14 A Village with no Doctor

  Anna's whole body is shaking as if it is on the verge of shattering. Her mind nearly goes blank from the pain. She isn't a cultivator, so suddenly having foundation energy flow through her is devastating. Blood trickles from her mouth and nose. Her arm is broken, and her leg muscles torn. She can't stand anymore, falling to her knees, covering her son.

  "Mommy!" Franklin hugs his mom, making her wince. Anna smiles through the pain at her son as she gently hugs him with her only working limb.

  'Perhaps this is fate,' Anna thinks as she hears the angry demonic beasts all around. However, at this moment, the area surges with suppressive force. Joe finally arrives. Even when Joe unhurriedly moves to the villagers, he is a blur.

  Joe smashes into a fox demonic beast with surprising agility considering his large size. His hooves smash four foxes before they even know what is happening. Their internal organs turn to mush as they become part of the ground. Another two are blown away by Joe's large gut flying towards the sun.

  The foxes' morale is annihilated, and they flee in all directions. The situation changes so fast that everyone feels whiplash. Joe just snorts as Arron arrives with a shocked expression he looks on in awe at the aftermath of this demonic bull's rampage.

  Franklin's eyes soon fill with worry as he spots Anna. "Anna!" he runs over as more villagers arrive, including Mellisa.

  Mellisa sprints over and scoops up her daughter, who has yet to recover from her fright. Laurel grips her mother's back and can't stop crying, soaking Melisa's dress with snot and tears. "Mom, mom, I'm sorry!" She wails between sobs.

  Joe sees that he is no longer needed lumbers slowly back to the hill as he goes past the villagers. They give him a wide birth. Joe yawns as he ignores the weak ants.

  "This isn't good," Arron says, inspecting Anna's broken body.

  Gregory comes over and frowns as he sees the young mother's torn body. "There's nothing we can do here. Let's take her and the kids to safety first," He advises shaking his head.

  Arron and Gregory carry Anna in their arms. Anna has already passed out, sparing her more pain. Once she is laid down in the village, Gregory takes a closer look. He is not a doctor, so he can't think of anything they can do to aid her.

  He pulls Arron aside, leaving the crying boy to watch over his mom. "I doubt she will live much longer," he sighs with a frown.

  "Is there nothing we can do?" Arron laments.

  "I think even if we had a doctor at best, she'd be extremely crippled. What can mortals like us do for such wounds?" Gregory diagnoses.

  "Perhaps the great demonic bull can help?" Arron ponders.

  "You're grasping at straws. We are already lucky he intervened as he did." Gregory replies, glancing at the hill. "Hell, he already does enough to let us live here… Why would you think a bull would know how to heal?" Gregory reasons with the broken-hearted man.

  Franklin can see the pity in the eyes of the adults. Yet all he can do is cry and hate himself. He grasps his mother's good hand tightly, hoping for a miracle.

  "Come, let's move her inside so she can rest," Gregory says while patting the boy on the shoulder.

  The men bring her into their small hovel, laying her on a few furs and hay. "I'll stay here with you tonight," Arron tells Franklin covering his despair. Franklin eventually cries himself to sleep while Arron watches Anna trying to keep her as comfortable as he can.

  "Well, aren't you down in the dumps?" John says, floating around in Franklin's dream.

  "Go away!" Franklin screams, "It's all your fault."

  Raising his eyebrow in surprise, John smiles at the boy. "Oh, blaming me? That's fine. Yes, I quite clearly remember telling you to take a girl on a date in the forest. Yes, that was part two of your training," he teases the boy.

  The young boy looks at the old man with burning eyes. "If it wasn't for your stupid training..." But Franklin can't continue. He is only mad at the jovial nature of the old man. After faltering, Franklin again looks at the old man. "Is there any hope for my mother?" he mumbles.

  "Hmm, your mother, is it?" John asks as he begins to pace in the sky. He rubs his chin and continues, "indeed, I believe she over stressed her body with her bloodline technique. Still, hope isn't completely lost. Though there is little hope in this abode, you have here."

  Franklin swallows hard as he processes what his teacher said. "What! Is there truly a way to help?"

  "I won't say for certain that she can fully recover. Yet, death, I do believe, can be turned away at least." A pondering old man responds while he looks into the distance as if trying to see the future. Shaking his head, he becomes absent-minded.

  After a few minutes of silence, Franklin is unable to hold it in any more. Looking at the old man that seems to have forgotten that he is in the middle of an important conversation. "Well, what can I do to save my mom!?" Franklin implores the old man.

  "Oh, yes, that. Sorry kid I was just a bit distracted," John says, shaking his head to shake his thoughts away. He proceeds to recreate the town in the dreamscape. "Just bring her to the top of the hill. It's quite easy. But I wouldn't rely on this too often, you understand?"

  Franklin's eyes flitter back and forth. He can't understand. "Will the demonic bull save her?" Franklin questions.

  John harrumphs and waves his hands as he rants, "what does a stupid animal that can't even speak, know of healing? You're quite dumb, aren't you?" Finally, he looks at the boy with pity as if to say you are as dumb as a rock.

  Franklin looks at his hands. He is completely lost. "Then why will the hill heal my mother?" Franklin continues to question.

  "Use your brain damn it! Do you think a powerful beast sits on a hill all day for fun? Do you truly think that it's normal for weeds and plants to grow so quickly? Clearly, there is something else to the hill. Anyone with eyes can see that," John explains. He rubs his forehead as if Franklin has given him a headache.

  The boy's eyes gleam with understanding and shock that they hadn't considered this before. 'Perhaps the adults had contemplated it without us kids,' Franklin wonders. He doesn't know what miraculous treasure lies there, but if it can help his mom, that is all that matters.

  "Alright, I'm off," Franklin states as the dream fades away.

  "Sure, boy, have fun," The old man laughs. The laughter shakes the dream world, shattering it waking Franklin up with a jolt.