Chapter 285: Chapter 277: The Roundworm in His Stomach

Hu Feng suddenly smiled, revealing a rare glimpse of his straight, white teeth.

This wasn’t the first time Hu Feng had smiled at Bai Zhi, but it was the first time she had ever seen his teeth.

"You have a handsome smile. You should do it more often. Why walk around with a cool, stern look all day?"

The smile on Hu Feng’s face gradually faded, but a trace of it lingered in his eyes.

"Do you know why I was smiling?" he asked.

Bai Zhi shook her head, continuing her work as she placed the cut dough into a steamer basket. "I don’t know. I’m not a mind-reader."

Hu Feng picked up two pieces of dry firewood and tossed them into the stove. "If you don’t know, just forget it," he said lightly. "Maybe you’ll find out someday."

Bai Zhi placed the steamer basket into the pot of boiling water, steam billowing up.

She dusted the flour from her hands and turned to Hu Feng, who was sitting on a small stool watching the fire. "Still can’t remember anything?"

The faint smile on Hu Feng’s face froze. He truly couldn’t recall anything, but earlier that day at the Diner Inn, when Bai Zhi and Meng Nan had mentioned matters of the palace, his mind had stirred with some kind of reaction. He just wasn’t sure what it was.

Seeing his expression, Bai Zhi’s heart leaped with joy. She quickly asked, "Do you ever feel like you’re on the verge of remembering something, but it’s not quite clear? Like you try to grasp the thought, but it slips away?"

Hu Feng was stunned. "How did you know?" ’Could she really read his mind? How could she know about this fleeting sensation, one he couldn’t even be sure of himself?’

Bai Zhi chuckled. "I’m your physician. No one understands your condition better than I do. The blood stasis in your brain has started to slowly disperse, and the compressed nerves affecting your memory are gradually recovering. This is a crucial part of the process. It might take a long time, or you might recover quickly—it all depends on your body’s own ability to heal."

She paused before adding, "Of course, I can also give things a little push and help shorten what could be a long recovery. But I can’t say for sure by how much."

Hu Feng quickly asked, "How do you plan to give it a push?"

Bai Zhi smiled. "You silly goose. I’m a doctor. I’ll use acupuncture and medicine, of course. What other way is there?"

"I have a formula to break down blood stasis and relieve stagnation. I didn’t give it to you before because the time wasn’t right; it would have been a waste. But now, it looks like the time has come. We’ll go see Meng Nan off at dawn, and after he’s gone, we’ll go to the apothecary to get the herbs."

Hu Feng nodded. "Alright." He appeared perfectly calm, his expression like still water and his gaze unwavering. But in their depths, a storm of emotion surged in an instant.

After steaming the buns, she cooked some flatbreads. She then mashed the marinated fish and beef into a paste, sealing it in small jars so it would be easy to carry and slow to spoil. Qingyuan was thousands of miles from the Capital City, and the journey would take an unknown number of days. Missing a proper stop for the night was bound to happen, so it was always wise to bring extra provisions.

「At the crack of dawn, she and Hu Feng set out in their horse-drawn carriage.」

Jin Xiao’an had said they would leave the city before the Si hour. It was a bit early to head out now, but it was better to be early than late.

They arrived outside the city gates just as the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. period began. With the Si hour still two hours away, the sun was already up, its autumn rays beating down harshly. Hu Feng pulled the carriage into the shade of a tree. While the horse nibbled on some grass, he and Bai Zhi sat by the carriage frame, eating the steamed buns they had brought.

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