When Xiu'er arrived inside, the teenage boy had his hands on the counter and seemed frustrated at the person behind the counter who was trying to help him.
"What do you mean you ran out? How can you run out of such a common herb?" The boy yelled. "Thunder god vine can be found anywhere. You are the biggest pharmacy in the capital and you ran out of thunder god vine? Are you even a pharmacy anymore?"
She came behind and frightened him once more when she suddenly slapped her hand on the counter.
"That's what I would've said!"
The young boy's forehead creased as he turned to her. They had only met twice, but she was acting as if she was familiar with him already.
Xiu'er continued to speak and waved her hand at the assistant behind the counter. "Stop making excuses and bring out the herb or else someone will die."
The assistant shook his head and bowed at the same time. He was still young and probably had never been in this situation before. He was trying to tell them that what they asked for was impossible, there was none left.
To the right of the counter was a doorway that was blocked with a drape cut up in the middle. The pharmacist of the pharmacy poked his head through the drape to see what all the commotion was. He came up front to greet Xiu'er and the boy.
He apologized that their supply of medicine had been running a month or two late ever since the Kingdom of Yanwei went on lockdown two years ago. They had to let out a steady supply of medicine to customers in order to fulfill everyone's need until supplies arrived. Yanwei was the biggest supplier of medicine for all the big chains of pharmacies throughout the country. They never had to worry about it but now they are having their own people in search of herbs in the mountains just to make ends meet. If this pharmacy doesn't have it, then others definitely won't either.
Xiu'er asked the physician how they had been handling the patients' demand for medicine. The pharmacist replied that patients must come in with a prescription from a doctor who deemed their condition dire, then they have to pre-order the medicine months ahead of time. There had been bad times when medicine supply wasn't enough but their system changed to adapt to the situation.
The pharmacist asked the teenage boy for the symptoms of the patient to demand thunder god vines. Maybe the pharmacist could prescribe an alternative medicine if the symptoms fit. Or maybe he'll just have to give the patient pain killers for as long as necessary.
The boy nodded his head.
"The Old Master often goes out to sea to watch his business all day. Cold air from the ocean had made his joints hurt. His lips would turn blue and he would often have shortness of breath. His legs, ankles and feet would swell up sometimes such that he cannot stand for too long. Our local physician said it was because of his arthritis. His arthritis is getting worse by the day, and with that comes the pain."
The pharmacist turned to recommend an alternative herb to treat arthritis. But as Xiu'er listened to the symptoms, she thought of something different. She told the young boy that his Old Master was not suffering from arthritis, but a failed kidney.
When the pharmacist heard this other theory, he suddenly half inhaled and half gasped. He turned his head to the side as if doubting himself. Then, he went behind the counter and pulled out a big old thick book from underneath. Turning to the desired page, his fingers moved along the characters as he read in his head. Finally, he closed the book and looked up at Xiu'er.
"Miss, it seems you are right. This patient does not suffer from arthritis but a failed kidney. The symptoms of these two illnesses are so similar. How did you figure it out just from listening to the symptoms?"
She turned her back and leaned both elbows on the counter, her head turned to the physician in a dangled manner.
"Well, how did you figure it out?" She asked in return.
The pharmacist looked down to the spot where he just had the book. "Arthritis started with swelling of the joints such as feet, ankles and legs. However, the joints of his Old Master only hurt when he's out in the cold, not when he's inside, thus, it's not arthritis. Arthritis will make him ache no matter if he's inside or outside. Also, his hands didn't swell. If it was true arthritis--"
"His hands will also swell as well as his feet." Xiu'er finished his sentence. "Most likely, he is suffering from a failed kidney. His lips will turn a darker color and others will think it's from the cold because he is outside often but it's not." She turned her body to face the pharmacist properly and in that time A'Li scampered onto the counter. "Does that make sense to you? The key factor is that his hands aren't swelling, which is important to arthritis. Now let me ask you," she looked at the young teenage boy. "Does your Old Master use the outhouse frequently?"
The boy looked up at the corner of his eyes. "Now that you said that, I barely see him use the outhouse as much. He would stay in the house on stilts to watch over his work and record business transactions. He barely comes out."
There was a moment of silence as Xiu'er let that sink in to the pharmacist and his assistant.
"That confirms it," the pharmacist said. He pointed to the doorway with the cloth covered, the same place where he came out from. "In that case, I have plenty of herbs to treat kidney and I will allow an exception--"
"Mister," Xiu'er slapped her hand on table which startled the young boy. "Are you willing to risk your life for your Master?" She put one arm over his shoulder, giving him a smile that tested his trust. He whimpered but nodded his head, not really sure what she's going to do.
"Then come with me if you want to live."