Fu Chunyan frowned deeply and sighed helplessly. "Bloating. I always feel like I need to use the bathroom but can't. This strange illness torments me every night at this hour."
As she spoke, Fu Chunyan wore a pained, constipated expression.
"Every night?" Chu Lingzhi asked urgently. "Besides the bloating, is there any other discomfort?"
Fu Chunyan pulled a chair over for her to sit and poured her a glass of warm water.
"A dragging sensation down there, like something's stuck."
Saying this in front of Chu Lingzhi made Fu Chunyan a bit embarrassed.
After all, Chu Lingzhi was a guest.
Yet, for some reason, she felt a warmth toward Chu Lingzhi, as if she wanted to tell her everything.
"How long have these symptoms lasted? Besides these, is there anything else bothering you?" Chu Lingzhi asked.
"It started right after Xibing's father passed away, over three years ago now. Every time the bloating hits, that dragging feeling begins. When I lie in bed, my stomach gurgles so loudly I can't sleep, and I feel like something's trying to crawl out from inside. Sigh..."
"Give me your hand, let me take your pulse." Chu Lingzhi gently tapped the nearby dining table.
Fu Chunyan was startled. "You know medicine?"
"I work as a traditional Chinese medicine doctor at a hospital." Chu Lingzhi smiled.
Fu Chunyan's face lit up. "I love Chinese medicine the most! No wonder I like you so much."
Chu Lingzhi probed, "Sister Chunyan, why do you like Chinese medicine?"
"Because this village once had a very famous healer!" Fu Chunyan said with a hint of pride. "He treated the villagers and never charged a cent."
Chu Lingzhi's heart ached slightly. Suppressing the pain, she asked, "Then why didn't you go to him when you were unwell?"
Fu Chunyan extended her hand for Chu Lingzhi to take her pulse, then said with pity and regret, "Good people don't get good rewards. His whole family was killed. You don't know, but his entire family knew medicine—they were incredible."
Chu Lingzhi's back stiffened, a flash of grief passing through her. Suddenly, she wanted to rush out and cry her heart out.
"A family of four, gone just like that. Sigh..."
After a pitying sigh, Fu Chunyan suddenly spoke with indignation, "I hope the scumbags who harmed them die a miserable death!"
If Chu Jinian were still alive, her bloating illness would have been cured long ago.
"Those scumbags... will get what they deserve." Chu Lingzhi's voice was slightly choked.
"If I were the heavens, I'd take them out first. Mr. Chu's family was so warm and kind. Since they've been gone, no one treats the villagers anymore."
Chu Lingzhi lowered her eyes, silent with sorrow.
Fu Chunyan didn't notice her pain, assuming her silence was due to focusing on taking the pulse.
After about a minute, Chu Lingzhi looked up at Fu Chunyan. "Are there no other doctors in the village?"
Fu Chunyan shook her head. "The older generation who knew medicine are either too old to speak clearly or have ascended to heaven as immortals. The young ones have all left, unwilling to return to this remote mountain."
Hearing this, Chu Lingzhi suddenly thought of Chu Jianjue.
Chu Jianjue had been the same back then—dissatisfied with life here, abandoning her and her mother to go to T City and be with Li Meirong.
Now that she thought about it, Chu Jianjue marrying into Li Meirong's family might have been a blessing from a past life.
Otherwise, he would have perished with Grandpa in that fire.
"So what do you do when you get sick?" Chu Lingzhi asked again.
"We can only go to Grandpa Hu."
"Grandpa Hu? Is he the village doctor?" Chu Lingzhi raised an eyebrow. She had no memory of this person at all.