The boy retorted, "She is a person, not an object."
Xu Erniang laughed, "Alright, she's not a thing, she's a person."
The young man frowned, feeling that there was something wrong with what she said, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He then ignored her question and stared at the girl on the bed.
Although Qi Nuan was not fully conscious, she was alert. Hearing their words, she tried to open her eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open her eyelids.
The boat sailed quietly on the calm water, and a thin mist gradually rose from the surface, enveloping the boat and obscuring the view of the shore.
After an unknown amount of time, the boat emerged from the thin mist. Bai Jiao put his hand to his mouth, looked up, and soon let out a cry into the sky.
Before long, seven or eight strong men rushed down the mountain.
Bai Jiao had his men unload the grain from the ship.
Then he looked at the boy and asked, "Where is he? Are you taking him up the mountain?"
The boy nodded.
“You’re the one who takes him up the mountain. You’re responsible for keeping an eye on him. If anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
"I know, boss."
Xu Erniang glanced at Bai Jiao and said crisply, "It's alright. Ji Jin and I will keep an eye on her. Besides, she's just a little girl. What's the big deal? If there's a problem, we can just kill her."
The boy remained silent.
Bai Jiao said, "Alright, bring the person down."
After saying this, he boarded the boat and saw the boy carry the person down. Then he steered the boat into the depths of the reeds, jumped into the water, and swam across with the current.
"Why haven't they left yet?"
After getting out of the water, he looked at the boy sitting on the shore and casually asked him a question.
The boy said, "I'll wait for you."
Bai Jiao laughed, but his tone was truly nasty, "What are you waiting for me to do? Be careful the person in your arms doesn't die."
The boy pursed his lips and remained silent.
Bai Jiao stepped forward and pried open the eyelids of the girl in the boy's arms, saying, "Let's go, or we'll really die."
The boy carried the person and followed behind him.
The two went up the mountain. Bai Jiao asked the boy to put the person down. The boy looked at Bai Jiao and silently put the person down.
"Go and gather some firewood."
Bai Jiao then gave instructions to the boy.
After the boy left, Bai Jiao looked at Qi Nuannian and said, "Don't waste my time and my precious medicinal herbs."
After saying that, he sighed, went to the pharmacy, packed up all the necessary herbs, returned to his room, took out a large vat, put Qi Nuan inside, and added herbs and water.
The boy was instructed to light a fire underneath.
After an unknown amount of time, he looked at the person in the medicine vat. Qi Nuan's face slowly turned from pale to flushed, and beads of sweat kept seeping out of her forehead. Only then did he take out a medicine bottle from his pocket and pour the medicine from the bottle into the medicine vat.
Then I breathed a sigh of relief.
"You stay here and watch the fire and the people. Control the fire, or don't blame me if you roast them alive."
After saying that, he walked outside.
The boy stood in front of the medicine vat, glancing at people and then at the fire, looking very serious.
Qi Nuan felt as if she had been placed in a steamer, unbearably hot. She tried to open her eyes, and through the smoky air, she saw a strange young man with a look of surprise on his face.
"That's great, you're awake?"
Qi Nuan opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
The boy had already run away, and Qi Nuan could only watch his retreating figure.
However, he soon came in with a young man.
Bai Jiao raised an eyebrow. "You woke up pretty quickly!"
Watching her mouth open and close, but hearing no sound, I wondered, "She's mute? Did she just become mute?"
Qi Nuan blinked.
"That's good," Bai Jiao said, then looked away from her and told the boy, "Steam for another hour." He then turned and left without looking back.
The boy nodded, took a stool, and sat down in front of the medicine vat.
Qi Nuan blinked hard at the boy, but he just stared at her without moving or reacting.
His eyes were bright, but how to put it, Qi Nuan felt that his gaze was like that of a child who had seen something fun or interesting.
In the end, Qi Nuan stopped wasting her time.
He simply observed the room with his eyes.
The room was small and simple. All she could see was a square table and three benches. Some medicinal herbs were scattered on the table, presumably to be placed in her medicine vat.
And then there was nothing left. In the past, there was only a wooden door, slightly ajar, but there was nothing outside, or perhaps there was only an empty space and weeds.
When the time came, the boy lifted her out of the medicine vat and carried her out like that.
Qi Nuan moved her body, but a sharp pain shot through her wound and stomach. She dared not move again and let the boy hold her.
She grabbed the boy's shirt and opened her mouth, saying something to him.
The boy glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Qi Nuan was somewhat discouraged, hanging her head and no longer speaking.
The boy carried her out the door and turned left. They walked along the eaves for about two or three minutes until they reached another room, where there were many people in the main room.
Seeing this, Xu Erniang stepped forward and said, "Why are you carrying him?"
"Change your clothes."
"Okay, I'll change it for someone in a bit." After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Qi Nuan.
It should be said that everyone's eyes in the main room were on Qi Nuan. Qi Nuan was slightly embarrassed, but blinked and looked at the others. They were all wearing coarse cloth short shirts and were tall and strong.
Judging from their appearance alone, they were all simple and honest men.
She spotted the young man from earlier in the crowd. When he saw them, his expression didn't change much, only his eyes flickered slightly.
"This girl is quite pretty; let's keep her for Ji Jin to be his wife."
"Given how frail she is, how could she possibly be worthy of our Ji Jin..."
...
Qi Nuan was somewhat astonished by the cacophony of voices from the group. She opened her mouth at the woman in front of her, blinked, and gestured with her uninjured hand.
Xu Erniang was completely confused. What was this girl trying to do?
Fortunately, Bai Jiao, who was standing nearby, said, "She is mute."
"Oh, that's a pity."
Upon hearing this, the others sighed and said, "Forget about the mute."
Ignoring everyone else, Xu Erniang said to the boy, "Bring him over here."
No one spoke to Qi Nuan from beginning to end. Qi Nuan wanted to talk to them, but no one could understand her sign language or the gestures she created.
Her feelings at that moment mirrored her current situation: confusion and helplessness.
She was treated like an object; no one cared about her thoughts.
Qi Nuan could only be carried by the boy. After walking a few steps, Qi Nuan was led to a room. The room was small, but it was clear that it was a woman's room.
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