CHAPTER 71: MUSHROOM VILLAGE 21

Although her body was incredibly weak, the old lady’s struggle still worked.

With a dull thud, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed as she fell off the bed. She could no longer heed the pain; struggling, she crawled toward the ward door on her hands.

She crawled inch by inch, moving with great difficulty. She was about to reach the door when a figure suddenly appeared, standing against the light and casting a shadow over her.

Wan Qian had just reached the entrance of the clinic when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to bring the thermos she had taken out with her today. She had no choice but to turn back and go get the thermos.

Who could have expected that the moment she reached the ward door, she saw the empty bed and the old lady lying on the floor, still wrapped in her quilt, wriggling like a silkworm cocoon.

"Oh no, how did you fall to the ground?" Wan Qian quickly bent down, scooped the old lady up, and put her back on the bed.

"Don’t worry. There’s someone watching the general shop. Just lie here and rest," Wan Qian said.

The old lady’s lips trembled as she looked at Wan Qian, her eyes filled with unspeakable despair.

Both of her legs were completely wrapped in white bandages, like a doll stuffed with cotton, limp and powerless without bones to support them.

Only her hands could still move. They trembled as she tried to crawl off the bed again.

Wan Qian pressed her down firmly. At this age, still refusing to accept weakness—what a stubborn old lady.

"Granny, don’t move anymore. Just stay here and rest properly. Don’t worry, I’ll come again tomorrow."

Wan Qian pulled the quilt up, tucking it tightly around the old lady until she was securely wrapped and couldn’t move at all.

Wan Qian straightened up, carefully checked to make sure the old lady was safely bundled, then nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, let’s go." Wan Qian picked up the thermos from the table and said to the little boy following behind her.

The little boy obediently followed Wan Qian out of the yard.

When they returned to the general shop, it was as dimly lit as ever.

In the spot where the rocking chair had collapsed yesterday, there was now a brand-new one. Fang Minglan sat in it, her posture strikingly similar to the old lady’s from before.

When Wan Qian walked in, she couldn’t help but glance at Fang Minglan a few more times. She thought to herself, Well, this scene really does look peaceful.

Fang Minglan was a beautiful woman, her wavy hair draped over her shoulders, her graceful figure unmistakable even as she sat casually in the rocking chair. Compared to the old lady who had sat there before with a gloomy air, the place now had a touch of literary elegance.

But from Wan Qian’s angle, she didn’t see the cat lying on Fang Minglan’s lap, its fur almost entirely shed.

The cat’s skin, exposed in large patches, was covered in dark red scars. In some severe spots, pus had begun to gather, stretching the skin into a shiny, oily sheen.

Anyone who saw it would feel a wave of nausea. Yet Fang Minglan let it rest naturally on her lap, not even blinking an eye.

Wan Qian skillfully walked over to the place where she could get hot water and filled the thermos to the brim.

As soon as she turned around, she was suddenly face-to-face with an enlarged face right in front of her.

Fang Minglan had somehow, in just an instant, moved from the rocking chair to right behind her.

In the dim light, Wan Qian did not notice that Fang Minglan’s eyes had already turned into strange vertical pupils, like a cat’s.

"Whoa!" Wan Qian leaned back in tactical retreat, startled. The thermos in her hand hadn’t been capped yet, and once again the hot water splashed out.

A shrill cat’s screech followed. The cat, already scalded and patchy with bald spots, let off steam from its body as it fled the general shop in a panic once again.

Fang Minglan suddenly began convulsing all over, collapsing to the floor. Her eyes rolled back to show only whites as her limbs twisted at unnatural angles, crawling grotesquely across the ground.

Wan Qian was startled. Good grief, is this woman having a seizure?

Luckily, it wasn’t Wan Qian’s first time dealing with a seizure patient. That pitch-black man back at the farm had already given her plenty of experience to handle it.

She quickly pinned Fang Minglan to the floor with one hand and grabbed a stick-like object and was about to shove it into Fang Minglan’s mouth.

Fang Minglan was very strong and struggled continuously, but Wan Qian held her down with one hand as steady as a mountain—no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

Wan Qian pried open Fang Minglan’s clenched jaws and finally managed to force the stick into her mouth.

"Sis, you must have some meds on you, right?"

Wan Qian reached out to feel around Fang Minglan’s body, trying to find her epilepsy medication.

Just then, a surprised voice came from outside. "Wan Qian?"

Wan Qian looked up to see Hao Shijun standing there with Xie Jia and Wang Hui.

Hao Shijun looked at Wan Qian, who was straddling Fang Minglan, then glanced at Fang Minglan’s disheveled clothes. He fell into an awkward silence.

Wan Qian suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" and sounded a little excited. "Found it!"

She pulled a small bottle from Fang Minglan’s clothes and raised it to show Hao Shijun. "It’s not what you think. She suddenly had a seizure, so I was looking for her meds."

"Wait—" Hao Shijun saw the completely white pill bottle with no label and quickly reached out, trying to stop her.

But Wan Qian was faster. Before he could finish speaking, she had already opened the bottle, poured out a pill, removed the stick-like from Fang Minglan’s mouth, and fed the pill to her.

After swallowing the pill, Fang Minglan gradually stopped struggling, lying on the floor, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for breath.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Wan Qian finally relaxed and let go of her.

Suddenly, Fang Minglan abruptly rolled over, lying face down on the ground. She coughed violently twice, then let out a "wah" sound as she spat out a large clump of dark, mud-like liquid.

Immediately afterward, her eyes — which had clearly been deformed and turned white — gradually returned to a normal human appearance.