How The Little Medical Cultivator Saves the Furries – CH23

Chapter 23

Who could that person have been? Ah Mo?

Lying in bed, Ye Yumeng stared at the ceiling, but his mind kept replaying that strange feeling from earlier.

The first person he thought of was naturally Mo Yin, who had been looking after the little rabbit.

The top-floor ward of the sanatorium was very empty. Maybe it was because his range of movement was too limited, but in any case, it seemed like the little rabbit was the only patient in that area.

Usually, aside from Director Lei and Ah Mo, and occasionally Head Nurse Tian Fu, he had never seen anyone else appear there.

Director Lei and the head nurse were definitely impossible candidates, but Ah Mo…

Because he had specifically asked during the day not to let either people or machines come in and disturb him, had Ah Mo used spiritual power while checking on his condition?

But…

Ye Yumeng raised a hand to touch his head.

That feeling just now really had felt like someone patting his head. Was he really that familiar with Ah Mo?

Ye Yumeng shook his head and rejected that guess.

Although Ah Mo was gentle and polite to others, he always gave off a sense of distance. He treated people courteously, but kept them at arm’s length—they had not even exchanged contact information.

Ah Mo probably would not do something like that to him.

For some reason, as Ye Yumeng kept thinking, another figure suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Under the dim moonlight of night, that person stood half-turned, calm ice-green eyes fixed on him, beautiful pale-gold curls stirring softly in the wind…

And then, in the end, he shattered into motes of light and scattered with the breeze.

A sigh sounded in the room.

Ye Yumeng pulled the blanket over his face. His chest felt heavy and stifled, as though a huge stone were pressing down on it.

It was probably Lu Qi.

He had most likely…

already died.

Next door, in Ward 005.

“Your Majesty…”

Mo Yin’s helpless voice rang out.

This was still the top floor of the core inpatient department. After Lu Nanzhou regained consciousness and his condition stabilized, he had been transferred to a new ward.

As for the original room, it needed to be cleaned and rearranged again.

The dozen or so instruments had already been sent off for repairs. The Royal Sanatorium still had some stock left, though a few machines were temporarily unavailable and were now being urgently reallocated.

Fortunately, from noon until now, Lu Nanzhou had not experienced another emergency.

“Director Lei said you need to rest. For the time being, it’s best not to use your spiritual power again. It will put a huge burden on your body. If your bloodline or spiritual power erupts again, your body will collapse…”

Mo Yin kept nagging on and on, but Lu Nanzhou was barely listening.

By now, Lei Qi and those medical authorities had completely lost his trust, and he had no desire to keep following those so-called medical instructions.

He was still thinking back over everything that had happened today, recalling what the little caregiver had looked like through the lens of spiritual perception…

Only when Mo Yin finally fell silent and the ward returned to quiet did Lu Nanzhou use the machine again, issuing a new command in a broken, intermittent voice.

“Tell Lei Qi… to give Ye Yumeng a few days off… During that time… no one is to… disturb him…”

The little caregiver’s face had been terribly pale, and he looked even thinner and smaller than usual. He needed more time to rest.

Mo Yin frowned. “But…”

Lu Nanzhou did not let him finish. “During that time… I won’t… let anything happen to myself again…”

Mo Yin: “…”

Was that really something he could decide through sheer willpower?

Judging by today’s events, in the entire Royal Sanatorium, probably only Caregiver Ye could withstand His Majesty’s spiritual power and bloodline rampage—

Although there were a few other Xihe caregivers as well, Mo Yin’s instincts told him that Caregiver Ye was special.

After all, His Majesty’s spiritual pressure was powerful enough to destroy instruments. Could every person from the Xihe Federation really resist it?

That was simply too absurd. Mo Yin trusted his instincts more.

So at a time like this, they could do without anyone—but absolutely not without Caregiver Ye!

Still, in the end, Mo Yin did not say those words aloud.

It was a good thing that His Majesty had this kind of resolve.

At the very least, it was far better than that lifeless state from before, when he had clearly already given up on living.

Besides, even if Caregiver Ye was on leave, he would still be recuperating in the ward next door. If anything really happened, they could still call for him at once.

In the end, Mo Yin compromised. “Understood. I’ll stop Director Lei and Elder Cheng and the others.”

The ability Ye Yumeng had displayed today was simply too astonishing.

Those medical authorities were all extremely curious about him now. They desperately wanted to ask how he had resisted the Mystic Flame, and what the limits of his resistance to bloodline and spiritual suppression were.

If Ye Yumeng said he did not want to be disturbed, and without Mo Yin blocking them, his room would probably be packed with people today.

At that point, if he wanted peace and quiet, it would be impossible…

Of course, those medical authorities did not believe that Caregiver Ye had awakened His Majesty. They believed it was His Majesty’s own indomitable will that had allowed him to regain clarity in time and prevent a tragedy.

After Mo Yin answered, the mechanical voice sounded again:

“Ask what Ye Yumeng likes to eat… Arrange some premium ingredients for him to restore his nutrition.”

Mo Yin: “…”

As the great contributor in this incident, Ye Yumeng certainly deserved better treatment, but the problem was—

His Majesty could actually notice such details?

Was this really the same emperor in his memory, the one who had always been strict and cold, who had almost never shown warmth?

“Mo Yin?”

Mo Yin, whose understanding of the world had once again been overturned, came back to himself and hurriedly responded, “Yes, Your Majesty! Rest assured, I’ll make the arrangements.”

The room fell silent once more.

Lu Nanzhou shifted his gaze and fixed it on a certain point of light on the ceiling.

Only like this could he barely divert his attention.

The pain clung to him like a shadow, everywhere and impossible to escape. Every breath felt as though his lungs were being torn apart. The instrument wires attached to his body sustained his life, but at the same time brought endless stinging pain and numb itching.

Day after day of enduring this torment felt as though it would never end. Someone with weaker endurance would likely have gone mad long ago.

Lu Nanzhou could not help recalling that brief night when he had encountered the little caregiver.

That had been among more than five hundred nights of suffering, the first time he had once again felt what peace and calm were like—what it was like for his body to be free of pain.

If Ye Yumeng had not appeared again, he truly would have believed it had all been an extremely fleeting dream.

Without realizing it, Lu Nanzhou closed his eyes, yet the image in his mind remained Ye Yumeng.

Like a star in the pitch-black depths of space—its light not dazzling, seeming faint at first glance, but warm once one drew close enough…

After a long while, Lu Nanzhou, who still could not fall asleep, slowly opened his eyes.

Mo Yin, who had been watching him the whole time, noticed immediately.

He quickly said, “Your Majesty, can’t you sleep? I can play some soothing music to help calm your mind.”

But Lu Nanzhou’s next question made Mo Yin freeze. An odd look appeared on his face, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he finally obeyed.

“Yes. I’ll arrange it.”

Mo Yin called for the AI brain. After a few simple operations, a voice began to sound through the ward.

“Hunting and the Deer… let’s tell a story! Little rabbit, do you know? It’s said that a long, long time ago…”

It was Ye Yumeng’s storytelling voice.

Lu Nanzhou listened quietly.

Although the pain was still there, hearing the little caregiver’s clear, gentle voice, brimming with vigor and life, made Lu Nanzhou suddenly feel that…this night no longer seemed quite so unbearable.

Morning sunlight streamed through the glass.

Ye Yumeng opened his eyes. The weakness from the night before had completely vanished, and he felt refreshed and invigorated.

He raised his injured hands to take a look. Even through the bandages, he poked at his fingers, and they no longer hurt as much as they had last night.

Probably because the spiritual energy concentration in the environment had increased, he could clearly feel that his cultivation speed had improved. Originally, it would have taken half a month to restore the true essence he had expended, but now he estimated it would only take about a week.

Those two spirit plants had worked wonders. If only he could cultivate in this kind of environment every day in the future!

Bzzz—

A new message came through on his communicator.

Ye Yumeng glanced at it and saw that it was a leave notice sent by the AI brain. He froze for a moment, but instead of joy, he felt something closer to concern.

If he was on leave, would he still be able to eat the staff meals?

If he had to eat in the cafeteria, it would not taste nearly as good as the work meals from the top-floor ward, and he would not get to mooch spirit plants either…

Grrr—

The moment he thought about food, hunger came rushing over him.

So he got up and walked to the door, changing the “Do Not Disturb” notice.

Just after he finished setting it, the robot caregiver came floating toward him.

“Good morning, Caregiver Ye. It is now breakfast time. Would you like a meal prepared for you?”

“Yes, yes, I would!”

“Very well. I will prepare your meal at once.”

The robot caregiver responded, then floated away again.

Ye Yumeng watched it go and could not help smiling.

Wonderful! Even on leave, he could still mooch food!

He had just turned to head back into his room and wait when the corner of his eye caught sight of something, making him stop.

Ye Yumeng looked toward the end of the corridor.

There, he saw a white shadow huddled in the corner, furtively peeking around.

The animals in the Royal Sanatorium were basically all patients.

So had another patient gone missing again?

Ye Yumeng thought of the red little snake and the kitten he had encountered before, and could not help feeling that the sanatorium’s medical staff really had it hard, having to deal with patients running away every day.

He changed direction and walked toward that shadow.

At first he thought it was a large white rat, but when he got closer, he realized it was actually a ferret.

Tiny—barely bigger than his palm. Its fur was pure white without a trace of any other color. Curled up in the corner, it looked like a clump of breathing snow.

It was so small, probably only just a month old, right?

In terms of corresponding human age, it probably was not even a few years old…

Soon, the little snow ferret noticed Ye Yumeng too.

It did not run. Instead, it stared at him warily.

Ye Yumeng stopped when he was about one step away from it, then crouched down where he was, studying it closely. It looked vaguely familiar.

“Have I seen you in the activity room before?”

Although they had not spent much time together, Ye Yumeng still remembered this little snow ferret.

He said curiously, “Shouldn’t you be a patient on the top floor? Without clearance, how did you run all the way here?”

The little snow ferret immediately puffed out its chest proudly.

As if that bit of restriction could stop him.

He recognized Ye Yumeng too.

“So you got transferred to the top floor? Everyone thought you’d been fired. Silly Bear even wanted to plead for you.”

The little snow ferret used spiritual power to communicate with him:

“Since I ran into you, perfect. I’m looking for our boss. Do you know which room he’s staying in?”

Ye Yumeng felt a wave of spiritual consciousness envelop him, and guessed the little snow ferret was talking to him.

He shook his head and said, “I don’t have spiritual power, so I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

The little snow ferret curled its lip and prepared to go look for the person by itself. But just after it ran two steps, a hand caught it by the scruff of the neck.

“You’re a patient. You can’t just run around,” Ye Yumeng said. Since he had seen it, there was no way he could just ignore it.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

Dangling in midair, the little snow ferret flailed its limbs furiously, trying to break free from Ye Yumeng’s grasp, warning cries coming from its mouth.

Knowing it must be uncomfortable like that, Ye Yumeng caught it in his hand as soon as he lifted it.

After struggling twice, the little snow ferret stopped, panting for breath, and lay weakly in Ye Yumeng’s palm.

Although its injuries were the lightest among the Blade Squad, it still could not maintain its juvenile form for long. Its bodily functions were very weak, and using its talent ability to sneak all the way up to the top-floor ward had already drained its strength.

Even just now, when it had curled up in the corner, it had actually been resting.

Ye Yumeng gently stroked the little snow ferret’s fluffy head.

The little thing was so light he could barely feel its weight. Only the soft fur against his palm and the faint warmth it carried told him that this was really a living creature.

Seeing it panting so pitifully, Ye Yumeng could not help softening.

He sent a message to Chen Limin, informing him of the little snow ferret’s whereabouts, so he would not go running around like a headless fly looking for it.

Then he carried the little snow ferret back into the room.

“Stay here obediently. Someone will come pick you up in a while.”

Ye Yumeng placed the little snow ferret on the bed.

Just then, the robot caregiver returned with a lavish breakfast for him.

The little snow ferret, who had been lying on the blanket with its eyes darting around, waiting for a chance to escape, suddenly twitched its nose.

It smelled so good!

What delicious thing was that?

The little snow ferret swallowed hard. In its current physical condition, it actually could not eat freshly cooked food. When it had first arrived on the medical planet, it had only been able to survive on nutritional supplements.

Its condition had improved somewhat now, but it still could only drink nutrient solution. It had already been living on that stuff for several months!

Now that it was suddenly smelling the aroma of normal food, it practically could not hold itself back.

But then it noticed the robot’s camera scanning over, and immediately became alert, twisting around and burrowing under the blanket.

“It’s fine. I’ve already notified someone to come pick it up.”

Only after hearing the little caregiver dismiss the robot did the little snow ferret cautiously poke its head out from beneath the blanket.

It looked toward the figure seated at the table.

Click.

The black-haired young man lifted the lid off the lunch box. The fragrance, which had only been faint before, suddenly grew rich and overwhelming, making the little snow ferret’s mouth water even more.

Ye Yumeng also had not expected breakfast in the top-floor ward to be so extravagant.

Not only was it balanced with both meat and vegetables, plus a staple food, but—

He picked up a slice of vegetable and put it in his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up.

It was spirit plant food!

Haha, he had managed to mooch another free spirit-plant dish today!

Once he finished eating and sat down to absorb it, he might be able to recover the true essence he had lost in just two or three days.

Ye Yumeng’s eyes curved into a smile as he prepared to start eating, when suddenly he saw a white blur flash past.

The little snow ferret he had put on the bed to rest seemed to have recovered. It hopped onto the table, its nose twitching as it sniffed around curiously.

Very quickly, it crept closer.

Those black bean-like eyes stared fixedly at his lunch box. Though it said nothing, Ye Yumeng could clearly sense its longing.

Still, the little thing was fairly well-behaved. It did not run over and snatch anything directly, but crouched there pitifully, looking at him.

Ye Yumeng had the feeling that if he ignored it, it might burst into tears on the spot.

It was really too cute.

“Are you hungry?” Ye Yumeng asked. “Did you eat anything this morning?”

The little snow ferret shook its head in a very human-like way.

So Ye Yumeng picked up the lid of the lunch box, placed a piece of chicken on it, and then set it in front of the little snow ferret.

“Eat.”

He remembered that ferrets should eat meat.

As he moved the chicken closer, the little snow ferret’s swallowing became visibly more frequent, but it still did not immediately eat it.

Because it had remained in juvenile form for so long, even its mentality had regressed somewhat, but the little snow ferret still knew that in its current physical state, it was not supposed to eat things casually, but…

It lifted its head and looked at Ye Yumeng, who was eating seriously.

It smelled so good!

In the end, the little snow ferret could not resist the temptation. Lowering its head, it took the piece of chicken into its mouth.

Wuwu, it’s so delicious qaq

It had been more than a year since it had eaten proper food. Now that it could taste something this delicious again, tears actually welled up in its two grape-like black eyes.

After only a few chews, it swallowed the chicken down.

And once it started, it could not stop.

A low gurgling sound came from the little snow ferret’s throat.

Ye Yumeng’s attention was drawn over. Looking up, he saw the little thing nudging the lunch-box lid toward him with its paws.

Its tiny front paws were tucked before its body as it made a begging gesture, as though saying: Please, please, give me a little more…

That look was unbearably adorable.

Probably no one could refuse such a little pitiful creature. At least Ye Yumeng could not.

So he picked up another piece of meat and some carrot and placed them on the lid.

The little snow ferret was not picky at all. It ate whatever it was given. Even the carrot, which it normally liked the least, it happily ate down.

It was so delicious! It wanted more!

However…

Just as it was about to beg the little caregiver for another bite, its body suddenly stiffened.

Then the little snow ferret clutched its stomach and collapsed limply onto the table, breathing in painful gasps.

Ye Yumeng sensed immediately that something was wrong and quickly put down his chopsticks, scooping it up.

The little thing held its round little belly, panting in obvious discomfort.

What was going on?

Ye Yumeng tried placing his fingertips on its wrist, but it was too tiny, and it kept struggling, so he could not get any pulse reading at all.

Still, from what he observed, it did not seem like an illness attack so much as indigestion.

Ye Yumeng quickly placed it back on the table, then his hands moved rapidly through a series of hand seals. Other than the Minor Rejuvenation Technique, he still could not cast most spells without hand signs.

His hands were still wrapped in bandages, but that did not affect either the speed or accuracy of his casting.

When the hand seals were complete, a faint glow spread across his palm.

He gently moved the little snow ferret’s paws aside and pressed his palm against its little belly.

Digestive and Saliva-Generating Art!

It could relieve indigestion, promote fluids, and improve the stomach and intestines’ digestive and absorptive functions. It worked especially well for children with food stagnation.

Moreover, the spiritual power needed to cast this spell once was enough to cast the Minor Rejuvenation Technique ten times. It consumed very little.

The little snow ferret, which had been crying weakly in discomfort, slowly relaxed, making soft rumbling sounds of contentment.

It narrowed its eyes, but then could not help opening them again to look at Ye Yumeng.

Noticing its gaze, Ye Yumeng asked, “Does it still hurt?”

The little snow ferret instinctively shook its head.

“That’s good.”

Ye Yumeng rubbed its little belly a couple more times. It was soft and squishy, and actually felt pretty nice to touch.

Just then, his communicator suddenly rang.

Ye Yumeng thought it was probably Chen Limin, but when he opened it, he found it was Sheng Hao, whose contact information he had only exchanged yesterday.

What did Sheng Hao want with him? Could it be that the little kitten had gotten into trouble again?

He quickly accepted the call request, and a light screen appeared, showing the blue-haired young man.

He could vaguely make out that Sheng Hao was carrying a child in his arms, but the child’s features were blurred and impossible to see clearly—it was probably privacy mode. More advanced communicators all had that function.

“Caregiver Ye, good morning.”

Sheng Hao had only just greeted him when he noticed something was off, so he quickly adjusted the settings.

The next second, the blue-haired little boy’s features became clear, and Ye Yumeng finally heard his voice.

“Brother Ye, it’s me, Shan Lan!”

The childish, enthusiastic voice was full of joy.

Ye Yumeng froze for a second, then smiled. “Is it Shanshan?”

“Yes! You can call me that!”

Little Shan Lan looked at him, his cheeks flushed red, his sparkling eyes brimming with excitement and happiness.

“Brother Ye, thank you for saving me on the spaceship. I’ve always really wanted to see you again…”

Halfway through his sentence, little Shan Lan suddenly stopped.

Because the little snow ferret, which had been feeling so comfortable from having its belly rubbed, found Ye Yumeng had stopped, so it flipped over and wriggled free from under his hand.

It scampered lightly and nimbly up Ye Yumeng’s arm onto his shoulder, then slipped around the back of his neck and poked its head out to look at the light screen.

The smile in little Shan Lan’s eyes instantly faded. He stared at the snow ferret and puffed up his cheeks unhappily.

It had to be that snow ferret stealing Brother Ye away from him!

Ye Yumeng did not notice the change in his expression. With the little snow ferret curled around his neck, he felt rather ticklish.

He reached out to grab it, but the little thing scampered down his arm again and jumped back onto the table. Then it flopped onto the tabletop and exposed its belly.

When Ye Yumeng still did not move, it reached out with a tiny paw and tugged at his hand, wanting him to rub its belly again.

Watching their interaction, little Shan Lan’s smile vanished completely, and his puffed cheeks swelled even more.

“Caregiver Ye…”

Noticing his little highness’s mood change, Sheng Hao quickly spoke up to draw Ye Yumeng’s attention back.

Ye Yumeng turned toward the light screen and asked, “How is Shanshan feeling today?”

Little Shan Lan immediately put a smile back on his face.

“I feel much better today, all thanks to Brother Ye!”

He leaned closer to the screen, his big eyes full of attachment and yearning. “Brother Ye, when will you have time to come see me?”

“Probably after the sanatorium lifts the lockdown.”

Ye Yumeng looked at him and said, “You can’t run around recklessly like before anymore. That’s very dangerous, understand?”

Little Shan Lan nodded obediently.

“I’ll stay here properly and wait for Brother Ye to come see me~”

“Mm, good.”

The two of them talked for a little while longer. The little snow ferret, which had been very rowdy just a moment ago, had quieted down by now.

Gradually, obvious drowsiness appeared on the little boy’s face, and even speaking started to become difficult for him, so Ye Yumeng took the initiative to end the call.

Little Shan Lan said goodbye to him with great reluctance.

After the light screen went dark, he sat there quietly for a while, frowning in thought. Then, as though making up his mind, he lifted his head and said:

“Sheng Hao, when Brother Ye comes to see me next time, if I let him rub my belly too, will he like me?”

Mother had said that a cat’s belly could not be shown to just anyone, but if it was Brother Ye, then he thought it would be okay!

Sheng Hao: “…”

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