The sight of the unfamiliar wet, muddy footprints on the ground instantly dispelled Lín Xiāoxiāo's sleepiness. Her heart pounded, and a chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She squatted down abruptly, examining them closely. The footprints were a bit blurred, but she could tell they came from outside the door, had lingered briefly inside the house as if observing, and then retreated back out, disappearing onto the dry, hard ground outside.
Who was it?
A villager? If it were a villager, seeing a strange, seriously injured man in the house, why would they leave quietly without a sound?
More likely, it was the people hunting Xuán Mò!
Instinctively, she tightened her grip on the broken sickle tucked at her waist, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat. She tiptoed to the door and peered out through the large gap. The yard was empty, the morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the surroundings were eerily silent.
Glancing back at Xuán Mò on the kang, still unconscious (or perhaps sleeping), Lín Xiāoxiāo forced herself to calm down. Panic wouldn't solve anything.
Her immediate priority was to assess the situation and properly treat Xuán Mò's ruptured wounds.
She took a deep breath and returned to the kang. Xuán Mò's breathing was steadier than last night, but his face was still pale. She gently lifted the cloth strip from his shoulder. As expected, the edges of the wound were red and swollen, and fresh blood seeped from the stitches (she had tried to suture two points with cleaned horse tail hair last night).
"This is just piling on the misery..." she muttered resentfully, resignedly going to find water and boil it, preparing to clean and dress the wound again.
This time, as she wiped the wound with warm salt water, Xuán Mò's body merely trembled slightly and he did not wake up. His body was fighting the pain and weakness through deep sleep.
After tending to the wound, Lín Xiāoxiāo's stomach rumbled. The small amount of wild vegetable soup from last night was long gone. Looking at the empty earthenware pot and the dwindling wild vegetables, worry welled up in her heart.
The food crisis was a more immediate threat than the potential pursuers.
She had to find a way to get more food, preferably something that could be stored. At the same time, she needed to start planning for long-term survival—for example, farming.
Thinking of farming, her gaze naturally fell upon the desolate land in the yard, and then, a problem inescapable for any agricultural student surfaced in her mind: fertilizer.
Without fertilizer, trying to grow enough food on this barren land was simply a fantasy. And right now, the quickest, most primitive source of fertilizer was...
Her gaze, involuntarily, slowly shifted to the "rudimentary toilet" in the corner of the house, which she had modified herself, crudely covered with a broken earthenware jar and wooden planks.
As a modern person, even an agricultural student, personally handling "farm manure" required significant psychological preparation.
Lín Xiāoxiāo stood before the broken earthenware jar, holding a long wooden stick, her expression flickering, as if engaged in an intense mental struggle.
"This is fertilizer, it's the food for crops, it's the crystallization of science..." she muttered to herself, trying to use academic belief to overcome her physical discomfort. "No manure, no grain. No grain, one dies... Lín Xiāoxiāo, you can do this!"
She took a deep breath (and immediately regretted it, the pungent smell nearly making her faint), and carefully used the stick to lift a corner of the wooden plank.
Just as she held her breath, ready to proceed with the next step of "scientific research," a voice from behind, extremely weak but with clear astonishment and disbelief, suddenly spoke:
"What... are you doing?"
Lín Xiāoxiāo's hand trembled, and the stick nearly fell in. She whipped her head around, only to see Xuán Mò, who had apparently woken up at some point, now half-propping himself up with his head. He stared at her with an indescribable look, a mixture of shock, confusion, and a hint of... vigilance, fixed on her and the wooden stick she held towards the earthenware jar.
That gaze clearly made him look at her as if she were a pervert with some strange obsession!
Lín Xiāoxiāo's face instantly flushed red, a mix of embarrassment and indignation. She quickly covered the plank, dropped the stick, and tried to explain: "I, I wasn't doing anything! I was... I was studying fertilizer! Yes, fertilizer! For farming!"
Xuán Mò's brow furrowed even more deeply, clearly unable to understand the connection between "studying fertilizer" and holding a stick towards a chamber pot. He looked at her in silence, his gaze making Lín Xiāoxiāo feel like a fool caught red-handed.
"It's... human excrement. After it's fermented, it can become excellent fertilizer for the fields, improving soil fertility and making crops grow better..." she attempted to convince him with science.
However, Xuán Mò's expression told her that while he might have understood each word, the combination was entirely beyond his scope of understanding. As a General Prince from a distinguished background, he probably didn't even know how crops grew, let alone the "reuse" of such "filthy things."
His gaze towards Lín Xiāoxiāo, in addition to the previous complex emotions, now held a very distinct... disgust. He silently, laboriously, shifted his body backward, as if moving further away would make him safer.
Lín Xiāoxiāo: "..." Forget it, it's like casting pearls before swine.
This cross-era discussion about "fertilizer" ultimately ended in Lín Xiāoxiāo's complete failure and Xuán Mò's deepened misunderstanding.
To avoid further embarrassment, and to look for food, Lín Xiāoxiāo decided to go out immediately. She picked up the broken sickle and the earthenware pot and instructed Xuán Mò: "I'm going out to find some food and water. You... be careful here, don't strain your wound. If anyone comes, definitely don't make a sound!"
Xuán Mò didn't reply. He just closed his eyes, whether in consent or dismissal, she couldn't tell.
Lín Xiāoxiāo sighed, carrying a heart full of grievances (who was it all for! Wasn't it to grow food to support himself!) and worry (who did those footprints belong to?), she walked out of the dilapidated house.
This time, she expanded her search area. Fortunately, on a shaded slope further away, she found a patch of wild yam. Although difficult to dig up, it was definitely good food to fill her stomach. She also found some wild chestnuts.
On the way back, she deliberately took a detour and observed the residential area of Huáishù Village from a distance. A few wisps of cooking smoke rose, and villagers could occasionally be seen moving about. It seemed no different from usual.
This put her mind a little at ease. Perhaps those footprints were just a curious villager?
As she was nearing the dilapidated house with her hard-won food, she saw two figures standing at the entrance of the yard from afar!
They weren't the furtive type from last night, but were standing there openly, as if waiting for her to return!
Lín Xiāoxiāo's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively hid behind a tree.
Of the two, one was the village's famously sharp-tongued Aunt Cuihua, and the other was the lean, stern village head, Liu Daniu!
How did they find this place?
Were they looking for her?
Or... had they discovered Xuán Mò in her house?
Chapter 4 (End)