The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Before Guo Cuihong could react, Yang Shuisheng had already turned around, walked a few steps back to the broken door of Lao Hei's house, and pushed the door open and went inside.

Old Hei and his wife were talking in the main room when they saw Yang Shuisheng return without knocking. Old Hei's face darkened: "What are you doing back here? I..."

"Brother Hei, we were presumptuous just now."

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Shuisheng pulled out a five-yuan note from his pocket, slammed it on the broken wooden table next to him, and looked calmly at Lao Hei, getting straight to the point: "Consider this money an apology for bothering you."

"We just want to know, which direction did those children go in the morning? And who did they go with?"

"Please do us a favor and tell us, we'll leave immediately and won't bother you."

Old Hei's gaze fell on the five yuan on the table, and his fierce expression softened visibly. He looked at Yang Shuisheng's face and hesitated for a few seconds before finally reaching out to take the five yuan and stuffing it into his pocket. His tone also softened a bit: "Ahem... Since you're so cooperative, I won't hide it from you."

"A few brats came to cause trouble by my pond this morning, and I chased them away."

"They ran away with the stranger who was fishing by the pond."

"That man... looked to be in his thirties, dressed decently, and even gave the children candy."

"They went that way."

He pointed to the west side of the fishpond, where a path led to deeper forests and more remote villages.

"The fisherman is from out of town? And he even gave him candy?" Yang Shuisheng's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly surged into his mind.

A stranger from out of town used candy to coax a few teenagers into heading towards a more remote mountain forest.

Doesn't this sound a lot like the old folks' tricks for scaring children?

"Thank you, Brother Hei."

He suppressed his fear and nodded to Old Hei: "How long have they been gone?"

"It's been about an hour," Old Hei said after thinking for a moment.

Yang Shuisheng didn't ask any more questions. He turned around and strode out of Lao Hei's house. He pulled up Guo Cuihong, who was still waiting blankly at the door, and said in a deep voice, "Sister-in-law, we have a clue."

"Xiao Bao and the others probably went west into the mountains with a stranger who was fishing."

"We have to hurry and chase after them!"

When Guo Cuihong heard that there was a clue about Xiaobao, and that he had been taken away by a stranger from out of town, her mind went blank and she was instantly overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.

"Xiao Bao! My Xiao Bao!"

Without a second thought, she lifted her foot and rushed towards the path to the west, crying out, "I'm going to find him, I'm going to find him..."

"Sister-in-law! Wait a minute." Yang Shuisheng reacted quickly and grabbed Guo Cuihong, who was almost out of her mind.

He forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation quickly.

The other person had been walking for over an hour; even at a slow pace, they had already gone quite a distance.

He possessed true qi and had a chance to catch up if he tried his best, but Guo Cuihong was just an ordinary woman with limited physical strength and emotional agitation. Taking her along would not only prevent them from catching up, but might also slow them down, or even cause Guo Cuihong to collapse and have an accident first.

"Sister-in-law, listen to me first." Yang Shuisheng pressed down on Guo Cuihong's shoulders, looking at her with a firm gaze. "In your current state, you can't run very far."

"They've been gone for over an hour; we need to catch up as fast as we can."

"Following me will only slow you down. Listen to me, go home and wait first."

"No! I have to go find Xiaobao, I have to go! I can't just wait at home!" Guo Cuihong cried, shaking her head desperately, refusing to listen to anything.

"Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't want you to go! It's just that the house can't be left unattended."

Yang Shuisheng knew that reasoning with her wouldn't be very effective, so he quickly changed his approach and said in a serious tone, "Have you forgotten? Lin Wan is still at your house."

"She can't be found out. What if we're all away, and someone comes to visit, or something happens to Lin Wan? Who will take care of her?"

"Go back home. First, wait for news; second, keep an eye on things at home, especially Lin Wan. That's the most important thing."

His words were half true and half false, but mentioning Lin Wan touched on another of Guo Cuihong's vulnerabilities.

Guo Cuihong was very concerned about taking in Lin Wan and was aware of the risks involved.

"But...but Xiaobao..."

She paused for a moment, her surging impulse subsided slightly, but her face was still filled with resentment and worry.

"Leave the search for Xiaobao to me." Yang Shuisheng said decisively, his tone full of convincing power. "I'm fast on foot and I know the mountains well."

"I'll chase after them alone; it'll be much faster than you following along."

"I promise I will bring Xiaobao back to you safely."

"Go back and lock the door, take good care of Lin Wan, that will be a huge help to me, okay?"

Looking into Yang Shuisheng's determined eyes and listening to his well-organized arrangements, Guo Cuihong's chaotic emotions finally calmed down a little.

Although she was extremely anxious, she knew that Yang Shuisheng was right.

Moreover, after spending this time together, she developed an inexplicable trust in Yang Shuisheng's abilities and character.

"Okay... Shuisheng, I'll listen to you."

She wiped away her tears forcefully, nodding her head with a sob, "I'll go back. I'll watch over the house, watch over Lin Wan. You...you must find Xiao Bao, you must bring him back! Please!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, hurry back." Yang Shuisheng patted her shoulder, and without further delay, turned around and ran as fast as he could towards the winding mountain path that Lao Hei had pointed to.

This time, he no longer concealed his strength.

The two tiny vortexes of true energy within the body accelerated their operation simultaneously, and the pure true energy instantly surged into the meridians of the legs.

He felt a sudden lightness in his body, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. He pushed off the ground with his feet and shot out like an arrow, more than twice as fast as when he was carrying Guo Cuihong.

The rugged mountain path seemed to fall flat under his feet, the trees on both sides rushed past him, and all he could hear was the whistling wind.

What would normally be an hour's walk on the mountain path was left behind in less than twenty minutes thanks to Yang Shuisheng's all-out effort.

As he ran, his eyes darted around like lightning, scanning the roadside bushes and cracks in the rocks, not missing any suspicious traces.

After chasing for about half an hour, they had gone deep into the heart of the mountains and forests, where the surroundings became increasingly quiet and desolate.

Suddenly, Yang Shuisheng's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Beside a clump of dense foxtail grass by the roadside lay a small cloth shoe. Judging by its size, it was clearly a child's shoe.

Yang Shuisheng's heart tightened, and he immediately bent down to pick up the shoes.

This proves that he's on the right track!

Xiao Bao and the others did indeed take this route.

Moreover, if a child loses their shoes while running away, it's either because they're too flustered when they're running away in a panic, or because they're struggling and losing them while being forcibly dragged away.

The latter possibility made Yang Shuisheng's eyes grow even colder.

He held the shoes, closed his eyes, and focused all his energy on maximizing his hearing.

The rustling of the mountain wind through the treetops, the chirping of insects and birds, the babbling of a stream in the distance... countless subtle sounds flooded into his ears.

He carefully discerned, trying to detect the cries and voices of a child, or the shouts and footsteps of an adult.

However, after listening for a while, there were no unusual human voices besides the sounds of nature.

The other party had clearly moved far away from the area, beyond the limits of his hearing.

"Keep chasing!" Yang Shuisheng sped up again, chasing forward along the increasingly narrow path that was almost indistinguishable from a road.

After chasing for about ten more minutes, the terrain ahead opened up slightly, revealing a small valley.

Nestled in the valley, five or six low, dilapidated mud-brick houses are scattered about, with small vegetable gardens cultivated in front of and behind them, and chickens and ducks leisurely foraging in the yard.

This is a remote little mountain village, probably without even a proper name.