Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âDidnât Xiao Rui just say it worked?â the younger man asked.
âIt worked, but that might just be only for a while. It might even be an illusion,â the older man said. âThink about it, what kind of medicine can be worth $100,000?â
âItâs expensive to treat cancer with Gleevec too,â the younger man replied.
âDonât debate with me. That is a purely imported medicine. It cannot be produced in our country. Things are expensive when they are rare.â The older man was getting angry. âGo back with me and ask for the money back. We canât be fooled by him so easily.â
The woman stood by and watched the two men fighting with a bitter expression. She felt that the medicine was effective. In just a short time, she already felt better. It proved that the efficacy of the medicine was magical. Other things might lie to her, but her own body would not trick her.
âIsnât his clinic right here? Letâs go back and give it a try first. If itâs not effective, weâll come back. He can run away, but his clinic canât.â
âYou want to come back and find him when itâs not effective? Who will claim it? He doesnât even have a receipt for this medicine. Nobody would believe it even if we were to tell other people. Whatâs more, we are all foreigners. Is it easy to deal with this matter in other peopleâs territory? Youâre quite a smart business owner, so why are you so dull here?â
âThatâs enough! Iâm willing to give the money even if it doesnât work!â The slightly younger man could not help but shout.
âWhy donât we give the medicine back?â the woman weakly suggested.
âLook, Xiao Rui thinks so too,â the older man said.
The woman could feel her body was reacting to the medicine and getting better. Unfortunately, the medicine was too expensive. She didnât think that it was worth it. What if the effects were only temporary and could not cure her disease at all? Wouldnât that $100,000 be for nothing? That was why she had suggested going back. Besides, although she was suffering from this disease, she felt that there was no imminent danger to her life.
âXiao Rui, tell me the truth, is the medicine effective?â the younger man asked.
âI feel better than when I came here,â she replied.
âIf itâs effective, thatâs all that matters. Letâs go back. No, letâs find a place to stay here for three days and come back after weâve finished all the medicine.â
âShouldnât we just return it?â the woman asked.
âNo, letâs go,â the younger man said.
âWell, if you donât listen to me, sooner or later you will regret it,â the older man said.
A man walked past them. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was laughing. âHe will never regret it.â
The older man turned his head to look and unhappily asked, âWho are you?â He was holding on to a lot of pent up anger. These two people had a close relationship with him, so he hadnât flared up. But who was this man who suddenly appeared?
What was he?
âHa-ha, what does your gaze mean?â The older man frowned a little. He felt that the other manâs gaze was similar to that of a person looking at an idiot.
âNothing much. Itâs what you think it to be.â With the cigarette still in his mouth, Jia Zizai walked toward the east mountain, leaving behind three dumbfounded and confused people.
âIs he crazy?â
âAh, people nowadays are really dumb,â Jia Zizai murmured as he walked away.
âThey will spend money to buy gold chains, sell a kidney to buy mobile phones, and borrow money to buy luxury goods, but they are not willing to exchange more money to maintain their bodies. Tut, tut, theyâre not taking care of their bodies at all!â
The three people drove out of the village, but they didnât go far. They went to Lianshanâs town center to find a hotel.
âAre we really staying here?â
âYes, we are staying, at least until this bottle of medicine is finished,â the younger man said. âWeâll see its efficacy and leave.â
âYes, if the effect is not good, we have to find him!â
In the mountain village, Jia Zizai walked on the path between the mountains with a cigarette in his hand. Most of the cultivated land on both sides had been abandoned. Most of the villagers had moved to the city, and their village houses had been transferred to others. The land had finally been transferred out. Now, most of the land in the village belonged to Wang Yao, but he could not take care of all it by himself. He had already planted trees wherever possible.
Although it was already autumn, most of the trees were green, especially the ones closer to Nanshan Hill. The closer they were, the more verdant they were. It was as if it was summer.
âTut, tut, ah, the environment is really good!â
âWhere is this?â He went up Dongshan Mountain along the mountain road and turned south. After walking for a while, he saw a man sitting on the border between Dongshan Mountain and Nanshan Hill. He looked like he was meditating.
âHa, found him.â
Jia Zizai slowly approached the man.
âSenior, are you practicing your cultivation?â
Huuu, Zhong Liuchuan breathed out slowly. He opened his eyes and looked at Jia Zizai, who had a smile on his face.
âDonât smoke in the mountains.â
âAh, yes, yes.â Jia Zizai quickly extinguished the cigarette and put the butt into his pocket.
âThis place is really good. No wonder Senior is willing to come here every day.â
âIâm not your senior. Donât act close with me,â Zhong Liuchuan said as he stood up.
âDid you come to find me for a reason?â
âNope. Iâm just wandering around and looking at this place.â
âAlright, you canât go up Nanshan Hill,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âNoted.â
There were many rules in this small mountain village. He could not go up Nanshan Hill because it was the place where Wang Yao grew his herbs and practiced. The north side of Xishan Mountain wasnât open either because there was a deadly place there. People could only come to Dongshan Mountain. As for the north mountain of the mountain village, more than 90% of it was rock. It was quite characteristic. One could go up and explore when they had nothing to do.
âHow is Sirâs mood these couple of days?â
âAlright,â Zhong Liuchuan replied.
Every morning and evening, Wang Yao would come to the mountain to practice with Zhong Liuchuan. Jia Zizai knew that, so he had gone up the mountain to ask about it.
âI wonder if Sir is still angry about that matter.â
âI donât think so. After all, the Poison Master was brought here. Is he still alive?â
âYes, he still has his last breath left. He cannot die even if he wants to. Itâs also a form of tragedy if you think about it.â Jia Zizai sighed.
âHe has done countless evil deeds and deserves to be punished for them,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âWhat about us?â
âWe turned over a new leaf and started anew,â Zhong Liuchuan calmly said.
Ah, Jia Zizai lied down on the grass and stretched.
âWhat a blue sky!â
Looking up at the autumn sky, it was especially brilliant and refreshing. It easily lifted oneâs mood.
âCan I ask you to do something?â Jia Zizai asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âSpeak.â
âSay more good words about me in front of Sir,â Jia Zizai requested.
Zhong Liuchuan didnât respond. He just quietly looked at the sky.
After a while, he just, âIn fact, Sir knows the matter well.â
âTo be honest, I want to practice with Sir.â
âWait a while more.â
âMmm!â
The lazy white clouds floated across the blue sky.
The person lying on the ground wanted to move his body and look at the sky, but he felt that his body was so heavy that it was not in his control.
Three days was what he had, so it should be the last day. Whether he could see the sun tomorrow was still an unknown. He wanted to go out and have a look, feel the wind, and look at the sky and sun. These ordinary things suddenly seemed to be extravagant.
In the sky, the sun slowly set. When it had reached the other side of the mountain, the weather began to cool down.
COMMENT
...
In a Lianshan County hotel...
âXiao Rui, how do you feel?â
âTo be honest, I feel much better,â the woman said. Her face was a little flushed. She looked totally different from how she had in the morning.
âThat proves the medicine works.â
âIt works, but itâs too expensive.â
âAs long as we can cure your illness, I can afford it. Compared with health, money is secondary.â
The night arrived.
The wind was strong. It howled and blew all night.
The next morning, the leaves had turned yellow overnight. The weather was much cooler.
Zhong Liuchuan rose early. He did so every day to go up the mountain and practice with Wang Yao.