Chapter 313: The Famous Doctor Ian
Ian looked at these soldiers with some speechlessness. Were they really this desperate? Was it that Drum Island rarely saw visitors, or else why would these guys be so eager to extort and blackmail him?
And their tactics were so familiar too—claiming contraband was just an excuse. If Ian let them search him, even if there was no contraband, they'd find some to pin on him. Then, if he didn't want to be arrested, he'd have to bribe these soldiers to let him go.
Unfortunately, Ian had no interest in dealing with them. He shook his head, his face turning cold, and said, "If you don't want to die, get out of my way!"
The Drum Island soldiers surrounding him were stunned for a moment at this. But then they looked at Ian, who only had a single sword on him, while they, seven or eight men, all held guns. Their courage swelled again. Led by the big-bearded man, the group of soldiers burst into laughter, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
"Kid!" the big-bearded man said to Ian with a sinister tone. "This is the Drum Kingdom, our turf, and you dare talk to us like that? You're a pirate, aren't you? Well then, it looks like we'll have to arrest you!"
With that, he waved his hand, and two soldiers slung their guns over their backs, picked up ropes, and walked over to tie Ian up. The other soldiers aimed their guns at Ian, ready to stop any resistance.
*Click!* A faint sound rang out. Ian, with his hand resting on the sword, used his thumb to push open the guard of Thousand Cherry Blossoms.
These soldiers were just ordinary people. The moment Ian acted, they didn't even see what happened. Their clothes instantly shredded into countless pieces!
It wasn't just their clothes—the guns they held also broke into countless fragments!
The cold wind on Drum Island howled constantly. Once they lost their warm clothing, these soldiers were left naked in the freezing air. When they realized what had happened, they all shivered in unison.
But Ian wasn't done with them. He kicked each one, sending them flying from the port into the seawater!
"Wasting my time!" Ian clicked his thumb, pressing Thousand Cherry Blossoms back into its sheath, and spat disdainfully at the soldiers flailing in the water, trying to climb back ashore. He turned and walked away.
From the port, Ian headed forward, and before long, he arrived at a village.
Drum Island was quite large—it was a kingdom, after all—and there were several such villages scattered across the island. Ian didn't know which one he'd come to, but as he entered the village, he saw that all the houses were built from thick layers of stone, their roofs covered in snow and ice, with chimneys puffing white smoke.
When Ian appeared in the village, he noticed that few people were walking on the streets. He tried knocking on a house door, but got no response. Curious, he looked around.
After circling the village, Ian found that all the villagers had gathered in the largest house in the village, all looking worried and downcast.
When Ian knocked on the door, the people inside looked up in surprise at him.
"Who are you?" an old man with a bald spot on his white-haired head asked Ian in surprise.
"Oh, I'm a traveler who just came ashore," Ian said, raising a hand in greeting. "I was hoping to buy some food in the village, but I found no one around, so I came here."
The bald old man sighed. "Ah, young man, you've come to the wrong place. If you want food, you might have to check other villages. Our village doesn't have much food left either."
Ian looked at the people gathered in the room and asked curiously, "So you're all meeting here to discuss food?"
"No," the bald old man said. "The food shortage is because our villagers haven't been able to go fishing for a long time. The reason we're gathered here is because of a disease that's appeared in the village..."
"Chief!" a middle-aged man interrupted him before he could finish. "It's not good to talk about this with outsiders..."
"Oh, right, right!" The bald old man, who turned out to be the village chief, quickly changed his tune. "Young man, it's best you don't know about these things. If you want food, go to another village. We can't help you here!"
But Ian had already caught the word "disease." He couldn't help asking, "Isn't Drum Kingdom a medical nation? Why don't you find a doctor for the disease in your village?"
At Ian's words, everyone in the room fell silent.
Seeing that no one spoke, the bald old man smiled bitterly. "A medical nation? That was a long time ago. Now, all the doctors in this country serve under the king. We commoners can't find a doctor to treat us..."
Ian understood. It was probably because King Wapol of the Drum Kingdom had gathered all the doctors. Ian knew a bit about this island's situation, but he hadn't expected to run into it right after landing. He asked, "So, to see a doctor, you have to beg the king, and it costs a lot of money?"
"Yeah," the bald chief sighed. "Even you outsiders know a bit about this place... That's how it is. Every time our fishermen go out, they come back to heavy taxes. We barely have any money left. Now there's an infectious disease in the village, and even if we wanted to beg the king to send a doctor, we don't have nearly enough money..."
Ian thought for a moment and said, "No need to go through all that trouble. I have a special ability that might help cure your people. But in exchange, if I can heal them, could you prepare some food and vegetables for me?"
At this, everyone in the room stood up. They stared at Ian in disbelief at first, then gathered around him in excitement. The bald chief grabbed Ian's hand and said in a trembling voice, "Are you serious?!"
Ian meant what he said. He had the Rejection ability from Orihime Inoue's card. While it couldn't do miraculous things like bringing the dead back to life or regrowing flesh, it should be enough to treat an illness—just restoring the patient to a healthy state. With that confidence, he dared to make such a claim.
Of course, he couldn't guarantee it completely. He just nodded and said, "I can try, but the chances are pretty good."
The villagers had been at their wit's end. Hearing Ian's words now, they had no choice but to pin their hopes on him. So, they quickly pulled Ian out of the house and led him to see the infected patients.
The infected villagers had been gathered together in one place. This might have been because the people of this country had some basic medical knowledge—they'd isolated all the sick.
The patients were housed in a separate building in the village. Before entering, the villagers found masks for Ian to wear.
No one else dared to go in, so Ian entered alone. Inside, he found that the number of patients wasn't too large—only about a dozen people. But all of them had pale skin covered in large red patches, looking quite terrifying.
If a regular doctor were to treat this infectious disease, it would take a long time—first studying the illness, then prescribing medicine accordingly. But Ian didn't need that hassle. He walked up to a sick little girl, bent down beside her bed, and saw that she was still breathing. He then switched to Orihime Inoue's card to treat her.
Under the light shield of Twin Heaven Return Shield, the red patches on the little girl's body could be seen gradually fading away. This scene looked like time was reversing, but it wasn't quite that.
Once Ian "rejected" the infectious disease from the little girl's body, she was restored to a healthy state. Soon, she woke up.
Looking at Ian, who stood by her bed wearing a mask, the little girl said in a cute voice, "Uncle, are you a doctor?"
Ian was barely 20 years old and was already being called "uncle," but he didn't get annoyed. He smiled and shushed her, saying, "You're better now, but don't stay in this room. Go find your family!"
The little girl was sensible. She quickly put on her clothes, jumped off the bed, and as she ran out, she said to Ian, "Thank you, uncle!"
Ian waved at her without saying much. As she ran out, he heard the villagers waiting outside let out a gasp of surprise, followed by a woman's joyful crying—probably the little girl finding her mother.
Smiling to himself, Ian said nothing and continued treating the others.
Orihime Inoue's card ability was very useful. The only downside was that it consumed a lot of Psychic Power. In Ian's terms, it took about one full bar of energy to save one person, and then he had to wait for it to recharge before continuing.
Even so, Ian gradually healed several patients—men, women, adults, and children. When they woke up, they all thanked him excitedly, but Ian quickly urged them to leave.
The room housing the infectious patients was full of disease viruses. Ian's treatment only eliminated the viruses from their bodies to make them better. If they stayed, they still risked getting sick again. Ian didn't want to treat them a second time.
After about an hour, Ian had healed everyone in the room. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked out.
When he appeared outside, he was greeted by a thunderous cheer!
"Great! Great!" The bald chief, tears streaming down his face in excitement, grabbed Ian's hand and said, "Young man, I don't know how to thank you enough!"
Ian took off his mask, smiled at him, and said, "Don't mention it. Just remember, I only wanted to trade for some food!"
"No! Food is a small matter. You are the benefactor of our entire village!" the bald chief said emotionally. "From now on, you are the most honored guest in our village!"
Then he turned to the villagers and said, "Everyone, bring out the best food you have left! We're holding a banquet tonight to honor our most distinguished guest!"
"Whoo! Yeah!" The villagers outside cheered again.
"This house should be burned down," Ian said, not refusing, and smiled at everyone. "That way, at least we can eliminate some of the infection sources."
"A true famous doctor!" Hearing Ian's suggestion, the villagers exclaimed and immediately set to work.
Ian was then surrounded by the remaining villagers and led away from the place.
But what he didn't know was that after he left, a figure appeared in the corner of the village.
It was the big-bearded squad leader whom Ian had kicked into the freezing seawater at the port!
After being taught a lesson by Ian, he still hadn't realized the gap in their strength. After climbing out of the sea, he had followed Ian to the village.
"Ah-choo!!" After sneezing loudly, the big-bearded man shivered, pulled his newly found cotton coat tighter, rubbed his red, frozen nose, and glared hatefully at Ian's retreating back. "So this guy's a doctor. That's great news. I have to report this to His Majesty Wapol..."