Chapter 37 - 38: Saving a Person

Chapter 37: Chapter 38: Saving a Person

"He’s still alive," Ancient Wen Heng crouched down and turned the man over, revealing a sturdy young man in his twenties.

His features were resolute, and he was quite well-kept, not at all like the dusty, grimy refugees.

Jin Qianqian pointed at his chest. "He’s injured. I wonder if it hit anything vital."

It was right over his heart. One wrong move and it could be fatal.

Ancient Wen Heng turned to look at Jin Qianqian. "So, do we save him?"

If it were just another refugee on the side of the road, Ancient Wen Heng definitely wouldn’t have asked such a foolish question.

Jin Qianqian didn’t hesitate for long. A first-aid kit appeared before them. "But we’re not doctors. The most we can do is clean his wound. Whether he lives or dies will be up to him."

Wasting no time, Ancient Wen Heng found the scissors and cut open the man’s clothing.

"So this is what a sword wound looks like, huh?" Curiosity overcame Jin Qianqian’s fear, and she found herself staring at the hole in the man’s chest.

Ancient Wen Heng shifted to block her view. ’What’s so fascinating about a punctured body?’ "This wound is pretty big. It probably needs stitches. I’m no good with a needle—how about you do it?"

Jin Qianqian immediately whipped her head to the side, shaking it in refusal. "I can’t do it either! I’ve never used a needle before, I wouldn’t know how."

’That’s flesh, not cloth.’ She really didn’t have that kind of courage.

A hint of a smile flashed in Ancient Wen Heng’s eyes. He then took alcohol from the first-aid kit and poured it directly onto the man’s wound.

A muffled grunt escaped the man as his narrow, tightly-shut eyes suddenly snapped open.

Before the man could speak, Ancient Wen Heng pressed a hand on his shoulder while continuing to clean the wound with the other. "Don’t move. I’m treating your wound."

"Who are you?" Zhou Shixiong’s face was wary. They had traveled day and night, rushing back from the border to deliver a message. He never imagined that just as they were about to reach North City, they would be ambushed.

He had only managed to break through the encirclement with the official documents thanks to his comrades’ cover, yet he was still struck down in a sneak attack.

Feeling the stinging pain from the wound, Zhou Shixiong gritted his teeth. He could tell the people before him were genuinely treating his injury.

Seeing that he made no further moves, a look of satisfaction flashed in Ancient Wen Heng’s eyes. He turned to Jin Qianqian. "Honey, do you have a needle and thread?"

The moment the man had woken up, Ancient Wen Heng had discreetly hidden the first-aid kit behind his back.

Jin Qianqian used the motion of crouching down to "search" to quickly swap the first-aid kit with a worn-out bundle from her dimension. "Here’s the needle and thread."

Zhou Shixiong watched, confused, as Ancient Wen Heng poured the liquid over the needle and thread. The man said just two words: "Hold on."

The man began stitching his flesh with the needle. All Zhou Shixiong could do was grit his teeth and endure the piercing pain.

He propped his head up and saw the wound on his chest. It was covered in dense stitches, like a mended piece of torn cloth. The bleeding, which had been unstoppable, was finally slowing. Astonishment flashed in Zhou Shixiong’s eyes. ’I thought I was going to bleed to death... but now, it looks like I’m going to live.’

The woman who had been hiding behind Ancient Wen Heng now took out a pristine white handkerchief and carefully began wiping the sweat from his brow.

Zhou Shixiong watched, his heart aching at the waste. The man had poured the liquid so freely to clean his wound, and then even had the woman hold the bottle so he could wash his own hands.

’I can smell the strong alcohol in it,’ he thought. ’That kind of strong liquor is desperately needed on the battlefield, and he’s just wasting it like this.’

"Should we give him some anti-inflammatory pills?" Jin Qianqian asked in a low voice. ’We’ve already saved him; it would be a shame if he died from an infection.’

Ancient Wen Heng hesitated for only a moment before taking the pills, already out of their packaging, from her hand. He turned and squatted down to look at Zhou Shixiong. "Do you trust us?"

Zhou Shixiong gave a bitter smile. "Doctor, please speak freely. You saved my life. I trust you."

"I’m no doctor," Ancient Wen Heng said. "I just happen to know a little about medicine. I have two pills here that will only help your wound, not harm it. If you trust us, take them."

Zhou Shixiong looked at Ancient Wen Heng earnestly. "I trust you. Please, benefactor, give me the medicine."

Ancient Wen Heng quickly put the two pills in the man’s mouth. Then he took out his own bamboo canteen, supported the man’s head, and gave him a couple of sips of water. Once he was sure the man had swallowed the pills, he carefully laid him flat again.

Having done all they could, Ancient Wen Heng led Jin Qianqian away, ready to leave.

But Zhou Shixiong, still on the ground, called out to them. "Benefactors, may I ask your names?"

Ancient Wen Heng waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing. Once we part ways, let’s both just forget we ever met."

Without giving him a chance to reply, Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian quickly disappeared from his line of sight.

＆

"I never thought we’d get to be anonymous heroes. But judging by his clothes, he must be someone important, right?" Seeing that no one was around, Jin Qianqian and he each opened a bottle of milk and drank as they walked.

"He’s probably a soldier," Ancient Wen Heng offered his speculation. "There are marks on his temples from wearing a helmet, and he has the faint air of a killer about him. He must have just come from the battlefield."

"I never realized. Not only are you good at reading people, Senior, but your first-aid skills are quite impressive too," Jin Qianqian said, her tone probing.

Ancient Wen Heng didn’t seem to mind and spoke openly. "My second older brother runs a gang overseas. Occasionally, injured members would come to our house for help. I assisted a few times, so I can handle most external wounds."

"As for reading people? That just comes from meeting a lot of men like him. You learn to sense that unique aura they carry."

Jin Qianqian paused for a moment. "If you hadn’t come here with me... Senior, had you thought about what you were going to do with your life?"

"Call me husband," Ancient Wen Heng said, not liking her distant tone. He turned to correct her. "If I hadn’t come here, I was planning to catch a little turtle that was hiding in its shell."

"And then, I’d wait by her side and dig her out of it."

Jin Qianqian flinched. "That sounds a bit brutal."

Ancient Wen Heng scoffed and playfully pinched the back of her neck. "Luckily for me, she can’t escape my grasp now."

A certain little turtle who couldn’t escape his grasp thought, ’...’ ’Senior’s flirting again.’

In the end, she didn’t have the courage to press the matter. Jin Qianqian pointed back toward the distant patch of grass. "Is it going to be okay, just leaving him there?"

"Whether it is or isn’t, it’s not our problem," said Ancient Wen Heng. "If you don’t want to attract trouble, then from this moment on, we don’t know he exists, and we were never curious enough to look in those bushes."

Jin Qianqian took two large gulps of milk, trying to calm her nerves. "I don’t know anything. We were just out looking for wild vegetables."