Chapter 17: The Blind Doctor of the Neighboring Village

There was still some time before sunset, Chen Dafu shouted at his companions to keep working in the fields.

Several young men filed past in front of Liu Shi, each threateningly shaking their fists.

"Pah! Shameless!"

"It's because you've done too many dirty things; you see everything as dirty!"

"Hey, her husband, go back and check—has he already been wearing a green hat?"

"We're all married with kids, out here working to support our families, and we still have to endure your disgust!"

"If I hear you spreading rumors again, next time I see you I'll knock out all your teeth!"

Gu Lao San's family huddled together, heads bowed, no one daring to speak.

Liu Shi, already shivering from the cold, sucked in a few breaths from this humiliation and immediately fainted.

Gu Daye shook his head, sighed, and gave a self‑mocking cold laugh: "I'm getting old, I'm no good anymore."

"With this old face of mine, it's no wonder they drove me out!"

Gu Erye's face was full of resentment, but he had nowhere to vent it.

He had no choice but to shout at a few youngsters to hurry and carry Liu Shi and Gu Tiezhu back.

Finally, it grew quiet.

The door of the west room wasn't even latched; Gu Xixi merely pushed it lightly and it opened.

The bloody smell that hit her face grew even stronger.

She stepped over the threshold with one foot.

The window was blocked by clutter, the interior light was dim, and having just come from a bright place she couldn't see anything clearly.

Suddenly, she was pulled into the room, and at the same time she heard a bang as the door was slammed shut.

Gu Xixi's wrist ached from being yanked; she instinctively raised her hand to strike forward, crying, "It kills me, let go!"

When her hand touched his chest, it came away covered in a large patch of wet stickiness.

This was… blood.

Back when she gathered herbs in the wild, a leech bite had left her hand bloody, and this felt exactly the same.

Mu Nan Zhao gripped Gu Xixi's both hands tightly, forcing her arms up over her head and pressing them against the wall.

Gu Xixi winced in pain and asked, "Are your external injuries serious?"

Just doing this small movement, hearing his labored breath was already obviously exhausting.

Mu Nan Zhao raised his hand and clenched his grip around Gu Xixi's neck.

It was the first time he touched her skin—delicate, smooth, and soft, fitting perfectly in his grasp.

Too bad…

"You shouldn't have come in and seen this."

Gu Xixi struggled to breathe, afraid to move.

"I won't ask how you got hurt; I'll help you keep it secret, I swear!"

Mu Nan Zhao leaned against Gu Xixi's shoulder, weakly panting a few times, and sneered, "Secret?"

"Too bad, with my experience, only the dead can truly keep a secret."

Gu Xixi felt the pressure on her neck slowly tighten, her heart racing.

Would she not change the plot but instead die early?!

What else could she do? She forced herself to stay calm, her mind racing.

Given Mu Nan Zhao's ruthlessness, why bother with a dull knife to cut flesh?

He needed only one move to snap her neck.

Exactly, as long as he hasn't truly decided to kill.

Perhaps if she guessed his most urgent need right now, she could have a chance to save herself.

"I know…" Gu Xixi forced out, "You won't kill me!"

Mu Nan Zhao startled, and his fingers indeed loosened a little.

Gu Xixi seized the moment to take a deep breath, "Because right now, only I can help you!"

"And…"

Mu Nan Zhao released his grip on Gu Xixi's neck, but did not release his hold on her.

"Go on."

Gu Xixi said, "First, your injury cannot be left untreated."

"Second…" she glanced at Mu Nan Zhao, then went all out, "If your injury draws unwanted people, you need my home, me, and our current relationship as cover."

"With me here, you are the man I bought, Chen Fang."

After a moment of silence, Gu Xixi could even hear the sound of her own heart pounding.

Until she felt her hands loosen, and the murderous man before her stepped back a step.

Only then did she confirm that she had survived this time.

Mu Nan Zhao turned his head, his face hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable.

"Being clever and sharp isn't always a good thing."

"You know how dangerous I am; getting involved with me, aren't you afraid?"

Gu Xixi rubbed her neck, lamenting, "Afraid! I'm terrified!"

"But now that it's like this, what choice do I have, or rather, will you let me choose?!"

"And those people you've provoked—will they let me choose when the time comes?!"

She paced back and forth a few steps, struggling to calm her anger, then turned her head, about to ask what to do next.

Just saw Mu Nan Zhao fall straight down……

Zhang Shen washed herself clean, used a peachwood comb dipped with a bit of the osmanthus oil that Gu Xixi had given her as a filial gift, and happily combed her hair.

Just heard a bang as the door sounded.

Looking up, Gu Xixi had already rushed to her front like a whirlwind.

"Auntie, quick! Quickly go call the doctor!"

Zhang Shen laughed, "So late, who would call a doctor? I told you I'm not hurt."

Gu Xixi anxiously said, "Not you, it's… it's Chen Fang!"

She pulled Zhang Shen up and headed out, "No time to explain—you said Shitou Village has a blind old divine doctor, didn't you? It's him!"

Earlier, Gu Xixi had pestered Zhang Shen for stories to learn more about the place she lived in, and hadn't missed a chance.

This finally came in handy.

Zhang Shen, being pushed along, muttered doubtfully, "You're talking about him."

"I told you, his divine doctor is just self‑praised, nobody believes him."

"He can't see a thing—only fools and lunatics would let a paralytic like him treat them. Who'd dare ask a decent person to have him treat them?"

Gu Xixi said, "That's exactly why we need him blind."

"Listen to me, go call him—just say it's an external injury."

Zhang Shen always obeyed Gu Xixi's words, so she went off in a daze.

The home of the old divine doctor of Shitou Village wasn't far away.

At sunset, Zhang Shen supported the old doctor with one hand and carried a large wooden box with the other as she returned.

The so‑called divine doctor was nothing like the legendary silver‑haired, ethereal immortal.

Rather, he was a dry, thin old man, his hair and beard gray‑white, a messy, dirty mop covering his head and face, making his original features hard to discern.

Gu Xixi stepped forward and bowed, "Sir, please come inside quickly."

The old doctor nodded, then gave his nose a sniff in the wind.

"Your guy's injury isn't light—this much blood and he's still not dead?"

Zhang Shen spat, "Pah! Pah! Pah! Truly inauspicious—if he really kicked the bucket, why'd you call me?"

The old doctor chuckled, not annoyed, "If he's not dead, there's still time."

Gu Xixi, afraid of frightening Zhang Shen, sent her to boil water and prepare some food.

The west room had been lit, but Mu Nan Zhao was still lying on the floor.

As soon as the old doctor entered the room, he seemed to become a different person, his expression turning grave.

He indicated that Gu Xixi needn't help him, walked a few steps forward on his own, and accurately located his patient.

"Scissors."

The blood‑soaked clothing was cut open.

Mu Nan Zhao's chest was a flap of torn flesh and blood, a bloody mess that obscured the wound.

Gu Xixi glanced sideways at the old doctor.

With virtually no medical conditions, paired with a rural blind doctor whom nobody consulted.

"If this female supporting character gets the male protagonist killed, will she suffer a backlash?"