Qiao Zhao followed Xie Shengxiao to the room where the two women were housed.

She had only taken one step forward when the two women immediately hugged their heads and retreated to the corner.

Qiao Zhao looked toward Xie Shengxiao.

“They’ve been like this since they woke up. I’m afraid… I’m afraid they have the same condition as Qi Niang from before, so I asked you to come take a look.”

Qiao Zhao carefully observed the two women. Naturally, she couldn’t tell anything just by looking, so she softened her tone: “Don’t be afraid. We’ve already rescued you from the pirates. You’re safe now. I’d like to examine your bodies – is that alright?”

Seeing the two women still hugging their heads and trembling all over, Qiao Zhao made her voice even gentler: “Then I’ll come over.”

The two women said nothing.

Qiao Zhao waited a moment, then stepped forward and bent down to take one woman’s hand.

Just then, something unexpected happened – the woman suddenly reached out and pushed Qiao Zhao hard.

Qiao Zhao stumbled backward and was caught by a pair of hands.

“Miss Xie, thank you.”

Xie Shengxiao looked apologetic: “Miss Li, I’m sorry—”

Qiao Zhao steadied herself and shook her head: “It’s not Miss Xie’s fault. Since we rescued them, we naturally need to take good care of them until they’re out of danger.”

“Don’t come over, don’t come over!” The woman screamed frantically, hugging tightly with the other woman tightly.

Qiao Zhao stood in place observing the two women’s condition. Thinking of what they had endured, her heart stirred, and she said to Xie Shengxiao, who was dressed as a man: “Miss Xie, why don’t you wait outside? I’ll talk with them alone.”

Xie Shengxiao immediately refused: “How can that work? What if they hurt you?”

Miss Li looked like a delicate girl without the strength to truss a chicken, not even as tall as her eyebrows. She didn’t think such a petite and delicate girl could have any ability to protect herself.

“Miss Xie should have examined them when they were unconscious, right?”

Xie Shengxiao nodded.

“Do they have any weapons on them?”

“No, but—”

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Then it’s fine if they have no weapons. If anything happens, you can come rescue me.”

Xie Shengxiao couldn’t help rolling her eyes: “You’re certainly optimistic.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xie Shengxiao felt embarrassed.

She had only known Miss Li for a few days – how had she instinctively treated Miss Li like a familiar friend and teased her? This was very rude.

Qiao Zhao noticed Xie Shengxiao’s embarrassment and smiled to ease it: “Miss Xie sees correctly – I’ve always been very optimistic. I think that as women, we need to be more optimistic than men to live well.”

Xie Shengxiao was stunned.

A’Chu had said these words before, and she very much agreed.

This world was so harsh toward women. If women couldn’t think positively, always be afraid of this and worried about that, they could suffocate themselves to death from frustration alone.

“Alright, Miss Xie, please go out quickly. I still need to examine them.” Qiao Zhao spoke in an equally familiar tone.

Xie Shengxiao walked out somewhat dazedly.

Qiao Zhao’s gaze returned to the two women.

Both women had gaunt faces with sharp chins. Their eyes appeared large but looked hollow and somewhat frightening.

They wore newly changed dresses – from the style and patterns, Qiao Zhao remembered they were A’Zhu’s clothes. Their slender necks exposed outside were covered with bloody scratches.

Qiao Zhao sighed inwardly, approached the two, and said gently: “Don’t be afraid. It’s just me now. Like you, I’m also a girl.”

The two women finally reacted, raising their heads to look at her warily.

Qiao Zhao smiled warmly: “I need to examine your bodies now. Is that alright?”

Both women remained silent.

“Then I’ll take that as agreement. I’ll check your pulse first – I only need to press your wrists, and I won’t touch anywhere else. Do you understand?”

The two women still didn’t move.

To avoid causing them resistance, Qiao Zhao made her voice even softer: “Then I’ll check the pulse of the sister closest to me first.”

She slowly reached out to grasp the nearest woman’s wrist. When her fingertips touched the woman’s wrist, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated on taking her pulse.

But just then, the woman suddenly gripped Qiao Zhao’s wrist tightly and bit down hard on her arm.

Qiao Zhao cried out in pain.

Xie Shengxiao burst through the door, her face changing dramatically: “Miss Li!”

She rushed over to pry the woman off, but the other woman suddenly blocked her way, screaming: “Go away, go away!”

Qiao Zhao endured the pain: “Miss Xie, please go out. They probably think you’re a man and are frightened.”

“But—”

Qiao Zhao smiled helplessly: “I’ve already been bitten – I can’t let it be for nothing.”

“Aren’t you afraid they have that disease and will infect you?” Xie Shengxiao’s face was ashen as she said this.

If she had known this would happen, she shouldn’t have called Miss Li over. If anything happened to Miss Li, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.

“There are ways to handle it before it manifests. Miss Xie, please go out quickly.” Miss Qiao said with tears in her eyes.

If they kept biting, she really would die from the pain!

Xie Shengxiao nodded firmly: “Fine, I’ll go out, but if they do anything more excessive, I’ll stop them no matter what!”

Xie Shengxiao stomped out, and Qiao Zhao still smiled as she asked: “You’re sisters, aren’t you?”

“How do you know?” The other woman stared at Qiao Zhao in a daze.

“I can see you care for each other very much. Just now, you were so protective of this young lady. I thought that only real sisters would care for each other like this.” Qiao Zhao explained gently, maintaining a faint smile at the corners of her mouth as if she felt no pain from her arm. Her voice had a soothing quality.

She could feel the woman’s tense emotions beginning to relax after hearing her words.

At this moment, Miss Qiao couldn’t help thinking: Perhaps she did have some talent for learning Grandfather Li’s strange method.

There was a brief silence in the room.

Qiao Zhao wasn’t in a hurry and waited motionlessly.

“Sister, let her go. She’s the same as us.” The other woman finally spoke.

Qiao Zhao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

She had guessed correctly – they were indeed sisters.

What she had said was purely to comfort these two women. She had determined they were sisters because she noticed they bore some resemblance to each other.

The woman who had been biting Qiao Zhao’s arm seemed to listen to the other woman very much. She released her bite, raised her head with blood all over her mouth, glanced at Qiao Zhao, then hid in the other woman’s embrace.

Qiao Zhao smiled bitterly inwardly.

She was the one who had been bitten and was now in so much pain she wanted to cry, yet somehow it seemed like she was the one bullying them.

She took out a handkerchief to press against the wound and smiled at the other woman.

“Who are you people?” the woman asked.

“The people in charge of this ship are actually from the government—”

Before Qiao Zhao could finish speaking, the two women who had just calmed down suddenly became agitated again.