Chapter 78

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

*gulp*

His wife, who had taken out a club as thick as a man's arm, pressed him urgently.

Who could have made another misunderstanding, thinking it was another mountain beyond the mountain? He tried to think, but he hadn't flirted with anyone or done anything to cause a misunderstanding, so he felt wronged.

"Su, I have nothing to hide! Lady! C, calm down! If you hit me with that, I'll die!"

‘I already cleared up the misunderstanding with Galian, so who is she talking about now?’

Though he didn't know what the martial world was like, the club looked like it could burst a water jug with one hit. In a hurried voice, he tried to calm his wife, who was startled and dropped the club onto the bed.

"Wh-what? H-hit? No, that's not it. I just wanted to ask about this..."

Blinking his eyes, he confirmed that what his wife had picked up again was not a club but a door frame.

It was the door frame from the side door leading from the inn's dining hall to the guest rooms, which his wife had left marks on when she mistakenly thought Galian was pregnant a few days ago.

"Why do you have that?"

From its appearance, it didn't seem cut but rather torn off. It seemed she had somehow guessed her condition by checking the door frame for some reason.

"Old man, don't lie to me. Just tell me the truth. Wasn't it because of me that you injured your waist last time?"

From her question, it seemed she was asking about the day he had used the Eternal Youth Seal Technique. Her question was almost certain, and she seemed to be waiting for his final statement.

Shaking his head, he had to deny it.

"N-no, absolutely not. Didn't I say that because Dukgu was in heat, and he hung on my leg, my waist was startled? How could I lie to you..."

"Y-you're lying! Then show me."

"Show what?"

"Your waist! The injured part!"

Honestly, the doctor had said that his back had deep bruises from his wife's grip at the time. Since they were likely still there, he couldn't show them.

When he was being treated, he hadn't even shown his back to the servants for fear that it might cause trouble, and now his wife was directly demanding to see his back.

"W-what are you talking about? W-where do you want to see?"

"Your back!"

"Even between husband and wife, there are manners to be observed..."

*thud thud*

*thump*

As his wife pressed her hands on his neck and waist, he fell onto the bed like a log.

It seemed she had pressed some acupoints.

‘The martial world is really a crazy place! My dignity is lost with just two touches from a woman...’

At such times, he needed a night to hide, but even that was impossible, so he looked pitiful.

"L-lady, what are you doing?"

"Just a quick look at your back."

His wife kept insisting on seeing his back.

A very bad joke from a past life came to mind.

A moment later, his wife, Zhuge Qing, began to roughly pull up his clothes.

"L-lady, you're being too rough."

"Just bear with it for a moment! It'll be over soon."

After pulling up his clothes, his wife seemed to have found her own hand marks. She gently placed her hand on a part of his back, probably where the bruises were still visible.

She began to cry with a blank expression on the bed.

"Sob... Sob... Why didn't you tell me?"

His wife was crying, deeply hurt by the fact that she had injured him.

"C-calm down and let me move my body."

Carefully asking, he felt her hands press his neck and waist again, and he could move. Gently comforting his crying wife, he began to tell the story.

"Calm down. Lady, I'm fine."

"You've been bedridden for over ten days, how can you say you're fine?! I didn't even know..."

"It's not that anything is broken. It's because I haven't practiced martial arts, so it's all my fault."

Trying to comfort his wife by blaming himself, she looked at him and then asked about the incident.

"Tell me exactly what happened to your body."

"I didn't know about that martial art..."

"So it's because of the martial art?"

"No, it's not that... You should ask your father-in-law about that..."

"Did you hear it from Father? Tell me quickly."

Even if he wasn't from the Zhuge family, he wasn't Sherlock Holmes, and he was afraid to speak.

He felt that if he said anything, everything would be exposed. Even though he invoked his right to remain silent as a last resort, he couldn't help but spill the truth due to his wife's next words and actions.

"Did you say you would pay for my body just to lie about this?"

"A-ah, no. Absolutely not! A man like Liu Qingyun wouldn't fail to pay for his wife's body..."

"If it's not a lie, then I don't care. Embrace me right now!"

His wife, who was about to untie her sash, seemed ready to embrace him immediately.

They weren't in menopause, and when his wife, who had just finished bathing, grabbed her sash, he felt a wave of fear.

He wanted to live happily for a bit longer.

He had no choice but to tell the truth...

"So, how did it happen... That's how it happened."

"S-such a thing..."

He had to tell the truth without hiding anything, except for the part about his mother-in-law.

His father-in-law had told him not to mention it to his wife until the moment he met her, so he had to keep it a secret.

It could cause problems if it was revealed.

After his story, his wife's face was filled with disappointment.

A face submerged in a swamp of great disappointment, struggling to stay afloat.

Seeing her expression, he feared she might end up in the well with Galian, so he had to comfort her.

"Let's think of it this way. It's just a cold. I'm going to see Uncle Doctor to find a solution, so we'll find a way soon, right? Uncle Doctor is the great Poison King, after all."

Originally, he had slightly lied to his wife when they set out for the Tang family.

The lie was that in Song Dynasty marriage culture, after a woman married and some time passed, she would visit her parents' home with her husband. Since he was a son-in-law, he said they would visit the Tang family, which was like his own family.

His wife had followed without suspicion, thinking they were going to meet Tang Yingying and visit his family, and she had shed tears of gratitude when she realized it was to check on her condition.

"For me... And a cold..."

She was also happy about his mention of a cold.

A cold in this era referred to a common cold, and he had said it was like a cold that would pass quickly, so she seemed to understand.

‘Did I manage to get through tonight?’

He thought he needed to find a way to treat it as soon as possible.

***

"How can you tell what illness it is?"

Late at night, the doctor, who had been brought to the Tang family without knowing why, had to take the pulse of the Tang family's precious daughter as soon as he regained his senses.

After taking the pulse of the Tang family's daughter, he couldn't help but look perplexed.

No matter how many times he took her pulse, there didn't seem to be any specific illness.

Moreover, since the Tang family's daughter was a martial artist, her pulse was strong, making it difficult to determine her symptoms.

With the Poison King glaring at him, it was even harder to confirm her symptoms.

His body was shaking like a leaf, and he couldn't tell if it was the girl's pulse or his own trembling.

He couldn't pretend to know something he didn't.

The doctor closed his eyes tightly and had to tell the Poison King what he had found.

Or rather, he had to admit that he didn't know the symptoms.

"That... It seems her body is weak, but there's no specific illness..."

"What! If the child isn't sick, why can't she regain consciousness!"

"I-I'll prepare a decoction to replenish her energy, but the exact cause is... beyond my knowledge..."

The Poison King's fierce questioning.

In response, he asked if he should prepare a decoction to prevent her condition from worsening, but the Poison King's thunderous shout came back.

"Bring another doctor!"

"Father, this is the eighth doctor. We've already brought in all the doctors from nearby areas. Now we need to send someone to Chengdu to find a doctor."

After Tang Yingying fainted, the Tang family's martial artists, who were skilled in lightness techniques, had already brought in all the nearby doctors.

They had even brought in the best doctors from Mianyang, a nearby large city, so they now needed to send someone to Chengdu, which was far away.

"Then send someone to Chengdu quickly!"

The Poison King, unable to contain himself, shouted again. Tang Huaen, who was wiping Tang Yingying's forehead with a cold towel, asked again.

"Or should we consult the Medicine King?"

Knowing the relationship between the Poison King and the Medicine King, Tang Huaen asked, and the Poison King frowned in response.

"That guy is in the Yunnan jungle, and finding him will take more time than bringing Liu Qingyun here. There's still a long time before the competition, so it will be hard to find him before then..."

The competition the Poison King mentioned was an old bet between the Poison King and the Medicine King.

Every five years, they would meet, and the Poison King would present a poison that he couldn't detoxify, and the Medicine King would try to detoxify it.

Since there was still a year before their next meeting, it was obvious that the Medicine King would be hard to find in the Yunnan jungle, so the Poison King quickly erased the thought from his mind.

He decided to call Liu Qingyun, as Tang Huaen had suggested.

"Just call Qingyun."

"He should be back from Dongjing by now, and since Qingyun hasn't learned lightness techniques, send him with fast martial artists and a sedan chair. He will come here as quickly as possible if he hears that his sister is so ill."

The idea of sending a sedan chair carried by lightness technique experts was met with approval by the Poison King, who exclaimed in a bright voice.

"Good idea! Send a sedan chair and fast martial artists quickly!"

In the moonlight of the night, the Tang family's martial artists ran out, carrying the sedan chair, and began to dash towards their destination with swift lightness techniques.

Their first destination was Xinwu County, a stop on the way to Hubei.

***

The cold dish, Wu Xiang Zhu Rou (Five Fragrant Braised Pork), received unexpectedly good reviews from the first day.

After teaching the kitchen maid how to make Wu Xiang Zhu Rou, I added it to the inn's menu the next day, and the response was very positive.

This was because in Sichuan, people preferred spicy flavors to stimulate their appetite in the hot summer. The dish, with its fresh sauce made with vinegar and served cold, not only stimulated the appetite but also avoided the need to sweat while eating hot food. Although there weren't many customers, they were very satisfied.

"Sir, the customers are very satisfied!"

The kitchen maid, who had gone out to check the customers' reactions, came back with a happy expression.

"Then it's best to serve this dish for the summer. When it gets cold, I'll teach you another dish to serve. Try it when it gets cold."

While thinking about what warm soup dish to add when it gets cold, I heard a thud from outside, followed by the sound of a group of people entering.

Since I hadn't found anyone to help yet, the kitchen maid rushed out when she heard the customers enter. A moment later, she ran back into the kitchen with a happy face.

"Eight customers from the Tang family have arrived!"

"From the Tang family?"

"Yes, they came with a sedan chair and said they would leave immediately after eating."

Handing over the kitchen to the excited kitchen maid, I went outside, wondering if I knew anyone.

The Tang family's martial artists shouted when they saw me coming out of the kitchen.

"Liu, Liu Qingyun!"

"Master!"

"Qingyun! It's a stroke of luck to see you here!"

Their voices were very welcoming.