Chapter 165 Rescue
Xiao Qing didn't know how much time had passed, but judging from the movement of the light, it should have been a day or two.
Although Fu Mingyi was still unconscious, he seemed to have opened his eyes intermittently.
She didn't know if he was conscious, but each time she would happily take the opportunity to encourage him to hold on a little longer, assuring him that someone would come to rescue them soon.
The hole was too high off the ground; even if she wasn't injured, she would need leverage to get up. Now, she had tried many times, but all her attempts ended in failure.
She felt that she had made a mistake in her initial judgment.
This shouldn't be some kind of burrow for hunting large wild animals, because she had looked closely when the light was strongest and it seemed to have been designed and built like this.
Although the stone walls on all four sides were rough, they must have been polished. Some places were covered with moss and could not be seen, but some places were bare. She made this judgment after looking at them carefully.
Moreover, the location of the cave entrance is also very strange.
Logically, if it were a typical burrow used for trapping animals, it should be dug directly down from the entrance, and the shape of the entire burrow would generally be roughly cone-shaped. However, this burrow is not like that.
The hole is basically square, and its top is almost parallel to the ground. So the opening looks like it was carved out at the top after the hole was built.
So she continued to speculate whether this place might have been used to store something.
A small amount of clear water seeped out from a corner of the cave. When she felt extremely thirsty, she would take some and feed it to Fu Mingyi, and then drink some herself.
There seemed to be a sweet smell in the water that she couldn't quite describe. It wasn't unpleasant to swallow, but it just felt strange to her.
Moreover, this way they wouldn't die of thirst, but she didn't know if it was because of drinking the water, but she felt herself getting weaker and weaker.
It's not that I'm exhausted, it's just that I feel... sleepy?
Or perhaps, her life wasn't meant to end on the cliff, but rather here?
She narrowed her eyes, then moved closer to Fu Mingyi, feeling both resentful and as if she could accept her fate.
Just as she was about to give in to her feelings and simply fall asleep, a long and wide crack suddenly appeared where clear water was seeping from the cave.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she thought she heard a sound coming from the crack.
It seems to be... the reason why a hoe or something else was hitting the other side of the stone wall.
What's over there?
She mustered her spirits and decided to go over and take a look, so she straightened up.
At that moment, a loud bang was heard in the cave, followed by the sound of loose rocks falling.
Then, a large amount of water gushed out from the crack that had been broken open.
Xiao Qing was startled and couldn't tell what was happening over there. Was it the black-clad men who were chasing them or someone else? There was no time to hide, so he could only watch helplessly as a thin figure emerged from the water.
The man staggered, and when he saw that it was Xiao Qing, a living, breathing person, he was immediately stunned.
"Why are there still people here?"
Xiao Qing felt relieved.
This person is clearly not one of the men in black. If it's not them, then their lives should be safe.
Xiao Qing felt a sense of relief, and immediately felt drowsy.
"Hey, don't spill it!"
These were the last words she heard.
When I woke up again, the conditions were much better.
It was a simple house.
She quickly turned over and found herself sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Not far from her, an old woman with her head wrapped in cloth put down the clothes she was holding, looked at her gently, and said, "Little girl, you're awake."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing felt a mix of coldness and warmth in her heart, and remained silent for a long while.
"Are you feeling unwell?" The old woman slowly stood up, supporting herself on the chair, and then slowly moved closer to her.
Xiao Qing instinctively pulled her shoulders back, her eyes warily fixed on the old woman.
The old woman smiled kindly and tactfully stopped walking.
“Young lady, don’t worry. My family are hunters here, and we don’t leave the mountains year-round, so we don’t know what’s happening outside. Your clothes were changed by this old woman. I’ll bring you your new clothes as soon as I’ve finished mending them.”
Xiao Qing had only one feeling—she had been exposed.
“Your brother is in my son’s room. He’s not awake yet, but he’s doing alright. If you’re worried, I can help you go check on him.”
The old woman spoke sincerely, and Xiao Qing gradually calmed down.
Just then, the door was pushed open forcefully, and a boy's hoarse voice rang out: "Mother, he's awake!"
Xiao Qing suddenly stood up.
Before the old woman could speak, she saw her rushing hurriedly towards the door.
"Xiao Yuan, lead the way," the old woman quickly called to her son.
The boy responded and stepped aside to let Xiao Qing out, then quickly caught up and called out, "This way!"
When Xiao Qing went outside, she realized that it was a farmhouse courtyard. As soon as she ran out, she arrived in the yard, where there were several large bamboo baskets filled with a bunch of small yellow flowers.
The little flowers seemed to exude a familiar, sweet fragrance.
Xiao Qing didn't have time to think about it carefully.
She quickly followed the boy to the next room to see Fu Mingyi.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw Fu Mingyi struggling to get up. Then, when she looked up and saw Xiao Qing in her coarse cloth dress, she was stunned.
Xiao Qing's complexion was unhealthy pale, probably due to years of lack of sunlight.
He hadn't seen Xiao Qing without disguise for many years, and his impression of her was still that of Xiao Yan when she was ten years old.
But Xiao Qing's appearance has gradually changed.
"You're awake!" Xiao Qing rushed in with a delighted expression, almost tripping on the flat ground in the process.
But Xiao Qing didn't notice any of this.
She ran over and touched his forehead with her hand, her bright eyes shining with joy and gentle light.
"How are you? Does it still hurt anywhere? Can you move your arms and legs?"
Fu Mingyi's gaze passed over Xiao Qing's shoulder and landed on Xiao Yuan, who was standing by the door. The meaning in his eyes was obvious.
The old woman tugged at her son's clothes at the door. The boy turned around and was pulled away by his mother.
Fu Mingyi then shook his head at Xiao Qing and said, "I'm fine. How are you?"
Xiao Qing relaxed and sat down on the edge of the bed, her head drooping.
"It's nothing, it's just... they found out I'm a girl."
Fu Mingyi shook his head. "It's good that you're alright."
He paused, and thinking of what he had heard and seen when he was in a daze, a pang of pain rose in his heart.
"Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Xiao Qing shook her head, her fingers unconsciously gripping the blanket tightly, only then did she truly calm down.
Fu Mingyi has this kind of magic; as long as he's awake, she feels that even the most difficult things won't seem so difficult.
Fu Mingyi looked at Xiao Qing in front of him and finally reached out to pat her head. "There's one more thing. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to make a trip there when you're better."
When he woke up, he checked his legs and realized he wouldn't be able to move them for at least ten days to two weeks.
However, they didn't have time to wait.
His gaze toward Xiao Qing turned helpless and apologetic.
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