Translator: SumTLMan
Angel spent nearly half the night searching, and finally found a clue about the “snake-entwined staff” in a book called —Oath of the Healer—. In this book, there were several illustrations of ancient doctors saving people. Perhaps to mythologize the status of the doctors, they were depicted holding a staff entwined with a snake and emanating radiance while treating patients.
The most intriguing illustration was a four-panel sequence, which recounted an event from ancient times: a man holding a snake staff stood before a glowing cloud-like form. With the guidance of the “light cloud,” the man saved a city from a widespread epidemic.
If the author wasn’t deliberately mythologizing, Angel could only think of wizards possessing such extraordinary powers. The “light cloud” might be a large-scale healing spell.
Toward the end of the book, another illustration of the “snake-entwined staff” appeared.
However, this illustration didn’t depict a doctor holding the snake staff. Instead, it was set in a square where the “snake-entwined staff” was a statue, with countless doctors in white robes clenching their fists against their chests and bowing their heads before the statue.
The entire scene exuded an aura of solemnity and sacredness.
The title of the illustration was —Induction Oath Ceremony—.
All doctors would take an oath upon entering the profession. This oath included “diligence towards patients, self-discipline, and respect for medical science.” This illustration represented an induction oath ceremony.
After finishing the book, Angel’s doubts only grew.
In the previous illustrations, the “snake-entwined staff” was a tool in the hands of doctors. But in the end, it had become an object of faith during the doctors’ oath-taking ceremony, which was rather strange.
Angel pondered for a moment. Perhaps the initial illustrations were actually depicting a wizard specializing in healing. The wizard’s deeds of saving people were praised, and the illustrations were created. Later, as the wizard left and their deeds continued to be celebrated, the stories became increasingly mythologized over time. Eventually, even the snake staff became an object for the induction oath ceremony.
This was the complete logic that Angel could think of.
However… what did this have to do with Akeso? What did this have to do with Hippocrates?!
After searching for most of the day, was the “snake-entwined staff” just an ancient legend?! There was no mention of the snake’s name, let alone an explanation of its meaning. The matter of “Hippocrates” that Angel wanted to know most about wasn’t mentioned at all.
Feeling that his efforts were in vain, Angel reluctantly restored the books in the secret chamber and silently left.
He retraced his steps and stealthily exited the central library. When he reappeared in the square, Angel unexpectedly noticed that there were flecks of white frost floating down from the sky.
—Was it snowing? Only then did Angel realize that the falling white frost was actually snowflakes.
Having lived in a warm coastal area in the temperate zone since childhood, and now residing in the Mirror World, which also had warm weather throughout the year, Angel had seen frozen land on the Paramjit Plateau but rarely witnessed snowflakes. The only time he could recall was when he visited the imperial capital of the Goldfinch Empire as a young child and saw a heavy snowfall. Now, unexpectedly reunited with falling snow, his previously disheartened mood, for some unknown reason, improved significantly.
Amid the drifting snowflakes, Angel felt a peculiar sense of tranquility as he retraced his steps.
Each season has its symbolic emblem. Snow, in Angel’s mind, represented the “gift of winter.” The coat Angel wore had the effect of resisting both cold and heat, so he rarely felt the chill of winter. It was only when he saw the fluttering snowflakes that he realized winter had truly arrived.
Perhaps the gentle sound of falling snow had stirred the long-dormant emotions within Angel’s heart.
He thought of his distant family, of Leon, and of Jon.
It was also during the frozen moon that he left Grud Town and embarked on a journey to a mysterious world with Morrow. Time had flown by, and it had already been two years.
Two years in the long life of a wizard were not long. However, for Angel, time had passed too quickly. He had not yet grown strong enough to protect his family, nor had he found a way to heal Jon.
Now, he didn’t even know where he was.
Although he constantly reassured himself that he would return soon, who knew how long “soon” would be? A month? A year? Or perhaps ten years?
Moreover, the Purification Garden would soon open. Could he make it in time? That was also uncertain.
Angel shook his head, forcibly suppressing the myriad thoughts swirling in his mind. Excessive negative emotions would affect his judgment.
The night grew darker, and the snowflakes fell more heavily.
Angel did not activate the Purification Field, allowing the snowflakes to fall on him. He could not feel the chill of the snow, but as he watched the snowflakes land on him and slowly melt, his mood became much calmer.
Facing the downpour of feathery snow, Angel noticed a shop with a lit light at the end of the dark street.
It was a small clinic he had noticed earlier. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, he could see the interior—
A narrow room, a bright oil lamp, and simple tables and chairs. A young woman in a white robe, a doctor, sat in a chair, cradling a cup of hot drink in her hands, blowing on it gently while sipping. The white mist rising from the cup fogged her glasses.
This was the scene Angel saw when he passed by the only lit clinic in the snowy night through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Angel hesitated for a moment, then was spotted by the female doctor who had been idly watching the snowflakes fall. She removed her glasses and offered a gentle smile to Angel.
Startled, Angel instinctively wanted to lower his hat and quickly leave. However, his thoughts shifted as he recalled the —Oath of the Healer— he had seen not long ago. Instead, he nodded to the female doctor, then pushed open the door and entered the clinic.
The female doctor was taken aback, immediately setting down her cup and welcoming Angel.
“Come in and have a hot cup of tea; the snow outside is getting heavy,” the female doctor said without asking any questions. She could tell that this strangely dressed man had not initially intended to enter, and judging from his upright posture and the pace of his movements, he did not seem to be ill. She surmised that he had likely come to seek shelter from the snow.
The lady doctor methodically took out a cup and poured a hot tea into it.
Angel thought she would brew fermented tea, so he was initially inclined to refuse. However, when the lady doctor approached, he smelled a faint milky fragrance.
“I particularly enjoy drinking milk tea, so that’s all I have here,” the lady doctor said somewhat apologetically, “Sir, please give it a try. This is Wempton milk tea, and it’s especially warming in cold weather.”
Angel hesitated but accepted the cup.
However, he didn’t drink it right away. Instead, he placed it on the table, removed his tall hat, and gave the lady doctor a slight smile.
It was then that the lady doctor realized that the “sir” she had been addressing was just a young man. With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin as smooth as fine white porcelain, he was very handsome – even more so than the senior she had admired during her studies. Most importantly, he was still quite young and already so good-looking; how many women would be smitten with him once he matured?
The lady doctor couldn’t help but shake her head, regretting her early marriage.
“My name is Sherry, and I am the chief physician at Sherry Clinic,” the lady doctor Sherry said warmly to Angel, “The snow came so suddenly. Why don’t you stay here for a while? Once the snow eases up, you can head back.”
Angel nodded nonchalantly and then asked, “Dr. Sherry, did you graduate from the Golden Cross Medical College?”
Sherry paused, her face flushed with embarrassment, “Golden Cross is the best medical college in the Whiskas Kingdom, and my grades were not up to their admission standards. I graduated from the Folan Medical College. Although my alma mater is not well-known, it has produced many renowned physicians. Lady Caroline, the national doctor residing in Watthelmgrass, was once a student at Folan Medical College.”
Angel was not particularly concerned with the answer; he was merely using this as a lead to ask further questions.
“I heard that there’s an oath taken upon graduation from medical college. I’m quite curious about that. Dr. Sherry, could you tell me about it?”
Sherry was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why he would ask such a question. But since it wasn’t anything private and it was rare to have someone to chat with during the night shift, she didn’t conceal anything.
“I didn’t expect you to know so much about it. Are you planning to enter medical college too?”
Angel didn’t answer, but simply smiled.
Sherry cursed under her breath, as his smile was so captivating at such a young age…
“You’re right. We do take a Physician’s Oath upon graduation, but not only at graduation; we also take an oath when we first enter college. The wording of the oath remains unchanged, and I still remember it to this day…”
Sherry recited the oath.
It was essentially the same as the oath Angel had read in —Oath of the Healer—, but there was an additional principle added to the main themes of “diligence towards patients, demanding of oneself, and respect for medicine”:
—”Abandonment of theology.”
Angel’s eyes narrowed slightly, finding this additional line quite interesting. Even the Earth, a civilization purely focused on advancing its technology, did not speak in absolutes, leaving some room for “mystery.” Even renowned scientists have called for the idea that “at the end of science is God,” a controversial statement that has pushed philosophical discussions.
On the other hand, the Wizarding World, which genuinely possesses “mysticism,” surprisingly produced this kind of rhetoric that “resolutely abandons theology,” even written in the oath.
“Dr. Sherry, I understand the commitment to patients, self, and medicine. But why discard theology?”
Sherry: “Because theology is a means for the elites to deceive the common people, there are no gods in this world. Moreover, if a patient firmly believes that a god can heal them, how can we, as doctors, save them? My professor once said that theology is a stain on medicine.”
Angel nodded, mostly agreeing with Sherry’s words. Any means of maintaining order are devised by the elites: such as theology, moral standards, and legal norms.
Furthermore, Sherry’s point about patients putting their faith in gods and avoiding medical treatment indeed made sense.
However, claiming that theology stains medicine seemed a bit too harsh.
The so-called theology, in Angel’s understanding, is not religion but rather the unknowns of humanity. It could be people’s speculations and imaginings, whether as good as God or as evil as the devil.
When summed up, these essentially represent the “unknown.”
Since it is already “unknown,” how can one be certain that it would “stain” medicine? Compared to the other aspects of the Physician’s Oath, the use of the word “stain” is excessively severe.
Although Angel thought this way, he did not refute Sherry but instead asked: “Do you think there are extraordinary things in the world?”
Sherry hesitated slightly: “Probably not?”
Angel nodded, not continuing the conversation on this topic.