Chapter 357: The Duke
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Helheim was walking in the micro pool with some difficulty.
He stood on a track that looked like the one on the running machine. The track could rotate, following his steps.
Such a micro pool was actually the latest model of rehabilitation equipment, which integrated several functions of several older models of similar equipment. It was much more advanced than ones that Dai Li had used.
Squatting nearby, Dai Li looked at the clock and said, "I know you are tired. But you must hold on. You just need to walk another 15 minutes!"
Helheim nodded tiredly and moved again, grinding his teeth. For his present state, such a walk, with water resistance, was indeed tiring. But the desire of recovery, and his trust in Dai Li, made Helheim carry on.
Massage was not enough for Helheim's complete rehabilitation. He had to take much more rehabilitation training, which was Dai Li's official job. With the help of BUFF of "Renowned Coach", Helheim recovered well, even through normal rehabilitation training. Now, he could walk slowly without assistance.
Nelson appeared at the door and walked to them.
"Hey! Dr. Nelson!" Helheim seemed to be in a good mood, and greeted Nelson on his own.
"Mr. Helheim, I've come here for Coach Li," he then turned to Dai Li and asked," Do you have any spare time, Coach Li?"
"What's up?" Dai Li was surprised, as he didn't know what Nelson had come for.
…
In the restroom, Nelson and Dai Li sat on their own sofa.
"Coach Li, did you notice that there is a video about Mr. Helheim on the Internet?" Nelson asked.
Dai Li nodded and said, "Yes. The younger son of Helheim recorded that by accident, and then he uploaded the video on the Internet."
"Many people have contacted me since the video appeared. They believe that it is the new research fruit of my team that is making Helheim recover so quickly," spreading his hands, Nelson continued, "However, I have explained that, what is behind Helheim's fast rehabilitation are your massage and rehabilitation training."
Dai Li nodded silently. Nelson was honest from this aspect. He didn't attribute all the merit of Helheim's rehabilitation to himself.
But Nelson shook his head unhappily, saying, "My fellow colleagues don't believe me, however, just like I didn't believe you before. They don't think that rehabilitation training from a coach could have such a good effect."
"Let it go, Dr. Nelson. Different people have different standards, when it comes to judging things. There is no need for you to tangle with it," Dai Li comforted him.
"No, no, no. I don't mean that," Nelson waved his hand and said, "My colleagues don't believe that, but one of my former patients does believe. That patient contacted me yesterday, in hopes of getting new treatment. As you see, when tortured by injuries and illnesses, many people are willing to try anything, even if others could consider it absurd."
People stuck in illness are always tending to trust some inexplicable treatment, especially for those suffering from incurable diseases. A famous Chinese writer has even written a story about how ignorant folks dream of curing tuberculosis by eating steamed bread stained with human blood!
Compared with that, rehabilitation training seems to be much more reasonable and trustworthy.
Dai Li asked, "Dr. Nelson, do you want me to help your former patient?"
Nelson nodded in agreement and said, "I came here to ask for your will. I have brought his medical records. You can read them first. Give me your reply, when you have it."
While speaking, Nelson gave the records to Dai Li.
Dai Li read the records and found that the name of the patient was covered. All he knew was that the patient was a male, aged 61. He returned the records to Nelson after taking a few glances.
"Dr. Nelson, these medical records are too hard for me to decipher. I don't understand. I can't handle so many English medical terms with my broken English. Could you please introduce it to me?" Dai Li said with some awkwardness.
For common people, medical records are naturally obscure. Those high-end medical records only make outsiders confused, because there are too many professional terms in them. Moreover, Dai Li's mother tongue is not English. Also, his English may be good enough for daily conversation, but it is not competent for reading medical records.
Dr. Nelson couldn't help but let out a sigh, as he started to make introduction for Li, "Same as Helheim, my patient has gone through head surgery, due to a head injury ten years ago. What's different, is that the medical technology then was not as advanced as that of today. Hence, his recovery was not as good as Helheim's. In these ten years, he has tried his best to recover from that injury. But to this day, still, he can only walk with support."
"This patient is 61 years old now. He was aged 51 ten years ago, then, right? What accident did he get hurt in?" he asked.
"He fell from a horse and hit his head while hunting," Nelson answered.
"Hunting? Riding a horse?" Dai Li asked incredulously, "Is your patient a nomad?"
"Of course not, he is an Englishman," Nelson explained immediately, "Hunting is a very traditional mode of entertainment in Europe, especially in Britain. It has been around for hundreds of years, and the sport still enjoys great popularity. Even the royal family is fond of it. In Britain, there are many legal hunting fields. When the season arrives, many people will gather to ride horses and go for a hunt with their hounds and rifles."
"Are there many animal protection organizations in Europe? They will..." Dai Li asked casually.
"Hunting is a tradition in Europe, a cultural heritage to some extent," Nelson answered.
Dai Li chuckled. He was not surprised at European's double standards at all. Those animal protection organizations make protests all over the world. Sometimes, they may even hold some naked sit-ins. It seems that they want to transform all people of this planet into vegetarians. However, when it comes to hunting for fun, they call it a traditional cultural pastime.
Nelson ignored Li's ironic chuckle and kept speaking, "Now, you may realize that my patient is a nobleman in Britain."
"Are there still so many noblemen in Britain? Don't tell me this patient is from the royal family of the UK," he inquired with a smile.
"He does have a close tie with the royal family, "Nelson nodded seriously and went on, "He is Duke Gale."
"A duke? Is that the highest title?" obviously, Dai Li had never heard of it.
"Indeed. Gale is an ancient family in Britain, whose lineage dates back to the period of Henry VI," Nelson told Li.
Dai Li knew little about the ancient history of Europe, neither was he familiar with Henry VI. For him, the name seemed to belong to a British king.
Nelson continued, "The ancestor of Duke Gale served as the colonial secretary of Great Britain, and made great contribution for Britain's expansion. So, he was made duke. In the Victorian Age, Duke Gale then married a princess of the British monarchy, after which, he became the governor general of Canada."
"So, this Duke Gale is in the royal family," he concluded.
"No more. Since the end of the first World War, the royal family has been reducing members of the family. So, in Britain today, although many nobles are descendants of the monarchy, they don't officially belong to the royal family anymore," Nelson explained.
"Do I need to go to Britain?" Dai Li asked then.
"Do you agree to help?" Nelson asked back.
"I still have to instruct Helheim. I think I can give it a try, as long as I have time," Dai Li said, rather conservatively.
"We can talk about the specific time later. Duke Gale has waited for 10 years, so he will certainly not mind waiting for another few days," Nelson smiled.
…
Dai Li, accompanied by Nelson, arrived in the UK by plane on Sunday.
They landed in the Edinburgh Airport, which was located in the capital of Scotland. Duke Gale had arranged to have a car waiting for them there. When they got in the car, they were taken to the country.
A medieval castle stood in front of Dai Li. It was a real castle, rather than a villa imitating the medieval style, like Helheim's. The long history of Gales had been shown in such a castle.
A grey-haired man in a swallow-tailed coat stood at the gate of the castle. He made Dai Li think of the old butler of batman.
"He is Mr. Thompson, the butler of Duke Gale," Nelson reminded Dai Li.
What an elegant way of dressing, the butler of a duke! Dai Li thought.
Thompson walked to them and made a self-introduction, with some Scottish accent detected.
Standing in this ancient castle, surrounded by hundreds of years of history, and witnessing the time-honored decorations, Dai Li, accompanied by this old English butler, felt surreal, as if he was in a movie.
Then the butler led Li to visit the entire castle. It seemed that the butler often did this, as he was obviously a professional guide.
Half an hour later, Dai Li met with Duke Gale.