Chapter 152 He's not dead yet, he's hanging on by a thread
The moment Shen Jin opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. Perhaps it was because he had slept for too long and his vision was blurry, so he couldn't see anything clearly. However, he knew that he was not in a hospital.
Even with blurred vision, he could see that the surroundings weren't pure white, and there was no strong smell of disinfectant like in the hospital, a smell he disliked and was therefore quite sensitive to.
In contrast, the room was filled with a natural herbal scent, not particularly strong, but very pleasant and comforting, which made Shen Jin take a few breaths.
His eyes were a little dry and sore from grilling, so Shen Jin squinted slightly, blinked a few times, and moved his dry lips: "Where...am I...?"
After he finished speaking, he froze instantly. His eyes, which had been half-asleep, snapped open. He blinked blankly, somewhat confused. He had clearly spoken, but he couldn't hear a sound...
For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether he was deaf or mute and couldn't make a sound.
He shifted his gaze slightly. There was a wooden window nearby, through which stretched a lush green landscape, along with many yellowing trees. A gentle breeze blew in, making it cool and refreshing, and the scenery was beautiful.
It was only then that he realized he was in a wooden cabin, and the buildings, trees, and fruit trees that he could see from the window were very close to nature, unlike the skyscrapers and technological era of big cities.
The place reminded Shen Jin of those remote villages from many years ago, a pastoral setting that he found somewhat unbelievable. He stared blankly out the window for a long time.
At this moment, his mind was heavy, with all sorts of things popping into his head one after another, so he simply chose to give up thinking and briefly enjoy this quiet moment.
But a moment later, his face suddenly turned deathly pale: "Wait..."
He had been kidnapped and chased to the foot of a cliff along with Yan Yu. The kidnappers had guns and opened fire on the two of them. To avoid the bullets, he lost his footing and fell off the cliff. Yan Yu rushed over to try to grab him, but the two of them fell down together.
"Hiss..." As the memories began to return, Shen Jin gasped slightly, and the feeling that he was about to be crushed to pieces washed over him again, causing him to tremble slightly.
The fear, numbness, pain, and despair seemed still vivid in his mind, sending a chill down Shen Jin's spine. Then, he quickly realized something: "Where... is he?"
Although he has regained consciousness, his body has not yet fully recovered and he has difficulty moving around. He could only awkwardly twist his neck to look around the wooden house, but he did not see Yan Yu.
There were clearly two beds in the room, both almost identical, and on the bed not far from him, there should have been another Yan Yu lying in a similar half-dead, half-alive state, but he was nowhere to be seen...
Could it be that he has already...
Shen Jin's face suddenly turned deathly pale, his whole body stiffened, he blinked blankly, and his heartbeat even stopped for a moment.
At that moment, the tightly closed wooden door was suddenly pushed open gently, and a young woman dressed in plain clothes stood in front of the door, looking at the person on the bed who had already opened his eyes. The two looked at each other.
Shen Jin was slightly recovered from the devastating news that "Yan Yu is dead" and stared blankly at the girl who suddenly pushed open the door and came in. He couldn't react for a moment and could only stare at her blankly.
The young woman, being unmarried, felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at like that, and softly opened her mouth to let out an "Ah": "You..."
Shen Jin stared at him intently with her still somewhat hazy eyes, without blinking.
Xiaoqing belatedly realized what was happening and asked, "You're awake?"
At this moment, Shen Jin couldn't hear her words. He only saw her move her lips, stare at him for a while before realizing what he was looking at. He blinked blankly and responded with a soft, "Hmm..."
"Huh..." The girl was still holding some herbs in her hands. Seeing that he was awake, she immediately called out towards the door, "Grandma! Grandma! The handsome little boy we picked up is awake! He's awake!"
She had already turned her head away, so Shen Jin couldn't see her lips or hear what she was saying. But from behind, the girl seemed quite excited, and the bowl of medicine in her hand even wobbled a little.
Shen Jin guessed that the medicine was brought in for her to drink, but seeing her trembling hands from excitement, he couldn't help but remind her, "Medicine..."
Shen Jin was now certain that he could not hear. He didn't know if it was temporary or permanent, and he was also unsure whether he had become mute and unable to make a sound.
However, Xiaoqing heard it, turned around with a smile, and looked at the medicine that had accidentally splashed onto her hand. She quickly smiled and said, "Oh, I got too excited. Sorry!"
She spoke too fast, and Shen Jin's eyes couldn't keep up with her mouth movements. He only vaguely understood the words "I'm sorry," and then realized that he could speak and there was nothing wrong with him; it was just that he couldn't hear.
Wait, that's not the point.
Shen Jin's thoughts jumped back to the question of whether Yan Yu was still alive. His already somewhat numb heart felt as if it were filled with ice shards, making him anxious again.
Xiaoqing immediately went to his bedside. Just as she placed the medicine on the table, she saw the man who had just escaped death trying to sit up. She was instantly terrified: "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Lie down! Lie down!"
She looked young and slender, but she was incredibly strong. Since Shen Jin's injuries hadn't fully healed, she pinned him back onto the bed, rendering him unable to move.
Xiaoqing said very quickly, "Lie down, don't move, don't get up! You just came back from the brink of death, are you so eager to go back?"
Because she was speaking too fast, Shen Jin couldn't understand what she was saying, and could only ask, "The...other...person?"
"Huh?" Xiaoqing was taken aback and glanced at the empty bed. "The other one is outside. He's checking him out and making him some medicine for a soak. He'll be back in a bit. There's nothing wrong."
Xiaoqing wasn't speaking standard Mandarin, but rather with their local accent, and some of her pronunciations were different from standard Mandarin. As a result, Chen Jin's mind went blank, and he asked blankly, "Is... she... dead...?"
At this moment, all he needed was the quickest and easiest way to ask her whether Yan Yu was dead or alive.
Even if I really die, it seems like there's nothing that can be done.
Xiaoqing: "..."
She didn't know if it was because they didn't leave the mountains and didn't understand the outside world, or because they hadn't interacted much with people from the outside world, so she didn't really understand if everyone was like this, sleeping for a few months and then waking up to ask if others were dead.
“Not yet,” Xiaoqing, who didn’t understand what he was thinking, could only shake her head and add, “He’s not dead yet, he’s still hanging on by a thread.”
Because she didn't know what this person wanted to hear, she spoke slowly, making it difficult for Shen Jin to understand her. He closed his eyes and let out a soft breath.
Thankfully, as long as the person isn't dead, everything is alright...
After Xiaoqing saw that he had gradually calmed down, she pursed her lips and asked softly, "So how are you feeling now? Is there anything that's bothering you?"
At this moment, Shen Jin had his eyes closed and did not hear her words.
Xiaoqing frowned, feeling that this person seemed aloof and unwilling to interact with others.
When Shen Jin opened his eyes, he saw her staring at him with the kind of gaze one would give a magical creature. He was slightly taken aback: "...What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Xiaoqing was also taken aback.
Shen Jin thought she might have just said something to him, so he slowly explained to her, "I...can't hear..."
Xiaoqing was taken aback again: "Huh?"
At that moment, the old lady also came in, leaning on her cane.
When Xiaoqing saw her coming over, she quickly repeated what Chen Jin had just said to her: "Grandma, he said he can't hear."
The old lady seemed not at all surprised when she heard this. She came to Shen Jin's side and her weathered, cloudy eyes scanned Shen Jin from head to toe.
Then she said, "It's normal. Falling from such a height can damage your head and make you stupid. It's natural to have tinnitus for a while. I just don't know if it's permanent, but this condition is treatable."
Hearing her say that, Xiaoqing breathed a sigh of relief and slowly said to Shen Jin, "She said it's okay, it will be alright, it should be temporary."
The old woman asked, "Young man, can you tell people apart?"
Shen Jin nodded.
The old lady asked again, "Is your head injured or anything?"
"No..." Shen Jin shook his head. Apart from the pain in his body not being completely healed, he seemed to be fine in other aspects. "Except for not being able to hear..."
"That's good, that's good," the old lady breathed a sigh of relief. "You're doing well, at least you haven't suffered any lasting effects. As for the scars on your body, they can gradually heal with herbs, unlike your companion, whose situation is not ideal!"
Shen Jin recognized the words "companion" and reflexively asked, "Wh...what's wrong?"
The old lady pointed to his hand, which was still wrapped in bandages, and said, "Look at your hand! Look at your hand!"
Shen Jin didn't understand what she meant, but he still lowered his eyelids and glanced at her. He only felt that her fingers were a little clumsy and stiff, still holding the wooden board.
For a moment, he forgot how he got hurt.
“You didn’t hurt your head, but that person did!” the old woman said. “You know, when we first brought you back, your hands were practically mangled! The bones were showing! It’s only now that the skin and flesh have finally started to heal!”
Fortunately, Shen Jin couldn't understand what he was saying at this moment, and just blinked blankly.
But looking at his own hands, a scene suddenly flashed through Shen Jin's mind—
It was in the deep, boundless mountains, just as he was about to hit the ground after falling from a steep cliff, that he instinctively used his thin, pale hands to protect Yan Yu's head...
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