Chapter 64 Xia Fanxing leans against Xie Jingchen
When Xie Jingchen heard Xia Fanxing outside requesting an audience and saying she had a solution, two words flashed through his mind: Nonsense!
The parasite outbreak cannot be hidden, nor should it be.
So this morning, the radio station broadcasted a message repeatedly, urging the staff of the regiment not to approach the quarantine area and not to use snow directly to prevent infection.
Xia Fanxing couldn't possibly have missed the broadcast, nor could she have been unaware that both the doctors at the regimental hospital and the divisional hospital were infected.
She was fully aware of the severity of this parasite outbreak, but she still came.
Xie Jingchen couldn't help but feel conflicted.
On one hand, he was worried that Xia Fanxing would also be infected, and on the other hand, he thought of the medical skills that Xia Fanxing had shown before, and maybe Xia Fanxing really had a way.
After all, even the military doctors were helpless when Ma Nanzheng was injured, but she cured him with a single acupuncture needle...
Xie Jingchen hesitated for only a few seconds before making a decisive decision to let Xia Fanxing in to check the situation.
"Yes, Commander, I'll bring Comrade Xia in right now!" The soldier acknowledged the order and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute." Xie Jingchen personally found a set of protective gear, his face cold and his brows furrowed slightly. "I'll go with you."
·
Xia Fanxing did not expect that Xie Jingchen would come out to pick her up in person.
"Comrade Xia." Xie Jingchen greeted Xia Fanxing briefly and then handed her the protective gear. "Put it on first. But I need to tell you beforehand that even if you wear this protective gear, there is no guarantee that you will not be infected."
Although this set of protective gear was thicker than what the regimental doctors wore when they arrived, no one knew exactly how the infection spread or how to truly protect themselves.
"Thank you." Xia Fanxing began to put on her clothes.
She saw that Xie Jingchen and the soldiers on guard were dressed normally, without any protective gear, and their complexions appeared normal.
They must have some kind of unknown antibody in their bodies.
Looking at Xia Fanxing's actions, Xie Jingchen suddenly felt a desire to back out.
Or should we just let her go?
The military doctor should arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Can everyone hold on for two more days?
After Xia Fanxing finished dressing, she looked up and met Xie Jingchen's worried and conflicted dark eyes.
These emotions flashed across his eyes only briefly, and in the blink of an eye, he returned to his cold and indifferent gaze.
If Xia Fanxing hadn't had more acute senses than others, making it clear that she had actually seen this scene, she probably would have doubted whether she was seeing things.
"Let's go." Xie Jingchen finally led Xia Fanxing into the quarantine area.
He first took Xia Fanxing to see some soldiers whose symptoms were milder.
Xia Fanxing looked serious and focused, showing no disgust at all. She squatted down and examined the red, swollen, and ulcerated feet of the soldiers up close.
Xie Jingchen stood to one side, his deep gaze fixed on her, his eyes filled with almost overflowing admiration.
After a while, Xia Fanxing stood up and looked at Xie Jingchen, saying, "I want to see the soldiers who are more seriously injured. It would be even better if I could see the first infected soldier."
Faced with her earnest and pleading eyes, Xie Jingchen's "no" stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it.
Xie Jingchen still took Xia Fanxing with him.
The first infected soldier was in a separate tent. By then, he had many red, swollen, and ulcerated areas all over his body. Even raising his arm would aggravate the itchy and painful ulcers all over his body.
He was in great pain, and tears kept flowing uncontrollably.
Xia Fanxing treated his wounds while carefully observing him.
Half an hour later, the two left the tent. Xia Fanxing said with certainty, "This is 'cold toxin invading the body, with symbiotic relationship between insects and fungi.' Conventional medicines are unlikely to be able to treat it deeply. We need to find a medicinal guide to make an ointment for external application so that the 'toxin' can be drawn out of the body and the illness can be completely cured."
Xie Jingchen's eyes lit up; she actually had a solution.
His tone was slightly anxious: "What medicinal ingredient? I'll go find it!"
Xia Fanxing said, "Viper gallbladders or sand lizard livers can be used as medicinal ingredients."
“Snakes?” Xie Jingchen thought of something. “When I was patrolling the Gobi Desert before, I saw traces of snakes in a crevice in a sheltered rock. I’ll go there now.”
Xia Fanxing called out to him, "Commander Xie, wait a minute! There are big differences between snakes, and even among vipers there are many kinds. Can you identify which snake is a viper, and which viper I need?"
"..." Xie Jingchen remained silent.
He probably wouldn't recognize him.
Xia Fanxing asked, "Is the leeward rock fissure you mentioned far from the regimental headquarters?"
"It's not too far," Xie Jingchen estimated. "If you ride a horse, it would take about four or five hours round trip."
Xia Fanxing looked up at the sky and said solemnly, "Commander Xie, I want to go with you. If everything goes smoothly, we should be back before dark."
·
Xie Jingchen led out a warhorse.
To conserve resources and to better traverse the Gobi Desert, horseback riding is the most convenient and reasonable option.
Xia Fanxing looked behind Xie Jingchen but didn't see a second warhorse. Her gaze then returned to his handsome, cold, and resolute face.
"We—" she hesitated, a hint of embarrassment in her voice, "...shall we ride a horse?"
Xie Jingchen implicitly assumed Xia Fanxing couldn't ride a horse, but upon hearing her words, he instinctively countered, "You can ride a horse? If you can, then I'll—"
"I can't ride a horse," Xia Fanxing interrupted him directly, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Commander Xie, I've caused you trouble."
Xie Jingchen nodded slightly, "It's all for the soldiers and the people."
Because Xia Fanxing couldn't ride a horse and was petite, she got on the horse first and sat in front.
Xia Fanxing wasn't lying; she really didn't know how to ride a horse at that moment, so she almost lost her footing and fell off when she stepped on the stirrups.
"Watch out!" Xie Jingchen stood guard by the horse, his large hand supporting her slender waist in time.
"Thank you." Xia Fanxing's cheeks flushed slightly as she stepped firmly back onto the horse.
As she sat atop the tall horse, her view suddenly opened up.
Soon, Xie Jingchen mounted his horse and sat behind her.
Although there was still a small gap between them, Xie Jingchen had to wrap his arms around her entire body to hold the reins and control the horse.
The two were already so close even before they started riding.
Once you actually start running, will that deliberately left small gap still exist?
Xia Fanxing lowered her eyes, a slight smile curving her lips.
She indeed couldn't ride a horse, but there were horseback riding manuals in the space, so she could learn them in no time if she wanted to.
But judging from this situation, she doesn't need this skill.
At least not today.
Just as Xia Fanxing had predicted, once they left the regimental headquarters, they found that...
When Xie Jingchen yanked the reins hard and the horse began to gallop, her back pressed directly against Xie Jingchen's broad and muscular chest, and the distance between the two disappeared completely.
Even through the thick military overcoat, she could feel a faint warmth emanating from her back.
His chin was right above her head, and his breath surrounded her.
The biting wind that was blowing in our faces didn't seem so cold anymore.
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