Chapter 162: Life-Threatening Danger

Hearing what Zhou Jinfan said, Xie Qingtang's lips twitched slightly as she gave the back of his head a slap and said, "I am a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, what on earth would I want to live stream for?"

"Boss, that is where you are missing out. Live streaming is a huge trend right now. Once you start streaming, you can promote traditional Chinese medicine and wellness knowledge, and then we can list all these health products on our online store. That way, our sales will skyrocket."

Whenever the topic turned to business, Zhou Jinfan's eyes would light up with excitement, as if he could already see money flowing into their pockets like a torrential flood.

"Are you serious? But I don't know the first thing about live streaming! Besides, if my master finds out that instead of tending to proper business after coming down the mountain, I'm just focused on making money or doing live streams, she will definitely break my legs." At the mere thought of her stern master, Xie Qingtang couldn't help but shiver.

Back in the day, she had been on the verge of death when her master rescued her and brought her up the mountain to impart medical skills. That was when she fully understood what it meant for a strict teacher to produce an exceptional pupil.

Her miraculous acupuncture techniques and profound familiarity with various herbal prescriptions were all forged under her master's rigorous supervision during her childhood.

Initially, the reason she gave her master for coming down the mountain was to seek revenge, and her master had only finally permitted her departure after her medical arts had reached mastery.

Yet, current events seemed to have veered slightly off course; ever since descending the mountain, her entire focus had been on making money, with virtually no progress made on the revenge front.

A headache began to throb behind Xie Qingtang's eyes at the thought. The current Xie family had been turned into an iron fortress by Shao Siming, making it exceedingly difficult to find even the tiniest crack to slip through.

"Boss, how can you say that? Money is the source of all motivation! As long as you have money, ninety-nine percent of the world's problems can be solved. And if the remaining one percent can't be solved, it just means you don't have enough money," Zhou Jinfan argued, spouting his crooked logic.

This left Xie Qingtang completely speechless. Furthermore, she had no desire to face the camera. After all, the incident on Weibo had left her with a certain psychological shadow regarding the internet, so she flat out rejected Zhou Jinfan's proposal.

Early the next morning, Cunshen Hall was operating as usual, receiving patients. Today, however, there was an expectant woman standing outside the doorway, craning her neck. This woman was none other than Ah Xiang, who had been staying at Cunshen Hall waiting to give birth.

"Ah Xiang, you've been waiting at the entrance of Cunshen Hall all morning. Usually, Ah Ben doesn't arrive until the afternoon; why torture your body like this?" Xie Qingtang walked up to Ah Xiang, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion as to why she was waiting at the door for Ah Ben.

Normally, Ah Ben would visit Cunshen Hall once a week to deliver living expenses for Ah Xiang and bring mountain goods from the deep mountains for Xie Qingtang to taste.

Knowing full well that Ah Ben only ever came in the afternoon, Ah Xiang had never before waited at the doorstep from early in the morning. That was why Xie Qingtang was so surprised.

"Dr. Xie, for some reason, my eyelid has been twitching since last night, and it hasn't stopped all the way until this morning. I just have this constant sense of unease," Ah Xiang said, turning her head toward Xie Qingtang.

Xie Qingtang had never believed in such superstitious notions, so she smiled and tried to soothe Ah Xiang's emotions. "Ah Xiang, stop overthinking it. You're carrying two children inside you right now, so you really need to rest more. Let me help you back to the backyard to lie down. Ah Ben will definitely be here this afternoon, nothing is going to happen."

"Alright then, I hope so," Ah Xiang sighed. Ultimately, persuaded by Xie Qingtang, she returned to the backyard to rest. Time ticked by second by second, and by the afternoon, Ah Ben still had not appeared.

This time, Ah Xiang grew truly panicked. A look of anxiety washed over her face as she tightly grabbed Xie Qingtang's hand, speaking somewhat incoherently: "Something has happened to Ah Ben. My premonition was right, something must have happened to him."

Overwhelmed by intense emotion, Ah Xiang clutched her swollen belly with a painful expression on her face. For a pregnant woman, emotional stability was of utmost importance. Xie Qingtang hurriedly checked her pulse, then popped a fetus-calming pill into her mouth, had her wash it down with water, and spoke.

"Ah Xiang, no matter what has happened to Ah Ben, you must look after the children in your womb. Don't be too nervous; maybe Ah Ben was just delayed on the road, and the bad things you're imagining haven't happened."

Although she said that, Ah Xiang and Ah Ben were husband and wife, and she felt her intuition was exceptionally accurate. Her anxious expression remained, and her tense heart did not relax for a single second.

Finally, at around 4:00 PM, Ah Xiang's family arrived. Indeed, it was Ah Xiang's family, not Ah Ben, which made the premonition in her heart grow even stronger.

"Dad, Mom, why are you here?" Ah Xiang immediately stepped forward, supporting her massive belly, and asked with a sense of unease.

A look of distress crossed the face of Ah Xiang's father before he let out a heavy sigh, saying nothing at all. Instead, Ah Xiang's mother spoke up: "Ah Xiang, come back home with us. It seems something has happened to Ah Ben."

As the words fell, Ah Xiang staggered backward in shock. Fortunately, Xie Qingtang was quick-witted and supported her, frowning as she asked Ah Xiang's parents, "What happened to Ah Ben?"

"That boy Ah Ben wouldn't listen to his elders and went into the forbidden zone again. He said he had some medicinal powder given to him by Dr. Xie and that nothing would go wrong, so he went into the forbidden zone to gather herbs. But he's been gone for a full day and night now without coming out. I'm afraid things look grim," Ah Xiang's father said, his face lined with deep wrinkles, mixing helplessness with a trace of anger.

It was evident that before Ah Ben entered the forbidden zone, the elders at home must have tried to dissuade him. Yet he refused to listen, stubbornly insisting on entering. After failing to emerge for a day and a night, the villagers did not dare to venture inside either, so they had no choice but to bring Ah Xiang home first.

Shock was written all over Ah Xiang's face as she muttered under her breath, "What? He actually went into the forbidden zone all by himself? Why would he do such a thing? Why?"

"Because he needed money!" Ah Xiang's mother explained.

This caused Xie Qingtang's brows to lock tightly together, while Ah Xiang fainted on the spot. The commotion instantly threw everyone inside Cunshen Hall into a flurry as they hurriedly carried her to a room in the backyard.

Following treatment, although Ah Xiang regained consciousness, her gaze remained vacant and devoid of soul. She kept murmuring Ah Ben's name over and over, as if she had lost her mind.

This left everyone deeply worried, and Ah Xiang's parents shed tears of grief from their aged eyes.