Chapter 62: Loli Elf

“I understand your issue.”

Yushi nodded, closing the medical file.

“Honestly, this is rare. I’m not too experienced with it.”

“Ha.”

Hearing a doctor admit inexperience wasn’t reassuring.

Meng Linna’s mood was predictable.

“Then recommend someone who is.”

Yushi set her glasses on the desk, sighing softly.

“It’s not about the doctor. You need to find the vampire who bit you. But from your tone, that’s tough, right?”

Meng Linna nodded.

“Yeah.”

“So, the standard Yanan method is full-body blood therapy. Drain your vampire-tainted blood, replace it. Maybe swap some organs, depending.”

Yushi handed Meng Linna a blood therapy brochure.

“But, as a doctor with a conscience, I don’t recommend it. It’s successful, but risky. First, large-scale blood therapy can addict you. Second, it’s costly—thousands of gold coins, assuming your organs aren’t tainted.

I doubt you can afford that.”

Meng Linna flipped through the brochure.

It praised blood therapy’s benefits.

But scrawled notes on the last page warned of its addictive nature and beastly side effects.

‘Probably this doctor’s research.’

‘A warning for me?’

Meng Linna pushed it back.

“You’re right. I could scrape together the money. But my organs might be tainted too. It’s not looking good.”

Surprised Meng Linna returned the brochure, Yushi smiled faintly.

“Then the cost could near ten thousand gold coins.”

“That’s beyond what I can gather in a year.”

Meng Linna spread her hands.

“Any other options, doctor?”

“As a doctor, that’s all I can offer. Sorry.”

Meng Linna’s eyes showed disappointment.

“Well, thanks anyway.”

She grabbed her file, turning to leave.

“So, consultation’s over?”

Yushi pressed a button, ending the session’s recording.

Na Naya stood quickly.

Yushi called out.

“I accidentally hit ‘off-duty’ instead of ‘next patient’. Could you tell the nurse outside I messed up?”

What a clumsy doctor.

She hadn’t helped, but her blood therapy warning earned Meng Linna’s trust.

“No problem.”

Yushi stood, lowering her voice.

“Well, since I hit ‘off-duty,’ I’m not a doctor now.”

Unsure what she meant, the two stood, puzzled.

“So, as a non-doctor, what I say next is fine. If a patient follows it, they can’t blame me, right?”

Yushi winked playfully.

Meng Linna caught on, nodding.

“We didn’t hear anything. You just asked us to tell the nurse you pressed the wrong button.”

Yushi laughed at Meng Linna’s response.

“Smart kid. Fine, I’ll say it. There’s a place in the antique market behind the hospital. Called Honest Folk Secondhand Shop. Go ask there.”

“Secondhand shop?”

Na Naya looked skeptical.

“What’s worth checking there?”

Yushi just smiled, shooing them out.

***

“You’re really going to that secondhand shop? I think that doctor’s sketchy. She might be sending you to some con artist.”

Leaving the hospital, Na Naya frowned.

A doctor admitting inexperience wasn’t trustworthy.

“No way. She seemed responsible.”

Meng Linna trusted Yushi.

Her warning about blood therapy showed she wasn’t malicious.

Na Naya scoffed.

“Heh.”

Too lazy to argue, she followed Meng Linna to the “Honest Folk Secondhand Shop.”

“Zero Egg (super bubbly voice)!”

A weird sound hit them as they entered.

It came from a TV commentating a match.

“Customers?”

Noticing them, a loli elf at the counter stood from her grand chair.

Meng Linna couldn’t help staring at her elf ears.

“What do you sell here?”

“Newbies, huh.”

The elf stood, sounding annoyed.

“As the sign says, secondhand stuff. You’re adventurers, right. I’ve got gear. Don’t ask about the bloodstains. Prices are way cheaper than potions.”

Na Naya couldn’t resist.

“Sounds like a place for fencing stolen goods.”

The elf didn’t deny it, just smiled.

“That’s why I said don’t ask.”

“…”

The two exchanged glances, speechless.

“Stop teasing them.”

A familiar voice came from behind.

They turned—it was Yushi.

No longer in her doctor’s coat, she wore a rustic plaid linen dress.

Black knee-high stockings, round-toe shoes clicking.

A detective hat and glasses amplified her literary vibe.

“Tch.”

The elf glared at Yushi.

“You, skipping work to bug me?”