The group returned to the county town late at night. Many houses still had lights on, and Chief Lin personally led a group of people to wait at the entrance to the town, holding a torch.
Lin Yisong climbed a big tree and looked into the distance, where he saw a line of firelight heading towards the county town.
He immediately shouted, "They're back! Elder Chief, my father, brothers, and sisters are back!"
As they drew closer, Lin Shuo spurred his horse forward and said to his eldest son in the tree, "A-Song, quickly fetch Doctor Lin, your brother Qingfeng is injured."
"Okay! I'm going right now." Lin Yisong nimbly climbed down the tree and ran into the city.
The guards led the horses and followed behind to the Pan family's residence.
Upon hearing that Pan Qingfeng was injured, the clan leader's hands trembled, and he looked in the direction of Lin Yinan.
"Anan, how did you get hurt?"
Lin Yinan dismounted and said, "Chief, don't worry! I'm fine. I encountered two leopards on the way back and suffered some minor injuries."
Wu Xingwang held up the torch and looked her over from left to right to make sure she wasn't injured before he felt relieved.
"I'm glad you're not hurt."
He was glad that he hadn't gone any further after following them to the big tree in the afternoon; otherwise, he and his son, who were both unable to carry anything, would surely have become a burden to the city lord.
The clan chief glanced at him sideways, thinking that this guy was useless except for making money.
"Let's go, let's hurry back and have Dr. Lin take a look at the wound."
It was dark and the road was not visible, so Lin Yiheng helped the clan chief and village chief onto their horses and led them back.
On the way, Lin Yiheng told the two of them about finding water in the valley.
The clan chief immediately decided that at daybreak the next day, he would gather people to dig a canal.
When everyone arrived at the Pan family's house, they heard crying coming from inside. Lin Yinan and Lin Yiheng exchanged a glance and immediately sensed something was wrong. Pan Qingfeng was fine when they returned. Could it be that he was already dying in such a short time?
Upon entering the house, Pan's father scolded, "What are you crying for? Feng'er isn't dead yet, Doctor Lin is already treating her."
Pan's mother's wailing stopped abruptly.
Seeing Lin Yinan and Pan's father rubbing their hands as they stood up and directing their youngest son to move chairs for everyone, Pan, the clan chief, turned his head away with a cold face.
"Lord Lin, you've arrived. Please have a seat."
Lin Yinan sat down silently, his face covered in dried blood, his expression indifferent, like a god of death. Pan's mother, who was full of resentment and wanted to vent, couldn't utter a word of accusation.
After pouring tea for everyone, Pan's father noticed that Lin Yiheng and the others were in a disheveled state, and Lin Shuo, Liang Wen, and Su Kaifa were all injured. He then realized that things were not as his wife had described.
After a while, Doctor Lin came out of Pan Qingfeng's room.
"Doctor, how is my son?" Pan's mother asked, her voice choked with sobs, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
Doctor Lin put down his medicine box and sat down in a chair. "The city lord has already stopped the bleeding and bandaged him. It's nothing serious, just superficial wounds. His back injury isn't deep, but he was bitten on the shoulder by a leopard. I stitched him up, and I'll come back in five days to remove the stitches. He must not get it wet these next few days. I'll also prescribe three doses of calming and soothing medicine for him."
After giving instructions, Dr. Lin wrote out the prescription and handed it to Pan's mother, telling her to pick up the medicine at dawn.
Before Pan's mother could ask any more questions, the clan chief spoke up, "Arong, quickly check on Ashuo and Liang Han."
Dr. Lin quickly got up and went to the group of people who seemed a little listless. He first took their pulses, then unwrapped the bandaged wounds, cleaned them again, applied medicine, and wrapped them with clean gauze.
The injuries were not serious, and Dr. Lin told them that they only needed to go to the clinic every day to change their dressings, and did not need to take any medicine.
Recalling the thrilling scene of killing the second leopard, with the ground covered in the path they had cleared with their machetes, Lin Yiheng looked at Lin Yinan.
"Anan, where are you hurt?"
"It's nothing, just a minor injury. I'll treat it myself when I get back." She turned her gaze to Pan's father and said calmly, "Pan Qingfeng should rest well at home these few days. I'll have someone send some meat over to help him recover."
“No need, we still have meat at home,” Mr. Pan quickly refused.
Lin Yinan's tone left no room for refusal: "Your family matters are your family's business. He was injured on duty, and this is compensation I am giving him on behalf of the government."
After saying this, she got up to take her leave. She had seen Pan's mother secretly pinching Pan's father, but she did not say anything.
People are selfish, and as long as their selfishness doesn't affect the development of Longtan, it's fine.
She ignored what they thought and talked about her.
Once outside, she instructed her guards to escort the clan leader and the others back.
Lin Yinan did not go directly back to the Yun family, but went to the Lin family with Lin Shuo and his son.
After closing the door, Old Mrs. Zhao, Li Shulan, and Zhang Shi came out carrying oil lamps.
Upon seeing Lin Yinan, Grandma Zhao frowned and stared intently at her. "Yinan, why aren't you going home to sleep so late? Is something wrong?"
Lin Yinan nodded, "Let's go into the kitchen to talk."
Upon seeing the two sleek leopards on the ground, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were so frightened that they quickly took several steps back. Even Lin Shuo, who hadn't seen them clearly at the time, was taken aback.
From the moment she returned, Lin Yiheng guessed that she must have taken the two leopard carcasses with her.
"Hey, there are unborn leopard cubs inside." Upon closer inspection, he discovered five leopard cubs wrapped in the amniotic sac.
Coming to her senses, Old Mrs. Zhao mustered her courage and stepped forward, "What a tragedy! It's actually a pregnant leopard!"
“The mother leopard attacked us first. If I didn’t kill it, it would have killed all of us. Second Uncle, Qingfeng, and Kaifa were all injured by it,” Lin Yinan said calmly. She was not the kind of person who would show mercy.
"Yes, yes, yes, if Anan hadn't arrived in time, Qingfeng would have died in its mouth."
Recalling the scene, Lin Shuo still broke out in a cold sweat. "Although it was dark, the leopard's two glowing eyes were terrifying."
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