Chapter Fifty-Four: The Pregnant Man

Zhou Jinfan immediately covered his nose with his fingers and whispered to the nearby Xie Qingtang, “Boss, living in a place like this, even healthy people would eventually fall ill after staying too long.”

Unexpectedly, though he spoke softly, the keen-eared, sharp-eyed burly middle-aged man beside him caught the words, his tiger-like gaze shooting over as he glared fiercely.

After being glared at, Zhou Jinfan instantly became obedient, shrinking his neck and following quietly beside Xie Qingtang without daring to speak again.

As they walked into the shantytown, people stood at the doors of the surrounding houses, watching the group streaming in with curiosity in their eyes.

“Tiger Bro, you’re back! Did that quack return our money?” At that moment, a middle-aged woman who looked fairly tidy rushed up to the strong man, her eyes sparkling with hope.

Tiger Bro’s face showed a trace of disappointment as he shook his head. The woman paused, then bit her lip and said, “That damned quack! Not only does he fail to heal people, he actually harms them.”

Her words stirred indignation among the onlookers. They all began to criticize the quack who had sold them fake medicine. Standing among them, Zhou Jinfan felt his ears itch and his face burn, unsure what to say.

“Everyone, quiet down for now. Although I didn’t get our money back, the owner of the Benevolent Hall said she’d come to treat our elder brother,” Tiger Bro raised his hand to stop the murmuring voices.

With the noise subsiding, all eyes fell on Zhou Jinfan. Under their gaze, he trembled and retreated a few steps, feeling uneasy.

Since Zhou Jinfan carried the medicine box, everyone instinctively assumed he was the one coming to treat their elder brother, not considering Xie Qingtang.

Because it was Tiger Bro and his men who had gone out to buy medicine, the women left behind didn’t realize Zhou Jinfan was the very quack they’d just cursed.

“You must be the doctor here to treat my elder brother. Please, come quickly—his condition is getting worse!” The woman, face alight with joy, stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Jinfan’s hand, and pulled him toward a makeshift house.

Zhou Jinfan’s mouth twitched, just about to protest when Tiger Bro, frowning, said, “Yun Niang, you’ve got the wrong person. The one who can treat illness is this young woman. The quack who sold us fake medicine is that man.”

At his words, everyone drew a sharp breath. Xie Qingtang looked far too young, standing there with an unrivaled, quiet beauty that hardly resembled an experienced doctor.

“Tiger Bro, are you serious?” Yun Niang asked incredulously. Tiger Bro nodded.

Xie Qingtang stepped forward, and Zhou Jinfan, quick-witted, retreated, yielding to her.

“Where is the patient? Take me to him,” Xie Qingtang said calmly, paying no heed to the doubtful glances cast her way.

Yun Niang hesitated, only moving after Tiger Bro nodded. “My elder brother is inside, but his consciousness is blurred, and he’s burning with fever.”

Listening to Yun Niang describe her brother’s symptoms, Xie Qingtang entered the dim room and immediately saw a man lying on the bed with a swollen belly.

“Heavens, why is his stomach so big? Is he pregnant? Can men even get pregnant?” Zhou Jinfan exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the man with the distended abdomen.

Xie Qingtang’s brows knitted slightly, saying nothing as she approached the bedside. She saw the man’s face was pale, his breathing rapid, yet his cheeks were flushed oddly, confirming he was feverish as Yun Niang had described.

“How long has the patient been like this?” Xie Qingtang sat at the bedside, taking the man’s wrist to check his pulse while questioning Yun Niang.

Yun Niang hesitated, lips trembling before she spoke, “About half a year. We had no money, so we could only treat him with basic medicine for his symptoms, but things kept getting worse.”

Standing nearby, Zhou Jinfan was shocked to hear the man had suffered for half a year, shaking his head in disbelief.

No one dared disturb Xie Qingtang as she checked the pulse. Time ticked by, and soon the small house was crowded with people.

Some genuinely cared for the man on the bed; others simply wanted to see if this young girl could truly heal.

None of this affected Xie Qingtang. She set aside the man’s wrist and placed her palm gently on his distended belly.

At this, Yun Niang anxiously protested, “You’ll hurt my brother if you do that!”

“I am a doctor; please trust me,” Xie Qingtang replied coolly, not looking at Yun Niang but focusing seriously on the man’s swollen abdomen. She pressed lightly, and with barely a touch, the man suddenly awoke in pain.

His face twisted in agony, his dazed eyes weakly scanning the room, seemingly lost, and soon he fainted again.

Seeing this, Yun Niang’s tears fell from heartbreak, while Xie Qingtang rose and stood silently for a moment.

“Doctor, how serious is my brother’s illness?” Tiger Bro, unable to restrain himself, hurried forward when he saw Xie Qingtang merely stand there in silence.

Xie Qingtang shook her head. “If my diagnosis is correct, your brother has a parasite in his body, and it has been reproducing inside him for quite some time.”

At her words, everyone drew another sharp breath. When the man’s belly first began to swell, they thought his living conditions had improved, and he was simply gaining weight. No one imagined it was due to a parasite.