Goodbye
Jingwan bit down hard on the large hand. The man snorted but didn't let go. He just leaned closer to the back of her neck and said in a hoarse voice, "It's me."
She froze, then slowly loosened her teeth.
Footsteps were approaching, and it wasn't just one person's voice.
Lu Chang didn't have time to say anything more to her. He grabbed her and ran to the other side. Jing Wan didn't follow. Instead, she pulled him and said, "Come with me."
She led the person into a small alley, covered them with piles of debris, and then returned to the spot where fruit had fallen to the ground, pretending to pick up the fruit.
The moment her hand touched the basket, five or six men approached her with knives.
Seeing the girl picking up fruit in a disheveled state, the man asked her if she had seen a masked man.
She pretended to be angry and said, "Of course! You even bumped into me, and the fruit is all ruined."
She pointed them in a direction: "Look, they ran that way."
The men had no doubts and ran in the direction she pointed.
Sometimes, a beautiful face makes it easier for people to lower their guard and choose to believe.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard no more footsteps. She opened her hand and saw that it was covered in cold sweat.
Turning her head, she saw Lu Chang leaning against the wall, smiling at her. He was clutching his chest with his right hand, blood seeping from between his fingers, and fine beads of sweat on his forehead. A few strands of hair fell down during the fight.
The refined and elegant young nobleman of three years ago now appears quite pathetic.
Jingwan went over to help him, and they walked through the alley, turned left, and the wind chimes rang, reminding them that someone had arrived at the door.
When Gong Shu opened the door, the first person he saw was Jing Wan. The wrinkles on the kind old woman's face were piled up with smiles. But before she could speak, his gaze shifted and he saw her supporting a man.
Gong Shu didn't ask any questions. He immediately opened the door and let the two of them in. He peeked out and looked around the alley to make sure no one was coming. Then he immediately put the bolt back on.
Gong Shu led them to the guest room, where Qin Ziyou often stayed overnight when he came to visit.
Lu Chang took off his clothes, revealing a deep wound on his left chest, running from his shoulder to his chest, the flesh torn open, a truly horrific sight.
Jingwan glanced at it and knew that the damage was caused by a sharp arrow.
"Wait here, I'll go to the clinic to find a doctor."
Lu Chang stopped her: "You can't go. You can't let outsiders know."
She didn't know what Lu Chang had done, only that someone was arresting him. Seeing that he was masked, she knew he must have done something bad and didn't want her to be exposed.
Gong Shu said, "I have some Panax notoginseng powder at home, I'll go get it right away."
The wound was long and deep, but Lu Chang endured it without uttering a sound. He looked at Jing Wan as if she were medicine to relieve his pain.
Jingwan accepted the Panax notoginseng root powder that Uncle Gong brought and begged him to go to the clinic to buy some mulberry bark.
Since Gong Shu's family didn't have silkworm silk, they couldn't mix it with the Panax notoginseng root powder to stop the bleeding; they had to apply the powder separately.
When the powder was sprinkled on, Lu Chang couldn't help but groan. He really wanted to touch Jing Wan's face, but the wound was too painful, so he could only think about it in his heart.
Three years have passed, and she has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She was beautiful before, but now she is even more stunning.
I can't bear to waste even a second not looking at her.
But when he looked down and saw those small hands applying medicine to his wrists, Lu Chang noticed the two bracelets on his wrists and remembered Shen Xiaozhou's letter.
When Lu Chang left three years ago, he never doubted that Jing Wan would abandon him. But later, when he was alone in the bamboo hut in Jianchuan, with the bright moon shining on his lonely figure, he began to hesitate. After all, she was just a child.
Children all have one thing in common: they are fickle. What if, when she goes back, she forgets him completely, just like last time?
Shen Xiaozhou wrote to say that a playboy was harassing her, but she had already taught him a lesson, and told him not to worry.
How could he be at ease? He only instructed Dongfang Wuxia to take good care of her and not allow any mishaps.
In her next letter, she said she had made a friend, who turned out to be the same playboy.
He burned the letter, feeling a tightness in his chest, trying to comfort himself that she was all alone in Pingdu and that making a friend wouldn't hurt. But another thought lingered: he wanted to go back and deal with her as soon as possible.
He had always thought she was just a friend, until he saw these bracelets today.
Lu Chang knew Jing Wan well; she wouldn't accept such an expensive gift unless they were very close.
He sat up and grabbed Jingwan's hand, refusing to let go: "You..."
"Jingwan, the mulberry bark thread has arrived." It was Uncle Gong.
Jingwan followed his gaze to the two bracelets. Jade is fragile, so she pushed them up as high as she could to prevent them from falling.
She knew what Lu Chang wanted to ask.
Uncle Gong didn't know what these things were for, but he saw Jingwan put them on boiling water to steam, and slowly, they began to soften.
After heating the needle over a fire and threading it with mulberry bark, Jingwan told Lu Chang that there were no stinky pockmarked flowers here, and that she would have to endure the pain to stitch up the wound.
Having lost too much blood, Lu Chang's face was mostly pale. He forced a smile and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, you can stitch it up."
Jingwan took a deep breath. She hadn't done this kind of work for many years. Seeing Lu Chang like this, she gritted her teeth and aimed the needle at the wound...
She was always very serious when she did things. Lu Chang kept staring at her. Her eyelashes were long, her face was fair and she still had some baby fat. Her lips, which used to be small and thin, had become much fuller. He even had the mind to joke with her: "I didn't know you were a little doctor."
Jingwan kept her attention on the wound, not even glancing at him, and simply replied, "Every person from the Northwest knows how to do this job."
When they were young, there were often battles in the Northwest. Soldiers and civilians went to war together. The little ones and weak ones would lend a hand to the military doctors and follow the adults to treat the wounded. Over time, they gained some experience in treating burns, knife wounds, and arrow wounds. They even knew which medicines could anesthetize patients and which medicines were used to stop bleeding.
Despite her small size, she is incredibly skilled at stopping bleeding and stitching up, even among children.
Northwest... Northwest... Lu Chang realized that in the sixth year of Pingdu, he had never forgotten the land that had given him birth.
That was his hometown.
I am driven mad with longing.
He suddenly fell silent, which Jingwan was still a little unaccustomed to. When she looked at Lu Chang again, she saw that his eyes were full of sorrow and pain.
About an hour later, both the patient and the doctor breathed a sigh of relief.
Jingwan looked at the crooked stitches and felt a little embarrassed. She hoped that Lu Chang wouldn't blame her if the scars left behind were also crooked. Looking at this man, she thought he was really good at enduring pain and hadn't even cried out in pain.
"Okay, when we get home I'll apply the ointment for you. You should rest for a bit."
,
His clothes were stained with blood and torn by arrows, making them unwearable. Fortunately, Qin Ziyou's clothes were here, so he could make do with them.
She clapped her hands, preparing to go out to wash her face, but Lu Chang stopped her: "Don't go."
"Wan'er, stay with me."
Jingwan wasn't stupid; she could understand the meaning behind those words.
She now likes Qin Ziyou and doesn't want to have anything to do with Lu Chang anymore, nor does she want him to misunderstand. To be honest, they should find a suitable time to clarify what happened three years ago.
Seeing Lu Chang's weak state, Jing Wan didn't want to upset him, so she said, "You should rest well. We'll talk again when we get home."
The word "home" offered Lu Chang some comfort, but it showed that Jing Wan no longer relied on him as she did three years ago. Even now, she hadn't shown him a smile, and Lu Chang's heart grew cold again.
"Have I lost you again?"
Jingwan didn't say anything, but still left the room.
Uncle Gong had gone out while she was getting stitches, not daring to disturb her. Now that he saw her come out, he poured water that had been heated several times into a basin and told her to carefully clean her hands and face, especially her hands, which were covered in Lu Chang's blood.
After cleaning up, Jingwan felt a little embarrassed and explained the day's events to Uncle Gong.
"The fruit was all freshly picked, but unfortunately it was all damaged. Next time, I'll have Ziyou take you with me, and we'll pick some more."
Gong Shu smiled and said okay.
He was truly a very kind and gentle old man. He wasn't angry at their uninvited visit, nor did he find it troublesome to go out to buy medicine. He even bought a chicken and made chicken soup to nourish Lu Chang, whom he had never met before.
Gong Shu was very frugal with himself, but very generous to others.
The Buddhists say that appearances change with one's mind. Looking at Gong Shu's kind face, Jing Wan felt a surge of emotion. She sniffed and said, "The person inside is my cousin. I don't know how he got like this. I'll take him home when he wakes up tonight."
Gong Shu said, "I think his wounds are quite serious. Don't rush to take him back. It's quiet here, so he can rest here for a few more days."
Jingwan quickly shook her head: "That won't do. I'll take him back. He's a big problem right now. It's better for him to go home."
She hadn't forgotten that Lu Chang was being hunted down.
Before evening even arrived, Lu Chang emerged shortly after. He didn't ask Jing Wan for help; he put on his coat himself, his face still pale.
Although he didn't know the old man's identity, it was clear that Jingwan trusted him a lot. Lu Chang also lowered his guard and bid farewell to Uncle Gong, saying that he would come to thank Uncle Gong another day.
Jingwan knew he was stubborn, so she didn't try to persuade him. After leaving Gongshu's house, she followed Lu Chang the whole way, and neither of them spoke a word.
Unexpectedly, after leaving the Weaver Girl's Quarters, Lu Chang did not head towards the Jade Sparrow Quarters. Because of his injury, even his voice was much softer, making him look quite pitiful. This made Jingwan wonder if she had been too cold to him back at Uncle Gong's house.
"I can't go back to the Gao family in my current condition, otherwise I won't be able to explain myself. I plan to stay away for a few days until my wounds heal a bit before going back."
He looked at Jingwan and said, "You should go home first, so your family won't worry."
"Then what will you do? Who will take care of you?" Jingwan asked anxiously.
Lu Chang forced a smile, his head bowed, his usually straight body now hunched over from the pain, and his hair disheveled, making him look like he had been kicked out of his family home.
He was listless and looked unwell, but he told Jingwan, "I can take care of myself, you don't need to worry."
But he clearly looks like he needs to be taken care of!
Jingwan was a little annoyed and couldn't help but scratch her head. Oh well, she decided to just consider it repaying the kindness he had shown her in the past!
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