Section 087: A Wave of Lingering Fear

After much persuasion, Lan Bing finally realized that even if this woman had agreed to save his master, he should never have allowed her to act so casually. What if she bore him ill will and tampered with the master? What then? Even if they killed her afterward, the harm would already have been done; once the master was injured, it would be too late to mend matters.

And so, even after Ou Xinlai agreed, Lan Bing no longer dared let her intervene recklessly.

For a time, the two sides remained locked in stalemate, and the situation only grew more awkward.

“Why are you all blocked up here and not moving? This place is certainly lively.” At that moment, Shan Yuanxi appeared. As soon as he arrived, both Lan Bing and Heiyu frowned and looked toward Ou Xinlai, clearly unable to understand how such an ordinary little girl could possibly be connected to Shan Yuanxi.

Panting from her run, Shan Ziyao stood beside Shan Yuanxi. When she looked at Ou Xinlai seated atop the tall horse, she mischievously winked at her.

Ou Xinlai, in turn, nodded with satisfaction. This little girl truly was not bad at all—quick-witted enough to know that rushing in just then would be useless, smart enough to go back for help. Her delay had not been in vain; the reinforcements had arrived at just the right moment.

“Doctor Shan, may I ask what relation you have to this young lady?” At last encountering someone who seemed to have some ability, Lan Bing was unwilling to give up, and so he wanted to clarify the relationship between Ou Xinlai and Shan Yuanxi.

“Miss Cai is my daughter’s good friend and is now staying at the Shan residence. May I ask what business you have with her?” Of course Shan Yuanxi could tell at a glance that Lan Bing and Heiyu had an extraordinary bearing and must be people of considerable standing. But Ou Xinlai was Shan Yuanxi’s savior, and Shan Ziyao was exceedingly fond of her. Thus, from every angle, Shan Yuanxi naturally chose at this moment to protect Ou Xinlai.

“Sir Shan, this young lady seems to know a bit of medicine. My master has fallen ill with a strange disease. Could I trouble this young lady to save him?” Knowing Shan Yuanxi’s status, Lan Bing simply addressed him directly, thinking that as long as Shan Yuanxi agreed, Ou Xinlai, who was staying in the Shan residence, surely would not refuse and disregard Shan Yuanxi’s face.

Hearing Lan Bing’s words, Ou Xinlai looked at him with amusement. When her gaze shifted to Shan Yuanxi, it turned dark and unreadable. In truth, she rather wanted to see how Shan Yuanxi would handle this matter.

But if this man in blue thought that because Shan Yuanxi agreed, she would certainly agree as well, then he was bound to be disappointed.

“This is Miss Cai’s own affair. If the young master has need of her, he may ask Miss Cai directly.” Shan Yuanxi was no fool; of course he could see that Lan Bing was making use of him.

If it were anyone else, and he were only making a friend, Shan Yuanxi would not mind using his influence and ordering the other party to save the patient by force. But Ou Xinlai was different. Following the stirrings of his heart, Shan Yuanxi was unwilling to accept Lan Bing’s request.

Ou Xinlai was not one of the Shan family. If Shan Yuanxi were to take it upon himself today, then regardless of whether the matter succeeded or failed, Ou Xinlai could never remain in the Shan household, and would likely never be willing to have any further dealings with anyone of the Shan family.

There was one thing Shan Yuanxi knew clearly: Ou Xinlai’s medical skill was extraordinary.

No matter what sort of person one offended, one must never offend someone like Ou Xinlai. Shan Yuanxi understood that there was no telling when the same brush with death that had once circled him might come again. If that happened, he would have to rely entirely on Ou Xinlai to save him.

“Could it be that Sir Shan cannot refuse?” Lan Bing even resorted to provocation, determined to force Shan Yuanxi to take up the matter. “Sir Shan need not worry. Once the matter is done, the rewards will surely not be lacking for either of you.”

Shan Yuanxi gave a clear laugh, but his bearing was imposing; with his eyes he had already issued a silent warning to Lan Bing. “Miss Cai is a guest of my Shan residence, not my servant. So whether Miss Cai is willing to take this matter or not depends entirely on her own wishes.”

“As for the rewards the young master mentioned just now, though the Shan family is not unrivaled under heaven, we are not short of silver. As for status, Shan is unworthy, but is content with modest standing. No need for the young master to concern himself.”

Having come this far in life, if Shan Yuanxi had not possessed some backbone, he would have been swallowed long ago by others.

“Miss Cai, is there anywhere else you wish to go?” Shan Yuanxi looked directly at Ou Xinlai.

Ou Xinlai shook her head. “I’ve just grown tired from walking around. I want to return to the Shan residence.”

She stroked the horse’s neck, and Little White obediently turned its body, facing Shan Yuanxi.

Shan Yuanxi’s eyes lit up. He had never seen such an understanding horse. “Very well, then let us return. Gentlemen, farewell.” Faced with Lan Bing’s aggressive pressure, Shan Yuanxi did not even deign to say another word of parting, and led Shan Ziyao and Ou Xinlai away.

Little White, which had already been on the verge of collapse, recovered under Ou Xinlai’s treatment and moved with leisurely steps, looking as though it had returned to normal.

With Shan Yuanxi shielding Ou Xinlai, no matter how unwilling Lan Bing and Heiyu were, they could not act rashly. They could only watch helplessly as Ou Xinlai rode unhurriedly on their horse and followed Shan Yuanxi back to the Shan residence.

“Cai, are you all right?” Shan Yuanxi unconsciously drew himself closer to Ou Xinlai, treating her as though she were a younger generation.

“Thank you for your concern, Sir Shan. I am fine.” Ou Xinlai shook her head. She had merely traded words with others; the one kicked to death by the horse was not her, and the one afflicted by a strange disease was not her either. She had even gotten a horse for free, and things were splendid indeed.

Strangely enough, that horse was very close to Ou Xinlai. Once they returned to the Shan residence, the family servants naturally wanted to dismount Little White and send it to the stable. Who would have thought that Little White would stubbornly refuse to leave with the servants, insisting on staying by Ou Xinlai’s side.

Ou Xinlai would have liked to keep Little White with her always, but alas, it could not enter the great house. Besides, she was still a guest, and the Shan residence was no place for her to behave so recklessly. So Ou Xinlai whispered a few words into Little White’s ear. Little White tilted its neck, rubbed against her, and truly did obediently follow the servant away.

“Call me Uncle Shan.” Shan Yuanxi was already calling Ou Xinlai by her given name, yet Ou Xinlai still insisted on addressing him as Sir Shan. Of course Shan Yuanxi would not accept that.

“Uncle Shan.” It was only a title. It would not cost her a thing. Besides, Shan Yuanxi had just helped her solve a troublesome matter. Saying “Uncle Shan” made Ou Xinlai feel no loss at all.

“Good. Then you and Ziyao may go down now.” Though Ou Xinlai’s “Uncle Shan” was delivered in a rather cool and indifferent tone, Shan Yuanxi found it most fitting, and it gave him far more satisfaction than when he had once made Shan Qing’er change how she addressed him and call him father.

Shan Yuanxi had lived many years, and naturally had some skill in judging people. He knew that when Shan Qing’er had so easily changed her form of address back then, it had not been out of feeling. Moreover, regarding Shan Qing’er’s conduct when he was gravely ill, he had already heard the details from his wife.

Ou Xinlai was different. Ever since coming to the Shan residence, she had never sought to please anyone, nor had she made any effort to draw closer to anyone in the Shan family.

Even though Ou Xinlai had saved Shan Yuanxi and Shan Ziyao was extremely fond of her, Ou Xinlai always kept a proper distance between them, addressing Shan Ziyao as Miss Shan and Shan Yuanxi as Sir Shan, and of course there was also Madam Shan.

“Cai, you were incredible today!” Because Shan Ziyao’s health had never been good, Shan Yuanxi had once gone to great lengths to bring hot springs onto the Shan estate so that Shan Ziyao could soak in them from time to time.

Shan Ziyao usually bathed there alone; not even Shan Qing’er had ever been allowed in. She had always felt that bathing was a rather private matter. Apart from her husband, she was not used to exposing herself before others.

But after Ou Xinlai appeared, that habit slowly changed.

The whole day had been spent with Ou Xinlai hiding and Shan Ziyao searching. Thus, only during bath time did Shan Ziyao have the chance to sit face-to-face and speak with her.

“Pretty good, pretty good.” Soaking in the hot spring, Ou Xinlai felt indescribably comfortable. Of course, with Shan Ziyao there, the surface of the water was filled with scarlet rose petals, fragrant and sweet.

“Cai, are you really not planning to take on any disciples?” Shan Ziyao sat beside Ou Xinlai, then took Ou Xinlai by the shoulders and turned her around so that her back faced her. Shan Ziyao, meanwhile, flatteringly kneaded her shoulders.

Ou Xinlai raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to study medicine that badly? With your family’s position, shouldn’t it be easy for you to enter a renowned academy?” There was an Azure Dragon Academy in the Black Tortoise Kingdom. She did not believe there was none in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.

“Hmph, I don’t want to learn from them. No matter how famous they are, they couldn’t even save my father. Even if I studied under them, I’d still only be a half-baked amateur. Boring.” Shan Ziyao refused bluntly.

“Why do you want to study medicine?” Ou Xinlai asked curiously. “Is it only to save your father?” The chance of Shan Yuanxi suffering such an accident should be quite small. And besides, learning medicine from her was not something that could be accomplished in a day or two.

“It’s not only for Father and Mother, but also for myself. My health isn’t very good. Recently I’ve been running and jumping about with you, and Father and Mother both say I seem healthier than before.” Shan Ziyao was not a quiet person; that much was clear from her fiery temper. The problem was that her body did not allow her to be willful.

Last time, Shan Ziyao had rushed all the way to the Black Tortoise Kingdom in such recklessness to settle accounts with Ou Xinlai, only for her illness to flare up. If Ou Xinlai had been there that day, Shan Ziyao might not only have failed to settle accounts with her, but even lost her life.

“Actually, your illness seems to have already been cured by someone. It’s just that when you were young, you were spoiled too much, so your body’s foundation was not strong. As long as you pay attention to nurturing it, your health will not be a problem.”

Ou Xinlai raised an eyebrow. When Shan Ziyao had fainted in front of her back then, she had already eradicated the root of the illness. She simply had not had the spare time to help Shan Ziyao regulate her body.

“You… you’re joking, right?” Every holy healer and physician in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom had said her illness could only be controlled, not cured. But Ou Xinlai’s medical skill, Shan Ziyao still trusted. “You mean my illness is gone? Then it was cured by Ou Xinlai, wasn’t it?”

Shan Ziyao had thought Ou Xinlai had merely saved her life, never imagining that Ou Xinlai had also completely cured her ailment.

“But that’s not right. After I returned to the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, Mother had a holy healer take my pulse. That holy healer clearly said my illness had not healed.” Shan Ziyao cried out, quickly holding out her hand before Ou Xinlai. “Take my pulse again and see carefully whether I’m truly well or not.”

Ou Xinlai’s eyes flashed; she took Shan Ziyao’s wrist and felt her pulse. “You’re well.” She still had considerable confidence in her own medical skill. Unless the holy healers of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom were utterly useless?

They could not cure Shan Yuanxi’s illness, fine, but they could not even tell that Shan Ziyao’s illness had already healed?

If that were truly the case, those holy healers might as well go home and eat their fill. If they could not treat, so be it, but if they could not even diagnose, what sort of physicians were they?

“The holy healer your family invited—could he be a fraud?” A quack? If even a quack could rise to the rank of holy healer, then how foolish must the people of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom be?

So, if it was not that holy healer’s skill that was lacking, then there was something wrong with the holy healer himself.

“Each time you seek treatment, do you always see the same doctor?” Ou Xinlai looked at Shan Ziyao and suddenly felt that her illness seemed rather suspicious.

Before, she had not been able to make sense of it. Shan Ziyao’s disease was indeed somewhat difficult to treat, but she had been young then, so the illness naturally would not have been as stubborn as it was now.

Looking at it now, it was not that Shan Ziyao’s disease was truly so hard to cure; rather, it seemed those people had never intended to properly heal her at all.

“Right. The holy healer my parents found was very skilled. When I first fell ill, my condition could not be controlled, and I was in great pain, lying in bed every day. But after that holy healer appeared, my suffering disappeared. It’s just that my body never truly recovered.” It was precisely because Shan Ziyao’s condition had clearly improved at that time that her whole family had never suspected a thing.

“You really never sought out any other physicians?” Ou Xinlai asked again, highly skeptical.

“It’s not as if we never did, but the answers were always the same,” Shan Ziyao said gloomily, because she had also begun to sense that something was not quite right.

Ou Xinlai fell silent. If Shan Ziyao’s illness had been deliberately dragged out all this time, then by the end, something that could have been cured at first would become incurable.

“I advise you to tell your parents about this, and then have that so-called holy healer take another look at you.”

With a splash, Ou Xinlai rose from the hot spring. Too much soaking would not necessarily make one better.

“Mm, mm.” Shan Ziyao gazed at Ou Xinlai in fascination and only then realized that women looking at women was actually rather nice. Cai’s face was not beautiful, but her body was so lovely, her skin so clear and luminous. She had always thought her own skin was quite good, but after seeing Cai’s, she discovered hers was nothing of the sort.

How had Cai managed to possess such exquisite skin? Shan Ziyao was deeply envious.

After her bath, Ou Xinlai returned to her room to cultivate. Shan Ziyao, having dressed herself, hurried to her parents’ chambers and told Shan Yuanxi and Madam Shan about the matter.

As soon as Shan Yuanxi and Madam Shan heard this, both their faces darkened. They had only one precious daughter, and had even planned long ago not to let her marry out, but instead to take in a son-in-law. They had never imagined that, without their knowledge, someone had already set their sights on their treasured daughter and wanted to harm her.

“It was fortunate that I protected Cai today, otherwise we might never have known about Ziyao until our dying day.” The mere thought sent a chill through Shan Yuanxi. To have someone scheme against Ziyao right under his nose, on his own territory, made Shan Yuanxi feel that the person who wished to harm Shan Ziyao was certainly formidable indeed.

Shan Yuanxi knew that if he had not stood on Ou Xinlai’s side in today’s daytime matter, then even if Ou Xinlai had learned of Shan Ziyao’s condition, she would never have stepped forward to help.

“Master, it seems we truly must treat this Cai girl properly.” Madam Shan was naturally still shaken, but she also increasingly recognized Ou Xinlai’s importance. If not for Ou Xinlai, Shan Yuanxi would already be dead; if not for Ou Xinlai, no one would have discovered what was happening to Shan Ziyao.

“Madam, from today onward, let us cherish Cai as though she were a niece. I can see that Ziyao truly likes her. If Cai is willing, I would even like to take her as a goddaughter. I only fear that Cai may not be willing.” Shan Yuanxi held Madam Shan as he spoke.

“How could she not be willing for such a wonderful thing?” Madam Shan said, unwilling to accept it.

“Madam, do not speak out of anger. Do others not know, but do you and I not know? That Cai girl is not one who competes for profit and advantage; she acts only according to her own liking. As for my family’s wealth and power, she has never taken it to heart.” Though unwilling to admit it, this was indeed the truth.