Vicious Words

Mao San struggled like crazy but failed to break free from the crowd. This crazy group of men had listened to exactly what that young woman said and pinned him to the ground before splashing hot water and alcohol all over him, then rubbed his skin hard. They ended up rubbing off all the marks on his back!

Everything had happened too quickly, and Boss Li was too stunned to even move. His wife dragged him toward Song Caitang, and they fell to their knees gratefully, “Thank you so much, Miss! Thank you so much! If not for what you’ve done, my husband would have had such a hard time!”

Song Caitang motioned to Qingqiao to help them to their feet.

“If he was really beaten up, there will be obvious signs. There’s no way Mao San could have created bruises that look exactly like real ones unless he beats himself up,” said Song Caitang with a smile, “But I just happened to know a bit about bruises and was able to see through his ploy that way. It’s really nothing to brag about, and I’m really not worthy of your compliments.”

The people around her smiled brightly at her words and praised her, “Miss, you’re too modest!”

“You were able to bring someone back from the dead, so, of course, you would be able to see through such a cheap ploy! You’re a really capable person!”

While the people around her were praising her sincerely, Mao San glared at her and shouted, “I don’t think I’ve got a feud with you, right? You were willing to save my life, so why aren’t you willing to help me out?!”

Before Song Caitang could say anything, he was nearly drowned by the flurry of curses and angry words hurled at him by the rest of the crowd.

“PUI! Who do you think you are? Dream on!”

“She’s not helping you because you’re extorting an innocent man! You’re doing something despicable!”

“She saved you because she thinks life is precious! Initially, we thought you were pitiful for dying just like that too! But you turned out to be an ungrateful bum! You ingrate! We shouldn’t have let her save you!”

“HAHAHAHA!” Mao San suddenly let out a maniacal laugh as though he had gone mad.

Everyone was shocked by his actions.

Mao San seized this chance to break free from the crowd. He leaped to his feet, ran toward Song Caitang, pointed a finger at her nose, and glared fiercely at her, “Cutting off one’s means to earn money is like killing that person’s parents!”

“You displayed an amazing ability today, so everyone here is protective of you, but I’m no weakling! I didn’t break the law, so there’s nothing else you can do besides bashing me up! You’d better watch your step and make sure I don’t catch you slipping up. Otherwise, I’m going to make sure your life turns into a living hell!”

These words were very vicious, and he looked like he was serious.

As a hooligan, the sort of violence and rage he displayed was something that most ordinary folks could never match. What he was implying by these words was also rather frightening. And if he was threatening a young lady like this…

Everyone shuddered at what he might possibly do to her.

It was silent for a while before a few men came up to shout at him to stop and not say such things. Some women tried to comfort Song Caitang.

They hoped she wasn’t too frightened by his words, but they also reminded her to be careful in the future. Mao San…was really someone capable of doing such things. The people here couldn’t protect her 24/7, so she had to rely on herself and her family to be careful from now on.

But Song Caitang merely smiled.

Her lips curled upward slightly, and there was a twinkle in her eyes, “Everyone was curious about whether I’m a doctor, right?”

Everyone nodded in response. Was she a genius doctor or not? Stop keeping them in suspense!

“I’m not a doctor,” said Song Caitang in a louder voice, “I’m just in a similar vocation.”

She wasn’t a doctor but in a similar vocation?

What vocation was that?

Song Caitang didn’t make them wait too long and gave them the answer, “The difference is that a doctor takes care of the living, while I…take care of the dead. Doctors are able to heal the living, I am able to discern why one died.”

She stared at Mao San and smiled even more brightly. Her smile was especially gentle and especially elegant, “You were a dead person earlier, and that’s why I could tell what might have killed you. I could tell that you’ve drawn a few fake bruises to fool people, but I know many other things too. If you had really died, I would know where you died, how you died, what you ate before you died, where you went before you died, what you went through before you died, and even who you met before you died. I will know everything.”

Mao San felt a chill down his spine as he looked back at her smiling face.

Her smile widened as she raised her brows. Her eyes seemed to gleam with a mocking glint, “And so, if you really die someday, don’t be afraid. As long you dare to come to me – if you’ve died a wrongful death, I’ll make sure you get justice; but if you’ve died from extorting others, then I’ll tell everyone how you died, how you deserved to die! You’d regret dying so much that you wish you could come back to life!”

She meant these words and was definitely able to accomplish such a thing. She was very sincere, but Mao San looked like he had seen a ghost.

This woman was…was threatening him!

It was as if she was saying, “If I can save you, I can also kill you, and nobody would be able to tell!”

Based on the reactions of the crowd, he knew that this young woman was able to revive the dead and behaved rather strangely. So, if she was capable of uttering such words, she might really be capable of doing such things!

Mao San was a hooligan with guts, but there was a limit to how bold he really was. He usually picked on people weaker than him, anyway. Once he was faced with someone tougher than him, he would admit defeat.

He had been very nasty to her because he thought that as a taller, muscular young man, he was threatening to her and women were easy to bully. But now, he realized that this woman was a tough cookie. He didn’t stick around anymore and turned to run, “Just wait! Just you wait! I’m not scared of you!”

Even his words were a little weak and afraid now. He was nowhere near as aggressive as he was moments ago.

Everyone sighed when they saw that he had run off.

But there was nothing they could do. It was true that he hadn’t committed any crimes this time. He didn’t get to extort anybody and hadn’t hurt anyone either.

“Miss, you see…”

Song Caitang smiled, “It’s over, it’s over. Let’s get this place cleared up, and we can return to what we were doing!”

Everyone took a while to compliment her a bit more, then went their own way.

They were still puzzled about what she said earlier. What was that about the living and the dead? Did she mean she was someone who examined dead bodies? But they immediately threw that thought out of their heads. How could a pretty young lady like her possibly be in the business of examining the dead? Even grown men were frightened if they saw a dead body!

She must have said those words to scare Mao San.

This girl was really very smart!

One of them approached her to ask about that method of faking a bruise. He wanted to know what to do if someone really did something like that. How would they be able to tell?

Song Caitang laughed, “Well, firstly, he would have to burn himself to create those fake bruises literally.”

The person who asked her realized what she was saying. Swindlers like Mao San were always trying to use cheap tricks and as little effort as possible to get money out of others. They wouldn’t be willing to actually hurt themselves. Getting burned was no joke!

Song Caitang added, “But even so, there are still ways to tell if it’s a ruse or not. If you run into someone like that and you’re not sure, just look for me.”

After the crowd had dispersed, Qingqiao took Song Caitang’s hand and gazed at her with admiration in her eyes, “Young Mistress, you’re amazing!”

Song Caitang smiled back at her.

Qingqiao looked left and right, then whispered, “Young Mistress, was that black pill really a magic pill that can save lives? If so, we can’t let others know about it! We’ve got to hide it well! And is that chive juice a secret recipe? How could you make it right in front of everyone like that? What if they learn how to make it too?”

The girl looked so conflicted as she spoke. She felt so bad for Song Caitang. Such things weren’t just worth a lot of money, but it was so important to have something that was exclusive!

“It’s alright, you don’t have to think too much about it.”

Those pills were her own attempt at recreating a styrax pill, which was a commonly used pill in modern times to clear one’s air passage, allowing one to breathe better and even soothe pain. It was useful even for those in a coma from having their passageway blocked. Also, having this pill in her mouth while examining dead bodies was great for getting rid of the foul air she had to breathe in.

Mao San’s heart had stopped because of a sudden blow to the chest area, so this could be considered the right pill for the situation. When she force-fed him the pill, she had been hoping hard that it would work. She wasn’t 100% confident either.

As for the chive juice in his nose, it was just meant to irritate his nasal passage. Of course, there were other ways of doing this, but this was an emergency situation, and she happened to spot the woman carrying chives, so she just used that.

Qingqiao didn’t understand why, but since her Young Mistress said it was alright, it was alright then.

When she turned her face away from Song Caitang, she recalled how she…

Her eyes grew round and wide, “Young Mistress, I didn’t embarrass you just now!”

She had become bolder! She had been so terrified back at the coffin home, but she had dared to listen to Song Caitang’s instructions and touched a dead person!

“Uh-huh.” Song Caitang smiled and patted Qingqiao’s head, “Qingqiao was really good just now.”

“Heehee!” Qingqiao grinned, then noticed that Huamei was still standing in front of the blacksmiths. Huamei looked like she wanted to go over but didn’t dare to. She had lost all of her usual quick-wittedness.

Just looking at her made Qingqiao feel really smug inside. The maid who would be the left and right hands of Song Caitang and the one most trusted by the Young Mistress was definitely hers! Nobody could take that away! HUMPH!

Just when they turned to walk back toward Huamei, a middle-aged lady in simple, comfortable, but pretty clothing suddenly approached them.

She blocked their way and bowed toward Song Caitang, “Miss Song, my surname is Liu, and my Old Madam’s surname is Li. She saw you earlier and likes you very much, and she would like to have a cup of tea with you. Would it be convenient for you to do so?”

Song Caitang paused to think.

Auntie Liu was very well dressed for a maid, so she was clearly a head maid in an influential family. Her actions were genuine and polite, she smiled as she spoke, and her words were sincere. Blocking her way and inviting her to tea like this was quite unexpected, but it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. Auntie Liu had given her sufficient respect. But why did her Old Madam want to speak with her?

She looked back at the place where the crowd had been earlier, then looked back at Auntie Liu with a smile and nodded.

“Sure.”

Since it was an Old Madam who wanted to talk to her, then she wouldn’t invite gossip by having a private tea session with her. She didn’t have anything urgent to attend to anyway, so she smiled and asked, “Where is Old Madam?”

“She’s at Xinya Teahouse that’s just ahead. Please come with me.”