The apprentice was also a bit bewildered upon hearing this. Coma was one thing, but what in the world was this aging phenomenon?
"Um, if I may be so bold, who is your lady?"
However, this simple question made the maid fall silent.
"Hmm… Actually, even if you don't say it, I've guessed. Is it Kujou? Your uniform has the Kujou Clan crest. My question and your expression basically confirm it."
"Miss, you can rest assured. Our Warm-Nourishing Faction believes in healing the world. Our ancestors learned more than just skills from Liyue."
"Every wrong has its source, every debt its master. What the Kujou Clan did has nothing to do with Miss Hitomi Hanatani, who married into the Kujou Clan. Besides, my master and I are very curious about this strange symptom."
"Am I right, Master?" The young apprentice turned his head, only to see a gentle-faced middle-aged man walk out from the inner room.
"You brat, you're flirting with girls while I'm not around! When I get back, you're going to copy medical texts!" The middle-aged man scolded with a laugh, then walked up to the maid.
"Hello, I am the twenty-first generation successor of the Warm-Nourishing Faction. That kid is the twenty-second generation, of Inazuma, of course. In Liyue, it's probably already passed down to over eighty generations, right?"
"I overheard some of your conversation. The patient is your lady, right? Without further ado, let's depart now!"
This urgent tone warmed the maid's heart. She had expected the other party to treat her coldly once they knew the patient was from the Kujou Clan, but she didn't expect them to agree immediately.
It seems there are still good people in this world. It's just that she doesn't know if the Kujou Clan can afford the medical fees now.
A condition that even doctors hadn't heard of—it was clear without thinking that the treatment cost would be ridiculously high.
The three crossed the bridge and arrived at Kujou Manor. However, Thoma, who was not far away, witnessed all of this. The doctor's white robe was very easy to recognize.
'A doctor? If they have to be invited from outside, then they definitely aren't personnel from Tenshukaku. So... is someone at Kujou Manor sick?'
The personnel within Tenshukaku, besides the Raiden Shogun, who is a god, are the Okuzume responsible for transmitting messages, and the soldiers guarding the gate.
A god naturally wouldn't contract illnesses that only mortals get, and the Okuzume and soldiers have their own dedicated doctors within Tenshukaku, so there's no need to find one from outside.
Then there's only one possibility: someone from the neighboring Kujou Clan is sick.
The Kujou Clan is no longer the behemoth that once held absolute power. When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain whole? The Kujou Clan, where people have left and the tea has grown cold, how could they still have dedicated doctors?
Rather, it's quite good that there's even a doctor willing to practice medicine at the Kujou Clan.
Thoma didn't think much about this matter. Getting sick, well, how normal is that? From minor colds and fevers to various difficult and complicated diseases, everyone gets sick sometimes.
On the other side, the two doctors, led by the maid, arrived at Hitomi Hanatani's room. Upon entering, the middle-aged man's brows furrowed deeply.
Wrinkles covered the limbs exposed from her kimono, making her look like a sixty or seventy-year-old elder, but her face remained young, forming a stark contrast with her limbs.
He had never seen such a bizarre situation. Logically speaking, whether a person ages prematurely or matures early, this kind of situation should not occur.
"Let me take her pulse first."
After saying that, the middle-aged man sat by the bed, placed Hitomi Hanatani's aged arm on his lap, and then took her pulse.
But it was fine if he didn't, but once he did, it startled him. What kind of pulse was this? Was this person really still alive?
Her pulse was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, and it was very irregular.
After furrowing his brows and taking the pulse for a long time, the middle-aged man finally shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Alas… she only has a few weeks left. At most, I can only let her live a few more days."
"Are you sure you still want to treat her? In her current condition, rather than treatment, it's better to let her find peace sooner."
"Is that all that can be done?" the maid asked in disbelief.
"Hmm… I'm sorry, girl. I am truly powerless against this illness. I can only deduce from her pulse how many days she has left to live. I know nothing else, not even the cause of the disease."
"By the way, has your lady come into contact with anything unusual recently?"
"My lady has always stayed at the Manor, and it's all very ordinary things. How could she get sick?"
"Alright then, back to the previous question: are you sure you want to treat her? The medicine for prolonging life is very expensive. I suggest that instead of letting her continue to suffer, it's better to let her find peace sooner and use that money to hold a grand funeral."
Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, but in the middle-aged man's eyes, no matter how he looked at this person, she already had one foot in the grave.
That's why he gave such advice. If he could cure it completely, he would have said so long ago.
The maid's eyes struggled upon hearing this, and after a long while, she slowly said, "Treat…"
"In that case, I will do as you wish. I will write you a prescription, and you can get the herbs yourself. As for the consultation fee, I will not charge it."
The middle-aged man wrote a densely packed prescription on paper and handed it to the maid, then sighed and left Kujou Manor with his apprentice.
He was truly powerless against this illness.
"Master, is there really no way to treat this illness?" the apprentice asked.
"At least not in our Warm-Nourishing Faction. Not only is there no cure, but the symptoms are also unprecedented. Perhaps we should record it in our medical texts."
"As for the name… let's call it Hua Gu Syndrome."
For a patient, it doesn't matter how good the doctor is; what they fear most is having their illness named after them.
This means your illness is appearing for the first time in human medical history, so congratulations, you're beyond saving.
Hitomi Hanatani's situation was exactly like this. He had practiced medicine for thirty-five years and seen countless patients, but none were like her.
It was simply too strange. One might even think she was cursed.
The maid took the prescription to the herbal shop, and when she asked for the price, it almost made her faint.
"Wait, how much did you say? Three hundred thousand Mora? And that's for one dose?"
The pharmacy assistant nodded, "Yes, it's clearly written on your prescription: twice a day, and each herb is very rare."
At the same time, he felt sorry for the person who needed this prescription. Six hundred thousand a day, no matter how rich, who could afford to consume it like this?
"…I understand. This hundred thousand Mora will be the deposit for now. I'll go back and get the rest…"
"Alright, I'll give you a receipt now. You can come back with the rest of the money to pick up the herbs."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!