After being grabbed, to be honest, You Gou didn't feel much at first. Or more accurately, panic, anger, disgust, helplessness—too many emotions erupted at once, leaving You Gou in a state of chaos.

Should she call for help? Should she push away the woman grabbing her? You Gou tried, but the three women were incredibly strong. Tightly embraced, she couldn't push them away at all. What to do? Listening to the women's wails, You Gou blurted out, "Let go of me!"

The women holding her certainly didn't let go, but after shouting, You Gou sobered up a bit. Strangely, while her vision remained chaotic, the most stimulated sense was smell. The faint scent of floral water she usually wore couldn't be smelled during the lecture, but now, held tightly by these three women, You Gou could smell it clearly. It was a warm fragrance with a hint of spice. Mixed with this scent were the odors of the women: straw, urine, and the nauseating smell of a living human body beginning to rot. There was also a very distinct smell, seemingly fresh, like the scent of tears.

Her vision began to normalize. The woman's face, covered in large sores, was very close to hers. Her breath carried a faint stench. On that hideous face, twisted by disease, were two lines of glistening tears. Although terrifying, at such close range, one could see the woman once had a lovely melon-seed face. Even the eyebrows, now crusted with yellow and white scabs, showed traces of once being willow-leaf brows full of charm.

You Gou's anger suddenly vanished. Perhaps it was because they were too close, so close she didn't even feel disgusted. When making the medicine, You Gou didn't actually know what syphilis looked like. She didn't have to worry about such things. The cute, furry rabbits used for experiments were either cured or died from treatment before the disease became unmanageable. This was truly the first time You Gou had seen the miserable state to which disease could torture a human being. A compassion unique to women arose spontaneously.

Next, the party meeting's resolution leaped into You Gou's train of thought. She said to the woman, "We have already decided to publish the prescription for the medicine. You can get the medicine."

The woman opposite her never expected such an answer. She asked in astonishment, "What did you say?"

You Gou had recovered her composure by now. She said loudly, "We will make our pharmaceutical secret public. And if you want to be treated, please come to our hospital."

After speaking, You Gou lowered her voice and said, "If you cause trouble here again, see if I'll let you get treated."

Hearing this, the woman immediately let go of You Gou's arm. You Gou pushed the woman aside, ignoring the two still hugging her legs, and shouted loudly, "I am a student from Germany. I studied at the best university in Germany, Humboldt University of Berlin. My classmates were all children of officials and nobility. I came back this time to make medicine with friends, and we have produced a drug that can cure syphilis. We are not heartless rich people. Originally, we intended to announce this medicine today. And our school's affiliated hospital has always been accepting syphilis patients! As long as the syphilis is still in a curable stage, we will treat everyone."

There was a sudden commotion below the stage. When the woman went up to cause a scene earlier, people didn't really know what was happening. Now that You Gou was shouting like this, everyone heard it clearly. Whether they understood the details or not, everyone was stunned by You Gou's speech.

You Gou pushed away the women hugging her legs, grabbed a spare white lab coat from the side that she hadn't worn, put it on, and simply introduced the principles of syphilis. The crowd didn't believe that syphilis was caused by invisible bacteria, but You Gou's firm attitude forced them to believe her words. Moreover, You Gou explained that the transmission route of syphilis was through contact, especially blood contact. Then she explained the differences between the first, second, and third stages of syphilis, and asked the three women standing blankly nearby, "Is this your first time contracting the disease?"

The two women who had hugged You Gou's legs shouted excitedly, "It's our first time."

The woman at the very front looked lost and didn't make a sound. You Gou didn't want to ask further. She inadvertently took a step away, sighed, and continued loudly, "I have already spoken about the medicine today. Tomorrow, our *Whampoa Review* will have a more detailed explanation. We will also pay to publish explanations in other newspapers. Everyone, please tell those who know. And our hospital can not only cure syphilis but many other diseases. We hope everyone will come to our hospital for treatment."

As she spoke, You Gou slowly walked towards the edge of the stage.

"Are you saying my disease can't be cured?" the woman shouted.

"I'm sorry, we are powerless. Our medicine is useless for third-stage syphilis."

The woman lowered her head, her shoulders shaking, then emitted a sound that was half-crying, half-laughing. Then she suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with a dull yet obsessed look. Her long fingernails began to slowly scratch at her own pus-covered forearms, harder and harder, faster and faster. Pus and blood gurgled down from where she scratched. Seeing this, You Gou didn't try to stop her at all. She nimbly jumped off the stage, "Huishen, Zudao, and those two brothers, run quickly."

As You Gou expected, the woman had gone mad. She screamed shrilly, "If I die, we die together!" With fingers stained red and white spread wide, she pounced towards You Gou.

Although the two Shandong brothers didn't speak the language well, they were physically agile. They ran with You Gou, Qi Huishen, and the others. The woman chased for a couple of steps, saw she couldn't catch up, and simply jumped off the stage, clawing at the people in the front row. The audience was mostly men, especially those in the front row watching the excitement. Some quick-witted ones saw the situation was bad and left immediately. Those who didn't understand realized only after their faces or arms were scratched what You Gou had just said: syphilis is transmitted through blood, through wounds on the body. Now they understood why this woman was so crazy; she wanted to drag others down with her.

The timid ones ran in panic after being scratched. But with so many people, how could they escape in time? Some fierce ones, seeing themselves scratched, were provoked into malice and simply started beating the woman. The people in the front row had stools when they took their seats. Someone picked up a stool and smashed it at the woman. Mob action is infectious; after the first person led, naturally there was a second, and a third. You Gou looked back as she ran. She saw the woman struggling to scratch the surrounding men at first, then gradually succumbing to pain, using her arms to block the men's fists and feet. When the stools were raised, the woman was quickly beaten down. Then, she disappeared into the circle of men; only the stools rising and falling could be seen.

Some of the men weren't satisfied. They gave up beating the woman who was already on the ground and turned to attack the other few women who were frozen in place by the sudden change. You Gou suddenly stopped running and stood there, laughing subconsciously. Then she abruptly stopped laughing and stood frozen.

"Don't hit them!" You Gou suddenly screamed, then ran back. Qi Huishen was quick and grabbed You Gou. You Gou struggled hard to break free from Qi Huishen's hold, and it took Qi Huishen a great deal of effort to hold her back.

"Don't hit them! Don't hit them!!" You Gou screamed with all her might. But the group of men had also gone crazy. Perhaps they didn't hear, or perhaps they simply turned a deaf ear. While cursing angrily, they chased and beat the women fleeing in all directions.

Seeing she couldn't stop the men and couldn't break free from Qi Huishen's grip, You Gou kicked Qi Huishen several times. Qi Huishen endured the kicks from her leather boots without crying out in pain.

"Zudao, take your Sister You Gou back first. Tell Wenqing everything."

He Zudao had never seen such a scene. His face was pale as he stammered, "Un... understood."

Qi Huishen's eyebrows almost stood upright as he roared, "Don't just say you understand. Grab your Sister You!"

He Zudao hurriedly came up and timidly grabbed You Gou's wrist lightly.

Qi Huishen really wanted to kick He Zudao. At least Qi Huishen could speak Mandarin. He saw the two Shandong brave men nearby were shocked but still relatively calm. "Brother, take Miss You back first."

"Ah? Right." The two Shandong men were very competent as guards. Hearing Qi Huishen's order, their powerful large hands grabbed You Gou's wrists, dragging and pulling her to the rickshaw. They stuffed You Gou and He Zudao into the carriage like little chickens and urged the rickshaw puller to leave quickly.

You Gou resisted the whole way, trying to break free. "Don't let them beat them. Don't beat them." Her screams vibrated against Qi Huishen's eardrums one after another.

After being stuffed into the rickshaw, Qi Huishen heard You Gou stop shouting and start wailing. Amidst the crying, there seemed to be a sentence mixed in, "Huishen, don't let them beat them anymore. Huishen, save them." Then, the rickshaw puller started running, and the two guards ran along with the cart.

Qi Huishen watched everyone "escape danger" with an indescribable look on his face, then ran back. As soon as he started running, the place You Gou had kicked throbbed with pain. Qi Huishen couldn't care about that. "Stop hitting!" Qi Huishen shouted loudly. Seeing the men showed no sign of stopping, Qi Huishen stopped, looked left and right, grabbed a broom, and charged at them.

Under Qi Huishen's shouting, cursing, and hitting, the beating finally ended. Two of the five women were quick-witted and had already run away. The remaining two were not seriously injured. Qi Huishen was full of reluctance, but he still dragged his heavy steps toward the woman lying on the ground. The woman's face was pale, and blood gurgled from her forehead, corner of her mouth, and arms. Chen Ke had said that for third-stage syphilis patients, blood was hard to clot. Once bleeding, it was very easy to die. The woman's eyes were tightly closed, her breathing weak. Dyed in blood, the woman on the ground looked less terrifying than before, and more pitiful.

Qi Huishen stood up and tore two white lab coats from the toppled coat rack. The cloth was thin, only hemmed. Qi Huishen forcefully tore the lab coats into strips and applied temporary bandages to the wounds on the woman's head and arms.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Qi Huishen shouted. The woman heard the voice, her eyes opened a crack, and her damaged lips moved slightly.

Qi Huishen didn't care anymore either; he grabbed the woman's arm wrapped in white cloth and pulled her up with force.

The people who were originally in the venue had either run away without a trace or were standing far away. The windows on the second floor along the street, however, were packed with people. The adults didn't make a sound, but the screams of children could be heard. Everyone watched Qi Huishen saving these women.

Qi Huishen felt that the woman was like a piece of cloth fished out of a dye vat, soft and limp. It was impossible to walk with her like this. Just as he was anxious, the woman exerted some strength herself and actually stood up straight with Qi Huishen's help.

"I'll take you to the hospital," Qi Huishen shouted. At this moment, he couldn't think of much else; his only simple thought was to save this woman's life. Late-stage syphilis would definitely claim the woman's life, but the only thing Qi Huishen could recall was You Gou's sob, "Huishen, save them."

The woman must have heard Qi Huishen's shout. She tried hard to stand up, leaning her head against Qi Huishen's shoulder. "Maybe she will bite me?" Qi Huishen thought. Although he knew that being bitten would absolutely lead to no good result, Qi Huishen simply didn't want to dodge.

"Stand still, let's go to the hospital." Qi Huishen grabbed the woman's left arm with his left hand and wrapped his right arm under her armpit, hoping to let the woman use less strength so they could walk to the rickshaw in front as quickly as possible. With this exertion, the woman's head leaned even closer to Qi Huishen.

There was no biting as imagined; instead, the woman pushed Qi Huishen hard, trying to break free from him. But her strength was very weak, and Qi Huishen still firmly held onto the woman. The woman tried again, but it still didn't work. Qi Huishen had already started walking. The woman didn't move; her weak panting entered Qi Huishen's ears, and then the panting disappeared. When Qi Huishen turned his head to look, the woman spat a mouthful of saliva right onto his face. "Get out!" The woman wanted to shout loudly, but her voice was like a mosquito's.

The onlookers around certainly couldn't hear the woman's voice, but everyone saw that mouthful of saliva clearly. A burst of gasps immediately erupted from the crowd. The woman seemed to have used up her last bit of strength, and her body collapsed softly.

Qi Huishen didn't get angry. He even numbly put the woman down, then took another white lab coat from the fallen coat rack. He casually wiped the saliva off his face with the coat. The white coat was immediately smeared with a streak of dark red. Qi Huishen walked back with heavy steps, wrapped the woman's body in the white coat, and lifted her up with force. The woman was already very thin and weak; Qi Huishen couldn't imagine where that strength like a mad tiger had come from just moments ago.

"You two," Qi Huishen shouted to the other two women shrinking on the ground, "I'm taking you to the hospital." Hearing Qi Huishen's shout, the women didn't get up; instead, they huddled even tighter.

"Get up, come with me. I won't harm you. Hurry up and come with me; if you're too slow, IChapter 29: Confusion

After being embraced, truth be told, You Gou felt almost nothing. More accurately, panic, anger, disgust, helplessness—too many emotions erupted simultaneously, leaving You Gou in a state of confusion.

Should she call for help? Should she push away the woman clinging to her? You Gou tried, but the three women possessed immense strength. Held tightly, she couldn't push them away at all. What should she do? Listening to the women's wailing, You Gou blurted out, "Let go!"

The women holding You Gou naturally didn't let go, but after shouting, You Gou regained some clarity. Strangely, her vision remained chaotic; the sense most stimulated was her smell. She couldn't smell the faint floral water scent she usually wore while lecturing. Instead, held tight by these three women, she could clearly smell them. It was a warm aroma with a hint of spice. Mixed within this scent were the body odors of several women: the smell of straw, the stench of urine, and the nauseating odor of a living human body beginning to rot. There was also a very distinct scent—something fresh, like the smell of tears.

Her vision began to return to normal. The woman's face, covered in large sores, was very close to You Gou's. Her breath carried a faint foul odor. Yet, on that hideous face, twisted and terrified by the torture of disease, were two lines of crystal-clear tears. Although she looked frightening, at such close range, one could see the woman had once possessed a lovely oval face. Even with eyebrows crusted with yellow and white pus, there were traces of once-charming willow-leaf brows.

You Gou's anger suddenly vanished. Perhaps it was because they were too close, so close that she didn't even feel disgusted. When making the medicine, You Gou didn't actually know what syphilis looked like. She didn't need to worry about such things. The cute, furry rabbits used for experiments were either cured or died from the treatment before the disease could flare up uncontrollably. This was truly the first time You Gou had seen the miserable state to which the disease could reduce a human being. A compassion unique to women welled up spontaneously.

Next, the resolution from the Party meeting leaped into You Gou's neural circuits. She said to the woman, "We have already decided to publish the formula for the medicine. You can get the drug."

The woman opposite her never expected such an answer. She asked in astonishment, "What did you say?"

You Gou had recovered her composure by now. She said loudly, "We will make our pharmaceutical secret public. And if you want to be treated, please go to our hospital."

After speaking, You Gou lowered her voice and added, "If you cause trouble here again, see if I'll let you get treated."

Hearing this, the woman immediately let go of You Gou's arms. You Gou pushed the woman aside, ignoring the two still hugging her legs, and shouted loudly, "I am a student who studied in Germany! I studied at the best university in Germany, the Humboldt University of Berlin. My classmates were children of officials and nobility. I came back this time to make medicine with my friends, and we have created a drug that cures syphilis. We are not heartless rich people. We intended to publish this medicine today regardless. And our school's affiliated hospital has always been accepting syphilis patients! As long as the syphilis is in a curable stage, we will treat everyone."

There was a sudden commotion below the stage. When the woman had come up to cause a scene earlier, the crowd wasn't really sure what was happening. Now, with You Gou shouting like this, everyone heard it clearly. Whether they understood the details or not, everyone was stunned by You Gou's statement.

You Gou pushed away the women hugging her legs, grabbed a spare white lab coat from the side that she had never worn, put it on, and then simply explained the principles of syphilis. The crowd didn't believe that syphilis was caused by invisible bacteria, but You Gou's firm attitude forced them to believe her words. You Gou explained that the transmission route of syphilis was through contact, especially blood contact. Then she explained the differences between the first, second, and third stages of syphilis. Finally, she asked the three women standing blankly nearby, "Which time is this for you getting the disease?"

The two women who had been hugging You Gou's legs shouted excitedly, "It's our first time."

The woman at the very front stood dazed and silent. You Gou didn't want to ask further. She took a step away inadvertently and sighed. Then she continued loudly, "I have already spoken about the medicine today. Tomorrow, our *Whampoa Review* will have a more detailed explanation. We will also pay to publish explanations in other newspapers. Everyone, please tell those you know. And our hospital doesn't just treat syphilis; it can treat many diseases. We hope everyone comes to our hospital for diagnosis and treatment."

As she spoke, You Gou slowly walked toward the edge of the stage.

"Are you saying my disease can't be cured?" the woman shouted.

"I'm sorry, we are powerless. Our medicine is of no use against stage three syphilis."

The woman lowered her head. First her shoulders shook, then she let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-cry. Then she suddenly raised her head. Her eyes held a dull yet obsessed look. Her long fingernails began to slowly scratch at her own pus-covered forearms, harder and harder, faster and faster, until pus and blood gushed from the torn skin. Seeing this, You Gou didn't try to persuade her. She nimbly jumped off the lecture platform. "Huishen, Zudao, and you two brothers, run quickly!"

Just as You Gou expected, the woman had gone mad. She screamed shrilly, "If I die, we die together!" With fingernails stained red and white spread wide, she lunged toward You Gou.

The two Shandong brothers, though they didn't speak the language, were definitely agile. They ran with You Gou, Qi Huishen, and the others. The woman chased for a couple of steps, saw she couldn't catch up, and simply jumped off the stage, clawing at the people in the front row. The audience was mostly men, especially the front row watching the excitement. Some quick-witted ones saw the situation was bad and immediately pulled back to leave. Those who didn't understand realized only after their faces or arms were scratched what You Gou had just said: syphilis is transmitted through blood, meaning through wounds on the body. Now they understood why this woman was acting so crazy; she wanted to drag others down with her in death.

The timid ones, panic-stricken after being scratched, turned and fled. But with so many people, how could they make it in time? Some of a fiercer nature, seeing themselves scratched, were provoked into malice. They simply started beating the woman. The people in the front row had stools when they took their seats. Unknown who started it, someone picked up a stool and smashed it at the woman. Mob action is infectious; once the first person led, naturally there was a second, then a third. You Gou looked back as she ran. She saw the woman initially struggling to claw at the surrounding men, then gradually succumbing to pain, using her arms to block the punches and kicks. When the stools were raised, the woman was quickly beaten down. Shortly after, she disappeared into the encirclement of men; the only thing visible was the stools swinging up and down.

Some of the men weren't satisfied. They gave up beating the woman who was already on the ground and turned to attack the other few women who were frozen in place by the sudden, drastic change. You Gou suddenly stopped running and stood still, laughing subconsciously. Then she abruptly stopped laughing and stood there frozen.

"Don't hit them!" You Gou suddenly screamed, then ran back. Qi Huishen was quick and grabbed You Gou. You Gou struggled hard to break free from Qi Huishen's restraint. It took Qi Huishen a lot of effort to hold onto her.

"Don't hit them! Don't hit them!!" You Gou screamed with all her might. But that group of men had gone crazy too. Perhaps they didn't hear, or perhaps they simply turned a deaf ear. Cursing angrily, they chased and beat the women scattering in all directions.

Seeing she couldn't stop the men and couldn't break free from Qi Huishen's arms, You Gou kicked Qi Huishen several times in succession. Qi Huishen endured the fierce kicks from her leather boots, not crying out in pain despite the blows.

"Zudao, take your Sister You Gou back first. Tell Wenqing everything."

He Zudao had never seen such a scene. His face was pale as he stammered, "Un... understood."

Qi Huishen's eyebrows practically stood on end. He roared, "Don't just say understood! Grab your Sister You!"

He Zudao hurriedly came up and, trembling with fear, gently grabbed You Gou's wrist.

Qi Huishen really wanted to kick He Zudao. At least Qi Huishen could speak Mandarin. He looked at the two Shandong heroes nearby; although shocked, they were still relatively calm. "Brother, take Miss You back first."

"Ah? Okay." The two Shandong heroes nearby were very competent as guards. Hearing Qi Huishen's order, their powerful hands grabbed You Gou's wrists. Half-dragging and half-pulling, they hauled You Gou to the front of a rickshaw, stuffed her and He Zudao inside like chickens, and urged the puller to hurry.

You Gou resisted the whole way, trying to break free. "Don't let them beat them. Don't hit them." Her screams vibrated against Qi Huishen's eardrums one after another.

After being stuffed into the rickshaw, Qi Huishen heard You Gou stop shouting and start wailing. Amidst the crying, there seemed to be a sentence interjected, "Huishen, don't let them beat them anymore. Huishen, save them." Then, the puller started running, and the two guards ran along with the rickshaw.

Qi Huishen watched everyone "escape danger" with an indescribable look on his face. Only then did he run back. As soon as he started running, a sharp pain shot through the spot where You Gou had just kicked him. Qi Huishen couldn't care about that. "Stop hitting!" Qi Huishen shouted. Seeing the men showed no sign of stopping, Qi Huishen stopped, looked left and right, grabbed a broom, and charged at them.

Under Qi Huishen's shouting, cursing, and fighting, the beating finally ended. Of the five women, two were clever and had already run away. The remaining two were not too seriously injured. Though his heart was full of reluctance, Qi Huishen dragged his heavy steps toward the woman lying on the ground. The woman's face was pale, and blood gushed from her forehead, corners of her mouth, and arms. Chen Ke had said that for stage three syphilis patients, blood was hard to clot on its own. Once blood loss occurred, it was extremely easy to die. The woman's eyes were tight shut, her breathing weak. Dyed all over in blood, the woman on the ground looked less terrifying than before, and more pitiable.

Qi Huishen stood up and tore two white lab coats from the fallen coat rack. The fabric was thin, only hemmed at the edges. Qi Huishen forcefully tore the coats into strips and applied temporary bandages to the wounds on the woman's head and arms.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Qi Huishen shouted. The woman heard the voice; her eyes opened a crack, and her broken lips moved slightly.

Qi Huishen didn't care about anything else; he grabbed the woman's wrapped arm and forcefully pulled her up.

The people originally in the hall had either run away without a trace or were standing far away, but the windows on the second floor of the street were packed with people. The adults were silent, but screams of children could be heard. Everyone watched as Qi Huishen treated these women.

Qi Huishen felt the woman was like a piece of cloth fished out of a dyeing vat, completely limp. He couldn't walk with her like this. Just as he was getting anxious, the woman exerted some strength herself and, with Qi Huishen's help, actually stood straight.

"I'll take you to the hospital," Qi Huishen shouted. At this moment, he couldn't think of much else. He had only one simple thought: to save this woman's life. Late-stage syphilis would definitely claim her life, but the only thing Qi Huishen could recall was You Gou's whimper, "Huishen, save them."

The woman must have heard Qi Huishen's shout. She tried to stand up, her head leaning toward Qi Huishen's shoulder. "Maybe she'll bite me?" Qi Huishen thought. Although he knew that being bitten would definitely not lead to a good outcome, Qi Huishen simply didn't want to make any move to avoid it.

"Stand still, let's go to the hospital." Qi Huishen grabbed the woman's left arm with his left hand and wrapped his right arm under her armpit, hoping to let the woman use less effort so they could reach the rickshaw ahead as quickly as possible. With this exertion, the woman's head leaned even closer to Qi Huishen.

There was no biting as imagined. Instead, the woman pushed Qi Huishen hard, trying to break free from him. But her strength was very weak, and Qi Huishen still held onto her firmly. The woman tried again, but it still had no effect. Qi Huishen had already started walking. The woman stopped moving; her faint gasps entered Qi Huishen's ears. Then the gasping sound disappeared, and when Qi Huishen turned his head to look, the woman spat right in his face. "Get lost!" The woman wanted to shout loudly, but her voice was like a mosquito's.

The onlookers around definitely couldn't hear the woman's voice, but everyone saw that spit clearly. A burst of gasps immediately erupted from the crowd. The woman seemed to have used up her last bit of strength; her body went limp and fell.

Qi Huishen didn't get angry. He even somewhat numbly set the woman down, then took another white lab coat from the fallen rack. He casually wiped the spit off his face with the coat. A streak of crimson immediately smeared across the white fabric. Qi Huishen walked back with heavy steps, wrapped the woman's body in the lab coat, and picked her up with force. The woman was already very thin and weak; Qi Huishen couldn't imagine where that strength like a mad tiger had come from just moments ago.

"You two," Qi Huishen shouted to the other two women huddled on the ground, "I'm taking you to the hospital." Hearing Qi Huishen's shout, the women didn't get up; instead, they shrank back even tighter.

"Get up, follow me. I won't hurt you. Hurry up and follow me; if you're too slow, I won't take you to see a doctor," Qi Huishen shouted.

The two women continued to weep softly, still not moving.

Qi Huishen didn't bother with them anymore. Holding the woman in his arms, he walked to the rickshaw. The puller was in his thirties, looking like a local. He was hiding in the crowd watching the excitement when he saw Qi Huishen coming over with the woman. Someone laughed, "Yo, Old Zhao, business is coming!"

The puller saw Qi Huishen was clearly heading for his cart. The woman was wrapped in a white lab coat, lying quietly in Qi Huishen's arms, her head tilting back weakly, her long hair hanging down. The puller stepped forward fearfully, blocking Qi Huishen, and said with a trembling voice, "Sir, Sir, I won't pull. Find someone else."

"How much for this cart? I'll buy it," Qi Huishen said coldly.

"Sir, don't joke." The puller thought Qi Huishen was joking. Who would buy a rickshaw because of a woman infected with syphilis?

"Saving a life is important! How much, say it. I'll buy it." Qi Huishen roared.

"Ah, twenty taels..." The puller was frightened by the roar and said fearfully.

Qi Huishen grunted. He stepped around the puller and placed the woman on the seat. The cart was tilted because no one was holding up the shafts, so the woman couldn't stay seated no matter what. Qi Huishen turned and shouted to the two women behind him, "You two, come here and hold her."

"Sir, you, you really want to save her?" The puller asked tremblingly as he lifted the shafts.

After straightening the woman, Qi Huishen said, "That's right." Having said that, Qi Huishen took money from his pocket. He didn't have much on him, so he handed over a dozen silver dollars to the puller. "Follow me. Whatever isn't enough, I'll make up to you when we get to the hospital."

"You're going to pull the cart yourself?" the puller asked in surprise.

"Will you pull it?" A glimmer of hope rose in Qi Huishen's heart.

"I won't pull, I won't pull." The puller shook his head like a rattle drum.

While they were talking, the two women from behind had come over. "Sir, you really want to take us to the hospital?"

"Cut the crap, get in the cart quickly," Qi Huishen shouted.

The two women got into the cart, sandwiching the sick woman in the middle to support her. Qi Huishen took the shafts from the puller's hands and pulled the rickshaw with force.

It was really heavy! Qi Huishen never felt this when sitting in the cart. Especially when starting, Qi Huishen almost couldn't get it moving. After running a few steps, he finally adapted. He turned around and saw everyone on both sides of the street looking at him, as if looking at some monster. Curiosity, surprise, schadenfreude, disdain, and the uncomfortable feeling of sympathy for one's own kind—all sorts of expressions were there. Not only that, as Qi Huishen ran forward, some people simply started walking along. Yet not a single person came up to help. The puller, however, followed closely beside Qi Huishen.

"Sir, with me following like this, I won't get infected by that thing you talked about, right? My whole family depends on me pulling this cart to live," the puller asked urgently.

"Don't worry. Even if you get sick, I'll treat you. I won't take your money."

As they spoke, a clod of dirt flew from somewhere and landed in front of Qi Huishen. It came from behind the cart; Qi Huishen couldn't see who threw it at all. Instead, someone started laughing and cursing.

Pulling a cart was really tiring. Qi Huishen, who had never done this work, was already panting heavily after running only a short distance. The puller naturally followed Qi Huishen closely, and behind them, some idlers and children ran along too. This noisy commotion quickly attracted others' attention. Qi Huishen was wearing a dark blue suit, and for the lecture, his leather shoes were polished to a shine. Such a person pulling a rickshaw, with a fellow looking like a puller beside him and a group of loafers and urchins following behind—everyone couldn't help but notice this strange combination. More people pointed fingers at Qi Huishen.

Qi Huishen minded at first, but soon his attention had to focus on the act of pulling the cart itself. The balance of the shafts was hard to master, and the road wasn't flat. Whenever Qi Huishen sat in a cart, he hated bumps, so he tried his best to choose flat surfaces, which required more effort. The hospital wasn't far from there; it was only a half-hour walk, but pulling this cart, the road felt very, very long.

He ran for a long time, yet had only covered half the distance. But Qi Huishen was already gasping for air. The leather shoes that usually fit perfectly now rubbed his feet raw with pain. His shirt was soaked with sweat, sticking to his back uncomfortably. This was really not as comfortable as when he worked in the workshop, changing into a vest and wearing a smock. If not for that period of hard labor, Qi Huishen felt he probably wouldn't be able to hold on now.

He just gritted his teeth and persisted. Qi Huishen had become accustomed to the surprised gazes coming his way. It was just that a feeling of grievance in his heart was growing stronger. Why? A perfectly good lecture had turned into this. Panting, Qi Huishen thought. Who did he and You Gou provoke? Did it have to come to this? Even if those guys behind the scenes wanted to play tricks, there was no need to take it to the point of costing human lives, right?

But physical exhaustion limited Qi Huishen's train of thought. The only thing he could think of now was one thing: he must get to the hospital quickly, he must try his best to save that woman. Even if only for that whimper from You Gou, he had to save this woman. And, since the comrades of the People's Party were there, this matter would definitely be resolved. The person behind this must be punished; they would absolutely not let him off.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, they arrived at the hospital. Quite a few people had followed behind the cart. Qi Huishen couldn't care about that anymore; he put down the heavy shafts, took a few long breaths, and with the help of the two women, picked up the sick woman again. For some reason, the woman's body felt lighter. Qi Huishen rushed into the hospital with quick steps. "Dr. Wang, Dr. Wang!" he shouted, out of breath.

Wang Qinian came out very quickly. Seeing Qi Huishen's appearance, his eyes instantly went round.

"She suffered external trauma, save her quickly," Qi Huishen shouted.

Wang Qinian hurriedly helped Qi Huishen take the person into the infirmary.

When Chen Ke arrived at the hospital, Wang Qinian was bandaging the patient's wounds. Qi Huishen sat numbly on a stool nearby. The rickshaw puller didn't dare make a sound, standing in the corner. In the other corner stood the other two injured women. Chen Ke noticed that the tear stains on Qi Huishen's face had not yet dried.