Chapter 16: Compliance in Appearance, Defiance in Reality; Obstruction

Ying Zhao gave Sun Sheng a long, deep look. She did not refuse his proposal, but merely warned, "If that is how it shall be, then let it be as you say. This person's life has been preserved; if any accident occurs within the Witch Doctor Hall, I shall hold you personally accountable!"

Her attitude was incredibly arrogant.

Currently, her identity was that of a Great Witch Doctor traveling alone. If she acted too gentle, she would easily be looked down upon and harassed. On the contrary, the more arrogant she appeared, the less people would dare to act rashly against her.

"I leave this person in your care. I have recently discovered a celestial herb and must linger here for several days until it matures. Once I have harvested it, I shall return to see how well you have looked after this man."

Having finished speaking, Ying Zhao turned and left immediately without waiting for Sun Sheng's reply.

She was truly willful and unrestrained to the extreme.

Sun Sheng had been catered to by the local powerful families for many years, and being threatened in public by Ying Zhao naturally left him feeling dissatisfied. However, glancing at the healed blood scabs on the youth's abdomen and thinking of the celestial herb Ying Zhao mentioned, his heart grew fervent once more.

Watching Ying Zhao's departing figure, he spoke with resounding conviction, "Rest assured, Excellency, I, Sun, shall certainly see to this man's proper care!"

Of course he would take good care of him; he wouldn't let him die just like that. If the man didn't wake up, how would he ever learn what he had eaten or how he had been brought back to life?

*Tsk, this Witch Doctor is far too capricious. To use such precious medicine on a mere commoner! Even if one needs someone to test medicine, there is no need to choose a commoner!*

*What a true waste!*

*If only I could know what medicine that person took.*

Sun Sheng watched Ying Zhao's silhouette disappear into the distance and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. However, he quickly shifted his attention back to the unconscious youth.

He didn't have the courage to question Ying Zhao, but this youth was different. Once the man woke up, he would have to interrogate him thoroughly! No matter what, he had to find out exactly what kind of spiritual elixir or miraculous medicine this man had consumed to survive!

On his way here, he had learned that the man's injuries were extremely severe—a large hole in his abdomen, intestines protruding, and massive blood loss. It should have been impossible to save him. When he was carried in, he was barely clinging to life.

Yet now, not only was he not dead, but even the wound had scabbed over!

Who wouldn't want such divine methods? If he possessed such skills, why would he be stuck in this tiny Qingshan County? Even in the capital of Yan, he could be treated as an honored guest by the nobility!

The more Sun Sheng thought about this, the more heated his heart became. After a moment's thought, he quickly commanded, "Carry this man and follow me. There are too many people here for him to recover; let's change his location."

He had no desire to stay in the Witch Doctor Hall indefinitely, nor did he feel secure leaving this "lucky" youth here. If anything happened to the man, he would suffer a massive loss.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to carry the man out, the youth's parents swarmed over, pleading and asking about their son's condition.

Sun Sheng looked annoyed and waved his hand to drive them away, but he suddenly remembered Ying Zhao. He quickly scanned both sides of the street; seeing that Ying Zhao was nowhere to be found, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief and climbed onto the ox cart.

As for the youth's parents, others would deal with them. He was a dignified Witch Doctor; how could he stoop so low as to bother them?

However, Sun Sheng had forgotten that he had arrived by ox cart, and there was only one. His attendants did not dare place the commoner youth on his cart, so they had to find another vehicle to push him in. This would inevitably cause a delay.

Though the youth's parents were of low status, they were deeply worried about their son. Seeing him being carried out, they ignored everything else and rushed forward, trying to take their son back.

Before they could get close, they were crudely pushed away by the guards of the Witch Doctor Hall.

The guards roared, "What are you doing? Are you trying to start a rebellion?"

The couple grew frantic.

The woman cried out in grief and indignation, "He is our son! We are decent folk, we have not sold ourselves into servitude! You cannot take our son away!"

The man tried to rush forward to reclaim his son but was pushed to the ground by a guard. He could only kneel and beg bitterly, "Please, give our son back to us! We won't seek treatment anymore, we won't!"

Seeing this scene, Ying Zhan immediately strode over. He pushed the guard aside, pulled the middle-aged man up, and comforted him, "Stop crying. Your son is quite lucky; the Witch Doctor Excellency just saved his life. However, he has not yet regained consciousness and needs to stay here for a period of recuperation."

At this point, he walked to the ox cart and said to Sun Sheng inside, "Witch Doctor Sun, I fear that Excellency has not gone far. If a scene breaks out here and it reaches her ears, it might bring unnecessary trouble. Since Excellency agreed to let this man stay at the Witch Doctor Hall, it would be better to let him remain here to avoid the jolting of travel, which might aggravate his injuries and cause Excellency to misunderstand."

Inside the ox cart, Sun Sheng's face darkened.

When he arrived, he was only preoccupied with the sudden appearance of the Witch Doctor and the injured youth; he hadn't paid attention to anything else, including the youth's parents. When they came out just now, although he saw the couple, he hadn't cared, assuming they were merely onlookers. He hadn't expected it to escalate like this.

Rather than leaving the youth in the Witch Doctor Hall, he naturally wanted to take him home for strict supervision, but Ying Zhan's words served as a warning. If that Witch Doctor was nearby and heard the commotion, knowing he was acting in defiance of her wishes, she would certainly not be pleased. It would become difficult for him to obtain the pills and healing methods from her.

Furthermore, Ying Zhan was an official. Since he had witnessed this personally, it wouldn't be long before the County Magistrate, Wu Lin, found out. If he forcibly took the man home now, not only would Ying Zhan likely intervene, but the couple alone would be a massive headache. Not to mention, Wu Lin would suspect something.

As Sun Sheng thought of this, his expression became even more unsightly. He knew the hope of taking the youth home this time was slim, but he was still unwilling to agree so easily.

Just as he was hesitating, a sudden cry erupted from not far away—

"Look! He's awake!"

As soon as that cry went up, several more voices of astonishment followed.

"Heavens, he actually woke up!"

"He was so badly injured just now, yet he survived!"

"Where is that Witch Doctor from before? How did she save him? Is she a living immortal?"

"A deity has manifested, hasn't she?"

"Definitely! I could tell just by looking that the Great Witch Doctor was no ordinary person. My guess was right!"

A crowd of hindsight-commentators began to clamor one after another.

The youth, who had just opened his eyes, was utterly bewildered: *What happened to me? Where am I? Why is a crowd surrounding me?*

In the next moment, he suddenly saw his parents weeping with joy.

Sun Sheng: *I am so unwilling!*

Ying Zhan: *Heh.*

(End of Chapter)