After returning from Baotou, Li Mazi quit drinking and closed his little shop. He wholeheartedly took care of his pregnant wife, Ru Xue, to the extent that he stopped spending time on business cases with me.

“Since we got married, I haven’t spent much time with Ru Xue. This time, I will make up for it!” That’s what he told me.

We rarely had free time, so Yin Xinyue also took leave from her company to be with me. She pouted, pestering me to travel with her.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked her.

“Europe! I want to go see the medieval castles and the magnificent seas of flowers!”

Considering that Li Mazi and his wife currently didn’t want to leave their comfortable home, I didn’t plan on inviting them to go with us.

Yet, in the early morning of the day we were going to depart, Li Mazi unexpectedly appeared in front of my antique shop with travel bags on his shoulders. He didn’t forget to bring Ru Xue, either.

He gave me a broad smile with his despicable face. “Little Brother Zhang, thinking about sneaking out and traveling alone? You have to bring us with you. Furthermore, you have to cover all the expenses!”

I stood there awkwardly, feeling speechless.

“Ru Xue, can you travel given your body’s condition?” I was worried, though.

“It’s no problem. I’ve only been pregnant for two months!”

Ru Xue rubbed her belly, giving me an OK gesture. With this assurance, I nodded and didn’t continue to comment or question their decision.

Since Yin Xinyue worked for a multinational film company, she was able to use her connections to apply for a visa. She effortlessly completed all the procedures for us.

Li Mazi was excited. “Long live Yin Xinyue!”

I felt my heart grow warm at this display.

In the next half month, we first visited the four Nordic countries and Andersen’s homeland, Denmark. Next, we headed to France to see the world of lavender in Provence, touring the various countries in our path along the way.

These countries weren’t too large, as they were about the size of a province in China. Despite this, the monuments and landmarks on our journey were so mesmerizing that it was impossible to accurately describe them with words. It was like visiting a brand-new fairyland.

It was the first time I traveled abroad. My first and deepest impression was that the people residing in these developed countries would live a fulfilling and enjoyable life!

Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue continuously shopped throughout the trip. Moreover, they just bought things and didn’t want to carry the bags. At first, Li Mazi and I could endure, but after a couple of days of non-stop shopping, we both looked thinner. We couldn’t put up with it anymore, suggesting that we head home.

However, Ru Xue repeatedly insisted that we had to visit the famous Milan in Italy. Helpless, Li Mazi and I had to continue to be their bellhop.

We had an enjoyable shopping tour around Milan during the day. Around twilight, we visited the Milan Conservatory and found a nearby hotel to stay in.

After checking in, I washed my face and sank into the bed, falling asleep. Yin Xinyue was angry and kicked me, but she couldn’t wake me up.

However, she was also exhausted and drifted to sleep easily. We both had pleasant dreams.

While we were sleeping, I heard someone knocking on my door. I felt as if someone was calling my name.

I cursed under my breath, rolling aside and ignoring it. But the person outside was persistent, banging louder on my door. Eventually, Yin Xinyue was awakened. She sat up, shaking me, “Brother Zhang, it seems Li Mazi’s calling for you.”

I shook my head to pull myself together. I put on my clothes, opened the door, and thundered at him, “Dude, it’s midnight, and you’re still not asleep. Why did you knock on my door?”

Li Mazi’s voice choked with sobs. “Little Brother Zhang, hurry and save Ru Xue! If something bad happens to her, I won’t be able to live anymore!”

Immediately, I felt like I had just fallen into an ice chamber, being chilled from head to toe.

I then noticed that Li Mazi had sweat on his entire face, with the skin on his neck being red. It seemed he had just been suffocated.

My eyes moved a little downward and saw that he had a bruise around his throat!

I was stunned. I turned and went to the bathroom, directly pouring a bucket of cold water on my head to pull myself together. I didn’t even dry my hair before dashing out and asking him, “Did you see anything?”

Li Mazi had experienced perilous and even deadly moments. There shouldn’t be many things that could make him panic.

In addition, when I saw the bruise on his neck, I could feel a wisp of dark energy moving around that spot. He had bumped into something foul!

“I was sleeping when I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I woke up and opened my eyes to see Ru Xue straddling me, using a rope to strangle me,” said Li Mazi.

“I thought that she wanted to play with me. Yet, her grip got stronger and stronger, and her face grew pale and ferocious. She apparently wanted to strangle me to death! Moreover, I felt her strength suddenly increase to the point where I couldn’t resist her. I thought I would die like that, but then, right as I was about to pass out, Ru Xue stopped and fainted on the bed. Hurry, go check her!”

Li Mazi explained everything in one breath, pulling me toward his room. Yin Xinyue knew the situation wasn’t right, so she put on more clothes and followed us.

When we entered Li Mazi’s room, I saw Ru Xue on the bed, her face as pale as a sheet of white paper. I hurried to sit on the edge of the bed, about to lift her. However, as soon as I touched her, I felt a strong wave of coldness.

Ru Xue’s body is so cold!

I frowned, trying to move her arm, but her limbs were stiff already. As such, I had Yin Xinyue soak a towel in warm water and rub her body.

“Little Brother Zhang, you must save her! I’m begging you. Please!”

Li Mazi was so anxious that he was sweating heavily. Be that as it may, he didn’t know how to help. He could only implore me.

This man had always valued affection and his significant other. When Chu Chu passed away, he had almost collapsed. It was hard for him to find happiness again with Ru Xue. No matter what, I had to ensure Ru Xue’s safety!

Typically, in this situation, the best thing to do was to have her drink charm water to expel the Yin energy in her body.

However, this situation was made very difficult by the fact that she was pregnant. The two-month-old fetus didn’t have a complete soul yet. If we fed her charm water, it was probable that we would erase the child’s soul too.

“What's happening?”

I was scratching my head when Yin Xinyue suddenly shrieked. Li Mazi and I reacted quickly, jumping toward her. We saw that the areas on Ru Xue’s body where the warm towel touched had begun to blister.

The blisters swelled up and started to ooze light-yellow pus. Li Mazi cracked when he saw that, slumping to the floor and beginning to scream.

“Li Mazi, pull yourself together! We can still save Ru Xue! You have to believe me!”

I pulled him up from the ground, shouting in his face, “Go get me some milk. The purer, the better!”

Li Mazi seemed to not hear my words, his dull eyes gazing at Ru Xue. I resolutely slapped him. “If you want to save Ru Xue, do what I tell you! Hurry up!”

“Right! Save Ru Xue! We can still save her!” Li Mazi got a hold of himself, running away.

After he left, I picked up a paper cup, bringing it to Ru Xue while asking Yin Xinyue to continue to rub her body. Every time the pus oozed, I caught the liquid with my cup.

Soon, Yin Xinyue had rubbed the entirety of Ru Xue’s body. However, the woman’s face had turned even paler.

Yin Xinyue was terrified, crying, “Brother Zhang, can we save Ru Xue or not?”

“I don’t know.”

I sighed, answering her with a pained expression.

I found a magnifying glass and observed the pus.

Based on Li Mazi’s explanation, between the point where Ru Xue tried to strangle him to the moment we entered the room, only a short period of time had passed. There weren’t many tricks that could make someone ooze pus in such a small amount of time. To my knowledge, only the magic insect in the Miao’s territory could create this evil effect!

Legends said that an insect master just needed someone’s hair or saliva to activate his insect. In a minor case, the victim would be sick for a few months. However, in a severe case, the victim could have their body rot while still alive! Countless tiny worms would nibble their body and break their skin to come out. A living man would be tortured to death.

If Ru Xue had an insect in her body, I didn’t have the power to overturn this situation! Fortunately, I had observed the pus carefully and found no worms. We could cross off the magic insect as a possibility for now.