Chapter 321 Shijia Village
The night was as dark as ink, and the chill in the mountains and forests was even more biting.
"Grandpa, why do we have to come out so late at night? The mountain wind is like a knife, it's freezing!" A clear, girlish voice rang out from the forest.
Immediately afterwards, an old and steady voice responded: "There is a kind of herb in these mountains that blooms only at night, and can only be obtained after midnight. This thing is very precious. If we can pick one, we won't have to worry about food all winter."
The speaker was a villager living in a nearby mountain valley. The old man's surname was Shi, and he was known as Old Shi. He was a famous herb gatherer in the village, knowledgeable about all kinds of herbs, and also knew some medical skills.
The girl beside him was his granddaughter, Azhu, who had just turned fifteen. She was lively and bold, and often went into the mountains with her grandfather to collect herbs.
"Then we'd better hurry, it's about to snow." Azhu leaned on a stick she had picked up and helped her grandfather.
"This can't be rushed; the best herbs and elixirs depend on fate." Old Shi, carrying a bamboo basket, took things one step at a time.
Grandpa, look over there! There looks like someone!
"Walk slowly, girl, don't slip. There are many wild animals in these mountains, be careful."
The two approached cautiously, following the moonlight.
Old Shi squatted down and, using the faint moonlight filtering through the leaves, saw Jiang Ling on the ground.
She collapsed on the ground covered with withered branches and leaves. Her coarse cloth jacket was torn in several places by the branches, and blood seeped from the wounds, mixing with the dirt. She looked utterly disheveled.
"This girl has probably encountered bandits; she's so badly injured." Old Shi sighed, reaching out to check her pulse. It was weak but still relatively steady.
“There’s still hope. Ah Zhu, give me a hand, let’s carry her back to the village.”
"Huh? You're not going to gather herbs anymore?"
"Saving lives is the priority. Lying here all night in the dead of winter will surely freeze them to death."
"Oh." Azhu nodded and quickly helped Jiang Ling up with her grandfather.
Old Shi carried Jiang Ling on his back, with A Zhu supporting him from the side. The two of them, using the moonlight, walked unsteadily down the mountain towards Shijia Village.
Shijia Village is an inconspicuous little village on the border of the Great Sheng Dynasty. The village has only a few dozen households. Most of the villagers make a living by growing cold-resistant millet and wheat and collecting medicinal herbs. They live a simple but peaceful life.
A-Zhu brought warm water, dipped a clean cloth in the water, and gently wiped the dust and wounds off Jiang Ling's face. She then took out several herbs from the medicine basket, mashed them, applied them to her wounds, and carefully bandaged them with a cloth.
The most troublesome thing was the sprained ankle. Old Shi felt the bone and, after confirming that it was not broken, breathed a sigh of relief. He applied some herbal medicine and carefully fixed it with a wooden board.
"Grandpa, when will she wake up?" Azhu asked with some worry, looking at Jiang Ling's pale face.
"It's hard to say. She's exhausted, injured, and has caught a chill. She needs to rest." Old Shi placed a bowl of cooked rice porridge by the bedside.
"Once she wakes up, let her drink some rice porridge to replenish her energy. Let's not disturb her and let her get a good night's sleep."
Azhu nodded obediently, tucked the blanket around Jiang Ling, and then quietly left the room with her grandfather.
Jiang Ling slept very soundly, her dream filled with chaotic sounds of fighting, and the faces that fell before her all came over to question her.
She struggled to wake up, but seemed to be trapped by an invisible force until a warm, herbal aroma entered her nostrils, and she slowly opened her eyes.
My vision was initially blurred, with only dim, flickering light and shadow.
She blinked, gradually focusing her gaze.
What comes into view are simple mud-brick walls, a thatched roof, and sunlight shining through the hemp paper pasted on the window frames.
The room was simply furnished with only a wooden bed, a low table, and two chairs, and the air was filled with the mixed aroma of herbs and rice water.
"You're awake!" A clear voice rang out, and A-Zhu walked in carrying a bowl of steaming rice porridge, a joyful smile on her face. "That's great! You've been sleeping for a whole day and night. Grandpa was worried you wouldn't wake up."
Jiang Ling struggled to sit up, but her whole body ached. Especially her right ankle, which was throbbing with pain, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.
"Hey! Don't move! Your injuries are quite serious! It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone!" Azhu quickly stepped forward to help her.
Jiang Ling looked at A-Zhu warily, her eyes filled with suspicion: "Where...where is this? Did you save me?"
"This is Shijia Village!" Azhu placed the rice porridge on the low table by the bedside and helped Jiang Ling slowly sit up.
“Last night, my grandfather and I went into the mountains to collect herbs. We found you there and rescued you. My grandfather is Master Shi, the best herb collector in the village. He treated your sprained ankle.”
“Shijia Village…” Jiang Ling looked down. She was wearing a linen outfit, the material of which was rather rough, and it wasn’t her own clothes.
She was startled and hurriedly asked, "Where...where are my things?"
"Here it is! Here it is! Don't worry!" A-Zhu quickly picked up a bundle carefully wrapped in old cloth from the foot of the bed and placed it next to Jiang Ling.
"Don't be afraid, I changed your clothes for you. You were injured, and your clothes had several holes, so I changed them to apply medicine. I've wrapped all your belongings here exactly as they were, nothing was touched! Look!"
Jiang Ling immediately untied the bundle.
Inside were her clothes. She frantically rummaged through them for a while before finally finding the cold pistol.
Thank goodness it wasn't lost! Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
In case of any unforeseen circumstances, she also carried some anti-inflammatory drugs and ibuprofen, several boxes of chocolates, and a lighter with her—everything was there.
"Thank you all..." she breathed a sigh of relief, her voice hoarse and dry from not speaking for a long time and from weakness.
"You're lucky to be alive. Few people go to Wild Wolf Gully, and there really are wolves there at night. How could you dare to go to that desolate mountain wilderness alone?"
"I... my name is Xiao Qiu. I was traveling north with the Ji family's merchant caravan of the Dayu Dynasty. On the way... we unfortunately encountered a group of bandits. The caravan was scattered, and I got separated from my companions. In the chaos, I fled into the mountains, got lost, and accidentally fell down a hillside..." In a foreign land, she could only make up an identity on the spot.
Fortunately, she remembered that the Ji family's caravans traveled all over the country and had business dealings with the Great Sheng Dynasty.
Azhu believed it and looked at him with sympathy: "Those bandits are so wicked! There's been a lot of unrest around Yanxia Pass lately, and I keep hearing about bandits robbing merchants. You're so pitiful, it's good that you met me and Grandpa."
She picked up the rice porridge and handed it to Jiang Ling, saying, "Hurry up and drink some rice porridge. Grandpa said you're weak and need to replenish your strength first."
Jiang Ling took the rough pottery bowl, feeling the warmth coming from her palm.
The rice water in the bowl was very thin, almost transparent to the bottom, with only a few grains of rice floating on the surface.
The warm rice porridge slid into her stomach, bringing a wave of warmth and restoring some of her strength.
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