Seeing that it was Zhang Xiaobei standing in front of the bed, He Xiaoya finally relaxed a bit, but her hands firmly clutching the blanket did not loosen at all.
Although she didn't want to believe Zhang Xiaobei was that kind of person, his actions just now really made her...
"Sister-in-law, don't get me wrong, I was just dispelling the stagnant toxins in your body."
"But... But why did you... why did you take off my clothes? And even... even my underwear..."
As He Xiaoya spoke, her voice became softer and softer, her face so flushed it seemed it could bleed. If the two weren't so close, it would have been impossible to hear what she was saying.
"Sister-in-law, I used a tuina detoxification method just now that required pressing on various acupoints on your body. So... If you don't believe me, feel your lower abdomen now. Does it feel a bit swollen and painful?"
Because she was overly nervous before, He Xiaoya hadn't noticed the swelling pain in her lower abdomen, but now, reminded by Zhang Xiaobei, she became aware of it.
Moreover, this swelling pain became more pronounced as time passed, and it seemed that she had indeed misunderstood Xiaobei earlier.
"Xiaobei, does your face still hurt? I... I just now..."
Looking at Zhang Xiaobei before her, He Xiaoya was full of self-reproach, silently blaming herself for hastily wronging a good person without separating right from wrong.
"It's alright, it was just a graze, nothing serious," Zhang Xiaobei said, rubbing his stinging face with a silly smile.
Regardless, although he had received a slap, at least the misunderstanding had been cleared up.
"So... do we need to continue now?" He Xiaoya, speaking her last words like a shy young girl, buried her head deep into the blanket, not daring to come out.
When sister-in-law asked him, Zhang Xiaobei didn't know how to answer for a moment. According to the Treasure Scroll, this tuina detoxification process had to be completed methodically, or one would suffer from a violent rebound of the toxins, eventually leading to death.
Just now things were fine since He Xiaoya was unconscious, but now, facing the fully awake He Xiaoya, Zhang Xiaobei felt somewhat at a loss.
After all, the location of the Qu Bone acupoint was indeed embarrassing.
After a moment, Zhang Xiaobei, with great difficulty, spoke again. "Sister-in-law, this type of tuina detoxification cannot be abandoned halfway, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable, so..."
Before Zhang Xiaobei could finish, He Xiaoya, with a red face and biting her lip, slowly lifted the blanket covering her and lay back in her original position. "Just make it quick, don't let anyone see."
To avoid the mutual embarrassment, He Xiaoya held her hands tightly across her chest and slowly turned her head to one side, looking out the window, her heart filled with immense anxiety...
And Zhang Xiaobei was not much better. As he lifted the floral shirt again, the flat abdomen was once again exposed to his sight, and the fiery passion within him was rekindled.
"Sister-in-law, don't be nervous, relax a little, it will be over soon," Zhang Xiaobei said, striving to control his emotions, his fingers gliding over the smooth and delicate skin, moving slowly downward, and the black lace panties were gently pushed aside, a few strands of grass sneakily peeking out...
Through Zhang Xiaobei's tuina, the toxins inside He Xiaoya's body were completely cleared out.
To avoid embarrassment, Zhang Xiaobei hastily ate breakfast and carried his medicine basket into the mountains.
This trip into the mountains was twofold; first, to pick some traditional medicine for preparing fish feed, and second, to find a quiet place to consider how to handle the matter of the twenty thousand yuan.
Honestly, Zhang Xiaobei had no confidence in getting twenty thousand yuan within a month, and what he said in front of He Xiaoya before was simply to comfort her.
If he couldn't pay back the money on time, according to what Meng Qingdong said, he would have to use his family's property deeds to settle the debt. These property deeds might not be worth much money, but they were the foundation for him and his sister-in-law to stand on, and he absolutely couldn't hand them over to that bastard Meng Qingdong.
Fifteen miles out of the village gate was the start of the endless mountains. The mountains were extremely rich in resources, and people from the village would also go into the mountains to gather some traditional medicine or mountain goods to supplement their income during their spare time.
If lucky, they could even encounter some precious medicines, but Zhang Xiaobei didn't believe he would be that fortunate.
After walking for less than half an hour, Zhang Xiaobei faintly heard the sound of a woman's crying from the dense forest ahead from time to time.
As he drew closer, the crying became clearer. At the same time, he noticed through the gaps in the trees that about fifteen unfamiliar outsiders had gathered in the dense forest, in groups of three or pairs, talking about something.
The sudden appearance of Zhang Xiaobei immediately drew the attention of these people, and they raised their picks and hoes as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Zhang Xiaobei asked, completely baffled by the dozen or so tense people before him.
"Are you... are you a human or a ghost?"
At this point, a young man closest to Zhang Xiaobei asked, trembling with his hoe in hand.
"Brother, what are you talking about? It's broad daylight, where would ghosts come from?"
"Then why don't you have a shadow?"
Zhang Xiaobei couldn't help but laugh bitterly at this, "Brother, have you been scared silly by something? This is a dense forest; the sunlight can't get in. Where would shadows come from? If you don't believe me, look at yourselves – don't you also lack shadows?"
Despite Zhang Xiaobei's explanation, these people remained wary and careful.
At this point, Zhang Xiaobei noticed a woman in her thirties squatting behind the crowd. Although she was a bit older, her charms were still apparent.
And in her arms was a man in his forties.
The middle-aged man's mouth and eyes were twisted, frothing white at the mouth, looking hideously distorted.
"Brother, do you need help? I..."
Before Zhang Xiaobei could finish speaking, the young man once again raised his hoe. "Don't come any closer, we don't need your help here, just leave this place."
"Are you sure? The man behind you looks very ill..."
"We don't need you to worry about that; we've already sent someone for a doctor," the young man responded.