Chapter 28: It Still Comes Down to This Skin

As for Old Man Jiang, he simply rolled his eyes back and collapsed against the doorframe, falling fast asleep... Or rather, he didn't actually fall asleep; he had been scared unconscious!

"Oh no, your father has fainted!"

Li Wenxuan lunged forward to support the old man, but when he turned back, he saw Jiang Xiaoxiao standing by the tea table let out an "uh," her head lolling to the side. Her young, vibrant, soft body trembled violently before going limp like a cooked noodle, nearly collapsing onto the floor.

Abandoning the old man, Li Wenxuan lunged again, catching Jiang Xiaoxiao by her slender waist. He quickly knelt on one knee, using the momentum to let her head rest upon his thigh.

Jiang Asheng stood by with wide, confused eyes. He still didn't understand that all these events befalling his family were entirely of his own making.

"Big Sister? Father? Didn't you say we weren't allowed to sleep on the floor?"

Li Wenxuan reached out to press his thumb into the philtrum above Jiang Xiaoxiao’s lip and called out softly, "Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao jolted awake. Seeing the fair, youthful face so close to her own, she instinctively inhaled the strong, masculine scent radiating from him. After a dizzying buzz in her brain, she finally realized what was happening.

"My Lord—"

After her startled cry, the breath that escaped her lips was as fragrant as an orchid, blowing directly onto Li Wenxuan’s face. Then, terrified, she fainted once again.

Li Wenxuan looked back helplessly at Jiang Asheng, who was standing there in shock, sucking on his own fingers. "Jiang Asheng, where is your sister’s room?"

"Over there!" Asheng pointed to a nearby door.

Li Wenxuan scooped Jiang Xiaoxiao up in his arms, his expression shifting slightly. She didn't look like she had much meat on her bones, so why was she so heavy? You aren't fat, so why are you as heavy as a sow?

*Bang!*

He kicked the door open. A scent unique to a maiden's boudoir wafted out, causing Li Wenxuan’s heart to skip a beat. After a quick glance at the pale pink mosquito netting, he laid the unconscious girl onto the bed.

When he turned back, he saw the little one standing behind him—still in shock, still sucking his fingers.

Li Wenxuan smiled and patted Jiang Asheng’s little head. "Keep an eye on your sister; she’s exhausted. I’m going to find a doctor for her."

After stepping outside, Li Wenxuan remembered Old Man Jiang, who was still unconscious by the threshold. He noticed the tea on the table had gone cold, so he poured it directly onto the old man’s face.

"Ah—!"

Old Man Jiang shrieked in terror as he woke up, only to be met by Li Wenxuan’s grinning face. He let out an even more miserable wail and promptly fainted again.

Li Wenxuan: "..."

The young Hundred-Household officer looked behind him. Aside from the small child still sucking his fingers in shock, there was no one else in the courtyard.

"Hey, little one, does your family have some kind of hereditary condition?"

The finger-sucker continued to suck, seemingly enjoying it, completely unable to grasp the concept of a hereditary condition.

Li Wenxuan sighed, grabbed Old Man Jiang by the ankles, and dragged him into the house to keep him from freezing to death in the cold weather. Turning around, he saw the little boy had obediently dragged a stool, sized for his short legs, and was sitting dutifully beside his father.

Li Wenxuan touched the boy's head and laughed. "Good boy, watch over your father. When I get back, I’ll bring you some candy!"

Upon hearing the word "candy," the eyes of the finger-sucker lit up instantly.

Li Wenxuan pulled the courtyard gate shut from the outside. As his gaze swept across the street, the pedestrians instantly fell into a terrified silence. Even a burly man passing by, who had been about to spit on the ground, choked back his phlegm in fear and swallowed it instead.

Li Wenxuan felt a chill run down his spine, silently thinking that the people in this world were, more or less, all a bit abnormal.

"You!" Li Wenxuan squinted at a man.

The man, who looked honest and loyal, burst into tears on the spot, his knees buckling until he knelt on the ground. "Have mercy, Officer! I was having an affair with my sister-in-law, but having an affair with one's sister-in-law isn't against the law!"

Li Wenxuan froze, then collected himself. He spat in disgust toward the man. "Who asked you about that? Where is the nearest clinic?"

"Officer, just walk to the corner of the street!" the man stammered.

Li Wenxuan gave him a look of loathing and hurried toward the corner. Zhang Wuji’s mother was right: men who look honest and loyal aren't necessarily honest and loyal people.

The man thought he was a dead man walking. But then—he shakily stood up, only to realize that the passersby were all pointing at him.

"So what if I'm cheating?" the man shouted angrily. "Dare you say you've never cheated?"

"Pah! Shameless! Who said anything about you cheating? You wet your pants and didn't even notice!" A woman passing by glanced at the man's soaked crotch and left a glob of spit in contempt.

Hearing this, the man looked down and finally felt a cold, damp breeze against his crotch.

"Ah!" The man shrieked, covered his crotch, and fled through the crowd, leaving the entire street in fits of laughter.

By this time, Li Wenxuan had reached the clinic. He knocked on the door and said anxiously, "Doctor, a family seems to have a hereditary condition; both the father and daughter have suddenly fainted and are unresponsive..."

Inside, the room was heated by charcoal. The windows were shut against the winter chill, and the light was dim. The doctor on duty was drowsy.

Upon hearing this, the doctor didn't even lift his eyelids. He yawned, acting as if their lives or deaths had nothing to do with him, and said lazily, "House calls start at two hundred coins. It’s cold in winter, so you have to hire a carriage. Also, prices are fixed; no credit... Ah—"

The doctor yawned and stretched his body. Feeling the person seeking help walk in, he waved his hand dismissively as if shooing away a fly. "How rude. I told you to hire a carriage first. Don't you understand human speech?"

"Damn peasant!" Li Wenxuan slammed a foot onto the doctor’s table, sending hot tea and candied fruits flying everywhere.

"You brat, are you looking for—"

The lazy doctor looked up in a rage, but his eyes were met by a vibrant, blood-colored cloak!

"Ah! An officer!"

The doctor screamed in terror, trembling so hard that his bowels nearly let go on the spot.

Before speaking, Li Wenxuan remembered Sun Pangzi's advice. He gave a cold, sidelong glare before saying, "Human lives are at stake, yet you care so little? Follow me at once!"

"Ah! Yes, yes! This lowly one will follow you to treat the patients!"

Watching the doctor who, a second ago, was nodding off and ready to meet the God of Dreams, suddenly spring to life and grab his medicine kit like a world-class athlete, Li Wenxuan patted his brand-new blood-red cloak, sighing that it really was the uniform that made the man.

He reached out and picked up a piece of candied fruit that had fallen to the edge of the table before turning to leave. He couldn't break a promise made to a child! And besides, this definitely didn't count as corruption or bribery.

Li Wenxuan hurried back to Old Man Jiang's house.

The doctor didn't dare speak a word of complaint. He took the pulse of the father and daughter in turn before saying cautiously, "Reporting to the officer, judging by their pulses, they seem to have fainted from extreme shock."

"Extreme shock?" Li Wenxuan found this strange. With his blood-red cloak here, no evil force could hide; what were they afraid of? Thinking of that Tang Qi, Li Wenxuan sighed—there really were many strange people in this world.

"Never mind that, just wake them up first!" Li Wenxuan frowned.

The doctor nodded immediately. "I shall apply the needles now. In just a moment, this young lady will wake up."

Undoubtedly, the doctor was a sensible man.

Li Wenxuan turned and sat on a chair, watching the doctor calmly insert the silver needles. Suddenly, he noticed a pair of longing, childish eyes in the corner.

He smiled, reached into his sleeve, and produced a piece of candied fruit, placing it into the boy's watering mouth.