The mountain path isn't complicated, but it's still a bit rugged. Plus, with so many people climbing it, it's normal to find some trash, pebbles, and other small things along the way.
Panting heavily, Zhou Jinglan lost his footing, stepped on a loose stone, twisted his ankle, and fell, rolling down into the bushes beside him.
"ah--"
Zhou Jinglan's fall attracted the attention of many people nearby.
"Oh dear, it looks like a child has fallen down? Whose child is it?"
"I didn't see it, but I heard a sound!"
Whose child is this?
Unfortunately, Zhou's parents hadn't caught up yet, so they didn't realize immediately that the child who had fallen was Zhou Jinglan.
After rolling around for a while, Zhou Jinglan finally stopped because he was in pain all over.
what to do?
The disheveled child struggled to his feet and sat down. He touched his ankle; it hurt terribly, even the slightest touch was excruciating.
"Dad! Mom!" came a voice choked with sobs.
He's just a child after all. No matter how strong he is, he'll panic in this situation, especially since he's injured and can't even stand up. All he can do is keep shouting for help.
But today was the ninth day of the lunar month, a day for climbing mountains, and there were many people on the mountain, making a lot of noise. His cries for help were completely drowned out.
He didn't go with his parents. What if they think he's climbing too fast and has already reached the top?
Zhou Jinglan's eyes were filled with tears, but he stubbornly refused to cry, though his heart was already in turmoil.
Am I going to die here?
Can anyone find me?
What if he's a bad person?
I've heard about child abductors who specialize in stealing children. What should I do if I encounter one?
My foot is broken, I can't even stand up, how can I run away?
His little head was filled with thoughts. Enveloped in despair, Zhou Jinglan's will to survive grew weaker and weaker. He resignedly accepted that he was going to die in some unknown corner of the world.
Just then, Qiao Xinruo, who had come to explore alone, having left behind her parents and older brothers, heard Zhou Jinglan's weak cry for help.
"Is anyone there? Was someone talking just now?" Qiao Xinruo asked, using a small stick to push aside the plants and moving closer to the sound she heard.
Someone's there!
Zhou Jinglan didn't care whether the other party was a kidnapper; all he wanted now was to see a living person, even a bad one, rather than die silently here alone.
"I'm here!" Zhou Jinglan shouted as loudly as he could.
After a short while, Qiao Xinruo, dressed in a bright red coat and with her hair in pigtails, and dressed up by her mother as a doll, appeared in front of Zhou Jinglan.
She can't be a bad person!
In that instant, Zhou Jinglan believed his judgment. How could there be such a beautiful and cute bad person?
Therefore, she must be a good person!
"Can you save me?" Zhou Jinglan asked. "Are you sent by God to save me?"
Otherwise, how could she have miraculously appeared before him like a goddess descending when he was utterly despondent?
Qiao Xinruo: "..."
Does this person look like an idiot?
She came here to explore, how could she be sent by God?
However, seeing Zhou Jinglan's tear-stained face and swollen eyes, Qiao Xinruo couldn't say anything harsh. What if he cried in front of her?
Qiao Xinruo hates people who try to make her cry.
"Don't cry!" she warned, then poked the boy's shoe with the small stick in her hand. As she got close to his ankle, he gasped. "Are you hurt?"
Zhou Jinglan was about to cry again, but Qiao Xinruo glared at him, so he quickly wiped away his tears with his dirty hands and nodded aggrievedly.
"I fell down and injured my foot, so I can't stand up," Zhou Jinglan explained.
"You're lucky," Qiao Xinruo said.
She had recently learned a lot of bone-setting techniques from her father. Since her older brothers rarely fought, she had no chance to practice on an injured person. Now, this opportunity had come to her.
"Come on, let me show you." Qiao Xinruo threw down the small stick, squatted down beside the boy's feet, and pulled up his trouser leg. "It's swollen!"
Zhou Jinglan looked at the girl, a little doubtful. Could she really cure legs?
He wanted to pull his leg back, and was about to—
Qiao Xinruo pressed a finger on the swollen area.
"ah--"
it hurts!
"Bear with it, I need to determine if your leg is broken or not," Qiao Xinruo said seriously, then continued poking and pressing.
"It hurts! It really hurts!"
"Stop pressing that!"
"It hurts..."
This isn't a little goddess! This is a little devil!
Qiao Xinruo completely ignored Zhou Jinglan's screams. Now that she finally had a chance to put them into practice, her mind was full of the key points her father had taught her, and she didn't care whether Zhou Jinglan could take it or not.
Don't miss this opportunity!
Where can she find such a suitable teaching material to practice with?
"Yes, you're really lucky. Your foot isn't broken, just sprained and swollen. After you get down the mountain, apply ice and then heat. It'll be fine after a while," Qiao Xinruo said, seemingly quite satisfied with her assessment.
After showing it to everyone, she clapped her hands, stood up, and prepared to leave.
When she picked up the small wooden stick that her older brother had whittled for her, she noticed that Zhou Jinglan was looking at her with pleading eyes, as if he wanted to speak but didn't dare to, and looked like he was about to cry again.
Oh right, his ankle is twisted like that, he probably won't be able to get down the mountain by himself, right?
If I just leave like this, will he die here?
The little boy looks very thin and weak. He shouldn't be too heavy. Can I carry him on my back?
Qiao Xinruo shook her head at the other person and sighed again.
"You really are lucky."
Zhou Jinglan held back her tears, wondering if she was really lucky.
The little girl in front of me has said three times that he's lucky since she first appeared.
But if he was really lucky, how did he end up here?
Qiao Xinruo thought to herself, "It's a good thing I met you. You can help me with my illness and you're kind enough to carry me down the mountain."
“Come on.” Qiao Xinruo walked up to the boy, squatted down, and gestured for him to climb onto her back.
But the boy did not act immediately.
"Hurry up, squatting is tiring, and I still have to carry you for a long way," Qiao Xinru urged, seemingly unaware that there was anything wrong with her actions.
The person was injured, twisted their ankle, and couldn't walk on their own. What else could she do but carry them?
"Oh." Zhou Jinglan dawdled as he got up. He felt a sharp pain in his ankle as soon as he stood up, so he had to put all his weight on his other foot. He hesitated and asked, "But, can you carry me?"
"You're so thin, how can I carry you? Hurry up!"
Zhou Jinglan secretly pouted. He was disliked by the goddess for being too thin, but the goddess did not abandon him. Instead, she thought of taking him out. She was different from those who usually spoke ill of him.
Although Qiao Xinruo was quite strong at such a young age, and Zhou Jinglan was thinner than other children his age, it was still somewhat strenuous for her to carry him on her back along the mountain path.
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