Saturday morning…
After finishing breakfast at the Guest Reception Main Building, Rinna did not go back to Hisaki’s room to lie down and rest as usual.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to lie down…
The familiar drowsiness after the meal did arrive on schedule. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her back wanted to lean against a soft cushion…
But Dr. Qi Lai had specifically cautioned at the breakfast table that she shouldn’t soak in the medicinal bath immediately after eating. She had to rest until she was half-full.
So Rinna leaned back against a small cushion in Hisaki’s room, resting with her eyes closed for about forty minutes. During that time, Xiao Xiao changed her hot water bottle twice and even popped a red date into her mouth…
She said Dr. Qi Lai had given it to her, that eating one before the bath could replenish her Qi.
Just past nine o’clock, Dr. Qi Lai knocked on the door.
She stood at the entrance, the hem of her white coat swaying gently in the draft from the hallway. In her hands were a small dark brown glass bottle and a neatly folded white bath towel. She announced that the medicinal bath was ready.
Hisaki practically sprang up from her chair, but Dr. Qi Lai smiled at her, raised a finger, and shook it gently. She said this treatment would only take about ten minutes.
Just ten minutes, very short. Rinna would soak by herself, and she would keep watch nearby. Xiao Xiao’s room was right next door, so she could call out anytime if she felt unwell.
Hisaki stood there, hesitating for about three seconds. Her lips moved, but in the end she only said, “Then I’ll wait in the room.”
She turned and walked into her own room, but before she slid the door shut, she glanced back at Rinna—that look lasted a beat longer than usual.
Rinna followed Dr. Qi Lai out of the room and turned into the adjacent door she had never opened before.
The room was exactly the same size as Hisaki’s, square and symmetrical, but the moment she stepped inside, she sensed an entirely different atmosphere.
The air was thick with a strong but not overwhelming scent of Chinese herbs…
The floor was still light-colored tatami, but it was covered with a dark gray waterproof mat.
The room was dimmer than Hisaki’s.
The layout had been completely remodeled.
Against the wall stood a dark wooden shelf, neatly lined with ceramic pots and glass bottles of various sizes, each labeled with a white handwritten tag…
Faint traces of medicinal powder seeped from the rims of some pots, leaving light brown stains on the shelf.
The place where the medicinal aroma was strongest was right in the center—the bath barrel.
It was a dark brown wooden barrel, smaller in diameter than the bathtub in Hisaki’s room, but about the same height.
Inside, the medicinal broth was a deep amber…
The surface was perfectly still, reflecting the unlit washi paper hanging lamp on the ceiling.
Wisps of steam rose from the water, carrying a fragrance that blended the fresh scent of mugwort, the subtle sweetness of astragalus, and the warmth of red dates…
The edge of the barrel reached just below Rinna’s waist. When she stood close, she could feel the slight warmth radiating from the wood against her face.
Dr. Qi Lai stood about one or two steps from the barrel, holding the small dark brown glass bottle and wiping the rim with a clean cloth.
She looked up at Rinna, then handed her a small half-glass of warm water. The surface of the water was still gently rippling, and warm vapor curled at the rim.
Dr. Qi Lai said, “Drink this before you soak…”
The water temperature was just right—not hot, not cold—and the sensation as it entered her mouth was soft.
Rinna took the glass and downed the half-glass of water in one gulp.
As the water slid down her throat, it carried a faint mineral sweetness, warm all the way to her stomach…
Dr. Qi Lai took the empty glass back, then pulled a pocket watch–shaped timer from her pocket and placed it on a low stool next to the barrel. She began explaining the precautions.
The soaking time would be five to eight minutes, with the water temperature controlled between 97°F and 99°F…
Just slightly below body temperature, so Rinna’s blood vessels wouldn’t dilate too much from heat stimulation, yet not so cool as to make her body cold.
The prescription was specially tailored for Rinna…
Astragalus to replenish Qi and strengthen the surface, red dates to nourish the blood and calm the spirit, mugwort to warm the meridians and dispel cold…
Dr. Qi Lai gave her final, most important instruction: “I’ll knock when the time is up.”
Then she withdrew from the room and slid the door shut…
Only Rinna remained in the room.
The medicinal broth in the barrel gave off a slightly bitter yet warm breath. Steam rose from the surface, drifting into the beam of light from the ceiling and dispersing evenly.
Rinna stood by the barrel and began to take off her pure cotton loungewear from the hem upward.
As the fabric slid over her skin, she instinctively hunched her shoulders…
The morning air in the room without air conditioning was still a little chilly. A fine layer of goosebumps rose on her arms.
She folded the loungewear neatly on a small stool against the wall, then the undershirt and underwear, and finally her panties.
Every piece was folded with care, her fingers a bit stiff—whether from the cold or something else, she wasn’t sure.
She wrapped the bath towel around her chest, then faced the small mirror on the wall and twisted her long white hair into a bun.
The process was more troublesome than usual.
She didn’t want her hair to fall into the broth, nor did she want to spend half an hour drying it afterward…
So she secured the bun tighter than usual with a wooden hairpin, leaving a small patch of pale skin at the nape of her neck. A few stray strands fell from her temples, and she tucked them behind her ears.
Then she untied the towel and stepped into the barrel.