49 - Chapter 44

Sa Bina and Sun Li spent some time catching up on what had been happening while the inn manager made arrangements for the interviews.

“So how many healers are you looking to recruit,” asked Sun Li. “They are some of the most expensive to retain.”

“As many as I can get,” said Sa Bina. “I am building an army. I am going to need to be able to provide medical facilities for them. Even training accidents can happen.”

“You should be able to get enough healers to support your army,” said Sun Li. “Are you looking for anything else?”

“I don’t know if you healers have specialisations here,” said Sa Bina. “Or can any of them heal any injury?”

“Most healers can treat physical wounds,” said Sun Li. “You need specialists if you want to treat injuries to meridians or maladies of the mind. Anyone who can help heal dantians will not be available, they are always in high demand. I don’t even know if you will get anyone who is a specialist.”

“We will also need a lead healer,” said Sa Bina. Internally she was hoping there was at least one mental health specialist here to interview. “I would want to take on someone who can manage the whole department for me. Also would it be the healers who would be responsible for helping my people improve their cultivation, or would that be another profession?”

“Normally for anything cultivation related you would go to the sect,” said Sun Li.

“That is why I am asking you,” replied Sa Bina. “My army is going to be facing a beast wave. The better prepared they are, the less people I will lose. I am just trying to get an advantage.”

“Well you are technically part of the Green Mountain Sect,” said Sun Li after some thought. “Let me ask for you, but it may be possible for your retainers to be treated as associated with us by proxy. That would allow them to access cultivation resources, but you would have to pay for them.”

“I am happy to look at any opportunities to improve my retainers,” said Sa Bina. “I would welcome your guidance on the matter.”

By this point everything was arranged. Sa Bina and Sun Li entered a room that had been prepared for the interviews, while Lou Sie went to manage the candidates. This time the process should be better, as everyone had been informed about the fact that they would be required to move their allegiance.

Lou Sie informed them that the applicants numbered an even dozen. And so began their latest rounds of interviews.

Sun Li’s presence helped a great deal, and the applicants were not as put out when they realised they would be working for Sa Bina, as the artificers had been. Still, not all the candidates were suitable. Sa Bina had asked Lou Sie to send them in order of seniority, with the ones with the least experience coming in first. This was so that Sa Bina could also learn from the interviews and come across better in the later interviews.

The first few were eager, but had to be rejected due to their limited abilities. They were still journeymen and could not operate without oversight. They had been hoping to be trained to be a full healer. When they realised that Sa Bina was just building out a healer unit, they asked Sa Bina to keep them in mind if any training opportunities arose. Lou Sie took notes.

From there the quality improved, but they were still all generalists. Sa Bina was not going to make any decisions until she had the opportunity to interview all twelve applicants. She asked them to wait for all the interviews to be over. She did notice that the quality of healers, in terms of cultivation, was higher than it had been for the artificers. When she asked Sun Li the reason for this, she was told it was because qi was used in both direct healing and the preparation of medicines. A higher level of cultivation was required to become a healer.

“So then why is the sect willing to let them go?” asked Sa Bina. “Surely, there is always a demand for healers, so the sect would want them to stay?”

“While the sect would love to keep all healers,” replied Sun Li. “It is simply not possible. The sect trains the healers as they are cultivators. Yet does not bind them as we would other disciples. Healers are required by the imperial army, the noble houses, private security forces, city guards, and a myriad of other organisations. Also not all healers want to stay with the sect.”

“I see,” said Sa Bina. “So the sect acts as a healer training academy, with the graduates getting to choose where they want to go.”

“In essence, yes,” said Sun Li. “We also help healers move between jobs if they are looking for a change for any reason. Healers are the one group that can’t be bound to an organisation.”

That was certainly an interesting fact, and something Sa Bina would need to keep in mind.

“That does raise an interesting question,” said Sa Bina. “What happens if a healer moves between two organisations that do not get along. Would the second organisation be able to gain the secrets of the first?” If her secrets could be so easily betrayed, then she would have to think hard about what she could confide in her new hires.

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“That is not a concern,” said Sun Li. “The healers take a vow to the heavens not to reveal private information of their patients to anyone else without prior consent.”

“How is that enforced,” asked Sa Bina.

Sun Li gave her a strange look. “You do have the weirdest gaps in your knowledge,” said she. “The heavens take intent into account. The price for breaking the vow would be a complete loss of cultivation.”

“So what if they intend to break the vow when they are making the vows in the first place?” asked Sa Bina. She could see many ways around the vow. Also the privacy was only for patients, and not for anything else. So her business secrets would be at risk in any case.

“That has happened,” said Sun Li. She was always astounded by the level of insight Sa Bina demonstrated at such a young age. “However, we have mostly stopped this from happening. Now the vow is taken when they start their studies. Also when one makes a vow, the strength of the intent is reflected in the response from the heavens.”

“You know I can see so many ways around that, “ said Sa Bina. “I can’t believe that you people don’t realise how weak that protection really is.”

“Yes, there are ways around everything,” said Sun Li. “However, that is what we have.”

Sa Bina could not really complain. Back on earth there was nothing to stop people from revealing your secrets apart from their own morality. It would be no different to the trust she had to extend to any other doctor. If they had breached her privacy, even though she may be able to get them punished, her information would have been revealed anyway. She would need to work out how much to reveal.

They continued with the interviews. The quality of the candidates improved, as did the quality and type of questions Sa Bina asked. There were a few promising candidates. Sa Bina had made sure that Lou Sie was keeping good notes, including observations from herself and Sun Li made between interviews.

It was not until the eighth interview that things began to get interesting. The candidate, Hu Delun, was an experienced healer who could even work on meridians. He was looking to research meridian development at the start of the cultivation journey and thought he would find a wider range of people working as retainers in a noble house then he would find in the sect.

Sa Bina asked Sun Li for her thoughts on the matter after the interview.

“He is not wrong,” responded Sun Li. “Think about it. Most of the cultivators at the sect, though better at cultivation, would be of a similar age and cultivation level. It would be hard to differentiate between the causes for their meridian development.”

“So having access to a wider range of retainers at different ages but similar levels of cultivation could make it easier to isolate variables?” said Sa Bina.

“Something like that,” said Sun Li. “I think you should definitely consider taking him. He could also help with improving cultivation, and that would also help him with his research. It would be beneficial for both parties.”

The next interview was another excellent healer, Chen Dong, but a generalist. He had spent a lot of time out in the field with the army and was looking for something where that would be more limited. He was happy to do his duty during the beast tides, but wanted to spend more time with his family outside of that.

The next two interviews were not so good. The candidates had not realised that Sa Bina was forming an army. Rather they had thought that they would only be working with the house retainers. While that was not a deal breaker for the Sa Bina, they were adamant that they did not want to work with the army. Since Sa Bina could not guarantee that, they withdrew from the process.

“That was a bit strange,” said Sa Bina. “Any noble house has soldiers, or at least that is what I understand. Merchants would be worse. Their reaction makes no sense at all.”

“I will ask the sect to look into them,” said Sun Li with a frown on her face. “You are right, their attitude makes no sense. They were also asking more detailed questions about your house structure. The two things together are certainly suspicious.”

“The fact that it was two of them,” said Sa Bina. “Out of twelve people, the odds of coming across two with that view does seem strange.”

“Not if they are friends and signed up for the interviews together,” said Sun Li. “Still let me investigate. I will let you know if I find out anything.”

They proceed with the interviews, and call in the last applicant of the day. Sa Bina’s hopes rest on this last person specialising in mental illness.

The last applicant is a woman, called Shao Jia, with good cultivation. She had been placed last as she is the most experienced applicant to attend.

She handles the initial questions well. Sa Bina’s hopes are raised when Shao Jia says she also deals with the maladies of the mind.

“So do you only deal with physiological damage to the mind?” asks Sa Bina. “Or do you also look to address psychological issues?”

“That is a question I have never been asked by a person who is not a specialist healer,” says Shao Jia, sounding curious. “For most people, especially nobles that have not even started cultivating, that question would not even occur to them as a possibility. How did you come to make such a distinction?”

In her excitement at the prospect of retaining a mental health specialist, Sa Bina had given away a lot more than she intended. Sun Li was also looking at her with curiosity.

“We can address your curiosity after the interview,” replies Sa Bina. “Could you please answer my question.”

“Yes,” says Shao Jia. “I look at a more holistic approach. Physiological issues have to be addressed alongside psychological issues for the best results.”

“Why are you looking to leave the sect,” asked Sa Bina.

“My approach is considered to be unnecessary,” said Shao Jia. “The main focus is on physiological recovery. I am looking for a place where I can explore my theories with patients.”

“Do you have experience with amnesia?” asked Sa Bina.

“Yes,” replied Shao Jia. “I have dealt with amnesia caused by physical injury, by trauma, by emotional trauma and stress. Though the last two are not recognised by the wider healer community.”

Sa Bina became even more excited at that response. This was her opportunity to shore up her story. She decided to push ahead.

“Have you come across any cases of selective amnesia?” asked Sa Bina.