The rude shouting outside the door was like thunder, breaking the brief peace that had just settled in the dilapidated house.
Lin Xiaoxiao's heart pounded, her knuckles white from gripping the broken sickle. She exchanged a quick glance with Xuan Mo on the kang—the visitors meant trouble!
Xuan Mo had already lay back down, resuming his frail appearance, but his eyes were sharp as knives, fixed on the doorway, his muscles taut, ready to spring at any moment.
They couldn't let them in! If they saw Xuan Mo, things would only get worse.
Lin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her fear, and put on a timid, slightly flustered expression as she opened the broken wooden door.
Outside stood three disreputable youths. The leader was a well-known local hooligan named Zhao Si, who lorded over the village with his numerous brothers. The other two were his lackeys. The trio stood with their arms crossed, squinting, eyeing Lin Xiaoxiao and the dilapidated house behind her with ill intent.
"Brother Zhao Si, what, what do you need?" Lin Xiaoxiao's voice trembled as she shifted her body slightly, trying to block their view into the house.
Zhao Si let out a scoff and craned his neck to peer inside, "Heard you picked up some dying man? Hiding him in here? Hurry up and call him out for us to see! What if he's a fugitive?"
"No! He's not a fugitive!" Lin Xiaoxiao quickly denied, sticking to the story they had concocted. "He's my distant cousin, who came to seek refuge with me. He was seriously injured..."
"Cousin?" Zhao Si clearly didn't believe her and reached out to push her aside. "Get lost! We'll know if we see him!"
Just as his hand was about to touch Lin Xiaoxiao, she didn't retreat. Instead, she suddenly looked up, her voice rising sharply with a desperate edge:
"Brother Zhao Si! Village Head Grandpa just left! He already knows about my cousin! And he's decided that my cousin will be assigned labor service once he recovers! If you barge in now and disturb the patient, delaying his labor service, and Village Head Grandpa blames you, can you afford to take the consequences?!"
Her outburst, urgent and sharp, startled Zhao Si and his two companions.
Village Head Liu Daniu did have considerable influence in the village, especially when it came to official labor levies. No one dared to openly cause trouble.
Zhao Si's hand froze mid-air, his expression shifting between the shades of guilt and anger. He had indeed heard that the Village Head had been here recently, but he hadn't expected things to be decided so quickly.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao struck while the iron was hot, her tone softening but carrying a veiled threat: "Brother Zhao Si, my cousin is seriously injured and likely won't be able to get up for half a month or more. Village Head Grandpa said that if he can't go at that time, he'll have to report him to the authorities... What if the officials come and find something else... It wouldn't be good for anyone, don't you think?"
Her words were vague, but the phrases "report to the authorities" and "find something else" struck a nerve with people like Zhao Si. They often engaged in petty theft and other illicit activities, and their greatest fear was dealing with officials.
Zhao Si's eyes flickered a few times, his confidence visibly waning. He grudgingly withdrew his hand, cursing, "Hmph! A frail invalid, who cares to see him! Let's go, let's go!"
With that, he turned and left dejectedly with his two followers.
Only after the trio had gone far away did Lin Xiaoxiao firmly close the door. Leaning against it, she gasped for air, her back already soaked with cold sweat. That was a close call!
The immediate crisis was averted, but Lin Xiaoxiao's heart felt heavy. Someone like Zhao Si might be fooled today, but tomorrow he might figure things out or come up with other nasty ideas. Time was truly running out for them.
She walked to the side of the kang and noticed that Xuan Mo's forehead was covered in fine beads of cold sweat, and his lips were even drier. The tense confrontation had clearly drained his already meager energy.
"How are you?" she asked, worried.
"I'm fine." Xuan Mo's voice was hoarse, his eyes closed. "Your handling of it... was very good."
Receiving affirmation from the "professional" made Lin Xiaoxiao feel a little better. But she knew that just talking smoothly wasn't enough; Xuan Mo's injuries were the real issue.
She looked at the meager amount of the lumpy yam and chestnut porridge left in the earthenware pot, then at Xuan Mo's pale face, and made a decision.
"Wait here, I'm going out to find some medicine and food." She picked up the broken sickle and the old cloth she used to carry wild vegetables.
Xuan Mo opened his eyes and looked at her, "Be careful."
"I know." Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, paused, and then added, "You too. Rule number one on the 'performance review' is to conserve energy. When I'm not here, sleep if you can!"
Xuan Mo: "..." He quietly closed his eyes again.
Lin Xiaoxiao went out again, this time with a clear goal, heading straight for the more densely vegetated and less frequented areas of the mountain behind the village. Based on the original owner's vague memories and her own knowledge of botany, she needed to find several herbs with anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and blood-circulation-promoting properties, such as dandelion, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Panax notoginseng (if she could find it).
At the same time, she kept an eye out for potential food sources—wild fruits, mushrooms (which required extreme caution in identification), or perhaps setting up simple traps to catch small animals.
The mountain path was difficult, overgrown with thorns. Lin Xiaoxiao cleared the way with her broken sickle, searching carefully. She was like the most meticulous field researcher, not missing a single suspicious plant.
Her efforts were rewarded.
On a damp, shaded slope, she found a large patch of well-grown dandelions. She carefully dug them up by the root; the entire plant could be used for medicinal purposes.
Near a rock crevice, she found several plants of Scutellaria baicalensis with small pale purple flowers; this was also a good anti-inflammatory herb.
Although she didn't find the ideal Panax notoginseng, she was fortunate to discover some Purslane and Houttuynia cordata. Both were edible wild vegetables with certain medicinal value.
She also found a few edible wood ear mushrooms under a dead tree and carefully picked them.
What surprised her the most was finding a Wild chicken nest in a bush, containing several warm eggs!
"Great!" Lin Xiaoxiao was almost moved to tears. This was high-quality protein! She carefully took two of the eggs, wrapped them in soft dry grass, and tucked them into her embrace. She didn't take them all, adhering to the principle of sustainable foraging, hoping the wild chicken would return.
With a bountiful harvest, Lin Xiaoxiao felt much more relaxed. Carrying her "loot" wrapped in the old cloth, she prepared to return laden with goods.
With these herbs, Xuan Mo's injuries should heal faster. And with the wild chicken eggs, she could supplement his nutrition.
However, as she walked down the path she had taken, passing a particularly dense bamboo grove, her peripheral vision caught sight of what appeared to be a figure lying in a clearing deep within the bamboos!
The figure was motionless, with some scattered items beside it. Judging by the clothing, it didn't look like a villager from Huáishù Village.
Lin Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively stopped, holding her breath.
Was the person dead? Or unconscious?
Could it be... Xuan Mo's "adversary"? Or... some other trouble?
Should she go and check, or immediately take a detour and leave?
**Chapter 7 (End)**