Chapter 42

"Henry!"

The old man frowned. While scolding, he couldn't help but shift his gaze and secretly glance at Great.

Great's hand paused as he untied the purse. It seemed the old man was suspicious of him...

It was no wonder he was suspicious. Great's clothes didn't look like those of a noble, a servant, or an employee, and he spoke as if he had bought the items with his own money. His identity and income didn't match, which would naturally raise doubts anywhere.

Although he could withstand an investigation, there was no need to cause himself trouble, right?

Great remained silent and continued to take out coins from his purse. One gold coin, two gold coins... The old man's eyes widened, and he immediately forced a smile.

"Sir, you're joking. It's a small business; if I give too much of a discount, I might lose money... If you're short on cash, you can buy two small bottles first?"

As he spoke, he picked up a gold coin, examined it from all sides, blew on it, and even bit it. Great's eyes widened: At his age, he still bites coins, doesn't he fear breaking his teeth!

Moreover, these gold coins had been in a box buried underground for so many years. After touching this thing, I wouldn't dare eat anything without washing my hands, and he actually put it directly in his mouth!

Intestinal infection, diarrhea, vomiting, fever...

Great thought in a jumble, staring at the gold coin, his gaze becoming increasingly strange. The old man's face also turned strange, his body leaning forward, his arms spread, subconsciously assuming a defensive posture.

In this state of tension, with a sudden effort, he inhaled sharply, and the entire gold coin rolled and went straight down his throat!

The old man's face immediately contorted. He made a few "uh" sounds, grabbed his throat, and his eyes bulged like a frog's.

Stuck?

The gold coin stuck?

Choking?

Great was startled. The young assistant was also frightened, flustered, and began to pat the old man's back.

"Sir! Mr. Hogan!"

The patting was ineffective. The old man's fat body swayed back and forth, and he soon turned purple. The young assistant hugged him with one hand and tried to pry open his mouth and throat with the other. At the same time, he shouted to the outside:

"Quick! Go get the apothecary!"

"Got it!" The doorman outside responded and ran off. In theory, one should call a priest when sick or injured, but... the apothecary was right next door!

Anyway, when people couldn't afford a priest or the priest was too busy, they would often call the apothecary to help. The treatment was effective, just a bit slower with the medicine...

The young assistant shouted and continued to try to save the old man. Suddenly, Great pushed off the counter, leaped up, and flipped over it!

"What are you doing!" the young assistant shouted. He wanted to help the old man and drive Great away, but he was flustered. With his hands occupied, he could only shout:

"What are you doing! Get out! Get out!"

Great ignored him, rushed forward, pushed the young assistant aside, and wrapped his arms around the old man from behind.

He was at least a first-level warrior, weak compared to knights, but strong enough to bully a store clerk. The young assistant was flung by Great, crashed into the back cabinet, and curled up, shouting:

"Help! ——He's robbing us!"

"Who!"

"Who!"

The sound of footsteps, a middle-aged man with a glass bottle in his left hand and a wooden spoon in his right, rushed in—Great guessed he was the apothecary. The doorman followed, looking for a stick and shouting at Great:

"What are you doing! Let go of Mr. Hogan!"

Great had no time to deal with them. He stood in a lunge, wrapped his arms around the fat old man, and with a slight effort, the old man sank down. His fat body slid and sat on Great's right thigh, his upper body leaning forward.

"What are you doing!" the apothecary shouted. He was not young and couldn't jump over the counter like Great, so he hurriedly tried to run over to give the old man medicine. He panted and shouted, "Let go of him! Let go of him! He's choking, why are you squeezing his waist!"

By the time he had circled halfway, Great was already in position, starting the rescue. He wrapped his arms around the old man's armpits, made a fist with his left hand, and held his left wrist with his right hand. He placed the base of his left hand on the old man's upper abdomen and pushed inward and upward!

Swish!

Too fat, it slipped!

He hated fat people! It took two people to lift them onto a bed, chest compressions were hard to perform, and abdominal surgery revealed only fat! Even anesthesia required a different dosage, and the anesthesiologist had to be extra careful!

Look at now, the Heimlich maneuver slipped right off!

The clerk and the apothecary were still shouting. Great, frustrated, roared, "Shut up!"

"Get out!"

The doorman looked around, finally grabbed a door bolt, and ducked under the counter. Great shouted, "I'm saving him!" He moved his left fist up, his right hand following, pressing below the old man's sternum. He took a deep breath, and with a sudden effort, pushed inward and upward!

Once!

Twice!

Bang!

The door bolt struck heavily. Great couldn't dodge in time, so he slightly turned his head and took the hit on his left shoulder. In pain, his arms suddenly surged with strength, pushing hard into the old man's chest, the third time!

"Cough!... Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

The old man suddenly started coughing. After a loud cough, he opened his mouth and something fell out. It clinked on the table, shining in the lamplight.

Great relaxed. He released his arms, raised his right hand to rub his left shoulder, and glared at the doorman. The doorman, halfway through his second strike, raised his right hand and stood dumbfounded.

"Is this possible?!" The apothecary froze. His right hand loosened, and the glass bottle fell, shattering.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough... Pant, pant, pant..."

The old man coughed for a while, finally catching his breath, and turned his head. Seeing the doorman with the stick and Great rubbing his shoulder, his eyes widened, and he froze. The apothecary rushed over:

"Why did this work? When someone is choking, can hugging the chest save them? Please, please tell me! ——I'll pay you! I'll give you everything!"

He quickly started digging through his pockets. His money bag, gold chain, even the buttons on his coat—he tried to pull them off but couldn't. Great was sweating. His right hand was busy casting a healing spell on his left shoulder, so he extended his left hand to pull the apothecary:

"You don't have to... It's just a small trick, very simple..."

Damn! I pushed the diaphragm, who told you to hug the chest! Not explaining this would be harmful!

The pain from the stick finally subsided. Great freed his hand and began to explain the Heimlich maneuver to the apothecary. Under the lamplight, the middle-aged apothecary nodded repeatedly, his back gradually bending from 5 degrees to 10 degrees, then to 15 degrees.

The fat old man opened his mouth. Sweat immediately appeared on his fat forehead.

Why did he doubt the other person's money! Why did he doubt the gold coin's origin! Now he had offended a real healer! Even the neighboring apothecary was respectfully listening to him!

Now, the other person was ignoring him and chatting with the apothecary...

The old man reacted quickly. As soon as Great paused, he deeply bowed, his belly folding:

"Respected healer! Thank you for saving my life, and please forgive the rudeness of my shop..."

Great quickly stopped his explanation to help. The old man straightened up with his help, holding his back, and shouted at the young clerk:

"Rog! Bring the healer what he needs! Frank! Get a ream of the best white paper, no, two reams! And ten quills, two large bottles of ink! Hurry!"

The doorman and the clerk were busy running around. This time, it was Great who tried to stop them:

"No need... I can't afford these..."

"How can I let you pay!" The old man laughed, puffed out his chest, and patted it. "Respected healer, you are my savior. Even if I can't repay you, the treatment fee should be on me, right?"

"But..."

The cost of performing the Heimlich maneuver... Well, usually, treatment isn't paid for before it's given, but for such a simple operation, it shouldn't cost more than a few dozen coins, right?

"No buts! This shop is mine, and the old man's life is worth more than a few sheets of paper!"

"…At least use regular paper… Magic paper is too expensive…"

"Then add two reams of regular paper! Rog! Pack everything and deliver it to the healer's house!"