The county town was indeed much more impressive than the town, with wide streets, numerous shops, and well-dressed pedestrians, presenting a scene of wealth and prosperity.
Gan Li and the other two were visiting the county town for the first time, but seeing such a prosperous scene, they had no heart to appreciate it.
As it grew darker, Gan Li said, "Let's find an inn to stay in first, and we can talk about other things after we've settled in."
Gan Tian nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. Gan Mingyi had carried someone all the way, and his back was almost broken from exhaustion, so he had no objection to it.
After searching for a while, the group saw an inn ahead. Although it was small, it looked clean, so they decided to stay there.
Upon seeing someone enter, the innkeeper greeted them warmly, "Sir, would you like a meal or a room?"
"Checking in at a hotel."
"Okay!"
The innkeeper responded, but his gaze kept falling on Gan Mingyi.
As soon as these people came in, the shopkeeper noticed that one of the men was carrying a person on his back. At first, it didn't seem like anything, but now that he was closer, he realized that the person not only had wounds, but also seemed to be unconscious.
Observing this, the shopkeeper looked at these people and his expression became somewhat indescribable.
Ganli could tell what the shopkeeper was thinking just by looking at his suspicious expression. Fearing he might misunderstand, she quickly explained:
"Shopkeeper, this is my younger brother. He was sent to be an apprentice when he was young, but who knew he would run into a heartless master who tortured him like this in such a short time!"
We came to see him today, and that's when we found out. So, we quickly took him away. Look at that ruthless man, beating him like this!
As she spoke, she pointed to the wounds on the man in black and showed them to the innkeeper.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the wounds on the man's body did not look as terrible as they had during the day; they truly looked like he had been beaten up.
In those days, land was scarce, and many poor families had many children but not enough land. In order to find a way for their children to make a living, they would send them out to become apprentices. This would save them food and allow them to learn a skill so that they could make a living in the future.
If these apprentices encounter a good master, the master will treat them like his own children. But if they encounter a heartless master, not only will they be made to work day and night, but they will also be beaten and tortured frequently.
The innkeeper had heard plenty of stories like this before; it wasn't anything unusual. Seeing that the three men were indeed dressed like country folk, he dismissed his doubts and, without looking any further, simply opened two rooms for them as Ganli had requested.
Gan Li breathed a sigh of relief, took the keys, and the group went upstairs.
The two rooms were next to each other. Gan Li opened the door and let Gan Mingyi put the person on her bed.
Gan Mingyi remained silent. Even if he hadn't noticed before, after carrying the person on his back for a while, he could tell, even if he was stupid, that the person on his back didn't seem to be a man.
He didn't think much of it, and just followed the girl's instructions to put the person on the bed. Then he plopped down on the stool next to him, panting heavily, and glanced at the person on the bed a few times.
Even in the dim light of the oil lamp, one could see that the man in black was very pale, without a trace of blood.
Gan Mingyi scratched his head and asked, "Little sister, I think this person is seriously injured. Shouldn't we call a doctor for her?"
"What else can we do? We've already brought her back; we can't just stand by and watch her die."
Upon hearing this, Gan Mingyi stood up: "Before it gets dark, I'll go and fetch a doctor to take a look at her."
Gan Li stopped him, saying, "I'll go. I'll also ask around about where the county government is."
After saying that, he told Gan Tian to stay here and not run around, and then he rushed out the door.
After leaving the house, Gan Li asked a passerby for directions to the clinic and the government office. Once she had the directions, she went to the clinic and hurriedly returned to the inn with the doctor.
She told Gan Tian and Gan Mingyi to leave first, leaving only herself and the doctor in the room.
The experienced doctor could tell from the shape of the person on the bed that she was a woman, so he was very careful to avoid suspicion during the examination.
Fortunately, although the man in black was seriously injured, his injuries were all on his arms and legs. Gan Li assisted the doctor in treating the man's wounds.
But her ramblings, though they fooled the innkeeper, could not fool the doctor.
When the doctor saw the wounds on the woman's body, he was very surprised: "They are all knife wounds. How could a woman like her have attracted such a disaster? These cuts are life-threatening."
Gan Li's heart tightened, but she didn't show any change in expression. She casually made up a story:
"Sigh, isn't it all because they mistook someone for someone else? My younger sister is young and found a gigolo who lives off her. Now her dowry has been squandered, and that gigolo has hooked up with a rich widow."
When my sister found out, she was furious and confronted him, which enraged the gigolo... If we hadn't arrived in time, my sister might have...
"Fortunately, no one was killed; it's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
Upon hearing this, the doctor realized that the dispute stemmed from a romantic relationship, so he didn't ask any further questions. He simply advised, "Her injuries are not serious, but she has lost a lot of blood and needs to rest for a while."
"If you're alright, then why are you unconscious again?"
"She's just overworked. It's nothing serious. She'll rest for a night and should wake up tomorrow."
"That's good, that's good." Gan Li was relieved and asked about the consultation fee: "Doctor, how much is the consultation fee?"
"Two taels of silver."
"How much?!" Gan Li paused in her hand as she touched the silver, nearly jumping up in shock. Two taels of silver? That's enough for an average family's expenses for a month!
The doctor was startled by her reaction and said with displeasure:
"Young lady, why are you so loud and boisterous? I have been practicing medicine for many years and I have never cheated anyone, young or old. This price is already a discount because you are so eager to save lives."
Ganli snapped out of her daze, quickly apologized with a forced smile, and reluctantly handed two taels of silver to the doctor from her pocket.
After seeing the doctor off, Gan Li went to the counter and ordered a meal, asking the waiter to deliver it to her room. She also specially ordered a bowl of porridge for the man in black.
Before the main dishes were served, the porridge was served first. Gan Tian volunteered to take it over and feed the man in black.
Ganli looked at the person lying on the bed with a complicated expression—it's really not easy to be a good person; not only is it troublesome and laborious, but it also costs money.
Thinking of the two taels of silver she had just given away, Ganli's heart ached terribly. But then something occurred to her, and she called out to Maria in her mind:
[What's going on? I saved her, and the doctor said she's out of danger, so where's my reward? You just make people do the work, and then you don't even pay them on time! Are you some kind of skinflint?]
Maria's voice quickly emerged:
[Don't be so hasty, host. Don't people even have this basic trust between themselves and the system? We were just confirming something.]
"What do you want to confirm?" Gan Li asked.
But Maria did not answer; instead, the mechanical voice of the system echoed in her mind.
[Ding—Congratulations, host, on completing the mission! Reward: 200 merit points!]
Ganli: "???"
No, she didn't hear wrong, did she? Two hundred?!
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