Chapter 70: The Miraculous Healing Technique

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it! If anyone was touching, it was you," Chang Yu couldn't help blurting out, then subtly shifted his chest.

It seemed Katerina hadn't lied to him. The pain in his chest had completely vanished; before, even the slightest movement would tug at his wound, sending a wave of excruciating agony through him.

"Pervert!" Xia Lin snapped, unable to contain her anger.

"Hey, hey, what's with the name-calling? Don't you have any manners?" Chang Yu raised his eyebrows.

"You're a grown man—why did you need Sister Osmanthus to touch you? If that's not being a pervert, then what is?" Xia Lin had thrown caution to the wind, her words blunt and unrestrained.

At her remark, both Chang Yu and Katerina grew visibly uneasy.

"My hand hurts—I can't lift it," Chang Yu replied, feeling quite awkward, especially since Xia Lin had just exposed his small scheme in front of Katerina.

"That doesn't make sense," Xia Lin continued. "My talent isn't just for treating localized wounds—it's for healing the whole body. I've cured all sorts of hidden ailments for people: slipped discs, chronic cold legs, femoral head problems—you name it, it's easy for me. By all rights, even if you had some disability, it should be healed by now. Why would your hand still hurt?"

"Don't you get it?" Katerina rolled her eyes. "He's just pretending to suffer. Let's not indulge him."

"Pretending to be sick? What kind of illness is that? Even I can't cure that," Xia Lin replied, her eyes wide with confusion.

This girl—she’s really taking it seriously!

"Oh, hush. What do you know, little kid? Go play somewhere else," Chang Yu muttered, a bit embarrassed and annoyed.

"I'm already an adult, not a child," Xia Lin retorted, her face flushed with a sense of wounded pride.

"You'll only be an adult when you've truly grown up," Chang Yu replied, putting on an air of wisdom.

"And what do you call growing up?" Xia Lin stomped her foot, aggrieved.

Chang Yu pondered for a moment, then ventured, "Well, when you're a little boy, you like toy cars; when you're a little girl, you like dolls. But when you grow up, boys like dolls, and girls like toy cars. I suppose that's growing up!"

"You… pervert!" Xia Lin, catching the innuendo in his words, was instantly flustered.

"Well, since you're healed, I'm leaving," she said abruptly, pushing open the door and stepping out.

Now, only Chang Yu and Katerina remained in the room. For a while, they simply stared at one another in silence.

"Are you in such a hurry to get me discharged?" Chang Yu was the first to break the silence.

Chang Yu was never one to overestimate himself. He knew he wasn't famous or particularly strong. There was no reason for the Bureau to pay him so much attention, let alone send their ace healer Xia Lin to tend to his injuries. He didn't need to think hard to realize that it was all thanks to Katerina.

"You said it yourself: if I insist on joining this mission, I must bring you with me," Katerina said after a moment's thought. "That calamity must be eradicated, but since you were injured, I had no choice but to ask Xia Lin to heal you."

"What a pity," Chang Yu replied with a hint of regret. "I'd hoped you'd look after me for another two months, feed me your meals, and let me taste your homemade braised beef. Now that's all lost to me with this discharge. So, how will you make it up to me? My physical wounds may be healed, but the scars on my heart remain!"

Sometimes, a bit of playful wheedling works wonders on women.

And indeed, Katerina seemed to hesitate, her delicate features thoughtful as she considered his suggestion.

After a long pause, she said earnestly, "I only wanted you to recover quickly. I hadn't thought of that at all. But since I can't keep looking after you, I'll find another way to make it up to you."

Chang Yu felt a surge of delight, unable to suppress a rather indecent grin.

"Oh-ho! And what sort of compensation might that be, Katerina? I can hardly wait!" His mind began to wander down wild avenues—uniforms, black stockings, perhaps even something more risqué…

Excitement welled up inside him. After all this time, he'd come to understand a thing or two about Katerina. Though she was highly intelligent, her emotional intelligence seemed a bit lacking.

"Maybe I can't cook for you or feed you," Katerina tilted her head, thinking aloud, "but I can still give you medicine! How about this: I'll prepare medicinal drinks for you for two months. What do you say?"

"What?" Chang Yu gasped, feeling as though a shadow had fallen over his life.

He couldn't help imagining a scene: a sickly man lying helpless in bed, too weak to even raise an arm. Then, with a loving smile, a woman brought over a bowl of ominously dark medicine.

"Here, darling, time for your medicine."

The thought made Chang Yu shudder, a look of profound dread crossing his face.

"Maybe… we’d better not?" he pleaded, looking at Katerina with pitiful hope.

"Absolutely not! You're still unwell—you need treatment," Katerina said sternly, furrowing her brow.

"I'm cured!" Chang Yu sprang from the bed, quickly unwrapping the bandages from his chest.

His torso was muscular and well-defined, smooth as marble. Ever since mastering the Poria Heart Sutra and reaching the Qi Condensation stage, his physique had become the envy of fitness trainers everywhere. Walking down the street, he was the very image of a model.

"See? I'm completely healed—there isn't even a scar left," he said, gesturing at his flawless chest.

The claw marks that had marred him were gone without a trace, as if he'd never been injured. If the wound had healed naturally, there would have been ugly scars remaining, but with Xia Lin's miraculous talent, he'd been cured in an instant, his skin as smooth and fair as ever.

He really owed Xia Lin a word of thanks—it was all her doing.

When Chang Yu bared his upper body, Katerina instinctively averted her gaze. Her rapidly fluttering eyelashes and the blush creeping over her ears betrayed her inner turmoil. It was the first time she'd seen a man parade shirtless before her, and she was visibly shy.

"Put your shirt back on," she said, her voice trembling without her realizing it.

"Oh, are you embarrassed?" Chang Yu chuckled, amused by Katerina's unexpected innocence. It gave him the urge to tease her further.

"Didn't expect me to be in such good shape, did you?" He strutted over to her, striking poses to show off his muscles. He flexed his biceps, tensed his abs and the lines at his waist, imitating the swagger of bodybuilding champions.

"Look, I'm perfectly healthy—there's no need for any medicine." Despite his antics, he didn't forget to make his point.

He hadn't expected Katerina's reaction to be so intense.

"I've been studying all sorts of traditional health practices since I was a child. When it comes to health, I'm a true expert!"

"I believe that," Chang Yu recalled the dream he'd had the previous night and knew that Katerina had indeed started her regimen young.

"So you’d better trust my professional opinion: you really are ill, and it's not a minor thing!" Katerina glowed with confidence, as if haloed by a holy light.

Chang Yu couldn't help wondering if he really might be ill.

"You sound just like Fatty Wang," he grumbled, irritated by her diagnosis.

It was one thing for Fatty Wang to call him sick—that was the fault of his so-called friend, a quack psychiatrist who'd filled Wang's head with nonsense. But now even Katerina thought he was ill? Was it fashionable these days to accuse people of illness?

"I can see it: your face is dark, your skin rough, your lips dry. All clear signs of excessive liver fire," Katerina continued, oblivious to his mood. "Tell me—do you often feel parched, suffer from headaches, or get constipated?"

"You—you… how did you know that?" Chang Yu was taken aback—she'd hit every mark, especially the constipation. Even the home toilet had been clogged several times; it was a real nuisance.

"Stick out your tongue and check the coating. Is it yellow?" Katerina asked with the air of a seasoned sage.

"Hold on a minute!" Chang Yu hurried to the bathroom, where a mirror hung on the wall.

He stuck out his tongue, even pinching it between his fingers to see better.

Sure enough, Katerina was right—the coating was distinctly yellow.

"Could I really have excessive liver fire?" Chang Yu returned to the bedside in a daze, suddenly questioning his entire existence. He was still young, with so many ambitions and dreams yet unfulfilled—how could he leave the world so soon?

He could already picture his own funeral: Feng Sanpao weeping over his coffin, while the announcer gravely informed the mourners that Chang Yu had died… of excessive liver fire. Everyone would be fighting the urge to laugh.

What a disgrace!

"Don't worry. As long as you drink my herbal decoction every day, you'll be well in two months," Katerina added softly, perhaps moved by the sorrow on his face. "I'm the best in the field—people beg me for my medicine and can't get it."

"Enough! Say no more!" Chang Yu, like a man revived at death's door, exclaimed passionately. "I'll drink it! Whatever you brew, I'll drink!"

Seeing his acquiescence, Katerina's expression softened with approval. "In that case, put your clothes back on. Shi Chengjin and Feng Sanpao are waiting downstairs—don't keep them too long."