Chapter 227: Treatment? The Cowardly Master and the Dog Master
The Tian Dou Royal Academy might have its flaws, but when it came to providing services for its noble students, it was undoubtedly top tier.
Even though regular teaching hours had ended, the academy's medical department still had healing type soul masters on duty. Many of them worked in shifts and also served as instructors.
Due to the scarcity of healing type soul masters, there was once a time when the number of instructors in this field was nearly equal to the number of students, making it one of the most leisurely positions in the academy.
In the central chamber, a well dressed soul master was leisurely taking off his outer robe, preparing to rest in his designated sleeping quarters, when a knock sounded on the door.
"Sir, there's a seriously injured assistant instructor outside who may require your expertise."
The middle aged soul master furrowed his brows slightly how annoying.
His luck hadn't been great lately. This was the second time in less than two months that he had to personally step in. The worst part? It had ruined his plans for a good night's sleep.
Still, thinking about the comfortable life he led now, he sighed and spoke toward the door: "Alright, I understand. Take them to the treatment room. I'll be there shortly."
Though somewhat displeased, he reluctantly put his outer robe back on and headed toward the treatment chamber.
Upon pushing the door open and stepping inside, he was momentarily stunned he recognized this student.
It was one of the kids from the group he had treated a month ago.
Tang San obviously recognized him too and greeted him proactively: "Master Gou, hello."
As soon as he spoke, he felt his lips twitch this name…
But he had no choice. Last time, Senior Brother Qin Ming had addressed him this way, and though Tang San found it somewhat disrespectful, treatment was the priority. Hopefully, the instructor wouldn't take offense.
Behind him, Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red not clear whether from pain or embarrassment.
"Why is it you lot again? You all need to be more careful during training. And now, even an assistant instructor has been injured?"
Master Gou appreciated Tang San's polite attitude but still couldn't help but complain. Sure, treating people was his job, but who actually liked working?
"You're absolutely right, sir. But this time, it was an accident. We hope you can be understanding and treat my teacher first."
Tang San bowed slightly, respectfully gesturing toward Yu Xiaogang, who had been placed on a chair.
"Fine, fine, let's get on with it. You students…"
Master Gou stepped past Tang San and turned toward his new patient. Then, his words abruptly stopped.
The reason? Yu Xiaogang's battered and miserable face was now in full view.
Master Gou frowned in confusion and turned to Tang San. "Are you sure this was an accident and not a fight?"
Who was he trying to fool? Since when did an "accident" result in someone's face looking like that? The slap marks might have faded, but as an experienced healer, he had seen enough to know this was clearly a beating.
"It was an accident."
Yu Xiaogang was the one to answer, determined not to let Tang San learn the truth. Otherwise, the perfect image of his "wise and powerful" teacher would crumble before his disciple's eyes.
Before Master Gou could push further, Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San. "Tang San, I can handle the rest from here. You just finished training, right? You probably haven't eaten yet. At your age, proper nutrition is important. Xiao Wu is waiting for you, so go ahead."
He paused briefly before adding, "Besides, I have some business to take care of later, and it wouldn't be convenient for you to stay."
He couldn't state things outright, but Yu Xiaogang believed that with Tang San's intelligence, he would understand his meaning.
Sure enough, Tang San nodded.
But before Yu Xiaogang could feel relieved, he saw Tang San's face once again show a worried expression. "But, Teacher… leaving you alone here, I…"
"It's fine. I'm not crippled. After treatment, I'll still be able to walk. Right, Master Gou?"
Trying to maintain his dignity, Yu Xiaogang dragged Master Gou into the conversation.
However, when he reached the last part of his sentence, he hesitated slightly his discomfort with that name evident. Yet, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to say it, even sending Master Gou a pleading look.
Master Gou immediately understood.
Ah, I see he doesn't want his student to know how miserable he actually is.
As a fellow instructor though Yu Xiaogang was merely an assistant Master Gou was willing to grant him this small favor.
Besides, for someone to hold such a position at the Royal Academy despite having such weak abilities, it meant one thing background.
So why not do a fellow instructor a solid?
Even though he hadn't even examined Yu Xiaogang's injuries yet, Master Gou confidently pounded his chest and declared: "Rest assured! There hasn't been a single patient I couldn't treat. If they come to me, that means their problem is already solved."
As expected, after he spoke, Yu Xiaogang threw him a grateful look. Master Gou even gave him a subtle thumbs up in return mission accomplished.
Tang San, however, had sharp eyes and enhanced perception thanks to his spiritual power. In this small treatment room, there was no way their little exchange had gone unnoticed by him.
Yet, he didn't expose them.
Yu Xiaogang's choice actually worked in Tang San's favor it eliminated any lingering suspicion.
So, he simply pretended to hesitate for a moment before finally nodding.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Master Gou. Teacher, I'll be heading back first. I look forward to your recovery."
Tang San respectfully bowed to both of them once more before slowly exiting the treatment room, retracing his steps back the way he came.
"This is your student? He seems pretty decent, actually. Quite concerned about you. It's rare to see students at our academy care so much for an assistant instructor," Master Gou commented as he watched Tang San's figure disappear, then turned to Yu Xiaogang.
Immediately, Yu Xiaogang's face darkened as he grumbled, "He's my disciple."
Oh.
Master Gou visibly froze for a moment.
Disciple?
If his senses weren't mistaken, the soul power fluctuations from that student earlier were actually stronger than those of this so called "teacher" sitting before him.
Since when did students at Tian Dou Royal Academy willingly take on teachers who were weaker than them? Especially when the teacher in question was already this old?
But Master Gou had been in the academy for years; he wasn't inexperienced. He quickly forced a polite smile and changed the subject: "I see, haha. Well then, let's take a look at your injuries."
Yu Xiaogang grunted in response and shifted his focus back to his injuries. Honestly, he was so numb from the pain that he could barely feel anything anymore.
Master Gou didn't take offense. Patients could be moody it was understandable.
"Alright, let me see. What other injuries do you have?"
As he spoke, Master Gou activated his martial soul. His first soul ring lit up, and a soft white glow enveloped Yu Xiaogang's body.
This was his diagnostic skill, which, when paired with his martial soul, allowed him to detect injuries with incredible precision.
It was thanks to this skill that, despite not being particularly outstanding in healing, he had managed to become one of the most sought after healers at Tian Dou Royal Academy. His precision was unmatched compared to other healing type soul masters.
And yet…
As he scanned Yu Xiaogang's injuries, Master Gou suddenly felt dizzy.
The facial injuries were nothing easy enough to heal.
But that left leg…
Master Gou simply couldn't understand how such an injury could occur. Did he get rammed by a massive soul beast?
No, that didn't seem right either. The shattered bone fragments were too neatly broken.
And what was even stranger who could explain why an entire section of bone, nearly a finger's length, was just… missing?
Seeing that Master Gou had cast a soul skill and then fallen into a daze, Yu Xiaogang's heart skipped a beat.
Don't tell me it's really that serious?
Damn that Tang Hao he really is heartless!
"Master Gou? Is something wrong?"
Despite his irritation, Yu Xiaogang knew better than to be rude to the healer. He forced himself to sound respectful.
"I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
Master Gou pondered for a moment before looking at Yu Xiaogang.
"Good news."
Yu Xiaogang answered without hesitation.
Master Gou nodded. "The good news is that you can still be treated. It'll just be expensive and take a long time."
Yu Xiaogang let out a sigh of relief. "And the bad news?"
"The bad news is… using soul skills alone won't be enough to heal you. I'll need to surgically open your leg, realign the bones manually, and then proceed with treatment."
He paused for a moment before continuing:
"Oh, and I should mention somehow, an entire section of your shin bone has vanished."
"To prevent mobility issues in the future, we'll need to fill in the missing bone with something else. You'll have to make a choice."
"Oh, and this is an additional procedure, so it's not covered by the academy. You'll have to pay extra."
"…A section of my bone is missing? And I have to pay extra?"
Yu Xiaogang was completely dumbfounded.
He never imagined Tang Hao would be this ruthless.
Breaking his leg was bad enough, but stealing part of his bone?
And worst of all, Tang Hao hadn't even left him with any money for treatment!
Though he had been earning a salary as an assistant instructor at the academy, he hadn't been there long enough to save much. Worse still, after his falling out with Flender, he had nowhere to borrow money from. Tang San had already left, too.
With no other options, Yu Xiaogang reluctantly pulled out his entire remaining fortune thirty eight gold soul coins from his soul tool and looked anxiously at Master Gou.
"Is… is this enough?"
Master Gou glanced at the coins and, after a brief moment of thought, replied, "It's enough. But your recovery will take a long time, and your leg might never be as strong as before. You may have trouble using it for combat in the future."
"As long as it's enough! And don't worry I don't need my legs for combat."
Yu Xiaogang hurriedly reassured him. He never fought anyway, so what did it matter?
"Alright, then go ahead and pay up."
Master Gou, ever the professional, thoughtfully healed Yu Xiaogang's facial injuries first. With a pleasant smile, he then extended his hand.
"All of it?"
Yu Xiaogang reluctantly looked at the money bag in his hand, unwilling to part with it.
"Yes, all of it."
Master Gou took the bag, poured out the gold soul coins, then casually handed the now empty bag back to Yu Xiaogang before turning toward the door.
"You stay here and wait. I'll go get the materials."
As he stepped out of the room, Master Gou thought for a moment before heading to his personal quarters.
If he remembered correctly, he still had an old, discarded dog type soul beast specimen lying around.
He figured… it should be fine to use a small piece of that, right?
In all honesty, he was being quite generous this was higher quality than what he usually used.
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