Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1296: Chapter 1298: Treating the Disease and the Heart_1

Bai Ruozhu pursed her lips and laughed, first because his venomous nature had revealed itself again, and second because he disliked Jin Jing so much that he refused even to mention her name and referred to her as ”that woman.”

As for Bai Ruozhu, she was somewhat confident. At least the likes of Jin Jing didn’t pose any threat to her, but naturally, she was pleased that her man didn’t even deign to glance at a woman who offered herself.

”Let’s go and see how that green-headed Lao Wang is doing,” the two of them walked around to Main Street and re-emerged onto the large road, Bai Ruozhu joyfully suggested, wrapping Jiang Yichun’s arm with hers once she finished speaking.

However, she soon noticed people on the street pointing at her, and upon closer inspection, she realized they were criticizing her for publicly being affectionate with a man, violating the propriety expected of a woman.

Her mouth twitched in irritation; she’d seen Jin Jing act so boldly and had thought that, given the liberal customs of the Western Regions, surely there wouldn’t be any issue. But now, even wrapping her arm around his was subject to gossip—were these commoners too conservative or what?

”This disrespect in front of the Holy Hall is blasphemy against the gods. You must be from Zhongyuan, right? You should be careful,” a kindly old mother-in-law reminded them with a gentle expression.

Bai Ruozhu quickly withdrew her hand, asking with confusion, ”Isn’t the Holy Hall quite far from here?”

”Miss, in our Western Regions, the streets where the Holy Hall is located are considered part of the Holy Hall’s domain, and none may disrespect it,” the mother-in-law wasn’t displeased but simply thought Bai Ruozhu and her companion were foreigners who genuinely didn’t know.

”Ah, so that’s how it is. Thank you, madam, we’ll be mindful,” Bai Ruozhu politely thanked the old lady and quickly walked away with Jiang Yichun.

No sooner had they walked away than she couldn’t help but stick out her tongue and say, ”We almost got schooled as heretics by those people.”

Jiang Yichun was a bit annoyed, but seeing her playful look, his mood lightened, and he reached out to tousle her hair, smiling, ”There are so many things to mind here; once we leave this street, it’ll be fine.”

Having left the street that belonged to the Holy Hall, Bai Ruozhu once again took his arm. Now that the two of them were officially on a government-funded trip, though slightly more dangerous, they decided to enjoy it to the fullest.

Back at the Inn, Jianqi saluted her and whispered, ”Everything’s been taken care of.”

Bai Ruozhu’s lips curved into a smile, ”It’s a pity I didn’t get to witness that green-headed Lao Wang’s miserable state firsthand. Suddenly, I hope we’ll run into their Merchant Team on the road tomorrow.”

Jiang Yichun had originally ordered Jianqi to beat up Jin Wanliang and then discreetly kill him, making sure the method was clever enough not to reveal their Martial Arts and strength. But Bai Ruozhu had a nastier idea, handing over a Poison made from a Herbal medicine unique to the Western Regions to Jianqi, instructing him to secretly apply it to Jin Wanliang’s wounds but spare his life.

Allowing a scoundrel like Jin Wanliang to die would be letting him off too easily, wouldn’t it? She wanted him to experience the agony of incessant itching and pain, constantly emitting a foul stench, attracting flies everywhere, and becoming an annoyance to everyone around him.

On the other hand, she wanted to use Jin Wanliang as a litmus test to see just how advanced the Medical Skills of the Holy Hall were, and whether they could cure the Poison she had administered.

Of course, using herbal medicine only available in the Western Regions makes it difficult to link her to the matter. Even if the people of the Holy Hall knew there was a conflict with Jin Wanliang, they, being from Zhongyuan, would not normally recognize many Western Regions herbal medicines, let alone those rare herbs.

Unfortunately for them, Bai Ruozhu was a modern person, and when she learned about herbal medicines, she didn’t consider geographical boundaries. Moreover, she had encountered some along the way and secretly stockpiled quite a few Western Regions’ herbs in her Space. It was when they had crossed over that mountaintop, by the roadside, there were many wild herbs unwanted by anyone, presumably because the common people of the Western Regions simply did not seek medical treatment or consume medication, resulting in plenty of herbs being unharvested.

Even if the people of the Holy Hall could cure the poison in Jin Wanliang’s body, most would assume the poison came from a hidden expert within the Western Regions.

”Wife, what will happen to him?” Bai Ruozhu didn’t reveal the effects of the poison, and Jiang Yichun was very curious. Given what he knew of his wife, how could she let Jin Wanliang off so easily?

That evening, Bai Ruozhu changed the prescription for Qingyan and applied a newly formulated ointment with a numbing effect to Liu Xinyu to temporarily relieve his pain.

Liu Xinyu had regained consciousness and soon realized he had lost his Martial Arts and inner strength, becoming neither human nor ghost, and up till now, he wore an expression as if waiting to die, unresponsive to anyone’s encouragement.

”It seems I shouldn’t have bothered. Since you don’t care about this pain, if you find life boring, you might as well die now and save me the effort and medicine!” Bai Ruozhu felt this couldn’t go on, and slapped him across the face.

Liu Xinyu’s face was already scorched, and blood flowed following Bai Ruozhu’s slap, making the stern-faced Bai Ruozhu slightly nervous, wondering if she had hit him too hard.

However, she had to wake him up. He was suffering from depression, and no other medicine would work. Extreme measures were necessary; without removing the mental block, the best medicines couldn’t save a person who wished to die.

Chu Hai was startled by this scene and quickly got up, saying, ”Let’s talk this over calmly, don’t be angry. He’s already so badly injured that you can’t hit him anymore.”

Bai Ruozhu glared fiercely at Chu Hai, retorted, ”If he doesn’t want to live, what does it matter how hard I hit him? I despise people who want to give up on life at the slightest setback. Is a person without Martial Arts not a human being? My elder brother doesn’t have Martial Arts, but he can do business and provide for the family, my second brother also lacks Martial Arts, but he can study and take the Imperial Examination, becoming an officer to protect us. Are they useless? There are so many paths in the world, not just one. Even if the path of being a guard is cut off, doesn’t he have any other path to take?”

Liu Xinyu, after being hit and scolded, the pent-up pain was ignited, and he suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, ”Looking like neither human nor ghost, what path can I take now?”

Seeing him this way, Bai Ruozhu also felt distressed; the lightning was meant for her, and Liu Xinyu had taken the hit in her stead.

”If I say there is a way to cure you, then there is a way. If you trust me, pull yourself together quickly. You can’t serve as a guard for Achun any longer, but you can work with me as a steward, helping me manage the business. If you’re willing to learn, I’ll have someone teach you. You managed to learn tough Martial Arts, can’t you learn how to do business? Serving as a dark guard for Achun was your role, but earning money for us as a steward will also be your contribution,” Bai Ruozhu declared loudly.

Liu Xinyu’s tear-stained face was covered in blood, and the ointment he had just applied washed away. After a long while, his crying subsided, and looking at the other two ”patients” in the Room, he suddenly felt very embarrassed and turned his head away sheepishly.

Bai Ruozhu silently nodded, realizing he cared about saving face and seemed willing to live on. If he truly wished to die, would he care about anything else?