Chapter 314: Kureha and Chopper
To thank Ian for curing the sick villagers, the residents held a banquet in his honor. Ian didn't refuse and sat down to eat and drink heartily.
However, during the conversation with the bald village chief, Ian learned that the village's food supplies were indeed running low.
The Drum Island Kingdom was currently under the rule of King Wapol. The problem was that Wapol was a selfish, corrupt, and brutal king. Not only did he impose heavy taxes on his own country, but he also enacted a "Doctor Hunting" decree, gathering all the famous doctors in the country under his command. Without his permission, these doctors were forbidden from treating or providing medical care to anyone.
Drum Island was originally a medical powerhouse, with highly advanced medical technology. But Wapol used this method to extort money from the people. If a citizen fell ill and didn't want to die, they had to beg him for help. Only by offering a large sum of money could they obtain Wapol's permission for a doctor to treat them.
Most of the island's residents were ordinary people, and living under the winter island climate, how could they avoid getting sick? Whenever that happened, the patient's family had to prepare to lose everything.
Now, the entire population of Drum Island dared not speak out against Wapol. Wapol was the recognized ruler of the Drum Island Kingdom by the World Government, a regular at the Reverie. He not only commanded a large army but was also a Devil Fruit user himself. Without a leader, how could ordinary citizens resist Wapol?
So now, the people living on this island prayed every day for one thing: that they wouldn't get sick...
"Besides the doctors taken in by the king, are there no other doctors on the island?" Ian couldn't help but ask.
"There are!" the bald village chief sighed. "In fact, there's a doctor on the island called the 'Witch.' Her medical skills are good, but the problem is that she's eccentric and charges a high price. It's said she lives on Drum Mountain and only comes down on moonlit nights, riding a sled pulled by a reindeer through the sky..."
Ian understood immediately. The bald village chief was talking about Dr. Kureha, and the reindeer pulling the sled was undoubtedly Tony Tony Chopper.
Thinking this, Ian smiled knowingly. When he landed on Drum Island, he had wondered whether he should meet Chopper, the blue-nosed reindeer. Now, he was hearing about him first.
The bald village chief sighed and said, "Actually, if you hadn't shown up, we were considering asking the Witch for help... because tonight is the full moon, and the Witch will come down the mountain on her sled to make house calls."
Ian looked up at the sky. It was covered with thick clouds, and the snow hadn't stopped, so naturally, he couldn't see the moon. He asked doubtfully, "Will she still show up in this weather?"
"She will!" the bald village chief nodded. "She never misses!"
Ian rubbed his chin thoughtfully but said nothing, continuing to eat and drink. It was already evening, and he might be able to wait for Chopper and the others to arrive, since Kureha already knew about the infectious disease in this village.
Ian's guess was correct. Around eight or nine o'clock at night, a faint jingling sound suddenly came through the wind and snow.
Not only Ian heard it, but the villagers did too. They poured out of their houses and looked toward Drum Mountain in the distance.
The jingling grew closer, and through the wind and snow, a nimble reindeer appeared in midair, pulling a sled as it galloped through the sky.
"The Witch! The Witch is here!" the villagers shouted in fear.
Although many knew that Dr. Kureha was a highly skilled doctor, her entrance was just too bizarre. Ordinary people had never seen a sled flying through the air, so they always suspected Kureha was a witch who used magic, fearing her more than respecting her.
Only Ian knew that Chopper's sled was actually running along a steel cable—a cable car line from the mountain where Kureha lived down to the island's ground. Because the cable was thin and the island was often covered in snow, few people could see it clearly, leading to the misunderstanding that the sled was truly flying.
Soon, Chopper pulled the sled over the village. With a powerful leap, he jumped down from the air, landing with the sled.
Dr. Kureha wore a stylish short jacket, with sunglasses pushed up on her forehead. The first thing she did after getting off the sled was tilt her head back and take a swig of the plum wine she was holding. Then she wiped the wine stains from her lips with satisfaction and said to the villagers staring at her, "I heard there was an infectious disease here? Where are the patients?"
Although Kureha looked old, her spirit was as lively as a young person's. Ian had never seen an old lady dressed like a trendy young woman, so he couldn't help but stare at her a few times.
After landing, Chopper, wearing his hat, didn't say a word. He was in his animal form, so people only saw a blue-nosed reindeer pulling a sled.
Kureha asked once but got no response. Annoyed, she put her hands on her hips and scolded, "You idiots! Didn't you hear what I said?"
It was then that the bald village chief snapped out of it. He cautiously approached Kureha and said, "There was indeed an infectious disease, but... but it's already been cured!"
Kureha was taken aback. "Cured? Did you go beg that bastard King Wapol again? Honestly, it's because of your attitude that you keep feeding his arrogance!"
"No, no!" the bald village chief quickly waved his hands. "We didn't go to the king. The one who cured the disease is this young man from outside!"
As he spoke, the chief pointed at Ian.
Kureha looked at Ian with some surprise. Seeing him dressed so lightly yet showing no signs of being cold, she believed the chief's words and understood that Ian was an outsider.
But her reaction caught Ian off guard. She walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar, and stared at him with a displeased tone. "Kid, where are you from, a doctor? How dare you steal my business!?"
Ian was speechless. Steal her business!? This old lady actually treated healing people as a business!?
Of course, Ian understood that this was probably Kureha's way of survival. She and Chopper lived on that high mountain, where life was inconvenient, so using medical treatment to exchange for living supplies was understandable.
However, given that she only appeared once a month, Ian could see why she charged so much. This old lady basically didn't work for a month and then made a month's worth of income in one go!
"Beautiful lady!" Ian wasn't angry at being grabbed by the collar. He smiled and said, "I'm not a doctor. Don't blame the wrong person!"
The bald village chief and the villagers were stunned when they heard Ian's address to Kureha. They had always called this old hag the Witch, but this young man dared to call her "beautiful lady"!?
The villagers were shocked, but clearly, Ian's address pleased Kureha immensely. Upon hearing it, she burst into laughter and patted Ian on the shoulder. "Haha, kid, you're interesting! I like you!"
Ian smiled and said nothing. Since he had met Dr. Kureha and Chopper, he wondered if he could get some of her medical notes to take back to Erlang. Kureha was a highly skilled doctor and Chopper's medical teacher. Her research in her notes must be impressive, right?
Dr. Kureha was old in body but young at heart. Ian's flattery pleased her greatly. However, she didn't immediately forgive him for stealing her business. After laughing, she asked seriously, "You say you're not a doctor. Then how did you cure those infectious patients? The news I got said the disease here looked like Wolf Spot Syndrome, which has a very high mortality rate."
"I have a special ability," Ian said, not answering directly, using this excuse instead.
Kureha was about to ask more, but at that moment, Chopper, still in reindeer form, suddenly sniffed the air. A panicked expression appeared on his face. He came over, bit Kureha's clothes, tugged a few times, and stomped his hooves hard.
He smelled something he hated! But Chopper didn't dare speak in front of people, so he could only alert Kureha this way.