Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Doctor's Tale

After a great feast thrown to honor the Doctor's help. The night had settled over Dao Dei, a gentle calm hanging over the village. 

The fires still crackled softly, the worst of the chaos easing as the villagers drifted into an uneasy sleep. 

The people were already all in their homes, happy and glad that they could live with their loved ones for another day.

The doctor had done what he could for now, his healing abilities easing the pain and slowing the progression of the sickness. 

He sat under an old tree on the edge of the village, the cool air refreshing against his skin. 

His hands rested on his knees, and he breathed in slow, steady rhythms, letting the exhaustion of the day pass through him. 

The village chief, the man whose cries had been among the loudest that morning, approached, his face now open to see, the wooden mask tucked under his arm.

"You've done more than we could ever ask," the chief said, his voice hoarse from hours of chanting and grief.

He lowered himself beside the doctor, the weight of his years showing as his joints creaked with the effort.

The doctor nodded but said nothing, his face calm and unreadable. He had heard words like these before. 

Gratitude always came first, but curiosity was never far behind.

The chief cleared his throat. "You're not from here," he said, . "Not from the Earth Kingdom, I mean. Your skills—what you did today—it's unlike anything we've seen. You're a waterbender, but not just that."

The doctor's eyes stayed on the horizon, watching the last wisps of smoke from the village fires. 

"I travel," he said simply.

The chief studied him for a long moment, his brow furrowing. "There are many travelers," he said slowly, "but few with your talents. Bloodbending, poison bending… those aren't skills learned from just anyone."

"I've learned many things," the doctor replied, his voice calm but distant. "Some useful, some dangerous. The difference is how you use them."

The chief's gaze didn't waver. "And how did you come to learn such things?"

The doctor's silence stretched between them, the wind rustling the leaves above. He didn't offer answers, and the chief didn't press. He had dealt with many strange travelers in his time, but none like this man. There was something different about him—something more deliberate in his movements, in the way he spoke. 

Finally, the chief sighed. "You could have left us to our fate. You didn't have to help."

The doctor glanced at him, his expression as calm as ever. "People are suffering. That's reason enough."

The chief nodded, though the answer didn't fully satisfy him. "And after this? Will you stay?"

The doctor shook his head slowly. "No. There are others who need help."

The chief's shoulders sagged, a mixture of relief and disappointment. "You're welcome here as long as you choose. I can't say I understand your ways, but I won't forget what you've done."

The doctor gave a small nod in acknowledgment, though he didn't offer more. His thoughts were already elsewhere, planning his next steps. The village would recover in time, but his path never stayed fixed for long. There were always more villages, more people in need. 

As the chief rose to leave, he hesitated. "What should we call you?"

The doctor stood, adjusting the worn cloak around his shoulders. "Call me what you like," he said, his voice steady as he walked into the night.

And with that, he disappeared into the shadows of the village, leaving behind only whispers and the fading memory of a man who had saved them but remained as much a mystery as when he had first arrived.

He didn't even let morning come before he left. He was a busy man with the will to help those in needs.

The chief understands that such a man should not be shackled to one place for too long. The longer he stays here the less people he can help in due time.

"Such a selfless man. He didn't even say his name, he didn't want fame nor wealth."

After that day, a statue of a man was built in the village square. In honor of the mysterious Doctor who helped them in need.

Children would learn kindness from his action, His deed would be passed down for generations. He would be akin to a Saint in this Village, the Patron Saint of Kindness and Health.

He was the Doctor.

*******

Doctor's PoV or Shen's PoV

I don't know how but I'm glad I was reincarnated in this world. Even after I have lived my purpose in my first life, I still got to do it again in this one.

To help people. To heal them, to ease them of their pain. That is my goal, in the first and in the second life.

"Now where to next?" I opened my kit and pulled a rolled parchment. 

It was a map of the four nations, one of the essential tools I have inside this trusty bag. 

I held my chin and carressed it as I hummed.

"Hmmmm"

I was still on the outskirts of Dae Dei so I should reach the next village soon. Maybe in a day or two?

As I walked through the narrow path of the forest, I stared at the moon and smiled. Such beauty. The moonlit gleams on my face, as if smiling back at me.

The forest was lonely and dark. And I was all alone traveling in it with no one, with just the light of the moon guiding my path and a single torch illuminating the ground.

Traveling is hard. Especially Alone. However something keeps me moving.

The smiles from the people I helped appeared in my mind, easing the solitude I was feeling from journeying alone.

"By the way, is Aang already awake?"