"No, no. I'm sorry. Please, don't take my earlier actions to heart." The guard's heart warmed at her forgiving nature.
Unlike the arrogant and haughty misses he saw, the girl exuded a faint aura that made separated her from the masses. Moreover, the aura wasn't one of blind arrogance, but majesty.
Truly a noble miss.
He couldn't help but curse himself for being blind. How had he missed her noble aura earlier?
But this wasn't the guard's fault.
Princess Qamari was afraid of drawing too much attention and had purposely suppressed her aura. If one wasn't particularly searching for it, then they would never notice it.
"Help! Someone help me! My sister! My sister needs medical aid!"
Right at this moment, the panicked shout of a noble young man pierced through the amiable atmosphere and reverberated at the South-west gate.
The crowd turned as one and saw a young man with disheveled clothes and messy hair panickily stagger towards the gate with a female in his arms.
"My sister...she...she fainted. Please help me find a physician." The young man slumped to the ground, his cheeks streaming with tears.
"This...what's going on here?"
"It looks like his sister had an accident."
"Wouldn't he need to enter the Imperial City to find aid?"
"No, no, did you forget? There's a physician here!"
Instantly, everyone's eyes swiveled back to the old man that stood beside Princess Qamari.
"Ah...everyone, I'm a pharmacist working at the Saving Lives pharmacy. I can administer drugs, but I don't claim to possess medical skills." The Old Man awkwardly stroked his beard.
"Mr., you're the only one with any knowledge of medicine. Can't you try and see if you can help his sister?" A young woman standing by the side felt bad for the young man.
His condition was already bad. If he had to enter the city before he could seek aid, wouldn't it be too late to save his sister then?
"That's right. You at least have a knowledge of medicine. Try and see if you can help." Another similarly sympathetic female encouraged.
The other bystanders stepped up as well and before long, everyone was encouraging the Old Man to save the young lady.
"Old man, everyone is saying to try. Why don't you go and give it a shot? Maybe you'll succeed?" The left guard didn't want anything to happen to the young man's sister at the southwest gate.
Otherwise, the unreasonable aristocrats would try to find fault with him for delaying the entrance of the citizens into the city.
Princess Qamari looked at the female's face and frowned.
The girl's color was very pale. There were hints of blue on her fingernails and patches of blue spots on her forehead.
Without a doubt, she was poisoned.
"Old man, go and give it a try. This is a matter of life and death and shouldn't be delayed."
Seeing everyone pushing him to at least try, Old Man Reehem released a resigned sigh and stepped forward.
"Alright, I'll try."
Khan Tyron was on the brink of collapsing from fright. His little sister was good and well one second. The next instant, she fainted without warning.
The worst part was, he and his sister came out alone together and didn't bring any physician with them. Now she was passed out, her face turning blue, as he manically sought a physician without any success.
It was right at this moment when he was weak and his body felt too heavy to move, that someone appeared before him.
"Young man, let me give it a shot. I'm a pharmacist and not a physician. But if there's a drug I can administer to improve her condition, then I'll try my best to save her life."
"Ah...you are?"
"I'm Pharmacist Reehem from the Saving Lives pharmacy in the Inner City."
"Master Reehem, please save my sister." Without another word, Tyron bowed his head and tearfully pleaded.
"I'll try my best." Old Man Reehem nodded and knelt to check the girl's condition.
The crowd, with the guards of the city gate in the lead, gathered around the master and waited with bated breath. This was a matter that concerned another's life and death, after all.
Bai Lan slinked to Princess Qamari's side and watched the scene with shiny eyes.
"Princess, your medical skills must be higher than the old man's, right? Why don't you try?" During their journey from the Iris realm to the Amaya realm, they'd encountered many dangerous situations and incurred deadly injuries.
But thanks to Princess Qamari's outstanding medical skills, they had managed to successfully preserve their lives and enter the Amayan realm alive.
"I'm just a girl a little over 18. Would these people allow me to approach the girl if there's a more experienced elder before them? They'd more likely scoff at me and scorn me." Being a female was already her greatest disadvantage.
Her young age would only heighten their doubt and distrust.
"Hmm...that's true." Understanding this point, Bai Lan piped down and silently stood beside the other.
In solemn silence, Pharmacist Reehem diagnosed the girl and checked her condition.
After what felt like forever, the old man's face sunk and he looked at the unconscious female with pity.
Seeing his serious expression, Khan Tyron's heart leaped to his throat. "Old master, is everything okay? Will you be able to help my sister?" He anxiously asked.
The old man remained silent for a tense moment. This caused the more experienced men and women to exchange brief glances and sympathetically shake their heads.
They didn't need to hear the man say the words. From his silent and serious expression, they knew the girl's situation was hopeless.
Pharmacist Reehem sighed helplessly. "Young man, you're sister's condition is very critical. But that's not even the worse. The worse is that I can't treat her illness. From the blue spots on her skin and fingernails, it's obvious that she's poisoned. But unless we know what that poison is, we can't begin her treatment."
"How...how can that be...?" Poisoned? When had his sister come in contact with poison?
During their entire outing, he'd remained beside her like a shadow, guarding and protecting her from any danger. And yet, she still ended up in a critical condition.
What was he going to tell his parents and brother? That he had only one duty and failed to even carry that out?
"M...master, if I rush her into the city, there's a chance that she'll survive. Maybe a doctor can treat her. You said it yourself that you're only a pharmacist and not a physician. So I'm sure that a physician will be able to help her." Tyron refused to give up. Not when he hadn't even met a real physician yet.
"That's also a possibility." Pharmacist Reehem didn't say anything else and stepped to the side.
Struggling to his feet, the young man secured his hold on his sister's body. The crowd immediately split apart, allowing him to pass without any hindrance.
"Sigh. I hope his sister will survive. She's too young to die this early."
"I hope so too. But with the unrest in the empire because of the mutated magical beasts' appearance, I doubt she'll be the first and last young lady to die."
At this, a tense silence filled the air.
The matter of the mutated magical beasts was one no one brought up easily. Consciously or subconsciously, everyone avoided the topic and shut off their minds from the nightmare about to descend.
Just when they were living with their hearts in their throats, their Sovereign of Death appeared and lifted the heavyweight on their chests.
In their minds, as long as Crown Prince Lail was around, no danger, magical or manmade, could harm the citizens of the Amayan Empire.
The young man anxiously walked towards the gate when a delicate voice sounded behind him.
"Young man, my master is a physician. If you'd like, he can take a look at your sister." Garbed in yellow and with a lovely appearance, the young lady's blonde hair and pale blue eyes radiated gentle warmth.
Khan Tyron was stunned.
In the Imperial City, beautiful females weren't in shortage. What's more, the females were trained from little in the four arts. As such, by the time they reached 15, their every move and gesture displayed grace and elegance that was meant to enchant the opposite sex.
Perhaps it was due to this very contrast that the carefree and unpolished beauty of the blond before him captured his heart. She was different and that difference made her stand out, like an unpolished jade among a sea of peacocks.
"Young miss, you are..."
"Haha...no need to call me young miss. You can just call me Ruen. Hurry, bring your sister to my master. He is a skilled physician and will definitely be able to help you." The girl anxiously waved at the young man and turned to a grey-haired man beside her.
Cutely grabbing the middle-aged man's arm, she fixed her watery eyes on his face and coyly requested. "Master, you must help the Young Master. I already gave him my word that you'll be able to help him, okay?"
"You vixen, you didn't even ask for Master's permission before running off and promising treatment. Are you really my disciple? Why do I feel like you're my master?" The middle-aged man mock raged and smacked her forehead.
The girl pouted, then broke out into a cute giggle. "Hehe...isn't because Master spoils me that I'm like this?"
"Hmph! I'll fix you later." With a helpless sigh, he stepped forward and faced the despondent young man.
"Young man, place your sister down. I'll have a look at her." Flapping his white robes, he knelt on one knee and expectantly waited.
"Ye...Yes! Thank you in advance physician!" He hurriedly stepped forward and sat on the ground with his sister on his lap.
"You can call me Physician Xuan."
The people were dubiously watching the scene from the side. A pharmacist had just checked the girl but failed to administer any drug for treatment. Then a physician came out of nowhere and stepped up to check again.
If the man turned out to be another mere meddler in the medical field, then the girl had no hope of surviving this ordeal.
Their expressions immediately turned sympathetic as they felt pity for the young female on the brink of death. With no knowledgeable and experienced doctor to look at her, she could only rely on the mercy of the heavens and her fortune.
But the moment the spectating crowd heard the name of the physician, their expressions changed.
"Ph...physician Xuan? The great Physician Xuan that could even bring the dead back to life?"
"No way! Why is physician Xuan here? I heard he was out exploring the wonders of the world."
"Maybe he came back because of the mutated magical beasts' appearance? After all, he's only a doctor. He doesn't have the power to confront magical beasts."
"Whatever the case, I'm now much more relieved. With Physician Xuan's appearance, this little girl has a chance at life."
When Old Man Reehem heard the other's name, his face changed colors and he swiftly turned and glared in his direction.
"Da**! This old foggy is back? He should've died outside. Why is he back?" His usual cool demeanor immediately disappeared and he agitatedly strode towards the man.
Princess Qamari and Bai Lan exchanged a glance and smirked.
"From his expression, the other seems to be an old rival of his?" Bai Lan amusedly remarked.
"It seems like it. Let's go. Let's go and join in the fun." Unlike when she first entered the Amayan Empire, Princess Qamari's cold aura had thawed a great deal after spending three months in the Bai Settlement.
Right now, even though she still couldn't be labeled as approachable, she also wasn't a frosty beauty that kept others within a mile radius.
As such, the moment she appeared with Bai Lan and stood behind Pharmacist Reehem, curious and interested sights fell on her veiled face.
"Old Xuan, it really is you." Pharmacist Reehem gritted through clenched teeth.
If looks could kill, at that moment, the hateful glare of the Old Pharmacist would've been enough to send Physician Xuan to the gates of hell.