Chapter 6

Fainting

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

"Ha ha... Ha... Such a thing... You should have mentioned it earlier..."

"This person! Did you even try to listen to me? You suddenly looked at me as if I were a shameless scoundrel!"

The middle-aged man, who had selective perceptiveness, grumbled while pointing out the meaning of my gaze, which he somehow detected, even though he had been oblivious when he started a conversation with his subordinates during a meal.

There is a culture here where hitting women is not considered a big deal. I had seen a few times where men hit their wives or daughters, so I had misunderstood. Even though I hadn't said anything out loud, the middle-aged man grumbled, having somehow sensed my thoughts.

'Like Minority Report or something...'

His selectively acute perceptiveness made me frown. Moreover, he was still grumbling despite my apology and forgiveness.

His pouting mouth, which had stuck out more than his daughter's, immediately retreated when I brought out the stir-fried vegetables as an apology and served them with the drinks.

I poured more alcohol into the man's glass and said,

"Come now, don't be like that. Have a drink."

"Ahem! It's because of the owner's cooking that I forgive you!"

The middle-aged man spoke as if he were doing me a great favor.

Even as he took the glass and put the stir-fried vegetables I had brought into his mouth, he pretended to be upset.

He really was a silly old man.

'They say you become a child again when you get old. But... this man's age...'

Thinking about it, that was true.

At the age of a middle-aged man, he would be gradually losing his masculinity.

At his age, he might be producing a lot of female hormones, making it difficult to control his emotions.

Understanding the pain and sorrow of middle-aged men, I had to empathize.

I had to keep soothing the middle-aged man and filling his glass.

And in my heart, I said to him,

'I understand your menopause.'

The silly middle-aged man, who still said "Eh" due to hormones, drank the drinks while I glanced at his daughter.

She was now carefully tasting the noodles I had made.

Earlier, they had all put on a melodramatic show over a simple meal invitation, and I thought something might happen, but nothing did.

'Those Chinese people and their fuss...'

I chuckled to myself, but I was a bit worried if the noodles were overcooked. However, she didn't seem to care and was enthusiastically using her chopsticks.

Her cheeks moved like a rabbit's.

I couldn't read her expression clearly due to the swelling on her face, but from her eyes, I could tell she was enjoying it.

Her eyebrows, curved like a crescent moon, showed satisfaction with the food.

Feeling relieved by her appearance, I alternated my gaze between her and the middle-aged man.

A truly mismatched father and daughter.

When comparing the two, her striking blue eyes caught my attention again.

Thinking about it, she must be a blue-eyed person, so her mother must be from the Western Regions.

So, Bai... Ahem?

I was startled by this new realization and looked at the middle-aged man with envy.

Even by comparing his relatively normal nose, I could tell how beautiful her mother must have been.

I sent a mental bow to the middle-aged man, who was suffering from hormonal imbalance.

Thinking about it, he was truly a winner.

I wanted a fox-like wife in this life, even if not to the extent of the Three Flowers of Wulin, and seeing this life winner, I naturally felt admiration.

Even though he was suffering from hormonal imbalance.

The reason I had been glancing at the middle-aged man's daughter was that she had dispelled my misunderstanding and, in the process, revealed a sad fact.

A moment ago, she had burst into laughter at my misunderstanding and her father's awkward face, and then moved her duck-like mouth to explain.

"It's because I have a chronic illness. Please don't misunderstand."

When I looked at her with the expression that she didn't need to go so far to defend her father, she covered her mouth and laughed again.

'Does perceptiveness run in the family?'

Surprised by the strange abilities of the middle-aged man and her, she then kindly explained to me, a complete stranger.

"– So, I've been suffering from this illness since I was young, and it has become severe, so I'm on my way to see a famous doctor in Sichuan."

She explained that she had suffered from a strange illness since childhood, which had recently worsened, and she was on her way to see a famous doctor in Sichuan.

"Such a thing..."

The young lady's explanation that her face had become like this due to her illness was truly sad.

Judging from her forehead and small chin, she must have been a beauty, but what kind of illness could have caused her face to look like this?

'Well, it must be a strange illness...'

As I recalled her tragic story and felt a sigh in my heart, she suddenly stopped eating the noodles and started scratching her ribs with her left hand.

'Does she have fleas?'

It was possible that fleas or bedbugs had come out from somewhere during the earlier chaos.

I looked around her, but the floor was wet from the rain that the guests had brought in.

I thought she might have been bitten by a mosquito.

However, after a while, I noticed that the frequency of her scratching was increasing in real-time.

She started scratching from her ribs to her thighs, arms, and stomach.

She looked very uncomfortable.

Feeling something was wrong with her suddenly scratching her body, I asked,

"Miss, are you uncomfortable...?"

*Clatter*

Before I could finish my question, her chopsticks fell to the floor.

Looking at her hand, I saw her fingers trembling.

*Drop drop*

At the same time, cold sweat dripped from her forehead onto the table. I was startled and saw a rash-like redness rising on her neck.

"Ha... Ha..."

"A! Miss!"

"Qingya!"

She started panting. Everyone jumped up from their seats and rushed to her. Her lips were turning blue, as if she was suffocating.

The middle-aged man seemed to be doing something to help her, and his face, which had been flushed from alcohol, returned to a normal color.

It seemed he was doing what martial artists do to expel the effects of alcohol.

After expelling the alcohol and regaining his normal color, the man quickly started moving.

*Bang bang*

He pushed the relatively intact chairs and tables aside, creating space.

He urgently sat his daughter down on the wet ground, and she swayed like a candle.

Her frail body trembled, indicating how critical her condition was.

The man quickly grabbed his daughter and fixed her in place, then placed his palm on her back and started performing a technique I had only seen in martial arts movies, blowing energy into her.

He shouted to his subordinates,

"I will take care of Qingya's body. You guard us! Owner, it seems my daughter's illness has flared up. If any other guests come, please turn them away. I will rent the entire inn."

The man's generous offer made the golden bell ring, making me happy, but as a businessman, I couldn't profit from someone else's misfortune.

Although it was annoying that he was hiding his identity as a martial artist, I politely declined his offer.

"I don't want to profit from someone else's misfortune. Please take care of the young lady."

"Thank you, owner."

The man looked very grateful and closed his eyes, now using both hands to blow energy into his daughter.

As he started blowing energy, his subordinates suddenly took out two iron pens from their sleeves and held them in their hands, starting to guard the area.

However, after about half an hour, despite the man's efforts, his daughter's face, which had been blue, was turning even bluer. The middle-aged man's face, which was closed in concentration, also turned pale.

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes and shouted in frustration,

"Qingya! What's going on!"

His shout indicated that he couldn't understand what was happening. The treatment wasn't working as expected.

"A, Miss!"

"What to do! Miss, try to regain your senses!"

The subordinates rushed to support her, but the only sound was her labored breathing, as if she was about to suffocate.

"Big... *sigh*..."

The man tore a piece of his sleeve and tried to feed his blood to her, but in her state, she couldn't swallow.

She finally collapsed to the ground like a candle that had been blown out.

"Qingya! Ah! What is this strange occurrence! Heaven and Earth, please save my daughter!"

My inn on its opening day turned into a scene of chaos and tears.

'Starting off as a mess...'

I felt dizzy from the young lady's condition, the man, and the subordinates' actions, and I slumped to the ground. Memories from the past made cold sweat run down my back, and my vision blurred.

Perhaps because I had experienced similar events not once but twice, I tried to hold on to my fading consciousness to avoid making the same mistake again.

I clenched my trembling hand and asked the middle-aged man,

"Sir, has the young lady's pulse weakened?"

The man, who had been at a loss with his daughter, quickly checked her pulse and answered,

"Yes, it has. It's very weak. Do you know any medicine? I will get you anything you need, just save my daughter."

The man was once again ringing the golden bell.

I recalled what I knew.

Hives, severe itching, acute breathing difficulty, low blood pressure.

I was certain about what I knew.

'Why didn't I notice it?'

Especially since the event that led to my coming here was happening right in front of me.

"Even if... something happens, do you want to save your daughter?"

"Of course!"

The man answered without realizing the consequences of his answer.