Chapter 64 The Leak: This "city dweller" doctor doesn't seem like a bad person after all...
When Ayan returned to the side room, Liang Shuyan had already finished her examination.
"How is the situation?" Ayan asked hurriedly, lifting the curtain and glancing at her mother on the bed.
Seeing that Li Shan was taking a nap with her eyes closed and looked alright, she felt a little relieved.
Liang Shuyan was tucking Li Shan in when she heard the noise and gave Ayan a wink before following her out the door to talk quietly under the eaves.
Her expression was solemn: "The clan leader's condition is currently stable, but the fetal movements are frequent, and labor could start at any time. We need to prepare in advance."
Ayan's heart sank, and she felt somewhat at a loss: "How should we prepare? Just tell me."
Liang Shuyan quickly calculated in her mind.
Although she wasn't an obstetrics major, she had rotated through the obstetrics ward when she worked at the hospital, so her basic knowledge was quite solid.
Moreover, in this era, her medical knowledge is quite valuable, and she could be of some help if something really happened.
“We need to closely monitor the progress.” She carefully chose her words, trying to make sure Ayan could understand. “If there are complications during labor, we might need sterilized equipment, sufficient lighting, and anesthesia…”
These were all unfamiliar words that Ayan only vaguely understood.
Liang Shuyan's next words made her heart leap into her throat: "But I don't have any of these right now."
Ayan's voice tightened: "You're going back to get it?"
She was still worried that this was Liang Shuyan's delaying tactic. What if she left and never came back?
But seeing Liang Shuyan's sincere expression, that doubt quietly wavered again.
This "city person" doctor certainly didn't seem like a bad person; she knew that in her heart.
After hesitating for a long time, just as Ayan was about to give Liang Shuyan a chance to go back, a clansman rushed up to her, breathless, and reported to her.
"Ayan, I don't know who leaked the news, but Alian found out about the clan chief's situation! He said he was coming to visit his sister and has already brought a group of people to the village!"
Ayan's expression changed drastically, and she cursed under her breath.
Damn it!
Ah Lian must have ill intentions; he's trying to take advantage of the situation at this critical juncture!
She immediately turned to the men around her and ordered, "Everyone, take your weapons and assemble at the gate! I want to see what tricks he's up to!"
The clansmen obeyed the order and went into the house to retrieve their weapons.
She then specifically summoned several strong-looking members of her tribe: "You few, patrol the nearby paths and capture any suspicious individuals alive!"
The group responded in unison, "Yes!"
Finally, Ayan turned to Liang Shuyan and solemnly said, "You stay by my mother's side. I'll come back after I've finished dealing with things here!"
"Okay." Liang Shuyan said nothing more.
----
On the open ground near the village gate, Ayan was leading a group of her people carrying bows and arrows and spears. She had changed into a striking red dress, making her stand out against the snow-covered mountains and forests.
The tribesmen returning from their patrol happened to meet her and greeted her from afar: "Ayan!"
She nodded politely in response and asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"
"It's nothing serious." The tribesman smoothed his wind-blown hair and laughed heartily. "There was some rustling in the bushes over there. I thought it was a spy sent by A-Lian, and I got quite a fright. But when I got closer, it turned out to be that girl, A-Chao, hiding there without making a sound."
"Ah Chao?" Ah Yan repeated in confusion, "How could she be there?"
No wonder I couldn't find her in the village earlier...
The clansman nodded repeatedly: "She said she would go out and check the surrounding area for you, so I didn't ask any questions."
"Nonsense!" Ayan exclaimed, covering her forehead. "What kind of thing is it that a ten-year-old child like her should be doing? This is too dangerous!"
She pondered for a moment, then immediately ordered, "Go find her quickly and tell her to return to the village. If she doesn't know where to go, tell her to stay near her mother; that's the safest place."
The clansman quickly agreed, "I'll go find her right away."
Only then did Ayan lead the people who were waiting in ambush behind her and continue walking towards the gate of the village.
The tribesman turned back to where he had met A-Chao, looking around in search of her, but he could no longer see the girl. He could only scratch his head in confusion: "Strange, where did she go?"
At that moment, deep in the grass not far away, A-Chao was gesturing for Wen Yu to be quiet.
Shh, don't talk.
Just now, Wen Yu was almost discovered by the patrolling guards and was about to quietly leave when this girl suddenly appeared and blocked her way at just the right moment.
At that moment, Wen Yu only heard the guard's voice: "Oh, it's Ah Chao. I thought it was Ah Lian's men who had sneaked over."
A-Chao replied in broken mountain dialect, "I came out to check the situation for my sister."
The guard nodded, then warned, "Be careful, Ah Lian could arrive at any moment. If you fall into his hands, who knows what might happen!"
Wen Yu hid in the bushes, quietly opened the system panel, and aimed it at A Chao in front of him.
A series of messages popped up in front of her.
【A-Chao, female, 10 years old, adopted daughter of the clan chief…】
Ah Chao calmly replied, "Understood."
After the guards left, she turned and crawled back into the bushes, lowering her voice to ask Wen Yu, "You're from the city, why did you come here?"
Seeing that she spoke Mandarin so fluently, Wen Yu was somewhat surprised, and then explained, "My friend was taken away by your elder sister. Could you ask someone to persuade your elder sister to release him?"
Ah Chao's eyes darted around, and he said, "Mother's condition is dangerous right now, so we can't release her for the time being, but we would never harm your friend. We're still hoping she can heal Mother."
The comments section erupted in panic again.
[Damn it, I'm still so worried about Sister Shuyan! Could I please see her?!]
I don't really believe what these people are saying... these barbarians seem unreasonable.
[Yeah, you see, she didn't reason with you when she took Sister Shuyan away. It's better to stay vigilant, isn't it?]
[Has the rescue team arrived yet? I'm so nervous...]
I'm so worried. Even if we call for reinforcements, not many people will come. There aren't many capable people in the village. We can only pray that they can outsmart them.
Regardless, it's best to confirm Sister Shuyan's safety first.
Wen Yu felt a little relieved: "Since everything is alright, can I see her?"
After thinking for a moment, A-Chao said, "She can't leave the village for the time being, but I know a small path leading into the village that can take you in quietly."
"What if we get discovered?" Wen Yu asked cautiously.
Staying in this primitive tribe, Wen Yu always felt somewhat uneasy, worried that they would mistake her for a demon or an alien and capture her.
A-Chao shook his head and pointed in a direction to Wen Yu: "They've all gone out to deal with A-Lian, so there aren't many people left in the village. Follow me, this way."
"Ah Lian?" Wen Yu repeated the name again upon hearing it once more.
A-Chao led her through a patch of grass, carefully making their way around until they could no longer see the village gate when they looked back, at which point they dared to stand up straight.
Along the way, A-Chao walked ahead, calmly recounting the grudges between Li-Shan and A-Lian.
“Back then, Ah Lian was unable to seize the position of clan leader, and he always harbored resentment in his heart. However, his mother never gave him a chance, so he could only lie low there.”
“This time, Mother is about to give birth, and the situation is not very optimistic. There is a high chance that Ah Lian will take advantage of the situation and try to seize the position of clan leader.”
Wen Yu asked in surprise, "Then where is your father? Where is he now?"
“I don’t have a father.” A-Chao stopped and turned to look at her, his dark pupils round and bright. “My mother said she doesn’t need a husband.”
"Her children can only have her as their mother."
From the girl's calm words, Wen Yu realized that the customs of the mountain people were far more complex than she had imagined.
It turns out that there used to be a tradition in the tribe that if the old chief had only daughters, he would find a man to be his son-in-law, and would say, "Anyway, your child will be the next chief, this is already the best arrangement for you."
The old clan chief once thought of finding a husband for Li Shan, but she always refused, declaring that she did not need a husband to take everything away from her.
Her child has only one mother, yet she can still rightfully become the next clan chief.
Therefore, starting with her generation, no one dared to discuss finding a husband for her or for Ayan.
Wen Yu sighed: "This is good, but there isn't even a single person in your village who can deliver babies. Doesn't she think it's very dangerous?"
“There used to be one,” A-Chao said. “There used to be an experienced old woman in the village. The children she delivered never had any problems. When my mother gave birth to my older sister, she was the one who helped deliver her.”
"It's a pity that my mother-in-law was old and passed away last year. There was no one in the village to inherit her skills, so the craft was lost."
There are still too few professionals in this era, so it's no wonder they came down the mountain to ask Liang Shuyan for help.
Wen Yu glanced at the comments section when she had a moment, and the topic was surprisingly getting a lot of attention.
So, was Ayan's sudden kidnapping of Sister Shuyan related to this matter?
Honestly, you could have just said what you wanted to say. They're not going to refuse you. This whole thing was terrifying...
[Perhaps due to the urgency of the situation, there wasn't enough time to explain? Or perhaps her official language was poor, and she was afraid of not being able to explain clearly, so she simply gave up trying to explain.]
In ancient times, childbirth was a matter of life and death; if anything went wrong, even a god couldn't save you.
[In modern times, if something like amniotic fluid embolism occurs, it's very difficult to save the patient unless a miracle happens.]
How terrifying! Thank goodness I didn't give birth.
[+1, Although childbirth is a noble cause, I won't have children...]
As the conversation went on, the topic in the comments returned to the same old one.
“Mother is unable to deal with Alian right now, so my sister led people to the village gate. It’s safe for us to go in now.”
A-Chao pushed aside the shoulder-high weeds, walked around a few tangled vines, and after confirming that Wen Yu was following, said softly, "We'll reach the village if we keep going."
This secluded path was overgrown with weeds, and the snow was up to knee-deep. It was a path that was usually rarely used.
Wen Yu followed A Chao into the village, stumbling along, carefully avoiding a few passersby, and finally saw the main house in the center of the village.
She had just stopped when she saw Liang Shuyan lift the curtain of the side room and walk under the eaves, looking as if she was deep in thought about some difficult problem.
Wen Yu quickly called out softly, "Shuyan!"
Liang Shuyan looked up when she heard the voice, but her expression did not soften much when she saw Wen Yu. She walked over quickly, her face full of anxiety: "The clan leader's condition is not good, and he may need emergency treatment!"
"What?!" Wen Yu and A Chao exclaimed in unison.
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