The Legendary Healer of the Enchanted Forest

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A summer night pressed low upon the earth. The ceaseless chorus of cicadas shattered the quiet of Li Family Village. At the edge of the village stood a low, dilapidated house, its silent presence a testament to the passage of time.

Inside, beneath the dim glow of a lamp, a young man lay on a wooden bed, his upper body bare, the sheets beneath him soaked through with sweat. Beside him, a woman busied herself, gently wiping his body with a towel.

"Please, sister-in-law... this isn't right... you should stop..." Li Chao's face flushed crimson, his voice trembling as he struggled to restrain his emotions.

The woman smiled, as if she saw straight through his thoughts. "In this heat, sweat pours off you even when you don't move. How can you not wipe yourself down?"

She placed the towel in the basin at her side, brushed sweat from her brow, and continued, "Your parents are gone. As your neighbor, it's only right that I look after you."

Her words carried a composed resolve, as though she had long grown accustomed to the village gossip that circled her in Li Family Village. The gentle swell of her chest shimmered in the lamplight, radiating a maternal warmth that left Li Chao dizzy and faint.

"But if you keep caring for me like this, the village will gossip about you," Li Chao reminded her again, worried for her reputation.

"Let them talk! It's not like this is anything new. I've long since gotten used to it," she replied with a careless laugh,