Luo A’man finally realized what was wrong and shuddered. “Y-you’re choking?”
A blazing light flashed in Sun Zheng’s eyes. He nodded frantically. “Mm—uh, uh, mm!”
Though she couldn’t understand him, Luo A’man got the gist. She quickly poured him a bowl of water. “Hurry, swallow it with the water. Remember to push hard—just like when you’re constipated and trying to force something out.”
Sun Zheng paid no attention to her words. He grabbed the bowl and eagerly drank.
Pfft.
The water he had just swallowed came spraying out, and the bowl slipped from his hand and smashed onto the floor.
Sun Zheng was utterly devastated. That idiot had given him boiling water!
Scalding hot boiling water!
Not only could he no longer breathe, but his tongue and the inside of his mouth had instantly blistered from the heat. The pain nearly made him faint, and the hand holding the bowl was bright red from the burn.
He was filled with despair. His head spun, his mind had gone foggy, and everything in front of him seemed to sway.
He finally realized that the shop doctor was useless!
Staggering out of the tavern, Sun Zheng tried to find someone to save him. Anyone would do—as long as it wasn’t this shop doctor.
“What happened? What happened?” Luo A’man was panicking too. She had only meant to make Sun Zheng suffer a little; she hadn’t intended to kill him.
Seeing Sun Zheng sticking out his tongue, which was covered in blisters, her eyes lit up. “The water was too hot? Ah?”
She looked down and finally noticed that, in her haste, she had poured him the water boiling away on the iron stove. It had been bubbling furiously—pure, scalding-hot water.
Luo A’man: “…”
She really hadn’t done it on purpose.
Luo A’man hurriedly poured another bowl of cool water. “I grabbed the wrong one by accident just now. This time there’s definitely no problem.”
However, Sun Zheng had been deprived of oxygen for so long that he was already dazed. He could barely hear her and only wanted to go outside to find someone to save him.
When he ignored her, Luo A’man took the initiative and shoved the bowl against his mouth.
“Drink it. Come on, drink! I promise it’s fine this time. Hurry—remember to swallow hard.”
Sun Zheng shook his head. “Aaah, aaah…”
Go away! I need to find someone to save me! Not you! Aah!
Dong Si, who had been hiding in the distance, saw Sun Zheng stagger out of the tavern, with Luo A’man holding a bowl of something and trying to force it into his mouth.
His face filled with question marks. What was going on?
Luo A’man was the one he had summoned. Sun Zheng had been pestering him lately, trying to get Fengzhou to sell grain to Sizhou, while offering an absurdly stingy price.
That alone would have been bad enough, but Sun Zheng always acted so superior that Dong Si found him thoroughly distasteful. So he had decided to teach him a lesson.
Just then, Sun Zheng collapsed onto the ground with a thud. His body convulsed violently, then went still.
Dong Si froze.
Had she actually killed him?
No, wait—when had Luo A’man become this powerful?
No one had ever died before.
He hurried over. “What happened?”
Luo A’man was bewildered too. “I don’t know. He choked on a youtiao, and then suddenly collapsed.”
Dong Si was speechless. “Then hurry up and save him!”
“Ah. Oh.” Luo A’man immediately sprang into action. She had learned first aid in the army, after all.
She crouched down, straddled Sun Zheng, and began performing chest compressions.
By now, quite a crowd had gathered around them.
Seeing Luo A’man’s movements, Dong Si felt that something was wrong, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
He had no time to worry about it. Turning to the onlookers, he shouted, “Someone go to the clinic and get a doctor!”
The common folk were very warmhearted. Someone immediately called out, “I’ll go! I run fast!”
One of the onlookers asked in confusion, “Isn’t Shopkeeper Sun the one who runs the tavern? Why isn’t she here?”
“No idea. Maybe she went out to take care of something.”
“What did he eat to choke like that? Could he really have choked to death on a youtiao?”
“Maybe. They’re delicious, but surely they can’t choke someone to death?”
“Who says they can’t? Didn’t someone choke to death on one before?”
“Could be.”
Mo Song, who was mixed into the crowd, wore a complicated expression. He had happened to be passing by and, upon seeing a commotion, found his feet carrying him over of their own accord.
He hadn’t expected to find an acquaintance—and one already lying on the ground at that.
To be honest, his thoughts were rather dark and conflicted.
On the one hand, he hoped Sun Zheng would be all right. After all, they had worked together for so long.
On the other hand, he hoped Sun Zheng would really choke to death. That way, the reputation of being the first man to choke to death on a youtiao would no longer belong to him alone, and someone else could share half the burden. Besides, he and Sun Zheng had never gotten along particularly well.
“Wait,” one of the onlookers suddenly said. “Little lady, that’s not how you do it. I read about this in the Gazette before. That isn’t the way to save someone who’s choking.”
“Ah.” A tall man sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s right, that’s right. I remember the Gazette said you’re supposed to stand behind him, wrap both arms around him, and lean his body forward…”
Dong Si slapped his forehead. He finally understood what had seemed wrong.
“You’re doing it wrong! That’s not the right method!”
The youtiao was stuck in Sun Zheng’s throat. Unless it was removed, performing CPR would be useless!
Luo A’man was sweating profusely from exhaustion. At his words, she looked up in bewilderment, then remembered that the youtiao was still lodged in Sun Zheng’s throat.
She had been so frantic that she had forgotten about it.
Dong Si looked toward the two men who had spoken up earlier. “Quick, help him! Use the method you saw in the Gazette.”
The tall man did not hesitate. Though he was somewhat nervous, a human life was at stake, so he hurried forward.
For some reason, however, he stumbled over his own feet and fell flat on the ground. His face landed right in front of Sun Zheng’s, nearly resulting in a mouth-to-mouth kiss. Fortunately, he managed to steady himself at the last moment.
Dong Si couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. “Luo A’man, you—hurry back into the tavern.”
With such a dangerous weapon around, saving someone was truly difficult. What if they failed to save him and ended up sending two more people to the grave?
Come to think of it, he had been foolish to ask Luo A’man to help in the first place.
Luo A’man: “…”
She sighed and silently retreated into the tavern, poking her head out to watch the spectacle.
This time, the rescue went relatively smoothly. Perhaps Sun Zheng’s life simply wasn’t meant to end yet. Despite the considerable delay, the two men managed to dislodge the youtiao from his throat.
However, perhaps because he had been unconscious for too long, Sun Zheng still showed no signs of moving.
The tall man had clearly read the Gazette very carefully. He immediately began performing chest compressions again. Just as the doctor arrived, Sun Zheng finally woke up.
The surrounding crowd erupted in cheers.
“He’s alive! He really came back!”
“Exactly! Who would’ve thought reading the Gazette could be so useful? I’ve seen both of those lifesaving methods in it too, but I never paid much attention.”
“Same here. I thought I’d never need them. Looks like I was thinking too narrowly. I’ll have to study more from now on.”
“That’s right. How could the Gazette publish anything useless? These are all life-saving skills.”
“Thank goodness they got him back. Otherwise, he would’ve become the second man to choke to death on a youtiao.”
The first man to choke to death on a youtiao, Mo Song: “…”
He silently turned and walked away.
His reputation was beyond saving now.
Sun Zheng covered his face and sobbed uncontrollably. He had nearly choked to death on a youtiao. If word of this got out, how could he ever show his face again?
“Lord Sun, Lord Sun, are you all right?” Dong Si asked with concern. “How did you manage to eat so quickly? Don’t they have youtiao in Sizhou?”
His voice was exceptionally loud, and he emphasized the words “Lord Sun” with particular force.
Sun Zheng froze mid-cry. It was over—his lifelong reputation was ruined!
Just like Mo Song, he had become the second man to choke to death on a youtiao. He hadn’t actually choked to death, but it had been close enough.
Sun Zheng covered his face, utterly mortified, and decided to make one last desperate attempt to salvage the situation. “Y-You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
