"Doctor Dong Fang!"

A light call sounded outside the door which disturbed Dong Fang Tang who had fallen asleep.  Quickly, he got up and put on his clothes then he opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

"Doctor Dong Tang, here is the antidote."

The person handed over the antidote in a black jade porcelain bottle to Dong Fang Tang and was about to leave when Dong Fang Tang stopped him.

"Convey my thanks to your Menzhu."

Dong Fang Tang said gratefully.  This time, Menzhu had done him a big favor and he would have to remember his assistance.

"Menzhu said……compared to Doctor Dong Fang saving his life, this is nothing worth mentioning.  Doctor Dong Fang must not treat this as a burden.  On the contrary, Menzhu is very happy he is able to help.  Doctor Dong Fang, I shall take my leave."

After the person had relayed the message, he left quietly…….the same way he came.

After Dong Fang Tang had received the antidote a day earlier than expected, he turned around and quickly went back to his bedchamber.  With a flip of his hand, he closed the door and hurriedly poured out a cup of water first.  He took a big sip of water in his mouth and walked to the bed. Then he sat down at the side of the bed and carefully lifted up the person who was in deep sleep.  He poured out the pill and put it into her mouth, then he leaned over and fed the water into her mouth.  After confirming that she had swallowed the pill, he put her back gently onto the bed and carefully wrapped her up again with the quilt.

Seeing that she had taken the antidote, the uneasiness that hovered in his chest finally eased.  His long fingers caressed her cheeks that were flushed with happiness of love and his black eyes looked down at her with tender affection.

Although he did not understand why she would once again agree to have skin contact with him when she still had not forgiven him but to be able to hold her again, made him feel ecstatically happy.

Even though she was not willing to admit, he could see that her heart had slowly softened towards him, or else how would she be willing to let him touch her again?

However, he still felt uneasy at the bottom of his heart.  It was difficult to guarantee that she would not run away again while he was not paying attention after the Cold Poison has been removed.  After all, she had tried it once before and he was really worried. What should he do to make her stay beside him willingly?

Knock!  Knock!

While he was struggling with his thoughts, knocks sounded outside the door.  When Dong Fang Tang stood up and opened the door, he found a smiling waiter standing outside the bedchamber.

"What is it?'

"Please…..are you Doctor Dong Fang?"

"Yes."

After confirming Dong Fang Tang's identity, the shop's waiter respectfully and courteously requested his attendance.

"That’s great!  Doctor Dong Fang, can you please follow me?  Someone came here especially to look for you."

"This……."  Dong Fang Tang looked back at the person who was still sleeping.  He hesitated and then said.  "Alright, I'll go with you."  Dong Fang Tang then closed the door of the bedchamber behind him. 

Before he left the Inn, he instructed the waiter that no one was allowed into the bedchamber to disturb Ruan Xiang Yin. 

 

The long eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings and a pair of eyes slowly opened.  The soreness all over her body made her let out a small cry and she touched the cold bedding….  

Where is Dong Fang Tang? 

Hugging the quilt, she sat up on the bed and felt slightly hot. 

Wait!  Isn't she inflicted with Cold Poison?  Why does she feel hot? 

She realized that her body did not feel cold anymore and she was unable to hide her astonishment.

Why is it that the moment she woke up, the Cold Poison in her body is actually gone?!

She got up with uncertainties and after putting on her clothes, she went to look for Dong Fang Tang.

Stepping out of the bedchamber, she came to the front of the Inn.  Since lunchtime had already passed, there were only a few guests around.  With one sweep of her eyes, she could not see Dong Fang Tang anywhere.

"Dong Fang Furen……"  A soft voice sounded behind her and she was startled.  When she turned around, she saw a waiter smiling at her.

"Doctor Dong Fang had given instructions that when you wake up, you're to have a meal first and not to wait for him."

"Where is he?"

"Someone came here especially to seek medical advice.  Doctor Dong Fang had left a sichen ago and he should be back any time soon.  Dong Fang Furen, please take a seat and I'll serve up the food immediately."

After the waiter had finished speaking, he quickly went to prepare the meal Dong Fang Tang ordered and did not dare to be sloppy.

On hearing that, Ruan Xiang Yin let out a sigh.  He still could not put down those people who came to seek his medical advice.  If she really wanted to be rid of him, she should take the opportunity now.  Once again she sighed and picked a table in a corner to sit down.  She told herself that it was because of the Cold Poison, she did not want to be too tired and so she did not want to leave yet.

"Dong Fang Furen, the food is here!  Before Doctor Dong Fang left, he ordered all these food as nourishment for your body.  Please enjoy your meal slowly."

The waiter put down the food, dish by dish on the table.  There was a small pot of abalone porridge, a small plate of vegetables, a plate of tofu and a plate of braised fish.  There was also a bowl of red-leaf ginseng chicken soup.  Initially, she did not feel hungry but after seeing all the food, she began to feel hungry.  After taking some abalone porridge, she started to eat the rest of the food.

 

"Did you hear about an earthquake in Shuiyuan Village?   I heard that more than a hundred villagers have died."

A thin man asked his friend, a fat man, who was sitting opposite him at the table.

"Are you talking about the small village located ten li to the East, near Qianyun Mountain?!"  The fat man exclaimed.

"That's right!  My Auntie lived there and unfortunately, she was crushed to death when the house collapsed on her."  The thin man said sadly.

"Didn't the government send anyone to deal with it?"

"No.  The most important thing now is that there is no one to take care of the injured because the only doctor in the village was also buried alive.  A lot of wounded people are waiting pitifully for help."  The thin man sighed.

"Ai!......"  The two men sighed.  They stopped talking and silently drank their wine.

Hearing up to here, Ruan Xiang Yin's mood suddenly turned gloomy. 

Does Dong Fang Tang know about this matter?  If he knows, will he still follow her around and ignore those poor villagers?

If he really ignored those villagers who needed help, then he would not have been the man who had moved her heart in the first place.  She knew she was contradicting herself.  On one hand, she feared that he will leave her if he had to choose between her and the people in the world and on the other hand, she did not want him to ignore the people that needed him.

Just as she was struggling with herself, a bright voice sounded in front of her.

"Miss Ruan!"

Ruan Xiang Yin looked up abruptly and the person she saw was surprisingly Dong Fang Hai Yao whom she met earlier.

Why is she here so suddenly?

"What is it?"

"There is something that I would like to ask for your help."

With a heavy expression, Dong Fang Hai Yao looked at her.  In order to locate her, she had used up some precious time and had forced matters to an urgent state.

"What is the matter?"  Ruan Xiang Yin asked curiously.

"I and my Shi-Xiong (Senior Brother) joined forces and broke into the brothel, Bai Hua Luo, and rescued a lot of girls who were harmed by Gudu.  Unfortunately, the old female brothel keeper had fled, so I want to ask for your help to undo their Gu."

In addition, both Shi-Xiong (Senior Brother) and Shi-Mei (Junior Sister) also found out that the mastermind controlling Bai Hua Luo was actually the Tie Xue* Gang and a lot of people were implicated.  Both of them were still investigating the case and they were planning to eliminate all the evil elements in one swoop.

(Tie Xue is the name of a  gang of criminals.)

“Does your Third Elder Brother know that you came to me for help?”  First, she wanted to confirm whether Dong Fang Tang was aware of this matter.

“Third Elder Brother doesn’t know.  In fact, I made sure Third Elder Brother had left before I dare to come to you for help because Third Elder Brother had warned me not to trouble you again regarding this matter.”

If the female brothel keeper who had cast the Gu had not fled, she would not want to trouble her.  Although her tune of 'Soul-killing' was invincible, it was too harmful to her internal energy.  Earlier she had seen her fainting from exhaustion and she also saw the anxious look on her Third Elder Brother’s face.  If she had a choice, she would rather not approach Ruan Xiang Yin for help.

“Then you still dare to look for me?”

She threw a glance at her and drank a spoonful of chicken soup ignoring the anxious look on Dong Fang Hai Yao's face. 

Every one of the siblings of the Dong Fang Family is good-hearted and in contrast, she seems to be very cold-hearted.

"If time is not the essence, I would not have come to you.  Miss Ruan, there is not much time left.  Please come with me!"

When Dong Fang Hai Yao saw that she was not moving, she anxiously urged her.

"Why makes you think I will help you?"  Ruan Xiang Yin continued to eat and did not make any effort to move.  Anyway, her relationship with Dong Fang Hai Yao was not deep and to put it bluntly, it could be said that both of them did not have good feelings for each other.

After listening to her words, Dong Fang Hai Yao's heart turned cold.  As expected, she was not worthy of Third Elder Brother.

"So…….in other words, you are unwilling to help?"

Ruan Xiang Yin put down her bowl and chopsticks, then propped up her cheeks with her hands.  Quietly, she studied Dong Fang Hai Yao's expression of reproach and hurt and then the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

"In your heart, you must be cursing me silently.  This kind of person who is unwilling to save the dying is definitely unworthy of your kind and generous Third Elder Brother, right?"

Dong Fang Hai Yao did not speak and just watched her in silence which spoke volumes for her agreement to Ruan Xiang Yin's words.

"Let's go.  Although I don’t care about your opinion, I can't always let you doubt your Third Elder Brother's judgment."  As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and was the first to step out of the Inn.

Dong Fang Hai Yao was astonished and stood rooted on the spot.  She was caught off guard by Ruan Xiang Yin's change of attitude and hurriedly followed her out.  In her mind, she recalled the words of her Third Elder Brother…….

'Xiang Yin is not difficult to get along with.  It's only that you have used the wrong approach from the beginning…….'

It seems, this Third Elder Sister-in-Law was not as bad as she thought.  It was only because she was biased in the beginning.

 

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

 

The sun was setting in the West.  Light wisps of smoke were swirling upwards and the sky was gradually turning dark.

In the Inn, the guests coming for dinner had increased.  The waiter was busy serving guests and after passing by one of the tables, he took the initiative to add more tea and was very polite.

"Doctor Dong Fang, you've waited for more than a sichen.  Would you like to return to your chamber for a rest first?  When Dong Fang Furen returns, I'll inform you."

"No.  I'll just wait here, thank you.  Go ahead and do your work, don’t worry about me."

Dong Fang Tang smiled and sent him away.  He continued to take a sip of tea with his head lowered and waited.

The waiter looked at him and did not say anything more.  As he walked away, he recalled that more than a sichen earlier, when Doctor Dong Fang just came back and found out that Dong Fang Furen had left, he had a panic-stricken look on his face.  But what impressed him most was when he passed the message that Dong Fang Furen went out regarding some matters and would be back later, he had then let out a sigh of relief.  It could be seen that Doctor Dong Fang must love his Furen very much.

After sitting there silently and sipping his tea for half a sichen, suddenly Dong Fang Tang got up and rushed outside.

He saw Dong Fang Hai Yao entering the Inn with Liu Yong carrying an unconscious Ruan Xiang Yin in his arms.

"Third Elder Brother….."

Dong Fang Hai Yao greeted him in a low, soft voice filled with guilt and did not dare to look at him directly in his eyes.

Dong Fang Tang's gentle face sank.  He stepped forward and reached out his arms to take Ruan Xiang Yin from Liu Yong.  Until the moment she was finally back in his arms, his heart which had originally felt uneasy began to settle down.

Dong Fang Tang's black eyes flashed with fury as he looked at the unconscious person in his arms.  His voice was harsh and stern.

"Younger Sister, you disappointed me.  Obviously, you deliberately ignored my warning."

"Third Elder Brother, I'm sorry.  It was an emergency.  Unfortunately, during the raid, the female brothel keeper escaped and the girls who had Gu poison in their bodies were at death's door.  As a doctor, you should be able to understand my urgency to save lives!"

She hurriedly tried to explain and although she had already guessed that he would definitely be angry with her, however, she did not expect him to be so furious which was rare for her gentle and kind Third Elder Brother.

"Don’t talk anymore, just leave!"

Dong Fang Tang's face was gloomy and carrying Ruan Xiang Yin, he walked into the Inn and ignored her.

"Wait a minute, Third Elder Brother.  I and Shi-Xiong are now investigating the members of Tie Xue Bang but we are unable to find their Bangzhu*.  But this morning, someone found his dead body outside the village of Shuiyuan, ten miles away from here.  It looked like it was done by Shadow Gate, do you know about this?"  She asked as she watched his retreating back.

(Bangzhu means the Leader of a gang)

"I'm just a doctor.  I am only concerned for my patients and my wife including my family.  The grudges in Jianghu have nothing to do with me."

"There is one last thing, Third Elder Brother.  Please help me to convey my thanks to Miss Ruan for her help.  And…..if I had disrespected her earlier in any way, I ask for her forgiveness."

Dong Fang Tang did not answer and with big strides, he walked into the Inn leaving the two people standing outside.

"It looks like, within this short period of time, Third Elder Brother would not want to see me."

She smiled bitterly.  If the other two elder brothers knew that she had angered her good-tempered Third Elder Brother, it was afraid she would not have any good days ahead.

"Why did you ask Dong Fang Tang regarding the matters of Shadow Gate?"

Liu Yong who had kept quiet all this while, could not help but wonder and asked.

"It's nothing.  Let's go."

Three years ago, Menzhu of Shadow Gate had made it known in Jianghu that no one should cause trouble for Dong Fang Tang.  There was no one in Jianghu, in both the black and white worlds, who did not know about this.  It was because when the corpse was found, it was closest to this place so she had to ask.  However, since Third Elder Brother had said he did not know, then there was no need for her to ask again.

Before she left, she looked back at the Inn once again and sighed.  Then she and Liu Yong left, one after the other.

Worry clouded Dong Fang Tang's black eyes as he looked down at the person who had slept for a day and he could not help but blame his younger sister.  The poison in her body had just been dispelled and she should have rested more but instead, she had used too much internal energy.  As a result, she was still sleeping due to over-exhaustion.