Doctor Zhao looked at Qi Xia, troubled. Qi Xia didn't know how to answer either.
"Can this be used?"
Qi Xia asked in a low voice.
"It shouldn't be a problem."
Doctor Zhao nodded.
"Curved needles are often used for medical sutures. As long as it's sharp enough, it'll do."
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then spoke to the female clerk.
"Miss, we don't have any money. Can we trade something with you for it?"
"Money?"
The female clerk stared blankly at Qi Xia, as if trying to understand the meaning of "money". After a long while, she finally said, "I don't want money. You can sleep with me."
"Sleep with you...?"
Qi Xia's lips twitched slightly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"After we sleep together, we can eat the little piglet!"
The female clerk's expression turned manic, and she even started to drool. With that, she walked to the filthy bedside, bent down, and sat. Then she patted the spot next to her.
Right in that spot was a large patch of dried blood.
"Come on, hurry over."
The female clerk deftly pulled off her top. She was wearing nothing underneath. Her gaunt body was covered in dirt and bloodstains, making her look like a skeleton.
Qiao Jiajin was silent for a good while before nudging Qi Xia with his elbow.
"Just sacrifice yourself."
"Why don't you go?"
Qi Xia said irritably.
"The boss picked you," Qiao Jiajin said, gloating.
"Didn't you hear her? As long as you sleep with her, we can eat the piglet in her pot. Besides, someone's life is waiting on that fishhook. No matter how you look at it, this is a deed of boundless merit..."
Before Qi Xia could reply, the female clerk seemed to have heard Qiao Jiajin, so she turned her face to him and said, "You can come too! Both of you can come!"
"Huh?"
Qiao Jiajin was stunned.
"Me...?"
"What is this..."
Officer Li finally couldn't hold back. In all his years as a detective, the situation before him was completely beyond his comprehension.
"Miss, what are you after? We're here to buy something, why do you have to throw yourself in as well?"
"I..."
The female clerk's eyes widened, and she suddenly screamed, "I want to eat the piglet!!" After saying that, she seemed to remember something. She hurriedly placed the fishhook and line on the bed, then ran to the iron pot and peered inside.
"Little piglet... don't get overcooked..."
She picked up a tree branch with some concern and poked around in the pot a few times. Qi Xia took advantage of this moment to quietly walk to the bedside, pick up the fishhook and line, and hand them to Doctor Zhao.
"Go save him first," he said.
"We'll handle things here."
"Alright!"
Doctor Zhao took the fishhook and line outside, found a relatively clean stone on the ground, and began to work on the hook. He briefly explained the situation inside the hut to the women. As a professional nurse, Tian Tian still couldn't understand the clerk's behavior.
"Never mind that. Qi Xia is right, let's save him first," Lin Qin said, taking the fishing line and turning back to check on Han Yimo.
Doctor Zhao used the stone to grind the rust off the fishhook, doing his best to make the tip sharper. Beside him, Lin Qin untangled the messy fishing line.
"That should do it..."
After making sure everything was ready, Doctor Zhao turned back to Han Yimo and said, "I'm going to remove the harpoon and then stitch up your wound."
"Okay..."
Han Yimo nodded weakly.
"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 live, right?"
Han Yimo asked with a wry smile.
"If the wound doesn't get infected... living won't be a problem."
"That's good... Let's do it..." ...
Inside the hut, the three men stood behind the female clerk, watching her stir the pot. She wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing, yet the three men's hearts were unstirred. In fact, they even felt like fleeing.
"Hey, con man," Qiao Jiajin whispered, "you stole her 'goods'. What if she gets angry later?"
"I don't know," Qi Xia shook his head.
Officer Li was silent for a moment before whispering, "Don't we still have the 'Dao'? I wonder if she wants it?"
"How can we do that?!"
Qiao Jiajin said, a bit displeased.
"That's a 'Dao' we got by risking all our lives. You're just going to give it to this madwoman?"
"We're saving a life here!"
As the two were arguing, the female clerk slowly turned around. Looking relieved, she walked calmly to the bed, where the fishhook and line were supposed to be. Now, it was empty.
She looked at the bed with some hesitation, as if something was not right.
"Huh?"
But she quickly shook her head and said, "Right... sleeping. Which of you two wants to go first?" The female clerk raised her head and looked at the three men before her.
Her expression grew dazed again as she asked, "Weren't there two of you? Have you always been three? Whatever, three is fine too."
Qiao Jiajin shook his head and whispered, "See? She's even crazier than I thought."
"Mm..."
Qi Xia paused for a long time before speaking.
"We don't want to sleep with you. We just came to buy something."
With that, he took out a gleaming golden "Dao" from his pocket, placed it beside the female clerk, and continued, "I don't know if this thing is considered valuable, but it's all we have." In Qi Xia's mind, anyone living here would surely recognize those animal masks and would have, to some extent, heard of the "Dao".
Something obtained at the cost of one's life should have some value, no matter how you looked at it. The female clerk looked at the bead curiously, then picked it up and squeezed it a few times. Then, under the three men's shocked gazes, she tossed the bead into her mouth.
With a crunch, she bit down on the bead, chewed it up, and swallowed it into her belly.
"Doesn't taste good..." the female clerk shook her head.
"Much worse than the little piglet."
"This..."
The three grown men had never imagined that the thing they risked their lives for would be eaten by someone as a snack. For a moment, they were all at a loss for words.
"If you're not going to sleep... then you can leave..."
The female clerk sighed helplessly, her expression full of disappointment.
"Someone will eventually come and sleep with me."
Although the situation was incomprehensible to the three of them, at least they could leave now. The three men sullenly retreated from the hut. Just as they were figuring out how to tell the others they had lost a "Dao", they saw that Doctor Zhao had already pulled the harpoon from Han Yimo's body.
Blood was gushing out, and his forehead was covered in a cold sweat.
"Quick, come help!"
Lin Qin shouted. Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li rushed over to help hold down Han Yimo's arms and legs. Under such extreme pain, a person would thrash about uncontrollably.
"Han Yimo, look at me!"
Doctor Zhao said sternly.
"Do you still know who I am?!"
"You're... Doctor Zhao..."
Han Yimo said through gritted teeth, his brows furrowed.
"That's right, you need to stay conscious!"
Doctor Zhao threaded the fishhook and pierced it through his flesh in one go. Han Yimo let out another muffled groan.
"Talk to me!"
Doctor Zhao said unhurriedly.
"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 writer?"
Doctor Zhao said.
"How about you talk about your work?"