Chapter 84 My Cousin Is Injured
Pei Wu didn't seem moved by her coquettish words. He remained calm and said, "Go to sleep early. We have to travel early tomorrow morning."
This meant he had agreed to Jiang Ru's request. Jiang Ru raised her eyes and widened them slightly, as if she could guess what Pei Wu was thinking. She said smugly, "I knew it."
Pei Wu didn't say much, turned around to leave, but after only a few steps he seemed to trip over some debris on the ground. However, he quickly regained his balance. Perhaps feeling embarrassed about almost falling, he left the tent without looking back.
Before Jiang Ru could even say "Be careful," Pei Wu left her with only a slightly swaying tent curtain; there was no one else around.
When they swept the ground again, they found that there was nothing on it at all. Pei Wu was really clumsy; he could even fall on flat ground.
After applying the medicine, Jiang Ru's leg didn't hurt as much. The next morning, Jiang Ru, whose wound had just started to scab over, rode her horse again.
Perhaps it was because I changed my pants and the stirrups, but it was indeed much better to sit on than before; at least it no longer chafed painfully.
As Pei Wu said, they had indeed been living a life of hardship, sometimes even having to rush to the post station in the pouring rain. Everyone was soaked to the bone. After a few days, not to mention Jiang Ru, even Pei Wu didn't seem as at ease as he had at the beginning.
Sometimes, when the rain was really heavy, they could only take shelter under a mound of earth by the roadside. Jiang Ru could see a grave mound when she looked up.
The hardships she was going through reminded Jiang Ru of the time she went to Jinzhou to find Pei Wu. Because she was short of money, she couldn't afford to stay at an inn and had to sleep in the mountains. At first, she would deliberately avoid the graves, but later she became bolder and slept next to the graves most often.
Because the burial mound can block the wind.
When Jiang Ru brought up this matter, she said it with amusement. But after she finished speaking, Pei Wu didn't laugh. Instead, he said, "You've suffered."
It was summer then, and it wasn't so cold in the mountains. At that time, Jiang Ru was determined to find Pei Wu, so her memories of that time were not so clear, and she didn't feel bitter. But when Pei Wu said that, she felt embarrassed and muttered softly, "I didn't ask you to feel sorry for me."
Pei Wu said, "It's because I want to feel sorry for you."
Listen to that, so glib. I wonder where Pei Wu learned that. Jiang Ru looked away and said, "The rain has lessened a bit."
The change of topic felt abrupt, so Pei Wu didn't bring up the previous subject again. Looking at the drizzling raindrops in front of him, he said, "Let's go after the rain stops."
It wasn't easy to start a fire in this kind of rain; it took several attempts. Several people gathered around the fire to dry their slightly damp clothes, and the rain almost stopped.
The journey from Nanzhao to Bianjing was extremely long. Despite their best efforts, they finally arrived in Caizhou, which bordered Bianjing, within the allotted time.
As they got closer, they gradually relaxed and rested for half a day before setting off. When they reached a post road in Caizhou, Pei Wu suddenly raised his hand and called for everyone to stop.
There are many mountain paths here, and the mountain walls on both sides are covered with dead trees. There is a back slope on the back slope, and it looks like just an ordinary road.
The horse's hooves came to a swift stop on the road, kicking up clouds of yellow dust. Pei Wu pointed to Fei Yan and said, "You escort Jiang Ru along the side path, and the rest of us will take the post road."
Jiang Ru was completely confused: "Why?"
Pei Wu gave Fei Yan a wink, and Fei Yan immediately directed Jiang Ru's horse to turn around and go back. Jiang Ru's horse was very obedient to them and ran after them without waiting for Jiang Ru to give the order.
Jiang Ru could only grip the reins tightly to keep up with him. At this point, she hadn't realized something was wrong. She just casually slapped the horse's head and complained, "You're a traitor."
Even though she was the one who fed the horse regularly, it wouldn't listen to Jiang Ru at all.
Before they had gone far, Jiang Ru heard several mournful neighs of horses behind her. She turned around and saw that Pei Wu and the others had dismounted. Some bandits appeared out of nowhere, carrying knives and swords, and were about to rob them. They were clearly many more numerous than Pei Wu and his group.
Pei Wu was protected in the very center. His well-trained guards tried to escort him away, but there were too many people on the other side, and they couldn't break through the encirclement.
The swords clashed, producing crisp sounds. The person opposite showed no mercy; it wasn't like they were robbing him, but rather that they wanted to kill Pei Wu.
Jiang Ru's eyes widened immediately. She turned to Fei Yan, who was following her, and shouted, "Go back now!"
However, Fei Yan ignored her completely and instead urged her horse to run away. In order not to fall off the horse, Jiang Ru could only tighten the reins and turn her head to observe the situation behind her.
The bandits' target should only be Pei Wu, because only two people symbolically chased Jiang Ru, and they were both taken care of by Fei Yan behind Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru was truly anxious. She saw that two of Pei Wu's men had already fallen, and given the current situation, all of them would soon die, and Pei Wu would die as well.
Seeing this, Jiang Ru also tried to run back, but Fei Yan had already seen through her thoughts and blocked her way.
The horse beneath her was also unruly. She had tried to rein it in several times without success, and Jiang Ru, exasperated, smacked it and snapped, "Whom do you listen to anyway?"
In that short time, she could see clearly that the people on the other side were all skilled fighters. Even though Pei Wu's men were all top-notch, it would be difficult for them to defeat him.
Ordinary bandits would have fled quickly if they saw the situation was not right, but even after several of them died, they seemed to become even more bloodthirsty and ruthless.
The horse had already carried Jiang Ru far away, and Jiang Ru could still hear Pei Wu's voice. At this moment, Jiang Ru was so panicked that her whole body turned ice cold. She knew that going back would only cause trouble for Pei Wu, but she really didn't know what to do.
Jiang Ru's eyes were very red, and when she was extremely emotional, her eyes were bloodshot. She said, "Feiyan, aren't you going back to help Pei Wu? No one is chasing us now, but it's very dangerous for Pei Wu."
Fei Yan was ordered by Pei Wu to protect Jiang Ru at all times.
Upon hearing this, Fei Yan was somewhat moved, but still firmly said, "Young lady, there's no use in telling me these things."
Jiang Ru closed her eyes. The person Pei Wu had chosen was indeed very disciplined, and there was no reasoning with him about it. Just then, she tried pulling the reins again, and the horse actually obeyed her and turned around with her.
After only a moment of surprise, Jiang Ru glanced hastily at Fei Yan, then rode her horse back.
Fei Yan hurriedly caught up and even tried to stop Jiang Ru, but Jiang Ru seemed fearless and just kept rushing forward. He was afraid that Jiang Ru would fall off her horse, so he failed to stop her.
It's quite a distance to go back now, and Jiang Ru has no other weapons and can't beat anyone else. She doesn't dare to go back rashly because she's afraid that Pei Wu will get hurt while trying to protect her. Pei Wu told her to go first, not to go back and cause trouble.
So when they were almost at the section of road where they had just encountered the bandits, Jiang Rule stopped his horse, jumped off, and headed down to a secluded spot.
Fei Yan followed her the whole time. At first, he wanted to stop her, but later he realized that Jiang Ru was not going to her death, so he half-heartedly let her go.
The closer Jiang Ru got, the heavier her heart became. The sounds ahead had almost disappeared. Jiang Ru stumbled and couldn't help but wonder if Pei Wu was already dead.
The thought of this possibility made her hands and feet go cold. She didn't know why. They were traveling on the post road, a road frequented by government officials. Why would someone ambush them?
Could it be that the Chen family harbors a grudge against Pei Wu and therefore wants to kill him?
Jiang Ru's head ached from thinking. Finally, she was almost at the place where the fight had just taken place. From this position, the people above couldn't see them, but Jiang Ru could see what was happening above. Pei Wu wasn't dead, but his condition wasn't good either.
His clothes were stained with blood, his hand holding the sword trembled slightly, the sword was stained red with blood, and his clothes were pierced at the chest, from which blood was seeping out, making him unsteady on his feet.
His bodyguard was also covered in blood, and there was only one person left on the other side, both of whom were at their last gasp.
Seeing this, Fei Yan immediately leaped forward. The bandit opposite him thrust his sword at Pei Wu, but Fei Yan arrived in time and stood in front of Pei Wu to fight the bandit.
Feiyan had not expended any energy, and the bandits opposite him were quickly overwhelmed and cut down by Feiyan's sword.
Jiang Ru immediately rushed forward. Pei Wu and the last remaining guard collapsed from exhaustion. Jiang Ru only had time to support Pei Wu. She looked at Pei Wu covered in blood and dared not touch him for fear of touching his wounds.
Her lips trembled so much she couldn't speak. Jiang Ru carefully touched Pei Wu and saw his pale face and blurred vision. Pei Wu's arms and chest were tinged with blood. Jiang Ru's hands trembled as she tried to take off his clothes.
If the wound is serious, it should be bandaged first.
However, just as she undressed Pei Wu, he was not quite sober, but he still raised his hand to hold her down and shook his head, saying, "Let's leave here first."
He must have been seriously injured, but in front of Jiang Ru, he didn't show any signs of pain. He just looked a little pale and weakly patted her hand as if to comfort her.
At this moment, Fei Yan also returned. After confirming that no one was alive, he bent down to help Qian Yu up. The injured guard was about the same age as Fei Yan and was named Qian Yu. Jiang Ru remembered that he was a very lively person.
Feiyan told Jiang Ru, "Young lady, we need to leave here as soon as possible."
Jiang Ru nodded quickly and helped Pei Wu up. Pei Wu's entire weight was on her. She used to be unable to support Pei Wu, but now she didn't know where she got the strength and was able to support him very steadily.
Feiyan originally wanted to help, but seeing that she could hold on, he didn't move.
Before leaving, Jiang Ru glanced at the people on the ground, feeling a void in her heart. She asked, somewhat incredulously, "Are they dead?"
Feiyan remained silent.
Jiang Ru understood.
She supported Pei Wu, feeling as if she were about to collapse at any moment, but she could only force herself to walk forward. The horse that had stopped on the road was still there. She helped Pei Wu and Qian Yu onto the horse, and Jiang Ru sat behind Pei Wu.
Pei Wu, who had been too weak to speak earlier, finally spoke up: "Let's see if there are any farmers who can take us in."
The current situation is not suitable for traveling, and we don't know if there are any dangers ahead. It would be best to find a place to hide first.
This time, they took a side path. Pei Wu was very tall, so sitting in front of Jiang Ru didn't allow him to see the road very well. Jiang Ru had to tilt her head to see clearly, but fearing that Pei Wu would fall off, she could only hug him from behind and hold the reins tightly.
Having walked a bit further, Fei Yan stopped halfway, intending to bandage Pei Wu and Qian Yu first.
To save time, Jiang Ru took over Pei Wu's care, while Fei Yan took care of another patient with a chest injury. Jiang Ru first helped Pei Wu take off his clothes.
Without a trace of romantic intent, Jiang Ru gently unbuttoned Pei Wu's clothes, revealing the wound that ran from his left chest to his waist.
Almost the instant she saw the wound, Jiang Ru's tears began to fall uncontrollably.
She felt a lump in her throat and couldn't speak. She bit her lip tightly, carefully supporting Pei Wu and first wrapping his wound with a cloth.
Pei Wu was conscious, but he was probably in too much pain, so he didn't speak. Only when Jiang Ru's cool fingertips touched his chest did he slowly open his eyes.
He was too tired and a little cold. He thought Feiyan was taking off his clothes, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that Jiang Ru's eyes were red, her nose was red, and her face was covered with big, crystal tears, as if she was going to cry out all the tears she had never cried in her life.
Pei Wu was exhausted, too weak to speak or move, but he still raised his hand and gently touched Jiang Ru's face, wanting to wipe away her tears. However, due to his lack of strength, he could only touch her briefly before his hand fell. He weakly said, "Don't cry."
Jiang Ru's nose stung even more. She seemed to have bitten her lip until it bled, tasting the blood. Her vision blurred. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve, bandaged Pei Wu's wound, and put her clothes back on. Pei Wu closed his eyes, letting her do whatever she wanted to him.
After bandaging the wounds, the group tied up the horses. It was crucial to avoid separating at a time like this, especially with two injured people present, so they continued to help the horses move forward.
Jiang Ru had just seen some wisps of smoke across the way and guessed that there were people there. Fortunately, this time they found a few households. Fei Yan gave them some silver, and the farmers took them in.
The farmer's house had three bedrooms, and he gave them two of them. He put Pei Wu and Qian Yu on the beds, and Jiang Ru went to boil water to clean their wounds.
The farmers had herbs and cloth on hand, and they gave them some so they could re-bandage.
After boiling the water, Jiang Ru carried the basin into Pei Wu's room. Pei Wu was already asleep. Because of blood loss, his lips were very pale. When Jiang Ru saw him, she couldn't control her thoughts, fearing that Pei Wu had died silently.
She checked Pei Wu's breathing and, confirming that he was still alive, finally felt a little relieved.
Pei Wu's clothes were light-colored and were already stained with blood, leaving a blurry mark. Jiang Ru unbuttoned Pei Wu's clothes again, wiped his wound, applied herbal medicine, and then bandaged it up.
Even though Jiang Ru wasn't entirely familiar with how to handle this situation, she knew that such a wound needed stitches. She walked out of the room, and Fei Yan had just come out of another room. Jiang Ru asked, "Does the wound need stitches?"
Fei Yan nodded, his expression somewhat grave, and said, "I asked around, and the nearest village has a doctor, which is more than ten miles away."
However, Fei Yan dared not leave. There were two injured people in the room, and Jiang Ru did not know martial arts. If he left and something unexpected happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Just then, Jiang Ru said, "I can go."
Fei Yan frowned. He was also worried about letting Jiang Ru go at this time. If something happened to Jiang Ru, he would not be able to explain it to Pei Wu.
However, Jiang Ru immediately went to fetch the horse, and she explained in a very logical way: "Those assassins' target is Pei Wu. I am useless against them, so you just need to protect Pei Wu."
Without thinking, Fei Yan asked, "What if something really happens to you?"
Jiang Ru fell silent. It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid; she was afraid that once she left, she would never see Pei Wu again. But she was even more afraid that Pei Wu would die.
She mounted her horse, her voice softly reaching Fei Yan's ears: "If something happens to me, it's just bad luck, but Pei Wu must live."
After saying that, she rode her horse a few steps, as if she had something else to say. After a few more steps, she said, "If I don't come back, you should take them away as soon as possible. It's dangerous here. Don't worry about me anymore."
After saying that, she rode away on her horse.
Fei Yan hesitated for a moment before catching up. Pei Wu had said before that Jiang Ru's life was more important than his, so he couldn't let Jiang Ru go by herself.
But when Jiang Ru saw that he was about to chase after them, she immediately shouted, "Go back!"
That moment of seriousness made Fei Yan stop in his tracks.
He thought that Jiang Ru was not stupid; on the contrary, she was very smart and persevering. Otherwise, she wouldn't have followed them all the way from Nanzhao to here. He might have underestimated Jiang Ru. She might not be as fragile as he imagined. It was just a matter of going to get a doctor, which Jiang Ru could do.
Even if she encountered an assassin, she would run away, so Feiyan stopped.
Jiang Ru was very cautious on the journey of more than ten miles, and fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. She arrived in the village in just half an hour.
It was very late, and the doctor originally didn't want to go, but Jiang Ru gave him a lot of money, so he reluctantly agreed and picked up his medicine box.
The round trip didn't take long; Jiang Ru arrived with the doctor just before evening.
Both of them were injured to a similar degree. Just as Jiang Ru had thought, Pei Wu's wound did indeed need stitches. The previous treatment had not been very good. After all, Jiang Ru was an amateur and could only barely bandage and stop the bleeding.
The clothes he had just put on were taken off again. Pei Wu opened his eyes half-asleep, his gaze first falling on the old man with a white beard in front of him, then turning his head to look at Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru quickly said, "Don't be afraid, the doctor will bandage your wound."
Pei Wu responded softly, but Jiang Ru didn't hear him. She stared intently at the doctor's movements. Seeing that the young lady in the room was still unwilling to leave even after her clothes were removed, the doctor asked Jiang Ru in confusion, "What are you still standing here for?"
Jiang Ru thought to herself, "If I want to see you bandage your wound, where else would I stand?" So she stood firmly in her original spot.
The doctor didn't say much more. Perhaps the two were husband and wife. He examined them and that was that. But when the doctor took out the needles, Jiang Ru suddenly asked, "Don't you have any Sleeping Saint Powder?"
The doctor replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, there is."
"Just stitching up must hurt so much," Jiang Ru said, somewhat annoyed. "Then why didn't you take it out?"
The doctor said, "It will take time for the Sleeping Saint Powder to take effect. By the time he finishes drinking it, I won't be able to get back in time."
Jiang Ru: "..."
She hadn't expected the doctor to be so self-centered, and angrily said, "I'll give you extra money, so you can give him the drink first. Why don't you just sleep here tonight?"
The doctor said impatiently, "Go away, go away, why make such a fuss?" and was about to take a needle to sew it up.
Jiang Ru had never seen anyone like this before. She had already handed over all the money, but the old doctor wouldn't listen at all. With the needle about to be inserted, Jiang Ru couldn't hold back any longer: "You..."
Before she could finish speaking, Pei Wu called her name, and she reluctantly quieted down.
The needle eventually went into the flesh. Jiang Ru's palms sweated as she watched, and goosebumps rose all over her body, as if a cold wind was blowing into her. Just looking at it hurt her; Pei Wu must be in even more pain.
Pei Wu had his eyes closed, and he was frowning in pain. Jiang Ru quickly bent down and took his hand, comforting him, "If it hurts, just pinch me."
Pei Wu didn't respond. His large hand enveloped Jiang Ru. He was in so much pain that his forehead and palms were sweating, but he didn't pinch Jiang Ru.
It must have hurt a lot. He crumpled the mattress with his other hand, but he didn't have any strength in his hand holding Jiang Ru's.
Jiang Ru realized that she had meant well but had done something wrong, and immediately tried to pull her hand back: "You should pinch the blankets instead."
Just as she was about to pull away, Pei Wu tightened his grip on her. Perhaps afraid that she would really let go, Pei Wu used a bit too much force. He didn't pinch Jiang Ru hard, but Jiang Ru couldn't pull away.
She looked down in confusion. Pei Wu didn't speak, his face was still pale, and his eyelashes trembled slightly. Jiang Ru didn't let go and held Pei Wu tightly.
The wound was stitched up, and seeing the two of them so inseparable, the doctor snorted mockingly. Jiang Ru disliked him now and ignored his mockery.
After the acupuncture needles were removed, the doctor prescribed some medicine for Pei Wu, both for external and internal use. When explaining the precautions, Jiang Ru, who had just been unfriendly to him, listened very attentively and even asked a few questions. She was polite and well-behaved, as if she wasn't the one who had been harsh to him just moments before.
The doctor didn't argue with her and went to the next room to treat Qianyu's wounds.
After the person left, Jiang Ru sat down next to Pei Wu, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Pei Wu's face, and then wiped his hands.
Having survived the ordeal, Jiang Ru's heart was still racing. She nestled beside Pei Wu, simply keeping him company without saying a word.
Pei Wu spoke first, asking Jiang Ru, "Where did you find this doctor?"
Jiang Ru spoke the truth.
After listening, Pei Wu remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. He didn't say anything about Jiang Ru not being able to go, since she had already returned, and it would be useless for him to say anything now.
Even though there were no stitches left, Jiang Ru still held Pei Wu's hand and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Pei Wu said, "It doesn't hurt."
"Liar," Jiang Ru muttered under her breath, "You were frowning just now."
Pei Wu probably wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. Jiang Ru asked, "Are you going to sleep? Take a rest."
Pei Wu was actually very sleepy, but he knew that Jiang Ru was still feeling scared, so instead of saying that he wanted to sleep, he said, "Talk to me for a while."
Jiang Ru quickly agreed, but after saying that, she looked at Pei Wu and didn't know what to say first, as she had too much to say.
After a long while, Jiang Ru said, "All the guards you brought are dead."
She had never seen such a scene before. The fallen guards were all people she knew. After spending a month with them, Jiang Ru had come to regard them as friends, but they were all dead just like that. She felt that these people had died unjustly.
Pei Wu took a long time to respond with an "Mmm," and then said, "I will do my best to compensate their families."
It sounds very sad, especially if you put yourself in her shoes. If Pei Wu died, Jiang Ru wouldn't want any compensation.
They died protecting Pei Wu. Jiang Ru felt only sorrow. She lay down beside Pei Wu and whispered, "I should have brought more people."
That way, we won't be so passive.
Pei Wu said, "They are certain that I won't bring a large group of people."
The emperor ordered him to arrive within a month, so he was destined not to take too many people with him. Therefore, the people lying in ambush must be those who had connections with the court.
So, who is it?
There were too many people who could guess, and Pei Wu couldn't think of anything for the moment. He felt very dizzy, and perhaps his expression showed that he was not feeling well. Jiang Ru immediately said, "You go to sleep first, I'll go and make you some medicine."
After saying that, Jiang Ru immediately got up and put the medicine prescribed by the doctor into the pot to boil. It took a long time to boil the medicine. Since the two were injured in the same way, the medicine was the same. Jiang Ru boiled two doses of medicine and gave the other bowl to Fei Yan.
She carried the steaming medicine into the room. Pei Wu, half asleep, immediately opened his eyes upon hearing her movements.
Jiang Ru put the medicine away, then helped Pei Wu up and placed a pillow behind him. Because of the position, she could only let Pei Wu lean against her.
She held out the bowl to feed Pei Wu, but Pei Wu refused, instead taking the bowl himself.
He drank it fairly quickly, and in no time, the bowl of medicine was finished. Jiang Ru wiped his mouth and helped him lie down again.
Just then, Pei Wu abruptly said, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have brought you along."
He felt sorry for Jiang Ru, who had to take care of him and was forced to go through such things, but Jiang Ru was very willing.
She simply looked at Pei Wu and said, "If I don't follow you, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
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