Vol 3 Chapter 6 (2/2)

“Aiyo~” I moaned like an elderly person as I sat on the bed with difficulty and lay down on the bed– “Ouch!”

Looks like I can’t do much else for a while… Ah, I’m so tired~~

I sighed helplessly and flattened my hair before I closed my eyes.

I don’t know if it’s because of exhaustion or my headache, but I lost consciousness shortly after lying down.

— Lord Cao Cao, don’t move about.

Un? Who’s calling me?

— Don’t worry, it’s alright.

I think I’ve heard this voice before, but I don’t have a deep impression of it.

— I just need to slice open your head with this knife…

“Wa!!!” I awoke from my dream state in a fright on hearing this and grabbed the axe from under my pillow and slashed about me.

Was there an a.s.sa.s.sin?!

“Ah~~ Lord Cao Cao! Don’t move about so much! It’s me, I’m Hua Tuo!”

Who? Hua Tuo?

On hearing this, I calmed my nerves and set down the axe before rubbing my eyes and looking to the side. What appeared in my eyes was a girl with black wavy hair curled up in a seat, hugging her head as her shoulders trembled.

Hua Tuo… Oh, she’s Xuan De’s subordinate.

After remembering this, I lowered my guard slightly.

I then looked outside the room and saw it was late afternoon.

I didn’t think I would sleep for so long.

“What did you come here to do?!” I turned my head back and asked Huo Tuo as calmly as I could.

Even if she was Xuan De’s subordinate, I can’t drop my guard too much. As I thought so, my grip on the axe tightened somewhat.

“I met Lord Guo Jia on the way to the inn, and she asked me to take a look at your headache.”

“Hou~~” That Feng Xiao is so busybody. “But I heard you were talking about slicing open my head… What about it?”

Hua Tuo saw that I was willing to listen to her and got up from her curled up position and happily took out a small, sharp knife.

But this action, unquestionably made me frown again.

“Ah, Imperial Chancellor Cao need not worry, this knife is for curing diseases.”

“…”

I didn’t reply further, and just bade her to continue, as I was curious to see what she might say.

“Your illness now is not too serious yet. I felt about your head just now, and found a small hard bit.”

“…”

“And so, all I need to do is extract that bit with this small knife and it will be alright.”

“…” What kind of fantastical and reckless method is this? To actually cut open my head? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it. “… And what if something goes wrong?”

“It’s alright.” She said casually, and looked like she was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence.

Alright? After hearing her describe the process, I’ve already gotten quite pale.

Though I’d heard from Xuan De that Hua Tuo’s medical techniques were top notch, having me open my head all of a sudden is a little too much.

“No, no need.” I laughed anxiously, and waved my hand. “It’s not serious, and I’ll be fine with some medicinal soup.”

“… Maa, your illness is indeed not serious. So medicine should be able to work.” Hua Tuo said with a tinge of sadness, but did not pursue the matter.

“Un, let’s do that then. Let’s talk about something more normal, how have you all been these few days?”

“Maa, we’re doing okay. Apart from some problems when teaching them cooking, everything else is still going well.” Hua Tuo said as she wiped the knife and kept it in her bag.

Hai~ This Xuan De, he actually left some people in Xuchang. He clearly has never thought about escaping.

(TL: This didn’t happen in the original of course, since Liu Bei wanted to leave.)

“Well then, what’s your next step to recovery?” Hua Tuo brought the conversation back to my illness. Seems like she feels responsible.

“Un, that’s right.” I’m not too knowledgeable about my body… “Hua Tuo, you’ve spent some time with the palace physicians. Who do you think is the best of them all?”

“Eh? You’re asking me?” Hua Tuo paused in thought at the unexpected question. “If it’s up to me to choose, I would choose Ji Ping. She is decisive in her diagnoses and precise in measuring medicinal herbs. Though she’s new, I’m sure her future is bright if she can do all this despite being new.”

I did ask her, but she said a little much. It’s only a small matter, but whether it’s her or my strategists, why do these people keep making such a big fuss about it?

“Then let Physician Ji Ping bring my some medicinal soup tonight.”

(TL: In the original, Cao Cao suffered from chronic headaches, which is possibly due to a brain tumour. It clearly wasn’t serious though, as he lived to 65.)

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