Chapter 9: Recovery

At his age, Shopkeeper Zhang could only indulge in fleeting thoughts. He had the heart for mischief but lacked both the courage and strength. Normally, he would just make some inappropriate comments to take advantage of situations. However, the aura exuded by Di Jiang caused him to immediately back down.

Adding to that, standing beside Di Jiang was Zhong Xu, who had a cold and deep gaze. On Zhong Xu’s back was a long sword wrapped in cloth. Even though it was covered, its shape clearly indicated that this wasn’t an ordinary swordsman. This made all the vulgar remarks Shopkeeper Zhang usually used on Sister Li and Shopkeeper Meng completely unspeakable.

Shopkeeper Meng brought over a wine jar and asked everyone if they wanted some. In the end, only Shopkeeper Zhang drank. Suddenly losing his earlier bravado, Shopkeeper Zhang said dejectedly: “I’ll penalize myself with three cups. Everyone, please eat and don’t stand on ceremony.” After speaking, he awkwardly drank three cups of wine and then lowered his head to quietly eat his rice.

Di Jiang focused on her meal as well, although she rarely reached for dishes from Shopkeeper Zhang’s side to avoid giving him the wrong impression that she was interested in him.

Both Shu Xiang and Zhong Xu ate elegantly, usually only picking food from the plates in front of them. Only Wen Yao was different; she transferred half of each dish into her bowl and devoured everything with such ferocity that everyone except Di Jiang and Shu Xiang were astonished.

“Such a big appetite, young lady!” Shopkeeper Meng calculated, intending to get up and cook two more dishes. Seeing this, Di Jiang hurriedly stopped her: “Shopkeeper Meng, there’s no need for trouble. She’s already half full.”

“How can that do! I’ve taken your money, so I must ensure you enjoy your meal!” With that, Shopkeeper Meng went into the kitchen.

Wen Yao stuffed her mouth while smacking her lips and praised: “So delicious!”

Di Jiang’s face twitched slightly. She pushed her meal towards Wen Yao and sighed: “Eat slowly, don’t embarrass yourself…”

After devouring three more mouthfuls of rice, Wen Yao finally said: “What? Did you say something, Boss?” As she spoke, two grains of rice and a small piece of vegetable sprayed out.

Di Jiang collapsed again, quickly stopping her: “You focus on eating, eat more, talk less.”

“Mm… Alright.” Wen Yao nodded and ignored others. At the table, everyone put down their chopsticks and watched Wen Yao continuously eat. Suddenly, they felt full themselves.

Shopkeeper Zhang put down his bowl and smiled at Di Jiang: “The young lady called you ‘Boss’ earlier. So you’re also in business. May I ask what kind of business are you in?”

Di Jiang narrowed her eyes and calmly replied: “The business of the dead.”

Di Jiang originally intended to scare Shopkeeper Zhang, but unexpectedly, he slapped his thigh in excitement: “What a coincidence! We’re in the same line of work!”

“What… What?”

“You specialize in burial clothes, coffins, paper money, candles?”

“…” Di Jiang sighed internally and forced a smile: “Something like that.” After saying this, she glanced at Zhong Xu intentionally or unintentionally and saw that he showed no particular expression, which reassured her.

“I’m the same! For miles around, everyone relies on me alone for supplies! Mention my name, and everyone knows Old Zhang. If you ever need anything in the future, I’ll give you a discount!”

“Alright… alright…” Di Jiang gave an awkward laugh.

These two smiles seemed to give Shopkeeper Zhang a free pass. Once he started talking, he couldn’t stop. Throughout the entire meal, he monopolized the conversation, recounting gossip from one end of the village to the other.

“Speaking of our Scholar Village, the most beautiful woman is definitely Sister Li! If she claims first place, no one dares to claim second!” Shopkeeper Zhang gestured wildly: “When she was young, she was incredibly radiant! How did Old Pan manage to marry such a wife? A cripple like him—how did he get so lucky? Didn’t Sister Li lose her mind? She’d be better off with me than Old Pan!”

“Get lost, you have no shame,” Shopkeeper Meng retorted jealously, glaring at him.

But Shopkeeper Zhang didn’t understand her meaning and argued: “How can you say she isn’t a beauty?”

“A beauty belonging to someone else’s household has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m just upset about Old Pan’s good fortune!”

Shopkeeper Meng huffed and ignored him. Instead, Di Jiang smiled again and continued: “Why does Old Pan get…”

While Di Jiang was contemplating how to phrase her question, Shopkeeper Zhang interjected: “Looked down upon by us?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not exactly looking down on him, more like envy,” Shopkeeper Zhang chuckled lightly: “If Sister Li is a blooming red apricot flower, then Pan Xingui is the manure beneath the flower. He nourishes Sister Li’s beauty, making her radiate daily like a red apricot, blooming so vividly that everyone can see the dewdrops glistening on the petals and smell her faint fragrance… But Old Pan is ultimately just manure, unfit to be plastered on a wall.”

Shopkeeper Zhang finished speaking with a lewd grin, his eyes gleaming lasciviously, as if he had mentally stripped Sister Li naked and examined her thoroughly.

“Shopkeeper, your literary talent shines brightly; you must be a learned person in this village!” Di Jiang praised him repeatedly, while Zhong Xu frowned deeply beside her.

The shopkeeper continued: “Ah, I don’t have much learning. But speaking of this, Old Pan is truly the learned one!”

“Oh?” Di Jiang was curious.

“All writing tasks like letter drafting in our village rely entirely on him.”

“Is that so? Then why do you all still…” Zhong Xu hesitated mid-sentence.

“Still what?” The shopkeeper furrowed his brow, then grinned wickedly: “You mean Sister Li?”

“That’s right.” Zhong Xu nodded.

“Sister Li is notoriously wanton and spicy, while Old Pan’s learning is equally famous. They’ve been bickering for over a decade. Old Pan lets Sister Li have her way—one willing to endure, the other willing to provoke.” Shopkeeper Zhang chuckled dryly a couple of times. Realizing that the Taoist in front of him was a blockhead, he found it boring and decided against making any more crude jokes. Instead, he turned to Di Jiang: “What brings Miss Di and your companions here?”

Di Jiang smiled gracefully: “To treat a distant relative’s illness.”

“Oh? So besides dealing with the dead, Miss Di is also a doctor. Forgive my ignorance!” Shopkeeper Zhang leered apologetically, his hands unconsciously reaching forward. Just as he was about to touch Di Jiang’s hand, she coincidentally picked up her cup and took a sip of tea.

Shopkeeper Zhang missed his chance but didn’t give up. Pretending to be casual, he picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth, chewing loudly: “May I ask who your distant relative is? Perhaps I know them. Neighbors helping neighbors will benefit in the future.”

“The Pan family at the end of the village,” Di Jiang said indifferently.

“The Pan family at the end of the village?” Shopkeeper Zhang looked suspicious, pondering where the end of the village was. After a moment’s thought, his eyes widened suddenly: “Could it be…”

Before he could finish, Di Jiang nodded: “It’s Old Pan, Pan Xingui.”

“Mmm... He’s my cousin, a close one!” Wen Yao said while eating, spitting out two grains of rice again. But this time, no one paid attention to her spraying food; everyone was looking at Shopkeeper Zhang.

Shopkeeper Zhang’s mouth hung slightly open, his face already red up to his ears. He awkwardly couldn’t find the words to speak.

In his heart, he cursed himself for being so vulgar, unable to control his fluttering heart in front of a beautiful woman.

He now desperately wished there was a hole beside him that he could quickly dive into, so he wouldn’t have to endure the piercing gazes of the crowd…

At the hour of Hai, Shu Xiang was reading by the dim candlelight in Di Jiang’s room, while Wen Yao was dozing off nearby. After repeatedly nodding off, she finally complained: “Boss, it’s bad enough that dinner felt like chewing wax, but why can’t we sleep at night either?”

“Chewing wax? You?” Di Jiang squinted, teasing: “It makes sense for Zhang the shopkeeper to feel like he’s chewing wax with all his rambling. But you, a glutton whose mouth hasn’t stopped moving—how dare you say you didn’t eat well?”

“But I really didn’t eat well…” Wen Yao’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. In short, she was extremely dissatisfied that the boss wasn’t letting her sleep.

Di Jiang was about to continue teasing her when suddenly an urgent knocking sounded from downstairs. Soon after, a deep male voice called out: “Is Miss Di here? This is Pan Xingui. I have an urgent matter and wish to see Miss Di Jiang. I hope you’ll grant me an audience.”

“Is that Old Pan? How did I hear Old Pan’s voice?” Wen Yao wondered aloud. Upon hearing it was Old Pan, she immediately perked up, pushed open the window, and looked down. There stood Old Pan in front of the inn’s main gate, pounding on the copper lock of the door.

“Why are you here?” Wen Yao shouted from the window.

“I’ve come to thank you, Miss, for curing my leg!”

Wen Yao took a closer look and realized that Old Pan was standing perfectly straight, showing no sign of his previous limp.

“Boss, Old Pan is really cured!” Wen Yao turned around, calling Di Jiang over to see. Then she shouted down to Old Pan: “Wait there, I’ll come down and open the door for you!”

Wen Yao rushed downstairs, and as soon as she opened the door, Old Pan “thud”-ed to his knees in front of her: “Thank you for your great kindness, Miss Pan Xingui. I am forever in your debt. If I’m reborn, I’ll repay you even if it means becoming your ox or horse!”

“Get up quickly—it wasn’t me who cured your leg; it was our boss!” Wen Yao finished speaking and hurriedly helped Old Pan up. Only then did she notice that his face was covered in tears, completely stripped of his usual calm demeanor.

Previously, no matter how Sister Li scolded or beat him, he never showed any anger, always smiling with an unshakable composure. But now, after waking up and discovering his legs had healed, he couldn’t contain his overwhelming joy. His first reaction was to run several laps around the village, then inquire about where Di Jiang was staying before rushing over to thank her.

“Old Pan! Get back here!” At this moment, Sister Li’s voice rang out from behind. Her loud shout echoed through the entire street.

Neighbors poked their heads out of their windows, most of them groggily cursing: “Can’t you let people sleep? Can’t this wait until daytime?”

“I’ll talk whenever I want to talk, what business is it of yours!” Sister Li completely ignored others’ feelings, running and shouting with such force that even the gods themselves wouldn’t faze her.

Most people muttered curses and then went back to bed. However, along the way, many single men or widowers who saw her in her nightgown couldn’t help but whistle, their eyes filled with lustful hunger, imagining tearing off her clothes and ravaging her.

“Look again and I’ll gouge out your eyeballs!” Sister Li was used to these kinds of stares, laughing as she cursed before continuing to run forward. She soon arrived at Meng’s inn.

“What are you kneeling here for! Get up!” Sister Li slapped Old Pan across the face, making his ears ring.

“Madam, I… I just wanted to thank the divine doctor.”

“Divine doctor?” Sister Li sneered: “I think it’s more likely some witchcraft spirit posing as a healer! Utterly uncouth and nonsensical!”

Di Jiang had descended the stairs just in time to hear Sister Li’s words. She raised her lips and gave a faint smile.

However, Wen Yao couldn’t hold back and directly burst out: “You, Sister Li, claim to have good upbringing, but here you are in the middle of the night shouting loud enough for the whole street to see you half-dressed. I’m embarrassed for you!”

“You!” Sister Li glared angrily, but upon seeing Di Jiang’s amused expression, her heart raced. As they say, a barking dog doesn’t bite, but Di Jiang was someone who either stayed still or would make you cry.

Sister Li recalled being frozen in the snow for two hours that afternoon. The experience had been excruciating, yet she couldn’t tell anyone about it. Who would believe her? Everyone would probably think she was crazy. Moreover, this Miss Di had indeed cured Old Pan’s leg—everyone had seen it with their own eyes. Now, who wouldn’t praise her as a reincarnation of a divine physician? Picking a fight with her now would be nothing short of overestimating herself.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Sister Li decided not to confront Di Jiang and her entourage further. Instead, she turned to Old Pan and spoke deliberately: “You either come back with me right now, or never see me again. You know my temper—I’m not joking. Choose wisely.”

“Madam…” Old Pan hesitated.

“Don’t call me that! Just remember your choice today.” Sister Li stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away decisively.

“Madam, Madam—” Old Pan called out several times, but Sister Li walked away resolutely without turning back. Old Pan’s heart was in turmoil, but eventually, he kowtowed three times to Di Jiang and said: “Miss Di, I will come to thank you another day.”

Di Jiang smiled faintly and nodded.

Afterward, Old Pan turned and chased after her. His legs moved swiftly and powerfully, indistinguishable from those of an ordinary person—if anything, they were even stronger.

“Old Pan is such a wimp!” Wen Yao stamped her foot, yelling at the onlookers outside: “What are you looking at? Aren’t you going to sleep?” She slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”

The onlookers didn’t dare offend Wen Yao. From what Old Pan had said, his legs were cured by these two women. No one dared to provoke a divine physician—they might need their help someday. Thus, everyone closed their doors and windows tightly, got dressed, and went to sleep. They would gossip about it tomorrow morning.