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“Headway Acupoint, Divine Court Acupoint, Sol Acupoint, and Cordial Acupoint! The process will
conclude once you place the needles into these four acupoints. Don’t forget about it, okay?” Sebastian
reminded as he placed the last needle.
Winnie, who was observing at the side, nodded. “I’ve recorded it in my phone’s memo.”
“Good! Now, you need to pay attention to the time. Usually, the needles will stay on the patient’s body
for around twenty-five minutes. You may extend the period according to the patient’s condition. Now
that the patient over here isn’t moving, I’ll check the medicine you grabbed earlier.”
“Okay!”
Just as she finished her sentence, she heard Xavier’s voice.
He sounded gloomy, as though he was aggrieved. “Come over here, Dumbo.”
She was stunned for a second before realizing she had been focusing all her attention on studying and
had totally forgotten about his existence. “Can I go there and take a look at him myself, Old Mr.
Xander?”
The old man waved his hand avoidantly. “Go ahead. Although, remember not to talk too much with the
patient.”
Then, he quickly stepped toward the medicine cabinet. Couples nowadays sure do love giving each
other weird nicknames. Even though Winnie is such an intelligent woman, her husband calls her
Dumbo.
When his train of thought ended there, Sebastian had goosebumps.
Currently, Winnie was standing next to Xavier, who was lying down.
Looking down at him, she pressed her finger to his lips. “Don’t talk. All you need to do right now is to lie
down here quietly. Just pretend you’re a dummy.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “You’re abandoning me?”
“You don’t have to worry about me going too far away. In a while, I’ll be heading out to prepare your
medicine. You’ll be able to hear me talk even when I’m outside.”
“Why are you learning these things?” Xavier frowned even more intensely. “There’s no need for you to
do this. You can let somebody else do it instead.”
“No. There are some things that I wish I can do it myself!”
When Sebastian placed the needles into the acupoints earlier, she saw the old man’s hand trembling. If
everything went according to his wishes, his granddaughter, Yolanda, would take over his
responsibilities.
While the old man wholeheartedly believed in his granddaughter, Winnie was worried about putting
Xavier in Yolanda’s hand.
Xavier’s mouth opened. “But—”
“No buts!” Winnie hated how fussy he was. He’s wasting my precious time arguing about this with me.
Thus, she cut him off. Since no one was around them at the moment, she lowered her head and kissed
his lips.
Even though she only gave him a light peck, he felt as though he had tasted ambrosia and wanted
more.
Sensing Xavier’s intention, Winnie directly pressed his neck to stop him and warned, “Behave yourself!
Otherwise, once I learn acupuncture, I’ll cripple you. Be a good boy, all right?”
“You’re getting bolder, Dumbo!” Despite his furrowed eyebrows, he couldn’t muster any anger as he
stared at her.
In fact, he liked it when his Dumbo acted like that.
Winnie couldn’t be bothered to talk nonsense with him any longer, so after she gave him another peck,
she went straight to Sebastian.
When she arrived, Sebastian had completed the examination.
“Not bad. Sixty grams of aconite, forty grams of dried ginger, twenty grams of turtle shell, ten grams of
cinnamon, twenty-five grams of amomom, and twenty grams of licorice. All six of these ingredients are
exactly the right amount, no more, no less. I noticed how fast and accurate you were when you were
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtgrabbing the ingredients. I almost can’t tell you’re new to this. You’re quite suitable for this job,” he
praised.
Despite his compliments, Winnie still acted very humbly. “As you said, this isn’t anything noteworthy.
There is more for me to learn.”
It brought joy to the old man to see a youngster who was neither arrogant nor impatient like her.
“Take your time to learn the art of medicine one step at a time. There’s no way anyone can master it
overnight. Oh yeah, why hasn’t your doctor friend returned yet? He seems to have been gone for a
long while.”
“Indeed. I’ll give him a call. Maybe he had an emergency.”
“Go ahead. All we’re missing is the well water.”
Winnie immediately called Josiah, but he didn’t pick up even after she called him twice.
“What’s going on with him?” With her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she turned to Sebastian. “I think I
need to go and look for him. He’s not answering his phone.”
“Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye here,” the old man replied.
“Okay.” She glanced at Xavier one more time. The two of them just so happened to make eye contact.
Knowing Xavier had overheard her conversation with Sebastian, she walked out of the room.
Upon exiting the room, she saw Louis, who was standing guard outside.
When he saw how hurried she appeared to be, he quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Mrs. Fairchild?”
“Where’s Josiah? Did he come by earlier?” Winnie questioned directly.
“No! Dr. Houghton mentioned he was going to fetch water from the well in the backyard before heading
there with a bucket. He hasn’t returned yet. I thought maybe the well is far away.”
“No. The well shouldn’t be that far. I tried calling him, but he didn’t pick it up. I don’t know what’s going
on with him.”
Throughout the years Louis had known Josiah, he had never heard about Josiah failing to answer the
phone.
Subconsciously, he knew something was wrong. “I’ll look for him with you.”
Soon, the duo arrived in the backyard.
The backyard of the Xander residence had many herbs, to the point that it almost seemed like it was
part of nature. However, that didn’t mean wild grasses were growing everywhere, and there was also a
green stone path in the backyard.
As Winnie and Louis walked down the stone path, they soon saw someone next to a large honeysuckle
bush.
That person was lying down on the ground. Based on his attire, it seemed like he was Josiah.
“It’s Dr. Houghton!” Louis exclaimed in shock before running toward the doctor.
Winnie followed behind.
“Wake up, Dr. Houghton! Can you hear me?” Since Louis had no idea what had happened to Josiah,
he didn’t dare to move the latter’s body around carelessly. Instead, he gently slapped the doctor’s
cheeks.
As Josiah’s body had no blood, Winnie determined it wasn’t caused by an external injury.
After swiftly examining his body, she realized the entirety of his left leg was swollen.
Upon rolling up his pant leg, she saw two round, deep, and bloody circles on his calf. Clearly, he was
bitten by a snake.
Her reaction was fast. She immediately tore his pant leg away, pulled out her foldable knife, and swiftly
drew a cross on the wound with the knife to squeeze out the venom.
Then, she bandaged his calf to stop the venom from spreading further into his body. “Quick, carry him
back to Old Mr. Xander! He must’ve been bitten by a venomous snake!”
When Louis saw Josiah’s leg as well, he realized the snake that bit the doctor was definitely not an
ordinary one.
He hurriedly carried Josiah on his back and ran back to the building.
Initially, Winnie was going to return with him. However, her attention was grabbed by a nearby plant.
Without hesitation, she sprinted toward that wild flower.
When she returned to the building, Sebastian had already fed Josiah an antidote.
Upon seeing Winnie’s return, the old man praised, “You treated Dr. Houghton’s wound very well. There
are indeed snakes in my backyard, and I was able to guess which one bit him. The antidote I gave him
earlier is specially used to treat a wound from this kind of venomous snake. After a while, pinch his
philtrum. He should wake up pretty soon. However, the external injury on his leg still needs to be
treated with herbs from the backyard.”
“You mean this one?” Just as the old man finished speaking, Winnie handed over the plastic bucket in
her hand.
The interior of the bucket was already covered with a shallow layer of herbs.
Those herbs had oval, elongated leaves, thin stems, and faint pinkish-white petals that resembled half
of a lotus flower.
“If my memory serves me right, I believe this is called lobelia. When I was reading a book about the
foundations of traditional medicine earlier, I saw a case mentioning this particular herb. It said that
lobelia could be used to treat snake venom effectively, whether it was applied on the wound or
consumed,” Winnie explained.
“That’s right!” Sebastian was impressed. “It is remarkable how well you can apply your knowledge to
practical use. Come, I’ll teach you how to treat the wound.”
Following the old man’s instructions, she mashed the herbs and applied them to Josiah’s wound.
Then, she pinched Josiah’s philtrum. As expected, he quickly woke up.
When Josiah saw Winnie’s face the moment he opened his eyes, he thought he was dreaming.
With that thought in mind, he dazedly stretched his hand toward her face.
Just as his hand was about to touch her face, Winnie grabbed his wrist and furrowed her eyebrows.
“What’s going on with you, Josiah?”
Her voice instantly pulled him back into reality. Upon returning to his senses, he realized Sebastian and
Louis were next to her.
Thank goodness she stopped me in time. Otherwise, things are going to be awkward…
When Josiah’s thoughts ended, he exclaimed, “A snake bit me on the leg! It had a red flower pattern on
it! “
However, for some reason, he felt as though it wasn’t everything that had happened. He tried to recall
what was missing, to no avail.
“What’s going on with you?” Seeing how he was spacing out, Winnie asked, “Are you feeling unwell
anywhere else?”
He frowned. “I went to fetch some water earlier, right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then I was bitten by a snake?”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “How would I know? I wasn’t following you.”
“Where did you guys find me?”
“Under a bush of honeysuckle. What’s the matter?”
Lowering his head, Josiah stared at his still swollen calf. “This feels so weird. Even though the snake
bit me, I didn’t feel anything.”
“Maybe the venom numbed your nerves?”
“Is that so? Maybe.” He rubbed his head, unable to shake the feeling that there was a painful spot up
there, as though he had been stabbed by something.
He thought about it and showed Winnie his head. “How about you take a look at my head and see if the
snake bit me there?”
Winnie found Josiah’s train of thought odd. “I don’t think so. The snake doesn’t know how to fly. How
can it jump to your head to bite you? Besides, if the venom had directly gone into your brain, you’d be
dead by now.”
Despite her comment, she still agreed to check his head.
As she pushed his hair away, Yolanda suddenly approached them expressionlessly.
“What’s going on?” Yolanda asked coldly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Dr. Houghton was bitten by a snake in the backyard earlier,” Sebastian explained. “Remember to
sprinkle some poisonous powder at the side of the road when heading back. It’ll drive the pests away.”
“Got it,” she replied before turning to Winnie and Josiah. “I thought he was bitten on his leg. Why are
you looking at his head?”
“Can’t I have my head examined?” Josiah couldn’t help but raise his head and look at her.
The moment he met her eyes, he felt a little strange. Her eyes appeared as though they were vortexes
from his perspective, which made him feel dizzy.
“Don’t move!” Winnie pressed his head down when he suddenly lifted it.
“All right.” Her examination was swiftly concluded. “There aren’t any wounds on your head.”
When Yolanda heard that, the edge of her mouth imperceivably curved upward.
Since acupuncture needles were extremely fine, and people had many hairs on their heads, it would be
difficult for anyone to detect traces of acupuncture there. It was why Winnie didn’t notice it.
Yolanda stabbed a needle at one of his acupoints earlier because he overheard something he shouldn’t
have. I usually really hate traditional medicine, but acupuncture is pretty handy sometimes. I was able
to render him unconscious in around ten minutes with acupuncture and hypnosis that I have been
practicing diligently.
When Josiah collapsed earlier, he was holding a venomous snake in his hand.
Yolanda could hardly be blamed for that because the snake was going to bite him initially.
She simply allowed the animal to do that after making him faint.
The moment he was bitten, he didn’t even feel any pain. She considered that mercy on her part.
To her surprise, he was lucky enough to be found so quickly by his friends.
Still, even though he was saved, it didn’t pose any problems to her. Under the guidance of the
acupuncture and her hypnosis, he had already forgotten that he had seen her in the backyard earlier.
“You came at the right time, Yolanda. I have something to discuss with you.” Seeing how his
granddaughter was finally in the mood to come out and meet people, Sebastian said, “I’m planning to
take this daughter of the Garland family as my disciple.”
“What?” Yolanda thought her ears were playing tricks on her. “What did you say? Who are you going to
take in as a disciple?”
The old man took in a deep breath and repeated, “It’s the woman standing right in front of you.”
“Grandpa!” Disbelief was written all over her face. “This is the first time you’re meeting this woman!
You’re going to take her in as a disciple? Just like that?”
“That’s right. Fate plays a part in a person’s search for a master or a disciple. In this case, it’s fated that
Ms. Garland will be my disciple. She has a talent for traditional medicine. More importantly, she has the
heart to learn it. It doesn’t matter who I’m teaching since I’m still doing the same thing. Besides, she’s
willing to learn.”
“I don’t agree with that! What did she give you, Grandpa? Did she offer you money or her body?”
“Yolanda Xander!” Sebastian was shocked that his granddaughter would say such a thing. “How dare
you speak about her like that! Who do you think you’re insulting?”
“What else do you think I’d say? That you’re insane? In any case, I refuse to accept this! It’s either me
or her! If you insist on taking her on as a disciple, then I’m not your granddaughter anymore!”
“You unfilial brat! Not only do you refuse to learn traditional medicine properly, but you’re also now
forbidding me to teach someone else about it?” The flame of anger was burning in Sebastian’s eyes.
Winnie frowned. “Let’s make a deal, Ms. Xander. Even though I technically don’t need your permission
to regard Old Mr. Xander as my master, I don’t want to destroy your relationship with him. Tell me, what
will it take for you to agree to this arrangement?”
“You want my agreement? Well, you have to make me concede first!”
“Oh? How so?”
“Compete with me! If I win, you’ll get out of here immediately!”
“Very well.” Winnie smiled. “That’s a promise, then.”
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