Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: Returning Home

After Wen Wenhai checked everyone’s pulse and condition, he smiled and said: “Everyone’s health is fine. There is a bit of bruising in your body, and some of you have more severe external injuries. I have some commonly used wound medicine here, especially for treating falls and injuries. You can apply them externally and take them internally when you return home. Just make sure to rest well, and you’ll be fine.”

Afterward, he took out some small bottles from his pocket and handed them to Zhang Cai, saying: “This brother’s arm is broken, and I’m unable to help with that. Here’s some silver. You can use it to see a doctor and it shouldn’t be a problem.” Then, he took out some scattered silver and offered it to Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai quickly waved his hand, saying: “I dare not.”

At this time, Zhang Xiaohu, with bruised eyes, spoke up: “Take it, Dad. We’ve received so much kindness from our benefactor, and this is just a small token of his kindness. It’s also his heartfelt gesture, so you should accept it.”

Turning back, Zhang Cai scolded his son, saying: “We already received the silver from those people as compensation. How can we accept more kindness from our benefactor?” With that, he took out the silver notes handed to him earlier, and after counting them carefully, he was shocked. To his surprise, there were about forty or fifty banknotes, each worth ten taels. It seemed that the fat men, in their haste and fear, hadn’t bothered to count properly before handing them over.

At this moment, Wen Wenhai handed the silver to Zhang Xiaohu, saying: “This lad has a bold and straightforward personality, which is quite to my liking. Take it, that money is compensation from others to you, and this is my gift to your family.”

Zhang Cai, seeing Zhang Xiaohu holding the silver, didn’t blame him. He explained the situation with the silver banknotes to Wen Wenhai, as it was a considerable sum and he didn’t dare handle it privately. Besides, he feared those people might cause trouble again. Money was one thing, but their lives were another. Wen Wenhai, looking at the substantial sum, couldn’t help but smile bitterly in his heart. In his view, making the fat young masters compensate with just a dozen or so silver taels would have sufficed. But he realized his junior sister’s antics had inadvertently caused trouble for this family. He didn’t dare make decisions unilaterally, so he approached her to discuss the matter.

Zhang Xiaohua accompanied his injured older brothers, his heart far from calm. His cheeks and mouth still burning with pain. The impact of almost losing his life to those villains together with witnessing Wen Wenhai effortlessly subduing those thugs, made a profound impact, he had not yet recovered from the shock and hurt. His eyes fixated on the sword in Wen Wenhai’s hand, a seed of resolve quietly sprouting within his heart.

The two village girls stood behind Zhang Cai, unsure of how to express their gratitude. They had thought of thanking the woman in the purple dress, but seeing her aloof demeanor, they didn’t dare approach. Instead, they only looked at her from a distance.

The result of Wen Wenhai’s discussion with his junior sister came out quickly. She took out a small token from her pouch and handed it to him, but he hesitated to accept it. Wen Wenhau said a few more words but didn’t seem to convince her, so he shook his head, reached out to take the token, walked over to Zhang Cai, and said: “Uncle, you should hold onto this large sum of money yourself. Even if we were to take it, if they come after you, you wouldn’t be able to return it to them. This is a token of our sect, given to you by my Junior Sister. If they come to reclaim the silver, you can simply return these silver notes to them. The scattered silver I gave you is enough for your medical expenses. But if they have other intentions, take this token to the Lotus Flower Escort Agency stationed in town and find their Head. Tell them the owner of the token sent you to them. Whatever the matter, just tell them.”

After speaking, he handed the token to Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai carefully took the life-saving token and examined it closely. It was a three-inch black token that felt heavy in his hand. He couldn’t determine what material it was made of. On its surface were two wonderfully drawn characters that Zhang Cai didn’t recognize, surrounded by strange patterns. On the back of the token was a character “Qing” that Zhang Cai recognized, he thought that it was the symbol of Wen Wenhai’s Junior Sister. Zhang Cai cautiously tucked the token into his chest and nervously pinched it to confirm its presence, finally feeling relieved.

Wenwen Hai waited for Zhang Cai to take the token before clasping his hands and saying: “Gentlemen, we have urgent matters to attend to, so we won’t escort you back to the village. If you have the chance, you can come find me in Pingyang City. Until we meet again.” With that, without waiting for Zhang Cai and the others to respond, he turned and left with the young lady in purple. Despite their seemingly ordinary appearance, they moved quite quickly and disappeared from Zhang Cai’s sight in the blink of an eye.

From the moment they left Lu Town until the end, the young lady in purple did not speak a single word to them, nor did she remove her veil. Therefore, Zhang Cai’s family knew nothing about her name or appearance, only that her voice was very pleasant.

Once the two had walked away, Zhang Cai and the others finally withdrew their gazes. Zhang Xiaohua murmured; “They move so fast.”

Zhang Xiaohu replied: “You don’t understand, Xiaohua. That’s what they call legendary lightness skill.”

Zhang Xiaohua asked: “Have you seen it before?”

Zhang Xiaohu replied, “I haven’t seen it, just guessing. Didn’t you notice? They didn’t run, yet they were faster than those who did, and they were even holding swords. So they probably used the lightness skill.” Zhang Xiaohua blinked and didn’t ask further.

Two village girls approached Zhang Cai and bowed in gratitude, saying: “Thank you so much, Uncle, for saving our lives. If it weren’t for you, we…” As they spoke, tears welled up in their eyes, filled with fear from what had just happened. Zhang Cai waved his hand and said: “We’re all fellow villagers here, helping each other is only natural. Let’s not dwell on it for now. We should leave here first. If we stay too long, someone might come along. Which village are you from?”

The taller village girl said: “We live in Baligou. I’m called Liu Qian, and she’s my cousin Liu Yueyue.”

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Cai said: “Baligou is to the west of Lu Town. If you go back, you’ll have to pass through the town. It might be better not to go into town in this situation. If you go around from the outside of town, it is likely that you will not reach home before dark. Girl, we live in Guo Village, to the north of the town. How about you stay at our place for the night, and we’ll send you back home tomorrow?”

Liu Qian glanced at the sky and said: “Then we’ll trouble you, Uncle.”

Everyone got up, and while it was still early, they dragged along their injured bodies and hurried away, hoping to return home as soon as possible.

Thirty li was not a short distance, especially for Zhang Cai and the others who were injured. Moreover, they had to detour from the east side of Lu Town, the hardships along the way were self-evident. By the time they returned to Guo village, it was already pitch dark. Zhang Cai had initially thought of passing through the small bamboo forest next to the village to avoid attracting attention, but considering the darkness, it was unnecessary.

Guo Village in the darkness looked no different from before. There were few people on the village paths, and those who passed by didn’t pay much attention to them. This eased Zhang Cai’s worries about being seen in such a disheveled state. It wasn’t until they reached the fence gate of their own courtyard and saw the silhouette of his wife under the lamp that Zhang Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As the group pushed open the fence gate and entered the house one by one, the sight that greeted Guo Sufei, who had risen to greet them upon hearing the door, shocked her. She hurried forward to support Zhang Cai, anxiously asking: “Husband, what happened?”

Helping Zhang Cai to sit on a chair, she quickly went to check on the children. “My child, is everything alright?”

Finally, she noticed that there were two unfamiliar girls, but she didn’t dare ask, her puzzled gaze turning to Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai smiled bitterly and said: “Dear, it’s nothing serious. It’s hard to explain briefly. This girl is called Liu Qian, and the other one is Liu Yueyue. They’re from Baligou. You go with Xiaohua and take Xiaolong to Old Chen’s to check his arm. We’ll talk later. Oh, and let Xiaolong and Xiaohua wash their faces clean first. Just say they fell from a tree.”

Guo Sufei, still puzzled, quickly brought hot water from outside, had the two brothers wash up, and was about to fetch water for Zhang Cai and the others when Zhang Cai stopped her, urging her to tend to the children’s injuries first. Liu Qian also wanted to follow but was stopped by Zhang Cai.

Old Chen was the village’s old veterinarian, having lived in Guo Village for his entire life, his medical skills were quite good. Besides treating livestock, many people with headaches or fevers also sought his help. At the moment, Old Chen was in his small house, having his wife pour him a pot of wine. As he began to pour himself a drink, he heard someone urgently banging on his door, loudly calling for him. He figured someone in the village must be sick again, so he reluctantly set down his wine jug and got up to open the door.

Seeing Guo Sufei and her two children, he smiled and said: “Great little sister, knocking on my door so late, did the little ones eat too much and get an upset stomach?”

Guo Sufei carefully supported Zhang Xiaolong into the house and awkwardly explained: “Uncle, tonight Xiaolong and his friends were playing by the east slope. Xiaolong accidentally fell from a tree and broke his arm. We just got back, so I hurried over here. Sorry for disturbing your rest.”

As soon as Old Chen heard that Zhang Xiaolong’s arm was broken, his expression immediately changed, and said: “What are you saying, little sister? For such a serious matter concerning a child, I must get up no matter how late it is. Quickly come inside and let me take a look.” With that, Old Chen led them to a clean room specifically for patients. At this moment, his wife also came in. Old Chen instructed her to light the oil lamps and then had Zhang Xiaolong remove the sleeve from his injured arm. He carefully examined it, feeling around and asking Zhang Xiaolong about how it felt. Then, visibly relieved, he said to Guo Sufei: “Don’t worry, little sister. It’s nothing serious, just a fracture. I’ve dealt with worse injuries on cows and horses. Xiaolong’s injury is nothing compared to those. I’ll take care of him.”

Old Chen’s wife couldn’t help but worry and said: “Old man, you just drank wine. Are you sure it’s okay?”

Old Chen patted his chest and said: “I’ve been practicing medicine for most of my life. What’s a little wine to me? Besides, I haven’t even started drinking yet. If you don’t believe me, go take a look at my wine jug.”

In fact, Guo Sufei had already smelled the scent of alcohol on Old Chen’s body. However, there was only one doctor in the village, so they had to rely on him. When she heard him say they could look at the wine jug, she knew he hadn’t drunk much, so she felt relieved. Old Chen brought over some neatly cut wooden pieces and took out a porcelain jar from the cupboard. Upon opening the seal, a pungent medicinal odor immediately wafted out. First, Old Chen carefully realigned the bones in Xiaolong’s arm with his hands. Then, he scooped out some ointment from the jar and evenly applied it to Xiaolong’s arm, wrapping it with white cloth and securing it with wooden boards. Throughout the process, Xiaolong gritted his teeth in pain, sweating profusely. Guo Sufei wiped his forehead with a towel, feeling sorry for him.

After finishing everything, Old Chen washed his hands and said to Guo Sufei: “Little sister, take the children back home to rest. Come back in half a month to change the dressing. Recovering from a bone injury takes a hundred days., Xiaolong won’t be able to wield a hoe for quite some time.”

Guo Sufei expressed her gratitude profusely and left behind some copper coins before taking the two children back home.