Chapter 54 Kill them all, leave no one alive!
When Ning Jinli woke up, she was found with her hands and feet bound and locked in a dilapidated thatched hut.
The man who knocked her unconscious was not there; only the young girl was sitting on the doorstep, feeding the baby in her arms.
Ning Jinli squinted as she looked around.
This place is very simple; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's bare.
Some unknown dried food hung from the rafters, and firewood and earthenware jars were piled up in the corner.
Ning Jinli tried to break free, but the straw ropes on her wrists and ankles were quite sturdy.
In this situation, she could only find a breakthrough by talking to the girl; otherwise, it would be too late once the man appeared.
"Is this child... your younger brother or sister?" Ning Jinli asked softly, trying to get closer to him.
When the girl saw that she was awake, she opened her mouth to call for help.
"No, no, no!" Ning Jinli said hurriedly, "I meant no harm. On the contrary, why did you knock me unconscious and kidnap me without saying anything? Who are you people?"
The girl's eyes held a fierce glint beyond her years. "Behave yourself. My husband said he wants you to have his children. Even though you're from Xuan Kingdom, you're good-looking, and he likes that."
Ning Jinli was shocked; this was a lot of information.
Could it be... that the baby in the girl's arms is her own child?
That makes sense, since during this period, most people, regardless of location, were already getting married and having children in their teens.
I don't want to be imprisoned here and turned into a breeding machine!
"Your husband is the one who knocked me unconscious?" Ning Jinli asked while observing the other person and the baby in her arms.
The girl did not respond and continued to feed the child the wild fruit in her hand.
The fruit was perfectly ripe; a squeeze would release juice and soft flesh into the child's mouth.
"Your baby is only a few months old, right? You're feeding him this kind of thing?" Ning Jinli couldn't help but say, worried about the baby.
The girl ignored him and continued feeding him, and a small fruit pit ended up in the child's mouth unnoticed.
Suddenly, the baby began to flail and struggle, trying to open its mouth, but no sound came out.
"What's wrong? Is the fruit too sour?" The girl tasted it herself and frowned. "It's not sour..."
The baby struggled even more violently, and its face quickly turned red.
The girl panicked and looked around helplessly.
"Oh no!" Ning Jinli exclaimed quickly, "Your child is choking! Quickly remove what's in his mouth! Otherwise, he'll suffocate!"
The girl was so frightened that she hurriedly used her fingers to pry open the baby's mouth.
The fruit pulp was removed, but the child's condition was getting worse.
His face had turned purple, and he had lost the strength to struggle.
The girl had no experience taking care of children and this was the first time she had encountered such a situation. She was completely dumbfounded and could only hold the baby's body and shake it.
In a moment of panic, Ning Jinli shouted, "Something's blocking his trachea! We need to use the Heimlich maneuver!"
She only realized what was happening after I called her.
People from over two thousand years ago, what did they know about the Heimlich maneuver?
“Don’t shake him! Listen to me, put him on your lap, face down, and then…”
Ning Jinli tried her best to remain calm and attempted to teach the young mother what to do.
But the other person was so terrified that their hands and feet wouldn't obey their commands.
Seeing that the baby had stopped moving, Ning Jinli could only urge, "Let me go! I can save your child!"
The girl hesitated in her panic.
Ning Jinli was furious and anxious. "Do you want him to die? Hurry up!"
The girl then made up her mind, hurriedly took the child to Ning Jinli's side, and then untied her hands.
Ning Jinli immediately sat up, placed the baby, who was only a few months old, face down on her lap, patted the middle of his shoulder blades, then turned him over and pressed on his chest and abdomen.
"cough!"
The baby let out a soft cough, and at the same time, a tiny fruit pit popped out of its mouth.
As the child cried loudly, his face finally changed from a purplish-red to a more normal red.
"Phew..." Ning Jinli breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from her face, and said with lingering fear, "Luckily, he was rescued in time and is alright now."
The girl also burst into tears, holding the child and comforting him while crying.
Without hesitation, Ning Jinli took the opportunity to untie the ropes binding her feet, got up, and ran out the door.
Although she felt sorry for the ancient girl, she had to put aside her sympathy and get out of here!
After running out of the thatched hut, she didn't panic and run around aimlessly. Instead, she tried to find cover while keeping an eye on her surroundings and finding her way.
If I'm not mistaken, the girl's husband is nearby.
However, she was completely unfamiliar with the environment. When she touched a low earthen wall and turned around, she was shocked to see a man chopping meat with a machete.
And that piece of flesh was clearly a human leg!
In the past, Ning Jinli would have fainted on the spot if she had seen this.
But she had already seen dismembered corpses.
What's more, he once had the "heroic feat" of moving four corpses, whose heads had been chopped off by Xiao Qidi, alone in the middle of the night in an unfinished building on the outskirts of the city.
Even she herself didn't realize that with each new bizarre experience, her growth rate was so fast.
At this moment, my mind was particularly calm, and even my heartbeat only accelerated slightly, without pounding wildly.
She immediately held her breath and, while the man was busy with his work, quietly backed away.
Now that we know the man is here, running in another direction is definitely the right thing to do.
Crack—
Just then, a crisp sound came from beneath her feet.
Looking down, I realized I had stepped on a shard of a ceramic pot.
The crisp sound was particularly noticeable in the quiet environment.
Ning Jinli thought to herself, "Oh no!" and was about to run in the opposite direction from where she had come from when she saw the girl suddenly appear in front of her, while the sound of a man's footsteps came from behind the low wall.
Ning Jinli gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, preparing to break through the girl's side.
Just then, the girl gave her a wink, hurried past her, and stood by the low wall, saying, "My son just choked, do you want to go check on him?"
"So it was you. I thought there was some commotion." The man stopped and glanced at the low wall beside the girl. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
The girl said "oh," put her hands behind her back, and pointed in a direction to Ning Jinli.
Ning Jinli crouched low and tiptoed away, preparing to leave.
"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on that Xuan Kingdom woman?" the man continued, "Get back inside right now! If she runs away, I'll kill you!"
The girl said, "She's still not awake, and her hands and feet are tied up; she can't escape."
The man muttered, "If it weren't for her stunning looks, I would have killed her and made her into jerky. It hasn't rained in a long time, and we can't hunt anything... You should eat less of her, or I'll eat you up."
Just then, several Xuanjia soldiers found their way here.
They stormed in, swords in hand, shouting, "Hand over all the herbs you stole from Medicine King Valley! We might spare your lives!"
The Xuan Kingdom and the Sha Yue Kingdom have a deep-seated blood feud, and they wish they could wipe out the Sha Yue people. But right now, the most important thing is to find the medicinal herbs as much as possible.
Only by sparing the lives of the Sha Yue civilians here can we avoid delaying our important business.
The man's eyes immediately flashed with a fierce light. "Hmph! We stole it with our own skills, there's no reason for us to return it!"
Despite his stubbornness, he knew he couldn't defeat these fully armed Xuan Kingdom people.
Moreover, the barbarian army of the Sha Yue Kingdom has already left, and the Sha Yue people here have no one to rely on.
So, as soon as the man finished speaking, he grabbed the girl and ran into the hut, then picked up the baby and fled from the other side.
Unfortunately, he bumped into Ning Jinli, who was sneaking away, and she fell flat on her face. He himself also stumbled and fell.
Several Xuanjia soldiers gave chase. The man had no time to run; he quickly flipped to his feet, placed his wood-chopping knife against Ning Jinli's neck, and shouted, "Don't come any closer! Or I'll kill this Xuan woman!"
Ning Jinli: "I f***ing..."
She almost swore.
This morning was so tragic. I finally managed to escape, but I still got caught.
Several Xuanjia soldiers were taken aback and stared at Ning Jinli.
"Jin... Fairy Jinli?!"
They blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
Ning Jinli was also taken aback: "Huh? You...aren't you soldiers from Xitun Pass?"
The Xuanjia soldiers were already furious with the Sha Yue people, and now that they saw Fairy Jinli being held hostage by them, they were even more enraged!
One of the armored soldiers swiftly drew a recurve bow from his back and, with a clean and decisive motion, struck the man's right shoulder with an arrow.
The man, in pain, released the knife.
Ning Jinli scrambled over to the Xuanjia soldiers.
Although the posture was awkward, at least he survived.
The other Xuanjia soldiers, their eyes blazing with rage, also drew their bows and shot arrows, intending to kill the Yue tribe couple.
"Don't hurt the child!" Ning Jinli shouted.
The black-armored soldiers hesitated.
To be honest, they don't want to let any of the Sha Yue people go.
But the fairy gave the order, so they had no choice but to stop.
This action caused a hint of surprise to appear in the eyes of the young woman from Shayue.
The man, however, immediately thought of a way to save his life. He forcefully pulled the arrow out of his shoulder, pressed it against the baby's head, and grinned maliciously, "Let me go, or I'll kill him!"
Ning Jinli was immediately filled with questions. "Wait, isn't this your child? How can you use your own child's life as a threat?"
The armored soldier said, "Fairy, you don't know this, but the Sha Yue people have always been cruel and ruthless. They will do anything to protect themselves."
Ning Jinli was speechless.
This is truly eye-opening...
"Don't come any closer!" The man, holding his child hostage, slowly backed away.
Because of his shoulder injury, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to hold the baby.
Once the distance between them was sufficient, he suddenly threw the baby in another direction!
"No!" the girl shouted, rushing towards the child without hesitation.
Ning Jinli had been staring at the baby, and the moment the man suddenly threw it, she quickly pounced on it.
However, the two were still a little slow.
A muffled thud.
The baby bumped into a rock in the distance.
Ning Jinli and the girl fell to the ground. Their hands were less than half a meter away from the child, but they could only watch helplessly as the child's head was smashed open and he died without even crying out.
The wicked man ran away without looking back, leaving the girl lying on the ground, crying hysterically.
Several Xuanjia soldiers hurriedly helped Ning Jinli up, and then searched the thatched hut.
Apart from finding some food and clothing that the family had looted during the fire in Medicine King Valley in several large pottery jars, no medicinal herbs were found.
They returned to Ning Jinli's side and, seeing that the fairy was still lost in thought, said, "Fairy, why don't you come back to Medicine King Valley with us first?"
Ning Jinli's expression was complicated as she silently watched the girl who was holding the child's corpse and crying her heart out.
"What...do you plan to do with her?" Ning Jinli asked.
Before the Xuanjia soldiers could answer.
The girl picked up the machete from the ground.
"Protect the fairy!" The Xuanjia soldiers immediately stood ready for battle.
The girl placed the wood-chopping knife against her neck and looked at Ning Jinli, "You... are a good person. Thank you for saving my child..."
Then, the girl told them the main hiding places of the hundreds of households of the Sha Yue people living here, and also told them where the herbs they had stolen were hidden.
After saying this, she slit her own throat with a knife.
Blood gushed out, splashing a blinding crimson in the light of the rising sun.
Just before she breathed her last, the girl hugged her child tightly, a look of relief appearing on her lips…
...
Ning Jinli had no idea how she got back to Medicine King Valley with the Xuanjia soldiers.
She was somewhat dazed throughout the journey.
Only after understanding the situation here, and learning that Xiao Qidi was also here, seriously injured and unconscious, did she put aside her chaotic thoughts.
Upon entering the tent, she saw Xiao Qidi lying face down on the bed, his face pale and his eyes closed. There were severe burns on his back and hips. Her heart jumped into her throat.
"Are you the legendary doctor Lian? How is Xiao Qidi?" Ning Jinli asked Lian Qingbai.
Lian Qingbai immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Excellency is above, please accept my bow! I report to Your Excellency that His Majesty's injuries are serious and require medical treatment. I beg Your Excellency's assistance!"
Ning Jinli immediately thought of taking Xiao Qidi to the hospital for treatment.
Even if the Medicine King Valley doctor is incredibly skilled, given the severity of his burns, this was still ancient times with very poor medical conditions.
Moreover, it's unknown when the Xuanjia soldiers will be able to bring back the herbs.
The problem is that Xiao Qidi is unconscious and cannot travel through the time tunnel on his own like he did when he was injured last time.
Although Ning Jinli can teleport living things, she is limited by her physical size.
Otherwise, Xiao Qidi would have already sent him the big black horse he had been longing for.
"Alright, I'll go get some more medicine to stabilize his injuries. Once he wakes up, things will be easier." After Ning Jinli finished speaking, she had the Xuanjia soldiers take her to the cave she had just passed through.
While she was running to the pharmacy to buy medicine specifically for burns, the Xuanjia Army also found some useful herbs based on the clues provided by the girl from Shayue before she died.
Lian Qingbai then brewed several heart-protecting pills and gave one to Xiao Qidi to put in his mouth.
Not long after, Xiao Qidi awoke from his coma.
Lian Qingbai was overjoyed, saying that as long as Fairy Jinli brought the medicine for treating burns, and he used herbs to make medicine to treat internal injuries, His Majesty would recover quickly.
"Jinli... Fairy?" Xiao Qidi had just woken up and was a little confused. "She's here too?"
Several Xuanjia soldiers then told him about their unexpected encounter with a fairy in the home of a Sha Yue family.
Upon learning that Ning Jinli had been captured by the Sha Yue people and nearly suffered an accident, Xiao Qidi's eyes instantly darkened. "How many Sha Yue people are still here?"
The general reported, "Originally there were about four hundred households and more than a thousand people. After the barbarian army was subdued by you, a small portion of them fled to the territory of the Sha Yue Kingdom. There are not many left here."
Xiao Qidi immediately ordered, "Then kill them all, leave no one alive."
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