usatvline Chapter 26: He still couldn't escape being drawn into the game with him.
Chapter 26: He still couldn't escape being drawn into the game with him.
Mu Nanzhao looked at Gu Xixi and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Because you sold me twice, you owe me a debt that you should repay."
Gu Xixi gave a cold sneer, "I've already explained it clearly, this is extortion."
Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "The first time you had the doctor diagnose me, you not only showed him my wounds but also revealed that I was poisoned, thus creating a huge hidden danger for me."
"The second time is today. You arranged for me to see Gu Qingye. It was you again who left me alone with her. If this gets out, it will damage my reputation."
He would say one sentence and then take a step toward Gu Xixi, watching with satisfaction as her face turned pale and she retreated.
"Scared?"
"Would you like to tell me if there's anything else you know?"
Gu Xixi was afraid; she was not only wary of Mu Nanzhao, but also terrified of him.
The sharp edges of the windowsill hurt her back, reminding her to force herself to calm down.
"That old doctor was blind; he couldn't see."
"Moreover, he was a quack doctor that nobody believed in, and almost no one in the neighborhood went to him for treatment."
"If you ask him to save you, he might be able to keep the secret. If you don't ask him, you're already in your grave!"
Mu Nanzhao stared at her for a moment, then took a few steps back, a half-smile on his face.
"You're quite outspoken, aren't you, my savior?"
Gu Xixi felt the oppressive aura around her disappear and breathed a sigh of relief. "Stop joking with me."
Mu Nanzhao changed the subject, "However, you still have to repay me for these two debts."
"Besides... you yourself already know that no matter how much you hate me, how hard you try to avoid me, and how unwilling you are to know anything about me, once you get involved with me, it will be difficult for you to remain unscathed."
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Xixi looked up, her eyes filled with only calm and clarity.
"I can go with you tomorrow."
"If you ever need me to provide cover in the future, I'm always happy to help."
"However, I have conditions."
Mu Nanzhao agreed, "Speak."
Gu Xixi said, "First, you can't make me do these things even if you don't harm others or break the law."
"Secondly, you can no longer threaten to kill me, or Aunt Zhang."
Mu Nanzhao nodded, "I promise you."
Gu Xixi paused, "Also, the old doctor is very curious about the poison in your body."
"Until you find the antidote or another doctor, ask him to treat you."
Mu Nanzhao said, "Okay."
Gu Xixi looked at him in surprise.
The reason she brought this up now was not only because she liked the old doctor and wanted to help him achieve his wish.
She also harbored a little bit of her own selfish motives.
However, Mu Nanzhao was very suspicious, and she did not expect him to agree so easily.
Mu Nanzhao noticed Gu Xixi's confusion and said, "I used his medicine, which was effective in suppressing the toxicity. Recently, the attacks have been significantly less frequent."
Gu Xixi suddenly realized, "No wonder you knew the old doctor diagnosed you with poisoning, it was the medicine..."
She suddenly glared at Mu Nanzhao, "So you had already thought it through, that even if I hadn't brought it up, you wouldn't have had a better choice and would have agreed to let him treat you? And what were you saying just now!"
"Are you still trying to scare me?" Mu Nanzhao glanced sideways.
"Don't think I don't know what those gossipy villagers are saying about me because of you."
"So, for now, we're even."
Mu Nanzhao drifted away, while Gu Xixi gritted her teeth in place.
The next morning, Gu Xixi asked Aunt Zhang for the old doctor's address and set off with a sack on her back.
This was the first time she had left Huachi Ferry Village alone since transmigrating into the book.
Leaving the village entrance, walk less than half a mile along the official road to reach the neighboring Stone Village.
However, Stone Village is built along the slope, and the paths are winding and meandering.
Unable to find the old doctor's house, Gu Xixi had no choice but to stop a woman and ask her questions.
After hearing her description, the woman first looked her over warily, "What do you want with that old blind man?"
Gu Xixi blurted out, "I'm his distant relative."
The woman said unhappily, "That's really strange. I've never heard of that madman having any relatives."
She pointed in a direction, "See the elm tree? His house is down there."
Gu Xixi thanked them and was about to leave.
The woman behind her shouted, "You're his relative, so try to persuade him not to act like a madman and block people, insisting they're sick. My son was terrified and cried yesterday because he blocked him! What bad luck!"
Gu Xixi kept a straight face and didn't turn around, thinking to herself, "He said your son is sick, and you won't let him see a doctor. You'll regret it sooner or later!"
After turning two corners, I finally saw the house under the big elm tree.
The various medicinal herbs drying around the house, and the strong medicinal aroma wafting from inside, all proved that we had found the right place.
Gu Xixi called out, "Old doctor, Gu Xixi has come to visit!"
After waiting for a while, the wooden door opened, and thick smoke made Gu Xixi stumble back several steps.
Before she could even stand up straight, the old doctor, his face covered in soot, rushed out, his steps swift and unlike those of an elderly man.
"The girl's here! That kid's not dead, is he? Did he say my medicine worked?!"
Gu Xixi nodded with a smile, "He agreed to let you treat him."
"Great!" the old doctor exclaimed joyfully, running back and forth in the courtyard.
"Little White, Little Yellow, Little Black, Little Flower, this old man has finally received a patient! Hahahaha..."
Gu Xixi looked around.
Doesn't he live alone? And who are Xiaobai and these people?
Gu Xixi felt something rustling under her feet and looked down to see a white rabbit nibbling at her burlap sack.
She tried to understand, "Is this... Xiaobai?"
The old doctor nodded and beckoned to a calico cat, "This is Little Flower."
He then picked up two bamboo cages, one containing a gray rat and the other a yellow field mouse.
"Little Black, Little Yellow, this is the girl I told you about. You should all get to know her."
These little guys were all injured, or about to freeze to death or die from illness, and were rescued and saved by the old doctor.
They thus became the old doctor's family.
Gu Xixi encountered many snakes, insects, and rodents while collecting things in the wild, so she was not afraid of rats.
She leaned closer to take a look and greeted each of the family members in turn.
The old doctor was even happier. "It's been a long time since the house has been this lively. I'll go cook, you eat here!"
"No need." Gu Xixi glanced at the still-smoking house and quickly opened the sack.
"I brought you some things, including some herbs I picked and some red date buns that Aunt Zhang steamed."
Food and medicine were things the old doctor was interested in, so he immediately ran over to take a look.
He grabbed a cornbread and ate it while taking out the medicinal herbs one by one with his other hand.
"Isatis root, Bupleurum root, Gentian root... and even Paris polyphylla!"
The old doctor's tone grew increasingly excited, "Good girl! How did you manage to find so many good medicinal herbs?"
Gu Xixi generously replied, "These are all gifts for you."
“I saw them when I went into the mountains and just picked them. Some of them are not completely dry yet, so you can take a look and sort them yourself.”
The old doctor held the herbs with obvious delight, nodding and swaying his head as he did so.
"This old blind man, who thought himself so clever, was still fooled by you, little girl!"