Catmeme6's Notes:

There are a total of 4 books in this Dong Fang Family series.

Book 1 - Forbidden Love

Book 2 - Real Fake Fiance

Book 3 - Wang-Ye Captures His Wife

Book 4 – The Divine Doctor and His Heroic Companion - This is the current book and the story is about Dong Fang Tang, the divine doctor.

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Title: The Divine Doctor and His Heroic Companion  神醫俠侶

Author: Tang Yin  唐茵

Chapters: 19 + Prologue

Prologue

Painful!  It is very painful!

Her ankle was swollen like a mantou*  Even after the medicine was applied and the ankle bandaged up, the searing hot pain still persisted so much so that she could not even stand up. 

(Mantou is a kind of steam bread that is a bit coarse and plain.)

This is really not a light fall!

At this moment, she is in the deep mountain forest where no one ventures and if she needs help, it seems that she can only wait for her father to notice that she has not returned home and come out to search for her.

(The picture shows the medicine basket used for picking herbs.  Similar bigger baskets were used for picking vegetables and to forage for food in the forest.)

Looking at the medicine basket beside her, she took out a strange-looking plant with its leaves in different sizes.  This plant is known as Sheep's Hoof and is beneficial for blood cleansing.  It was because she had wanted to gather this herbal plant that she had accidentally fallen down.  She did not expect the fall would cause her a sprained ankle with a tendon injury putting her in a dilemma.

(Sheep's hoof is also known as Rumex Japonicas or Japanese Dock.  This herb has a large variety of medicinal uses which can be googled on Wikipedia.)

In the past, she had suffered major and minor injuries but those injuries were never as severe as the current injury.  This time it is so severe that she is unable to walk and she hopes her father would come out to look for her soon.

While she was sitting down worrying and wondering what to do next when suddenly there was a rustling sound in the grass beside her.  She was so nervous that she clenched her jade flute tightly in her hands and just then she saw a green snake slithering out through the grass.

The snake raised its head and stuck out its forked tongue menacingly as it looked at her.  A snake and a woman, both stared at each other.  Just as the green snake was about to strike, a few silver needles flew out from nowhere and struck into the middle of the snake's head.  The snake instantly writhed painfully on the ground for several moments before it went still. 

Who had helped her?

She had her answer almost immediately.  A slender figure in a blue robe, carrying a medicine basket on his back walked out of the grass behind her.

A man with refined, elegant facial features and a gentle smile on his face appeared.  Looking at his smiling face, the wariness in her heart began to relax.  The man did not exude a sense of hostility but instead gave out a sense of inexplicable security.  He was really a strange man.

"Little girl, are you alright?"

The man was still smiling and his eyes showed serenity.  He bent down and looked attentively at the girl sitting on the ground who was about thirteen to fourteen years old.  When his eyes rested on her injured left ankle that was bandaged up, he frowned.  Then his eyes moved to the jade flute held tightly in her right hand and rested on the piece of jade plate with a tassel tied to it.  A flash of surprise swept across his face and it seems he recognized the origin of the jade flute.  It seems he had helped needlessly as the little girl had the ability to protect herself.

"I'm fine.  Thank you for helping me."

Although she was capable of dealing with the situation just now, he was kind enough to help her.

"Can you stand up and walk?"  The man looked at her ankle and asked. 

"No."

The young girl looked directly at him and noticed that he had a pair of honest eyes.  It was her luck to be able to meet such a gentle man at this time. 

From the beginning, the man had noticed the young girl was surprisingly calm.  Generally, girls around her age if they meet with such a situation, even if they were capable of handling the situation they would still feel a little panic.  But she did not show any panic and instead she showed calmness.  In fact, she was excessively calm. 

"The weather is changing.  It looks like there will be a heavy thunderstorm in half a sichen*.  It is better for us to find a place and take shelter from the rain as soon as possible."

(A sichen is equivalent to two hours.)

The man raised his head and looked up at the sky.  From the distance, large dark clouds were drifting towards them and according to his experience, heavy rain was inevitable.  It was not advisable to stay in this place any longer.

The young girl also looked into the distant sky and knew he was stating the truth.  She hesitated for a moment then agreed and said. 

"Approximately five li* to the west, there is a bamboo hut where we can take shelter from the rain."

(Li is the ancient measurement which equals to 500 meters.)

"Then please forgive me for offending you*."

(In ancient times, physical contact between a male and a female was forbidden and therefore the man here offered his apology before helping her.)

The man politely apologized to her before picking her up with one arm around her back and the other arm beneath her knees.  Using his qinggong*, he flew westward and after a few leaps up and down, he saw a bamboo hut.  Just as the two arrived at the hut, the heavy rain poured down at the same time. 

(Qinggong literally means ‘lightweight skill’ which is one of the basic skills that martial artists have to master.)

After the man had put the young girl on the only wooden bed in the hut, he began to look around the simple furniture in the hut.  Other than the wooden bed, there was a wooden table and two bamboo chairs.  There were only two cups, a clay teapot, and no other items.  It could be seen that this bamboo house was only used for short rests.

"The bed, tables and chairs in this bamboo hut are all handmade by my father.  This place is for me to rest temporarily when I feel tired while I come out to gather medicinal herbs.

The young girl looked at the man's back and tried to guess his identity.  A normal man would not appear in the mountain forest without any reason……then her eyes fell on the medicine basket he carried on his back.  Is this man a doctor?

"Your father really loves you as his daughter."

After looking at the simple furniture in the hut, he slowly walked to the door.  He noticed the rain outside was not as heavy as before.  It seemed the rain came quickly and stopped quickly. 

"I have yet to ask for Gongzi's prestigious name."

(Gongzi is an honorific to address a young man who can be a son of nobility, son of an official or son from a wealthy family.  This is the polite way of addressing a man especially if his status is unknown.)

Suddenly the man knitted his eyebrows and looked intensely into the distance in front of him at a figure who was approaching the hut.  It seems that the person the little girl is waiting for is finally here.

"This person's name is Dong Fang Tang.  Miss Ruan, if we have the affinity, we shall meet again in the future."

Dong Fang Tang turned his head back to look at her and smiled.  Before she could respond, he had disappeared into the misty rain.

The stunned young girl looked at his quickly retreating figure in the rain.  Although she was surprised to watch him leave so suddenly, however, she was even more surprised to find out that he is in fact, Dong Fang Tang, the doctor who is famous throughout the country in recent years.

But how did he know her surname is Ruan?

Her gaze fell on the jade flute in her hand with the tassel and the piece of jade hanging at the end of it.  Engraved on the piece of jade was the name 'Ruan' and suddenly her lips twitched with a slight smile.