Chapter 23: The Transaction
Doctor Zhao looked at Qi Xia with a troubled expression, and Qi Xia had no idea how to respond.
"Can this be used?" Qi Xia asked quietly.
"It shouldn't be a problem," Doctor Zhao nodded. "Surgical suturing needles often use curved needles; as long as it's sharp enough."
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then spoke to the female shop assistant: "Miss, we don't have any money. Can we trade something with you?"
"Money?" The female shop assistant stared blankly at Qi Xia, as if trying to understand what "money" meant. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "I don't want money. Sleep with me."
"Sleep...?" Qi Xia's lips moved slightly. "What do you mean?"
"After we sleep, we can eat the piglets!" The female shop assistant revealed a deranged expression, and then actually started drooling.
With that, she walked over to the dirty bed, bent down and sat down, then patted the spot beside her.
That spot just happened to have a large patch of dried bloodstains.
"Come on, come over here."
The female shop assistant quickly took off her shirt. She had nothing on underneath. Her emaciated body was covered in dirt and bloodstains, making her look like a skeleton.
Qiao Jiajing was silent for a while before elbowing Qi Xia and saying, "Go ahead and sacrifice yourself."
"Why don't you go?" Qi Xia said irritably.
"The boss chose you," Qiao Jiajing said gleefully. "Didn't you hear? As long as you sleep with her, we can eat the piglets in her pot. Besides, that writer is waiting for that fishhook to save his life. This is practically a meritorious deed..."
Before Qi Xia could reply, the female shop assistant seemed to have heard what Qiao Jiajing said, and turned to him: "You can come too! All four of you can come!"
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajing was stunned. "Me...?"
"What the hell..." Officer Li finally couldn't hold back anymore. After all these years on the force, what he was seeing completely exceeded his understanding. "Miss, what are you after? We came to buy something, why are you offering yourself up?"
"I..." The female shop assistant's eyes widened, and suddenly she shouted, "I want to eat the piglets!!"
After saying that, as if remembering something, she hurriedly placed the fishhook and fishing line in her hand onto the bed, then ran over to the iron pot to look inside.
"Little piglets... don't get overcooked..."
Worried, she picked up a branch and stirred around in the pot a few times.
Taking advantage of this moment, Qi Xia quietly walked to the bedside, picked up the fishhook and fishing line, turned around, and handed them to Doctor Zhao. "Go save him first. We'll handle things here."
"Alright!"
Doctor Zhao took the fishhook and fishing line and went outside. He found a relatively clean stone on the ground and began to process the fishhook, briefly explaining the situation inside to the few women.
As a professional, Tiantian still couldn't understand the shop assistant's behavior.
"Forget about that. Qi Xia is right, let's save the person first." Lin Qin took the fishing line and went back to check on Han Yimo's condition.
Doctor Zhao used the stone to grind off the rust on the fishhook and tried to make it as sharp as possible. Lin Qin also straightened out the tangled fishing line on the side.
"Almost there..." After confirming everything was ready, Doctor Zhao turned to Han Yimo and said, "I'm going to remove the harpoon from your body and then stitch the wound."
"Alright..." Han Yimo nodded slightly.
"But we don't have any anesthetic," Doctor Zhao said with difficulty. "This pain might be beyond your imagination."
"It's fine... At least I'll survive, right?" Han Yimo gave a bitter smile and asked.
"If the wound doesn't get infected... surviving should be no problem."
"Then that's good... go ahead..."
...
Inside the room, the three men stood behind the female shop assistant, watching her poke around in the pot.
She wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing, yet the three men felt no stirring in their hearts—only a desire to escape.
"Hey, con man," Qiao Jiajing whispered. "You stole her 'goods.' What if she gets mad later?"
"I don't know," Qi Xia shook his head.
Officer Li was silent for a moment, then quietly said, "Don't we still have the 'Dao'? I wonder if she'd want it?"
"How can we do that?!" Qiao Jiajing said indignantly. "We risked all our lives for that 'Dao,' and you're just giving it to this lunatic?"
"We're trying to save lives here!"
While the two were arguing, the female shop assistant slowly turned around.
She seemed relieved, walking calmly to the bedside where the fishhook and fishing line had been placed—now empty.
She hesitated as she looked at the bed, as if something felt off: "Huh?"
But soon she shook her head and said, "Right... sleep. Which of you four is going first?"
The female shop assistant lifted her head, looked at the three men before her, and then wavered again: "Four? Was it always just three of you? Oh well, three is fine too."
Qiao Jiajing shook his head and whispered, "See? She's crazier than I thought."
"Yeah..." Qi Xia was stunned for a moment before speaking, "We don't want to sleep with you. We just came to buy something."
With that, he pulled out a glittering "Dao" from his pocket, placed it beside the female shop assistant, and continued: "I don't know if this is worth anything, but this is all we have."
Qi Xia figured that anyone living here would recognize those animal masks and would have at least heard of the "Dao." Something earned with one's life ought to have some value.
The female shop assistant looked curiously at the bead, picked it up, and squeezed it a few times.
Then, to the shock of the three men, she tossed the bead into her mouth.
With a crunch, she bit it, chewed it, and swallowed it.
"Not tasty..." The female shop assistant shook her head. "Far worse than little piglets."
"This..."
None of the three men had ever imagined that something they'd risked their lives for would be eaten like a snack. They were all at a loss for words.
"Not sleeping... then you can leave..." The female shop assistant sighed helplessly, looking very disappointed. "Someone will come to sleep with me eventually."
Though the situation was incomprehensible to the three men, at least they could leave now.
The three walked out dejectedly, planning how to tell the others about losing a "Dao," when they saw Doctor Zhao had already pulled the harpoon out of Han Yimo. Blood was gushing out, and Han Yimo's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Come help!" Lin Qin called out.
Qiao Jiajing and Officer Li rushed over immediately to help restrain Han Yimo's hands and feet.
In such extreme pain, a person would involuntarily thrash around.
"Han Yimo, look at me!" Doctor Zhao said sternly. "Do you still know who I am?!"
"You're Doctor Zhao..." Han Yimo furrowed his brows, gritting his teeth.
"Good, stay conscious!" Doctor Zhao threaded the fishhook and pierced it straight into the flesh.
Han Yimo let out another muffled groan.
"Talk to me!" Doctor Zhao said calmly. "Talk about something you're interested in to distract yourself!"
"Something I'm interested in...?" Han Yimo gave a bitter smile.
"Aren't you a novelist?" Doctor Zhao said. "How about telling me about your work?"