Deep in the bamboo forest, the figure remained motionless, like an abandoned sack of rags.
Lín Xiāoxiāo's heart leaped into her throat; her first thought was to turn and flee. She already had enough trouble, with a huge, unknown problem lying inside the house, and she really didn't want to stir up any more conflict.
But what if... this person wasn't dead yet?
What if, like Xuán Mò, he was also being hunted? Or perhaps, he was just an ordinary mountain dweller who had encountered an accident?
The instinct of a healer (or perhaps, the lingering conscience of a transmigrator) began to stir again. She bit her lower lip, gripped the broken sickle in her hand, and stealthily approached like a vigilant cat.
A faint smell of blood permeated the air.
As she got closer, she saw it was a tall, burly man dressed in rough cloth. He had multiple wounds, the most severe being a gaping tear to the thigh, exposing bone, as if clawed by some wild beast. Blood had pooled on the ground and was already coagulating and turning black. His face was ashen, his lips dry and peeling, and his breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Lín Xiāoxiāo squatted down and felt for his carotid artery; it was still beating weakly.
Not quite dead yet.
She quickly checked the scattered items around him – an empty water skin, a chipped chopping knife, and a few shriveled wild fruits of unknown type. It seemed he had come into the mountains to find food, gotten injured, and was trapped here.
This man had a rugged face, exuding a wild aura, unlike an ordinary farmer. He actually had some of the demeanor... of the bandits Xuán Mò had dealt with before? Lín Xiāoxiāo's heart skipped a beat, but looking at his pathetic state, he didn't seem like a threat.
Save him, or not?
Reason told her that it was better to avoid trouble.
But looking at the man's brow, furrowed in pain even in his unconscious state, and his seemingly well-built muscles... an absurd thought suddenly popped into her head: with this physique, if he could be saved, he would be excellent labor! For clearing land, digging irrigation channels, for future construction, he would definitely be a skilled hand! Wouldn't he be a ready-made, potential 'chief tool person number two'?
Risk and opportunity coexist.
Lín Xiāoxiāo hesitated for only three seconds before making a decision – save him! Consider it a risky investment! If he really was a bandit, maybe she could pry some information out of him after saving him, or perhaps... try to 'recruit him' as previously planned?
She immediately sprang into action. First, using the man's own water skin, she went to a nearby stream to fetch water and carefully dripped it onto his dry, cracked lips. The man unconsciously swallowed a few times.
Then, she began to treat the severe wound on his leg. Wounds from wild beasts were highly contaminated and needed thorough cleaning. She crushed the dandelion and Scutellaria baicalensis she had collected earlier, which had anti-inflammatory and hemostatic properties, and used a clean cloth strip (sacrificing another corner of her undergarment) dipped in stream water to clean the wound. Then she applied the herbal medicine and bandaged it tightly.
Throughout the process, the man only let out a few vague groans and did not wake up.
After treating the wound, Lín Xiāoxiāo looked at his massive body and was stumped. She didn't have the strength to drag him back to the dilapidated hut. Moreover, she couldn't take him back – Xuán Mò's existence was still a secret, and she couldn't add more complications.
She looked around and found a shallow cave not far away that could barely block the wind. Exerting all her might, she dragged and pulled the man into the cave and found some dry grass to lay beneath him.
She placed the remaining herbs and the water-filled water skin beside him, and also left two wild chicken eggs she had found earlier (she felt pained for a moment). Whether he lived or not would depend on his fate.
Having done all this, it was getting late. Lín Xiāoxiāo dared not linger any longer. She noted the location, shouldered her harvest, and hurried down the mountain.
Back at the dilapidated hut, Xuán Mò was still on guard. Seeing her return safely, he seemed to let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
Lín Xiāoxiāo first carefully placed the two wild chicken eggs into the earthenware pot, added water, and prepared to boil them for Xuán Mò to supplement his nutrition. Then, while processing the medicinal herbs and wood ear mushrooms she had collected today, she lowered her voice and briefly told Xuán Mò about encountering the injured man in the bamboo forest.
"...He didn't look like an ordinary person, more like... a bandit," Lín Xiāoxiāo said finally, observing Xuán Mò's expression cautiously.
Xuán Mò listened, then remained silent for a moment, a sharp glint in his eyes: "You saved him?"
"Mm," Lín Xiāoxiāo nodded, feeling a little guilty. "I saw he was big and looked like he could do manual labor, so I... I just treated it as an advance investment in 'potential labor'.
Xuán Mò looked at her, his gaze complex, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely said lightly, "You are very bold." It was unclear whether it was praise or criticism.
"Can't be helped, we're short-handed," Lín Xiāoxiāo spread her hands. "Relying on just the two of us to survive in this hellhole, while also dealing with the labor conscription and your enemies, is too difficult. One more person means one more bit of strength.
She peeled one of the boiled eggs and handed it to Xuán Mò: "Eat quickly, supplement your protein, and your wound will heal faster."
Xuán Mò looked at the tender, hot egg, then at Lín Xiāoxiāo's face, smudged with dirt and grass from her work, and reached out to take it.
"That bandit," he said, taking a bite of the egg, "how do you plan to 'recruit' him?
Lín Xiāoxiāo paused her stirring of the wild vegetable and herb soup in the earthenware pot. A sly smile appeared on her face: "A wise person has their own tricks. First, he must owe me his life, mustn't he?
Just then, a hurried sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the yard, accompanied by Aunt Cuihua's piercingly loud voice, but with an unprecedented tone of panic:
"Xiaotou! It's bad! Something big has happened! Come out quickly and take a look!"
Lín Xiāoxiāo and Xuán Mò exchanged glances, their hearts simultaneously tightening.
What happened now?
End of Chapter 8