Chapter 105 The Doctor Is In 1 (2/2)

The young warrior smiled at the mention of his sister. ”Amaraline is getting better. She's now able to see the shape of plants and can walk through the forest without any walking aid.”

Amaraline was Clowis' blind younger sister. After an accident two years ago when some enemies who attacked the village poured acid over her eyes, the young maiden had to relearn how to see the world again. Thankfully, she was blessed with magic abilities and had a gift for fortune telling. Hua Tuo taught her how to channel magic into reading the life forces of her surroundings to 'see' again.

Her progress pleased the doctor greatly.

With Amaraline's accident, Clowis took it upon himself to train harder and become stronger. Currently, Lowis was the village's head warrior and the teenager was determined to inherit that title. Clowis wasn't a mean person but he was cautious around strangers. His earnest attitude made Hua Tuo think that he would get along very well with Zero who was equally honest in expressing himself.

”Let's check on Karris first, shall we? Also, how is everyone else doing? Is Grandma Moppo's knee still hurting?”

Clowis grinned and begin updating Hua Tuo about everyone's latest conditions while they walked over to Karris' abode.

***

”Chieftess, I brought the guest over!”

From inside her tree hollow home, Zenobia blinked. Hua Tuo sent a letter a few weeks back mentioning about bringing along a talented apprentice and she was eager to meet the young prodigy.

”Let him in,” she ordered and put away the map swiftly.

Zero entered and bowed just like how Lowis bowed to Hua Tuo earlier. From deduction, that had to be a sign of respect and Hua Tuo did remind him to be respectful.

”Greetings, Lady Zenobia. My name is Zero and I am Hua Tuo's apprentice.”

Zenobia was everything that Zero imagined. Her long white ears were fluffy and stood tall, giving her the illusion of being taller than she really was. Her legs were long and her body was toned from daily training. Zenobia was a figure who commanded respect and Zero was honoured to be able to finally meet her in person.

At the same time, Zenobia was assessing the runt before her. Hua Tuo mentioned that Zero was twelve in human age but the boy before her looked more like ten. How could such a young boy master medicine in such a short period of time? Also, Hua Tuo mentioned that Zero was gifted in magic even though he hadn't trained in it. Zenobia had reservations but because the person claiming it was Hua Tuo, she didn't question it. That didn't mean she believed it entirely. The warrior's motto had always been to see the world with her own eyes and discover all facets of the truth.

”Zero, I heard that you haven't been Hua Tuo's apprentice for long. Could you tell me how far you've progressed?”

Zero blinked. Of all the questions he expected the cautious chieftess to ask, his medical knowledge wasn't one of them.

”Apart from actual surgery and acupuncture, master has pounded all the basics of medicine making, concocting and diagnosis into my head.”

Zenobia was doubtful. However, she had no real ability to verify what Zero was saying so she filed that information away for later. ”You're also talented in magic? I understand that you haven't had official magic training but it should be alright for this simple test. We have a crystal here that tests a person's magic affinity and capacity. Would you like to try it out?”

Zero jumped at the opportunity immediately and thanked Zenobia. The warrior chieftess looked at the overly excited boy and mentally compared him to a dog with its tail wagging behind.

The crystal was small and Zenobia instructed Zero to channel mana into the crystal as much as he could. Zero was slightly doubtful. How will such a dull looking piece of rock determine his talent? Then again, the world was a wide place and Zero trusted Zenobia.

Closing his eyes, Zero pumped mana into the crystal and waited for the results.

Two seconds later, the crystal exploded in Zero's hands, the shards cutting deeply into his palm. Zenobia panicked and rushed over to examine the injury.

To her utter surprise, the wound was already closing at an astonishing rate and the crystal shards were being pushed out from the closing wound. Zenobia looked at Zero with both shock and amazement. Zero only blinked, unsure of what to think. He didn't mean to destroy anyone's property and didn't intend to do so. He hoped that Zenobia wouldn't decide to make him the main course for their feast.

Zero didn't have much time to think when Zenobia crushed him in her arms and squashed his face against her chest.

”Zero you're amazing! I've never seen such powerful magic. Hua Tuo was right, you're a gem. Who knew that there could be a child as cute as he was talented? Say, do you like this village? Do you want to live here with us? Forget that boring old teacher of yours, this village will treat cuties like you much better!”

Speechless, Zero could only let Zenobia chatter on. Silently, he sent a telepathic message to his teacher somewhere in the village as Zenobia dragged him further into her home to 'make him feel comfortable'.

”Please save me from Lady Zenobia... she's trying to imprison me in her room and feed me weird looking bug cakes!”

Hua Tuo who received the desperate plea froze. He checked on Karris earlier and was making his way around the village when he made a sharp turn.

”D-doctor?”

Hua Tuo smiled stiffly. ”Sorry, Clowis. It looks like my apprentice is in need of saving from Lady Zenobia.”

Clowis grimaced. It was no secret that the chieftess loved cute children and would go as far as kidnapping to pamper them. Almost every child in the village had been a victim to her 'cuteness recharging activities' at least once and the teenager pitied Zero.

”Let's go save him,” Clowis agreed and led Hua Tuo through the secret maze of passages.