Chapter 4: Madam, You Are Truly the Reincarnation of a Living Bodhisattva
"Tsk, Hu Qing! Are you a glutton? You just finished a roasted chicken leg, and you're thinking about something else now?"
Cui Xiao raised his voice, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
Ever since this young miracle doctor became his "life-saving specialist" and neighbor, his life as a patient has become somewhat lively like that of an ordinary citizen.
The humming from next door stopped abruptly, followed by the rustling sound of stool legs scraping against the ground.
After a while, a head with a few hairs on it poked out from the moon door that separated the two courtyards. Hu Qing was holding half a shiny chicken bone in his mouth and an oil-paper bag in his hand, and he was yelling incoherently.
"Master Cui! Hurry! Someone's here from the old lady's place, kindly inviting you to Yanshou Hall to have some snacks! Tsk tsk, what's this delicious 'tonic' thing?"
The chess piece in Cui Xiao's hand fell onto the chessboard with a "click", shattering the ease and leisure he had just felt.
The smile in his peach-blossom eyes froze instantly, sank, and a layer of cold sarcasm appeared. Yanshoutang's dim sum?
Oh, he had experienced his grandmother's "kindness" once with his life.
He stood up, walked over to Hu Qing, pulled the chicken bone out of his mouth, and rubbed it on his greasy hand. His movements were so natural as if he had practiced them thousands of times.
He lowered his voice, with the sharpness that was unique to young people.
"A weasel is paying New Year's greetings to a chicken. The old lady is taking advantage of the fact that my parents are at Daxiangguo Temple fulfilling their vows and burning the first incense sticks, and since there's no Tai Sui guardian in the courtyard, she's trying to give me a 'bonus treat'!"
Hu Qing was not annoyed. He smiled and put the oil paper bag into his arms. He clapped his hands, and his amazingly bright eyes rolled around, flashing with a fox-like cunning light.
"Snack? That's great! Let's go, Young Master! The old lady is so kind, we can't let her down! It just so happens that I'm hungry from acupuncture this morning, so I'm going to grab a couple of snacks to fill my stomach!"
Having said that, without waiting for Cui Xiao to react, he grabbed his arm and dragged him out. His strength was so great that he didn't look like a skinny monkey.
Cui Xiao stumbled when he was pulled by him. Seeing that he was so excited and really wanted to go to the banquet, the haze in his heart was actually diluted a little. He growled helplessly and amusedly.
"Hey! Hu Qing! Are you crazy? Can you eat the snacks in that place casually?"
"What are you afraid of!" Hu Qing didn't even turn his head, his steps were brisk, and his voice was even lowered, with a hint of mystery.
"Have you forgotten who I am? I'm from Medicine King Valley! Rat poison, cockroach poison, heart-breaking powder, and red crane's head... to me, they're just appetizers!
At most...at most, it will last for two days! Come on, come on, let me show you how I can be immune to all poisons!
Cui Xiao was amused and confused by his reckless attitude, but the vigilance in his heart was strangely soothed.
This kid looks weird, but his eyes are as bright as a fox's, so smart!
He grabbed Hu Qing's wrist with his backhand, no longer resisting, but forming a silent alliance.
"Alright! Then I will risk my life to accompany you today and see how you, the great doctor Hu, can whet your appetite!"
The two of them walked arm in arm, laughing all the way, as if they were really going to an ordinary family dinner.
Passing through the courtyards filled with lush flowers and trees and around several corridors, the familiar, gloomy atmosphere of Yanshou Hall with a strong scent of sandalwood hits you in the face.
Inside the hall, the light was dimmed by the thick curtains.
Old Madam Zhou sat upright on the rosewood Arhat couch in the main seat, still wearing a dark purple brocade dress embroidered with a golden longevity pattern. Her hair was meticulously combed and pinned with the heavy red gold and jadeite longevity hairpin.
Her face was covered with layers of wrinkles, and she was trying hard to squeeze out a kind smile.
In his hand, he twisted the newly replaced string of red sandalwood Buddhist beads, which were shiny and seemed to still have the warmth of the craftsman's polishing.
"Brother Xiao is here? Come quickly to Grandma!"
The old lady's voice was deliberately soft, with a sticky, uncomfortable intimacy.
"Look at you! You've become so thin after this serious illness! It makes grandma sad to see you!"
Her cloudy eyes swept over Cui Xiao, lingering for a moment on his rosier cheeks. A hint of sinisterness flashed across her eyes, and then she was filled with a fake smile.
"I specially asked the kitchen to make your favorite rose pastry. It's made with freshly picked rose petals, added with the finest honey and butter. It's the best for nourishing and replenishing your qi and blood. Come and try it!"
When her gaze turned to Hu Qing beside Cui Xiao, the "kindness" she had deliberately created instantly froze into ice chips, like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, with undisguised disgust and resentment.
It’s this little bastard again!
It ruined her big plan! She tried hard not to lose her temper on the spot, just treating him as air, not even bothering to glance at him.
A well-dressed, stern-looking old woman came forward carrying an exquisite red lacquer and gold-painted tray.
On the tray, there are several pieces of dessert shaped like rose petals. They are attractive in pink color, emitting the sweet fragrance of roses and ghee. They are stacked layer by layer and look very beautiful.
The fragrance was so strong that it even overwhelmed the sandalwood that filled the room.
Hu Qing's eyes lit up immediately, like a cat that had been hungry for three days seeing the smell of fish.
He sniffed and exclaimed exaggeratedly
"Wow! Madam, you are truly the reincarnation of a living Bodhisattva! This snack looks much more delicious than the rat poison gnawed by the rats in the nest in the back mountain of Medicine King Valley!"
Before he finished speaking, he jumped up in one step and before Cui Xiao could react
At the moment when Madam Zhou was stunned and stiff, and Aunt Zhang was dumbfounded, he used both claws to attack, attacking left and right, and grabbed the two largest rose cakes in a flash!
"Hey! Hu..."
Cui Xiao's heart suddenly rose to his throat, he screamed and reached out to stop it.
That's the old witch's snack! It's something that will kill you if you touch it!
However, Hu Qing was as agile as a loach and dodged Cui Xiao's hand by twisting his body.
Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, he took a big, fierce bite without hesitation!
His cheeks instantly swelled up as if two big walnuts were stuffed in them, and the pink crispy crust crumbs covered his mouth and hands.
He chewed vigorously, and uttered an inarticulate sigh of satisfaction.
"Mmm! Fragrant! Really fragrant! Sweet but not greasy, crispy and delicious! With your cooking skills, old lady, you can open a pastry shop and make a fortune every day! Any more? Two more pieces?"
As he spoke, he licked his ghee-covered fingers with relish, and his sparkling eyes looked at the few remaining pieces on the tray with "desire".
The entire Yanshou Hall was as silent as a grave.
The carefully constructed mask of "kindness" on Mrs. Zhou's face cracked and peeled off inch by inch, like a piece of inferior porcelain hit by a heavy hammer.
Her cloudy old eyes stared at Hu Qing's greasy face, which was covered with pastry residue and still had an innocent smile on it. A surge of evil fire mixed with unbelievable horror suddenly rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head!
The hand holding the Buddhist beads began to tremble violently, the veins on the back of her hand bulged, and her skinny fingers dug into the hard sandalwood beads tightly.
A sharp and crisp sound exploded in the silent hall!
The newly replaced string of red sandalwood Buddhist beads, which symbolized her supreme authority and compassion, was actually broken by her!
The round bead cracked into a hideous crack, and several adjacent beads were squeezed by the sudden huge force.
The rope snapped with a crackling sound, and the object rolled to the ground, scattering on the smooth gold brick floor, making a hollow and desperate echo.
Nanny Zhang's hands, holding the tray, were shaking like a sieve, and the snacks on the tray almost flew out along with the Buddhist beads.
Cui Xiao's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He looked at Hu Qing's bulging cheeks that were still chewing hard, and then at the Buddhist beads that rolled on the ground.
Finally, his gaze fixed on his grandmother's face, which was completely distorted by extreme shock, anger, and resentment, like an evil ghost.
An icy chill and an absurd pleasure gripped his heart at the same time.
He slowly withdrew his hand, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curved upwards into an extremely subtle, yet icy arc.
“You…you…”
Madam Zhou made a rumbling sound from her throat, pointing at Hu Qing and then Cui Xiao. Her skinny fingers trembled like dead branches in a strong wind.
His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word. His vision went black, and his chest felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on him.
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