Transferring Pain

Since Su Ziyang's stir-fries weren't spicy, Master Luo personally demonstrated how to make stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers.

It's all chili peppers...

Su Ziyang thought he'd just have a little porridge and be done with it.

"Eat some chili peppers, you have to eat some. This rain is going to last for a few more days, and the weather is too damp. Chili peppers can dispel cold and dampness."

Seeing that Su Ziyang didn't eat much chili, Master Luo scooped up a spoonful of chili and cured meat and put it into Su Ziyang's porridge bowl.

Su Ziyang gritted his teeth and swallowed several large mouthfuls of the medicine, just like taking medicine.

It smells really good, and it's really spicy.

"Little Ziyang, you can't eat spicy food."

Master Luo smiled, a rare occurrence, when he saw Su Ziyang sweating profusely from the spiciness.

"Not really, but I can manage it, Master Luo. Hiss~"

"It's okay, I'll get used to it with practice. I couldn't eat spicy food before, but now I'm not afraid of it!"

Master Luo smiled and served Su Ziyang several slices of cured meat...

"Master Luo, you're quite famous around here. I've noticed they all seem to come to you when they have problems."

Seeing Master Luo smile, Su Ziyang chuckled and started chatting with Master Luo.

"Yes. Everyone in this nearby town knows me. I don't charge for my medical consultations, and the vegetables and cured meat we're eating were brought over by them."

No sooner had Master Luo finished speaking than someone called out from the courtyard, "Master Luo."

Master Luo put down his chopsticks and walked outside.

A young man in a white shirt stood at the door with an umbrella and called out, "Master Luo, could you please take a look at my child? He insisted on going to the mountain to pick mushrooms, slipped and fell, and is now lying at home complaining of pain. It's raining heavily, and it's not easy to go to the hospital. Could you please take a look? Here's a cigarette, please have one."

Master Luo dodged the cigarette offered by the young man, but Su Ziyang quickly took it—two packs of Zhonghua.

As soon as the young man saw that Master Luo had accepted the cigarette, he beamed and handed him a large black umbrella, saying, "Then please come to my house, Master Luo Master Luo."

"No need for an umbrella, just lead the way."

Master Luo didn't use an umbrella, Su Ziyang could only follow behind and get soaked.

The family that came to invite us lived even further away than the group that had just gone hunting.

By the time they arrived, Su Ziyang was soaked to the bone, and his shoes were covered in mud.

"Master Luo, please come in. Honey, Master Luo is here. Please make some tea."

The young man gave a shout, and a fair-skinned, slightly plump woman came out from the inner room. After greeting Master Luo, she began to make tea.

"Don't bother, let me check on the child."

Master Luo waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to bother, and then went straight to asking to see the child.

"The child is in the inner room, please come in."

After entering the house, the child fell asleep. Su Ziyang also checked on the child and noticed several severe redness and swellings and wounds on the arms, neck, and knees. After a careful examination, Su Ziyang found that there should be no fractures, just tendon and muscle injuries.

But this is enough to give this ten-year-old a hard time, especially now that the temperature is low and the wound has only been simply disinfected.

"Do you have any paper money or incense burning at home?"

After examining the wound for a while, Master Luo asked the young man for incense and paper.

The young man quickly fetched a large stack of paper money for burning and several bundles of incense sticks. (A bundle of incense sticks is a stick of incense with many strips of paper rolled together without any broken ends.)

After taking the paper money and incense, Master Luo said, "Everyone, get out."

The young man obediently walked out, and Su Ziyang followed him.

"Little Ziyang, you stay here. What are you going out for?"

Master Luo turned around and glared at Su Ziyang, which startled Su Ziyang so much that he quickly stood still. After the young man left, Su Ziyang closed the door behind him.

"Just watch and see."

Master Luo didn't even look at Su Ziyang, but simply bowed his head and gave him a single instruction.

After giving his instructions, Master Luo took out three pieces of paper from the stack, folded them casually, and then spun them around the child's head twice.

Then he pulled out a piece of paper, twirled it around the child's wounds and swollen areas a few times, and then put the paper on the ground.

After doing all this, Master Luo took out a whole bunch of incense sticks and a lighter.

However, Master Luo did not use a lighter to light the incense directly. Instead, he lit the first three pieces of paper. The three pieces of paper suddenly heated up as if they had been coated with gasoline.

Master Luo lit the incense stick by the firelight, then swept it over the child's head. The smoke from the burning incense actually formed several circles.

Then, Master Luo took the lit incense stick and, just like he had the paper from before, drew lines in the air on the child's various wounds and swollen areas, muttering incantations as he did so.

He drew in the air for quite a while, and the incense had burned down to almost nothing. Master Luo held the incense in his right hand, and then used his left hand to light the pieces of paper that had just been thrown on the ground.

These papers didn't burst into flames like the previous three; instead, they emitted dim light, the sparks were crimson, and they continuously emitted choking smoke.

Master Luo squatted down and watched for a while, then suddenly stood up, took the incense stick in his hand and started drawing circles on the barely burning paper on the ground, muttering to himself as he drew.

Su Ziyang kept counting. Master Luo drew about ten circles in total. Then, the bright red paper on the ground suddenly burst into flames with a bang, and the smoke that had just accumulated in the room instantly dissipated.

Logically, after the paper has burned, there should be ash on the ground. However, after the booming sound that resembled fireworks, there was nothing on the ground except for a slight yellowish stain on the floor tiles, which proves that this place was once ablaze.

"Alright."

Master Luo, holding incense, opened the door and beckoned the couple outside to come in. The couple had been waiting anxiously outside for some time.

As soon as Master Luo let them in, the two rushed inside to check on the child. By then, the child had slowly woken up, and the young man searched the child's body for a while, finding that the redness and swelling and the wounds from before were gone.

Su Ziyang saw it clearly from inside the house: in the instant the firelight flashed, the child's wounds and swelling had already disappeared.

Having witnessed arrows flying backwards and bleeding being stopped with white paper, Su Ziyang was not particularly shocked by this kind of operation.

"The child should not eat fish for six months."

Master Luo was about to leave, the young man quickly stopped him, saying, "Master Luo Master Luo, please sit down and eat before you go."

"Yes, yes, yes." The child's mother quickly came over and invited Master Luo to stay.

"I've already eaten before I arrived. Keep a close eye on the children. I'm leaving now."

Seeing that Master Luo had no intention of staying, the young man nudged his wife, who then stopped him, saying, "Master Luo Master Luo, wait a moment. I'll go get you two sausages I made."

"No need. I'll take your cigarettes. Keep the sausages for the kids. I won't send any more. Keep a close eye on the children, and make sure they don't eat fish for at least six months, please remember that..."