Conquering the Emperor

Chapter 209: Progression

And he’s just sitting there like nothing happened?

“Calm down Shin, you’re causing unnecessary worry for Rin,” Ren said sternly.

“Where did you get hit? Show me your injury now!” I demanded as I stood up at his side.

“My left shoulder. It’s just a graze, these fools are overly panicking,” Ren replied calmly.

“Take of your armor and clothes now,” I quickly instructed.

Doctor Kai was at my side with the necessary medical tools and medicine as he nodded sternly at me.

“Ren, this isn’t the time to be stubborn about this. Let’s quickly take care of this,” I said, trying to sound calm and patient.

Ren sighed in resignation and with Shin’s help, removed his armor before he took off his shirt. That was when I saw the bloodstain on his shoulder and knew that it was definitely more than a graze. I’ve seen worst injuries and they didn’t bother me anymore; however, seeing Ren injured and bleeding had a detrimental effect on me. My hands started shaking.

“Focus,” Doctor Kai whispered close to me.

I nodded as his voice reminded me of my harsh and long training. Having my mentor close to me was a blessing.

“I can do this,” I said to Doctor Kai, signaling to him that I wanted to take the lead on this.

“Of course,” Doctor Kai said as he nodded firmly at me. He continued to help me on Ren’s case as my helper instead of Mou.

The wound was deep, and it was still bleeding. I glanced at Doctor Kai and his nod confirmed my suspicion. This wasn’t a mere graze. Ren was hit directly by an arrow, and he must have pulled it out and kept on fighting until he was stopped, making the wound in a much worse shape than it was originally. Ren was lying, probably to ease my worries. The wound; however, couldn’t lie.

Patching the wound up was easy enough. I stanched the blood somewhat, applied disinfectant, applied numbing medicine, and prepared to stitch up the wound. Doctor Kai handed me all the necessities at exactly the moment that I needed them. This alone told me that I was doing the right thing. I took in a deep breath before I started stitching up Ren’s wounds. Not only will I stitch this up well so that it will heal faster, I’m going to do it so that it won’t even leave a scar on his beautiful body. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

“Shin, can I have a word with you?” I asked when I was done.

“Umm...sure...” Shin replied.

“Why do you need a word with Shin?” Ren asked immediately as his eyes narrowed suspiciously at me.

“Please lay down and rest, Ren. I’ll be back very shortly,” I said as I turned and strode out of the tent before he could say anything else to hold me back.

Shin followed after me, leaving Doctor Kai and General Chang to keep the crown prince company.

“What is it?” Shin asked.

“What happened out there?” I demanded to know. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Shin seemed hesitant as if he wasn’t sure if he should tell me. However, my desperate stare must have changed his mind.

“It’s my fault, I didn’t protect Ren properly. There was a stray arrow and he helped me dodge it,” Shin said regretfully.

“His wound wasn’t just a graze. He took a direct hit and pulled the arrow out of his own shoulder,” I said, not bothering to hide the pain in my voice.

“Really? Things were hectic and I didn’t see what actually happened. He told me that it just grazed him and kept on fighting. After things calmed down a bit, I managed to force him back here for treatment,” Shin said as he recounted what happened.

“Can you keep him off the battlefield? That wound is going to need at least a week to heal with proper rest,” I said seriously.

“I don’t know. Ren isn’t really willing to listen...” Shin said as he shook his head in frustration.

“Is that so...?” I muttered with my eyes casted downwards.

I doubt anything I said could change Ren’s mind. Recalling the faraway and deadly look in his eyes when I treated him just now, I realized that Ren’s mind was still on the battlefield even when his body was here. My fists were clenched tightly, and I chewed on my lower lips in frustration and anger. Ren’s going to go back to fight. I was actually surprised that he had agreed to rest in the tent right now instead of returning right away. The most that I can hold him here will probably be until tomorrow morning.

“Where are you going?” Shin asked in a panic as I whirled around and started marching away from Ren’s tent.

“To find somewhere where I can cry my eyes out in private,” I spat without turning back to face him.

...

After three months of fighting, I had truly gotten use to life on the battlefield. It felt like I had lived my life like this for years instead of a mere three months. Ren’s shoulder healed enough despite him fighting on the battlefield every day. Just as I had worked so hard for, the wound did not leave a scar on his beautiful skin.

I never got used to sending Ren off to battle every morning and waiting eagerly for him to return each night, but I did learn how to deal with the emotional stress of it better. As for me, I made extreme progress as a field doctor. Handling all cases like a pro came naturally to me now, and there wasn’t a single case that I couldn’t handle along with my helper. The number of cases that I could treat each day also increased. Everything was progressing smoothly and there was news that we were approaching the end of the war.

“My Lady! My Lady!”

I heard Mou’s voice calling me in a panic, but I couldn’t move my mouth to respond to him. I knew that he was very close by but it felt like he was far away. My head felt hazy, and my vision was blurry. Suddenly, the world spun around, and I couldn’t see anymore. Everything just went black, and I could no longer hear anything either.

--To be continued...