Xia Zhi quickly removed her sister’s clothes, covering her vital areas, and then greeted Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi turned around, saw his sister’s partially exposed body, and unconsciously blushed, his gaze beginning to shy away.
Xia Zhi noticed this detail, which further convinced her that Yan Shouyi was truly examining her sister’s bones that night. How could a young boy who blushed at seeing a girl’s navel do something like that?
As for Long Feicheng.
Heh, a five-thousand-yuan fine was inevitable.
Muttering the Heart-Calming Incantation several times, Yan Shouyi steadied his mind, knelt beside his sister, took out silver needles, heated them for sterilization over the candlelight, and then quickly inserted them, landing on the Guigong acupoint.
“For ailments caused by all evil spirits, there are thirteen acupoints. When needling, one always begins with Guigong, then Guixin, followed by Guilei, and then Guixin. It is not necessary to needle all of them; five or six are sufficient to discern the condition.”
While needling, Yan Shouyi chanted, as if reciting a mantra or introducing the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles.
His needling techniques varied, each insertion swift, precise, and practiced. For a moment, he seemed to transform into an ancient, white-haired traditional Chinese doctor, rather than a young man.
In a short while, all thirteen silver needles were in place. Yan Shouyi took out yellow talismans and an ivory brush from his bag, dipped them in his own fresh blood, and drew a talisman.
He lit the talisman, which turned into ash. Yan Shouyi collected it in a disposable cup, filled it with half a cup of water, and stirred it into a dark, murky talisman water.
“After she drinks this talisman water, she will wake up,” Yan Shouyi said.
Xia Zhi frowned, “Drinking talisman water is superstitious.”
“As long as it saves a life, whether it’s science or superstition, it’s good.”
Yan Shouyi’s reply caused Xia Zhi to fall into thought, while Yan Shouyi directly fed the talisman water to his sister.
As expected, after drinking the talisman water, his sister suddenly woke up with a gasp. She not only spat out the talisman water but also a piece of black, strange-looking meat.
As the strange meat left her sister’s body, it continued to writhe, emitting a foul stench. However, it soon stopped struggling, as if dead.
“It… it actually worked?!” Xia Zhi was shocked. “What did she spit out?”
“Dead flesh, something like a tumor, but not entirely. You wouldn’t understand if I explained it,” Yan Shouyi replied.
Xia Zhi pouted. She realized that her deterrent effect on Yan Shouyi was rapidly diminishing.
Yan Shouyi wrapped the dead flesh in the talisman paper. A wisp of black energy emerged from the flesh, which then quickly shriveled, finally turning into a patch of dead skin. Yan Shouyi casually threw it into the trash can.
“What happened to me…” His sister, having recovered, asked weakly.
“You’re fine now.”
Yan Shouyi didn’t explain much. He quickly removed the silver needles from his sister and put them back in his bag.
It was only then that his sister realized what had happened and understood that Yan Shouyi had saved her. She held his hand, grateful, saying,
“Little brother, you saved me, didn’t you? Thanks to you, I’m alive. How do you want your sister to thank you?”
“Ah… this…” Yan Shouyi blushed again. Aside from offering herself, this sister clearly had no other way to express her gratitude. But how could Yan Shouyi possibly suggest that?
Xia Zhi rolled her eyes at them irritably, found a jacket, and draped it over her sister, reminding them, “Don’t forget where you are right now.”
Her sister, however, didn’t seem to care about her whereabouts.
She was a duckweed, drifting wherever she landed, never needing to care about others’ opinions, as she would soon drift to another unfamiliar city.
But this time, perhaps due to Yan Shouyi’s protection, her sister’s thoughts turned to her own life, and her eyes welled up with tears. She sobbed,
“I haven’t done anything bad, so why is my life so miserable? I wanted to study, go to college, and become an independent woman. But I was born into such a family, with an early-deceased mother and a father who favored sons. I finally escaped, and before I could live a good life, I contracted this strange illness…”
Xia Zhi watched her sister silently, feeling a pang of sympathy and pity, but not knowing how to comfort her.
Compared to this sister, Xia Zhi had only been born into a better family. If she had been born into a destitute family, she might have fared even worse than this sister.
Yan Shouyi comforted her, “The cycle of the world is inescapable; what goes around comes around. Everything is arranged by fate. The suffering we endure in this life is debt from our past lives, not just for you, sister, but for me as well.”
It seemed Yan Shouyi’s life also held a similar fate to this sister’s. Xia Zhi felt that Yan Shouyi’s tone held a hint of empathy as he comforted her sister.
Perhaps due to her illness, his sister soon fell asleep again, but this time, she slept more peacefully.
Xia Zhi dressed her sister properly before opening the door to let others in. Upon learning that her sister was alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The police officers who had previously intimidated Yan Shouyi looked at him with new respect: “We didn’t expect you to actually have some skills, kid. But one thing is one thing, your girlfriend’s promiscuity still needs to be dealt with seriously!”
Yan Shouyi: “……”
Before long, the hospital ambulance took his sister away, and Yan Shouyi was finally relieved. In fact, he had already removed her hidden ailment, and now she only needed to rest well to recover.
After this ordeal, this sister’s life would take a turn for the better. She would meet a man who truly loved her. Although that man would not be wealthy, the couple would work together, and their small life would be happy and fulfilling.
However, Yan Shouyi did not reveal these future events to his sister. Life was made desirable precisely because it was filled with uncertainties.
After seeing his sister off, the police station resumed its normal operations.
Xia Zhi took statements from Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng. Although Xia Zhi now believed Yan Shouyi, she did not have conclusive evidence and could not simply let him go.
Therefore, to leave, Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng needed to pay a five-thousand-yuan fine…
And Yan Shouyi was penniless, not to mention Long Feicheng was also completely broke!
This led to the two of them sitting in the hallway, staring at each other, the atmosphere extremely awkward. Even Xia Zhi had been temporarily called away by her superior, on some unknown mission.
Long Feicheng suddenly nudged Yan Shouyi with his shoulder: “Brother… no! My good man! You are a master!”
“What’s the use of being a master if a master can’t even afford a five-thousand-yuan fine?” Yan Shouyi sighed, his tone filled with helplessness.
“I specifically checked the almanac before leaving home tonight and learned that I would meet a noble person today. That’s why I followed my heart and chose to go to the small hotel to examine the young lady’s bones. I didn’t expect to actually meet you!” Long Feicheng said with a grin. “Brother, judging by your appearance, you’ve only recently arrived in Rongcheng, right? Don’t you have a place to stay? Don’t you have any acquaintances to rely on? Heh heh, I grew up in Rongcheng and am known as Rongcheng’s Know-It-All, nicknamed ‘Big Understander.’ If you have nowhere to go, why not cooperate with me!”
Yan Shouyi gave Long Feicheng a sideways glance: “Didn’t you just say you were a disciple of Mount Mao, sent down to the secular world to cultivate?”
“Uh… to be honest, brother, I’m a local from Rongcheng. It’s just that when I was young, the neighbor next door was a fortune teller who taught me a few tricks. As I grew up, I didn’t have any special skills, so I relied on those little abilities to get by,” Long Feicheng said. “But it’s different now. You have skills, and I have connections. If we brothers join forces, we can definitely make a name for ourselves in Rongcheng!”
Yan Shouyi was not very interested in the grand promises Long Feicheng was making.
He had important matters to attend to in Rongcheng, and after he finished, he might leave.
As a descendant of Lu Ban, he was a wanderer. Unless he settled down and started a family, his feet would not stop moving.
Seeing Yan Shouyi remain silent, Long Feicheng wanted to provoke him further.
But at this moment, two police officers arrived with a beautiful young woman in front of Yan Shouyi.
The woman was dressed impeccably and had an outstanding demeanor, with a head of wavy blonde hair. She looked like a movie star. As soon as she walked in, she captured everyone’s attention.
“Miss Zhang, this is Yan Shouyi,” one police officer said.
Another police officer removed Yan Shouyi’s handcuffs and said, “Your girlfriend paid your fine for you, you can go now.”
What?
Girlfriend?
Yan Shouyi looked at the young woman in front of him and realized he didn’t recognize her at all.
Long Feicheng, standing nearby, jumped up, looking at Yan Shouyi in disbelief: “No way, you actually have a girlfriend?!”
Gucci clothes, a Louis Vuitton bag. What else could this be but a sugar mama?!
This was clearly Long Feicheng’s dream!
Yan Shouyi was utterly confused. The two police officers couldn’t help but lament, “Alas, young people nowadays are becoming more and more uncontent. They have such a beautiful girlfriend yet still go out chasing other women!”
Seeing the situation becoming more complicated, Yan Shouyi quickly said, “You’ve misunderstood, I’m not her boyfriend, I don’t know her!”
Long Feicheng shot Yan Shouyi a sidelong glance: “Playing amnesiac at this point? A true expert! I underestimated you. You’re clearly a repeat offender!”
Facing everyone’s accusations, Yan Shouyi was speechless.
He genuinely had no idea who this girl was!
However, the girl seemed too lazy to explain and directly told Yan Shouyi, “Come with me.”
Yan Shouyi hesitated. He didn’t seem to have any reason to refuse her, did he?
Seeing this, Long Feicheng quickly stopped Yan Shouyi: “Brother, we’re fellow sufferers now. Since your girlfriend is so rich, can you help me out too?”
“Ask her,” Yan Shouyi gestured towards the girl, as the money was hers, not his.
Without a second thought, the girl took out five thousand yuan cash from her bag, threw it into Long Feicheng’s arms, and then dragged Yan Shouyi away.
“So generous!” Long Feicheng gave the girl a thumbs-up, and felt even more admiration for Yan Shouyi.
Caught cheating, and still managed to get his wealthy girlfriend to bail him out personally.
Brother Yan is truly a role model for us all!
Yan Shouyi was dragged by the girl to the side of the main road and directly stuffed into a Mercedes-Maybach parked by the roadside.
It was then that the girl explained, “My name is Zhang Yingying, and my father is Zhang Guodong.”
Yan Shouyi suddenly realized, “So that’s how it is.”
He had been wondering who could bail him out in Rongcheng, a city where he knew no one.
It could only be Zhang Guodong or Huang Hai.
“How is your father’s construction site? Are there any more problems?” Yan Shouyi asked with concern.
Zhang Yingying sneered dismissively, “What problems could my father’s construction site have? Even if there were, would it be any of your business!”
Hearing this, Yan Shouyi frowned.
It seemed Zhang Guodong had not told Zhang Yingying about what had happened at the construction site. This little princess was still living in her own perfect world.
If the construction site was fine, then why did Zhang Guodong ask Zhang Yingying to find him? Yan Shouyi was puzzled.
At this moment, Zhang Yingying looked down on Yan Shouyi with disdain.
From the beginning, she had never believed in Feng Shui. She thought Yan Shouyi’s saving the construction site was all a charade.
Afterward, Zhang Yingying gave up going to the bar and instead went to the small hotel to find Yan Shouyi, only to discover he had been arrested for soliciting prostitution. Zhang Yingying’s disappointment in Yan Shouyi grew even greater.
Now, seeing Yan Shouyi in person and finding him dressed so plainly, like a bumpkin, Zhang Yingying’s attitude completely crumbled. If not for her father’s strict instructions, Zhang Yingying would have likely kicked Yan Shouyi out of the car.
However, Zhang Guodong’s words still carried some weight with Zhang Yingying. Thus, she could only endure her disgust and contempt and said to Yan Shouyi:
“My father said you’ve just arrived in Rongcheng, don’t know anyone, and don’t have a place to stay, so he asked me to find you and accompany you around Rongcheng. But I think you must have very important matters to attend to, and my presence would just be a burden, right?”
Zhang Yingying’s words had a hidden meaning. She actually did not want to be with Yan Shouyi and thus deliberately said she would be a burden.
Who knew Yan Shouyi was so dense? He readily accepted: “Okay, since I have no money on me right now, I’ll trouble you then!”
“You!……”
Zhang Yingying looked at Yan Shouyi in disbelief.
Were there really such clueless men?
Zhang Yingying sighed, regretting that she had underestimated Yan Shouyi’s intelligence, which led to an irreversible situation. Now, she couldn’t even get rid of this burden, Yan Shouyi!