Chapter 140 The Shop's Secret is Discovered
The inside and outside of the door were instantly separated into two worlds.
Only the rapid breathing of the three people remained inside the shop.
The noise outside was completely inaudible; no matter how the men in black outside banged and slashed, it made no sound inside the shop.
Jiang Ling first looked at the young refugee, her voice still trembling slightly: "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to go to the ruined temple? When did you get here?"
The young refugee lowered his head and whispered, "I went east... but the dilapidated temple over there was already packed with people... I didn't dare go in... so I secretly slipped back to the village and hid in the haystack... thinking that after my sister's shop lights went out... I would squat in the corner and make do for the night..."
Jiang Ling then remembered that he seemed to have mentioned before that he was afraid of being caught by other refugees.
She recalled the last throw that had saved the day and asked, "What did you throw just now?"
"...It was a mouse," the child answered timidly, secretly glancing at Jiang Ling's expression.
"I found it in the haystack... I was planning to save it for when I got really hungry tonight..."
He ate a delicious bowl of white rice for lunch, and he could go a whole day without eating.
Although he was so hungry he saw stars when he caught the mouse, he held back, afraid that if he ate it, there would be no other food left.
Jiang Ling was speechless for a moment.
Well, we're already here, now's not the time to worry about these things.
Although Qin Zhao was pale from blood loss, he still forced a worried expression.
"Miss Jiang, this wooden door probably won't hold for long! They're after me, I should go out, I can't let you get involved..."
The dilapidated wooden door looked rather fragile, which initially worried him. However, when he listened carefully, he couldn't hear any sound from outside, which immediately puzzled him.
Based on what just happened, the men in black outside couldn't have left so quickly; they must be banging on and chopping at the door.
How could there be absolutely no sound? This doesn't make sense!
Jiang Ling calmed down a bit. She didn't want to explain too much, and only said, "Don't worry, it's safe here. No one can break through this door."
Thinking of something, she quickly walked to the counter, glanced at the modern digital clock on it, and calculated the passage of time.
The door is closed; one minute here is ten minutes outside!
The wounds must be treated as soon as possible, and they must be sent out as quickly as possible!
Qin Zhao couldn't help but speak up: "Miss Jiang, outside..."
Jiang Ling said no more, and hurriedly helped Qin Zhao to sit down on a chair. She then turned around and went to the warehouse to fetch the white first-aid kit.
"Never mind what's outside, let me apply the medicine first!"
As she spoke, she carefully used scissors to cut open the sleeve of Qin Zhao's arm, which was already soaked with blood.
The wound was exposed, deep enough to see the bone, with the flesh turned inside out and fresh blood still seeping out. Jiang Ling's heart tightened at the sight, and she gasped.
She looked up at Qin Zhao and saw that his forehead was covered with fine cold sweat and his lips were bitten until they were white, but he did not utter a sound.
He's only twelve years old? How can he have such amazing endurance?
Jiang Ling had given him a strong painkiller beforehand, and then gave him a roll of clean gauze to bite on:
"Bear with it, it will hurt a lot."
She first carefully rinsed the wound with saline solution to remove dirt and scabs.
She had almost no experience in treating such severe injuries and could only follow the instructions in the book step by step.
Jiang Ling didn't dare ask the young vagrant for help since he had just caught a rat. She only asked him to hold the open first aid manual for her.
Wound cleaning, disinfection, threading the needle...
Jiang Ling's hands trembled slightly, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
With each needle, she felt her skin tighten.
Qin Zhao remained unusually quiet. He simply stared at Jiang Ling's focused and tense face with a complex expression, his eyes deep as if he were pondering something.
His face was pale, but he seemed not to feel any pain.
Watching her trembling hands stitching up my wounds, I felt a strange sense of trust in her, no matter what she did to me.
Having been assassinated twice in Ping'an County, and saved by her both times, Qin Zhao even had a strange feeling that he had turned misfortune into blessing.
After finally finishing the last stitch, tying a knot, and cutting the thread, Jiang Ling's back was soaked with cold sweat.
God knows how nervous she was. She couldn't even sew pants, yet she had to sew a human body.
Jiang Ling had just finished wrapping the last layer of gauze tightly and fed Qin Zhao some anti-inflammatory medicine before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, in Ping'an County, at Lu Qian's residence.
Lu Qian sat upright in the main seat, his face calm and expressionless, listening to Li Hong's report.
"You're saying they went into the shop and haven't come out since?"
Li Hong's voice was extremely low: "Yes, no matter how much they pounded on it from the outside, even with knives and axes, they couldn't break down that door. It was like an impregnable fortress. When the Crown Prince's reinforcements arrived, the men we sent didn't have time to evacuate... and they were all dead. This news was reported by spies who had been lurking in the village for a long time."
Lu Qian's face remained expressionless; he simply said, "It's better that he's dead. Cleanliness."
That way, they won't be able to trace it back to him.
Imperial Uncle Lu Yu, standing to the side, frowned and looked at him disapprovingly: "How could you act so impulsively! If the Crown Prince were to be assassinated at this time, and something were to happen to him, the foundation of the nation would be shaken, and wouldn't the Great Yu Dynasty become even more turbulent?!"
Lu Qian picked up his teacup, his tone turning colder, "He colluded with court officials to force me to lead troops into battle in court, so naturally I should give him a return gift."
He paused, his tone seemingly reassuring but now even colder, "Uncle, rest assured, if Qin Zhao were to die so easily, he wouldn't be worthy of competing with me for so many years."
Qin Zhao, together with his court officials, urged him to lead his troops into battle in court. He needed to be warned, otherwise he would think that Qin Qian was a pushover!
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Jiang Ling checked the time and found that forty-five minutes had passed.
She quickly packed up her medicine kit and left some medicine for Qin Zhao to take.
"Your wound has been treated for now. Remember not to get it wet for the next few days, and remember to take your anti-inflammatory medication on time."
Qin Zhao propped himself up. The pain in his arm had lessened considerably, and his complexion had also improved. He gently touched the gauze on his arm with his fingertips.
"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, walked to the door, placed her hand on the wooden door, and paused.
It should already be daylight outside. How is she going to explain this later?
Seeing this, the young refugee asked in a low voice, "Sister, are we... going out? What if there are still bad people outside?"
Qin Zhao noticed her hesitation and assumed she was afraid of the people outside.
Although I didn't know why she insisted on opening the door, I still whispered, "I'll stay behind you. I'll protect you if anything happens."
We can't delay any longer; if we do, time will just fly by!
Jiang Ling gritted her teeth and suddenly pulled open the wooden door.
A gust of wind rushed in from outside, carrying the coolness of the morning.
The sky was indeed beginning to lighten, with a hint of dawn appearing in the east.
There were still traces of a fight on the ground, a few drops of dark blood, and a few fragments of broken scabbards, but the man in black had long since disappeared.
Instead, Jiang Yi and a group of guards stood outside the door.
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