Chapter 23

At this moment, Lu Xingzhou was having dinner with An Nuo in Shen Tang's courtyard.

A square table held four people, two in wheelchairs facing each other. Gu Du Qingli ate slowly, while An Nuo stared at her with wide eyes.

Gu Du Qingli didn't know why this brat suddenly kept staring at her—was it just because he pushed her wheelchair, intruding on her private space?

Who even wants to push that thing? No one's fighting you for it.

Shen Tang was asking Lu Xingzhou: "What do you mean 'finally arrived'?"

"Oh, nothing." Lu Xingzhou smiled. "Scale back the merchant guild's activities soon—try to stay indoors. The neighbors across the way have sent people. Their family's reputation in Xiazhou is terrible—they oppress the locals and run rampant. We're too close; we might run into them."

Shen Tang knew Lu Xingzhou had laid many arrays around this house—enough to detect even Gu Du Qingli's secret surveillance, let alone anyone passing by outside.

Of course, this kind of perception couldn't see through baths… Lu Xingzhou's strength was only seventh-rank; he had no magical divine awareness.

Hearing this, she wasn't surprised, laughing: "You're afraid of a bad neighbor?"

"They're the Grand Tutor's family—who doesn't fear them a little?" Lu Xingzhou ate slowly, casually adding: "I should warn you: anyone who becomes mayor of Xiazhou must have secretly pledged allegiance to the Grand Tutor's mansion—just hiding it on the surface. So Xu Bingkun has never been yours; it's all just a facade."

"I know."

"Since you know, you should understand: Xu Bingkun won't dare openly attack you, but he can incite the Huo family to cause trouble. Where you live doesn't matter anymore." Lu Xingzhou asked casually: "Do you have a contingency plan?"

Shen Tang didn't answer, but asked: "What's your idea?"

"None." Lu Xingzhou spoke slowly. "The Huo family came for the murder at Huo's mansion—that's their top priority. Normally, they won't divert attention elsewhere, so you just need to retreat. Unless Huo Yu is truly a complete idiot… Anyway, something will change when the time comes."

Shen Tang looked up at him; Lu Xingzhou's expression was calm.

Shen Tang suddenly smiled: "We're eating—why talk so much serious business? How's the chef we hired?"

"Delicious!" An Nuo raised his hand, then grinned apologetically: "Sister, can I come eat here every day?"

Shen Tang laughed, eyes crinkling, and couldn't resist pinching An Nuo's cheek: "Come anytime you want to eat. Oh, by the way, here's some candy—take it home."

An Nuo beamed: "You're my real sister!"

Lu Xingzhou felt helpless. If he had one shortcoming in raising kids these years, it was that he simply couldn't cook well for her. The child ate pills daily—her energy was formidable, but it didn't cure her craving for real food…

But An Nuo wasn't easy to win over. Back then, Yuan Muyu also loved how soft and sweet she was, bringing her different snacks every day without repetition, and An Nuo called her "Fish Sister" sweeter than anyone else. Yet when Lu Xingzhou was about to leave, An Nuo didn't say a word—just wheeled herself away, and behind his back, she even muttered that his face wasn't as round as hers.

I wonder if Yuan Muyu secretly cursed that little ungrateful brat.

The memory flashed and vanished. Lu Xingzhou watched Shen Tang's gentle smile, and his gaze softened unconsciously: "We've eaten our fill—thank you, Miss Shen."

Shen Tang glanced at him sideways: "Must you be so formal?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "That's your fault."

Shen Tang blinked: "How so?"

"Single-character names are inconvenient to call." Lu Xingzhou looked seriously at Gu Du Qingli, who remained silent: "For instance, I'd be perfectly happy to just call Qingli by her name."

Gu Du Qingli's cheeks twitched slightly, too lazy to respond.

But his attitude… it didn't feel like he saw her as a monster. Instead, there was always an inexplicable closeness. Strange. In her life, she'd seen countless people treat her as a monster—or, because of her coldness, naturally treat her coldly. That was normal. She'd never encountered Lu Xingzhou's attitude before—it left her deeply confused.

Am I really such a beautiful flower?

No one had ever said that before.

Shen Tang laughed: "Is this even a thing? Just call me Shen Tang."

"Fine." Lu Xingzhou agreed readily. "You said we shouldn't talk business while eating—how about we talk about something personal about you?"

Shen Tang blinked: "What?"

Lu Xingzhou pointed at her legs: "You've lived in this aura-rich place for some time now—what sensations have you felt in your legs?"

Shen Tang grew serious: "Below the knees, I had no feeling at all. But lately, I occasionally feel itching. Is that a sign of improvement?"

"Yes, unquestionably." Lu Xingzhou paused, then asked tentatively: "Would you… be willing to let me look at your legs?"

The two women and An Nuo all lifted their heads, staring at him.

Lu Xingzhou felt slightly awkward but pressed on: "I don't know how you think, but I'm a pill master myself, and I'm also treating my own legs—so clearly I've studied leg recovery deeply. Even when we barely knew each other, asking a doctor for a diagnosis was normal—you'd just pay the fee. Yet you've never once asked me to examine you. Why?"

Shen Tang's face hardened, rare for her: "Because I didn't want you to make money—I planned to wait until we were close enough for free treatment."

Lu Xingzhou didn't believe that for a second: "I think it's because treating your legs requires physical contact—you're uncomfortable because we're man and woman, so you don't want me to see. But from a doctor-patient perspective, that's unnecessary."

Shen Tang fell silent. Of course, that was exactly why.

Muscle and bone injuries aren't like internal organs. Master Chen could tell Lu Xingzhou's organ issues just by his complexion—but muscle and bone? You couldn't see them from his face. You had to touch them.

Shen Tang refused to let a man feel her calves—so even though she knew Lu Xingzhou had deep expertise, she'd held back, never asking him to treat her.

Gu Du Qingli suddenly understood and spoke up: "Lu Xingzhou is right. If you insist on finding a suitable female physician and delay treatment for years, that's truly backward and wasteful."

Shen Tang glared at her: "Then let him touch you."

Gu Du Qingli frowned: "My legs aren't injured."

Shen Tang held her breath, unsure how to respond, then blurted out defiantly: "I won't pay."

An Nuo's eyes darted around, silently thinking: Maybe the master would even pay you to do this…

In the strange atmosphere, Lu Xingzhou wheeled his chair around the table to stand before Shen Tang. They stared at each other for a moment, but the posture felt awkward. Lu Xingzhou thought a moment, then rotated his chair ninety degrees, positioning himself sideways before her.

An Nuo understood and stepped forward, lifting Shen Tang's leg and placing it on Lu Xingzhou's lap—he was well practiced at being a helper.

Shen Tang turned her head away. Her usually gentle, composed face finally flushed faintly pink, the color spreading until it reached her snowy neck.

Lu Xingzhou had no improper thoughts—he reached out, pinched her calf, and found it still elastic, muscles not withered like his own.

Quite pleasant to touch…

Gu Du Qingli unconsciously stretched her neck.

"Feel anything?" Lu Xingzhou squeezed harder, suddenly asking.

Shen Tang kept her head turned, her voice seeming to rise from her nose: "No."

Suddenly, since she felt nothing, it didn't seem so bad—she quietly turned her head back, stealing a glance at Lu Xingzhou.

He was focused on his examination, not looking up at her. That serious expression… was truly beautiful.

After a moment, Lu Xingzhou cleared his throat: "I… need to lift your skirt."

Shen Tang's face flushed as red as blood; she bit her lower lip tightly and only let out an "Mm" after a long while.

Lu Xingzhou lifted the hem of her skirt, raising it all the way to her knees, revealing two round, slender calves beneath.

Her skin was like jade, crystal-clear and snow-white, warm and elastic to the touch. The heart of Lu Xingzhou, which had remained untroubled for so long, finally began to beat involuntarily, and his own face started to turn a bit red.

Seeing his face, Shen Tang turned even redder and turned her head away again.

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment, so quiet that A'nu held her breath, feeling as though something was thumping and thumping in the air, like a drum.

Lu Xingzhou's hand rested on two scars below Shen Tang's knees; his fingertips suddenly glowed with a soft light.

Shen Tang let out a soft "Yin," and her whole body trembled slightly.

That sound was utterly seductive. Lu Xingzhou held his breath, his face flushed, and quickly asked about the matter at hand to distract himself: "Do you feel anything? Besides numbness and itching, does it hurt?"

Shen Tang pressed her lips together for a long time before responding in a low voice: "It doesn't hurt."

Her beautiful eyes shifted, accidentally glancing toward the side of her calf, where there seemed to be a tent.

She secretly spat in her heart, turned her head, and said nothing.

Even the doctor-patient relationship doesn't recommend thinking like that... Your behavior proves that the previous concerns were correct.

"Pain is better than no pain. No pain only proves that something that could have been treated more simply was delayed by you until it became serious." Lu Xingzhou frowned: "Your leg injury originally wasn't in the difficult category... Forgive my bluntness, but both your and Miss Qingli's identities are certainly not simple. Finding doctors and medicines should not be as difficult for you as it is for me. Why did you delay until now?"

Shen Tang spoke in a muffled voice: "At first, there truly was no time. Enemies blocked my path. Miss Qingli escorted me and Uncle Zhong and the others to regroup, then we headed straight for Xiazhou. At first, I also thought Xiazhou had a rich medical atmosphere and that it shouldn't be too difficult. Only after arriving did I discover that Xiazhou's medicine is so primitive... When I realized even you couldn't cure your own leg, my heart went half cold."

"What about the power behind you?"

Shen Tang did not expect Lu Xingzhou to lay the matter out so plainly. After thinking for a while, she decided to tell the truth: "Before they resolve certain matters, they dare not contact me easily, fearing it might reveal my whereabouts. Miss Qingli was sent to follow and protect me because her name is unknown in the world and no one recognizes her."

"In other words, even if you have heavenly connections, you cannot use them in the short term."

"Yes."

"Then you should have sought help from Chen Zhangsi earlier. Did you also avoid him because he is a man? Nonsense." Lu Xingzhou said with a stern face: "Everyone's injury is different. My difficulty in healing does not mean yours is difficult. I not only had my Achilles tendon severed, but my knee joint was shattered, and I dragged it on for ten years until even my muscles atrophied. How can your mere severed tendon compare to me?"

Shen Tang stole a glance at his angry expression and found it quite amusing: "You... what are you angry about?"

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment and could not immediately articulate a reason. After a long while, he said: "Any doctor gets angry when seeing a patient who does not cherish their own body."

Shen Tang said softly: "Then now I entrust myself to Mr. Will you help me cure it?"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent for a while, helped her cover her skirt, and let it down: "The medicine to reconnect tendons is not very difficult to refine; its grade is only considered sixth grade. However, the main ingredients are often rare and hard to find. Xiazhou truly has none. I will write you a list; you can have your subordinates search first, but be prepared that they may not be found in the short term... But you must understand: for every day you delay, the difficulty of your treatment increases by one degree. Do not drag it out until you are like me."

Shen Tang gazed at his face with her beautiful eyes for a long moment: "Good."

"Do not think about finding them for me; our situations are different, and the medicinal herbs required are not the same." As Lu Xingzhou spoke, he suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, A'nu and I will not stay here for these few days. Wait until you find the medicinal herbs before saying anything."

(End of this chapter)