Chapter 10

Xie Ci gave a flick of the reins, and the sturdy, well-fed black horse let out a resounding neigh, leaping up from the tall grass to land directly atop the three-foot-high yellow-dirt official road. Hooves struck the ground, sending mud flying in all directions. These were but farm horses, not warhorses, and for one to execute such a graceful jump spoke volumes of Xie Ci’s horsemanship.

Once they landed on the road, they had truly broken through the encirclement. Yet despite this, there was not a trace of joy on Xie Ci’s face—his expression was one of acute anxiety, more distressed even than when his own life had hung by a thread.

Gu Wan quickly understood why. Second Sister-in-law Xie kept glancing back; seeing Xie Ci successfully rescue Gu Wan, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and managed a brief smile, but it faded as soon as it appeared, her face turning just as grave as Xie Ci’s.

Gu Wan looked closely and saw that Second Sister-in-law Xie had switched places and was now riding with her eldest nephew, Xie Mingming. The boy lay slumped across the horse’s back, and sticking out near his shoulder blade was a short dagger, the wound already staining half his back red with blood.

Two children were injured—Xie Mingming was one, and the other was little Niu Niu, only three years old, the only daughter of Third Sister-in-law Xie. Before Xie Ci had managed to rescue and mount Third Sister-in-law, mother and daughter had both been struck by the same blade.

“Hurry, find somewhere to stop the bleeding!” someone urged.

The black horse surged forward to join the Xie family, and Gu Wan finally saw the children's injuries clearly—her heart nearly stopped from fright. The Xie family rode desperately for seven or eight miles before finding a sheltered hillside, where they quickly dismounted. Xie Ci, Second Sister-in-law Xie, and Gu Wan hurried to carry the wounded children down.

Niu Niu was so small—a single slash that might have been nothing for an adult had cut to the bone on the child’s arm. Third Sister-in-law, following Second Sister-in-law's instructions, pressed her dress tightly to the wound, but blood still dripped steadily.

Fortunately, the injury was on her arm. Gu Wan immediately tore a strip from her own garment, bound it around the wound, and the bleeding slowed dramatically. Third Sister-in-law wept with relief, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Gu Wan snapped a branch from a nearby shrub and fashioned a splint to keep the child from flailing. She gently patted the tear-streaked child’s head, soothing her with soft words, then quickly gave Third Sister-in-law further instructions and told her to bind her own wound as well, before turning her attention to Xie Mingming.

The Xie family came from a military background, so Gu Wan, Xie Ci, and even Second Sister-in-law knew basic first aid and how to stop bleeding. But Xie Mingming’s wound was beyond their means.

The dagger had sunk halfway into his back, dangerously close to the chest bone on the left side—thankfully not the heart. But this was not a wound that could be simply treated; no one dared pull the blade out.

Xie Ci scooped Xie Mingming up. “We need a doctor!”

His voice trembled with urgency, and the Xie family, together with Gu Wan, scrambled onto their horses once more. The children’s injuries could not wait; they had no time to think of anything else, only to ride hard in search of a town.

But the sky was heavy and yellowish-gray, dense clouds and mist cloaking the land until it felt more like dusk than midday. Misfortunes never come singly—Gu Wan remembered this was the eve of the torrential rain that would flood the rivers and break the dikes.

Even as she thought this, a gust of wind brought a fat raindrop, splattering directly into Gu Wan’s eye.

“Damn it! These two kids can’t get wet!”

Heaven itself seemed intent on claiming lives. But luckily, when Second Sister-in-law Xie tossed a long rope to Xie Ci, she’d also grabbed the oilcloth that the wardens used for shelter, slinging it over her saddle.

She quickly divided the oilcloth into several smaller pieces. “Quick, cover yourselves!”

Xie Ci wrapped Xie Mingming from head to toe, while Niu Niu was bundled up with only her little face peeking out.

Gu Wan spun her horse around to lead the way, heading straight for the very town they had passed. The exile procession had been on foot all morning and hadn’t traveled far. It was wiser to return somewhere familiar than to gamble on the unknown—Gu Wan remembered there was a clinic just off the main street, not far from their former inn.

After a mad twenty-mile gallop, they reached the town, dismounted, and by then the rain was pounding down, a deluge as if the heavens had burst. The streets were deserted, the eaves too narrow for shelter, doors and windows locked, even the shops closed early. Only a couple of inns had half a door ajar, with dim yellow light glowing faintly through the rain.

Gu Wan took Niu Niu in her arms, helping Third Sister-in-law and the others down, and upon touching their foreheads, realized both Third Sister-in-law and Madam Xun were burning with fever—yet these gentle women had not uttered a word of complaint the whole way.

Second Sister-in-law Xie immediately took charge, supporting one with each arm. “You and Fourth Brother just carry Mingming and Niu Niu!”

The rain was deafening; she had to shout to be heard.

Right now, the wounded children were the priority. Gu Wan nodded, letting go and entrusting the adults to Second Sister-in-law.

They dashed through the rain, Xie Ci and Gu Wan each carrying one child, running as fast as they could. Second Sister-in-law helped the two feverish women behind, with Xie Rou and five-year-old Xie Mingyu trailing after, clutching their oilcloths, stumbling but silent, even when they fell, scrambling to their feet to keep up.

Soon they reached the clinic. The middle-aged doctor with his goatee was just bolting the last door, while his wife picked her teeth behind the counter. Both were startled by the sudden storm of desperate visitors.

“Doctor, doctor! Please save them—they’ve been wounded for half an hour!” Xie Ci quickly laid Xie Mingming face down on the inner bamboo bed, pulling off the oilcloth, while Gu Wan dragged the doctor over.

Their urgency left no room for pretense—they were still in exile garb, gray prison clothes, muddy and ragged, with Xie Ci and Gu Wan looking more like beggars than anything else, soaked to the bone, weapons in hand.

Xie Ci said, “Save them, and we’ll pay you as much silver as you want. We’ll leave right away, you won’t be implicated!”

The doctor and his wife trembled violently, but hurried to boil water and prepare medicine.

Second Sister-in-law Xie rushed in with the children, hastily shutting the doors behind.

Five oil lamps were lit; everyone waited anxiously. Gu Wan, sharp-eyed, noticed just as the doctor was about to extract the dagger that he hadn’t washed his hands in the medicinal water his wife had brought—a water scented with honeysuckle and phellodendron, clearly meant for cleaning wounds and hands, yet the doctor and his wife hadn’t communicated at all.

This man had ill intent—Xie Mingming’s wound was grave enough, and now Gu Wan confronted him head-on.

“Stop!” Gu Wan seized the doctor’s arm. “Why didn’t you wash your hands?”

She knew too well the dangers of infection. That bowl of scalding medicinal water was for sterilization, and the doctor’s omission was deliberate.

The goateed doctor paled. Xie Ci’s eyes blazed with fury. “Are you looking for death?!”

No one trusted this man to treat Xie Mingming now.

Xie Ci’s glance caught the thick dust on the medicine cabinets and counter. He drew his sword and pressed it to the doctor’s throat. “There’s another clinic in this town—where is it?!”

“How long has it been since anyone came here?” Second Sister-in-law added, noting the layers of dust.

A yellow puddle quickly spread at the doctor’s feet; the couple confessed at once. The three of them tied the pair up, and Second Sister-in-law shouted, “You go ahead—I’ll handle things here! Leave Niu Niu with me, too.”

Xie Ci and Gu Wan, one carrying the boy and the other holding an oilcloth for cover, rushed out into the downpour, following the side street and running all the way to the other end of town.

Gu Wan pounded on the door. “Constables! We suspect you’re harboring horse thieves—open up!”

The startled residents hurried to unlock the door, only to find two drenched, ragged young people clutching a blood-soaked boy in exile garb.

Xie Ci gritted his teeth, ready to draw his sword if there was trouble. His eldest brother had died at just twenty-eight, always stationed at the border, leaving only this one son, Xie Mingming.

Fortunately, this time they met good people.

The older doctor, more experienced and kind-hearted, sighed but immediately welcomed them in. “Quick, lay him on the long bed!”

He instructed his wife and daughter to prepare things, then carefully cut open Xie Mingming’s blood-soaked shirt, inspecting the wound with a grave expression. “Once the dagger is removed, the bleeding may be unstoppable. Even if we staunch it, such wounds are prone to infection. I can only promise a slim chance of saving him.”

It was a perilous injury, and everyone present knew it.

Gu Wan asked for details; the old doctor intended to use his unique fire-steel method—extracting the dagger and instantly cauterizing the wound with a red-hot blade to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. Here in the rugged north, frequent travelers and bandit attacks made such injuries common, and the doctor had developed his own technique. He explained it carefully, assuring them that in his experience, this method gave the best chance of survival.

Gu Wan understood—it was simply cauterization and sterilization. She’d considered operating herself, but forensic medicine and surgery were vastly different, and she lacked the necessary tools. The old doctor had a tray of well-forged knives under his cabinet, proof of his skill and dedication.

She decided to let him do it. The boy couldn’t wait any longer.

Xie Mingming was in terrible shape—after days of hardship, the twelve-year-old was thin as a reed, his face deathly pale with a cyanotic tinge, yet he still forced his eyes open.

His mother sobbed beside him. He squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll be fine…”

He turned to look for Xie Ci, who stood by, drenched and red-eyed with worry. The boy struggled to reach out, and Xie Ci took his hand. In a weak, small voice, the boy said, “Uncle, it’s not your fault…”

You’ve already done everything you could. Even if Father and Grandfather were here, they wouldn’t blame you. Even if I die, don’t blame yourself.

The boy felt a coldness in his chest, shivering violently, but forced himself to finish speaking. His only regret was being too young, too small to help his mother or his uncle save the family.

He pleaded, “Uncle, please—look after my mother for me…”

He feared nothing but that, if he died, his mother wouldn’t survive either.

Tears streamed down Xie Ci’s face, but he steeled himself, gripping the boy’s hand. “I promise—I’ll take care of your mother as long as I have breath in me!”

Second Sister-in-law, along with the feverish Madam Xun and Third Sister-in-law—who had even let go of her child for the first time—could only weep. “Don’t worry, child, we’re family! No one will be left behind!”

“You must hold on—take care of your mother yourself, all right?”

“Yes… yes…”

Gu Wan’s heart ached at the scene, and the doctor’s wife and daughter secretly wiped their eyes.

But there was no time for sentiment—the old doctor had chosen the right blade, cleaned it thoroughly, and heated it until it glowed.

It was time.

With a swift pull, the dagger was wrenched free. Xie Mingming grunted in pain, blood spurting, but the doctor immediately pressed in the red-hot blade.

Everyone held their breath. Gu Wan, assessing the blood loss, exhaled in relief; the main vessels hadn’t been cut—a blessing amid misfortune.

Even the doctor’s face brightened, and he held up two fingers: the boy’s chances had just doubled.

The cauterization complete, Xie Mingming clenched his fists and endured. When the doctor removed the blade and dressed the wound, the boy weakly murmured, “I—I’m all right… Don’t worry…” before losing consciousness.

The doctor had done all he could. The rest was up to fate.

At last, fortune favored the Xie family. After two sleepless days, Xie Mingming’s fever broke—he had survived.

They had moved to the doctor’s modest house at the end of a narrow lane. When the doctor announced the good news, the tension that had gripped everyone’s hearts finally eased; tears of joy fell, and Eldest Sister-in-law collapsed in relief, weeping, only to be lifted and coaxed into the next room.

Laughter, sobs, and Xie Mingming’s frail voice filled the air. Gu Wan smiled too, brushing her hair from her face as she stepped outside.

At last, the storm had passed.

Though the rain still poured, as if the sky itself had been pierced, the crisis was over. They hadn’t lost a brave, strong child, and for that, Gu Wan could not help but feel elated.

Finally, she could turn her mind to other matters.

The house was small but crowded. Gu Wan, uninjured, chose not to take up a bed. After two days’ rest, her fatigue had lifted, and the blisters on her feet had healed.

She sat on the stone steps, blew away the dust, kicked off her battered boots and socks, and let her white feet stretch out under the eaves, enjoying the cool rain. It felt wonderful.

Leaning against the column, she could just see, through the window, Xie Ci inside with Xie Mingming, the young man’s face lit with joy as he tucked in his nephew, the two talking softly.

Chin in hand, Gu Wan sighed.

She had never expected it—she was inside a book.