The rain fell on and off for two days, and finally gradually stopped.
The sky cleared, revealing a long-lost light blue hue.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.
The danger of landslides has been largely eliminated, with only the disaster relief site still busy with cleanup and finishing touches.
That morning, Lin Hui carried a lunchbox and walked briskly to Xu Xinghe's courtyard. "Xinghe, are you home?"
She smiled and pushed the door open. "The rain has stopped. I went to deliver food to Old Li. I was thinking that your Commander Jiang and your friends are also busy over there, so I came to ask if you wanted to come and deliver some food with me?"
As she spoke, her tone carried a hint of heartache, "I heard from Lao Li that they were eating hard, dry flatbreads over there, quenching their thirst with cold water, carrying stones and clearing silt every day. It looked exhausting."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xinghe's heart clenched.
Jiang Linchuan must have suffered a lot these past few days.
"Okay, I'll go prepare it right away."
As she spoke, she turned and went into the house, picked out the dishes she had just made, and a few steamed buns, filling two lunchboxes to the brim. She also boiled a kettle of hot water, wrapped it in a cotton pad, and carried it in her hand. "Let's go, sister-in-law."
The two walked side by side toward the site of the mudslide.
Because the rain had stopped not long ago, the road was still a bit muddy, but it was already walkable.
Lin Hui chatted enthusiastically the whole way, sometimes talking about interesting things in the capital, and sometimes asking about Xu Xinghe and Jiang Linchuan's daily interactions.
Xu Xinghe was thinking about Jiang Linchuan, and responded half-heartedly, her pace unconsciously quickening.
The two walked to a relatively open section of road.
Suddenly, a hurried shout came from the alleyway ahead, "Make way!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than the rapid clatter of hooves was heard, accompanied by the screeching sound of wooden planks scraping against the ground.
Xu Xinghe looked up and saw a black horse with its mane bristling and eyes bloodshot, dragging an empty wooden cart and charging towards them like a madman!
The horse's hooves pounded the muddy ground, splashing up mud and water everywhere, its momentum so fierce that there was no time to dodge.
Xu Xinghe's body has been nourished by the spiritual spring for a long time, and his reaction speed and agility have long surpassed those of ordinary people.
Her heart tightened, and without saying a word, she instinctively darted to the side onto the ridge of the field.
With her speed, she could easily dodge the mad horse before it charged.
Just as she had already shifted her position and was about to regain her balance, Lin Hui suddenly screamed and lunged at her!
"Xinghe, watch out!"
The attack came so fast and fiercely that it completely exceeded Xu Xinghe's expectations.
Caught off guard, she was slammed hard on the shoulder by Lin Hui. Her previously steady body instantly lost its balance, and she swayed uncontrollably to the side.
And that direction was exactly where the wooden cart that Crazy Horse was pulling was about to pass!
"Ah—!" Lin Hui let out a shrill scream as she collapsed onto Xu Xinghe.
Xu Xinghe was unable to move under the weight of her body, and her back slammed heavily against the stone on the edge of the field, causing her to gasp in pain.
Before she could even react, she heard the sound of fabric tearing, followed by Lin Hui's even more intense wails.
She struggled to lift her head, her pupils suddenly contracting.
The hem of Lin Hui's long blue dress was caught on a broken plank protruding from the side of the wooden cart. Sharp wood splinters cut a long gash along the side of her calf, almost from her ankle all the way down to her knee.
Her skin was turned inside out, and bright red blood gushed out instantly, staining the elegant skirt red. It dripped down her calves onto the muddy ground, pooling into a glaring red stain that was shocking to behold.
"Sister-in-law!" Xu Xinghe struggled to crawl out from under her. "How are you? Does it hurt?"
Lin Hui trembled all over in pain, her forehead instantly covered in cold sweat, tears mixed with mud and water rolled down her cheeks, her eyes were full of vulnerability, she choked and couldn't speak, she just bit her lip tightly, her face as pale as a sheet of paper.
Several villagers who had been chasing the horse ran over and gasped when they saw the wound on Lin Hui's leg.
"My God! This wound is so serious! We need to stop the bleeding and bandage it right away, or something terrible will happen!"
Xu Xinghe frowned slightly as she looked at the wound that was constantly bleeding.
She had already dodged, and if Lin Hui hadn't lunged at her and bumped into her, she probably wouldn't have been injured.
But Lin Hui was already so badly injured, so naturally she wouldn't say anything about the other party doing something wrong.
Saving lives is the most urgent task!
She quickly pulled out some wound medicine from her pocket and applied it to Lin Hui's wound. "Sister-in-law, let me use this on you first. It will stop the bleeding and relieve the pain!"
She tore off the piece of Lin Hui's torn dress. "Bear with it, I'll bandage it for you so the bleeding stops."
Lin Hui nodded with tears in her eyes, her whole body trembling with pain, but she still said intermittently, "Xinghe, don't blame me, I was just too scared... I just wanted to help you, but I didn't expect to hurt myself instead."
"Sister-in-law, don't say anything!" Xu Xinghe interrupted her, her hands moving non-stop as she quickly applied ointment to the wound and then wrapped it with cloth.
Looking at Xu Xinghe carefully bandaging her wounds, Lin Hui felt that all her meticulous planning had not been in vain.
She had someone bribe the horse's owner beforehand to deliberately frighten and drive the horse mad.
She had calculated the distance precisely, intending only for the wooden plank to lightly scratch her calf, so that it would look like she was sacrificing herself to save someone.
But to everyone's surprise, Xu Xinghe reacted so quickly that she dodged the mad horse's charge in the blink of an eye.
In her haste, she lunged forward with too much force and at too much angle, which caused the sharp wood splinter to cut such a long gash, causing her to almost faint from the pain.
But this is for the best. The more seriously injured Xu Xinghe is, the deeper her guilt will be, and the stronger her trust in herself will become.
Lin Hui endured the pain, her calculating nature completely concealed by her vulnerability.
Xu Xinghe carefully tied the knot, then gently pressed the surrounding skin to make sure there was no bleeding before letting out a sigh of relief. "Sister-in-law, it's bandaged up. Don't move. Let's rest by the roadside for a while."
She helped Lin Hui sit down slowly on a rock by the roadside.
Lin Hui had barely sat down when she couldn't help but sob, tears streaming down her face. Between sobs, she looked down at the cloth on her leg and asked, "Xinghe, do you think... this wound will leave a scar?"
She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, her voice choked with emotion, "Even though I'm old, it's so ugly to have such a long scar on my leg... I won't dare to show my legs when I wear skirts anymore."
Xu Xinghe quickly reassured her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry! I used a wound medicine I made myself. It not only stops the bleeding quickly but also promotes wound healing. It definitely won't leave a scar. Don't worry, once the wound heals, your skin will be as smooth as before."
"Really?" Lin Hui's eyes lit up, then turned uncertain as she gently touched the edge of the gauze. "But this wound is so deep. I've heard people say that deep wounds inevitably leave scars..."
“My medicine is different. A soldier was injured during training before, and his wound was even deeper than yours. After using my medicine, there was no trace of it left.”
Lin Hui took a soft breath. "Speaking of which, your medicine is really effective! I was in so much pain just now that it was bandaged up, but now that it's bandaged, it doesn't hurt as much anymore."
She looked up at Xu Xinghe, "Xinghe, could you give me some more medicine? I'm so afraid of pain, I'm afraid that once the medicine wears off, I'll be in so much pain that I won't be able to sleep."
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