Chapter 163 Cannot Have Children

Chu Bing was in a rush to find Old Man Qian, so she was in no mood to chat with the little fellow. Yet, precisely because the little fellow had finally found her, how could he bear to let her leave? He kept a tight grip on her wrist.

"Big Sister! My dad told me that a person must know how to be grateful. You saved my life, so I must repay you!"

The childish words left Chu Bing both amused and exasperated.

However, they managed to gradually calm her previously panicked heart. She let out a sigh and said gently, "Big Sister really has something very important to attend to today and can't stay to accompany you any longer. How about this, you go home first, and next time I will go see you, all right?"

"No, what if you disappear by accident just like last time? What will I do?" The little fellow still vividly remembered how this big sister had vanished without a trace after they escaped from the desert.

Seeing the full expression of worry on his small face, Chu Bing's heart softened. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to utter any words of reprimand. Gritting her teeth, she took his hand and said, "Then how about this, you come along with me while I handle my business, and afterwards I will send you home."

"Okay." The little fellow nodded without the slightest hesitation, his pair of eyes sparkling brightly.

Holding his hand, Chu Bing carefully walked toward the main street.

Perhaps because she was bringing a little fellow along, she was exceptionally cautious.

When they reached a certain residence, Chu Bing stopped in her tracks.

It wasn't because she heard anything, but because she smelled blood.

It was very heavy.

She couldn't help tightening her grip on the little boy's hand. Pulling him into a nearby alley, she squatted down, stared intently into his eyes, and said in a serious tone, "I'm going inside to take care of some business, and it's not convenient to take you with me. Wait for me here and don't go anywhere, okay?"

Perhaps sensing the seriousness on Chu Bing's face, the little boy nodded obediently and agreed.

Chu Bing cast a worried glance at him, but her anxiety for Old Man Qian ultimately took the upper hand.

With a light leap, she landed on top of the wall and vaulted into the courtyard within a few breaths.

Gazing at her retreating figure, the little boy's eyes widened in awe, his mouth slowly dropping open.

The courtyard was dead silent, the ground clean and spotless, showing nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, the scent of blood in the air told Chu Bing what had happened here.

Ever since acquiring medical skills, her five senses had become extremely sharp; not even the faintest trace of a scent could escape her nose.

Crouching against the wall, she used a concealment array to slowly veil her presence, searching the courtyard with utmost care.

Nothing. There was nothing at all.

This was abnormally clean to a fault.

Generally speaking, even the courtyard of an ordinary household would have some sort of dirt or impurities, but this place felt as if a basin of clean water had been poured over it, washed thoroughly from start to finish.

Instead, it looked as though someone was trying to cover something up.

Chu Bing knitted her brows and was just about to head inside the rooms to take a look when she suddenly spotted a group of people hurrying toward her direction.

Could she have been discovered?

Chu Bing's expression shifted, her entire body tensing up. Her hand slowly groped toward her lower back; the moment these people made any suspicious moves, she was confident she could strike immediately and fight her way out of the encirclement!

As those people drew closer, Chu Bing gradually made out their expressions.

Something seemed a bit off?

The person in the lead looked like a steward, and he was walking in a hurried manner. "Hurry up, go out through the back door later and dump this person into the river!"

It was only then that Chu Bing noticed these people were carrying a hemp sack. Their eyes held a trace of tension and fear; one could tell at a glance that they were up to no good.

Gazing intently at the sack, Chu Bing formed a guess in her mind—what was contained inside this sack was likely a living person.

Seeing that these men were about to leave, Chu Bing's eyes flashed. With a flick of her finger, a gust of fierce wind struck squarely against the hand of one of the men. Crying out in pain, the man instantly dropped the sack he was holding.

"Ah!"

"What is it?"

His commotion startled everyone around him. The steward immediately turned around and glared at him with a furious expression. The man was flustered and bewildered, shaking his head and looking around wildly. "Someone hit me!"

His words stirred up a commotion, and everyone else panicked as well. They searched around like headless flies for a while, yet failed to spot a single soul.

Furious, the steward rushed forward, grabbed the man tightly by the neck, and growled with a sinister look, "Are you getting cold feet?"

"No, no..."

"Let me tell you, the mistress specifically instructed us to throw this person into the river. If you don't follow orders, think of your family..." the steward threatened with narrowed eyes. "You all know the mistress's temper; she despises nothing more than defiance. If any of you dare to disobey the mistress today, tomorrow the one being thrown into the river will be you."

Everyone fell silent.

It seemed this mistress was truly terrifying.

Chu Bing narrowed her eyes and swept her gaze over the sack on the ground. She suddenly noticed a faint medicinal scent drifting intermittently from the bag. Although very faint, she was certain that this was the exact smell carried by people who spent long periods working in a traditional Chinese pharmacy.

Almost in an instant, Chu Bing realized that the person stuffed inside the bag was very likely Old Man Qian!

Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?

She glanced at the guards, and with a flash of hidden weapons in her hand, she shot them fiercely toward the knee joints of each and every one of them. The men all collapsed to the ground simultaneously.

The steward looked around in panic, finally confirming that someone else must be hiding in the courtyard! Yet he couldn't see another shadow of a person at all!

"Who is it? If you have the guts, show yourself!"

Chu Bing rolled her eyes. Only a fool would show themselves at a time like this!

After searching for a while without finding anyone, and no longer certain whether someone was still around, the steward had no choice but to suppress his inner panic and order the guards to stand up.

However, all of them were currently sprawled on the ground, clutching their legs and wailing, looking completely incapable of standing. With an angry flick of his sleeve, he had no choice but to turn back and fetch more people.

Waiting until he had walked far away, Chu Bing slowly revealed her figure. Amidst the terrified gazes of the guards, she walked toward the hemp sack on the ground.

The sack kept wriggling, as if the person inside was struggling to get out. Chu Bing opened the bag, and the person inside immediately scrambled out, revealing a familiar face.

It was none other than Old Man Qian. Upon seeing Chu Bing standing before him, his eyes instantly welled up with tears, and he grabbed her hands tightly. "Chu Bing! Save me quickly, the people here are all madmen!"

Chu Bing raised an eyebrow and looked at him in surprise. "Weren't you here to treat a patient? Why do they want to kill you? What did you do?"

She sized up Old Man Qian with a skeptical gaze.

Old Man Qian wore an aggrieved expression as he struggled to stand up from the ground, dusting off his clothes while pouring out complaints. "Who would have known! I went out of the kindness of my heart to examine her, and she actually repaid kindness with enmity, wanting to kill me!"

His eyes suddenly lit up as realization dawned upon him. "I get it now. This mistress wants to silence me because I found out her secret."

Chu Bing was slightly stunned and asked out of curiosity, "A secret? What secret?"

Old Man Qian gritted his teeth, his expression contorting, "She cannot bear children!"