Chapter 30: Are those pectoral muscles human or ghost?

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We need to cool him down quickly.

Her handkerchief had long since disappeared.

Lin Xihe whispered "Excuse me" and without hesitation reached into Wen Zhixu's clothes.

After searching for a while, I couldn't find it. Of course, what man would carry a handkerchief around?

She lowered her eyes and sized up the man lying on the ground. Those muscles… it was unbelievable; this usually tall and slender guy had such a well-built physique beneath his clothes.

There were no gyms in ancient times... Lin Xihe quickly pulled her wandering thoughts back.

She's had a habit of liking handsome men since she was little. Years ago, the first time she stepped into a gym, she was greeted by a muscular, handsome guy lifting weights. She was instantly mesmerized. Just as she was holding her breath, the guy casually lifted his shirt and wiped his sweat.

That day, Lin Xihe bought an annual pass.

At this very moment, in the desolate wilderness.

Lin Xihe, who has "seen the world" in modern times, has her hands pressed against two firm, well-defined muscles through her clothing.

A strong, powerful heartbeat emanated from her palm.

That wretched nose acted up again. Nosebleed gushed out like a burst dam.

"Have you touched enough?" The man lying down opened his eyes, barely making a slit.

Caught red-handed, the perpetrator jumped back abruptly, uttering a few words of protest: "Who, who touched you! I... I was looking for a handkerchief!"

The sky darkened further, and a chill crept up from the mountains. Apart from the chirping of insects, all was quiet except for the sound of our breathing.

Lin Xihe said "Hey".

Wen Zhixu remained lying on his back, without moving.

Her bones had grown back a little, and she asked softly, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

That person really stopped moving.

Could he really be dead?

The thought of this desolate place with nothing—no emergency room, no fever reducers—makes me realize that a high fever could be fatal.

Lin Xihe looked around. It had rained last night, and there should be a stream not far away. With her keen nose, she could smell the dampness even from a distance.

She was possessed by a zombie, head bowed, tearing at her sleeve. The coarse cloth servant's clothes she wore were far too sturdy. Turns out, those scenes in TV dramas where people tear open their sleeves to bandage wounds are all fake!

Since there were no towels or handkerchiefs, we had to make do with what we had on hand.

Lin Xihe, as if possessed, took off her silk stockings, brought them close, and smelled them: "Yue..."

She placed the wet stockings on Wen Zhixu's forehead.

"Uh...this is called a fever-reducing patch." She explained seriously, "I washed it, it doesn't smell."

"You're burning up like this, your nose isn't working properly anymore. Even if there's a smell, you won't be able to smell it. Haha...hahaha."

"If you despise your savior, be careful you don't get struck by lightning."

Lin Xihe sat down next to him again.

After calming down, the abrasions on my body throbbed faintly.

She turned her head to look at him; his face, etched with illness, had slightly heavy features. Respecting the patient, she sighed, took off her servant's robe, and hastily draped it over him.

"Don't complain, your clothes are all torn," Lin Xihe curled her toes, the night wind blowing on her bare feet, making them feel chilly, "I'm still cold."

She muttered a few words to herself, then turned to look at the dark forest: "Why hasn't anyone come to rescue us yet?"

She was somewhat frightened—mainly worried that Wen Zhixu was dead, in the dead of night, in the pitch-black forest, with a fresh corpse... Lin Xihe moved closer to him and asked the "corpse," "I fell down, how did you get here?"

"...They couldn't have come specifically to save me, could they?" Lin Xihe thought of the annulment letter again; this didn't make sense.

She was like a vigilant vulture, pricking up her ears to catch the sounds in the mountains and fields.

That girl Qingwu will definitely bring people to rescue her.

The full moon was surrounded by a hazy halo, filtering out the countless stars in the sky.

Lin Xihe kept changing his fever-reducing patches.

She sat down next to him, yawned deeply, and a thought vaguely flashed through her mind: being a nurse is really not a job for humans.

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"There's someone there!"

It's unclear who shouted first, but soon after, several patches of firelight illuminated the forest.

Qingwu raised the torch high: "Miss! Miss is over there!"

After the heavy rain, the swollen streams had become small rivers, forcing the search and rescue team to take a detour. The mountain paths were not only muddy but also covered in thorns. Everyone was covered in mud and grime.

Qingwu didn't care about the danger; she was the first to rush to Lin Xihe's side, crying, "Miss, Miss!"

Lin Xihe leaned against Wen Zhixu, her eyes closed.

"Waaah... Second Young Master!" Wen Ba choked up when he saw the abnormal flush on his young master's face.

He fell off a cliff and developed a fever.

The second young master traveled through the night to deliver medicine to his wife. It was his oversight; the second young master had been coughing occasionally recently, but who would have thought... he would fall into a coma.

There is only one stretcher available right now.

Wenba and Qingwu were arguing fiercely, neither willing to give in.

"My young master is still ill!"

"My young lady is injured!"

"What if my young master also has internal injuries?"

"My young lady fell from such a height, and she looks fine now, but she might have broken a bone!"

The two argued back and forth, leaving the nuns frustrated and helpless, since they had only brought a stretcher up the mountain.

Amid the commotion, the young man who had been lying down suddenly sat up. The half-dry "handkerchief" covering his forehead slipped off, which he caught.

The tattered servant's outer robe that had been covering him slipped to the ground.

Wen Zhixu's gaze was fixed on Lin Xihe beside him, whose face was faintly stained with dark red blood.

"What are you still standing there for?" Wen Zhixu's voice was hoarse. "Quickly lift Miss Lin onto the stretcher and be careful of her injuries."

Qingwu immediately pushed Wenba aside, signaling the nuns to move the stretcher to Lin Xihe's side.

The nuns in the temple were vegetarians and had weak arms, while the servant and coachman that Wen Zhixu brought were both men.

"Wait." Wen Zhixu tucked Lin Xihe's "handkerchief" into his clothes, then bent down and picked her up in one swift motion.

By the dim moonlight, Wen Zhixu could see the blood on her face—it was flowing from her nose. Was it a fall? Or a bump?

A woman who is usually sharp-tongued and full of strange ideas can be so disheveled.

A sudden pang of regret swept over her. Had he been too harsh on her? She had risked going up the mountain only to find medicine for Cuihuang.

He placed Lin Xihe on the stretcher.

The servants then lifted her up, and Qingwu quickly took out a robe and carefully covered Lin Xihe with it.

The author was at the very end of the procession. Lin Xihe's two muddy feet flashed past his eyes.

Why aren't you wearing socks?

In a flash, he pulled out a handkerchief that had been warmed until it was half-dry.

A very young nun poked her head out curiously, and the torch she was holding moved closer to Wen Zhixu.

By the light of the fire, Wen Zhixu saw what he held in his hand: a pair of small silk stockings.

"You, Lin Xihe..." he muttered, then couldn't help but chuckle.

Seeing his fluctuating expression, the young nun quickly looked away: "Master Wen has gone mad."

The path down the mountain was difficult to traverse, especially at night. Wen Ba felt a pang of heartache seeing his young master wading through the stream, so he quickly brought a torch closer to light his way.

A branch that had grown out of nowhere brushed against Wen Zhixu's arm. Wen Ba saw it and felt inexplicably annoyed.

His young master caught a cold while searching for this Miss Lin. Why is it that Miss Lin is lying comfortably on a stretcher?

Wen Ba raised his voice and said, "Second Young Master, watch your step."

"What are you yelling about?" Qingwu held the torch directly in front of his eyes, almost burning Wen Ba's eyebrows.

"you!"

“Wen Ba,” Wen Zhixu said, “it’s alright.”

Wen Ba was quite dissatisfied with Qingwu. This maid was so unruly, just because her mistress was the daughter of the Lin family.

What's so great about her master!

Wen Ba kicked away a broken piece of wood. "Second Young Master, this mountain path is so winding and circuitous, how did you find Miss Lin?"

"I often played in the mountains behind Shushi Temple when I was a child." Wen Zhixu had planned everything, but he did not expect the stream to swell. While wading across the water, a slippery rock made him lose his balance.

He searched in the mountains for a long time, still wearing his half-wet clothes. As the night wind rose, the chill was biting, and before long, his forehead became burning hot—he had developed a high fever.

Fortunately, he finally found the person.

Wen Ba was indignant, but he had to keep quiet because of Wen Zhixu's gaze.

Wen Zhixu said to Qingwu, "Go and fetch a doctor to give your young lady a thorough examination."

Qingwu wiped away her tears: "Second Young Master, Miss fell from such a height, are you sure she'll be alright?" She was afraid that Miss might have become mentally impaired from the fall.

Wen Zhixu examined the girl lying on the stretcher. Her face was dazzlingly white in the moonlight, and traces of blood were faintly visible on her skin.

The injury was indeed quite serious.

External injuries are easy to treat, but internal injuries are the real problem.

Upon hearing Wen Zhixu's words, Qingwu burst into tears: "Miss has just recovered. If she doesn't wake up, I won't live anymore."

Amidst the sobs, Lin Xihe seemed disturbed from her peaceful slumber; she frowned and buried her face even deeper.

Before long, faint snoring could be heard coming from the stretcher.

Preface to the text: "..."

What do you mean, unconscious? This person is clearly asleep.

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Soseki-an.

The abbot of the temple was quite skilled in medicine. After a simple diagnosis, he concluded, "May Guanyin Bodhisattva protect you; Benefactor Lin is a lucky person and is blessed by Heaven."

Lin Xihe was incredibly lucky; she fell off the cliff and, apart from abrasions, was otherwise unharmed.

"Then why hasn't she woken up yet?" Huixin blinked her swollen eyes and took the handkerchief that Huici handed her.

The night was deep and the dew was heavy in the mountains, but this room was warm and cozy. Huixin had even made a pomelo lamp; the dried fruit peel, warmed by the candlelight, emitted a faint fragrance.

The young man, who was leaning against the door and hadn't entered the room, spoke softly, "He was sleeping too soundly."

She had briefly woken up while on the stretcher, mumbling, "...Where is Wen Zhixu?"

The crowd quickly made way for him to go forward and talk to her.

The girl barely opened her eyes a crack, and it was unclear whether she could see him clearly. Wen Zhixu bent down, thinking that she must have been terrified after falling from the cliff, and awkwardly comforted her, "Don't be afraid."

The last image in Lin Xihe's mind was Wen Zhixu lying there like a corpse. How could he have woken up so quickly and be walking like the wind? Even with the fever-reducing injection, he shouldn't have recovered so fast.

She could only wearily ask him for confirmation: "Are you a human or a ghost?"

"..."