The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Yang Shuisheng slowed his pace, adjusted his breathing, and made himself look like an ordinary passerby.

His gaze swept quickly over the houses; most of the courtyards were quiet, and the doors were tightly closed.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped on the wall of one of the houses.

The mud-brick walls of that house were very low, and you could see several fishing rods made of thin bamboo lying casually in the yard.

A stranger fishing... a fishing rod...

Yang Shuisheng's heart skipped a beat! Could this be the place?

He remained calm and pretended to be stopping by for a rest, then walked toward the house with the fishing rod.

Arriving at the crooked wooden gate, he cleared his throat and called out, "Is anyone home?"

"Squeak—"

The wooden door to the main room was opened, and a shirtless man with tanned skin but muscular build, who looked to be in his early thirties, came out.

The man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his face did not look fierce; in fact, he even had a kind smile on his face.

He looked at Yang Shuisheng outside the door with suspicion and asked, "Who are you looking for? What do you want?"

Yang Shuisheng gave a kind smile: "Brother, I'm just passing by. I got lost and I'm very thirsty."

"May I ask you for a bowl of water?"

"Oh, you want some water?"

Upon hearing this, the man's wariness lessened slightly. He grinned and stepped aside, saying, "Alright! Come in. The water vat is in the yard. Help yourself; there's plenty."

His tone was natural, and his movements were casual; he looked like an ordinary mountain man, not a vicious human trafficker.

Yang Shuisheng thanked him and walked into the courtyard.

The yard wasn't big, but it was fairly tidy. There was a pile of firewood in the corner, and a few fishing rods were leaning against the pile of firewood.

He casually glanced around as he slowly walked to the large water vat, about half a person's height, in the center of the courtyard. He picked up the gourd ladle hanging on the rim of the vat, scooped out half a ladle of cool water, and slowly drank it.

At the same time, he pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the sounds coming from the main room.

The man stood at the entrance of the main room, arms crossed, watching him drink water, without saying much.

The water was cold and had a slightly earthy smell.

As Yang Shuisheng drank, he pushed his hearing to its limit.

The main room seemed quiet, but in one corner, there was a sound of fabric rubbing together, and a suppressed gasp from a child.

Because of the distance and the wall in between, the sound was very muffled and difficult to determine.

But Yang Shuisheng was already on edge. If Xiaobao was really inside, every second of delay would increase the danger.

"Cough cough cough—"

He pretended to choke on the water, coughed a few times, and bent over.

The moment he bent down, his inner energy erupted, and his figure, like a ghost, bypassed the man blocking his way. With lightning speed, he smashed open the half-closed door of the main room and rushed inside.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

The man was startled by Yang Shuisheng's sudden action, his face changed drastically, and he reached out to stop him, but Yang Shuisheng was too fast and had already rushed into the main room.

The main room was dimly lit, with insufficient light.

Yang Shuisheng's gaze was sharp as lightning, locking onto the target instantly.

In the main room, two small figures were sitting side by side next to a dilapidated wooden table against the wall, intently building a small house with a few pieces of wood.

One of them was Xiao Bao, who was wearing the other shoe.

The other one was a little girl about the same age as Xiaobao, with pigtails.

"Xiao Bao!"

When Yang Shuisheng saw that Xiaobao was safe and sound, a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

We finally found them!

He rushed over, squatted down, put his hands on Xiao Bao's shoulders, and quickly checked him over.

There were no injuries on his body, and his clothes were not damaged except for being a little dirty and losing one shoe.

"Xiao Bao! Are you alright?"

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Has anyone hit or yelled at you?" Yang Shuisheng asked urgently, while keeping a watchful eye on the man behind him.

"Let him go! What do you think you're doing?"

The shirtless man rushed in right after him. When he saw Yang Shuisheng grabbing Xiaobao, his expression changed. He shouted and stepped forward to pull Yang Shuisheng away, his eyes filled with tension and protectiveness.

It was as if they were afraid Yang Shuisheng would harm Xiaobao.

"What do I want to do?"

Yang Shuisheng turned around abruptly, staring coldly at the man, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "I haven't even asked you yet, you've got some nerve, daring to abduct someone else's child in broad daylight."

"Speak! What do you want with the child you lured here?"

"Kidnapping? Bullshit!" The man was furious and anxious after Yang Shuisheng accused him of kidnapping. His dark face turned red, and he immediately roared, "Who kidnapped me? Stop making false accusations!"

"This child insisted on coming back with me. I kindly took him in and gave him food. How did he become a bad person in your eyes?"

Why did you insist on coming back with me?

Yang Shuisheng frowned, his doubts still lingering, but judging from the man's reaction, it didn't seem like he was lying, and his nervousness towards Xiaobao didn't seem feigned.

He turned his head, softened his tone, and looked at the still somewhat bewildered Xiaobao, asking, "Xiaobao, tell Uncle, did this person bring you here? Or did you follow him yourself?"

"Yes... I followed this uncle on my own."

Xiao Bao glanced at Yang Shuisheng, then at the angry-looking man beside him, and nodded timidly: "Uncle gave me candy by the fishpond and said he has a little sister at home to play with me."

"I saw him leave, so I wanted to come and play with the little girl, so I followed him."

Did you come along on your own?

To find a little sister to play with?

Yang Shuisheng was speechless for a moment, but Xiao Bao's expression didn't seem to be lying. Moreover, children are playful by nature, and being attracted by candy and a little sister, it's absurd that he would do something like running away with a stranger without saying goodbye, but it's not entirely impossible.

Xiao Bao, in particular, lacks playmates. The other children in the village look down on him because he seems a bit slow, and few of them play with him.

He was about 70-80% convinced, but he still didn't completely let his guard down.

He released Xiaobao and stood up, but still stood in front of Xiaobao, looking at the man and asking in a deep voice, "Even if he came here on his own, you're an adult. If you saw a strange child following you, wouldn't you at least take him back to the village, or ask him whose child he is?"

"You just brought him home like that? Do you know how frantically his mother has been looking for him at home?"

"I...how would I know whose he is?"

The man was somewhat embarrassed by Yang Shuisheng's barrage of questions. His anger subsided a bit, and he scratched his head, his tone softening with a hint of grievance and helplessness: "I asked, but the child was too busy eating candy to explain clearly."

"I saw that he was all dirty and it was hot outside, so I was worried that something might happen to him if he was alone by the fishpond. I brought him back to rest and have a drink of water, thinking that I would ask him more questions later or go out to inquire later."

"Who knew... you'd come looking for me like this!"

He paused, then asked in return, "But are you really this child's uncle? Do you know his family?"