Chapter 178: 【Mr. Meng】 (Part 1)

Walking halfway, Yan Nujiao seemed to realize something; she turned aside and stood in the distance waiting for Hu Xiaotian to come up, her pair of green eyes filled with hostility as she gazed at him.

Hu Xiaotian smiled without guilt: "Your eye color is different from your brother's! You two aren't born of the same mother, are you?" Purely making conversation.

Yan Nujiao gave a cold snort and ignored him.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and shook his head, arriving at the platform of the stilt house, where he saw two men standing outside the door; one of them was Hu Jinniu's sworn third brother, the middle-aged scholar who had lured him the previous night with a trap to treat Yan Boguang's illness.

That middle-aged scholar looked at Hu Xiaotian full of resentment; last night two of his brothers were killed by Hu Xiaotian's side, and his sworn fifth brother's whereabouts remain unknown. If it weren't for needing to treat Yan Boguang's injury, he would have rushed forward and stabbed Hu Xiaotian to death right now.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Sir, we meet again—what a fateful encounter."

The middle-aged scholar gave a cold snort and turned his face aside.

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, a bunch of thieves, what's with the airs? As a national official I haven't even shown you disrespect, yet you all act arrogant as if you were 258,000. Having arrived at the door, Hu Xiaotian turned to leave; Yan Nujiao couldn't help but be startled, she hurried forward a step to block his path: "Where are you going?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Come on! I feel no one here welcomes me; I wonder, did you invite me to help treat the illness, or am I begging you to see me? I say, although you lot are bandits, you should at least know basic hospitality. You all have faces as long as Mount Changbai—do I owe you money?"

Yan Nujiao said: "What do you want?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Seeing a doctor is much like love—it should be consensual. Miss Yan, though you look smart and clever, your actions are muddled. Forcing me to treat the illness—what's the difference from forcing me to love you?"

"You…" Yan Nujiao never expected this fellow to be so arrogant; even here he dares to act high and mighty.

"What are you talking about? You really think I care about Wan Tingchang's life? I told you already—whether he lives or dies is none of my business. Want to behead him, want to slice him slowly—go ahead and play. I came here because I'm a doctor, with the heart to save the dying and heal the wounded; heaven cherishes life. No matter how hateful your lecherous brother is, since I've treated him I can't abandon him midway; a person must see things through from start to finish, so I came. Yet here you lot not only fail to be grateful, but each of you turns your face away from me—do I owe you money? How much consultation fee have you paid? I haven't even seen a single copper coin. On what basis should I ward off disaster for you, and on what basis should I act according to your faces? You'd better not bring up those Tianlang Mountain cronies. What about seven thousand people? I tell you, we still have a hundred thousand troops in Xizhou; if you dare to blood‑wash Qingyun Xian county, I guarantee I'll level Heavenly Wolf Mountain to the ground."

Yan Nujiao was shaken by Hu Xiaotian's aura; she wasn't afraid of the Xizhou hundred‑thousand troops, but rather his unbending attitude—he was right, no matter what, she was the one seeking his help; if she truly angered him, the one who would suffer would still be her brother. Yan Nujiao said: "What exactly do you want?" Her tone had obviously softened; she was a clever girl. Seeing that Wan Tingchang could not serve as leverage, her tone naturally wasn't as harsh as before.

Hu Xiaotian pointed at the middle-aged scholar and said: "This guy tricked me last night into coming to treat Yan Boguang. I put in effort and performed the surgery, yet he now wants to harm me. I can't swallow this anger; if you want me to treat your brother, first let him kneel and kowtow three times to apologize, then we'll talk after I've vented this feeling."

The middle-aged scholar's face instantly turned ashen; Hu Xiaotian is really bullying people.

Yan Nujiao bit her lip; this middle-aged scholar named Qu Guangbai is one of the leaders of Heavenly Wolf Mountain, ranked seventeenth there, and because he is clever he has gained the favor of her father Yan Kui. Yan Nujiao glanced at Qu Guangbai, her eyes full of conflict; after all, she was young and had thought using Wan Tingchang would let her control the whole situation, but she hadn't expected Hu Xiaotian to be such a cunning person—right from their first clash she found herself restrained at every turn.

Hu Xiaotian coldly laughed: "If you refuse to kneel, it seems the young master's life matters less to you than your face—no wonder, since you can disregard the life of your sworn brother Hu Jinniu, how could you care about Yan Boguang?" Hu Xiaotian's words were extremely vicious, pushing Qu Guangbai almost into a corner; if he didn't kneel it would prove he harbored ill intentions toward the young master, only by kneeling could he prove his loyalty. Qu Guangbai hated Hu Xiaotian to the extreme; he gritted his teeth, the present plan was only to endure temporarily to prove his innocence; he knelt before Hu Xiaotian, clasped his fists and said: "Sir Hu, I have offended greatly in last night's affair; I hope Sir Hu will be magnanimous and not hold it against me."

Hu Xiaotian utterly disdained to look at him, his gaze fixed on Yan Nujiao as he said: "I always feel that whether one is a person or a bandit, one must have principles; humans are not beasts, one must not repay kindness with enmity—if I hadn't intervened last night, your elder brother would already be dead." He then said to Qu Guangbai: "You're just like a dog—get as far away as you can, don't stay here and spoil my mood for treating the illness."

Qu Guangbai's face went from bluish to purple; he had never suffered such utter humiliation in his life.

Hu Xiaotian followed Yan Nujiao into the room.

Murong Feiyan and the two others looked up from below the stilt house, seeing Qu Guangbai first kneel and then slink away downcast; Murong Feiyan couldn't help but sigh inwardly—actually even if Hu Xiaotian came alone there would be no danger; such a person never suffers a loss, and the foremost choice for overcoming an enemy and winning has never been martial prowess.

Entering the stilt house, they saw Yan Boguang lying spread-eagle on the rattan bed, his complexion still pallor, eyes tightly shut and unmoving.

Hu Xiaotian first examined his wound—no sign of infection—then felt his forehead; the skin was somewhat cold, and lifting Yan Boguang's eyelids revealed signs of anemia.

After the preliminary check, Hu Xiaotian had a clear idea in mind, knowing Yan Boguang should have no serious trouble; he went to a nearby copper basin and washed his hands.

Yan Nujiao followed him over, concerned: "How is my brother?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Nothing serious; after some rest he'll wake naturally, the surgery was very successful and there's no infection." He glanced around the room—a typical Black Miao stilt house, the furnishings simple and unadorned—yet he didn't see the Black Miao doctor, Dr. Meng. Hu Xiaotian asked: "Is Mr. Meng not here?"

Yan Nujiao said: "He went to gather herbs and hasn't returned yet." In fact, the purpose of bringing Yan Boguang here was to ask Dr. Meng to treat his injury; since they couldn't find him, they thought of Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian, while wiping his hands with a towel, said: "It's just excessive blood loss causing weakness; I think he should wake up today."

Yan Nujiao blinked, half‑believing, half‑doubting Hu Xiaotian's words, yet in the present situation there seemed to be no other choice.

Just then, a delighted voice called from outside: "Mr. Meng is back!"

Hu Xiaotian hadn't expected such a coincidence; this mysterious Mr. Meng had just returned from gathering herbs, and since he was here, it wouldn't hurt to meet him. I just don't know what relation Yan Nujiao and Mr. Meng have—from what I've seen, she ought to be quite familiar with the Black Stone Stronghold. Hu Xiaotian looked out the window toward the creek, and saw two figures appear on the small path by the water: leading was an old man with white hair flowing over his shoulders, sturdy in build, wearing brown clothes with the cuffs and trouser legs rolled up, revealing muscular forearms and calves, his skin a healthy bronzed tone from long exposure to the sun; on his back he carried a woven bamboo medicine basket. Behind him was a tall young woman dressed in the Black Miao ethnic Lan‑colored white‑printed wax‑dye clothing, her hair all covered by a Lan‑colored headscarf, a white veil masking half her face, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes exposed; she likewise bore a bamboo medicine basket on her back, which should be full of medicinal herbs, but unlike the old man, her basket also held many bright wildflowers. From this one could infer that she too is a girl with a trendy, petite‑bourgeois vibe.

The white‑haired old man was indeed the Black Miao tribe's divine doctor, Mr. Meng; he walked up the stilt house barefoot, ignoring the likes of Murong Feiyan and the others standing below.

The girl behind him was slender and willowy, her waist so slim it could be encircled in one grasp; walking behind the old man like a willow in the wind, her beautiful eyes were as clear and vast as a sky after rain—pure yet unfathomable. She stepped lightly across the creek, like a happy fawn; suddenly a dozen or more multicolored butterflies fluttered over the water, circling her and dancing. She extended her snow‑white, delicate hand; a colored butterfly lightly alighted on her fingertip, as slender as a scallion, its wings fluttering gently. A breeze blew, the butterfly rose again, twining around her shoulders.

Hu Xiaotian watched, thinking the girl resembled a fairy walking out of a secluded valley; he couldn't help but blink, truly never expecting the Black Stone Stronghold to hide so many beauties.

Yan Nujiao hurried out to greet him, cheering like a savior: "Uncle Meng, you've finally returned!"

Mr. Meng's usually stern face finally showed a hint of a smile: "Little Nujiao, you've come!"

Yan Nujiao said: "Uncle Meng, my brother…" At that point she felt both worried and sad, tears streamed down and she was choked up, unable to speak.

Mr. Meng appeared quite fond of Yan Nujiao, extending his large hand to gently pat her head, he said softly: "Don't worry, let me have a look first."

Hu Xiaotian's impression of Mr. Meng was that he was extremely arrogant; although Hu Xiaotian was plainly standing in the room, Mr. Meng acted as if he didn't see this big person at all—he didn't even bother to greet him, much less glance his way, and went straight to the bedside.

Ten days have passed, please vote for the monthly ticket! (To be continued…)