About twenty minutes later, Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan appeared at the door of Wang An's ward.
At that moment, Comrade Fang Xiu'e was performing bloodletting on Wang An. His stomach and chest were still full of hollow needles; it looked quite professional and rather terrifying.
Acupuncture is not considered surgery, so Wang An wasn't pushed into an operating room today; the needles were administered right in the ward.
When Wang Dazhu and his wife saw this scene, Wang Dazhu, being a man, handled it well enough, but Liu Guilan found it a bit hard to stomach.
Fortunately, once Liu Guilan noticed that Wang An's mental state was actually quite good—and that he was chatting with the doctor with a face full of smiles—she felt somewhat relieved.
Perhaps fearing she would interfere with the doctor's work, Liu Guilan pulled Wang Dazhu over to a bench outside the door, and they waited there quietly.
After a full half-hour, Fang Xiu'e walked out of the ward looking somewhat exhausted, carrying the needle kit. This meant Wang An had finished his acupuncture and was now on an IV drip.
There was no other way; since Wang An couldn't eat, he had to be given glucose early in the morning. Otherwise, without any energy intake, a person simply couldn't hold on.
Fang Xiu'e naturally saw Wang Dazhu and his wife, but since the two parties didn't know each other, there were no greetings. As soon as Fang Xiu'e left, Liu Guilan and Wang Dazhu rushed into the ward.
As soon as she entered the room, Liu Guilan asked Wang An
"What happened? Didn't they say you sprained your foot and were letting out stagnant blood from your ankle? Why the hell are they letting blood from your stomach?"
Seeing that Wang Dazhu and his wife had arrived, Wang An was a bit surprised but said with a smile
"Oh, Dad, Mom, why are you two here? And so early, too, hehehehe."
Liu Guilan widened her eyes and raised her voice
"I'm asking you what happened! Don't give me that useless chatter."
Wang An said nonchalantly
"Hah, it's no big deal. Stop shouting, stop shouting. Anyone who doesn't know would think we're about to have a brawl. Dad, Mom, come over here, I'll tell you in a whisper."
Wang An figured that Wang Dazhu and his wife would find out sooner or later, so it was better to tell them now to reduce their anxiety. Since Mu Xueqing wasn't here, the whole family could just keep it from her for now.
Wang Dazhu and his wife exchanged a glance, then moved toward Wang An's bed in unison.
Wang An turned and instructed Huang Zhong
"Xiao Zhong, go close the door."
Once Huang Zhong closed the door, Wang An spoke softly
"Dad, Mom, you can't make a scene after you hear this. If you two shout and the whole hospital finds out, then it's all over."
After saying this and receiving nods of agreement from his parents, Wang An finally spoke
"Yesterday, before we went into the mountains to hunt, I ran into a 'Big Claw'—a massive one."
As he spoke, Wang An spread both arms wide, gesturing to indicate the size of the tiger.
"And then, my back got smacked by that Big Claw. I twisted my body and shot the damn thing dead."
Pausing for a moment, Wang An whispered mysteriously to his parents
"Don't tell anyone about this. I figured I'd keep the Big Claw secret. Tiger skin, tiger bones, tiger penis—those are top-tier treasures. Even if you have money, there's nowhere to buy them."
In his memory, both Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan suffered from chronic leg pain—the severe kind, so bad that walking was a struggle.
The reason they weren't showing symptoms now was that they were only in their 40s and still relatively young. Furthermore, because of Wang An's rebirth, their condition hadn't continued to deteriorate.
Regardless, chronic leg pain is a disease that can't be fully cured. To ensure they wouldn't be tormented by leg pain in their old age, tiger skin would be incredibly useful.
It is well known that tigers sleep on the snowy ground even in temperatures of minus forty degrees; from this, one can see how incredible their fur is.
The locals knew that for someone with chronic leg pain, as long as tiger fur was made into knee pads—even a small piece the size of a knee—it could guarantee that the person's leg pain wouldn't flare up for the entire winter.
Tiger skin was just that powerful; it was practically legendary!
Therefore, a major reason Wang An wanted to keep the tiger secret was to make two sets of tiger-skin knee pads for his parents.
When the time came, he could wrap the tiger skin in cloth and wear them secretly under their trousers; no one would notice.
As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan both stared with wide eyes and open mouths, completely dumbfounded. Even the way they looked at Wang An changed.
Mainly because killing a tiger, regardless of the era, was an earth-shattering event.
Yet such a massive event had been recounted by Wang An as nonchalantly as if he had killed a wild boar.
After a long silence, Liu Guilan suddenly scolded him in a hushed, frantic tone
"Why on earth were you messing with that thing? What if it had kicked you to death? You clumsy brat! You've only had a few days of good living and you're already courting disaster. Are you trying to scare your father and me to death?"
As she spoke, Liu Guilan's eyes reddened, and tears began to fall like a broken string of pearls.
It was clear that Liu Guilan, usually a strong woman, had truly broken down.
Seeing his mother cry, Wang An immediately tried to get up. Perhaps he moved too quickly, as he suddenly winced in pain and slumped back onto the bed.
Ignoring the pain, Wang An hurriedly said
"It was an encounter battle! Do you know what an encounter battle is? I was happily driving my plow to catch wild boars when that Big Claw suddenly leaped out. It tried to bite me to death right off the bat—did you expect me to just let it? Didn't I have to fight back?"
Hearing this, Liu Guilan's tears stopped instantly. She blinked rapidly, speechless.
Wang An said, somewhat exasperated
"Am I the kind of person who shows off to Big Claws? Before I and Brother Wu killed that Big Claw last year, how many people went into the mountains? Look at me back then—I didn't even want to go. I had no intention of messing with that thing at all."
Seeing that Wang An's logic held up, Liu Guilan found herself unable to argue. She immediately glared at him and pointed at his head
"What? I can't even say a few words to you now? Try being prickly with us again and see if I don't let your father skin you!"
As soon as Liu Guilan roared, Wang An immediately wilted. He quickly said with a flattering smile
"You're just teasing. How would I dare be prickly with you? Hehehehe..."
Only then did Wang Dazhu say with a worried expression
"A Big Claw is no ordinary thing. If we keep it secret... will that be okay? What if..."
Before Wang Dazhu could finish, Liu Guilan interrupted
"So what? My eldest son almost lost his life—why aren't we talking about that? I refuse to just hand over a Big Claw that was killed at the cost of a life. I'm listening to my son; we're not handing it over. Just not doing it."
Wang Dazhu sighed helplessly and stopped talking.
Seeing the worry on his father's face, Wang An comforted him
"We're not keeping the Big Claw to sell it for money, so nothing bad will happen. Even if something does, I can handle it. Dad, just relax."
In truth, Wang Dazhu also didn't want to hand over the tiger carcass. After all, a tiger is a treasure from head to toe—even its waste is useful. Who doesn't have a bit of greed?
Wang Dazhu looked at Wang An, nodded, and asked
"Did the doctor say when you can be discharged?"
Wang An thought for a moment and said
"Probably four or five days. It's just that..."
Following this, Wang An explained the details of his injuries to his parents again.
After they heard, Liu Guilan's eyes reddened once more.
Mainly, the phrase "it will take half a year or a year to fully recover" was enough to prove how severe Wang An's internal injuries were.
One must realize that even for severe injuries like broken arms or legs, three or four months are usually enough to be mostly healed.
Seeing the worried expressions of his parents, Wang An comforted the old couple
"Hah, you have to think of it this way: I purely lucked out and kept my life. Being alive is a miracle in itself."
Pausing, Wang An started bragging
"Forget everything else—in these ten surrounding villages, who else has come face-to-face with a Big Claw and lived? Only me, right? Besides, I counter-killed the thing. How fierce am I?"
Then, Wang An added with a laugh
"Right, Dad, Mom, whatever you do, don't tell Xueqing about my injuries for now. If she gets anxious and scares Grandma back [into her illness], your grandson and granddaughter won't have anything to eat. Once I'm discharged and she sees me return in one piece, she won't worry anymore, hehehehe..."
Between bragging and comforting, Wang An finally managed to convince his parents.
However, all this talking had left his throat dry. Recalling Fang Xiu'e's instruction to drink as little water as possible these few days to avoid straining his internal organs, Wang An picked up his water cup and took only a tiny sip.
Finally, Wang An said to his parents
"Alright, Dad, Mom, you two head back. And remember to keep smiling when you get home so Xueqing doesn't figure it out."
As he finished, Liu Guilan suddenly asked him crossly
"Is this how you taught Lao Wu and the other one too?"
Wang An gave an awkward smile and said
"I just didn't want you to worry. Mainly, it's no big deal, I just need to recover."
Liu Guilan couldn't help but laugh and scold
"You little brat, you've all teamed up to fool your father and mother. The moment you stick your backside out, your father and I know how many droppings you're about to pass. Once you're better, just watch—I'll have your father skin you."
Unable to answer, Wang An could only let out a series of silly "hehehehe" laughs.
Finally, Wang Dazhu and his wife were coaxed away by Wang An.
Wang An lay there staring at the ceiling, muttering to Huang Zhong
"Xiao Zhong, tell me, what am I even doing this all for day by day?"