["The medicine has been delivered. Go report the situation to Dan Shu."]
[Returning to Synwood Pavilion, Dan Shu, hearing the footsteps, asked: "How did it go? Has the medicine been delivered?"]
["Mm." Stelle nodded and recounted everything that had happened earlier.]
["She reminded me of myself when I was little. In her youth, she also groped in the darkness like me, having to face obstacles that could come at any moment, as well as the unintentional malice of people."]
["When bullied or hurt from a fall, I could only cry and beg the healer from the Alchemy Commission to treat my injuries. After going back and forth like this, I ended up walking this path myself."]
["Thank you for protecting that child. Stelle, may I trouble you with another matter?" Dan Shu asked softly.]
["You're worried about that child's situation?" Stelle guessed easily.]
["Yes. I worry about her coming and going alone, and I also want to hear what's been on her mind lately." Dan Shu sighed. "That child's parents passed away due to the Abundance Emanators war… The relatives who took her in aren't very close to her either. When I treat her illnesses, I often become her confidant."]
["A healer prescribing medicine might protect a person's body, but sometimes, the loneliness and trauma in one's heart can only be slowly healed by companionship and care."]
——
Teyvat, Liyue.
"Mr. Bai, could Miss Dan Shu really be from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
Inside Bubu Pharmacy, Xingqiu began to question his previous judgment. Judging from the group led by Purple Rose who made contact with Stelle, he was convinced that the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus was an evil organization. But seeing Miss Dan Shu's approachable, benevolent, and charitable demeanor… he became hesitant again.
Highly skilled in medicine, but such resilience and gentleness are even more rare and valuable.
Purple Rose, Green Hibiscus… Xingqiu found it really difficult to connect Dan Shu with these two geniuses. At first, he thought Dan Shu's gentleness was just a facade, and that she might be a ruthless person in secret, but now it seems…
"Well, I still maintain my view… This Miss Dan Shu is not only a member of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, but also a key figure within the organization."
Baizhu reined in the smile at the corner of his mouth, adopting a more serious expression: "Young Master Xingqiu, truth be told, I have doubted my own judgment, but after seeing that little girl born blind, I became even more certain of Miss Dan Shu's identity."
"Oh? Mr. Bai, why is that?" Xingqiu became curious at once.
"A healer's benevolence… As a healer myself, I can very much understand Miss Dan Shu's desire to treat those born with deficiencies, yet feeling powerless to do so."
Baizhu shook his head calmly: "Xianzhou's technology and medicine are so advanced, yet Miss Dan Shu remains blind. This is enough to show that the Xianzhou does not possess the technology to cure 'natural deficiencies.' No, one could even put it another way… Humanity does not have a method to cure natural deficiencies."
"Some people, the more skilled they become in medicine, the more they are drawn to miraculous therapies. Perhaps after witnessing the great power of the Abundance, Miss Dan Shu made up her mind to walk this path." Baizhu said with a sigh.
"Miraculous therapies…?" Xingqiu scratched his head, not understanding.
Instead, the little white snake coiled around Baizhu's neck let out a soft "pfft" laugh.
"The Method of the Serpent-Dragging Dragon"—this secret art involved its contract with Baizhu after all, so it couldn't explain it to Xingqiu. As a secret art capable of transferring vitality, it was precisely because of this contract that Baizhu constantly exhausted hundreds of poisons and illnesses, striving to achieve a state of undying.
It's a good thing this guy wasn't born on the Xianzhou, otherwise, he probably would have joined the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus long ago, right?
——
[According to Dan Shu, the little girl usually finds a corner to sit in at the Artisanship Commission, but the Artisanship Commission isn't very safe these days. They couldn't let a blind child run around unsupervised.]
[Dan Shu's tone was very urgent when she said this; it was clear she was very worried about the little girl.]
[The Artisanship Commission… Stelle felt slightly relieved. Luckily, Mr. Welt was there clearing out monsters, though she didn't know how it was going.]
[Dan Shu knew the places the little girl frequented, so they quickly found her within the Commission. Unfortunately, the little girl happened to be cornered by two automaton monsters.]
["What's wrong? Has that child encountered some danger?" Dan Shu, hearing the commotion, couldn't help but ask anxiously.]
["Minor problem."]
[Stelle calmly pulled out her bat and reduced the monsters to a pile of fragments in a few strikes.]
[Hearing the fight end, Dan Shu quickly crouched down to pat the girl's head, comforting her: "It's alright, it's alright now~ Xiao Yu."]
[Xiao Yu, wiping her tears, was still shaken: "Wuuu… Thank you, big sister, thank you, Lady Dan Shu…"]
["But I…" Xiao Yu sobbed sadly: "Thinking that I've caused Lady Dan Shu… and big sister so much trouble, holding you both back, I feel so ashamed…"]
["Is that all? Then… you'd better learn to get used to it." Dan Shu's tone was sorrowful, yet cold: "Because in the next several hundred years, people like us who cannot see will continue to be a burden to everyone we meet."]
["If such a small feeling of guilt makes you sad, then you better not take a single step on this long road ahead."]
"Such hardcore comfort, is it really okay to say something like that to such a young girl?"
Asaba Harumasa was somewhat surprised. Usually, this lady healer seemed quite gentle, so to say something so brutally honest and stimulating to a child, he wasn't quite used to it yet.
"This isn't comfort… This is reality." Tsukishiro Yanagi said softly: "The more unfortunate one is, the more resilient one's mentality must be… Perhaps Miss Dan Shu wants this little girl to accept all of this as soon as possible."
"Why does the Deputy Section Chief sound like she speaks from deep experience?"
"No, I just really admire this Miss Dan Shu."
Tsukishiro Yanagi adjusted her half-rimmed glasses and sighed with emotion: "To live in darkness for hundreds of years, not only not crushed by the darkness, but instead becoming a light that can illuminate others… truly remarkable…"
"Deputy Section Chief, you don't need to just praise others. Aren't you also a light in the eyes of those affected by the Hollowing disaster now?"
"Harumasa, why suddenly…"
Rarely hearing him say something decent that wasn't about asking for leave, Tsukishiro Yanagi was very pleased. Her originally gloomy mood gradually brightened.
"I'm just telling the truth, Deputy Section Chief. Your kindness is well-known among the fan club of the Anti-Hollowing Sixth Squad…" As he spoke, Asaba Harumasa's hand slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a pre-prepared…
Presenting the leave request form with both hands, Asaba Harumasa put on a pitiful expression: "So, such a kind Deputy Section Chief definitely wouldn't have the heart to refuse me, right?"