Volume 4 Chapter 82

Volume 4 + Chapter 82: The Doctor of The Far North Lands 

Someone stood at the door of the room, knocking to alert those inside.  

Both Xia Yi and Sheryl turned their gazes toward the sound.  

“Doctor, you’re here!”  

A smile spread across Sheryl’s face.  

From her expression, it was clear that this was the sole doctor of the Northern Clinic.  

However, upon seeing the doctor, Xia Yi felt deeply puzzled.  

The doctor before her was clearly male, though not particularly tall in stature. From head to toe, they were wrapped up tightly. Despite wearing a doctor’s white coat on the outside, not an inch of skin was exposed. Their hands were covered with black gloves, and their head was concealed by a gas mask. Even their neck and the nape were covered by a layer of tight-fitting clothing, making them appear almost as if they suffered from photophobia—truly bizarre.  

“Doctor, Miss Xia Yi just woke up. She’s the missing person the Northern Mining Field is offering a reward for. Now that we’ve rescued her, once we report it to the Northern Mining Field, we’ll receive a large sum of money!”  

Thinking of this, Sheryl grew excited.  

“The wages I’ve been owed for so long can finally be paid, and the Northern Clinic can be properly renovated too!”  

The doctor walked up to Xia Yi, seemingly observing her through the gas mask.  

At the same time, Xia Yi herself noticed a very strange detail, behind the doctor, there was no… tail?  

That was too strange. Why would there be no tail? Or perhaps…  

“Hello, Miss Xia Yi. I am the doctor of the Northern Clinic. I have been practicing medicine in the Far North Lands for many years,” the doctor introduced themselves. “Regarding the earlier situation, Sheryl should have provided some explanation, correct?”  

“Yes, she told me just now. I have a general understanding. Thank you for the assistance you provided.”  

“We have already notified the Northern Mining Field. They should arrive in this town soon to pick you up from the Northern Clinic. Is this arrangement acceptable to you?”  

“It is.”  

“Good.” The doctor nodded.  

Afterward, they checked on Elly’s condition once more.  

Both individuals had been discovered very promptly. They were merely suffering from exposure to the cold, and after receiving treatment to dispel the chill, their lives were no longer in danger.  

Elly gradually regained consciousness as well.  

“Wasn’t I swallowed whole by Her Highness?!” Elly touched her own cheek. “I remember being in Her Highness’s stomach, constantly being digested, about to melt into liquid, but then… I’m not dead?!”  

Listening nearby, Xia Yi felt extremely uncomfortable. When would she ever do such a strange thing!  

“Elly, snap out of it!”  

“Huh? Your Highness… You’re alright? That’s wonderful! I thought something terrible had happened to you, wuwuwu!!” Upon seeing Xia Yi, Elly breathed a sigh of relief.  

“… Your Highness?” the doctor repeated the title.  

“Yes, I am the Silver Dragon Princess, Xia Yi – Christie.”  

Xia Yi directly acknowledged it.  

On one hand, if she tried to forcefully deny being the Silver Dragon Princess in her current state, it would lack persuasiveness and easily invite suspicion.  

On the other hand, it was due to her interest in the doctor.  

Xia Yi believed the doctor might be the person she was looking for.  

“… So alike.”  

Though the voice was very soft, Xia Yi still heard the doctor’s murmur.  

This clearly meant they had seen Xia Lulu before!  

“Could it be that I was also disoriented and dreaming?” Elly scratched her head. “But those events didn’t feel like they were in a dream either.”  

“Elly, what happened to you back then?” Xia Yi asked.  

“Your Highness, at the time, you seemed to suddenly fall asleep. I was very worried about your condition, so I asked several times, but you didn’t respond at all. Then you suddenly stood up and ran alone into the blizzard. At the time, to chase after you, I even released my true dragon form, but then I was swallowed by a murky black shadow…”  

“Black shadow?!”  

“Yes.” Elly nodded.  

Hearing this, Xia Yi frowned. What exactly was going on?  

Her own memories didn’t match Elly’s. She clearly remembered seeing a giant beast-like shadow resembling a fly and being devoured by it.  

Yet Elly’s memory was different, with her behaving strangely.  

Which version was correct? Or were both of them mistaken?  

“Did you encounter a terrifying monster?” the doctor suddenly inquired.  

“Doctor, do you know about it?” Xia Yi said. “It seemed like I saw a very large, mysterious monster when we were in distress.”  

“There aren’t many doctors in the Far North Lands. I often need to leave the clinic to practice medicine in various places. Sometimes, I also encounter patients with abnormal mental states.”  

The doctor explained unhurriedly.  

“Most of these individuals experienced some bizarre events during blizzards. After their companions died, their own minds became disturbed, unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. They went mad, constantly insisting they had seen terrifying monsters and that their companions had been brutally killed by them.”  

“That sounds like what I encountered… Could it be real?”  

“Your Highness, you are different from those who went mad. They lost their rationality, speaking illogically as if their sanity had been completely shattered. But you appear perfectly normal, with no issues in logic or thinking.”  

“This…”  

Xia Yi couldn’t make sense of it either.  

“So, does such a mysterious monster truly exist in the Far North Lands?”  

“Currently, there is no substantial evidence to confirm the existence of such a mysterious monster. Assuming what you saw were hallucinations, then these hallucinations did not actually affect reality, correct?” The doctor pointed out the key issue.  

For example, Xia Yi saw the shadow of a giant beast that devoured her.  

And Elly saw murky black shadows appearing on her own body…  

Yet when the rescue team from the Northern Clinic arrived, none of them had seen these things.  

“Most dragons in the Far North Lands generally believe this to be a case of mental abnormality caused by extreme stress and despair in harsh environments. Victims mistake imagined hallucinations for reality, leading to mental breakdowns and loss of rationality. Such cases are not uncommon,” the doctor concluded. “However, perhaps because you and this maid possess strength different from ordinary people, you withstood this pressure and thus did not suffer severe aftereffects.”  

“Alright…”  

Hearing this explanation, Xia Yi felt a huge sense of disappointment.  

Deep in her heart, it seemed a voice still faintly told her that those experiences were real.  

“Your Highness, you and the maid should rest properly for a while. The Northern Mining Field will come to pick you up shortly,” the doctor said, turning to Sheryl. “Sheryl, let’s go now. We shouldn’t disturb the two of them any further.”  

“Okay~”  

Sheryl nodded and followed behind the doctor.  

Just as they were about to leave, Xia Yi called out a name to the doctor’s retreating back.  

“Joshua?”  

“…”  

The doctor halted, falling into silence. Then, they said a few words to Sheryl, who departed alone.  

“You… how do you know that name?”  

The doctor, whom Xia Yi had called “Joshua,” returned to the room, closed the door, and their tone noticeably changed.  

“That name was told to me by Xia Lulu,” Xia Yi revealed.  

“…”  

The doctor fell silent once more.  

Standing in the shadows of the room, they raised a hand, gently placed it on the gas mask, and slowly removed it, revealing their true face.