Ball of Nothing

"You have everything you need?" Buddha asked and Hua Tuo nodded. It took a little longer than he expected to complete his errands but he was finally done.

Buddha seemed intrigued by Hua Tuo's report about Zero's inner world and cultivation base. Who would have thought that the octopus Ba Guai would be capable of cultivating independently in Zero's world?

"I'll be heading back to Half Moon Village to resume Zero's medical training. We might visit the abyss for a few months and set up shop there so if there are any customers in heaven, please redirect them over. The usual commission rate applies for any successful referrals from you," he told the Wise One and Buddha smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you, as usual, travel safely."

Hua Tuo didn't bother waving goodbye and stepped through the portal. Buddha watched the reflection in his lotus pond as Hua Tuo reached his hut at Endow Hill safely. The physician busied himself by putting away his newly acquired tools. Buddha decided to leave and continue with his meditation instead. After a few days of reprieve, it was time to go back to the normal flow of things.

Back on Endow Hill, Hua Tuo hid Zero's graduation gift. He quickly changed into a new set of clothes and restocked his medical supplies before heading to Half Moon Village. Thanks to the portal, travelling was simplified a lot.

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Zero was babysitting the children when he felt a familiar presence in the village. The teen stuck his head out of the window to peer down to the village square and was delighted to see an old man in faded blue robes.

"Shifu!" he yelled and passed Seff over to Rima who held the toddler in her arms. Zero then jumped off the apartment and landed in front of the doctor in a cloud of dust.

Hua Tuo wasn't amused with his student who hasn't seemed to grow out of his bad habit of jumping from high places. If Zero had a past life, Hua Tuo would have bet he was a bird.

"Welcome back," the apprentice grinned and Hua Tuo studied the improvements in cultivation Zero made during his absence. The qi was more stable and flowed through the meridians more smoothly than before he left. Qin Yun must have been a good teacher for Zero to reach the advanced stage of control. However, knowing his student's usual speed of progress, he should have mastered the elemental manipulation with his Ba Gua basics. Why did Zero's qi lack of any elemental traces?

"I'm back. How is everything?" he asked as Zero offered to carry his baggage for him.

That question immediately put Zero in a chatty mood and he told Hua Tuo a lot of things from the crazy matches and his training with Qin Yun. He also whined a little about needing to attend to so many things that he wasn't given any time for himself while Hua Tuo was gone. The last thing Zero told Hua Tuo made the old man chuckle.

"I don't know if I have anyone worth sacrificing the world for actually. Everyone is equally important to me and I cannot sacrifice one to save the other."

"All in due time, Zero. Answers like this won't come overnight. If you travel and meet more people, someday you will find the person you are looking for. please start changing into your medical robes, today I will be demonstrating a simple surgery. Do you still remember how to stitch?"

Hearing that he was finally going to be learning how to perform an operation, the brunet jumped in joy. "Yes! should I prepare a sewing kit?"

Hua Tuo rolled his eyes at Zero's overreaction. "Yes. Get a sewing kit, prepare to sterilise the knives and acupuncture needles. No magic allowed, we will put the cow to sleep with acupuncture. You're in charge of anaesthesia with the needles, stitching back the wounds and cleaning the young. We start tomorrow morning. Understood?"

Zero nodded and bolted off to ready the items. Half Moon Village started rearing animals a few months back when Coux took over the trading business. Right now, Zero and Hua Tuo were going to operate on a cow who was coming close to her full-term. the calf inside was developed backwards and it made natural birth risky so Hua Tuo would have to operate on her to take the baby out.

This was brilliant news for Zero who couldn't wait to see a live surgery. He was finally going to master his teacher's final skills. Thinking about it, the boy couldn't believe how quickly time flew by. He would soon graduate after learning acupuncture and surgery.

Graduation meant a few things. Firstly, Zero would no longer be staying with Hua Tuo or Half Moon Village. Secondly, he would no longer be an apprentice because he would be a full-fledged doctor. Zero was slightly nervous about making his own diagnosis without Hua Tuo around to guide him. Lastly, Zero would be learning about magic while training under Merlin. He would also most likely not return to Earth for a while during his year with Merlin. He was going to miss everyone.

That afternoon, Hua Tuo went in search for Ruth and the lab members while Zero was occupied with cleanup duties. Zero decided to take some time to discuss some of Zoe's concerns regarding the mindscape and her duties. Hua Tuo was thankful for the opportunity and quickly ushered the vampire into the stone cottage.

"Is the weapon ready?"

Raj presented the doctor with a wooden tonfa set. "Ruth wanted us to put some modifications to it. Lovina and Hyelin worked on it to make sure the charms work. It isn't anything as good as what the final product should be but it should be close enough for Zero to get used to the functions. Did Goddess Freya agree to help with the weapon inscriptions?"

Hua Tuo nodded. "Merlin is going to help with the infusion of weapon and Enma's Ring. However, we need Zero to help us get the required materials. Gaia's branch isn't enough to contain all of King Yama's power. We need the branches of the Tree of Knowledge that is currently dying and a branch from the Tree of Life that is currently missing."

Tambolt groaned and Raj looked down. Hyelin tried to cheer them up. "At least, we have confirmation of help to create the best farewell gift for Zero," she smiled.

Hua Tuo felt bad for them. Creating a mythical grade weapon went above what any of them could manage but still, they were entrusted with its creation by the whimsical Great Gods. As the doctor inspected the tonfas, he was impressed by the extra features added.

"Very nice," he told Ruth. "What inspired the addition?"

The vampire sighed and explained to the Sage God about his fight against Roovan to which he admitted shamefully, he lost. Hua Tuo had a good laugh over it together with the lab members.

"Shall we come up with a schedule to alternate Zero's training here?" Hua Tuo asked and Ruth agreed. The lab members let Zero's teacher talk it out and busied away with other project work. The afternoon turned out to be productive even though it was a little chaotic in the stone cottage.

That afternoon, Zero decided to take it easy. He spent the remaining time revising on his lessons to ready himself for the surgery tomorrow. Zero was in equal parts excited and afraid of what was going to happen. Surgeries could help to save lives but it could also very easily take them if not handled correctly. Most surgical procedures went dangerous. However, the complications that happened during it often cost the patients their lives. The fact that Zero was not allowed to use healing magic only increased the risk of death.

After dinner, the physician told his student to go to sleep early. The surgery shouldn't take more than an hour but Zero couldn't stop his brain from thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. After the lights went out, Zero decided to take a walk to clear his brain and sort his emotions out. Hua Tuo was already asleep and Zero didn't blame his teacher. Up till yesterday, the Sage God had been busy attending to his duties.

"Can't sleep?" a voice asked Zero, startling him from his thoughts. The boy had been so engrossed that he didn't notice anyone approaching him.

It turned out to be Cleo who was on night patrol duty. The dryad has found Zero sitting alone in the forest away from the village so she went to check on him.

"No, not really. We're going to finally have my first surgery practical tomorrow on the cow. I just have a few things going on in my head that I need to sort out before it happens."

Cleo sat down beside Zero. "Want to talk about it? Getting things off your chest can sometimes be all you need."

Zero sighed. "I don't know if I'm ready to become a doctor," he admitted.

Instead of commenting, Cleo nodded and remained quiet, indicating that she was still listening and waiting for Zero to talk more if he wanted. Zero relished in the comforting silence and curled his legs towards his chest, making him look smaller than he usually was.

"I'm afraid of making the wrong diagnosis. Once I complete training under Shifu, I will have to travel on my own, secure my own medical supplies, make my own diagnosis and concrete my own medicine. I don't know if I will be doing it right or wrong without anyone to scold me if I make a mistake. Medicine can help cure and heal but a wrong diagnosis can also kill."

Cleo nodded. she understood where the teenager was coming from because she had once been only a small fae. Who would have thought that the day would come when she governed an entire forest? When she first became a dryad, Cleo often doubted her decisions. she was afraid of making decisions and becoming responsible or the lives of others under her jurisdiction. The plants and animals in her forest looked up to her and Cleo felt an unimaginable level of stress having to stand in as their leader. Those expectations made her ill and Cleo made her fair share of mistakes as a new dryad without anyone to guide her.

It was only through those mistakes that Cleo learned to be wiser. True, many of her forest dwellers suffered harshly in the past when she was still a new and naive guardian. She let little birds still unhatched in their eggs freeze to death during harsh winters because she didn't know that she should move them to hollowed tree trunks covered in dry grass when their parents migrated. Cleo also made mistakes helping the rabbits escape the hawks so much that the hawks died from starvation while the rabbits scavenged the entire forest for food until there was nothing left. The dryad remembered crying over the innocent lives lost. When Cleo tried to help humans who became lost in her forest, she got attacked. However, when she didn't help them, they died. It took many years of trial and error for Cleo to know how to help the lost humans by whispering to animals and plants, She wasn't the perfect dryad at first but through the mistakes, she learned what she should do in the future to become better.

Right now, Zero was going through the same thing that she did hundreds of years ago. Looking at the stressed apprentice reminded her of her past self. If she could unwind back time to tell her younger self something to make her life easier, it would be this.

"Don't let your fear stop you from doing what is right. If you make a mistake, correct it, learn from it and move on. If you let it paralyse you, the millions of other lives waiting to be saved by you won't have any hope because their doctor won't come for them."

Zero heard those words ringing in resonance with his feelings and cried. Cleo hugged the teen and closed her eyes, thankful for her difficult past. At least now, someone else who was going through the same thing could benefit from it.