and plying her medical craft.
She declared internally that if she were to come across another case of conjoined twins, she would ensure that both would survive. To do that, though, she needed practice, which could only be accrued through her journey - much to Kili's chagrin.
And like that, Jean turned away from her current trajectory and went to the next settlement, and then the next, and so on. With each settlement visited, Jean gained the opportunity to work with illnesses and afflictions both known and unknown. This in turn expanded her repertoire of knowledge.
Her journey ultimately landed her in the current settlement, which was a village close to becoming a township, a few hundred kilometres southwards from the Capital.
"You can explain what happened to her as we go to the location," Jean pointed out, to which the old man nodded frantically and explained.
"The child, she was playing on the tree near our fields," the old man explained while panting. "But then she slipped and fell. I was too far away to catch her- and- and-"
At that instant, as they neared the accident site, Jean heard a woman's loud and lamenting wail. Deducing that this was probably where the aforementioned child was, she left the old man behind and rushed onwards. There, she stumbled upon a large crowd forming around the tree, which happened to border the fencing for the field. And on that fencing, was the impaled and unconscious body of the girl, eight years of age. Beside the girl, were her father and her collapsed mother.
The wooden fencing had pierced through her stomach. An immediate scan with her mana sense revealed that the internal damage was minimal. But would be exacerbated real soon, since the father was about to lift the girl out from the fence.
"Stop!" Jean exclaimed before rushing forward and pushing the father aside. "Do you want her to die?"
"What are you-" the father started with unbridled rage but faltered upon realising who his attacker was. But his ire reemerged and while shakily pointing his finger, he yelled, "Y-You leave my daughter alone!"
At that instant, the elderly man forced his way through the crowd and yelled, "Joris! Let the Physician do her work!"
"Old man! You had one job, to take care of my girl. And you failed that! And now, you bring this- this-"
"She fixed my back! Don't you remember?" The old man reasoned. "She could save little Rind too-"
"Is it even possible to come from an injury like that?" Someone in the crowd murmured.
That audible comment caused the already devastated mother to lose consciousness and the father to panic even more. This caused Jean's presence of mind to crack. Her eyes narrowed down on the individual who made the comment, a portly, middle-aged woman, and bore down on her.
"If no one here has anything meaningful to contribute, leave!" Jean barked. "Is it fun watching people suffer? If that is the case, I believe experiencing the pain first-hand will scratch that itch of yours more satisfactorily."
That threat caused the crowd to disperse immediately.
"And you," Jean said to the father this time. "Rind here can still be saved. I need you to take your wife home and make her drink some water to calm herself."
"B-But-"
The elderly man took over and quickly swatted his son on the back of his head, "Listen to the good child! Look at what happened to your wife. You aren't doing anything by being here anyway."
Jean thanked the man with a light nod before approaching the impaled girl. The victim was barely conscious, due to the blood loss.
Then, Jean grabbed the wooden fence above and below the girl's impaled region and broke it off, freeing the child from the static post. Jean carried her carefully and placed her over an unfurled sheet, courtesy of Kili who had carried her work bag along and prepped the treatment area. During their travels, Kili had picked up techniques to reduce the burden on Jean when it came time to treat patients. One such trick was the process of sanitising and preparing the work area.
"She's lost a lot of blood..." Jean mumbled. At that instant, a petite hand extended forward from her side.
"What are you doing?" Jean asked Kili.
"You needed blood, right?" Kili answered with a cute, yet serious expression.
Jean ruffled the girl's head and said, "Why would I need yours? Stop offering up your blood for everything! Go fetch the Vitality Invigoration Potion. You remember where it is, right?"
Kili looked up thoughtfully before nodding in affirmation. She ruffled through the bag and retrieved a phial with a deep-red liquid in it.
"You remember what this is made of?" Jean asked while carefully pouring the liquid down the injured girl's throat.
"Its primary ingredient is the Enduring Lotus," Kili answered.
"What else can the Enduring Lotus be used for?" Jean continued.
"The pad of the lotus can be squeezed to extract its oil, which can then be used to coat items with a temporary waterproof layer. The seeds of the lotus can be squeezed for oils and can be used for cooking. The seeds can also be eaten as a light snack," Kili narrated from memory.
"What else?" Jean asked. This time, Kili revealed a sheepish smile in defeat.
"Due to the strength of the lotus stem and root, we can use it to make ropes in a pinch. Peasants also use it to make temporary and cheap clothing or apparel," Jean finished. She then patted Kili on her head and said, "Good job!"
Turning away from the girl's beaming smile, Jean looked towards the child who was just gaining consciousness. The potion was taking effect, as more blood gushed out from the impaled site.
"This is going to hurt a little," Jean warned in a soothing voice. She then placed a roll of cloth in the
child's mouth, "Bite down hard!"
A muffled scream echoed across the field as Jean removed the fencing and started to surgically fix the ruptured intestines.
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