How The Little Medical Cultivator Saves the Furries – CH49

Chapter 49

Lu Nanzhou still clearly remembered Ye Yumeng’s frightened reaction the first two times he had been summoned.

He was certain that it had not been an act.

So the person Ye Yumeng had wanted to summon at the time should not have been him. He had only become that lucky one by pure chance, through a strange twist of fate.

Ye Yumeng stared at him blankly.

In Lu Qi’s glacier-green eyes, there was a calm certainty that seemed to see through all things. It was like an arrow slicing through the air, piercing straight through Ye Yumeng’s defenses before he could even react.

And that also made him understand that even if he denied it, Lu Qi already had his answer.

He had never expected Lu Qi to be this perceptive…

Ye Yumeng hesitated, but at that moment, the man’s gaze softened and the sharpness in his eyes faded.

In a gentle voice, he said, “If you want to tell me someday in the future, it won’t be too late.”

Ye Yumeng was summoning the dead. Whatever it was, it could not be a happy memory.

But when he looked into those warm, softened eyes, Ye Yumeng, who had been wavering, suddenly wanted to speak.

“The one I wanted to summon was…”

The moment he thought of Xueqiu, Ye Yumeng’s eyes began to sting and burn again. In a low voice, he said, “A companion who was very important to me.”

This was the deepest secret hidden in his heart, something he had never told anyone else before—

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that in that cultivation world where the strong devoured the weak, no one cared, and no one had the time to listen to a little medical cultivator mourn an ordinary spirit rabbit.

No one had ever truly cared about him—and even when others showed concern, he had to be wary, because behind that concern might be a poisoned blade.

He had always had to digest these emotions on his own.

Ye Yumeng lowered his head and blinked rapidly, not wanting Lu Qi to see the fragile tears gathering in his eyes.

But… it was hard.

Looking at the sorrow Ye Yumeng was desperately trying to suppress, though utterly unable to hide, Lu Nanzhou suddenly remembered that morning when Ye Yumeng had cried in his sleep.

His heart felt sore and tight, and some strange emotion wound around him.

Lu Nanzhou pressed his lips together lightly. When he spoke again, his tone had turned even gentler.

“That person… passed away only recently?”

Ye Yumeng shook his head. “It was a rabbit. It’s already been gone for three years.”

A rabbit?

Lu Nanzhou thought back to the activity room, to how Ye Yumeng had burst into tears the moment he saw him in juvenile form.

So it hadn’t only been because he wanted to treat him, nor because of his injuries—

It had been because he was thinking of that dead rabbit?

“I know the chances are slim. Its soul has probably already scattered. I just… wanted to try.”

In truth, it was more than just slim hope.

There was not only time separating him and Xueqiu, but two entirely different worlds. For the rest of his life, he was likely never going to see it again.

At last, the tears slipped down.

“Sorry.”

As he watched the tears slide from the corners of Ye Yumeng’s eyes, and heard the catch in his voice, Lu Nanzhou felt the ache in his chest intensify. It was a deep grief, strong enough to surprise even himself.

Why was he feeling something this intense? Was it only because Ye Yumeng was crying?

Almost unconsciously, he lifted a hand, wanting to wipe away Ye Yumeng’s tears, only to pause when he saw his own spirit body.

A tissue lifted itself from the table, making the robot dog Wugang glance over.

Seeing the tissue float in front of him, Ye Yumeng awkwardly grabbed it and wiped his face at random.

It seemed like Lu Qi was always seeing him cry… even though he wasn’t like this all the time. It was honestly too embarrassing. He had no idea what Lu Qi must think of him.

“I’m fine.”

He tried to smile. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Is there anything you want to do?”

Lu Nanzhou silently sat with his own feelings. He also had no intention of making Ye Yumeng sad any longer.

He looked at Ye Yumeng, then suddenly frowned and said, “It’s so late. You should be sleeping.”

Ye Yumeng couldn’t help complaining.

“We hardly ever get to see each other, and the first thing you tell me is to go sleep?”

Lu Nanzhou looked at him helplessly. “You’re a doctor. You should understand how important sleep is.”

He had been bothered by Ye Yumeng staying up all night for a very long time.

“But the cultivation method I practice means I don’t need sleep to stay in good condition. Sleeping once a month is enough.”

He had already slept two or three times this month. That was completely enough!

Lu Nanzhou’s brows drew even tighter. To anyone else, what Ye Yumeng had just said would sound absurd.

And yet, when he thought of how energetic and full of drive Ye Yumeng always was during the day—how, ever since gaining the right to move around freely, he ran everywhere every day and absolutely couldn’t sit still—

Lu Nanzhou also knew that he was probably telling the truth.

Ye Yumeng looked at his deeply furrowed brow and darkened expression. He looked a little scary. If any of his subordinates had been here, they probably wouldn’t even have dared breathe.

But Ye Yumeng knew Lu Qi was worried about him, and that made him secretly a little happy.

“If you don’t have anything you want to do, then let’s just chat.” Ye Yumeng looked at him eagerly. “Can I come find you tomorrow? I have a gift I want to give you.”

Besides the grass-woven locust from before, there was also the calming sachet and the recording talisman.

The sachet he had made for Lu Qi had been handmade by him—using the original materials, he had embroidered a peace charm and several patterns on it, making it much more delicate than the ones he made for others.

Lu Nanzhou looked at him and sighed inwardly. He knew that this time he wouldn’t be able to forcefully change the subject again.

He shook his head and said seriously, “Wait a little longer. When the time is right, I’ll tell you.”

Ye Yumeng froze. It was the first time he had clearly felt Lu Nanzhou refusing him.

His eyes dimmed immediately, and he asked in disappointment, “Then… how much longer do I have to wait?”

Seeing those moist eyes, Lu Nanzhou almost couldn’t stop himself from giving in.

Originally he hadn’t meant to deliberately hide it, but now, when he thought of himself lying in that hospital bed, unable to move, unable even to take care of himself…

He didn’t want to put pressure on Ye Yumeng, and he didn’t want… Ye Yumeng to know that the real him was so pitiful.

“I can’t say for sure.” Lu Nanzhou shook his head, the answer cold enough to seem almost devoid of feeling.

Ye Yumeng lowered his head in disappointment.

Lu Nanzhou watched him, his face outwardly calm, but in reality all of his thoughts were already mobilizing at once, trying to figure out how to coax him.

But before he could come up with a strategy, Ye Yumeng suddenly looked up again and held out a hand to him.

“Give me your hand.”

Lu Nanzhou paused. Though he did not understand, he still obeyed, extending his hand and letting it hover over Ye Yumeng’s palm.

Even though he was a spirit without substance, he could still feel warmth coming from Ye Yumeng. That feeling was…

“I’m going to use Minor Rejuvenation Technique on you.”

Lu Nanzhou looked at their overlapping hands. Through his spirit body, he could vaguely see the young man’s slender, pale fingers, and the faint glow slowly appearing in his palm.

“The first time I summoned you, maybe it was because of this healing art that you didn’t dissipate and were able to survive instead.”

“And you told me before that you could feel it.”

He heard Ye Yumeng continue, “That proves Minor Rejuvenation Technique works on you. It can strengthen your life force.”

“You have to keep living well. Otherwise, how will I ever be able to come find you in the future?”

Lu Nanzhou could not help lifting his eyes to look at him. For a while, he didn’t know how he should respond. He only felt as if his chest were burning too.

Only after Ye Yumeng finished the spell did he finally lower his voice and say, “I…”

He paused, and in the end, all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”

Seeing that he would rather apologize than let him come find him, Ye Yumeng felt disappointed, but he only nodded and did not press any further.

The atmosphere became heavy.

Trying to liven things up, Ye Yumeng said, “Let’s not talk about that anymore! Let’s do something else!”

“Master, what would you like to do with Wugang?” the robot dog’s voice suddenly chimed in. “I can sing, dance, and also play music and movies.”

Clearly, the robot dog couldn’t see Lu Nanzhou and thought Ye Yumeng was talking to it.

Ye Yumeng froze, then burst out laughing. “You can dance too?”

“I can, Master.”

“Then do one for me?”

As music started playing, the robot dog trotted to an open space and began performing a dance.

Actually, it was kind of fun to watch.

Thinking of Li Jiangrui, who had given him the robot dog, Ye Yumeng smiled.

“This little dog came with me from the Xihe Federation. Not only can it sing and dance, it can cook and do laundry too. It’s super capable!”

Even though it was technically a companion-type robot pet, it also had household functions, making it incredibly capable overall.

“Back when I was still on the spaceship, it really helped me a lot—fetching my meals every day and carrying my luggage for me.”

Lu Nanzhou nodded. He understood why Ye Yumeng had said that.

He had already seen all of Ye Yumeng’s background information, and he knew that before Ye Yumeng had come to Medical Planet, debt collectors had beaten him badly enough to injure his leg.

That issue had already been resolved for him by his landlord’s family.

What Ye Yumeng did not know, however, was that those two debt collectors had powerful backing. The Li family had gotten dragged into serious trouble because of it, and the company they operated had run into major difficulties.

Still, people were already handling those problems for them now.

Ye Yumeng knew none of these details and simply continued, “If you need one too, you could order one and try it.”

This robot dog was the latest product developed by Li Jiangrui’s company. Recommending it a little was his way of repaying the favor of having received one for free.

“Alright.”

Lu Nanzhou nodded. That request was simple. He could just have Royal Sanatorium procure a batch.

Soon, the robot dog finished dancing and sat down, wagging its tail.

“Master, it is already late. You should go to bed now,” Wugang’s mechanical voice said.

Ye Yumeng: “…”

Why did both of them keep telling him to sleep?

He looked toward Lu Nanzhou and saw him smile gently.

“Go to sleep. I’ll stay here beside you.”

Something in Ye Yumeng’s heart stirred. Looking at the gentle smile on Lu Nanzhou’s face, he somehow ended up lying down on the bed in a daze.

Only when Lu Nanzhou pulled the blanket up over him did he snap back to himself.

He gripped the edge of the blanket, leaving only his lovely peach-blossom eyes showing, and looked up at Lu Nanzhou with a soft, vulnerable expression.

“But won’t you get bored like this?”

Bored?

Lu Nanzhou looked at the stunning young man lying there under the moonlight, utterly defenseless before him, and thought: not at all.

“No.”

Lu Nanzhou turned his gaze away by force, moving it off Ye Yumeng.

Ye Yumeng didn’t notice anything strange. His bright, watery eyes stayed fixed on him as he asked doubtfully, “Really not?”

He himself was someone who could never sit still. For him, being unable to do anything at all and just quietly stay there would be a kind of torture.

But Lu Nanzhou said, “For me, this already counts as rest.”

And he wasn’t lying. In spirit form, he felt none of the pain or weakness of his body. For him, that was already rare rest.

“Alright then.”

Ye Yumeng was quiet for a moment, then suddenly spoke again.

“But… if I fall asleep, you might disappear.”

And then he would be left all alone again.

He gazed at Lu Nanzhou with wide, yearning eyes, while Lu Nanzhou lowered his eyes and looked back at him, Ye Yumeng’s reflection clear in those green irises.

How could someone be this clingy?

Lu Nanzhou couldn’t help thinking that. Had Ye Yumeng been this clingy with that rabbit too?

“I won’t disappear.”

He stretched out a hand and lightly rested it on top of Ye Yumeng’s head.

Though they still couldn’t truly touch each other, Lu Nanzhou’s gesture still gave Ye Yumeng a sense of closeness and happiness.

He pulled the blanket higher, hiding his flushed cheeks beneath it and leaving only his bright eyes visible, still staring at Lu Nanzhou without blinking.

“Tomorrow, we can video call,” Lu Nanzhou continued coaxing him.

“And anything else?”

“I’ll wake you up.”

Ye Yumeng thought for a moment, then nodded. “Then it’s a deal.”

“Mm. Go to sleep now.”

Only then did Ye Yumeng close his eyes. Even though cultivation meant he didn’t feel tired, staying awake continuously without break still placed a certain burden on his spirit.

Not long after closing his eyes, he fell deeply asleep.

Lu Nanzhou lowered his gaze, his eyes lingering on Ye Yumeng’s sleeping face. After a long while, his finger drifted lightly to Ye Yumeng’s forehead, brushing his soft hair aside.

Then slowly, it traced downward…

In his sleep, Ye Yumeng seemed faintly aware of something.

His eyelashes trembled. When he opened his eyes, dawn had already spread throughout the room.

It was morning.

The handsome, otherworldly figure that belonged to Lu Qi had already vanished, as though once again last night had been nothing more than a dream.

Before loneliness and sadness could really take hold, his light brain suddenly vibrated.

[Lu Qi]: Awake?

It was only three simple characters, yet Ye Yumeng could already imagine the low sound of Lu Qi’s voice when he said them, and the gentle tone he’d use.

He couldn’t help grinning, his chest swelling warmly.

[Ye Yumeng]: Mm (o^^o)??

The very next moment, a video call request came through from the other side.

The golden-haired, green-eyed man wore that elegant, splendid mask, with a garden glowing in the warm morning light behind him. To Ye Yumeng, who had only just woken up and was still a little dazed, it was an overwhelming visual shock.

“G-good morning.”

Ye Yumeng raked a hand through his hair and tugged the loose, sagging collar of his sleep shirt upward, suddenly a little shy.

For some reason, he felt as though Lu Qi, wearing that mask, now had a trace more aggression in the way he looked at him—like a predator watching its prey.

But the instant he adjusted his collar, the man’s gaze shifted away.

So Ye Yumeng simply brushed off the strange feeling and curiously examined the background behind him.

“Is this your personal space? It feels different from last time.”

“Mm, I changed the decor.” Lu Nanzhou looked back at him. “Do you like it?”

Ye Yumeng blinked. “Ah, me? I do like it.”

Then he heard Lu Nanzhou say, “Next time, we can meet here.”

Ye Yumeng froze. “On the Star Network?”

“Mm.” Lu Nanzhou nodded. “Didn’t you miss the amusement park last time? I’ll take you.”

He was referring to the medical staff group outing that Ye Yumeng had skipped to prepare for his assessment.

“Okay! Then it’s a promise!”

“Mm.”

By the time the call ended, Ye Yumeng had completely forgotten about feeling sad. His whole heart was full of excited anticipation at the thought of going out and playing with Lu Qi.

Ye Yumeng went cheerfully to the cafeteria for breakfast, but just as he was about to leave after finishing, he received a message from the smart system.

[Doctor Ye Yumeng, good morning!]

[Your transfer procedures have been completed. From today onward, your identity information has been updated to: Specially Recruited Doctor from the Xihe Federation, Junior Level.
Post: Top-Floor Ward, Core Inpatient Department.
Primary Patient: Classified.
Relevant permissions have been updated. Please proceed to the Medical Affairs Department to collect your doctor’s uniform. —This message was sent by Medical Planet Smart System]

[Your October salary has been issued. Actual payment: 50,000 Yao coins, including:
Base position salary: 0 Yao coins
Personal bonus: 50,000 Yao coins
Please check your account.]

[Current account balance: 50,018 Yao coins]

Ye Yumeng: 0.0

Yao coin was the short form for Yaojin currency. Lately, because he’d been buying materials for talismans and sachets, Ye Yumeng’s account balance had nearly bottomed out.

He had been waiting the whole time for the bonus the director had mentioned earlier.

But hadn’t the director said his bonus was twenty thousand? Why had he suddenly received fifty thousand all at once?

“Could the smart system have sent the wrong amount?” Ye Yumeng muttered.

He decided to ask Director Lei once he got back to the ward. Even if it wasn’t a mistake, he still wanted to know what exactly he had done to earn that much bonus money.

He hurriedly finished breakfast and was about to leave when someone appeared at the cafeteria entrance, scanned the room once, and then walked straight toward him.

Seeing the other person was clearly coming for him, Ye Yumeng’s first instinct was to run—but he quickly remembered he was no longer in the cultivation world.

He was a doctor now, and he was inside Royal Sanatorium. It was safe here. No need to run.

Besides, Wei Jingfeng and the others were hidden nearby, protecting him.

So he stopped and looked at the person cautiously.

It was a middle-aged woman, short and plump, with a round face and rosy complexion, and there was a strangely approachable air about her.

She didn’t look like someone who’d come to trouble him.

Ye Yumeng’s gaze dropped to the nameplate on her chest. Even though she was still far away, the enhancement from cultivation sharpened his senses enough that he could read it clearly.

[Meng Pinghua]

She should be a staff member of Royal Sanatorium. Judging by her uniform, she seemed to work in the cafeteria.

Meng Pinghua quickly arrived before him and asked politely, “Excuse me, are you Doctor Ye Yumeng?”

His identity information had only been updated today. How did she already know he was a doctor?

“What do you need?” Ye Yumeng asked, puzzled.

“I’m the person in charge of the cafeteria, Meng Pinghua. The hospital asked me to come find you. They hope you can spare a little time to help select part of today’s ingredients.”

“Select ingredients?”

Ye Yumeng instantly thought of how he had complained to Ah Mo yesterday that the cafeteria didn’t have any more spirit-rice porridge.

But… surely not, right? Just because of one complaint from him, they were really going to let him decide what the cafeteria served today?

At that moment, his light brain vibrated.

[Friend “Ah Mo” requests a video call. Accept?]

Ye Yumeng tapped accept, and Mo Yin’s image appeared on the light screen before him.

“Doctor Ye, are you in the cafeteria?”

Ye Yumeng nodded, then told him about Meng Pinghua coming to find him and expressed his confusion.

“Mm, I was the one who suggested it to Director Lei.”

Mo Yin explained, “The ingredients Doctor Ye chooses can help patients recover. The hospital couldn’t wish for anything better.”

“To have such an ability and not make proper use of it would be far too wasteful.”

Of course, the main reason was that after asking around yesterday, Mo Yin had learned that rice and grain produced from king-grade plant specimens were not abundant on Medical Planet.

If they had to purchase them from the nearest agricultural planet, the fastest delivery would still take half a month. That would delay things far too much.

And that exposed another issue as well—the rice and grain the cafeteria had been serving during this period had been purchased according to the standards of ordinary high-grade ingredients, not the king-grade plants Ye Yumeng had described.

When Mo Yin asked about it, the cafeteria staff had actually become agitated and strongly denied any mistake. They insisted they absolutely had not used the wrong ingredients.

Because king-grade plant products were incredibly precious.

For example, when Ye Yumeng had been injured before, Mo Yin had, under His Majesty’s instructions, raised the standard of his work meals.

Even then, every meal box only contained one dish made from king-grade plants, and there was no way to get more.

So if the cafeteria really had been selling rice harvested from king-grade plants as if it were just ordinary premium rice, that would have been a major mistake. No wonder the cafeteria staff had reacted so strongly.

If the staff were not lying, then there was only one answer—

Ye Yumeng had the ability to distinguish king-grade plant products from ordinary premium ingredients.

It sounded a little unbelievable.

But when it came to Ye Yumeng, Mo Yin somehow felt it was completely reasonable. This Doctor Ye had already shown too many unbelievable abilities.

Compared to something like a life-saving talisman, what was one more strange ability?

And since that was the case, why not let him use it? After all, it would only benefit His Majesty and the other patients’ recovery.

“And Doctor Ye can rest assured, Royal Sanatorium will pay you bonuses according to the wage standard for a procurement specialist. We absolutely won’t let Doctor Ye work for nothing.”

That meant they now had yet another reason to increase Doctor Ye’s income, which made Lei Qi quite happy.

Hearing this, Ye Yumeng’s eyes lit up.

Did this mean that not only could he decide what ingredients the cafeteria used every day—very likely meaning spirit plants would end up in the food—but he would also get a bonus for it?

How could such a good thing even exist in this world!

Even so, Ye Yumeng forced himself to calm down. There was no such thing as pies dropping from the sky, and he couldn’t let the benefits cloud his head.

He thought it over and then asked, “Do I need to decide every single ingredient?”

“Of course not.” Mo Yin shook his head and said gently, “Mainly, it’s to decide for Young Master…”

He paused, then added, “And for the other patients in the core inpatient department.”

“Doctor Ye doesn’t need to feel pressured. Just choose according to your own judgment.”

That… actually didn’t sound like much of a problem.

At last, Ye Yumeng nodded, though he still remained cautious. “Alright, then I’ll try it for one month first, okay?”

“No problem.”

Seeing him agree, Mo Yin finally relaxed.

“Then I won’t disturb you any longer, Doctor Ye. If there’s anything you need, contact me anytime.”

“Okay, okay.”

So Ye Yumeng ended the call and looked toward Meng Pinghua.

“I understand now. What do I need to do?”

“That’s wonderful. Please come with me!”

Meng Pinghua then led Ye Yumeng toward the back of the cafeteria.

In the corner of the cafeteria, someone had been watching the entire scene.

“Wasn’t that Ye Yumeng?”

“And who’s the person standing beside him?”

These people were none other than the Xihe orderlies who had arrived in the same batch as Ye Yumeng—Gao Hui, Miao Kerui, and Feng Yuheng.

The three of them had had some unpleasantness before and had almost fallen out. But seeing that Gan Xiaoyang and Mo Jingyun weren’t interested in dealing with them, the three of them gradually drifted back together again.

“Who cares who she is? She’s not someone we can approach anyway.” Feng Yuheng stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth.

Although they had accepted recruitment to come to Yaojin Medical Planet as orderlies, in truth none of them had studied nursing. They had all graduated from one of the top medical academies in the Xihe Federation.

Back home, they had all been among the best of the best. Who could have imagined that after arriving on Medical Planet, they would end up inferior to others in every way?

Gao Hui and Miao Kerui were full of resentment, but Feng Yuheng had already grown dispirited.

“Stop looking. Once we finish eating, we still have to go to the lab.”

Miao Kerui was immediately drawn back to the matter at hand. She nodded. “Right. In a little while, we’re going to meet several of the Yaojin Empire’s medical authorities. Just thinking about it is exciting!”

The reason those three had ended up grouping back together was also because the hospital had invited them to participate in an experimental research project, led by either directors or major figures in the medical field.

Gao Hui also smiled. “Exactly. We need to work hard this time.”

If one of those medical giants took a liking to them and accepted them as a student, then their future advancement would definitely become much smoother.

He glanced in the direction Ye Yumeng had left and showed a look of disdain.

All of the Xihe orderlies from this recruitment round had been invited to join the research experiment. The only one excluded was Ye Yumeng, because his work was too poor.

So what if he got a head start? Who got the last laugh still wasn’t certain.

Behind the cafeteria.

Led by Meng Pinghua, Ye Yumeng did not head into the kitchen area itself. Instead, after winding around several turns, he was brought to an open lot behind the cafeteria.

Several cargo trucks were parked there, and robots were busily loading and unloading.

Judging by the goods in the crates, they were probably all fresh vegetables and fruits delivered that morning. Farther away, there were also piles of bagged rice.

Meng Pinghua did not stop. She continued leading him forward until, behind the cargo boxes, they finally spotted two staff members.

But before they could get close, they heard the two of them talking.

“What does the sanatorium even mean by this? They’re making a doctor do a purchaser’s job—does he even understand how to do it?”

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