A trail of bloodstains was left on the stove, and some blood even splattered into the firebox.

The flames sizzled as they burned, and the air carried a strange smell.

Ignoring the big gray dog ​​whose neck had been slashed by an entrenching tool, Gu An'an quickly helped Jiang Mingzhu up, saying, "Don't be afraid, Zhu'er, it's alright, Mother is here."

The girl's face was pale, making the scratch mark all the more shocking.

What if it leaves scars on my face if it's not treated properly?

As a woman herself, Gu An'an understands even more how much girls value their appearance.

The girl was very light, so Gu An'an easily picked her up and quickly carried her into the house to put her on the kang (a heated brick bed). "Go and take Mingxu and Bao'er to your room. Remember to close the courtyard gate from the inside."

Jiang Mingyi was so engrossed in reciting his essay that he didn't notice what was happening outside. When he came to his senses, he saw Zhu'er lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) with open wounds on her face.

He hurriedly went to the yard to look for her. Zhu'er's wounds were quite terrible, and he couldn't let the children see them, lest they be frightened.

Gu An'an hurriedly went to the kitchen to get some salt, put it in a basin, and dissolved it with hot water from the stove mixed with cold water.

Deeper wounds like these should be treated with saline solution.

"It might hurt a little, Pearl, if you can't help it, just scream."

Jiang Mingzhu looked at the person with beads of sweat on their forehead. She watched as those tiny beads of sweat slowly gathered and grew larger, then fell with a "plop" onto her collar.

Everywhere you looked, you saw Gu An'an looking nervous.

"Mother, will I have a scar on my face?"

This question surprised Gu An'an. According to biological knowledge, such a wound would inevitably form a scar, and scars are formed by the replacement of fibrous tissue during the wound healing process. In other words, scars are unavoidable.

However, she has already transmigrated into a novel and become a stepmother, so what's the point of biology and science?

Everyone, get out of the way.

"No, it won't leave a single scar, I promise you."

The girl laughed when she heard this, which made the claw mark on her left cheek look even uglier. "If it leaves a scar, Mother, you'll have to take care of me for the rest of my life."

Gu An'an was stunned when she heard this. She looked at the girl who was grabbing her arm and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I am your mother. I will always be your mother. Of course I will take care of you for the rest of my life."

The girl on the kang laughed when she heard this, but tears welled up in her eyes.

Gu An'an quickly wiped it away, "Don't let the wound get wet, it will get better, Mom promises you."

Gu An'an still had quite a bit of Songjiang white cotton cloth she had bought earlier from Lin's Cloth Shop. She used warm salt water to carefully clean the bloodstains from the wound.

It was only when Gu An'an went to the kitchen to prepare the salt water that she noticed that the dog she had beheaded did not seem to be a village dog. Its long, messy gray fur made it look more like a wolf.

If it were a wolf, that would be even more terrifying. These wild beasts that live in the mountains and forests, who knows how many bacteria they carry in their claws.

We need to handle this even more carefully.

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), Jiang Mingzhu couldn't help but let out a soft cry of pain.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but remembering what her mother had said, the girl held them back.

"It will be soon, Pearl, don't be afraid."

When Jiang Mingyi arrived, he saw Gu An'an bending down to treat Zhu'er's wounds. She had a smile on her face, but when she turned her head to wet the wound, the smile suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a look of worry.

The two suddenly locked eyes. Jiang Mingyi paused for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "How is Zhu'er?"

"fine."

Gu An'an looked at the now cloudy saline solution and cleaned the last piece of the wound.

The scratches started from below the left eye and went down to the jawline, covering almost the entire left cheek.

If it were just a little higher, I'm afraid my left eye would also suffer.

Now, this is actually a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Gu An'an cleaned the bloodstains on her left cheek, and seeing the open wound, she smiled and said, "In my experience, it will be fine in ten days to half a month. It's not as bad as when I spanked you and your skin was torn open."

Her words made Jiang Mingzhu laugh, but the pain in her left cheek made her somewhat frightened, and she subconsciously hugged Gu An'an's arm, "I'll listen to Mother."

The little girl was clearly terrified, so she is now extremely dependent on her.

Gu An'an knew that although Jiang Mingzhu trusted her during this period, she also harbored some doubts.

But what she had just experienced made her completely let go of her resentment and trust Gu Anquan completely.

If she had a choice, Gu An'an would rather not have this kind of trust than let Jiang Mingzhu encounter such a thing.

She could have built the girl's trust over time, instead of subjecting her to this suffering.

“Pearl, you should lie down and rest for a while. Let your brother watch over you.”

She also had to clean up the traces in the kitchen.

How could we be so careless? If we had closed the gate, none of this would have happened.

Before going to the kitchen, Gu An'an first went to check on the brother and sister who were staying in the east room.

The two siblings were talking when Jiang Mingxu's eyes widened. "I want to learn from Mom later."

Bao'er was very enthusiastic, saying, "I want one too!"

Gu An'an breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the two of them weren't scared, and went to the kitchen to get busy.

The entrenching tool lay quietly in front of the stove, completely devoid of the imposing momentum it had displayed when it beheaded the big gray wolf.

There was still a fire in the stove. Gu An'an hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't put the entrenching tool in to try it out.

She then took a closer look at the big gray wolf. It probably wasn't a purebred wolf; it looked more like a wild wolfhound.

It wasn't exactly a decapitation, but the entrenching tool had cut the guy's neck, and a lot of blood had gushed out.

It has a slightly fishy smell.

Gu An'an dragged the gray wolfhound outside.

Judging by its age, it should be an old wolfhound, but its pelt is quite nice and should fetch some money.

There was still pheasant stewing in the pot, so Gu An'an wasn't in a hurry to skin the wolf.

She hurriedly cleaned the kitchen, and after she had finished cleaning up the bloodstains, she called Jiang Mingyi over.

“There are spices in the chicken soup. Zhu’er is injured and can’t eat these. You take Mingxu and Bao’er to eat first. I’ll make her some noodles.”

Chicken soup is nourishing, but it's not suitable for this kind of open wound.

Gu An'an quickly made another bowl of noodles. Just as she scooped them out of the small pot, she heard a knock on the door. "You, Jiang Laosan's wife, come out here!"

Gu An'an frowned and called out to Jiang Mingyi, "Take the noodles to Zhu'er and tell her to eat slowly."

The young man looked at the composed person and asked, "Can you handle this?"

"No problem."

Although she didn't know who it was, she figured the best course of action was to deal with whatever came her way.

After wiping her hands on a rag, Gu An'an picked up the entrenching tool that was placed aside and walked out with steady steps.

The banging on the door grew louder and louder. "If you don't come out, believe me, I'll smash your house up!"