118: Chapter 118: Baili Mingyue 118: Chapter 118: Baili Mingyue “Uncle, how long has Auntie been sick?”
Fang Bai asked casually.
“It has been over a decade now…
Fang Bai, you haven’t finished shopping yet, right?
Why don’t you let Mingyue accompany you to the nearby departnt store to look around?”
Mingyue’s father seed very reluctant to discuss his wife’s illness with strangers and smily steered the conversation away.
Surviving for over ten years with the “Man-Eating Flower” poison indicates that there must be so special dicine suppressing the spread of the toxin.
However, while this thod can extend a patient’s life, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and the backlash will be severe in the future.
Once the toxicity accumulates to a certain level within the body, it will suddenly erupt.
At that ti, the poisoned person’s skin turns black, black blood flows from all seven orifices, and they die in extre agony—the death is horrifically tragic.
Presumably, Mingyue’s parents have yet to find a cure for the poison and can only rely on certain drugs to suppress it, hanging on day by day.
Seeing that Mingyue’s father did not wish to elaborate, Fang Bai did not press further.
After chatting with the family about this and that, he followed Mingyue to the nearby departnt store to shop.
On the way to the departnt store, Fang Bai learned through Mingyue that their family na was Qiu, with the father nad Qiu Zhan, and the mother, Qiu Yuzhi.
For so reason, Fang Bai always had an intuition that both Qiu Zhan and Qiu Yuzhi, this couple, exuded a sense of mystery.
There’s no need to ntion Qiu Zhan, who is an even more powerful Martial Artist than Fang Bai.
And although Qiu Yuzhi is stricken with a strange toxin, weak and infirm, Fang Bai was certain that had it not been for the toxin, she would also have been a Martial Artist, with strength not much less than her husband’s.
Fang Bai speculated that the Qiu family must be living in seclusion here, and they must have lived here for many years, fully integrating into the life of this place.
Martial Artists live in seclusion typically for two reasons: one is to seek peace after being accustod to a lively and bustling life; the other is to avoid enemies.
In the case of the Qiu family, the latter possibility seems more likely.
Fang Bai even suspected that the Qiu family might not originally carry the surna Qiu, and it’s quite possible that after living in seclusion here, they had soone help them change their nas and continue living under new identities.
Logically, a secluded Martial Artist should prefer tranquillity and not easily rent out their house.
But when Fang Bai saw Qiu Yuzhi, he understood so of the reasons.
Qiu Yuzhi, stricken with the strange toxin, needed to prepare dicinal herbs to suppress the toxicity, and those herbs were certainly not cheap.
Over the years, this drained the Qiu family’s finances, necessitating the renting out of rooms for so inco.
Qiu Zhan was a master, and there were plenty of ways he could make money, but if the family was hiding from enemies, they would not dare to show themselves, much less attract attention.
Mingyue was studying at Yanjing No.
16 Middle School.
After the sumr vacation ended, she would move up to the third year of high school.
Although Fang Bai had not talked much with her, he had already gotten a clear sense of her character.
Mingyue was an independent and rebellious girl, generous in spirit, and highly principled.
It was said that many students in school liked her, but there were also not a few who had conflicts with her.
Mingyue liked to stand up against injustice.
Whenever she saw soone being bullied at school, she would intervene.
The fact that she had learned so self-defense skills from her father since a young age made her formidable in a fight and even boys were afraid of her, leading to the nickna “Campus Witch.”
In Yanjing No.
16 Middle School, although Mingyue could not be considered wealthy, when it ca to looks, she was undoubtedly first.
She required no makeup—a plain face was enough to outshine the other dolled-up girls.
Of course, if she put on so light makeup, like the subtle smoky eyes and a hint of blush she wore today, she was breathtaking, capable of overshadowing the second most beautiful girl in school by miles.
But despite Mingyue’s beauty, no boy dared to give her a second glance, let alone pursue her.
Because Mingyue’s temperant was volatile; instead of engaging in verbal altercations like most, she was direct with her hands and feet.
It was said that a boy, after giving her a few extra glances and whistling at her, ended up getting beaten into a pig-headed state by her, unrecognizable even to his own parents when he got ho.
So this thorny blossom was left untouched by the boys, who feared just one careless touch would leave them bloodied.
On the way, Fang Bai cracked a few harmless jokes with Mingyue, and she responded by glaring at him several tis, threatening to thrash him.
If it had been a boy who knew Mingyue’s personality, he would have turned pale with fright at her threats, but Fang Bai just chuckled.
Though the girl had learned so skills from her parents, her Qi Sea didn’t contain any True Yuan, which ant she hadn’t reached any significant level of mastery and couldn’t be considered a Martial Artist.
Fang Bai could subdue her with just one finger.
The departnt store had everything from large refrigerators and televisions to the smallest items like toothpaste and toothbrushes, encompassing all necessities of life.
Accompanied by Mingyue, Fang Bai took a walk around the market and purchased so toiletries and bedding.
By the ti they finished shopping, dusk had fallen.
Fang Bai carried several large and small bags while Mingyue also helped him carry a couple; together, they headed out of the departnt store.
“You’ve been with for so long, you must be tired and hungry, right?
To show my gratitude, let treat you to dinner!”
Reaching the entrance of the departnt store and slling the fragrance wafting from a noodle shop, Fang Bai said to Mingyue with a smile.
“Do you have your phone with you?
Let borrow it; I need to call my dad and tell him you’re treating to dinner.”
Mingyue was straightforward and enjoyed making friends.
She had walked and talked with Fang Bai and found him to be a pretty good conversationalist.
When Fang Bai offered to treat her to dinner, she didn’t hesitate.
Fang Bai freed up his right hand and handed his phone to Mingyue.
“Wow, an apple phone!
What does your family do, Fang Bai?
You seem quite rich!”
Mingyue took Fang Bai’s phone, first made a call to her father at ho, and after hanging up, she examined the phone closely and then stared at Fang Bai, inquiring.
Scratching his head, Fang Bai said, “Rich is not exactly the word, but we have enough to eat and wear.
My family cos from a lineage of Traditional Chinese dicine practitioners, and my father is an old TCM doctor who runs a clinic in Zhongzhou.”
Mingyue’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, “Is your father’s dical skill highly proficient?”
“To be honest…
my dical skill is even better than my father’s.”
“Ah…”
Mingyue imdiately lost her enthusiasm.
“What’s wrong?”
Fang Bai was curious upon seeing Mingyue’s listless appearance.
Mingyue sighed and said, “My mother has been ill for over a decade, and no treatnt has cured her.
These last two years, her condition seems to have gotten worse.
If your father was a good doctor, I would have asked him to co see my mother.
But now…”
Fang Bai smiled and said, “You’re disappointed because you heard that my father’s dical skill isn’t even as good as mine, right?”
Mingyue nodded and said, “Yes.
You are just a dical student intern; I imagine your dical skill isn’t that advanced, and if my father isn’t even as good as you, then it’s definitely not going to work.”
She paused for a mont, then, without waiting for Fang Bai to respond, turned and walked towards the noodle shop, saying, “Let’s just eat.
I have to go ho after dinner, or else my parents will worry.”
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