"How did you hurt your face and hand?" Zeng Shen asked with a frown of concern.
"It's nothing, really. I ran into a crazy woman on the road who was whipping people. I got slapped and whipped accidentally," Barbara lied, unable to meet Zeng Shen's eyes, fearing he might see through to her hidden secrets.
Zeng Shen sensed something from her words but didn't press further. Instead, he gently suggested, "That must hurt. Let me take you to a pharmacy to get some medicine."
"No, no need. It doesn't hurt," Barbara shook her head, eager not to waste time, and quickly added, "Big brother, the swimsuit party should be starting soon. Let's go to the Golden Panther Bar. I heard they have a huge pool where you can dance and have fun."
"Alright, hop in and sit in the front passenger seat," Zeng Shen said.
Barbara hesitated for a moment before opening the back door and sitting in the same spot she had that morning. She reached to check where the bottle had been left but found nothing.
In that instant, she glanced at Zeng Shen, who was navigating the map, her heart inexplicably filled with panic.
However, seeing a white van following them closely from the road behind through the rearview mirror reassured her. It felt like there were people in the van who would protect her if anything happened.
As the motorhome started, Zeng Shen followed the GPS directions, commenting, "So the Golden Panther Bar is just a few streets away."
"Yes, big brother, it's not far at all," Barbara quickly chimed in, following her script, "A lot of my classmates hang out there."
"You should introduce them to me," Zeng Shen said, glancing at the rearview mirror to see the van trailing them but not giving it much thought. He even slowed at the corner's surveillance cameras, smiling at them as he passed.
"I won't introduce them," Barbara's tone suddenly turned playful, like a jealous young girl.
"Why not?" Zeng Shen asked.
"Because if they swoop you away, who will take me home when I'm drunk tonight?" Barbara hinted playfully.
However, Zeng Shen, seemingly oblivious, responded in Chinese, "Huo La La."
"What?" Barbara asked, confused. "Big brother, I don't understand Daxia language. What did you say?"
"I said I could call a Didi driver for you," Zeng Shen replied in fluent English.
Barbara rolled her eyes and continued to follow her script, trying to make the conversation more flirtatious to make him think she was interested in him. But Zeng Shen's responses made her question whether the script worked on people from Daxia.
Suddenly, Zeng Shen stopped the motorhome and turned to the girl, "Wait here in the car for a moment."
With that, he stepped out of the vehicle.
Barbara watched in confusion as Zeng Shen walked into a roadside pharmacy.
In that moment, her grip on her phone tightened, and she glanced at the dark red whip mark on her arm.
The whip had hurt when it landed on her delicate, pale arm. But she had pretended not to feel the pain, trying to ignore it.
But at that moment, she found herself unable to suppress the pain, as if she was reliving the moment the whip struck her arm.
Barbara took a deep breath, trying to numb herself to forget the pain.
She thought Zeng Shen might not be buying anything for her at the pharmacy.
Thinking this way, she felt somewhat relieved.
But just as she was convincing herself, her phone vibrated with a WeChat message from Panther Sister.
"What are you doing? Why stop here? Once he's out of the pharmacy, get him to the bar quickly. Don't say I didn't warn you. This is your last chance."
Then, she sent a sticker of an old woman whipping a girl.
Barbara shivered at the message and sticker.
She knew the girl in the sticker. She was a year older, adopted from the slums like Barbara and once favored by Panther Sister. But when she tried to escape, she was caught and whipped to death in front of everyone.
Thinking of this, Barbara quickly replied, "I understand, Panther Sister."
After sending the message, Barbara leaned against the car window, a tear slipping down her cheek, filled with helplessness and despair.
But when she saw Zeng Shen emerging from the pharmacy, she quickly wiped away her tears, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile for the rearview mirror.
With a click, the back door opened.
Startled, Barbara turned to see Zeng Shen holding a bottle and cotton swabs. He smiled warmly, "I made you a cooling potion. Let me apply it to your wounds."
"No need," Barbara shook her head to refuse.
However, Zeng Shen ignored her protest, got into the car, closed the door, and sat next to her, opening the cotton swabs and bottle.
He dipped a cotton swab into the potion and gently applied it to the dark red mark on her arm.
Barbara wanted to pull away, but for some reason, she hesitated and didn't move.
Instantly, the cool potion touched her wound, causing a slight sting that almost made her cry out.
But the next second, the potion seemed to have a magical effect, making the whip mark feel painless.
The red mark gradually faded, turning white, which was quite miraculous.
"Big brother, what kind of potion is this? How did the mark disappear and the pain go away so quickly?" Barbara asked softly.
"This..." Zeng Shen paused, smiling inwardly.
It was just a bottle of plain water he had poured into a medicine bottle. The disappearance of the whip mark was due to his rarely used healing ability.
Of course, he wouldn't tell her that.
Zeng Shen thought for a moment and then made up a story, "This is the magic of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The potion is prepared according to its principles."
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