After a long contemplation, Alice finally pinpointed the key difference between William and other young men.
William always spoke with such gravity and composure. Even though he looked so young, he exuded a wise, seasoned aura.
Most strikingly, despite his seemingly gentle and laid-back demeanor, his offhand comments often made people want to hit him out of sheer frustration.
Calm down! 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨
Calm down!
Alice stared at William, forcing a smile and asked through gritted teeth, “Is there something you wish to instruct, Master?”
William set his phone aside, slowly rising to his feet, “Stay here and watch the fire. I’ll prepare a gift for our formal introduction.”
A gift?
Alice had initially assumed William to be a more cold, even sarcastic individual. She hadn’t expected a welcoming gift upon accepting him as a master.
William’s old house comprised three bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, one of the rooms being his study.
Before coming down from Mount San Juan Timothy, William had asked Timothy Hill to bring some of his belongings from the mountain.
During William’s absence, Timothy Hill had packed these belongings into boxes, which were placed in the easternmost room.
Anything from inside these boxes would surely be considered a rare treasure. Even the box itself, made entirely of mahogany and finely crafted, bore beautiful, unique engravings of landscapes, flora, fauna, and mythical creatures.
The designs on the box were personally carved by William during his idle times. Even if they were to be taken back to an era of godly wars, they’d be treasures that deities would fight over.
After all, the items William engraved contained insights into the universe’s profound truths.
Opening the box, William began to organize its contents. They included artworks he had created, a box of tea leaves, three small bottles of vintage wine, a dozen ancient rare books, and his personal tea set.
William was fond of reading and writing. The box also contained a stack of blank canvas papers from the Civil War era.
His faithful servant, Timothy Hill, knew him well.
Picking up one of the paintings, William unveiled the image of a woman in an evening gown. The woman in the painting was vivid and lively; even though it was just a painting, she seemed full of life, as if she might step out of the canvas any moment. Strangely enough, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Evelyn.
William’s artworks had the power to influence one’s psyche. If someone deeply attuned to spiritual or artistic insights were fortunate enough to see William’s paintings, they might even achieve a higher artistic understanding. But if an ordinary person were to see these artworks, they might become hopelessly entranced, captivated for life.
Timothy Hill had been storing these paintings and writings without daring to glance at them too closely, as per William’s instructions before his long slumber.
After examining the painting for a while, William carefully rolled it up and placed a stack of blank canvas papers on the desk.
“William… Master, the water is boiling.” Alice approached the study door and knocked gently. The door was slightly ajar. She glimpsed William placing items on his desk and wondered about the welcome gift he might have for her.
William was merely arranging some antique books and paints on the table. Without looking up, he said, “Come in.”
He was contemplating what might be an appropriate gift for Alice. Initially, he thought of crafting a medical book for her, but with all the treasures in his box, perhaps it was best to ask her preference.
Hesitating briefly, Alice stepped into the room. The notion of being alone with a man in a room made her slightly anxious.
“You wanted to study medicine, right?” Standing by his desk, William remarked, “I have a couple of medical books here. Would you like them? If not, I can write a specialized one just for you.”
“What kind of medical books?” Alice hailed from a prestigious medical lineage. The Turner family was both affluent and influential. She had access to countless medical books since childhood; every book available in the market could be found in their house. To hear William offering her another medical book seemed rather mundane.
And as for him writing a new one? Given William’s apparent age, she assumed it’d probably be just a summary of existing texts.
From his chest, William pulled out two books bound in sheepskin and opened one to glance at its contents. “Homework from Celsus? Hmm, interested?”
He recalled Celsus – a student of his, albeit briefly. The books were assignments Celsus had sent to William’s residence. Deeming them satisfactory, William had kept them, though they seemed an odd choice for a welcome gift.
“Celsus’ homework?” Alice was dumbfounded. Who was this Celsus, and what was this ‘homework’?
“You can take a look first. If you don’t like it, I can always write a new one for you. It’s not like I’m particularly busy now.” Saying this, William handed the book to Alice.
Curiosity piqued, Alice opened the sheepskin book. And then, she froze.
Was this… the long-lost “De Medicina”?
She stared intently at the well-preserved sheepskin book with its clear engravings. William called this Celsus’ homework?
The insights and treatments detailed in the book for various complex diseases were groundbreaking and unique. Some of the surgical techniques mentioned had been long forgotten.
“How is it?” Seeing her in a daze, William casually inquired. If Alice was unsatisfied, he was confident he could write something far superior to Celsus’.
Snapping back to reality, Alice, still a bit shocked, glanced at the second book on the table and stuttered, “You aren’t going to tell me that’s the second volume of ‘De Medicina’, are you?”
Both volumes of “De Medicina” had been missing for centuries. The fact that William was nonchalantly offering them as a gift was staggering.
Flipping through the other volume, William glanced at its content and replied, “It seems to be.” He handed it straight to Alice.
Receiving the book with trembling hands, Alice had already skimmed through some of “De Medicina”. With her extensive background, she could easily discern its authenticity. If this was indeed the second volume, it would fill a significant gap in human medical history.
“You can take these two volumes home and study them. They should keep you occupied for a while.” William, feeling a bit lazy, didn’t want to write at the moment. These two books should suffice for Alice’s studies for now.
Handling the first volume of “De Medicina” with extreme care, Alice opened the other book, nearly fainting in disbelief – it truly was the second volume!
The fact that William casually produced these two long-lost volumes to give to her was beyond comprehension.