***** Vol.2 Chap.43 The persistent calling *****
May-Ling hurried to get back to her house so she could continue to study her father’s journal again. After getting off the bus, she thought she would stop by a cartography store and acquire some detailed maps of the region.
After several days of studying the map and the journal, she thought she had located a series of mountain ranges that seemed to fit the description. Most importantly, there was a stream originating from the top of that mountain range.
Once she had pinpointed the region where the village might be located, she tried to remember if she had seen anyone from that region. She noticed that while most of her patients were from the neighborhoods close by; she had some patients from the remote mountain ranges as well, but none from that series of mountain ranges. That seemed to confirm the notion that there was no sickness from the village.
The next day, she visited the cartographer again and asked about that region and was told that it was a very dangerous area. A gang of extremely violent gangsters headed by a fierce warlord claimed those mountain ranges as their home. While the government had repeatedly sent troops to that region to root out the gangsters, every attempt was met with total failure and disaster. Eventually, the government gave up on those mountain ranges and warned all travelers to avoid those ranges.
When she even hinted about possibly going there, the cartographer officer got anxious and again chided her to treasure her life and give up any thoughts about going there. She thanked the man for his kindness and promised not to think about going there again.
Back home, she was disappointed about the news of the gangs. But the more she thought about the situation, the more she was convinced that was the place she must go.
Perhaps contact with the village was cut off intentionally by the gang. She also realized that to reach the village, she must pass through the gangsters’ den. She tried to study the maps again and again and eventually realized that there was no other way to reach the mountain top except through the gangsters’ den. A neighboring tributary had cut a deep canyon on the back side of the mountain range, making access from the back side virtually impossible.
She was at a quandary. The urge to go was stronger than ever now that she had the assurance she had located the village. Yet she did not know how to circumvent the gang and, of course, she dreaded meeting any of the gangsters. No one had ever come out alive after meeting with the gangsters. If she met any gangsters, her life would be over instantly.
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Yet if she could find the secret of the villagers, the benefit to mankind would be momentous. There was no logical reason for her to risk her life, yet what else did she have to live for? Her whole life was given to helping people and to understanding violence. Here was the answer almost within her reach. It would be a great shame even to her if she passed up such an opportunity. But was the prize worth the risk of her own life?
Her life or the cure?
She paced back and forth in her apartment going back and forth on this dilemma. Working at the hospital would give her an easy but empty life. Finding the legendary village would benefit the whole world but at great risk to her life.
You promised…
Yes, father, I promised.
You promised you will finish my work…
Yes, father, I want to finish your work.
Yes. The prize is worth the risk. She slammed her fist on the table. I must reach the village.
Once decided, there was no looking back. She first contacted the landlord and gave notice that she would vacate the apartment. She made sure that all the rent due was taken care of. Next, she gave away Haw-Ting’s clothes to neighbors and patients who were in need and packed up all the mementos and sent them all to Haw-Ting’s parents with a long note thanking them for their kindness for taking care of her when she was younger.
Looking around the apartment, she and Haw-Ting hardly had any furniture at all. So she informed the landlord that she would leave the furniture behind and that he was free to do whatever he wanted regarding the furniture left in the apartment.
As far as her own clothes, she packed most of them up in boxes and left them in the clinic with explicit instructions to dispose of them if not claimed within two months. She also packed up any valuables in a box. On the day before she planned to leave for the mountains, she took the box of valuables and remaining money and visited the Temple. Among the valuables was her father’s journal.
After gaining an audience with the chief monk, she explained to him what she was about to do and asked for his blessing. She then left the box of valuables and the money with the monks in the temple with specific instructions that if she was not back in one month, then all the money and valuables would belong to the monks. Of course, the chief monk understood what she was about to do and the danger involved in that endeavor. He exhorted her to be bold after seeing that she invariably would run into much obstacles and danger.
Next, she wrote a long letter to Doctor Wu, briefly explaining to him she would be away to rest in the mountains and to seek solitude there. She told him not to worry, but that she would be back in two months to resume her duties. She explained that she just wanted some time off to be alone to rejuvenate her wellbeing.
Finally, she packed a change of clothes and a few crucial maps of the region. She took time to memorize all the clues concerning the location of the village. On a last-minute hunch, she brought her medicine bag with the usual complements of tools and medicine. She figured that if she got caught by the gangsters, she would beg for their mercy to spare her life in exchange for being their doctor. Mostly, she took as much water and dry food as she could carry because she did not know how long she had to survive before finding the village.
For a change, she slept soundly that time being totally at peace with herself.