Chapter 65 A Chance Encounter
It was indeed a dilapidated temple on the verge of collapse. The mud bodhisattva inside had one side washed away by the rain, leaving only half of its body sitting upright on the altar, looking indescribably eerie. The temple was also leaking everywhere, with hardly any place to step.
But no matter what, the walls of the dilapidated temple still blocked the wind, and as soon as Li Xiaoxiao stepped into the temple, she felt a temperature completely different from that in the rain.
She carried Meng Guanqi to a corner on the east side of the wall where there was a relatively dry spot without any leaks. Then she looked around for firewood to start a fire.
In the very center of the dilapidated temple was a fire that had been extinguished for who knows how long, leaving only a few pieces of firewood, each no longer than a finger. Li Xiaoxiao didn't mind and picked them all up and piled them together. But apart from these few pieces of firewood, there was no firewood left to burn in the entire temple.
Undeterred, she went around to a side room of the temple, only to find it empty. The dilapidated wooden door collapsed to the ground when she pushed it open.
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she immediately picked up the door, kicking it a few times with both hands and feet, turning the dilapidated wooden door into a small pile of firewood.
She carried the small pile of firewood to Meng Guanqi, drew her short sword, shaved off a small pile of wood shavings, took out a flint and steel, and struck it a few times until the wood shavings finally caught fire.
She was originally a fire-starting girl, so she was very skilled at starting fires. Before long, a fire was burning on the ground, and the heat of the fire immediately dispelled the coldness from her body.
She warmed her hands in the warm water until they were no longer so stiff, then immediately went over and took off Meng Guanqi's raincoat, revealing a thick, damp cotton-padded coat, soaked with water and weighing at least twenty or thirty pounds.
Meng Guanqi was quickly stripped down to his undergarments, the soaked clothes clinging tightly to his body. But because he was in front of the fire, he seemed to have finally recovered and slowly opened his eyes.
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up: "Young Master, you're awake? How are you feeling now?"
It was cold, so cold. Even though there was a fire burning in front of him, Meng Guanqi felt colder than if he were in the rain.
He unconsciously moved closer to the fire.
Li Xiaoxiao reached out and pressed him down: "This distance is enough. If you go any closer, you'll get burned."
Because the skin is frozen, the sense of touch doesn't return quickly enough. Even if someone is burned, they might not notice it until it's too late.
Li Xiaoxiao untied her bundle, took out the water pouch, and warmed it over the fire for a while. Once the water inside was lukewarm, she fed Meng Guanqi a few sips.
After drinking a few mouthfuls of warm water, Meng Guanqi finally regained feeling in his limbs.
My body was soaking wet, warm in front but cold behind, and I was only wearing a single layer of clothing. Despite the dire situation, I felt like I had finally survived after drinking a couple of sips of water.
He looked at Li Xiaoxiao, who was still dripping wet, and a pang of heartache flashed in his eyes: "Take off your clothes and warm yourself by the fire..."
Li Xiaoxiao shook her head and put on the raincoat he had taken off: "Young master, is it alright for you to stay here and watch this fire by yourself? The firewood is here; it should be enough to keep us warm for a while. I need to go back to find Zhao Jian and Asheng..."
Meng Guanqi then realized that Zhao Jian and Asheng hadn't followed. His eyes widened suddenly: "Weren't they behind us?"
Li smiled and said, "We rode for almost an hour to find this dilapidated temple. They only have two legs, how could they possibly catch up? After I leave, take off your undergarments and dry them. Your clothes are all wet. Whether we survive or not depends on this fire..."
After she finished speaking, without waiting for Meng Guanqi to reply, she immediately leaped onto her horse and galloped back the way she came.
Meng Guanqi's words of advice stuck in his throat.
After a while, he looked around and confirmed that there was only one clay bodhisattva with only half of its body left in the entire dilapidated temple. Trembling, he took off his undergarment and put it on the fire to roast.
As darkness fell, he dried his undergarments and added more firewood to the fire to dry his inner garments. He placed his cotton-padded coat and boots closest to the fire to dry, but Li Xiaoxiao still hadn't returned by the time his inner garments were completely dry.
He grew anxious, put on his inner robe, and walked to the temple gate, looking around. Why hadn't he returned after so long?
After an unknown amount of time, he finally heard the clatter of hooves coming from the temple gate. He was overjoyed and was about to go to greet them when his expression suddenly changed.
No, this isn't the sound of just one horse. It's the noise of at least three or four horses. It's not Li Xiaoxiao who's coming!
Heavy rain mixed with ice and snow, deep in the mountains and old forests, in a dilapidated temple, alone, with unknown people and horses outside the door, made Meng Guanqi shiver involuntarily.
He had just stood up, looking for a place to hide, when a commotion came from the doorway. The sound of horses neighing filled the air, and the riders hurriedly dismounted, bursting into the dilapidated temple with a chill in their bodies, only to come face to face with Meng Guanqi in the corner.
Meng Guanqi couldn't help but take a step back, because the four people who entered the temple were staggering and stumbling as they helped each other through the door. In addition to the chill that permeated their bodies, they also reeked of blood. Fresh blood mixed with rainwater dripped continuously onto the ground, which was extremely eerie.
Meng Guanqi couldn't help but take a few steps back, until he was back in the corner. The four men were extremely cold, and as soon as they entered the dilapidated temple, they ran straight towards the fire in front of him.
Meng Guanqi shrank into the corner, not daring to move. Looking at the disheveled people in front of him, he suddenly felt that they looked somewhat familiar.
Noticing his scrutinizing gaze, one of the burly men with a thick beard, his eyes gleaming like sharp arrows, gripped the knife at his side and shouted, "What are you looking at?"
Meng Guanqi tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Is it Master Li?"
The young man surrounded by several people was startled. He raised his head, his eyes showing surprise: "Young Master Meng, is that you?"
It was indeed Li Er and his group! The burly man with the thick beard was Pang Shi, the middle-aged scholar Li Wenkui, and Wan Quan, who had a gloomy temperament, a fair complexion, and no beard.
Upon seeing that it was someone he knew, Pang Shi's tense emotions relaxed, and he almost collapsed as if all his strength had left him. Wan Quan, who was standing next to him, quickly supported him.
Of the four, apart from Li Er, the other three were covered in knife wounds. Pang Shi barely managed to support himself with his knife, but blood continued to flow from his body. However, he was still able to maintain a conscious mind. The middle-aged scholar Li Wenkui fell into a coma immediately after entering the temple. Even Wan had several knife wounds on his body, but none of them were fatal, so he was still able to hold on.
Li Er had no visible injuries, but his face was deathly pale from the cold, his breath was weak, and his trembling hands shakily approached the fire.
Meng Guanqi suddenly reached out and stopped Wan Quan's outstretched hand. Wan Quan's expression changed, and he was about to shout an insult when Meng Guanqi said, "Don't go any further. If you go any further, you'll get burned."
Li Er was taken aback, then realized what had happened and smiled apologetically: "I was so frozen I forgot I couldn't feel my hands."
Meng Guanqi added two pieces of firewood to the fire, making it burn even brighter: "You guys quickly take off your outer clothes and come over here to warm yourselves in your single layers. It's better than wearing wet clothes all the time."
Upon hearing this, Wan Quan struggled to help Li Er take off his clothes.
Li Er gestured for him to help Pang Shi, his hands trembling as he tried to remove the cloak, but he had no strength left in his hands.
Seeing this, Meng Guanqi quickly got up to help him take off his cloak. Just as he was about to take off his outer garment, his hand was covered in blood. He was shocked to discover that Li Er's clothes on the right side of his chest had a long tear, and blood gushed out again when he touched it.
Seeing that he had discovered it, Li Er looked at him, sighed softly, shook his head, and gestured for him to remain silent.
It was only because the other three were much more seriously injured than him.
Meng Guanqi gasped, "You...you've encountered robbers?" In such a cold winter, in such terrible weather, how could they encounter robbers?
Li Er gave a wry smile and sighed, "Pretty much."
Seeing the injured men, Meng Guanqi suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around and opened his bundle. Inside were various emergency medicines prepared by Zhao Jian, including medicine for typhoid fever, insect repellent, and hemostatic agents...
He took out some hemostatic powder, which should be high-quality white medicine, and handed it to Li Er.
Li Er gave him a deep look, opened the medicine powder, smelled it, and was about to sprinkle it on the wound when Wan Quan suddenly turned around. Seeing that he was about to apply the medicine, he was immediately startled: "Second Master!"
Ignoring the dazed Pang Shi, Wan Quan rushed over and snatched the medicine from Li Er's hand: "Second Master, let this old servant go first!" As he spoke, he poured the medicine powder onto the wound on the back of Pang Shi's hand.
The intense pain made his facial muscles twitch, but the cool sensation that followed jolted him awake. He immediately poured the medicine onto Li Er's wound: "Second Master, it's top-quality Yunnan Baiyao."
Meng Guanqi was stunned for a moment, then realized that Wan Quan had just been testing medicine on Li Er!
Even when seriously injured, Wan Quan was still afraid that he would poison Li Er; such caution was truly rare.
Wan Quan carefully sprinkled a ring of medicine powder around Li Er's wound. He wanted to apply more, but Li Er stopped him, saying, "There's not much medicine left. Apply it to Wen Kui and Pang Shi."
Wan Quan hesitated for a moment, but still obeyed Li Er's orders. He applied the medicine to the deepest wound on the unconscious Li Wenkui's body, and gave the rest to Pang Shi. Except for the wound on the back of his hand where he tested the medicine, he did not keep a single bit of the medicine powder for himself.
Meng Guanqi had already realized that Li Er's identity was not simple, and that what they had encountered might not be robbers, but assassins.
Having grown up in the mansion of a high-ranking official, he possessed a natural and keen intuition about certain things, and at this moment, he only wanted to stay far away from them.
He didn't care about giving them medicine or fire; he just wanted to leave immediately. He was weak and powerless and couldn't help them.
Why hasn't Li Xiaoxiao returned yet? He couldn't help but feel anxious. The stench of blood permeated the dilapidated temple, and the more he sat with them, the more terrifying it became.
On the contrary, Li Er's spirits improved significantly after the hemostatic powder was applied. Although his face was still very pale, his mind was much clearer. Among the group, his injuries were the least severe.
He sensed Meng Guanqi's nervousness, but he was even more curious about why he was alone in this dilapidated temple and where the people around him were.
He looked at Meng Guanqi: "Young Master Meng, why are you here alone? Where are the people with you?"
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