Rong Yan had exerted his inner energy, and now his entire person was deathly pale, his chest heaving as he half-leaned against the ground!
“Are… are you okay?” An Xia asked tentatively.
Every time she saw this man, he always appeared weak, delicate, and unable to care for himself!
Could she have crushed him into nothingness just now?
She instinctively reached out to check his pulse, but the man retracted his hand and said coldly, “I’m fine!”
His indifference carried a touch of frailty.
“It’s good that you’re okay. J-just now, thank you!” Seeing the man refuse her touch, An Xia awkwardly withdrew her hand.
Mo Xiao had also descended by now. After helping Rong Yan up, he asked with concern, “Master, are you alright?”
“It is nothing!”
At this moment, the landlord also came over, her expression anxious, “Are you two alright?”
“These roof tiles were perfectly fine; I have no idea why they fell. Perhaps the wooden slats holding the tiles were loose!”
“Shall I send you two to the medical hall to take a look?” the landlord suggested.
“No need!” the two replied in unison.
After saying this, Rong Yan walked slowly toward the restaurant.
An Xia, however, knew very well that this was not the landlord’s fault, and she hadn’t been injured anyway.
She waved her hand at An Chun and An Qiu, “I’m heading back to Hulu Village first; leave the matter of selling the medicinal herbs to you two.”
An Qiu refused without a second thought, “Second Sister, I’m not at ease with you like this. I’ll go back to the village with you!”
An Chun also nodded in agreement, “Xia’er, let Qiu’er go back with you. Big Sister can manage on her own.”
An Xia shook her head like a rattle, “Don’t follow me; I’m afraid of dragging you into my bad luck!”
After saying this, she left the sisters far behind and started walking toward the outskirts of Yunshui Town!
Sun Taohua saw An Xia from a distance and called out, “Xia’er, why are you heading back alone? Where are Chun’er and Qiu’er?”
An Xia tugged at her mouth, offering a forced smile, “Auntie, they are still in town; they have things to take care of!”
Sun Taohua nodded knowingly, “Girl, are you feeling unwell? Come up on the ox cart and rest for a bit!”
An Xia refused, “Auntie Sun, I won’t take the ox cart today; I have things to attend to!”
She didn’t want to walk for over an hour back to Hulu Village either, but she couldn’t bring disaster upon everyone on this ox cart!
According to her past experience, the road would certainly not be peaceful; tripping on flat ground or twisting an ankle were standard procedures. If she sat on the ox cart, who knew what the ox and the cart would have to endure?
Oxen had it hard enough as it was!
Sun Taohua simply assumed that they were having a hard time and were trying to save money, so she urged, “Auntie won’t charge you. On such a hot day, you’ll suffer heatstroke walking back.”
An Xia smiled bitterly, “Thank you for your kindness, Auntie, but I really have something to do.”
Seeing that she couldn’t be persuaded, Sun Taohua sighed deeply and chatted with Li Zhaocai, “Poor thing, she probably doesn’t want to owe us any favors. She’s a girl with spirit.”
Li Zhaocai looked at An Xia’s retreating back and said, “After all these years, she hasn’t been ruined by her father and stepmother; her temperament is exactly like her late mother’s!”
Sun Taohua’s eyes were filled with pity, “Isn’t that the truth? It’s just a pity that Zhao passed away early; poor children, having to run into such a family.”
An Xia endured the heat and exhaustion while walking to Hulu Village. She had long prepared herself for tripping, twisting her ankles, or getting hit by bird droppings on her head, but for a long time, the journey was peaceful!
This wasn’t right!
But she couldn’t figure out what was wrong!
Could it be that after traveling through time, the backlash of her “crow’s beak” had become shorter? Did it only cause bad luck during that immediate moment? Or was it due to something else?
An Chun and An Qiu asked a passerby for directions and arrived at the largest medical hall in town, Xuanhu Hall!
An Chun looked at the elegantly decorated hall, feeling a bit timid and hesitating to move forward!
An Qiu, however, despite being young, was quite courageous.
She dragged An Chun into the hall, saying, “Sister, we’re here to sell herbs; what are you afraid of?”
The clerk at Xuanhu Hall, seeing the two sisters dressed in patches, didn’t show any disdain.
He welcomed them with a smile, “Are you two here to get medicine or to see a doctor?”
An Qiu looked at the clerk, chin tilted up, “We’re here to sell medicinal herbs. Does your hall buy them?”
The clerk said, “That depends on what kind of herbs they are!”
An Qiu took off the bamboo basket from her back and pointed, “These. Do you buy them?”
The clerk frowned slightly, “Our hall already has plenty of plantain and motherwort in stock; we won’t be buying those for now.”
An Qiu pouted, disappointed, “Then do you buy Gedaqi?”
The clerk’s eyes lit up, “You found Gedaqi?”
An Qiu nodded, “Yes, at the bottom of the basket. There are two stalks, and the quality is very good!”
Naturally, she didn’t know what “good quality” meant, but that was what her Second Sister had said! She pretended to be familiar with herbs so that others wouldn’t easily scam her!
The clerk flipped out the herbs from the bottom of the basket, confirmed they were correct, and said, “We buy this!”
This item was rare and essential for making high-quality golden sore ointment!
“How much will you pay?” An Qiu asked, pretending to be experienced.
Seeing An Qiu’s “old soul in a young body” act, the clerk quickly said, “Rest assured, our Xuanhu Hall is the most fair; we won’t scam you!”
An Qiu felt slightly more at ease.
The clerk showed the Gedaqi to the shopkeeper. Seeing that the sisters were having a hard time, the shopkeeper ordered, “Buy the Gedaqi along with the ordinary herbs in the basket, and give them two taels of silver.”
The clerk took two taels of silver from the counter and handed them to the sisters, “Our shopkeeper said he wants both the Gedaqi and the other herbs. Here is two taels of silver. What do you think?”
An Qiu was very satisfied with this price. After all, for an ordinary farming family, earning ten taels a year was considered quite good.
She accepted the silver and said crisply, “Thank you!”
The clerk waved his hand, “You’re welcome. If you have good herbs in the future, just bring them here.”
An Qiu nodded and pulled An Chun toward the exit of Xuanhu Hall, but An Chun remained motionless!
An Qiu looked at her, confused, “Big Sister, the herbs are sold; let’s go home!”
“Qiu’er, I want to ask the doctor here if Second Sister’s scars can still be treated! And the one on your head, too,” An Chun said after biting her lip.
An Qiu smiled, “The scar on my head is covered by my hair; there’s no need to waste that money. Just ask for Second Sister.”
An Chun walked to the counter and looked at the shopkeeper of Xuanhu Hall, “Doctor, I would like to ask: can old burn scars be removed?”
The shopkeeper looked up, “Where is the person? Bring her over quickly! The earlier you treat it, the higher the chance of removing the scars!”
An Chun lowered her head guiltily, whispering, “They are old scars, from many years ago.”
The shopkeeper shook his head regretfully, “That won’t work then; they cannot be cured!”
“Oh, thank you, Shopkeeper!” An Chun said, disappointed.
…
In Yunshui Town, at a residence with elegant scenery.
Rong Yan was closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, while Hua Wumian prattled on endlessly beside him.
“Don’t you know the condition of your own body?”
“Couldn’t Mo Xiao have saved her?”
“You had to go yourself?”
“What? Do you want to play the hero saving the damsel?”
“Or have you also stirred up mortal desires?”
Rong Yan could bear it no longer, “Shut up!”