8mi Chapter 4: Traditional Chinese Medicine Massage
Chapter 4: Traditional Chinese Medicine Massage
The face was unusually young; she vaguely remembered it.
They were people from a brothel.
Wen Qiaoniang curled up in the corner, her breath filled with the faint aroma of grains. Once her eyes fell on the mixed flour bun, she couldn't look away.
She swallowed hard, quickly picked up the bun, and stuffed it into her mouth. Having been hungry for days, she didn't care about table manners and just swallowed the soft, fragrant steamed bun.
Wu He took a porcelain bowl from beside him, poured in some warm water, and handed it to her.
"Are you studying medicine?"
Wen Qiaoniang stared straight at him without saying a word, but this lack of rejection could be taken as tacit agreement.
Wu He smiled kindly: "If you do me a favor, I'll bring you some food every day from now on, so you won't go hungry."
"W-what kind of help?"
She finally sensed that the person in front of her didn't have much malice, and her tense nerves relaxed slightly.
"My lungs aren't very good, but I don't have the money to buy medicine right now. From a doctor's perspective, could you tell me how I can take care of them without medication?"
The aftereffects of practicing the Python Pattern Kung Fu yesterday still cause him some pain in his lungs, not to mention the future.
If the problem of moisturizing the lungs cannot be solved, continuing to practice will eventually leave hidden ailments.
So Wu He set his sights on the woman in front of him.
With crumbs of dough still clinging to her small mouth, Wen Qiaoniang chewed on a steamed bun and muttered, "Your breathing is uneven; it's obvious your lungs aren't very good. Is it from practicing martial arts?"
"That's right."
"Practicing martial arts is not just about training; it also involves eating and bathing. In particular, it's important to nourish the lungs during the body-strengthening stage."
When her professional field was mentioned, Wen Qiaoniang became much less nervous and said calmly and wisely, "This requires a lot of money. If you are short of money and can't afford medicine, you can only eat more meat to replenish your blood and qi, and then heal yourself."
"In addition, acupuncture and massage can also nourish the heart and lungs, as well as some health-preserving exercises such as Baduanjin and Wuqinxi."
Wu He nodded with a relieved look in his eyes.
As for food, he didn't need to worry. The Yuxianlou restaurant always had plenty of leftover food from its guests, especially meat and wine.
As for acupuncture and massage, those should be done by professionals.
Do you want me to help you?
"Of course, if you don't want to go hungry afterwards."
Wen Qiaoniang swallowed the last bite of steamed bun. With food in her stomach, she felt calm.
Then, he nodded vigorously.
"I want to live, I need to live, to live with dignity, I'll help you."
"Let's do it now."
It was midday, and after his shift, Wu He had half an hour to rest. He took off his clothes and lay down on the straw mat in the room.
Wen Qiaoniang knelt to the side, not immediately taking action, but instead put her cold hands into her bosom, warming them up after a while before taking them out and starting to work.
She may look thin and frail, but her massage techniques are surprisingly powerful. Under her skillful touch, each stiff muscle and joint in the body becomes more flexible and relaxed.
This feeling was very smooth, and it made Wu He more and more aware of the stiffness in his body. Only with the help of those jade hands did he begin to regain his vitality.
Before I knew it, the stinging pain in my lungs had actually disappeared.
"alright."
Perhaps noticing the change in Wu He's breathing, Wen Qiaoniang stopped the massage and helped him up.
"Good technique."
Wu He smiled.
It's really good. If he weren't short on money and time, he would definitely add an extra hour.
Then I felt a little hungry again in my stomach, which I had just eaten.
Wen Qiaoniang pointed out very accurately: "Although massage is an external force, it is still your own body that helps you regulate your breathing. You need to eat more, especially meat."
"Understood."
Wu He got up, put on his clothes, and looked through the hole in the wall at the servants and maids going in and out of the backyard. Then he turned to his head and said, "I'll bring you dinner tonight."
Wen Qiaoniang sat back down in the corner and nodded silently.
……
A fire was lit in the side room.
"Hey, Tiegen, didn't you just finish eating? How come you're hungry again?"
Wang Er looked at Wu He, who was squatting on the low table, wolfing down his food, with surprise.
They had just finished eating flatbread half an hour ago.
"He's growing," Wu He replied casually.
On his table was half a roast chicken that had been eaten, and a bowl of various mixed meats and vegetables.
The food was originally meant to be thrown into the slop bucket, but Wu He intercepted it. Not caring whether it was clean or not, he heated it up in the stove, and it became a steaming hot stew, which he enjoyed immensely.
Since I started practicing martial arts, my appetite has increased by more than double.
It was fortunate that he was working odd jobs in this brothel. After the customers got drunk, they would do their work and wouldn't touch the food much. This allowed the pimps and servants to fill their bellies and also satisfied Wu He's meat needs during the initial stage of his martial arts training.
"Yeah, your head can still grow a bit taller..."
Wang Er poured himself a bowl of hot water, drank it, and then turned and went back to the front hall.
However, the next moment, a loud thud was heard.
Wu He stopped what he was doing, pursed his oily lips, swallowed the food in his mouth, and looked toward the front hall.
"Bring your old hags out here!"
A loud shout, as booming as a bell, rang out.
"Oh no, oh no!"
Wang Er, who had just gone out, stumbled back in, and hurriedly closed the half-closed door.
His face was deathly pale, and his legs were trembling uncontrollably, as if he had encountered a ghost in broad daylight.
"What's wrong?"
"This is huge trouble!"
Wang Er nervously made a shushing gesture, then walked up to Wu He and said in a low voice, "That scoundrel who was killed by Master Li last night, his brothers have come knocking on our door."
"Tiegen, do you know who that is?"
Wu He shook his head.
"The Black Dragon Gang! Oh my, what a mess this is."
He slapped his thigh: "I only found out today from Butcher Hu. That guy is a member of the Black Dragon Gang, a gang that's quite well-known in our area now. I said his black dragon tattoos didn't look like those of an ordinary thug."
"Now that the Black Dragon Gang is coming to our door, we shouldn't get involved. We only make a pittance a month, why risk our lives?"
Wang Er's neck was tucked in, and he looked just like a turtle that had tucked its head into its shell out of fear.
Wu He, on the other hand, appeared much calmer, with a sense of relief in his eyes as his doubts were resolved.
It turned out that the tattooed man's brother from last night had come looking for trouble.
Black Dragon Gang.
Memories flickered and surged, but only a few remained.
This is a newly emerging gang in the southern border of Xiongzhou City. They are audacious, ruthless, and notorious.
It's unfortunate that Yuxianlou offended such a desperate criminal.
"Where are they?! All of you, show yourselves!"
"You disappear the moment trouble arises? Do you think I'm paying you guys to just eat and do nothing?"
Then came sharp curses, the closed door was suddenly pushed open, and the furious old woman's eyes seemed to be blazing with anger.
"Are you staying here for postpartum confinement? Your shop has been vandalized! Get out of here right now!"
Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Wang Er had no choice but to resign himself to his fate, picking up a whistle stick from the ground and walking out.
Wu He followed closely behind, and when he arrived at the front hall, he saw the lame Master Li standing alone in front of six or seven burly men.
Compared to that pile of burly, fleshy men, he was like a wrinkled old tree, vastly different in stature but with a sharp and imposing presence.
Beside him, there was a servant who was rolling on the ground, clutching his arm and wailing. Judging from the abnormal curvature of his arm, it was clear that it had been forcibly broken.