026 Coma
Yuan Chongjing still left.
He walked quickly, his steps hurried, his hair blowing high behind him in the wind.
Li Yang shouted at his retreating figure, "Slow down! If you start panting and reopen your wounds, I won't let you off the hook!"
Yuan Chongjing paused for a moment, but he didn't turn around; instead, he slowed down.
Li Yang chuckled, listening to the rustling of the autumn wind through the surrounding trees. She found a sheltered spot and sat down cross-legged.
It wasn't noticeable when he was around, but now that she was all alone, Li Yang felt that everything around her had a strange mix of liveliness and quiet.
Fortunately, it was daytime.
Fortunately, the weather was still relatively good.
The thought had barely crossed Li Yang's mind when she noticed that the sunlight was dwindling. Looking up, she saw patches of clouds gathering in the sky, forming a thick, dark cloud.
It looks like it's going to rain.
The surrounding area is all mountain roads, and it might be bad if it rains halfway down the mountain. The best course of action is for her to find shelter nearby and wait out the rain for now.
Having made up her mind, Li Yang used a small shovel to dig out the snow-covered plant along with all the surrounding soil, and then carefully wrapped its roots with a brocade cloth to prevent soil loss and preserve its freshness.
As soon as he finished speaking, a light rain began to fall. The autumn rain was continuous, not heavy, but dense and carrying a chill, making people instinctively pull their sleeves tighter.
Li Yang didn't care about her hair and collar being soaked by the rain. She used her clothes to protect the herbs and squinted as she walked for a long time in the curtain of water before she finally saw a small cave.
The cave was relatively dry, suggesting it had been inhabited; there were even medicine jars on the ground. Li Yang found a high spot, placed the herbs there, and then walked around the area, gathering some dry firewood.
When Li Yang tried to light the fire, she realized that the tinder she carried with her had gone out. She figured that on the way there, she had been so focused on the herb that the tinder had gotten damp from the continuous rain.
Li Yang blew on the tinder for a long time, but didn't see a single spark.
Outside, the autumn rain was blown by the wind, constantly seeping into the cave. Fearing that Yuan Chongjing and his men wouldn't be able to find her after climbing the mountain, Li Yang took off her brightly colored outer garment, conjured it into a rope, tied it to a tree branch outside the cave, and then moved a little further inside.
Her clothes were already soaked, damp against her skin, and she even broke out in a light sweat. A faint, cool autumn breeze blew through the cave, making her feel both hot and cold. Li Yang leaned against the inner wall, thinking that she was definitely not going to escape this high fever. She would definitely have to tell Yuan Chongjing all her troubles later, even if it didn't change his mind, she would at least prick up his conscience.
The rain wasn't heavy, but it was continuous and showed no sign of stopping. Apart from the surrounding trees and rain, she was all alone in the world.
Li Yang lingered at the cave entrance several times, but saw no trace of anyone around. While searching for the cave, she had turned several corners along the path, unsure if Yuan Chongjing had indeed brought people and would still be able to find her.
As darkness fell, Li Yang grew increasingly anxious. She worried that Yuan Chongjing might have encountered danger on his way back or to find her, and she was also concerned about whether she would have enough fire if he didn't come. She wondered what might happen if she stayed in the cave until night.
Time passed slowly. Li Yang leaned against the cave wall, listening to the pattering rain outside. Amidst unease and fear, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, her thoughts became increasingly blurred, and finally, everything went black before her eyes, and she fell asleep.
She was awakened by the pain.
Outside the cave, it was completely dark, with only a crescent moon casting its dim light. The chirping of insects, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, sometimes near, sometimes far, seemed to come from somewhere nearby.
She sat some distance from the cave entrance, her entire figure hidden in the darkness. At that moment, she felt unusually heavy and utterly powerless, lacking even the strength to move.
A faint itch came from the painful spot on her neck. Li Yang disregarded her fear and reached out to touch the painful area.
The first thing my fingertip touched was a living creature, which seemed to be covered with a layer of short downy hair.
When Li Yang touched it with his finger, it was so frightened that it ran away in all directions.
Li Yang used three fingers to pinch it tightly and threw it hard towards the entrance of the hole.
Once it landed, in the dim moonlight at the cave entrance, Li Yang could see that it was a flying insect the size of a mung bean. The fall hadn't killed it; it rolled on the ground, then spread its wings as if to take flight again.
Li Yang trembled in fright, picked up a small stone she found nearby, knelt down, and smashed it hard against the stone.
She didn't know where she got her strength from; she only knew that the stone would fall, be lifted high by her, and then fall again.
It wasn't until the little flying insect was smashed into a blurry black dot by the stone that Li Yang felt as if all the strength in her body had been suddenly drained away. She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
A feeling called fear seemed to dissolve into the surrounding air, permeating every inch of her skin, strangling her throat and nasal cavity, making it impossible for her to breathe, and making her increasingly dizzy.
Darkness descended upon her once more.
At that moment, Li Yang was certain that she felt a warm light source approaching her, and that voice filled with worry and tenderness calling her 'Yang Yang'.
Who could it be?
"It must be Yuan Chongjing," Li Yang thought.
But he is still suffering from amnesia, so he wouldn't call her that with such concern.
No, even if he hadn't lost his memory, he had never called her that.
In the instant he lost consciousness, Li Yang felt a pang of disappointment.
When Li Yang woke up again, it was already bright daylight. Birds were chirping in the distance, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of porridge. Li Yang groggily opened her eyes and saw that the cave entrance was bathed in bright sunlight. A fire was still burning on the ground opposite, and rice porridge in an earthenware pot was steaming. The hard stone ground beneath her was also covered with a thick layer of straw.
After regaining her senses, she hurriedly went to check on the herb she had retrieved the night before. Seeing that it was still thriving with its branches, leaves, and flowers, she breathed a sigh of relief.
A slight stinging pain came from her neck. Li Yang unconsciously reached out and touched it, only to find a thick layer of gauze. It seemed that someone had cleaned her wound while she was unconscious.
However, the cave was completely empty at the moment.
Li Yang supported himself with his hands on the ground and sat up with difficulty, leaning against the inner wall of the cave and waiting quietly.
Fortunately, it didn't take long before footsteps came from the cave entrance. She recognized the voice; she could almost guess who it was with her eyes closed.
It was Yuan Chongjing.
Seeing that she was awake, Yuan Chongqing quickly walked over: "You're awake? How are you feeling? Does your wound still hurt? Are you hungry? This is some porridge I cooked, would you like some?"
Li Yang's mind was churning like boiling water. She slowly shook her head, looking at him hopefully and asking, "Did you save me last night?"
Yuan Chongjing's concerned expression immediately froze. He turned his head, looked at the still bubbling rice porridge, and remained silent.
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