CHAPTER 1513: 324, IMPROVING MEDICAL SKILLS (SECOND UPDATE)

The two young men only felt as if a fly had landed lightly in the palm of their hands—a touch so gentle, frail, and seemingly insubstantial.

This touch was so light, it seemed as if Xiao Linshuang’s movements were just for show, hardly making contact with the men’s palms at all.

The pale-faced young man was stunned for a moment and asked in a daze, "Was that, a touch?"

The blonde-haired young man was also taken aback, that wasn’t a touch, it was merely a poke, and moreover, he wasn’t even sure if the young girl had actually poked him.

Xiao Linshuang had already tucked her little hands behind her back, tilting her head and blinking innocently, "Please begin, big brothers!"

This abrupt statement not only baffled the two men but caused everyone in the hall to look at each other in confusion. Begin what? Had something happened just now that they hadn’t seen?

"This, this."

The pale-faced young man suddenly let out an exasperated snort and started berating Xiao Linshuang, "You, what kind of tricks are you pulling, little girl? What’s all this about beginning or not, are you taking me for a fool?"

"Xiao, Xiao Bai, I, I..."

The pale-faced young man glared at Xiao Linshuang with furious eyes, and when he heard the blonde-haired young man stammering, a tinge of impatience and annoyance surfaced, "What are you mumbling for, can’t you speak properly! Hey! What’s wrong with you? Xiao Huang, why are you crying?"

In just the span of this short conversation, how come he turned his head only to see the blonde-haired young man starting to cry, with tears and snot covering his face—was he beaten up? So pitiful!

The blonde-haired young man cried even harder, nodding at his own arm and wailing, "Xiao Bai, I can’t move my arm, I can’t feel it, is my arm broken? Does it need to be amputated?"

"How could that be, it won’t, it won’t, I’m sure it’ll be fine soon, don’t be scared... Ahh! My, my arm, why can’t I move it! Where did my arm go!"

The pale-faced young man tried to reach out to wipe his comrade’s tears, but it was only then he realized that when he was "pointing" at Xiao Linshuang scolding her, his fingers hadn’t actually lifted, and even his entire arm was stiff and stayed put.

What was more astonishing to them was that they couldn’t feel their arms at all anymore and could only keep them in their original positions. After talking for so long, their arms had remained stretched forward, palms open, without any change.

The blonde-haired young man clearly remembered that when Xiao Linshuang poked his palm, his fingers were slightly bent, and he had been thinking that the bent posture didn’t look good, planning to stretch them out.

But his fingers hadn’t had the chance to straighten before becoming immovable.

Yes, it was after Xiao Linshuang had poked his fingers that they became immovable!

Not just the palms, but the arms, and now even their entire bodies were starting to go numb, feeling uncomfortable with any movement.

The blonde-haired young man stared at Xiao Linshuang in terror, clearly, just a seven- or eight-year-old girl, clearly smiling so brightly and innocently, but why did he find this young girl so terrifying?

It wasn’t just the blonde-haired young man who had an epiphany; the pale-faced young man also came to a realization. Now, the only thing they could move was above their necks; all parts below were as stiff as wood. And all this was thanks to this young girl.

"Miss Lin! Miss Lin! I was blind and offended you, please be merciful and spare us!"

"Yes, Miss Lin, we overestimated ourselves and shouldn’t have caused trouble in your store, you are a person of great kindness, please let us off this once!"

The two men scrambled to apologize to Xiao Linshuang, with tears flowing like a free-flowing faucet and their sniffling snot, making everyone onlookers start to gag.

But what puzzled the crowd even more was why the two men, who had just been so aggressively taunting Xiao Linshuang, suddenly changed their tune, speaking about mercy and such—had Xiao Linshuang done something just now?

The people in the hall gave each other looks, and though they were curious, they didn’t feel any pity for the two young men. After all, it was these two who had started the trouble, and seeing them all of a sudden unable to move and crying so regretfully, it was quite satisfying.

Watching the two young men repent so earnestly, Xiao Linshuang shrugged her shoulders generously and waved her hands, "Hey, you guys said you wanted to compare medical skills with me just now. I barely used a little trick, so why are you giving up now?"

Everyone in the hall suddenly realized that it was a contest of medical skills with Xiao Linshuang; those two men were too pathetic, losing to a little girl was one thing, but to cry so spinelessly?

"Miss Lin, elder sister, my lady, we admit defeat, we surrender, we won’t dare to trouble you again in the future! Your medical skills are superb, and we, we are inferior to you! Please, my lady, let us go!"

"My lady, you truly are a living Hua Tuo, a rightful direct disciple of Old Mr. Zhen! Those dandy playboys are no match for you, right? And your Frost Pavilion, all the rouge and face powder sold here are of top-notch quality, unrivaled by any other Rouge Store!"

"Indeed, unrivaled by any!"

The two young fellows took turns flattering with their pleasant talk, making Xiao Linshuang somewhat embarrassed.

She scratched her head, a hint of shyness in her voice: "Oh my, why are you big brothers speaking so sweetly? If you had talked nicely from the beginning, why would there have been any need for a competition?"

With a smile on her face, yet Xiao Linshuang’s heart sneered, thinking they shouldn’t assume she’s easy to fool just because she’s young. These two were clearly trading looks just now, definitely plotting to pacify her with temporary compliance and then make trouble for her after getting the antidote.

Humph, such incorrigible people!

Watching Xiao Linshuang suddenly burst into laughter, a flash of hope shone in the two men’s eyes, thinking their cunning plan had worked. But then, they saw Xiao Linshuang suddenly produce a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, a bright and shiny red, quite beautiful to look at.

Yet, in their eyes, that shiny red was like the color of fresh blood, making them shiver with dread.

Xiao Linshuang shook the little bottle in her hand and chuckled, "Don’t worry, you two big brothers. I’ll feed you the antidote right away. Tsk tsk, if only you had spoken up earlier, why wait until after I’d administered the medicine to tell me you didn’t know the cure! Ah, such a huge misunderstanding! Hey, big brother, you don’t want to take it? Are you sure you really don’t want it?"

Xiao Linshuang tiptoed, struggling to lift the small porcelain bottle to the mouth of the young man with yellow hair, but he stubbornly refused to open his mouth, making it difficult for Xiao Linshuang to move the tiny bottle back and forth in line with his head, quite strenuous.

"I, I won’t take it, I won’t!" The young man with yellow hair thrashed his head about, like a rattle-drum, making it impossible for Xiao Linshuang to do anything but put the bottle down.

She pouted slightly in grievance, then turned to the pale-faced young man, blinking innocently and asking, "What about you, big brother, will you take it?"

The pale-faced young man had an instinctive feeling that the medicine shouldn’t be taken, but he also didn’t want to stay stiff and immobile like this; he was hesitant and indecisive.

Watching the two men, one refusing and the other scared to eat, Du Ruo suddenly frowned, walked over, and said to Xiao Linshuang: "Miss, these two came through the door wanting to challenge your medical skills, and you quickly defeated them. They don’t even acknowledge their admiration, and now they doubt your antidote! I think these two have ill intentions, why don’t we send them to Sir Jingzhao for interrogation? Perhaps there are others behind this."

Not perhaps, definitely!

Xiao Linshuang muttered to herself internally, but didn’t voice it out.

When the two young men heard the mention of being taken to Sir Jingzhao, they immediately became dumbfounded. For these small-time thugs in the Capital city, they feared not the Emperor in the Palace—he was too far and beyond their reach. What they truly dreaded was the stern and unyielding Officer of the Jingzhao in the Yamen. If they fell into his hands, they wouldn’t end well!

"No no, there’s no one behind us, no one instigating this, we’ll eat, we’ll eat!"

The two young men were eager to open their mouths and begged Xiao Linshuang for the bottle in her hand, regardless of what was inside. They knew it wouldn’t kill them, but once taken to the Yamen, they’d be half dead already.

Watching Xiao Linshuang reluctantly attempting to feed the medicine earlier, the guests in the main hall were somewhat puzzled, but after hearing Du Ruo’s words and seeing the current eagerness of the two men to take the antidote, was there anything left to not understand?

These two men had deliberately come to cause trouble at Frost Pavilion, thinking they could stifle the enthusiasm of those coming to shop here? Dream on!

Xiao Linshuang raised her hand and handed the small porcelain bottle to Du Ruo.

She was simply too short, feeding these two was too much effort.

Du Ruo took the bottle, poured the medicine powder into the mouths of both men, and in no time, their legs really started to regain sensation.

Their eyes lit up, had they misjudged this young lady? Humph, they thought she might be a formidable character, but she turned out to be a coward after all!

Their legs barely started to feel again, and these two openly revealed their wicked intentions, planning to bind up and immobilize this young lady as soon as they could move their hands, to let her experience the taste of helplessness.

However, no sooner had their petty thoughts arisen, they both felt something was terribly amiss with their bodies.