Injuries

With no further interference from the Red Ant Bandit Gang, Yizhe and his group crossed Cold Wind Bridge and soon arrived in the Land of Iron.

Beneath the thick snow lay rows of low houses. If one did not approach and inspect closely, it would have been difficult to find the residential districts where the people of the Land of Iron lived.

Having just settled down in the Land of Iron, the caravan began conducting all manner of trade in an orderly fashion through Qing Shi's arrangements.

During this time, Yizhe deliberately let Qing Shi learn that he came from Konoha. He feared that once Qing Shi had safely reached the Land of Iron and paid the reward, he would simply cast him aside.

After all, he had been seriously injured because of their caravan.

Therefore, he needed to borrow Konoha's reputation to dispel some of Qing Shi's ulterior thoughts.

Seeing that the caravan's operations had stabilized, Qing Shi hurriedly brought Yizhe to the best hospital in the Land of Iron.

It seemed Konoha's name had indeed made Qing Shi somewhat wary, and he did not dare handle things carelessly. Yizhe breathed a sigh of relief.

"Doctor, how are Lord Yizhe's injuries?" Qing Shi anxiously asked before the doctor had even finished examining him.

"The situation is not very optimistic. Although his life is not in danger, but..." The doctor hesitated.

"But what? Just say it..." Qing Shi urged anxiously.

Rather than answer, the doctor turned to look at Yizhe, his eyes carrying a questioning look.

"It's fine. Go ahead and say it!" Yizhe said indifferently from the hospital bed.

"Your injuries can roughly be divided into three parts, my lord!"

"First, the external muscle injuries and minor fractures throughout your body. Those are easy to treat, and you will be fine after resting for two days. Second, the injuries to your internal organs. Those are also easily treated and not a major problem. As for the third..." The doctor still hesitated.

"What is the third part? Just say it already!" Qing Shi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan at the doctor's halting words.

"Say it!" Yizhe said firmly, meeting the doctor's eyes.

"The third is your hands, which are also the most severely injured part of your body. Our examination found multiple comminuted fractures in both hands, with many bone fragments mixed into the muscles and ligaments. The injuries have even damaged the meridians in your hands. If the fragments cannot be removed, I fear it will affect the recovery of your hands!"

"Even if your hands eventually heal, forming hand seals may still become extremely difficult!" the doctor said softly, his expression solemn.

"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and operate on him!" Qing Shi urged.

"Leader Qing Shi, do not worry. The doctor did not immediately begin treating me, and instead explained all this to me here. I fear he has his difficulties, does he not?" Yizhe smiled and soothed Qing Shi.

He knew his own injuries well enough. He simply did not know how far the doctors here could treat them.

"My lord is correct. If it were merely a matter of removing bone fragments from the muscles, that would not trouble us. The ligament injuries are difficult, but we still have a fifty-percent chance of handling them. Only the injuries to the meridians are beyond the capabilities of our current medical standards!"

"I fear there are only a handful of people in the entire Ninja World who can treat such injuries!" the doctor explained regretfully.

"So serious..." Yizhe lay with his head raised, staring at the ceiling as he fell into motionless thought.

Neither Qing Shi nor the doctor knew how to comfort the young man, so they could only remain silent. For a time, the hospital room was unusually quiet—so quiet it seemed they could hear each other's breathing.

"Lord Yizhe..." In the end, Qing Shi could not hold it in any longer and softly called out.

"Hmm?" Yizhe came back to himself and responded.

"What do you plan to do next?" Qing Shi asked carefully.

"Treat the major injuries first! Do not operate on my hands for now. Just help the wounds close so I can regain temporary mobility first!"

"Who can stand lying in bed all day?" Yizhe immediately made his decision based on the current situation.

"My lord, then your hands... you are really going to leave them alone?" Qing Shi asked tentatively.

Though he was only an ordinary merchant and not a ninja, he understood that hands were of utmost importance to a ninja.

"They already said they cannot treat them, so there is no need to force it! Once the injuries on the rest of my body have mostly healed, I will seek out some other renowned doctors and give it a try!" Yizhe said helplessly.

If they rashly performed surgery and failed to heal his injuries, they might instead cause even greater damage to his hands—damage that would be harder to repair.

He was not an idiot. Why would he be willing to serve as someone else's guinea pig and gamble his hands on some vague stroke of luck?

"Then... we will do as you say, my lord!" Qing Shi agreed quietly.

When the doctor had said he could not treat Yizhe's hands, Qing Shi had been uneasy, afraid Yizhe would vent his anger on the caravan. Now that Yizhe was actively cooperating with treatment and had not excessively pursued the matter of his hands, Qing Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and treat his injuries!" Qing Shi hastily urged the doctor.

"Understood, understood!" The doctor nodded repeatedly.

It was not until half a month later, when Yizhe had mostly recovered and was discharged from the hospital, that Qing Shi came to bid him farewell.

The caravan had already sold all its goods, purchased merchandise for the return journey, and long since prepared for its next trip.

Qing Shi believed he had acted quite honorably. He had paid all of Yizhe's medical expenses and added another five thousand to the fifteen-thousand commission reward.

Now that Yizhe had been discharged, he planned to go their separate ways.

"My lord, yesterday I heard there is a reclusive renowned doctor in the city! I heard he even lived through the Third Ninja World War and saved countless lives on the battlefield! Though I do not know whether it is true!" Before leaving, Qing Shi gave Yizhe some welcome news and mysteriously handed him a note with an address written on it.

"Mm, thank you. I will find a chance to go and try! Travel safely!" Yizhe gratefully accepted the note.

"My lord, take care! Until we meet again!" Qing Shi waved, then turned and left.

"Goodbye!" Yizhe waved his heavily bandaged hands and watched the caravan travel farther and farther away.

After Qing Shi and the others left, Yizhe rested for some time before slowly finding the residence of the reclusive renowned doctor the portly leader had told him about.

It was an exceptionally spacious estate. Even blanketed in snow, with its true appearance difficult to discern, Yizhe could sense a faint air of wealth from its outline.

This recluse must have lived an extremely comfortable and luxurious life! Yizhe secretly clicked his tongue.

Knock, knock, knock! Yizhe knocked on the door and noticed at the same time that it was adorned with ornaments inlaid with pure gold.

What extravagance!

"Who is it?"

The one who opened the door was a rather delicate-looking young woman, around seventeen or eighteen. Her complexion did not look very good, as though she was upset about something.

Perhaps Yizhe had interrupted whatever she was doing.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Miyamoto here?" Yizhe asked respectfully.

"Are you here for treatment too?" The young woman immediately noticed Yizhe's hands, which were wrapped so thoroughly that only a few fingers were exposed.

"My name is Yizhe. Having heard of Mr. Miyamoto's superb medical skills, I came specially to seek treatment. I hope this young lady will introduce me!" Yizhe said with a smile.

"You certainly know how to talk. Come with me!" Hearing how Yizhe addressed her, the young woman's irritation vanished at once.

She led the way ahead, guiding Yizhe into the courtyard and straight toward the main hall.