Chapter 26: Massage

On the official road, two shadows of different lengths gradually overlapped.

The one riding on the donkey was a sallow, thin young man who looked like he had been ill for a long time; the one walking was a thin, resolute-faced middle-aged man wearing a pair of straw sandals, taking deliberate steps along the road.

At first glance, it appeared to be a father taking his sick child to the city for medical treatment.

But if someone listened closely—

“Haha, call me daddy! Call me daddy, my good son!” Chu Baige said arrogantly, his face full of bitterness and hatred.

“It’s fine to call you dad. As long as you’re willing to marry my godmother, I’ll call you godfather immediately,” the sickly young man, Shen Fu, replied slowly.

Chu Baige thought it must be a trick, but he couldn’t help asking, “Who is your godmother?”

Shen Fu smiled proudly, his eyes curving like a little fox. “Madam Dao!”

Chu Baige’s expression changed instantly. “…Goodbye.”

Shen Fu burst into laughter.

“You laugh softly; are you afraid that the person you like can’t find us?”

Shen Fu rolled his eyes. “Tsk, you need to have confidence in my craftsmanship.”

Chu Baige thought of his own reflection in the water and suddenly felt sad.

Why was Shen Fu the sickly pretty boy while he was just a weathered peasant?

Revenge, revenge… The man named Shen must be jealous of his handsomeness and talent, so he deliberately made him look ugly!

The little donkey bared its teeth, as if laughing at his foolishness.

…

Two strangers arrived outside the preserved fruit shop.

The middle-aged man helped the young man climb down from the donkey. The latter’s limbs were stiff, like a puppet with rusted joints. The two men tied the donkey to the horse post at the door of the store, and the former assisted the latter as they walked inside.

The shopkeeper of the preserved fruit shop approached them warmly. “What are you two looking for? We have everything in our shop—candied crabapples, candied red fruits, candied green plums, candied roses, winter melon strips, candied golden dates, kumquat cakes…”

“It’s me.” Shen Fu returned to his original voice and revealed the jade pendant hidden in his hand.

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened upon hearing the familiar voice. He stared at Shen Fu for a long time before recognizing her from the vague outline. “Miss Shen…”

Shen Fu confirmed, “It’s me.”

The shopkeeper didn’t ask any further questions. He closed the door without saying anything and then said to Shen Fu, “Please come in, both of you.”

“Is there a brazier? Light one for her,” Chu Baige said, helping Shen Fu walk inside.

The shopkeeper raised his hand, and someone went downstairs to prepare the brazier. After a while, they returned with a brazier burning with smokeless charcoal. Shen Fu sat down at the edge of the brazier, almost putting her hand into the fire.

Her trembling lips finally relaxed.

“Is Miss Shen injured? Quickly call Doctor Ding to come over and take a look…”

“No need,” Shen Fu, who had exhaled a long breath of cold air, hurriedly stopped the shopkeeper. “It’s not a big deal; it’s just an attack of arthritis. I just need to warm up by the fire for a while. I’ve invited the genius doctor Song Jiuzhen to come to Nanjing. He sent a message saying he should arrive in the next two days. Then I can ask him to give me a few injections. We have important information here, and I would like to ask the shopkeeper to help pass it on. Lao Chu, go tell the shopkeeper.”

The shopkeeper hesitated for a long time but finally decided to listen to Shen Fu. He said meaningfully, “Miss Shen should still take care of her health.”

Shen Fu didn’t understand the subtext and replied, “Thank you for your concern, shopkeeper.”

As she warmed herself by the fire, Shen Fu’s stiff joints finally began to loosen.

The arthritis she suffered from, in modern terms, was called rheumatoid arthritis, a hereditary disease.

In mild cases, there would be symmetrical pain in the hands and feet. In severe cases, there would be full-body stiffness, as if sinking or floating.

The origin of her illness could be traced back to the time when she was captured by Hong Siniu. He had dislocated the joints of her limbs, and she didn’t know how long she had been lying on the ground in the cave during the rain. The cold air had completely invaded her joint sacs. Moreover, she later used her internal force to forcibly suppress the injuries and kill Hong Siniu, which exacerbated her condition.

Even though Ruyi had brought her back to the city in the shortest possible time, found a doctor, and used the best medicine, she still inevitably suffered from serious sequelae. The pain on rainy days was a tolerable minor issue, but the arthritis was the real problem.

When the disease was not active, she was no different from an ordinary person. However, when it flared up, her joints became stiff, the pain was unbearable, and she felt extremely cold, as if she were soaked in ice water. Logically speaking, Shen Fu had martial arts skills, so even if she suffered from arthritis, it shouldn’t have been that serious. However, the water in the deep pool was too cold, and she had stayed in it for too long, forcing herself to practice martial arts, which allowed the cold air to enter her body. Therefore, when she woke up the next morning, she looked like this.

Shen Fu was very tired. She had been suffering from illness and had not been sleeping well. Now, sitting next to the warm fire, her eyelids could not help but droop. The people from Xiuchundao were very tactful and had already stuffed several hot water bottles into her quilt. The shopkeeper saw that she was very sleepy and said to her, “Miss Shen, you’ve worked hard. The bed is already warm. Go and have a rest first. Your health is important.”

Chu Baige rarely stopped arguing with her. Instead, he said with concern, “That’s right. Don’t you trust me? I will make sure to explain everything to you clearly. Go to bed. You should feel better after a good night’s sleep.”

Shen Fu really couldn’t hold on any longer. She nodded and stood up with the help of the man from the Embroidered Spring Blade. “Then I’ll go and rest first. Old Chu, explain everything clearly. Don’t miss a single word. Got it?”

Chu Baige nodded. “I know, I know. I know what is important.”

Even though Chu Baige usually talked nonsense, Shen Fu still trusted him when it came to serious matters. So she ignored all that and went to the room prepared for her by the shopkeeper. She lay down in the quilt that was as warm as a stove, sighed comfortably, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up again, she found herself in a dim room.

The room was lit with calming incense. She lay on a soft cushion, covered only with a thin gauze. Fortunately, there were stoves all around, so it was warm and not cold.

“Are you awake?” a woman’s voice came.

Shen Fu turned her head.

The person speaking was a woman wrapped in black gauze. Her face and features could not be seen clearly, and even the outline of her body was indistinct. The only thing visible was a pair of snow-white arms, as white as jade. At that moment, these hands were placed in a copper basin. It was impossible to tell what was inside the basin; only white smoke could be seen rising from it.

The scene was a bit strange.

Shen Fu became alert.

“Who are you?”

The woman did not answer her question. Instead, she raised her red hands from the copper basin, picked up a snow-white jade bottle beside her, walked to Shen Fu, lifted the veil on her body, and poured the red medicinal oil from the jade bottle onto Shen Fu’s back.

“Hiss—”

First, it was cold, then spicy, and finally hot.

“Your arthritis can’t be delayed any longer. It’s an old illness that’s recurring. If you delay it any longer, it will probably become chronic. In the future, your joints will become stiff, and your limbs will ache every time it rains. This is the Fiery Divine Oil used by the Embroidered Spring Blade to punish criminals. If an ordinary person gets a drop of it, it will feel like being burned by fire—a fate worse than death. But it’s an excellent medicine for your arthritis, and it can expel the cold from your body.”

As she spoke, she placed her hand on Shen Fu’s back, slowly spreading the fiery red medicinal oil around.

“Use your Qi to dissolve the effects of the medicine!”

For some reason, Shen Fu instinctively believed her words.

Even though she couldn’t see even an eyebrow of this person, she felt that this person would not lie to her.

A burning sensation spread across her back. Shen Fu clenched her teeth and began to practice her martial arts.

The cold air had entered her Dantian, so the originally neutral and peaceful martial arts method now carried a stern aura. Fortunately, after the medicinal oil was pushed around by the woman, it seeped into her pores, constantly dissolving the cold air in her martial arts method and breaking through one obstacle after another. The cold air and internal force intertwined, competing with the medicinal power. Outwardly, this manifested as Shen Fu’s skin being constantly dyed red by the medicinal oil, then turning white again. They fought back and forth, and she found it quite enjoyable.

This was a very painful process.

The pain felt like a thousand needles piercing her bone marrow and like ten thousand fires burning in her blood.

Fortunately, throughout the ordeal, the hand behind Shen Fu was gentle yet firm.

The woman combed through every muscle, softened the stiff fascia along the texture, and brought Shen Fu’s body back to life inch by inch.

The woman’s hand pressed down on the shoulder blade where the problem was most severe.

Shen Fu bit the bed sheet beneath her.

Cold sweat oozed from her forehead, and her body trembled slightly. She wanted to resist, but the woman’s hand was firmly pressed on her shoulder, controlling all her movements, preventing her from rolling or resisting. She could only let her do as she pleased.

Suddenly, the woman exerted force.

Shen Fu couldn’t bear it any longer and cried out.

A woman’s voice sounded: “Does it hurt?”

Shen Fu admitted honestly, “It hurts. It hurts so much.”

She thought that as a doctor, the woman would say a few words of comfort, but to her surprise, after hearing Shen Fu’s words, the woman smiled gently and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “It’s normal to hurt. Remember this pain; you asked for it yourself.”

Shen Fu: “…”

I really want to hit someone.

She was the one who usually argued with others, so why would anyone argue with her?

Fortunately, after mocking Shen Fu, the woman diligently began to work on the meridians in her arm.

The medicinal oil turned into a raging fire in her hands, igniting every inch of Shen Fu’s skin and meridians.

Amid the raging fire and the burning pain, Shen Fu gradually regained control of her body.

Finally, she began to feel ashamed.

When the woman finished massaging her upper body and was about to move to her lower body, Shen Fu grabbed the gauze that was about to fall to the ground and awkwardly covered her buttocks. “Um… well… I think I should be almost done. Otherwise, I won’t bother you anymore. I can do it myself?”

“Okay.”

The woman answered neatly.

Shen Fu had just breathed a sigh of relief when someone suddenly pressed her lightly from behind.

The body that had just regained control suddenly went limp.

Shen Fu: “…” What’s going on, little brother?

The woman chuckled. “Do it yourself?”