Chapter 378: Chapter 377: Surgery
Princess Anna’s room—to be precise, a hospital room—was oval-shaped, spacious, and bright.
In the very center was a foldable hospital bed. Its front half was slightly tilted upward, bathed in the light from pale yellow electric lamps on either side.
Several medical staff in white uniforms stood on either side of the bed. They were adjusting the height of a metal frame, similar to a clothes rack, from which hung a peculiarly shaped, wide-mouthed Glass Bottle.
This wide-mouthed Glass Bottle contained a transparent liquid. A filter membrane was set above its opening, and a natural rubber tube extended from below it, delivering the liquid into the patient’s vein.
The whole system resembled a rudimentary IV infusion setup. Judging by the medical personnel’s practiced ease, this likely wasn’t their first attempt.
It wasn’t too shockingly unconventional for the Fairy World to have developed intravenous infusion technology.
The earliest medical treatment involving intravenous infusion in the real world dates back to 1656, when an English physician injected medicine into a dog’s vein using a feather quill as the needle (poor dog). However, it wasn’t until the 1930s, with industrialization, that IV infusion equipment began to be used on a large scale.
Back in the orphanage, when other children played house and took turns being doctors, Li Ang had collected a batch of discarded medical equipment. He planned to clean and modify it, then use Big Yellow to recreate the historic open IV infusion systems. But Big Yellow ran too fast.
COUGH. COUGH. COUGH.
A faint coughing sound came from the bed. As a nearby medical staff member stepped aside, the players finally saw the face of the person lying there.
She was a gaunt young woman in a patient’s gown, with an oval face, long dark brown hair, and a pale complexion. Her beautiful features could not conceal her weakness and exhaustion.
Her face was familiar to everyone present: Princess Anna, the true ruler of the major kingdoms, whose image as Governor was minted on the Rune Kingdom’s silver coins.
COUGH. COUGH. COUGH. COUGH.
Anna doubled over, coughing violently. A medical staff member hurried into an adjacent small compartment, anxiously fetched a ceramic cup, and carefully handed it to Princess Anna.
Princess Anna glanced at the Eastern Monks but didn’t speak. She merely nodded to the medical personnel, indicating for them to open the cup’s lid.
When the ceramic lid was lifted, an intensely pungent medicinal smell wafted out. Princess Anna’s brow furrowed deeply, but she dutifully drank all the dark brown liquid.
The dark brown liquid was likely the Mandala Datura Magical Potion, specifically for treating heart disease. Its strong odor was pervasive. Since it had a short shelf life after preparation before losing its medicinal properties, it needed to be consumed quickly.
The small, adjacent compartment must have been the pharmacy used for preparing magic potions.
After drinking the potion, Anna retched. She had to drink a cup of plain water to suppress the urge to vomit, then collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.
At this point, the Spellcasters escorting the players pushed Li Ang and his companions forward.
Since the Governor had previously informed Princess Anna about them, he should have stated in his report that the Eastern Monk team consisted of powerful Spellcasters. The fact that Princess Anna’s security team dared to bring them here unshackled either proved their lack of intelligence or their absolute confidence that Li Ang and the others wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Amid these heavy thoughts, the Eastern Monk group had already been led before Princess Anna.
"You must be the masters from Eastern Tang who have come to the Rune Kingdom?" Princess Anna began to speak, her voice hoarse yet surprisingly clear and gentle. "I am truly sorry to meet you under these circumstances."
"Not at all, not at all," Li Ang said, smiling and rubbing his hands together. He spoke to Princess Anna with neither subservience nor arrogance, offering pleasantries like, "For our group of five from the Western Heavens, meeting Your Highness is a fortune spanning three lifetimes," and, "Right now, I’m so elated I wish I could play a suona to express my joy at seeing you!"
The natives of the Fairy World couldn’t understand Li Ang’s strange remarks, of course. They just thought this Brother Master Dao was very enthusiastic.
After the pleasantries, a masked female physician standing nearby began explaining the situation to Li Ang and his companions.
Princess Anna suffered from a severe congenital heart disease, which she had managed with various magic potions over the years. Recently, however, her condition had suddenly worsened. Even the Mandala Datura Magical Potion, which had always been effective, no longer produced immediate results. Therefore, they had thought of this group of Eastern Monks, who had recently caused quite a stir in Mori City and were reputed to be skilled in medicine, to see if they had any treatment solutions.
Li Ang didn’t agree immediately. First, he examined Princess Anna’s physical condition and carefully reviewed her past medical records. Only then did he request a private room for his group of five—master and disciples—to discuss treatment options.
When the female physician asked why he wouldn’t discuss the condition with them, Li Ang replied, "It seems the Rune Kingdom has no precedent for cardiac surgery."
This was true. In the Fairy World, the development of magic potions was quite advanced. There were remedies for colds, fevers, infected wounds, and even severe postpartum hemorrhage (though their actual effectiveness was a matter of opinion).
However, in terms of cardiac surgery, the medical standards in the Fairy World were relatively primitive.
Even in the real world, it’s worth noting, the first successful Blalock-Taussig shunt surgery didn’t occur until the 1940s, marking the beginning of modern cardiac surgery.
Considering the surgical standards of these quacks in the Fairy World... they should be thankful if the doctors didn’t prescribe a ’clinical dose of strong liquor, half for the patient and half for the doctor.’ Asking them to perform cardiac surgery? They might as well hand the patient a pistol for a quicker end—the corpse would probably be better preserved that way.
Although clearly displeased, the female physician—who appeared to be both the chief doctor and a personal assistant—still arranged a room for Li Ang and his party. However, she and her two assistants also entered, intending to record the monks’ conversation under the pretext of an ’exchange.’