By then, the witch had already run to another village.
She had barely set foot at the village entrance when a burst of crying caught her attention. A child clutched his hand, his face scrunched up in pain, while the people beside him merely watched, none daring to come close.
"My hand hurts so much!" the child cried between gasps.
The witch glanced down at him, then suddenly reached out and gave his leg a pinch, neither too hard nor too gentle.
"How about now? Do you still remember your hand hurting?"
The child froze on the spot, his eyes wide. The next moment, he clutched his leg and cried even louder than before.
"My leg... my leg hurts so much too!"
The witch burst out laughing. Withdrawing her hand, she said unhurriedly, "That's right. Little one, people can be in pain, but they must still cheer up. And stop shouting so loudly. I really only touched you once."
Both the child's hand and leg hurt, but that pain was not the real problem. After examining him, the witch had discovered that his infection had spread considerably. Any further delay would only make things worse, so she could not afford to be careless with this treatment.
She took out several things and quickly began treating the child. Her movements looked odd, but the results were obvious. Before long, the child's breathing steadied, and some color returned to his pale face.
The witch dusted off her hands as though she had finished something utterly ordinary.
"All done. Treatment's over." She looked up, her tone as casual as if she were discussing a business deal. "As payment, I want fifty percent of this shop's earnings."
At those words, the people around her immediately erupted.
"Stop lying! What danger? You made it all