The Divine Physician's Rebirth: Ascension from Silverbrook

Chapter 4: The Lost Art

“You hungry? Want me to make you some noodles?”

“Thanks,” Ryder nodded, smiling. “I'd like that.”

“Hang on a sec!” Zara said, holding up a slim finger with a playful look.

Ryder watched her go, smiling. He knew he'd made the right call. The herbs here should work for his training, and the human place, even with its problems, had more going for it than he first thought.

He grabbed his small bag and went into his room. It was tiny, maybe 8 square meters, and pretty grim with the cold and damp – nothing like the big temples he was used to.

But Ryder had trained in worse caves, so it didn't bug him too much. What he really needed was Spiritual Energy, and that was hard to find in this world. Looks like he'd be counting on those herbs to get stronger.

A light knock interrupted him.

“Zara? Come on in,” Ryder said.

Zara walked in holding a bowl of hot shredded chicken noodles. The steam smelled amazing, filling the small room. She put the bowl on the table quickly, then touched her red earlobes, “ummm, that's hot!”

Ryder had to laugh. She always showed how she felt. Her innocence and excitement made him forget, for a minute, all the stuff he'd been dealing with for centuries.

He gave her a smile, thinking maybe this place won't be so bad.

“Dante, try some!” Zara sat on a stool across from him, her feet in slippers swinging. “I saw your ID when you were out. Your name's Dante, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Ryder was surprised. Right, from now on, he was Dante.

Dante picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. Simple noodles, but they were just what he needed. It had been ages since he'd had normal food. The taste brought back memories.

“How is it, Dante?” Zara's eyes were wide as she waited for him to say.

“Amazing, haha! Best noodles ever,” Dante said, enjoying the simple food. He couldn't help but notice how young and full of life Zara was. Her energy made him feel better.

“Dante, can you really do the Four-Colored Needle thing?” Zara asked, sounding curious, her eyes sparkling. “I thought that was just a story!”

Dante stopped eating and looked at her. “Zara, what are you studying?”

“I'm learning traditional medicine!” Zara said, looking happy, but then she got serious. She leaned in, like she was sharing a secret.

“Traditional medicine is dying out,” Zara said quietly. “People don't think it's worth anything.”

“Why are you and your dad still doing it?” Dante felt bad for her. He could hear the sadness. “Tell me about it,” he said gently.

Zara frowned, which she seemed to do when she thought about this stuff. She sighed, “Well, my dad seems kind of… tough, but he's had a hard time of it. My mom died when I was little, and he raised me by himself. It's been hard. People told him to close the clinic and do something else, but he wouldn't. He always says we have to save traditional medicine because our ancestors left it for us.”

She paused like it was hard to say all of that. Then she spoke even quieter, “Plus, Dante, my grandpa was a doctor. But years ago, people said he was a fake. He got mad and burned all the family's books and didn't let my dad learn anything. So, my dad never learned from him.”

Zara sighed again, almost crying. “When I went to school, my dad told me to only study TM. He wants Silverbrook Hall to be famous again, like it used to be.”

Zara's eyes were wet. She blinked and smiled, but it was sad. Dante felt for her.

“Yeah Zara, keep going. It's worth it. Your family knew a lot, and it'll help you later.”

Zara smiled a little. “You think so, Dante?”

“I do,” he said seriously. “Your dad's dream is good, and you're doing something important.”

“Dante, could you… teach me the Four-Colored Needle thing?” Zara asked carefully, like she wasn't sure if she should ask.

Dante smiled more. “Sure. I'm part of Silverbrook Hall now, aren't I? You're basically my boss,” he joked, and she laughed.

Really, he was a little sad. Years ago, when the Dark Medical Sect started, traditional medicine was doing great. Now, things were different. A lot of knowledge had been lost. And some people wanted to make it look bad. This made him angry. But it also made him want to help.

Maybe his surviving wasn't just luck. Maybe it was time for this medicine to get popular again, because of it. He'd teach anyone who cared. If they wanted to learn the Four-Colored Needle thing, he'd do it. Sharing this stuff was a good thing.

“Haha, awesome!” Zara said, laughing. She was so happy, and the room felt brighter.

Then, Theo yelled from the next room, “Zara! Aren't you going back to your room?”

Zara rolled her eyes at the wall and then grinned at Dante. “That's my cue.”

“Dante, you should rest. I'm going,” Zara said, standing. She clapped her hands together like their little meeting was over.

“Okay,” Dante said, smiling as she left.

But Dante didn't rest. He went to where they kept the herbs and grabbed a few that he needed. He mixed them together, following a recipe he knew by heart.

The clinic had a modern electric pot for making the medicine, which wasn't the way he used to do it, but it would work. Dante figured out how to use it and put the herbs inside. He set the timer and let it cook for over an hour.

When it was ready, he went back to his room with a bowl of dark, thick liquid. It smelled strong, but also familiar.

He sat on the bed, crossed his legs, and drank every bit of the liquid.

As soon as it was inside him, he closed his eyes and focused. He started thinking about the Sacred Path of Harmonious Healing.

The Sacred Path had seven stages: Calm Mind, Rooted Heart, Gentle Breath, Resilient Body, Clear Spirit, Balanced Life, and Eternal Peace.

But before he could start Rooted Heart, Dante had to use the medicine to get rid of the bad stuff in his body. This would be fast, but it had to be done. Dante called it the Soul-Cleansing stage, and it had three parts: Awareness, Acceptance, and Surrender. Each part would make his body better, building a good base for everything else.

Dante felt more alert as he started training, the old ways coming back to him.