Chapter 40 The Wound
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After saying goodbye to Director Xia, She Ning walked out of the Education Office. Everyone was still having their morning reading session, and the corridor was empty.
Carrying Director Xia's heavy love on her back, She Ning was thinking about the wild vegetable feast announced by the system, and she walked directly towards the stairs.
"Ah Ning, Ah Ning, over here." A familiar voice mingled with the sound of Lang Lang reading aloud. It was soft and not very noticeable, but She Ning had a keen hearing.
Following the sound, around the corner, Wang Weiwei and a few others were piled up against the wall, with only one small head peeking out. When they met She Ning's gaze, she smiled and waved to her in a charming way.
Seeing her grinning so wide her eyes were almost invisible, She Ning couldn't help but laugh. She quickly stepped forward and scanned the group of girls up and down.
Wang Weiwei was at the bottom, smiling brightly. Sandwiched between the three was He Xiaoyan. When she saw She Ning coming over, she waved to her and said hi.
Lin Qian, who was at the top, had slightly red ears. She straightened up and moved away from the wall. She awkwardly turned her head to avoid looking into She Ning's eyes.
She Ning put her fist to her mouth, coughed lightly, and then hesitated before speaking, "What are you all doing?"
It was still morning reading time, and they should have been reading in the classroom. She Ning was puzzled to see them here.
“Come with me, we came here specifically to wait for you.” After saying that, Wang Weiwei left the wall and stood up straight, reached out and grabbed She Ning, leading her downstairs. As she ran, she kept looking back, afraid that Director Xia would suddenly appear from some corner.
He Xiaoyan and Lin Qian followed closely behind.
They didn't stop until they reached the back hill of the school. It had been a long time since she had done such strenuous exercise. She let go of She Ning's hand, panting, and leaned against a tree. Looking at She Ning, whose breathing was steady and who hadn't broken a sweat, she said enviously.
"Ah Ning, your physical fitness is amazing."
Nearby, He Xiaoyan and Lin Qian, who had been running all the way, were not as exaggerated as Wang Weiwei, but they also had a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads and their breathing was a little unsteady.
She Ning moved her wrist, which was a little uncomfortable from being pulled, and thought for a moment in response to Wang Weiwei's exclamation. Then she replied earnestly, "Get up early every day to practice Baduanjin and run. Before long, you can do it too."
The set of Baduanjin she practices now was learned by She Ning in her later life from a retired grandmother in the park. After learning it, she accidentally learned that the old lady had won the national Baduanjin championship and was a very impressive old lady. However, the old lady was very low-key and approachable, and very few people knew her identity.
She Ning previously suffered from qi and blood deficiency, but after picking up her training again, her body underwent significant changes.
“Whenever you have time, I’ll teach you,” She Ning added.
"Forget it, I can't." Wang Weiwei resolutely refused. Exercising was out of the question, and getting up early was even more impossible. Getting up at 6:30 was already killing her; if she got up any earlier, she wouldn't grow taller!
"What about you?" Despite being rejected by Wang Weiwei, She Ning was not discouraged. She looked expectantly at the other two people on the scene, blinking her eyes. Her clear eyes were so serious that it was hard to refuse her, unless the person was heartless.
The two truly heartless individuals replied: "No, we don't need it."
"Okay," She Ning said with some regret. She really hoped they could learn and practice, since learning also requires a strong and healthy body.
However, we can't force them; if they don't want to, so be it.
"Did you bring me here because you need help with something?" She Ning looked around. The trees were sparse and thin, with few leaves, and there were many bushes and weeds. The place where they were standing was not far from the back of the classroom.
I heard that the school was built on the site of a former shooting range. There are many graves on the hill behind the school. When it rains heavily, the rainwater washes away the loose soil and sometimes brings up bones of unknown origin.
She Ning wasn't afraid of these things; sometimes, strangers are scarier than ghosts.
Wang Weiwei was unaware of what She Ning was thinking. Upon hearing this, she pulled She Ning to the edge of a clump of grass. There was a small bamboo basket nestled among the green grass, carefully lined with cloth and cotton. On the basket lay a brownish-gray squirrel with its eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to its fate.
When She Ning first saw it, she thought it was the one she had helped find the treasure before. But after looking closely, she realized she had mistaken it for the one with the small pine tree. It had a small tuft of mutated silver-gray on its head, and she had given it a lot of spirit rice. Given its cleverness, it should have hidden away and eaten it before reappearing.
“Ah Ning, I remember you said you treated a rabbit with a broken leg. Could you help it too?” Wang Weiwei said worriedly, holding She Ning’s hand. The other two also looked at She Ning with anxious anticipation.
They found it in a haystack while weeding during their labor class a few days ago. Since they couldn't keep animals in their dormitory and the school couldn't find a place to put it, they decided to put it in a bamboo basket and leave it there. Then they went to the clinic to buy medicine and applied it to the hay.
However, the medicine doesn't seem to be working. She used to be able to open her eyes and eat, but these past two days she hasn't been able to open her eyes at all. She heard from Director Xia that She Ning will be returning to school today.
Wang Weiwei and Lin Qian skipped their morning reading session and waited outside the education office early.
She Ning remembered such an incident. At that time, she had not yet regained her memories of the future, and Grandpa She had not yet passed away. When she went to pick wild vegetables, she found a rabbit that had been caught in a trap on the mountain but had escaped.
After her careful treatment and dressing changes, the rabbit survived, but its leg became lame, and then one day it disappeared.
"I'll try." She Ning squatted down and picked up the squirrel. Its small body rose and fell weakly in her hands with its breathing. It must have been very weak. It didn't wake up when She Ning touched it.
She carefully examined the squirrel's condition. Fortunately, its leg was injured, but the bone was fine. However, as She Ning looked at the injury on the squirrel's leg, her eyes grew increasingly deep.
This wound doesn't look like an ordinary wound; it looks like a gun graze.
But where would they get a gun from this little hill? She Ning pondered.
The sounds of morning reading from the school in the distance gradually faded, indicating that classes were about to begin.
She put it back in the bamboo basket and secretly stuffed a grain of spiritual rice into the squirrel's mouth. The spiritual energy in the rice had a significant effect on the small animal; its breathing became noticeably stronger.
"I'll take it home to get it treated. You all go back to school first, and I'll bring it back to you when it's better," She Ning said, lifting the basket and slinging it over her arm.
Wang Weiwei glanced worriedly at the bamboo basket, then reluctantly left with He Xiaoyan. Lin Qian slowed her pace slightly, running a short distance before turning back.
"This is for you."
"Thank you for the materials and the tutoring." She handed the things in her hand to She Ning, pursed her lips and said, then turned and ran away.
She Ning watched as she caught up with Wang Weiwei's group before turning her attention to the object in her hand—a round, golden chocolate. This was truly a rare item in this era.
Thinking of her awkward expression, She Ning carefully put the small golden ball into her bag.
After the squirrel incident, She Ning rode her bicycle home, placed the squirrel in one side of the room, and then went out again.
"Xiaosong, are you there?" After climbing up Ludong Mountain, She Ning pushed open the door of the Taoist temple.
"Squeak squeak squeak..."
On the trunk of a pine tree, a small brownish-yellow head peeked out from a tree hole. Its round, black eyes were topped with a small tuft of silver-gray fur. When it saw the person, it darted out of the tree hole, jumped among the branches, and climbed onto She Ning's left shoulder and squatted down.
"Ah Ning, what brings you here?" it asked.
"I have something to ask you." After drinking the animal communication potion, she could bind to one animal at a time, and she wouldn't need to spend the potion again for the same animal. She Ning led the animal out of the Taoist temple and pointed to the surrounding hills as she asked.
Have any strangers come to this area recently?
The little squirrel scratched its head, deep in thought.
That time, Aning brought it with a group of people. After Aning left, the group opened the hole in the stone wall and moved Sun and Flash away. Then most of the people left, leaving only two people to guard the entrance. Later, the two leaf-colored people also left.
Seeing that there was no excitement to watch, it went back to its den. The things that Aning gave it were very good, but it didn't eat them. It felt very comfortable to hold them. Lately, it has been staying in its den every day and hasn't gone out much.
"I didn't see any strangers," the little squirrel said obediently and truthfully.
"Is there any unusual noise?" She Ning persisted, asking again.
The wounds on her little squirrel bothered her; she always felt something was wrong. Her sixth sense had helped her many times, and she trusted her intuition.
"Is there any noise?" The little squirrel rested its chin on its paw, thought for a moment, then its eyes lit up and it whispered in She Ning's ear, "Does thunder count?"
"A few nights ago, I heard thunder several times while I was sleeping. I thought it was raining, but when I got out of bed, there was no rain at all, not even a cloud."
"Oh, there's one more thing I remember. A few days ago, a lot of small animals came over from the next mountain. They were all panicked and wouldn't say anything when asked. They just kept their heads down and ran away. Later, a little pangolin I knew told me that many of its people had been captured and the chief had ordered them to make a great migration."
Listening to the little squirrel's words, She Ning's idea became clearer and clearer.
This is poaching.
"Xiao Song, could you keep an eye on the situation in the mountains for me? Also, see if you can get your friends to help. I want to find out more about the people who are catching animals." Looking at the rolling hills around them, She Ning turned to the little squirrel and said.
"No problem, leave it to me!" the little squirrel said confidently, head held high and chest puffed out.
"Be careful. I'll pay you after you've done it." Gently stroking its head, She Ning said earnestly, "I hope you'll all come to me for your payment."
"I will." The little squirrel rubbed its head against She Ning's palm, then leaped to the ground. As it ran, it said, "I'll go find out for you now, and then I'll come to your house to find you."
Having gone back to the She family home with She Ning last time, the little squirrel is already very familiar with the way there.
She Ning watched its distant figure until it disappeared from sight before turning and leaving.
She needs to hurry up and complete the system tasks. More blind boxes mean more opportunities, which will give her more confidence.
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