Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 97: Anxiety Attack

Even with his younger sister caring for him, the dizziness did not improve. If anything, Mingshen found himself becoming breathless the further they were from land.

Unable to hold himself upright even while seated, Mingshen slumped over on the desk. He could hear Anji calling his name, but her voice sounded very far away. It became increasingly difficult to breathe as his heart rate raced.

From the front of the boat, Gu Ying quickly snapped into guard duty mode when she heard a change in Anji’s tone.

"Big brother!" Anji cried out in alarm when Mingshen collapsed before she could complete taking his pulse.

In a heartbeat, Gu Ying was by her side. The bodyguard, well-versed in emergency treatments, helped Anji clear some space inside the cabin, shifting the desk and pulling cushions together for a makeshift patient bed.

Watching the young master on his ferry faint, the boatman had half a mind to turn the boat around and call for a physician. However, when the little girl and her bodyguard reacted quickly, he decided to put that on hold. Wisely, he stopped rowing the boat further and looked for a safe place to dock so he would not hold up the traffic for other boats.

"Clear space and start fanning him," Anji instructed in a no-nonsense tone. "Help me to undo his top a little and wet this handkerchief in the river."

Gu Ying got to work instantly as Anji covered her brother’s mouth with a hand and covered his eyes with another.

"Breathe through your nose, brother! Concentrate on my voice," the young herbalist instructed.

In the last three years, Anji has dedicated herself to understanding medicine more than martial arts. Doctor He withheld nothing from her. Unlike other physicians who only treat illness in the body, the genius doctor also imparted some knowledge about illnesses of the heart and mind to Anji. This was not common knowledge, as many other medicine practitioners regarded it as unorthodox medical practice. Not many doctors accepted surgery as a valid medical practice. Even fewer doctors understood the importance of mental and emotional health.

Thankfully, Anji understood the difference between seasickness and an anxiety attack. Her older brother had taken the motion sickness medicine at the same time Gu Ying and Anji did. Unless he had a physical condition that she had not uncovered previously, the medicine would have worked. Seasickness was a bodily reaction caused by the shaking of inner ear fluids. It might trigger nausea but would never cause hyperventilation.

Gu Ying returned with a wet handkerchief and handed it to Anji, who placed it over her brother’s eyes. The dutiful bodyguard took the fallen paper fan from the ground and started fanning Mingshen while Anji took care of her patient.

Behind them, the boatman steered the ferry to a less populated side of the river and docked it there. The young man lying in the sheltered cabin was starting to look better after his younger sister tended to him. Although he was not medically trained, he had a feeling this little girl was no ordinary kid. He was an experienced boatman who ferried hundreds of tourists a week. Sometimes, land dwellers faint after suffering from breathing difficulties, like this young man, after they board a boat for a while. The tour agency usually did not charge these customers anything and turned the boat right back, refunding their money. It was an illness that no doctor could cure, and physicians commonly advised them to refrain from travelling in boats. This unknown illness was dubbed the "boat fainting spell", and there was no diagnosis for it. People automatically recover once they are on land again, and some doctors speculate that it is a rare type of allergy.

"Young miss," the boatman finally spoke up when colour started returning to the young man’s face. "Would you like to disembark the boat and call for a doctor? It’s unfortunate, but I think your older brother has a rare allergy that happens to some passengers. The doctors here call it the "boat fainting spell", and he can only be cured when he reaches land."

Hearing how the anxiety attack was referred to as an allergy, Anji wondered if she should correct the boatman. Her brother did not have an allergy to boats or water. It was a psychological fear that manifested physically. However, before she could decide, Mingshen pried his sister’s hand away from his mouth and struggled to sit up.

"No need," he spoke weakly. "There’s no need to cancel the tour. I’m fine."

Unsure if he should proceed with a patient on board, the boatman hesitated. Anji shook her head at the boatman and mouthed for him to wait. She rolled up her brother’s sleeve to read his pulse again. Anxiety attacks were usually temporary in nature. Although she had no idea what triggered his anxiety attack, it was unlikely to reoccur.

After a minute of silence, Anji declared that her older brother was fine.

"We’ll rest for another ten minutes to see if you’re feeling better," she stated, removing the wet handkerchief from his eyes but forbidding him to open them yet. "Your heart rate is back to normal, but there is no guarantee there won’t be a relapse."

Hearing the firmness in Anji’s voice, Gu Ying was ready to reinforce the young doctor’s orders should her young master refuse to comply. Thankfully, even Mingshen knew not to mess with a physician. Anji might not be certified as a doctor because she was too young. However, nobody in the Celestial Dragon Sect questioned her skills. Only Doctor He was allowed to judge her medical knowledge. Not even her father could go against Anji’s diagnosis. The Celestial Dragon Sect Leader learned this the hard way when Anji declared he was banned from drinking more than two jars of alcohol when attending to guests but sneakily ignored her doctor’s advice. The man was made to undergo a painful two-month liver detox treatment program that Doctor He and Zhao Wanting advocated for.

Talking with Mingshen and checking his vitals, Anji finally declared her brother fit for boating. However, she also expressed concern for his mental well-being.

"If you need more rest or feel uncomfortable travelling by water, we can always cancel the tour. Alternatively, Gu Ying could accompany me for the river tour while you check out the local bookstores. We’ll meet up for dinner later at the hotel."

Unwilling to ruin Anji’s experience, Mingshen refused to turn the boat around.

"I promised to accompany you," he insisted. "You said I’m well enough now, so there’s no reason to turn the boat around. Let’s continue."

Holding onto her brother’s hand tightly, Anji smiled. She thought he would say that. Given his personality, it was unsurprising that they arrived at this conclusion. However, she wasn’t going to let him suffer alone.

"Let’s continue then," she smiled. "Mr boatman, could you tell us some local stories about the Silver River? How did the town get its name? Is it true there are silver nuggets at the bottom of the river?"

Putting on his business smile, the boatman chuckled and resumed rowing the boat, albeit at a slower pace, as he answered all the young lady’s questions. Anji nestled herself comfortably in her brother’s lap as Gu Ying blocked Mingshen’s view of the water with her body as much as she could, drawing the blinds close on Anji’s cue.

Although the boat still continued rocking from side to side, the tension in Mingshen’s body gradually disappeared with Anji’s cheerful curiosity. Finding comfort in his sister’s presence, Mingshen found himself enjoying a boat ride for the first time in his life.