14. Mystery
Who exactly is Dr. Mo?
Half an hour later, Uncle Huang slowly woke up, and the first thing he did was check his legs.
Outwardly, his leg appeared unchanged, just like any other person's. He knew this; it was an old ailment that wasn't outwardly noticeable. Ten years ago, he hadn't known where he had injured himself and had consulted many doctors, but none could pinpoint the cause. He assumed this time would be no different, but as soon as he lifted his leg slightly, he immediately felt the difference.
"This, this..." He was so excited he was incoherent, and two lines of tears almost fell. Honghua looked at her father with disdain, then shrugged her shoulders with considerable pride: "Dad, you'd better thank me properly!"
Overjoyed, Uncle Huang wept, but he didn't forget to correct his daughter: "If anyone should thank you, it should be Miss Mu and Doctor Ying, what does it have to do with you?"
Seeing that Honghua was depressed, Du Zhijin quickly hugged her and explained, "Honghua really did put in a lot of effort on this matter. Uncle, tell Aunt that we'll give her an extra egg tonight."
With her as a witness, Uncle Huang had no choice but to believe it. He awkwardly lifted his leg, which had returned to normal, and turned back with a hint of disbelief: "What? This girl has a talent for medicine?"
Honghua peeked out from Du Zhijin's arms, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. She was extremely proud of herself: "Not only that! Your daughter is destined for great things. You and your mother can just wait to enjoy the good life in the future!"
Having decided to "cultivate," and being someone who couldn't keep a secret, Honghua immediately wanted to show off to her friends. So, Du Zhijin was led by her to bragged about it in front of all the children in Wuling Village.
"Sister, are you a fairy?" "Wow, then, can I learn that too?" "I don't believe it! The last Constable Lu who came was the most amazing!"
Amidst the chatter, Du Zhijin noticed that one of the children mentioned Lu Ping.
Honghua had said something similar before, that Lu Ping was very close to the children.
Erzhu answered for her: "A few days ago, our kite flew into a tree, and it was Officer Lu who caught it."
A few days ago, it was the time she was invited to the Orchid Bathing Festival. She nodded and casually taught them a few ways to make kites fly higher. The children listened with great interest, and Honghua asked her, "Sister, did you fly kites when you were little?"
Du Zhijin reminisced about his childhood in Dengxian Mountain.
Running through the sky while dragging along the corpse of a bird demon, does that count as flying a kite? Hmm... let's not tell the children about that.
Suddenly, Erzhu remembered something else and jumped up, trying to get her attention: "Officer Lu also asked, asked how good Doctor Ying's medical skills are!"
After all, Lu Ping seemed to have come to Ying Jianhua to treat his heart ailment, so asking this wasn't unreasonable. She casually asked, "So what did you answer?"
The children looked at each other, and they all saw fear in each other's eyes.
Du Zhijin: I understand. Doctor Ying can still stop the baby from crying at night.
"Hmph, that kid is a reincarnated evil spirit. Every night, he rips out the hearts of you little kids and eats them!"
Suddenly, a curse rang out behind him. Du Zhijin frowned and saw an old man with a fierce look in his eyes.
One eye, one hand, and a ferocious face.
The children weren't afraid of him; they made faces at him and spat at him, but Du Zhijin stopped them.
Honghua explained in a low voice, "This is Old Man Ding, the most hated man in our village. He originally had a daughter, but because Sister Ding was beautiful, he wanted to sell her to pay off his gambling debts. Sister Ding cried and begged him, but it was no use. In the end, she hanged herself."
"Several families in the village pooled their money to buy Sister Ding a coffin, but he sold the coffin and went gambling again! The village chief beat him, but he still wouldn't change. Guess what happened in the end? Sister Ding became a ghost and didn't let him go, biting off one of his eyes and one of his hands!"
When the children heard about "Sister Ding taking revenge on her scumbag father," they all looked delighted, which showed that Old Man Ding had done something inhuman.
Du Zhijin instructed Honghua to take the other children and leave first, then stepped forward to confront Old Man Ding: "What did you mean by what you just said?"
Old Man Ding gritted his teeth in hatred and said viciously, "My daughter didn't commit suicide at all! He killed her! He also ruined my eyes and hands! His whole family is no good!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Honghua rushed up, shouting angrily, "Sister Ding was driven to her death by you! You wanted to sell her to a seventy-year-old man. Bah! Shameless! Your son-in-law is older than you!"
"Exactly, exactly." The other children agreed, even the most timid Erzhu whispered a rebuttal: "Dr. Ying's needles hurt a lot... but he's not as mean as you. You're the real bad guy!"
"You big bad guy! You big bad guy!"
Having been humiliated by a group of children, Old Man Ding, driven by malice, grabbed a nearby stone and started throwing it. However, Du Zhijin was faster; with a quick snap, a crisp "crack" was heard, and Old Man Ding was already sweating profusely from the pain.
She shook off his only hand and said coldly, "If you don't want to lose both your hands, then get out."
Honghua chimed in behind her, "Get lost!"
Old Ding glared at them menacingly and left quickly.
————
Jinxi City, the residence of Prince Chengduan.
Ying Jianhua was escorted out of the main gate by servants from the Prince's residence. Before leaving, the steward hurriedly caught up with him: "His Highness sent me to see you off. May I ask where Doctor Mo is staying for the time being? Jinxi City is remote, and I am afraid there may be some shortcomings in our hospitality. I hope you will forgive me."
He waved his hand and a strange voice came out: "No need to trouble Steward Wang."
Despite being rejected, Butler Wang remained unperturbed, smiling as he watched Ying Jianhua leave. Once Ying Jianhua's figure had completely disappeared, his expression changed instantly, and he ordered his servants, "Follow him."
He wanted to see just who this elusive Doctor Mo really was.
Ying Jianhua had anticipated their scheme long ago. Almost the instant she left the palace, she sensed a trail of followers and deliberately headed into a maze of alleyways. After winding her way through several alleys, the number of followers dwindled to just two or three.
The time was right, and he appeared when a group of people were wandering around aimlessly like headless flies.
"You're looking for me?"
The group of people were surprised and astonished by his sudden appearance.
There are walls all around, so where did he come from?
Taking in the expressions on their faces, Ying Jianhua sneered and pulled out a handful of white powder from her sleeve, scattering it out.
Suddenly, a foreign object entered their eyes, causing temporary blindness. A wave of immense unease and fear washed over the servants of the Prince's residence; they quickly lost their bearings and began to panic.
Ying Jianhua took this opportunity to leave Jinxi City.
He removed his black robe and returned to his usual appearance. He wore a faded cloth robe, his figure was slender, and his eyes and brows were indifferent.
When he returned to Wuling Village, even his voice sounded completely normal. Some villagers saw him and complained to him, "Doctor Ying, while you were away, that old man Ding went to harass the carpenter's daughter."
Carpenter Girl?
He was stunned for a moment before realizing that the carpenter girl referred to the wood girl, namely Du Zhijin.
He knew Old Man Ding's character all too well, and upon hearing this, he quickened his pace to get home. Back in the courtyard, he found Du Zhijin gently fanning the sleeping Honghua.
Seeing him return, she gestured for him to be quiet. Ying Jianhua understood and turned to knock on the door next door.
Du Zhijin took the safflower home and came out to see the scattered things in the yard. He asked curiously, "Did you redeem your mother's things?"
Ying Jianhua shook her head: "No. The pawnshop clerk told me that the item has already been bought."
"Who bought it?" Du Zhijin opened her mouth, trying to say something comforting, but couldn't think of the right words. After a long while, she managed to stammer, "The book says that the bond between people is unbreakable, and I suppose the bond between people and things is the same. What's destined to be yours will be yours, and what's not..."
The original saying was "If it's not meant to be, don't force it," but she felt it was inappropriate. That thing was originally left to him by Doctor Ying's mother; how could it be "not meant to be"?
After much thought, it was because her illness had drained Dr. Ying's savings.
Seeing that she had nothing more to say, Ying Jianhua continued to busy herself with packing up the various things she had bought. Du Zhijin sat in the courtyard, a straw twirling between her fingers, twisting it endlessly.
The consultation fee and medicine cost have been settled, but what about the kindness shown to us? How can we repay this kindness?
She's never been good at this, so when she couldn't figure it out, she simply asked.
"Dr. Ying, is there any treasure in this world that you yearn for but have not yet obtained? Or any long-cherished wish that you have never been able to fulfill?"
The day has finally come.
Ying Jianhua lowered her eyes, stopped what she was doing, and looked up at her.
Du Zhijin is powerful enough that she can accomplish almost anything with minimal effort.
And he needs her—
"Take me to see this city."
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