Chapter 18: Our Little Girl

The other party was in a dire state. Anyone poisoned like this needed to remain calm and composed, not agitated, yet it was clear from her symptoms that she had suffered some emotional shock. Shen Chutang immediately drew an acupuncture kit from her waist, opened it, and revealed a row of silver needles. Without hesitation, she picked up one and pierced it into the crown of the patient's head. Her swift, precise, and decisive actions startled everyone around her.

The maid nearby turned pale with fright but didn’t dare utter a single word.

Shen Tingting cast a single glance, feeling utterly vexed. She had only come out to buy a handbag, never expecting this woman would ruin her mood. If that hideous creature died during treatment, it wouldn’t be good if she tried to extort her later.

With these thoughts, Shen Tingting hurried off, afraid that if she lingered, she might somehow be implicated by Shen Chutang.

Shen Chutang picked up another silver needle and inserted it for the second time. The attending maid watched in terror, uncertain whether she was witnessing a rescue or a murder.

She was about to speak when she saw Shi Hanhan slowly open her eyes.

Tears streaming down her face, Shi Hanhan looked at Nanny He. “Nanny He, I don’t want to live anymore. Don’t save me. Just let me die like this.”

What use was there in living in such a monstrous state?

Shen Chutang took another silver needle and pricked her fingertip. Instantly, black blood began to drip steadily from the wound. The pain made Shi Hanhan shrink back involuntarily, and only then did she realize someone was treating her.

As the black blood flowed, Shen Chutang gave Shi Hanhan a gentle smile. “Little sister, you may not want to live, but the King of Hell isn’t ready to receive you yet.”

Shi Hanhan wept. “What’s the point of living when I’m neither human nor ghost? Please, just let me go.”

“Don’t you want to see your original face again?” Shen Chutang withdrew the needle. “With me here, you have nothing to worry about.”

“You…”

“My surname is Shen. My medical skills may be humble, but treating you won’t be a problem.” At that moment, paramedics arrived and quickly carried Shi Hanhan onto the ambulance, with Nanny He naturally following.

Shen Chutang looked at Shi Hanhan—she seemed so young; how could someone poison her so cruelly? Still, if she could retrieve and cultivate the venom in her body, it might actually be of use.

She had left the house in a rush that morning and hadn’t brought any medicine with her; she would need to prepare some herself.

Half an hour later, at the hospital.

Lu Beiqin and Shi Shaoxun had been in a meeting when they received a call: Shi Shaoxun’s younger sister, Shi Hanhan, had suffered a poisoning incident at the mall and was being rushed to the hospital.

Shi Shaoxun and Lu Beiqin were brothers in all but blood, having grown up together, and since the incident happened at his own mall, Lu Beiqin insisted on coming along.

As soon as they entered, they saw Shi Hanhan sitting on the hospital bed, her petite frame dwarfed by the oversized patient gown.

For years, Shi Hanhan had been tormented by illness, living as a shadow of her former self, rarely leaving the house and perpetually melancholic. As her elder brother, Shi Shaoxun’s heart ached for her.

“Hanhan, are you alright?”

The moment she saw her brother, Shi Hanhan beamed, “Brother, smell me—I don’t stink anymore!”

Her condition was strange: her flesh would continuously rot from within, emitting a foul stench, and after each cycle of decay, new skin would grow. She had consulted countless doctors, but none could cure her.

Shi Shaoxun was baffled. “What happened?”

Shi Hanhan’s eyes sparkled with joy. “It was Sister Shen who saved me—she treated me!”

Shi Shaoxun turned to the woman nearby. “Nanny He, what exactly happened?”

Nanny He immediately recounted the events at the mall, but since Shi Hanhan had already warned her not to mention the bullying, she only described Shen Chutang’s act of saving her.

Shi Shaoxun frowned slightly. “Shen? Could it be the recently-returned heiress of the Shen family that everyone’s talking about?”

Only a few days prior, she had returned from abroad, and the Shen family had held a grand welcome banquet for her—everyone in the capital knew of it.

Lu Beiqin, meanwhile, thought of the little girl in his own household, but she’d never mentioned knowing medicine, so he wasn’t certain.

Shi Shaoxun doted on his sister, and after discussing with the family, decided to send a generous gift as a token of gratitude.

...

“What? Are these really for our Tingting?”

Liu Shuhua gazed at the priceless pair of luminous pearls on the table, unable to conceal the greed in her eyes.

Shi Shaoxun nodded. “Miss Shen, may I ask—were you the one who saved my sister at the mall today? She’s always been frail, and this afternoon she suffered a sudden attack. The doctors said that if not for your timely intervention, she might not have made it.”

Shen Tingting never anticipated that the so-called ugly freak was actually a member of the Shi family, and yet Shen Chutang had snatched all the credit!

But if that country bumpkin Shen Chutang could cure it, then she certainly could too. Besides, this pair of luminous pearls was worth a king’s ransom!

She would be a fool to refuse.