Er Gou, life in the countryside is so carefree!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That night, the moon was obscured by clouds, and the village was pitch black.

As expected, Wang Laowu arrived on time, carrying a cloth bag, and furtively knocked on Chen Ergou's courtyard gate.

Chen Ergou opened the door and let him in.

Wang Laowu handed over the bag, saying ingratiatingly, "Brother Ergou, look, this is top-quality Guandong tobacco, strong and mellow! The Laobaigan liquor is also newly bought from town, definitely strong enough! Oh right, there's also an old hen, for... for your sister-in-law to nourish her body." He glanced at Zhang Qiaofen standing at the door and awkwardly changed his form of address.

Chen Ergou took the item, weighed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, Fifth Uncle is quite sensible." He pointed to an old door panel that had been prepared in the yard. "Take it off and lie down on it."

"Take...take it off?" Old Wang was stunned.

"Nonsense! How can you give a needle without taking off your clothes? If you try to give a needle through your clothes and it goes astray, who's responsible?" Chen Ergou glared at him.

Wang Laowu dared not delay, so he awkwardly stripped down to only his shorts and lay down on the cold door panel, looking ashamed.

A gentle evening breeze blew by, and he got goosebumps all over.

Seeing this, Zhang Qiaofen blushed and turned to go inside to avoid the situation.

Chen Ergou grabbed her arm: "Sister-in-law, don't go. Just stay here and keep watch, and lend me a hand if you can, like handing me a towel or something. When our family opens a clinic someday, you'll have to learn a lot from us."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiaofen's face turned even redder. She felt both happy and shy. She glared at Chen Ergou reproachfully, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot, and she didn't move an inch.

Wang Laowu lay on the door panel, listening to these words, feeling a mix of emotions, but dared not utter a sound.

Chen Ergou pretended to wash his hands, then took out an old cloth bag, unfolded it, and inside were several silver needles of different lengths, old items left by his father, which he never used.

He took a deep breath, recalling the "Golden Needle Crossing Calamity" method from the "Dragon King's Secret".

Actually, the needle was just a decoy; the key was to use the Dragon King's True Qi within his body to clear the stagnation and death energy in Wang Laowu's liver.

"Fifth Uncle, I'm about to insert the needle. It will feel sore, numb, and swollen. It won't be pleasant. You'll have to bear with it and not move around. If you get angry and damage your meridians, I won't be responsible." Chen Ergou picked up the longest needle and heated it over the flame of the kerosene lamp.

Wang Laowu stared at the gleaming needle, swallowed hard, and tensed up, his muscles taut with anxiety. "Hey, hey, I'll endure it, I definitely won't move!"

Chen Ergou chuckled inwardly, channeled a wisp of his true energy, and swiftly and accurately stabbed down into an acupoint near Wang Laowu's liver area!

"Awooo—!!!"

As soon as the needle went in, Wang Laowu felt as if a red-hot iron needle had been stabbed into him. He screamed like a pig being slaughtered and almost bounced off the door.

The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet night; it could probably be heard by half the village.

"Don't move!" Chen Ergou hissed, pressing him down with his hand. "This is only the first injection! Moving around will ruin everything!"

Wang Laowu was in so much pain that he grimaced and broke out in a cold sweat, but he could only clench his teeth tightly.

This is exactly the effect Chen Ergou wanted.

He wanted the whole village to hear how the usually arrogant village bully, Wang Laowu, was behaving in the presence of Chen Ergou.

Next, Chen Ergou moved the needles with lightning speed, specifically targeting acupoints that were highly stimulating.

Each needle prick was accompanied by Wang Laowu's suppressed cry of pain.

"Ouch!"

"Oh my god!"

"Gently... Grandpa Er Gou, gently..."

Screams rose and fell, echoing through the night sky.

The neighbors were indeed alerted, and many turned on their lights, with whispers and murmurs audible.

"Listen, that's Wang Laowu's voice! What's he doing at Er Gou's house? Why is he screaming so pitifully?"

"I don't know, is Er Gou dealing with him?"

"Serves him right! That old bastard finally got what he deserved!"

Zhang Qiaofen listened from the side, feeling both amused and worried, fearing that Chen Ergou might hurt Wang Laowu.

Chen Ergou didn't care at all. While manipulating the needles, he slowly channeled the pure Dragon King True Qi into Wang Laowu's liver meridian through the silver needles, clearing away the stagnant pathogenic qi.

At first, Wang Laowu felt excruciating pain, but gradually, an indescribable warm current spread from the puncture site, and the stabbing pain in his liver area was actually relieved quite a bit!

He stared wide-eyed in astonishment, his gaze towards Chen Ergou filled with awe and disbelief.

This kid is really capable!

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, sweat appeared on Chen Ergou's forehead.

He felt that the time was right before he pulled out the silver needles one by one.

"Alright, get up."

Wang Laowu shakily got up, stretched his body, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he felt much lighter and the heavy fatigue had disappeared!

"Amazing! Brother Er Gou! You're amazing! I feel so much better!" Wang Laowu was so excited that he was incoherent and was about to kneel down in front of Chen Er Gou again.

Chen Ergou waved his hand: "Don't rush to thank me, this is only the first time. Your illness is deeply rooted, it can't be cured in one go."

He picked up a pen and paper, wrote down a prescription, and handed it to Wang Laowu: "Follow this prescription, go up the mountain every day to pick fresh Panax notoginseng, honeysuckle, and dandelion, three qian of each, boil them in water and drink it for a month. During this period, abstain from alcohol and meat, and eat a light diet."

"Okay! I've got it! I'll definitely do it!" Old Wang took the prescription with both hands, as if he had found a treasure.

He got dressed, thanked them profusely, and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute," Chen Ergou called out to him.

Wang Laowu quickly turned around: "Brother Er Gou, is there anything else you need?"

Chen Ergou walked up to him. Although he was half a head shorter than Wang Laowu, his aura was definitely superior.

Chen Ergou pointed to Zhang Qiaofen beside him and said slowly, "Fifth Uncle, let's keep things separate. I'll treat your illness. You'll pay for it. But, in Xiushui Village, if I find out again that anyone dares to bully my sister-in-law or cause trouble for my family..."

He paused, his eyes sharpening. "You know what to do, right?"

Wang Laowu shuddered, immediately straightened his back, and patted his chest, guaranteeing, "Brother Ergou, don't worry! From now on, Qiaofen... no, sister-in-law! She's my own sister! If anyone dares to lay a finger on her, I, Wang Laowu, will be the first to object! You're like my own father!"

To survive, Wang Laowu has no bottom line anymore.

Chen Ergou nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, remember what you said. Go back now, come back in three days."

As if granted a pardon, Wang Laowu bowed and scraped as he left the courtyard, disappearing into the night.

The courtyard returned to silence.

Zhang Qiaofen walked over and wiped the sweat from Chen Ergou's forehead, her eyes filled with admiration and lingering fear.

"Ergou, you're really something... I was so worried when I heard his screams."

Chen Ergou smugly put his arm around her: "No problem! To deal with this kind of villain, you have to teach him a lesson! Come on, sister-in-law, let's go back to the house and get some sleep. There's more good news tomorrow!"

"What good news?"

"Didn't Director Liu tell me to go to the agricultural technology station? I'll go to town tomorrow to meet with him and find a good market for our vegetables!"

Chen Ergou embraced Zhang Qiaofen, blew out the kerosene lamp, and the room fell into darkness, leaving only the two of their swaying shadows.