Chapter 163 The Road Ahead
That evening, Li San Niang led Qiu Xiang into her courtyard, intending for her to sleep in the next room. Seeing that Qiu Xiang hadn't brought any clean clothes, she found a set of her own clean clothes for her to change into. After all, a woman wearing all black clothes would be too conspicuous if she went out on the street during the day.
However, Qiu Xiang refused the clothes that Li San Niang offered, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Li San Niang. I don't mean to dislike your clothes, but I have a lot of weapons on me. If I wear your clothes, I won't have anywhere to put them."
Li San Niang looked Qiu Xiang up and down, but couldn't figure out where a weapon could be hidden in that not-so-large-looking garment.
"If my wife doesn't go out tomorrow morning, I can go back tonight to get some clothes and come back. I should be able to get back before 9 a.m. tomorrow."
"I probably won't be going out for the next couple of days. If you need anything, just go back and get it. Also, if there's anything you want in this house, just tell me, and I can go out with you to get it. By the way, I wonder how much monthly allowance Qiu Xiang receives from the Bad People?"
Qiu Xiang, stumped by Li San Niang's question, replied after a moment, "Um, what is it that you're asking, San Niangzi?"
"Since I'll need you to protect me in the future, it means I'm taking up your time, so I should pay you. I'll pay you the same amount as what the scoundrels give you. Of course, if it's too much, I can only give you the most I can. I can't let you work for free."
Qiu Xiang felt that Li San Niang was indeed no ordinary woman. Just as her master had said, Li San Niang was an interesting person.
"Third Sister, you don't need to give me any money. I was sent here to protect you, and you are my mission. Besides, if I need money, just tell your superiors. There is no monthly allowance."
Li San Niang hadn't expected that working in this kind of organization wouldn't have a fixed base salary, and she had just asked Qiu Xiang, who was only a little over fifteen years old!
In modern times, this would be considered child labor.
So Li San Niang said, "Let me ask my elder brother how much it costs to hire a top-notch bodyguard in the market, and then I'll pay you a monthly salary according to the market price."
Seeing that Li San Niang insisted, Qiu Xiang didn't say anything more.
After Li San Niang left, Qiu Xiang went up to the roof, told the spy who was monitoring the Li family, and then quickly ran back to her original residence in Chang'an City.
When Li San Niang returned to her room, she did not lie down. She decided to try the Taoist meditation method to calm her mind, hoping that this method would help her stop having nightmares after she fell asleep.
Wearing only her undergarments, Li San Niang closed her eyes, sat cross-legged, and placed her hands naturally on her knees with palms facing up. She slowly adjusted her breathing, trying to enter a state of mental emptiness where she could think of nothing.
I must say, it's quite difficult.
Upon hearing the first clapper sound on the street, Li Sanniang abandoned her idea of ​​meditation, lay down, and thought, "Whatever, I'll just go for it. Let me have nightmares."
With this "do-nothing" mentality in mind, Li San Niang quickly fell asleep.
When Li San Niang woke up the next day, it was already bright daylight. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Lu Zhu'er staring at her with her big, dark eyes.
"My little dewdrop, come here, let your mother kiss you."
Li San Niang hugged Lu Zhu tightly and kissed her on the forehead, making Lu Zhu giggle.
Li San Niang wondered if this meditation method was actually effective, otherwise why didn't she remember having any dreams at night? Moreover, she wasn't awakened by nightmares; she slept until dawn and woke up naturally.
After having breakfast, Li San Niang went to find Li's father to ask him if any of the medicinal herbs in last night's soup had been added or removed.
Otherwise, how could a simple meditation, even an unsuccessful one, actually stop her from having nightmares? If post-traumatic stress disorder were so easy to cure, there wouldn't be so many people in modern society who couldn't bear the pain and took their own lives.
Li's father told Li San Niang that there was nothing added or subtracted. It was probably because Li San Niang adjusted herself, or perhaps the Bad People sent Qiu Xiang as a female bodyguard, which greatly improved Li San Niang's sense of security, allowing her to become much better.
In modern society, this kind of illness can indeed be cured without medication if the patient sees a psychologist and adjusts themselves.
Li San Niang was unsure why she hadn't had any nightmares last night.
Was it a coincidence?
Or is it really as Li's father said, that he felt incredibly safe because of Qiu Xiang, his female bodyguard, which is why he slept so well?
"Try taking the medicine for a few more days. If it still doesn't work, try a different prescription. I'd like to tell you about Lady Qiuxiang."
"Qiu Xiang? What's wrong, Father?"
Father Li stroked his beard, pushed the plate of pastries on the table to Third Sister Li before saying, "Last night you said you wanted to take Qiu Xiang under the guise of taking her as an apprentice so that she could protect you closely."
Li San Niang nodded, then looked at Li's father and asked, "So?"
"You should know that in our medical profession, the relationship between master and apprentice is no less important than that between parents and children."
To a certain extent, this transcends the relationship between parents and children.
Parents have only given birth to and raised their children, and then send them out of the house to fend for themselves when they are teenagers.
The master, on the other hand, must impart all his skills to his disciple and care for him as if he were his own child, attending to his every need from the moment the disciple arrives until he graduates. Even after graduation, if the disciple encounters any problems, the master must continue to care for him.
Furthermore, the master-disciple relationship is subject to joint liability under the law. If the disciple gets into trouble, the master will be implicated, and vice versa.
Furthermore, if you truly intend to take Qiu Xiang as your disciple, then you must take responsibility. You cannot treat her as a master and disciple in name only, nor can you assume that this master-disciple relationship is arbitrarily imposed to protect you, nor can you disregard your role as her teacher simply because she is only a few years younger than you.
Since you are all from the Bad People, and Mr. Bu Ke said she is a master who can take on ten opponents, given her age, she should have a martial arts master among the Bad People. Since you want to be her medical master, you can't expect her to protect you in the future.
You are now master and disciple. How can a master let his disciple charge into battle while he hides behind him?
Besides, even if Lady Qiuxiang can save you for a while, can she save you forever?
You still need to have your own means of survival.
Even if your father doesn't tell you, you know that the path you want to take in the future will be extremely difficult.
Don't even mention if you're a woman; even if you're a man, it's very difficult to be lucky enough to survive to the end.
It's just a matter of alcohol purification, and you've already been targeted. Now we're all on the bad guys' ship, and we can't get off.
My son, have you thought clearly about what you want to do and what you will do in the future?
Faced with her father's questioning, Li San Niang put down the pastries in her hand and began to carefully consider his questions.
It must be said that Li San Niang founded the Women's Assistance Association out of sheer passion;
Because she was an obstetrician and gynecologist in her previous life, she wanted to continue doing her old profession in this life, which is why she took the exam to join the medical alliance.
Because I am also a woman, I want to contribute my share in this era so that my female sisters can have medicine when they are sick, see a doctor, have help during childbirth, and live a better life.
After experiencing the murder in the alley under the moonlight and the assassination attempt in the main hall of the Jingzhao Prefecture, both of which nearly cost her her life, she really wondered where her future lay.
Can I continue living like this?
How can I protect myself and my family?
How can I climb up, get ahead, and stand on top in such a harsh environment so that I can pave the way for what I want to do and shelter them from the wind and rain?
How should we move forward?
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