Huan'er finished speaking angrily and then grabbed Ruoxi's hand and left quickly.
The middle-aged woodcutter stood there stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He hurriedly chased after the two of them, pleading, "Miss Huan'er, Miss Huan'er, you are someone from the side of the 'living bodhisattva' who saves people from suffering! How can you be so heartless as to let them die?"
"What 'living Bodhisattva'? You all called her that voluntarily; no one forced you to address the old lady that way. The old lady... she's just an ordinary person with flesh and blood, experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death. In the past, who in this village hasn't received her kindness? But now that she's in trouble, why haven't you asked anyone to help look for her?" Huan'er said, seemingly heartbroken and anxious, on the verge of tears.
The middle-aged woodcutter also looked troubled and said, “Miss Huan’er, it’s not that we are unwilling to help you. It’s just that, in peaceful times, we would do anything for the old lady without hesitation. But now… there is chaos and war everywhere, bandits and reckless people everywhere. Who would dare to go out? Wouldn’t that be courting death?”
"Shut up!..."
Before Huan'er could finish her indignant words, Ruoxi suddenly raised her voice and shouted angrily at the two of them, "Alright, stop arguing! If you keep arguing like this, the old lady and Wang Er will both be killed!"
Upon hearing this, the two stopped talking. Ruoxi then solemnly instructed, "Huan'er, hurry and head towards the City God Temple to catch up with the old lady. Uncle, just as you said, I am blind. If I really can't cure Wang Er, where can I run to? You can do whatever you want with me then, right? Please believe me this once, I can definitely do it."
"Ruoxi, what nonsense are you talking about?" Huan'er said angrily to her with a reproachful look.
"Well... alright, then you can come with me." After much deliberation, the middle-aged woodcutter finally considered the old woman's safety and, seeing the determination in Ruoxi's eyes, sighed deeply and reluctantly compromised.
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi's face lit up with joy. Huan'er, however, had unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand, his eyes filled with worry and hesitation, murmuring, "Ruoxi..."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. You should hurry up, or it will be too late," Ruoxi urged him instead.
Huan'er was extremely anxious about the old lady, and worried that Ruoxi's eyesight was not good enough to handle things, and that she had not yet had a chance to get to know the villagers.
However, under his repeated urging, and seeing the sky growing darker and darker, he finally gritted his teeth, made up his mind, reached out and broke off a small branch from a dream tree beside him, placed one end in Ruoxi's hand and held it tightly, and then solemnly handed the other end to the middle-aged woodcutter. "Ruoxi is now in your hands. If you dare to let her lose a single hair, I will make you pay."
Upon hearing Huan'er, a young girl, speak so earnestly, the middle-aged woodcutter was so astonished that he swallowed hard and stared blankly at the girl's round, bright eyes.
Huan'er finally turned away reluctantly, and the two of them, connected by a branch of the Dream Tree, headed one after the other towards a nearby deep mountain.
In the mountains and fields, wildflowers bloom everywhere, mountain streams gurgle, forests are lush and green, birds sing and flowers bloom, and mountain breezes blow in your face. Everything is so pleasant and comfortable.
Walking along the rugged mountain path, Ruoxi listened carefully to all the beautiful sounds she encountered as she gradually entered her surroundings.
After a while, she suddenly smiled and asked, "Uncle, I just heard you say that Wang Er was poisoned, is that right?"
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woodcutter glared at him disdainfully and said, "Yes! What? Just now you were so confident, telling me to believe you, saying you could do it, that you definitely could. Now, are you feeling guilty and scared? Let me tell you, it's too late for regrets now. If you can't save Wang Er's life, you'll be in big trouble. You'll have to pay with your life, you know? So, stop having any more wishful thinking and think carefully about what to do next."
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi quickly explained, "Uncle, that's not what I meant. Don't worry, if I say it's possible, it definitely is. The reason I'm asking now is to learn more about Wang Er's condition on our way to the scene, so we can save a lot of time for treatment. I can't see for the time being, so there will definitely be a lot of things I'll need your help with later!"
"Hmph... You're like a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, barely able to save yourself, yet you dare to show off your abilities? You're truly overestimating yourself. I'd like to see how you're going to explain yourself later," the middle-aged woodcutter thought to himself with extreme distrust.
Not hearing any response she hoped for, Ruoxi patiently called out again to the middle-aged woodcutter who was leading the way, "Uncle, Uncle..."
"What are you doing now?" the middle-aged woodcutter asked impatiently, his face still grumpy.
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi calmly smiled and asked, "Uncle, you still haven't told me what kind of poisoning symptoms Wang Er is experiencing?"
Although he found it annoying, the middle-aged woodcutter continued to lead the way while muttering to himself, "Spring has arrived, and wild vegetables are growing like crazy. Perhaps Wang Er accidentally ate something in the mountains and got poisoned?"
"What are his specific symptoms?" Ruoxi asked thoughtfully.
The middle-aged woodcutter thought silently for a moment, then sighed heavily and said, "Alas... when I found him in the mountains just now, he was rolling around on the ground clutching his abdomen, as if he was in excruciating pain. He was sweating, and his limbs were cold to the touch. He was drooling. Aren't these all symptoms of poisoning?"
Ruoxi frowned slightly, listening attentively, and murmured, "Abdominal cramps, cold limbs, sweating when in pain, drooling... these are not necessarily all signs of poisoning."
Immediately, she asked again, "What is Wang Er's family background like?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woodcutter immediately stopped, turned around, and stared at her with a questioning look. "Why are you asking this? What does his family background have to do with the poison he suffered from? Oh... I finally understand. Could it be that you want to extort money from him after curing his illness?"
Ruoxi quickly explained, "Uncle, please don't misunderstand. That's not what I meant. It's just that, based on what you said, I don't think Wang Er is necessarily poisoned. Perhaps it's related to some of his usual living environment and habits."
"You really know medicine?" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woodcutter couldn't help but examine the mysterious veiled woman in front of him again more carefully, and asked.
Ruoxi simply smiled and nodded gently at him.
The middle-aged woodcutter asked in confusion, "But didn't Miss Huan'er just say that you had amnesia and couldn't even remember who you were? Then how come you can still remember your medical skills?"
Ruoxi smiled and said, "There are many kinds of amnesia. Not everyone who suffers amnesia due to an accident will become mentally impaired."
At this point, the middle-aged woodcutter, still pondering, continued leading the way, saying, "That's true... Wang Er lost both his parents at a young age and was an orphan, quite pitiful. His family was very poor, their conditions were terrible, almost destitute. Yet he was also somewhat lazy and gluttonous, but his heart wasn't bad."
It's springtime now, so maybe I wanted to dig up some wild vegetables in the mountains to eat, but who knew...
"
"Both parents died when he was young. So, according to what Uncle said, Wang Er often comes to the mountains to look for food?" Ruoxi asked in surprise.
"Wang Er picked almost all the wild vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms in the mountains. The villagers took pity on him and deliberately left them for him," the middle-aged woodcutter said quietly.
"So, Wang Er knows all about the mountain produce here. He knows what's edible and what's not, so he shouldn't have accidentally eaten anything," Ruoxi muttered to herself, following behind, puzzled.
“Alas, ‘If you walk by the river long enough, you’re bound to get your shoes wet.’ Who doesn’t have an accident?” The middle-aged woodcutter sighed, but did not agree with the saying.
Just as the two were talking and thinking, the middle-aged woodcutter suddenly stopped and shouted, "Wang Er, Wang Er..." He then dropped the branch in his hand and rushed towards a man who seemed to have fainted by the mountain stream.
Upon hearing the sound, Ruoxi immediately stopped in her tracks, startled. She then hurriedly reached out and, using the faint sliver of light, fumbled around in the direction from which the sound came.
"Ah!" A woman's scream rang out. The middle-aged woodcutter, who was kneeling on the ground, holding Wang Er's head and crying, suddenly turned around and saw that it was Ruoxi who had been groping her way up. She had just been tripped by Wang Er's feet on the ground.
Despite her own pain, she hurriedly climbed up Wang Er's feet to the woodcutter's side and began to feel around his arm, asking, "How is he? How is he?"
"Get away! Are you blind? Didn't you see how pale he is? He's already... It's all your fault, it's all your fault! Go to hell..." The middle-aged woodcutter was heartbroken when he saw the wretched state of Wang Er, who had fainted. Thinking that he might have delayed him, he shoved Ruoxi to the ground and shouted at her without thinking.
However, Ruoxi completely ignored his cold words and struggled to sit up again. Then, she crawled on her knees once more to check the pulse on Wang Er's wrist and the temperature of his limbs.
After a long while, Ruoxi finally said with a happy expression, "It's okay, it's okay, there's still time, there's still time, he'll be fine, he'll be fine."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ruoxi took out a packet of silver needles from her body, spread them on the grass beside her, and then began to fumble to take off Wang Er's shoes and socks.
Upon seeing Ruoxi's extremely clumsy movements, the middle-aged woodcutter hurriedly shouted to stop her, "What are you trying to do? No, stop! Stop it now..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com