Chapter 6

A bowl of zhajiang, the Jiage family's son-in-law faints (6/605)

Fainting

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

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

"This person! Did you even listen to what I said? You suddenly looked at me like I was some shameless scoundrel!"

The middle-aged man, who had selective perceptiveness, grumbled when I approached his subordinates during the meal, but now he somehow sensed the meaning of my gaze and pointed it out.

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 misunderstood. Even though I didn't say anything out loud, the middle-aged man sensed my thoughts and grumbled.

'It's not like it's Minority Report...'

I frowned at his selectively acute perceptiveness. Moreover, he was already forgiven and apologized, yet he still grumbled.

His pouting mouth, which had stuck out more than his daughter's, suddenly retracted when I apologized by stir-frying the damaged vegetables and serving them as a side dish with the wine.

I refilled the man's wine glass and said,

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

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

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

He pouted while taking the wine glass and the stir-fried vegetables I had brought, pretending to be upset.

He was truly ridiculous, even in his old age.

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

Thinking about it, that was true.

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

At his age, he might be producing more 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 refilling his wine glass.

And in my heart, I said to him,

'I understand, it's menopause.'

Perhaps due to hormones, the ridiculous middle-aged man was still saying "Eh" as he drank the wine. I glanced at his daughter.

She was now carefully tasting the zhajiang noodles I had made.

Earlier, they all acted like a drama when I suggested they eat, and I thought something might happen, but nothing did.

'Those Chinese people, always making a fuss...'

I chuckled to myself, but I was a bit worried if the noodles were overcooked. However, she was eating them enthusiastically, not paying attention to that.

Her cheeks moved like a rabbit's as she chewed.

I couldn't read her expression clearly because of 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, I alternated my gaze between her and the middle-aged man.

They really didn't look alike.

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

Thinking about it, she must have inherited her blue eyes from her mother, who was from the Western Regions.

So, her mother was... hmm?

I was suddenly startled and looked at the middle-aged man with envy.

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

I mentally bowed to the middle-aged man, who was suffering from hormonal imbalance.

Thinking about it, he was the true winner.

I wanted a fox-like wife in this life, even if not to the extent of the Three Beauties of the Martial Arts World. Seeing this life winner, I naturally felt admiration.

Even though he was suffering from hormonal imbalance.

The reason I glanced at the middle-aged man's daughter was that she had cleared up my misunderstanding and told me a sad fact.

Earlier, she had burst out laughing at my misunderstanding and her father's awkward face, then explained to me with her duck-like mouth.

"It's because of my illness. Please don't misunderstand."

When I looked at her with a gaze that said she didn't need to defend her father so much, she covered her mouth and laughed again.

'Does perceptiveness run in the family?'

I was briefly surprised by the strange abilities of the middle-aged man and his daughter, but she kindly explained to me, a stranger.

"– So, I've been suffering from this illness since childhood, and it has worsened recently, so we are on our 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 they were on their way to see a famous doctor in Sichuan.

"Oh..."

The young lady's face had changed due to her illness.

It was a pity.

Judging from her forehead and small chin, she must have been very beautiful. What kind of illness could have caused her face to change like this?

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

I sighed inwardly, recalling her tragic story and sad circumstances, when she suddenly stopped eating the zhajiang 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 the chaos earlier.

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

I thought she might have been bitten by a mosquito.

But after a while,

At first, I didn't think much of it, but the frequency of her scratching increased in real-time.

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

She looked very uncomfortable.

Noticing her strange behavior, I asked,

"Miss, are you uncomfortable...?"

*Clatter*

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

Her hands were trembling.

*Drip drip*

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

"Ha... ha..."

"Ah! Miss!"

"Qingya!"

She started panting. Everyone jumped up 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 the alcohol, returned to normal.

It seemed he was expelling the alcohol from his body, as martial artists do.

After expelling the alcohol and regaining his composure, the man quickly moved.

*Bang bang*

He pushed aside the relatively intact chairs and table, creating space, and urgently sat his daughter down.

Forcing her to sit on the wet ground, she swayed like a candle.

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

The man quickly held his daughter and pressed his palm to her back, starting to channel energy into her, as seen in martial arts movies.

He shouted to his subordinates,

"I will take care of Qingya's body. You guard the area! Innkeeper, 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 generously offered to rent the entire inn, which made me happy, but as a businessman, I couldn't profit from someone else's misfortune.

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

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

"Thank you, innkeeper."

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

As the man started channeling energy, his subordinates suddenly pulled out two iron pens from their sleeves and held them in their hands, guarding the area.

However, after about half an hour, despite the man's efforts, his daughter's face, which had been blue only at the lips, 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 is going on!"

The middle-aged man's shout indicated he didn't understand what was happening. The treatment wasn't working.

"Ah, Miss!"

"What to do! Miss, please come to your senses!"

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

"Big... *gasp*..."

The man tore a piece of his sleeve and pressed it to his mouth, trying to feed his blood to her, but she couldn't swallow in her current state.

She collapsed like a candle blown out by the wind.

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

My inn on the first day of business turned into a scene of chaos and tears.

'Starting off in chaos...'

I felt dizzy from the young lady's condition, the man, and his subordinates. Memories from the past came flooding back, and cold sweat ran down my spine, making me feel dizzy.

Had I experienced something similar not once but twice? I tried to hold on to my fading consciousness to avoid making the same mistake again.

I clenched my trembling hands 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. Her pulse is very weak. Do you... do you know any medicine? I will get you anything you need, just please save my daughter."

The man was again offering a generous reward.

I recalled what I knew.

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

I was certain of what I knew.

'Why didn't I realize it sooner?'

Especially since the event that brought me here was happening right in front of me.

"Would you... save your daughter even if something happens?"

"Of course!"

The man answered without realizing the consequences of his words.