"Clang!"
In the bedroom next door, Tang Hao was dozing against the wall, the alcohol still not fully out of his system.
But Tang San's muffled groan of pain, followed by the clatter of a pot being knocked askew, pierced his haze like a needle.
"Xiao San?"
Tang Hao's eyes flew open, and his heart clenched for no reason. He staggered out of the bedroom and turned into the kitchen, where he saw a sight so horrifying it nearly scared him out of his wits.
"Damn it!"
The curse burst from his throat, and his drunkenness vanished in an instant.
He charged over like a madman and yanked Tang San out of the pot with one huge hand.
One side of the child's face had already turned reddish purple. The skin was wrinkled from the scald, and tiny blisters were welling up everywhere. A patch of blisters had even formed on his forehead, while boiling rice porridge clung to his face and hair.
"Xiao San! Xiao San!" Tang Hao's voice trembled uncontrollably as he frantically tried to wipe the rice porridge from his son's face with his sleeve.
But the moment he touched the blisters, Tang San let out a painful gasp in his unconsciousness. Tang Hao snatched his hand back in fright.
"Dad's here... Dad's here..." Tang Hao's hands shook violently.
He picked Tang San up, and the child in his arms felt light as a feather, yet hot as a branding iron.
Stumbling to the water vat, he scooped up a ladle of cold water and poured it over Tang San's face.
The cold water washed the grains of rice from his skin, but did nothing to dispel the searing heat. Tang San's little face remained frighteningly red.
"A doctor! Right, a doctor!" Tang Hao finally regained a shred of his senses.
He snatched up a clean piece of rough cloth, clumsily wrapped Tang San in it, then scooped him up and rushed outside as fast as he could.
Tang San was his hope now. Nothing could happen to him.
The coarse cloth scraped against the blisters. Tang San's eyelashes trembled with pain, but he couldn't open his eyes. He only let out a faint whimper.
Before long, Tang Hao arrived at the Nuoding City Clinic, carrying Tang San.
Tang Hao slammed into the wooden door of the Nuoding City Clinic and sent it flying open. The old physician, who was sorting medicine at the counter, jerked in fright, and the medicine scale clattered to the floor.
The old physician looked up to see a burly man reeking of alcohol rushing in with a child in his arms. The child's face was mottled red and purple, covered in blisters so densely that the sight was horrifying.
"Doctor! Hurry! Save my son!" Tang Hao's voice was hoarse, as if it had been scraped raw.
Tang San's face was deathly pale, except for the terribly flushed, scalded side. His breathing was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.
The old physician didn't even bother to pick up the scale. He hurriedly pulled aside the curtain behind the counter. "Quick, lay him on the bed in the back!"
Tang Hao carefully laid Tang San on the white-sheeted wooden bed. His fingers hovered in midair, wanting to touch him but not daring to.
The old physician swiftly opened his medicine case and took out a bottle of dark green ointment and a roll of gauze. First, he gently wiped Tang San's injuries with cotton soaked in cool medicinal water.
"Hss—" Tang San sucked in a sharp breath in pain. His little hand abruptly clutched Tang Hao's clothes.
"Easy! Please, be gentle!" Tang Hao's heart twisted as he stared fixedly at the old physician's hands, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
The old physician didn't even look up. "He has to bear it! If I don't clean it properly now, an infection will make things worse!"
Moving swiftly, he dabbed the cotton in the medicinal water and gradually wiped away the remaining porridge. Clear liquid seeped from the blisters that had burst in the scald.
Only after cleaning the wound did the old physician use a bamboo spatula to scoop up a little dark green ointment and carefully spread it over the burns.
As soon as the ointment touched his skin, Tang San's body gave a slight shudder. Then he seemed to feel a little better, and his brow gradually relaxed.
"This is a specially made burn ointment. It'll ease the pain and prevent infection," the old physician explained as he applied it. "The child's burns are serious. Half his face is injured, but thankfully his eyes and throat are unharmed. Keep it dry for the next few days, and don't give him any foods that could aggravate the wound. I'll prescribe a few medicines to take by mouth as well. Boil them and give him the decoction."
Tang Hao nodded again and again, never taking his eyes off Tang San's face.
After the ointment was applied, the redness and swelling didn't seem quite so glaring, but those dense blisters still pierced Tang Hao's heart like needles.
"How much?" Tang Hao patted his pocket.
There were still several Gold Soul Coins in it. He'd planned to use them to buy wine.
Now that Tang San had given him hope of revenge, he was certainly going to spend that money on his son.
The old physician's gaze paused when Tang Hao pulled out several Gold Soul Coins.
Ordinary residents usually paid only a few Silver Soul Coins for a visit. This burly man reeked of alcohol, yet he was paying so generously. Clearly, he valued this child more than anything.
At a glance, it was obvious that Tang Hao was a good family man who loved his family.
"Two Silver Soul Coins will be enough." The old physician accepted one Gold Soul Coin and gave Tang Hao eight Silver Soul Coins in change.
Tang Hao took the eight Silver Soul Coins. Their cold metal brushed his fingertips, but he couldn't bring himself to count them. He simply stuffed them into his clothes.
He watched the old physician put the Gold Soul Coin away in a drawer and hand him the packet of medicine, his gaze still fixed on Tang San's face.
"Thank you," Tang Hao said quietly, his voice still rough.
As he bent to pick Tang San up, he carefully shielded the child's face with his palm, afraid of touching the wound.
As he passed the tavern on the street corner, the owner called out as usual, "Tang Hao, want a jug of strong liquor?"
Tang Hao didn't stop or even look back. He merely waved a hand and replied in a muffled voice, "Not today."
The owner stared after him in bewilderment as Tang Hao hurried away with the child in his arms, then scratched his head.
Was this really the Tang Hao who loved his liquor more than life itself?
Tang Hao had no time to worry about what other people thought. His mind was full of how to boil Tang San's medicine and how to care for him and change his dressings.
On the way home, Tang Hao calculated that the money he had left was enough to buy Xiao San some food, as well as an old hen to make nourishing soup.
Thinking of that, Tang Hao bought Tang San quite a few things.
"My face hurts so much. What happened?"
After an unknown amount of time, Tang San slowly woke up.
As soon as he came to, he smelled something delicious. He hadn't smelled the aroma of meat in a very, very long time.
"Grrr..."
Tang San's uncooperative stomach growled with hunger.
Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Tang Hao came in. Seeing Tang San awake, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
Tang Hao said to Tang San, "Xiao San, I've got a pot of chicken cooking for you. It'll be ready soon."
Tang San nodded instinctively, not yet registering what Tang Hao had said.
It was only after Tang Hao left the bedroom that Tang San finally realized what had happened.
No, something was wrong with his father!
Tang San felt that something was seriously off. His father definitely had a problem.
Because there was no way his father could be this nice to him!
Back when he'd been sick, his father hadn't even bothered with him. He'd survived through his own efforts.
His father would never take him to get treated after he got hurt, then make him chicken soup.
Could someone be pretending to be his father?
Before you continue