child
It wasn't too cold at the foot of the mountain, and the terrain was relatively flat. The group walked through the mountains and then chose a flat spot on the saddle about two or three kilometers from the town to set up camp.
Ying Yungui only asked Uncle Wang to prepare two tents. Although they were big enough, considering the difference between men and women, he still let Luo Zhao live in one tent, and the remaining three boys squeezed into one tent.
"Since you want to come with us, why don't you prepare anything?" Ying Yungui scolded Luo Zhao mercilessly while setting up the tent.
Luo Zhao took a bite of bread, took out the things she needed from her bag one by one and placed them aside, curling her lips: "I didn't expect that, in the past, others prepared everything and I just had to go there." She also knew that she was in the wrong in this matter, so she only dared to mutter softly.
Shi Youchen pulled the diagonal corner of the tent, glanced at the sky and said, "It's about to sunset, we have to hurry." Once it gets dark, it will be difficult to move in the mountains.
Upon hearing this, Luo Zhao immediately put down his things and ran to help Jiang Yu set up another tent, complaining quietly, "I told you that you could have dinner in town and spend the night there. Why did you rush into the mountains hungry without even having lunch?"
Jiang Yu tightened the last support rod without saying a word, and hammered a few nails into the soil, completing all the work at hand neatly and efficiently.
Then he took out a few fruit candies from his pocket, handed them to Luo Zhao with his palm facing up.
Luo Zhao smiled: "You are still the best!"
Elsewhere, Shi Youchen and Ying Yungui had also completed the roof support and fixings, and had also moved the sleeping bags, compression blankets, and lighting fixtures into the tent. Ying Yungui sighed, stood up, and walked towards Luo Zhao.
"I told you we weren't here to enjoy ourselves. You still have time to go back. Let Jiang Yu carry you, and maybe we can get back to town before dark." Ying Yungui walked around to check that there was nothing loose, threw in a thicker blanket, and said to Luo Zhao, "You sleep in this one."
Luo Zhao said "Oh" and suddenly became interested: "Since we are camping, a bonfire is definitely necessary! Let's build one too."
Jiang Yu was about to speak: "I can..."
Luo Zhao immediately interrupted him: "Brother, you and Shi Youchen go get some dead wood or something! Jiang Yu and I will stay here to cook."
Ying Yungui looked at them suspiciously, then thought about it and agreed.
Shi Youchen was just setting up the small stove, planning to make some hot food, when he heard Ying Yungui approach and say, "Luo Zhao has volunteered to cook dinner. Let her come, and we'll go exercise."
Shi Youchen was about to say, "Why do we need to do more activities after just finishing an activity?", but when he looked up and met Ying Yungui's sparkling eyes, he swallowed his words back.
He had originally prepared to travel alone, but this person forcefully squeezed onto the bus at the starting point, forcibly pulling him out of his self-hypnosis - he was not actually used to being alone.
"Okay." He was very grateful to Ying Yungui for giving him an adaptation period to accept loneliness, even though he would leave eventually.
Ying Yungui picked up the bag of groceries and walked deep into the forest with Shi Youchen.
Luo Zhao looked at the two men's backs meaningfully, not noticing the look Jiang Yu was giving her. She said cheerfully, "I hope my brother will fight for his dignity."
Jiang Yu sighed: "You know you don't need to bother them, I can just do it."
Luo Zhao raised her eyebrows. "Do you really think I'm going to ask them to pick up branches? Why are they still using such an old-fashioned method to make a fire in this day and age?" She waved her hand and said, "Go ahead and make it look nice."
Jiang Yu didn't understand why, but he still stood up and walked to the middle of the makeshift camp. Luo Zhao also stood up and started looking for something. They were all instant food, so he could just make a meal out of it.
As the two people were traveling, Ying Yungui cursed in his heart as he walked.
"I don't see any other camps, so why is there nothing on the ground?"
"The ground is bare, so are we going to break off branches from the trees?"
Just as he looked up at the treetops for the seventh time, Shi Youchen asked, "Do you have a stiff neck?"
Ying Yungui: "...No."
"Then why do you keep looking up?" Shi Youchen stopped, stood beside Ying Yungui, and looked up to follow his gaze.
Ying Yungui confessed honestly, "Don't you need some branches or something to light a bonfire?" Shi Youchen finally understood what his bag of groceries was for and said helplessly, "If you had told me earlier, we could have moved faster."
"I don't want you to be on the road with a purpose at this time." Ying Yungui said in a low voice.
A gust of wind happened to blow, and Shi Youchen didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"
"I said no, forget it."
Shi Youchen frowned. Only a ray of light remained in the sky, and the sun was about to set. "It's not safe to walk around outside after dark. You want to see the bonfire? I'll help you get it on the way tomorrow."
Ying Yungui knew that he had misunderstood, so he chuckled and went along with it: "Okay, let's go back." The two were preparing to go back when they suddenly heard a "bang" sound of something heavy falling to the ground from behind the bushes not far away.
Ying Yungui immediately became alert, stretched out his hand to stop Shi Youchen behind him, and stared at the source of the voice: "Come out." It was the first time that Shi Youchen saw Ying Yungui like this. From behind, he could feel that his muscles were tense all over his body, like a lion or leopard when hunting.
A moment of silence passed, Shi Youchen patted him on the back and said, "It's okay, go and take a look." He walked towards the bushes, and Ying Yungui hurried to follow.
There was a person lying behind the tree, a child to be more precise, about thirteen or fourteen years old. His clothes were not thin, but they were patched in several places, and it was obvious that they were old clothes that had been worn for many years.
The child was now face down, lying on the ground motionless.
Shi Youchen walked over and patted the child gently, realizing that the person lying on the ground was truly unconscious. He then grasped the child's shoulders with both hands and turned him over.
The two of them could see the whole picture now. It was a little girl with pale skin, bloodless lips, two small freckles under her eyes, her eyes were closed tightly, and her cheeks were flushed with large red bloodshot.
Ying Yungui stretched out his hand to feel his breath and said, "He's still alive."
Shi Youchen hummed, thought for a few seconds, then carried the little girl on his back and said, "Let's go back."
It looked like he was planning to carry the child back to the camp. Ying Yungui observed the surroundings again, confirmed that there were no signs of other creatures, nodded, and said, "I'll carry him."
"No need to change. I'll carry you and you can see the situation." Shi Youchen rejected his suggestion.
"Alright, then follow me."
In the camp, Luo Zhao had just thrown a few mushrooms into the pot when he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps.
"I'm back, I'll be able to come soon..." Her words stopped abruptly when she saw a big man named Yichang behind Ying Yungui, "Who is this?"
Ying Yungui unzipped Luo Zhao's tent and lifted the curtain to relieve herself. Youchen carried the child inside and replied, "A child I found in the mountains."
Luo Zhao:? His hand movements stopped.
"I met him on the road. He was unconscious. It was not convenient to leave him there, so I brought him back." Shi Youchen came out, closed the tent, and added.
The two then noticed that there was a bonfire in the open space in the middle, and the branches underneath were deliberately arranged in the shape of a hexagram, which was very artistic. However, it looked very lively and there was not a single dead branch to be seen.
"Where did you get it done? Where is Jiang Yu?" Ying Yungui asked.
Luo Zhao pointed to the other side and said, "Look, Jiang Yu did it. He's talking on the phone over there." Seeing this, he didn't ask any more questions. He squatted down by the campfire and warmed his hands.
Shi Youchen said to Luo Zhao, "It's a girl, and she doesn't look very well. It's inconvenient for us to take care of her. Please go in and see how she is doing."
Luo Zhao immediately stood up and walked towards the tent: "I'll go and take a look now, you take over." Shi Youchen nodded and passed by her.
Inside the tent, Luo Zhao crept closer on his knees and carefully examined the unconscious child under the illuminated chandelier.
A moment later, Luo Zhao emerged, and Jiang Yu, in the distance, ended his call and walked back. The four of them gathered around the soup pot, listening to the crackling of the campfire as they discussed the matter.
Luo Zhao said solemnly: "The child's body temperature is very low, and there are many injuries on her body. There are many bumps and scrapes on her hands and feet, and there are many bruises on her upper body shoulders and back, both new and old." Her heart trembled when she examined the little girl's body just now, and her intuition told her that this child must have a hard life.
"The person is still unconscious. It's best to take him to see a doctor immediately." Luo Zhao rarely showed such an embarrassed expression.
Jiang Yu had been on the phone, but he'd been keeping an eye on the activities at the camp, so he'd naturally noticed the two men carrying a child back. "It's already dark, so it's not convenient to go back to town now. Besides, even if we did, there might not be a doctor at the town hospital."
From the time he got off the bus until he entered the mountains, he took a quick look at the town. It was just a typical, backward village. Perhaps because it was at the junction of two districts, the security jurisdiction was difficult to demarcate, so the town was a mixed bag, with fights even being seen in the streets.
Shi Youchen also recalled the overall situation of the town and frowned as he said, "Indeed, if we rush all the way back and there's no doctor, wouldn't that just add fuel to the fire?"
Suddenly, he heard Ying Yungui's chuckle beside his ear: "Aren't you also half a doctor?"
Shi Youchen was stunned for a moment, then he remembered his long-unused special ability. He curled his lips and said, "I completely forgot about it." He stood up and said, "Then I'll go in for a moment. You guys eat first."
Ying Yungui watched him walk into the tent and barely suppressed the urge to follow him.
...
Shi Youchen knelt beside the little girl, took out a wet wipe and wiped his hands, then lifted her upper body and held her steady with one arm.
"I'm sorry." He lowered his eyelashes and carefully removed the girl's coat, covering her waist. Thinking of Luo Zhao's description, he rolled up her sleeves and saw small bruises, already purple from the cold. They didn't look like injuries from a collision, but they were clearly fresh. There were also a few fine abrasions, already covered with dark red scabs, but they weren't serious.
Shi Youchen sighed softly. He didn't know if his "healing" would be useful for these wounds. After all, he had only tried cutting and breaking them before.
Even with this thought, he placed his palm on the slender arm, gathering energy. Within moments, he felt the skin beneath his hand warm up. As he removed his hand, he discovered the purple-red had faded considerably, and the dark red scab had fallen away, revealing new, tender flesh.
He was delighted and healed the wounds on his limbs in the same way without even feeling tired.
Just as he was lowering his trouser legs, thinking about how to expose the girl's shoulders and back without catching a cold, he raised his head and met a pair of strange eyes that were open.
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