The next morning, Merin opens the doors of his clinic and arranges the front room. The sign above the door reads in simple script—Matsuda Clinic.
He waits behind the front desk, eyes on the street beyond the open door. People walk past, some pausing for a moment to glance at the board, but they keep walking. No one steps inside.
He leans back in his chair and exhales softly. Of course, he thinks. Word about Mei hasn't spread. I didn't open a restaurant to tempt curiosity or a teahouse to draw gossip. I opened a place that deals with life and death. People don't come unless they're forced to.
Time drags. Without a clock, the minutes stretch endlessly. He listens to the footsteps outside, to the whisper of wind brushing fallen leaves against the doorframe. He stays seated, waiting.
Then finally, he hears it—soft footsteps. A boy, no older than his little sister, approaches, held in the arms of a woman. The child looks pale, his skin almost grey, his limbs limp.
The woman stops in front of the door. Her eyes land on the board—Matsuda Clinic—and linger. Then, with visible hesitation, she steps inside and lets the door close behind her.
She adjusts the boy's weight in her arms and looks at Merin. "Are you from Yellowwind Town?" she asks.
Merin stands up slowly, his eyes already examining the boy's state.
"Yes," he answers, walking toward them and looking at her and finds he has seen her and remembers she is the daughter of the Jia family and is married to someone from Susa city.
She again adjusts the boy's weight in her arms." How are you related to the Matsuda family?"
Merin spots her red face because of carrying the boy.
So, he takes the boy from her arm and walks to the room with the patient's bed. " The eldest son."
He starts taking the boy's pulse. She standing behind him." Are you going to shift here? Then, people who are from Yellowwind town, who live here, would be happy."
Merin finds the boy's illness. " I would only be staying for a month." He walks behind the desk in the room and writes on a paper, the boy's medicine.
She holds her son and makes him sit on the bed. " It would be nice if your family opens a clinic here."
Merin, while writing." Why? I don't think their are shortage of clinics in the city."
She says." But they ask exorbitant fees for seeing them. How much are your fees?"
Merin stops and thinks he did not consider how much the fee would be charged. Back home were 20 square coins, but he has to consider how much the healer of this city charges. If he charges too much less than them then he would be causing trouble for himself.
He asks." How do the healers here charge?"
She says." Around 2 round coins."
He finished his writing." I will then charge 1 round coin, but it is free for you as you are my first patient."
She says." Thank you." Merin hands her the list and instructs her about the medicine, and then escorts her to the front of the clinic.
Merin watches her leave and then walks back and waits behind the front desk for the next patient.
----
At the same time,
elsewhere,
In a pavilion cradled within a blooming garden, where streams hum softly through stone paths and flower petals drift in the wind, a boy lies with his head resting on the lap of a beautiful woman. His eyes are closed, and his expression is serene as she gently feeds him slices of fresh fruit. A few steps away, another woman sits cross-legged, plucking the strings of a guqin, its melody weaving through the still air.
The peace is shattered by a voice yelling from afar, "Master! Master!" echoing through the garden.
The boy's eyes twitch open in annoyance. "I told Baki not to disturb me at this time," he mutters, sitting up and brushing his robe into place. "But he always does this. Looks like I'll need to find a replacement for him."
The woman beside him smiles softly. "Master, you say that every time. But where will you find another servant like Baki? Someone you trust a hundred per cent?"
As if summoned by the words, Baki rushes into the pavilion, panting, sweat on his brow.
The boy raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"
Still catching his breath, Baki straightens and says, voice tight from running, "Young Master… It's from the Mori family… Mei is cured."
The boy's eyes widen in shock and anger." How was she cured?"
Baki, frightened by his master's anger, bows deeply." I do not know. I only received the news from my spies at the Mori family, who saw her unconscious."
The boy grips the furniture and takes deep breaths to control his anger, while the woman beside him caresses his back. He says." The Viper gang told me their poison is incurable. How was she cured?"
Baki lifted his head." A young healer cured her. But the spies didn't know the identity of the healer."
The boy angrily throws an apple out of the pavilion." I do not know why we spend so much money on them. They never give useful information."
Baki, taking a deep breath, says, "Master, should we inform the Big Master that our plan failed?"
The boy freezes the moment his father is mentioned. His voice turns cold. "Not before we find out why the plan failed."
The woman playing the guqin sets her hands down gently on the strings. "Master, the Viper Gang gave us the poison, swearing it was untreatable. Yet now the girl is well. This means the fault isn't yours."
Baki nods quickly. "Yes, Master. This isn't your fault but the Viper Gang's. And they've aligned themselves with your third brother. They could've sent someone to heal Miss Mei just to discredit you—and then rush to the Big Master before we do."
The boy stands sharply, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Then I'll inform Father myself before that snake gets to him." Without another word, he strides out of the pavilion.
He stops at a wide hallway where the door to his father's study stands open. Inside, the Big Master is seated behind a dark lacquered desk, quietly reading a stack of documents.
"Father," the boy calls out.
His father raises his head. His sharp gaze lands on his son. "Fifth. Do you need something?"
The boy steps inside, kneels on one knee, and bows his head. "Father, my plan failed. Somehow, Miss Mei was treated. The poison the Viper Gang provided was ineffective. They said it was untreatable."
His father's calm expression tightens as he stands. "The plan failed?" His voice hardens. "Have you forgotten? We need the Mori family's favour to smuggle the Purple Scale Armour into the city. If that poison didn't work, go find out why. Speak to the Viper Gang. Let them know the entire plan has collapsed—and because of them."
The boy rises. "Yes, Father." He bows once more and turns to leave.
Outside the room, Baki stands waiting. The boy doesn't slow as he passes, only speaks with quiet urgency, "Inform Si Min I've called a banquet for him tonight at Summer Tower."
---
Under the blazing sun, in the middle of an open field, a bald, bare-chested man covered in scars, muscles taut and glistening with sweat. He stands at the centre with six men surrounding him, each wielding iron sticks and determination in their faces.
But not of defeating the burly man, as their eyes show respect as they look at the bald man.
The six men strike one after another, and sometimes two or more together or all at once. But before any weapon touches the bald man's flesh, a thin shimmer of energy pulses to life and blocks the attack from hitting the bald man. But sometimes the energy barrier fails to hold, and the stick lands on the bald man, leaving a mark.
While the fight continues, the bald man never once counters but uses movements to dodge the attacks.
It should not be a fight but training for both sides. For the bald man, it is training for his defence and mobility. And for the six people, it is training their attack power and working together to fight against stronger people.
The training stretches on, and the six people start to falter because of tiredness. Then:
A sharp voice cuts across the field.
" Boss! A letter for you! From the Seiko family!"
A young man appears and stops at the edge of the training field with a white sealed envelope in his hand. The six attackers back off instantly, panting hard, sweat dripping from their chins.
The Bald man lowers his stance and looks at the young man.
" What does it say?"
The young man tears open the envelope and opens the letter, and reads it. As he reads the letter the young man's face become increasingly weird.
The Bald man calls out while walking toward the young man." What's taking you so long?"
The Young man came to his senses." Boss, Seiko Hiro invites you to Paradise Tower in the evening today."
The Bald man is surprise as the fifth master of the Seiko family calling him and not the third master." Why?"
The Young man handed the bald man the letter." It didn't mention the reason."
Then another man walks out of the building beside the training ground with two pages in his hand." I know the reason."
The Bald man surprised the healer/poison master of their gang came to him on his own. For the first time, even he, the gang leader, didn't have to go to the healer to ask the question. " Oh! Why?"
The healer waving the two pages in his hand." I received a letter today morning and in this letter mention a healer named Matsuda Kanoru relieved Mori Mei of our poison viper kiss."
The bald man freezes mid-step, the muscles on his back tensing like drawn bowstrings. Then, without warning, a crushing aura explodes from his body and descends over the entire training field. The six attackers stiffen instantly, sweat breaking out on their foreheads, and the young messenger stumbles back, legs locked, as though a strike might fall any second.
"Are you telling the truth?" the bald man asks, voice low but heavy enough to shake bones.
The healer rolls his eyes and waves two sealed letters in one hand. "Did you think I'd run all this way just to lie to you?" he says. "One of these letters lists the ingredients used for the antidote to Viper's Kiss."
The bald man draws in a long, slow breath through his nose. "The healer's name is Matsuda Kanoru, right?"
Without waiting for an answer, he strides forward, crossing the field in long, heavy steps, passing the healer without so much as a glance.
The healer frowns. "Where are you going?"
The bald man replies without turning, "What do you think?"
The healer raises a brow. "Did you even check if the healer's real name is Matsuda Kanoru? Or if Mori Mei is truly healed? Or whether this Kanoru even exists beyond a name on a letter?"
The bald man halts briefly, then says, "Ken. I want answers to every question Ryota just asked. One hour."
The young man straightens, eyes burning. "Yes, boss!" he shouts before taking off at full speed to dig up the truth.