With the sudden wails in the middle of the night, lanterns approached, signaling the night watchwomen who knocked sharply on the door from outside.

"..If the person is beyond saving, carry them out early; they absolutely cannot pass away here," a crone's voice rose from beyond the threshold. "Granny Zhao, you've been around long enough to know this rule, don't you? No novel website words."

Inside the room, Ah Hao's mother clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling the sobs with all her might.

"Get out, get out, get out!" Qi Yue rushed out of the room, standing under the eaves and shouting, "Who are you cursing to death? In the dead of night, do you also wish to taste the family punishment?"

Silence met her from outside, followed by a cold chuckle.

"Since it is so, this old servant was being meddlesome. Do as you please," the crone stated coolly. The night watchwomen turned and departed.

Qi Yue stood in the courtyard, unable to stop her entire body from trembling. She turned back, and from inside the room came Ah Hao's mother's suppressed, heart-wrenching cries.

"Miss..." Ah Ru stumbled out of the room.

"Go and fetch a physician again, the very best one..." Qi Yue looked at her and said, "Didn't they say that surgery in ancient times was also very developed? Surgical procedures existed; surely we can find a doctor who can treat this kind of injury..."

Ah Ru, tears streaming down her face, rushed forward and dropped to her knees before her.

"I beg you, save Ah Hao..." she pleaded, knocking her head repeatedly on the ground. "No matter if you are human or not, if you save Ah Hao, A'ru is willing to trade my life for it..."

Qi Yue was stunned by her words.

"You..." She managed a wry smile.

"I beg you, I beg you. Whether you are human or a ghost, you are immensely powerful, please save Ah Hao. A'ru is willing to give you my life..." A'ru only continued to kowtow and weep.

"I..." Qi Yue looked at her wry smile. How could they not realize she wasn't foolish? Whether the master was human or not was evident. "It's not that I won't save her, but... but I can't save her... I don't even have... nothing but these two hands..."

"You want something? You want it? A'ru will find it even if I have to die for it!" A'ru looked up, knelt, and crawled forward a few steps, her face full of desperate hope.

Qi Yue shook her head at her.

"What I need, you cannot find," she stated.

A'ru's tears erupted, and she bowed low, slamming her head against the ground until her forehead was slick with blood. All she murmured repeatedly was, "Please, please."

Qi Yue bit her lower lip, anxiety gripping her heart. She couldn't help but look up at the pitch-black night sky, a sky completely untouched by the light pollution born of modern civilization.

"...Dad, why did you send me to the countryside? They don't even have the equipment here that our hospital discards."

"Silly girl, don't you think the equipment we use is too good?"

"Dad, isn't having good medical equipment a good thing? It allows for the fastest and most accurate diagnosis, reducing patient suffering. Dad, you aren't going to argue with me about whether technological progress is good or bad, are you? No novel website words."

"Haha, girl, have you ever considered: what if you had to treat the sick and save lives without all that advanced machinery?"

"Dad, you're joking. That's pure sophistry."

"Dad, I understand what you mean..." Qi Yue murmured, looking up at the night sky.

She turned around and saw A'ru still continuously bowing her head.

"A'ru, get up." Qi Yue stepped forward to help her up.

A'ru looked at her, her mind already beginning to fray.

"I will try, but I cannot guarantee I can save her," Qi Yue said, gritting her teeth.

A'ru's eyes instantly lit up.

"Thank you, thank you." She bowed her head again.

"I can't do this alone; I need your help." Qi Yue supported her. "We don't have much time left, and we have a great deal to do."

"Whatever you ask of A'ru, A'ru will do," A'ru replied, nodding through her tears.

"Good." Qi Yue patted her. "Get up, let's go inside."

Inside the room, Ah Hao's mother, whose spirit was already torn apart, looked even more terrified upon hearing Qi Yue's words.

"You... you mean?" she stammered in disbelief. "You're going to cut open Ah Hao's belly?"

Ah Hao also woke up, though she seemed unconscious, moaning mechanically.

A'ru cleaned up the vomit while Qi Yue opened the medical kit.

"...Long needle... suture needle, needle holder... scalpel, hemostatic forceps... Excellent, arterial hemostat... Suture thread... Anesthetic—Procaine... Vecuronium, Midazolam, Propofol. Wonderful... Luckily, I have it all..." As she laid out the instruments one by one, she spoke with elation. Hearing Ah Hao's mother's question, she turned her head. "Ah Hao has a closed abdominal injury, which means what that doctor said earlier about ruptured internal organs and bleeding was true... Blood is pooling in her abdomen... If we don't release the blood and suture the wound quickly, she will die..."

"But... but opening a person's stomach, can they live?" Ah Hao's mother cried, instantly dropping to her knees and bowing. "Miss, for all the years Ah Hao has served you, please just leave her a complete corpse..."

Qi Yue was caught between laughter and tears, while A'ru hurriedly helped comfort Ah Hao's mother.

Qi Yue paused her movements and picked up a syringe instead.

"First, I'll perform an abdominal puncture on Ah Hao. If I draw blood, it proves my diagnosis is correct," she stated.

"Punc... puncture?" Ah Hao's mother no longer understood anything.

Qi Yue reached out to feel Ah Hao's abdomen, her breath catching. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she repeatedly tried to confirm if the spleen was enlarged. Without an ultrasound, CT scan, or sonography, she couldn't pinpoint which internal organ was damaged. While an abdominal puncture was simple, it carried risks. If the spleen was enlarged, it was dangerously easy to hit it, turning treatment instantly into death... She had witnessed such a case herself.

"Miss," A'ru called out nervously, watching her.

Qi Yue snapped back to focus.

"By hand, hand! Without diagnostic equipment, I have my hands, I have experience, I have to feel..." she murmured, slowly exploring Ah Hao's abdomen. Finally, she stopped. "It's fine, not enlarged. It's right here..."

As she spoke, her hands moved swiftly to disinfect and anesthetize the spot. Amidst Ah Hao's mother's screams, Qi Yue plunged the needle in.

"Light!" Qi Yue called out.

A'ru, trembling, held the lamp up. Accompanied by Ah Hao's groan, bright red blood appeared in that strange syringe...

"Blood!" A'ru could not hold back her cry.

"There's blood, there's blood, indeed, internal organs have ruptured..." Qi Yue let out a sigh of relief. She was stunned that under conditions relying entirely on human skill and no equipment, a tiny puncture had made her body rigid. She couldn't help but run a hand through her hair. "But whether it's a single tear in the liver, kidney, pancreas, stomach, or intestines, or multiple injuries—that can only be determined through exploratory laparotomy..."

"A'ru, take that white cloth I found earlier and cut out a square piece. Boil the rest, cut it into small strips to serve as gauze. Also, fetch that day's wine, and start a charcoal fire..." She issued instructions one by one.

A'ru tried hard to remember, nodding continuously.

"Auntie, you go find the lamps and light every lamp you can find," she turned and said to Ah Hao's mother.

Ah Hao's mother looked terrified, speechless.

"Are you... are you truly a ghost... an immortal ghost from the Netherworld?" she asked, eyes wide, stammering as she clutched her chest.

Qi Yue looked at her, astonished, caught between laughter and tears.

"Auntie, please hurry," she couldn't answer, just urging her.

Ah Hao's mother managed an "Aiya," and, showing a trace of panic, turned and rushed out.

Half a bottle of wine soaked the gauze strips, and the other half was heated and sprinkled around the bed. Ah Hao had already been laid flat on the bed.

"The hot salt water you asked for..." A'ru entered carrying a basin of water.

"And bring some water mixed with salt and sugar—the ratio is two spoonfuls of salt and ten spoonfuls of sugar per liter of water. Put it in this wine bottle for later use..." Qi Yue drew the anesthetic into the syringe as she spoke.

"Yes," A'ru acknowledged, nodding, and turned to leave with the wine bottle.

Ah Hao's mother stood aside. Every lamp in the Autumn Wutong Courtyard had been found and hung or placed around the bed.

"Miss... am I going to die..." Ah Hao asked weakly, looking at Qi Yue.

"No, Ah Hao, don't be afraid. You have a hole in your belly. I'll give you anesthetic, you sleep, and when I sew it up, you'll be fine," Qi Yue said with a smile.

Her entire head and face were covered, exposing only her eyes. The smile in her eyes reflected in Ah Hao's gaze, and she offered a weak smile too.

"Okay, Miss, thank you," she said.

This made Qi Yue's tears almost spill out again.

"No need to thank me. Come, I'm giving you the anesthetic. It'll sting a little, Ah Hao, be brave and don't be scared."

"Mmm, Ah Hao isn't afraid," Ah Hao murmured.

"What is... what is this being done?" Ah Hao's mother watched the strange tool pierce her daughter's arm, feeling her own legs cramp, and asked in a trembling voice.

Qi Yue finished the injection and looked at her.

"Auntie, during the surgery, I must ask you to step out first," she said.

"Why?" Ah Hao's mother asked, utterly horrified. "I... I..."

"Firstly, sanitation is poor; this place isn't clean to begin with. So, one less person means one less chance of infection. Besides, you'll be frightened," Qi Yue explained earnestly.

"I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid! I beg you to let me watch. When a person dies, if their loved ones aren't by their side, if no breath is passed on, they cannot walk the road to the Yellow Springs and will become a lonely ghost," Ah Hao's mother cried, kneeling on the ground.

In the end, it was a lack of trust. Qi Yue managed a wry smile. Never mind that they didn't trust her; even she didn't trust herself. Exploratory surgery was one thing, but what after opening the abdomen? She didn't know the extent of the damage—would it require resection or repair? And afterwards, could she survive the infection?

She let out a heavy breath.

"Fine, you stay here, but go to my room, put on a clean garment, and then, like me, cover your head and mouth," Qi Yue instructed. "Also, no matter what you see later, you must not interfere with me."

Ah Hao's mother nodded frantically, wiping her tears, and went out.

No monitors, no assistant, no anesthetist—nothing.

Qi Yue stood before the bed, looking at the anesthetized Ah Hao beneath the sheet cut from the white cloth. Beside her were A'ru and Ah Hao's mother, also covered from head to toe in cloth, only their eyes visible, filled with terror and dread.

"Then, let us begin," Qi Yue said, taking a deep breath, seemingly speaking as much to A'ru and Ah Hao's mother as to herself.

Speaking those words, she felt as if she were back in the modern hospital operating theater, surrounded by precise instruments, clearly designated assistants and nurses, all responding in unison with "Let's begin."

The scalpel sliced through the peritoneum, and blood seeped out. A'ru and Ah Hao's mother gasped simultaneously. Qi Yue heard nothing; her movements were steady, skilled, and fluid. Although a bit chaotic due to the lack of assistants to retract tissue, as the incision widened, Ah Hao's mother's screams deepened into hoarse sobs until she curled up entirely, losing control, and finally collapsed with a thud before the bed. A'ru was not faring much better, shaking like a sieve from sheer fright.

Under the lamplight, watching the opened abdomen and the bloody gauze being piled into a basin, the metallic smell of blood hit her nostrils. A'ru felt her heartbeat stop. She could no longer scream, only stare blankly at Qi Yue, watching her hands rummage inside Ah Hao's belly, murmuring to herself.

"...Liver is fine... Esophagus is fine... Spleen... it really is the spleen..."

Then she saw Qi Yue crouch down, grasping a strange, dark organ...

A'ru finally couldn't endure it and turned away to vomit.

Qi Yue ignored all of this, deaf and blind to the scene. Her mind was entirely occupied by familiar surgical steps. Sweat dripped constantly from her brow; she relieved her eyes only by blinking. Cauterizing bleeding points with heated needles, suturing, irrigation with saline, absorption with gauze...

The night was deep. The lamps in the Autumn Wutong Courtyard swayed in time with the occasional lights carried by passing night watchwomen. In contrast, the distant courtyards blazed with light; the feasting, singing, and revelry were in full swing deep into the night. Even the maids and matrons coming and going wore expressions of cheerfulness. In the very center of the courtyard, the royal dancers, brought from the Western Regions, spun rapidly, shattering the shadows of the courtyard lamps and disrupting the full laughter spilling from the main hall and eaves.

It is by.