Chapter 1 Anna's Room

Princess Anna's room was more accurately described as a ward – oval-shaped, spacious, and well-lit.

In the center stood a foldable hospital bed, its head slightly raised, bathed in the soft yellow glow of the electric lamps on either side.

Several medical personnel in white uniforms stood around the bed, adjusting a clothes rack-like metal frame with oddly shaped glass bottles hanging from the top.

These bottles contained a transparent liquid that was filtered through a membrane at the bottle's opening and then fed into the patient's veins via a natural rubber tube.

The entire system resembled a primitive IV setup. Judging by the medical staff's practiced movements, it wasn't their first attempt.

It wasn't surprising that the fairytale world had developed IV technology.

In the real world, the earliest intravenous infusion treatment dated back to 1656 when an English physician used a feather quill as a needle to inject drugs into a dog's veins (poor dog). However, it wasn't until the 1930s, with increased industrialization, that intravenous infusion equipment began to be widely used.

As an aside, when Li Ang was in the orphanage, and the other kids were playing house, he'd specifically collect discarded medical equipment, intending to clean and modify it so he could recreate a historical, fully open intravenous infusion system on Da Huang.

But Da Huang was just too fast.

"Cough, cough, cough."

A faint cough echoed from the bed. As one of the medical staff moved aside, the players finally caught sight of the person lying there.

It was a gaunt young woman in a hospital gown, with an oval face, long dark brown hair, and pale skin. Her features were lovely but couldn't hide her weakness and exhaustion.

Her appearance was familiar to everyone present. It was Princess Anna, the proconsul whose image was stamped on the front of the Ruen Kingdom's silver coins, the true ruler managing the various kingdoms.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough."

Anna doubled over, coughing violently. The medical staff hurried to the small room next door, returning with a ceramic cup, which they carefully offered to the princess.

Anna glanced at the Eastern monks, nodded to the medical staff without a word, and motioned for them to open the cup.

As the ceramic lid was lifted, an intensely pungent medicinal odor wafted out. Anna frowned deeply but obediently drank the dark brown liquid.

The dark brown liquid was likely the Mandaracha potion specifically designed to treat heart conditions – a potion with a strong, easily diffused odor and a short lifespan from brewing to loss of potency, requiring immediate consumption.

The small room next door must have been a pharmacy specifically for brewing potions.

After drinking the potion, Anna gagged for a while and had to drink a glass of water to suppress the urge to vomit before collapsing back onto the bed, exhausted.

At this moment, the spellcasters escorting the players from behind pushed Li Ang and the others forward.

Since the proconsul had filed a report to Princess Anna about them, he must have stated that the Eastern monks were a team of powerful spellcasters.

These members of Princess Anna's security detail dared to bring them here without shackles, either proving they were brainless or proving they had absolute confidence that Li Ang and the others wouldn't cause any trouble.

Amidst these thoughts, the Eastern monk troupe was brought before Princess Anna.

"You must be the masters from the Eastern Tang Dynasty who have come to Ruen,"

Princess Anna said slowly, her voice hoarse but with a clear and gentle tone. "I apologize for meeting you in this setting."

"Not at all,"

Li Ang said with a smile, rubbing his palms together, behaving neither obsequiously nor superciliously as he exchanged pleasantries with Princess Anna. Eventually, a female physician wearing a mask explained the situation to Li Ang and the others.

Princess Anna suffered from a severe congenital heart condition, which she had been managing with various potions over the years. Recently, however, her condition had suddenly worsened, and even the consistently effective Mandaracha potion was no longer providing immediate relief.

Therefore, she thought of this group of Eastern monks who had been stirring up trouble in Mori City recently and were said to be very skilled in medicine, wanting to ask them if they had any treatment plans.

Li Ang didn't agree immediately. Instead, he first examined Anna's physical condition and then asked for her previous medical records to review carefully. After that, he requested a private room for the five masters and disciples to discuss treatment options.

As for why he wouldn't discuss the condition with the female physician, Li Ang replied, "The Ruen Kingdom doesn't seem to have a precedent for cardiac surgery."

This was true. The level of potion development in the fairytale world was very high. Colds, fevers, wound infections, and even postpartum hemorrhage – various ailments had corresponding potions for treatment (as for the effectiveness of the treatment, that was up to each individual to judge).

However, in terms of cardiac surgery, the fairytale world's medical level was still relatively behind.

Even in the real world, it wasn't until the 1940s that the first successful Blalock–Taussig shunt surgery took place, thus opening the history of cardiac surgery development.

If the fairytale world's quack doctors didn't prescribe a "one bottle of strong liquor, split between doctor and patient" clinical prescription, they could thank their lucky stars.

Letting them perform cardiac surgery would be worse than handing the patient a gun and letting them commit suicide – that way, the corpse might even remain more intact.

Despite being quite displeased, the female physician, who seemed to be both the attending physician and personal assistant, arranged a room for Li Ang and the others. However, she herself, along with two other assistants, also entered the room, intending to record Li Ang's conversations under the guise of exchanging information.