#TheMoonsHindMostWound.

6. Bleeding Moon 出血月

#FanFiction #TheApothecaryDiaries
#wss366 #MastoPrompt

Shortly after Basen left, Tinkle arrived with additional cloth and a flask of spirits.

Mao took the flask and set up a table with her tools next to Jinshi's prone body. Among them was a slender, sharp lancet.

"Please get me a clean bowl or vessel for liquid. It must be clean."

She frowned, then continued, “Then I’ll need your help. If you’re going to be squeamish about blood, then leave. I won't hold you back. If things go wrong, it will cost us our lives. Decide by the time you get back.”

The girl soon returned with a bowl and handed it to Mao.

“Hold the bowl so it catches any blood,” Mao said. “Be careful not to cast a shadow on the patient. When I ask for a cloth, hand me one. There is an iron in the brazier. If I need it, fetch it instantly.”

#Loosing no time, the woman nodded, moved the candle to better illuminate Jinshi, and picked up the bowl again.

Mao nodded almost imperceptibly in approval. She wouldn't need to worry about her help.

"I'm going to bleed the wound to remove as much poison as possible. That just leaves the tainted blood that has already spread to his body."

The woman nodded again and stood ready.

After washing the area with alcohol, Mao carefully cut two diagonal lines across the wound, ensuring it bled freely.

Mao glanced at her aide once. Satisfied, she looked back at her work. Tinkle held the bowl steady and deftly handed her the cloth when needed.

Mao gently massaged the tissue around the wound.

"Hand me the packets next to the cotton," Mao said. Tinkle held them out to her, the bowl barely trembling.

Mao tore open the packet and began sprinkling its contents onto the wound. The faint smell of #gall scented the air as she did so. "That's to help stop the bleeding."

"Cloth," she ordered.

Again, it was handed to her flawlessly, and she bandaged the wound while applying gentle pressure to the area.

"If you have any gods, pray to them." Not having much faith in gods herself, Mao didn’t follow her own advice. Beyond downcast eyes, it didn't appear that Tinkle did either.

“He should live for a while,” Mao resumed. “Hopefully, that will give us enough time to identify the poison and find an antidote.”

Continued next week

#MicroFiction #TootFic #Serial #NMV366 #NMFic
#ApothecaryDiaries