Yan Mu wiped off her tears, draped outer clothing over her body, and hurried out.
In this era, there were no electric lights, and because most of the villagers were farmers, they were not willing to light up candles at night. So when it was nighttime, it would be frighteningly dark.
This body was in poor condition and seemed to somewhat have night blindness. Yan Mu took a withered bamboo pole as a walking stick and dragged her injured leg, limping as she prepared to look for Yu Yuan.
The air was filled with faint water vapour, a few dark clouds drifted in to cover the moon, and the sky was awfully gloomy.
It seems like it’s about to rain. Yu Yuan’s wounds can’t touch water, so I’ll have to find him quickly.
Yan Mu carefully walked out of the courtyard. After losing the illumination of the candle flame, her vision suddenly became dark.
“Yu, Yu Yuan?” Yan Mu softly called out.
Silence surrounded her with only the crying hum of frogs and insects ceaselessly repeating[1].
“Yu Yuan, are you around?” Yan Mu squinted her eyes, trying to find a trace of Yu Yuan, but she still couldn’t see anything.
The infinite darkness seemed to engulf her. Yan Mu swallowed, and when she started to speak again, her voice was already a little tearful.
“It’s going to rain soon. If there’s anything you’re upset about, can we talk tomorrow? Come back first to take shelter from the rain,” Yan Mu earnestly said.
Her only reply was the sound of frogs and insects. Yan Mu sighed in disappointment and hung her head down. Her bright apricot eyes turned dull, and the disappointment in them was almost overflowing.
Yu Yuan leaned against the fence, coldly watched Yan Mu wander around like a headless chicken[2].
The air grew more and more oppressive. In the grey sky, a dazzling flash of light ripped the sky in half, followed by the deafening sound of thunder.
He saw the young girl’s entire body stiffen at the sound, and she looked even more frantic.
She stumbled and almost fell as she dragged her injured leg, unable to see the road, not knowing where she was stepping. The bamboo pole she had been using to find her way had also fallen from her hand and rolled on the ground because of the sudden surprise.
“Yu, Yu Yuan……” the young girl was still shouting his name, but her movements were completely disorganised.
Yu Yuan hugged his arms, coldly watching Yan Mu walk farther and farther away, frantically running in confusion until she bumped straight into the wall.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
“I’m here.” Seeing that Yan Mu was about to crash into the fence, Yu Yuan clenched his hands and finally couldn’t help but speak out.
Yu Yuan uncomfortably looked away. He felt guilty for just standing by when he clearly knew that Yan Mu couldn’t see him.
Yan Mu had night blindness and couldn’t see, so she could only rely on her ears to distinguish Yu Yuan’s direction. She dragged her injured leg and limped forward while fumbling around.
Yu Yuan didn’t reach out his hand to help her, but silently stood closer to her.
Lightning flashed across the sky again. This time, with the illumination from the lightning, Yan Mu took the opportunity to finally find Yu Yuan who was standing beside her. She reached out her hand and quietly grabbed his sleeve.
Yu Yuan resisted his subconscious impulse to shake her off. He opened the door with a straight face, allowing the light inside the courtyard to shine out.
He felt certain that Yan Mu would be very angry, and he was also prepared for her to question him on why he didn’t speak up earlier. Perhaps like everyone else, she’d be infuriated, look at him with disgust and disdain, think he was a shameful b*stard child, and never have anything to do with him again.
He stood stiffly in place, like a prisoner awaiting execution. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Yan Mu, afraid to see the disgust in her eyes.
He waited for a long time, but instead of hearing Yan Mu’s accusing voice, he received a pair of small hands.
His eyes widened and he abruptly raised his head. The young girl’s eyes were clear and bright. Her gaze towards him was the same as before, and didn’t contain the emotions that Yu Yuan had imagined.
“Your wounds are getting inflamed. You must remember to apply this ointment,” Yan Mu said with a soft-spoken voice, then shoved that ointment into Yu Yuan’s hand.
Yu Yuan took the ointment and looked at Yan Mu dumbfoundedly. He was just about to ask her why she wasn’t angry when he saw her smiling sweetly at him. She pulled his sleeve and walked into the courtyard.
“It’s about to rain, hurry up.” Yan Mu seemed so happy that even her footsteps had become lighter, “Come in and eat rabbit meat~”
Seeing the smile on Yan Mu’s face, Yu Yuan silently held back the question he was about to ask.
As soon as they stepped inside the warm house, thunder sounded outside like a rockslide, the wind howled, and bean-sized drops of rain drummed against the eaves.
A wall had separated two different worlds. Yu Yuan lowered his eyes.
“Let me apply the medicine for you.” Yan Mu took off her outer coat and put her hand out in front of Yu Yuan, gesturing for him to place his hand on hers.
Yu Yuan raised his eyes and looked at Yan Mu with unknown meaning.
Although Yu Yuan didn’t say anything, Yan Mu could clearly read from his eyes—— “I don’t want to.”
“If you don’t want me to apply medicine for you, do it yourself then.” Yan Mu angrily huffed and moved a stool for Yu Yuan, standing beside him like she was his mother.
Yu Yuan looked at Yan Mu and she stood still for a long time. It was his first time standing face to face with her in such a straightforward manner.
Yu Yuan’s eyes were dark and deep like an ocean trench that had never seen the light of day There was a sense of mystery in the darkness, and a bottomless depth that almost sucked one’s soul away.
Yan Mu was critically hit[3] by Yu Yuan’s beautiful face, and even her legs had gone soft, so how could she continue to be upset with him?
She couldn’t understand why Yu Yuan didn’t want to apply the medicine. However, she knew she couldn’t let him, with his reckless temper, have his way, for both their sakes. Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
So she determinedly reached out to pull Yu Yuan’s hand to apply medicine for him, but she saw him retract his hand as if he was electrocuted.
“…… I’ll do it myself.” Yu Yuan gave in.
“Then I…… I’ll turn around first?” Yu Yuan’s body was covered with wounds, so he would need to take off his upper garment to apply the medicine.
“You don’t need to. I won’t apply it on my body.” Yu Yuan lowered his head and carefully squeezed out a soybean-sized glob of ointment before gently applying it to the wound on his palm.
“That won’t do! You have to apply on at least the upper half of your body today.” Yan Mu put her hands on her hips, trying hard to look fierce. Yu Yuan was punished on his knees every time, so his back was the most severely beaten place. She remembered he had several severe wounds on his back, and they would definitely become inflamed if he didn’t properly apply medicine.
“You want to see me undress that badly?” Yu Yuan suddenly asked.
“You, what are you talking about!” Yan Mu flushed red at Yu Yuan’s questioning and immediately exploded. However, with her past of being caught ‘peeping“, she couldn’t confidently refute his words, she could only pretend to be strong[4].
“Last time, when you fainted in the rain, I saw that the wounds on your back were very serious,” Yan Mu said, “The village doctor who treats me said that there were several people who ended up dying of high fever because they had left their wounds unattended.” There were no antibiotics in ancient times, but the inflammation still had to be suppressed.
Seeing Yu Yuan considering her words, Yan Mu struck while the iron was hot[5], “Why don’t I let my father apply the medicine for you?”
Yu Yuan raised his head and looked at Yan Mu’s expectant eyes, feeling like he had no way to refuse. He pursed his lips and eventually nodded.
He saw Yan Mu cheer as she dragged her injured leg, limping towards the kitchen to find her father.
For the first time in his life, there was someone who was concerned about his injuries, worrying that he would die of a high fever from infected wounds. But Yu Yuan didn’t feel happy. Instead, he was still a little melancholy.
He lowered his head once again, looking at his shadow in a daze.
Outside the window, the wind and rain were still going strong. Tree shadows were swaying, and the rain seemed to be pouring down even harder. A cool breeze came through the window, the candle flame flickered, and even his shadow had become sinister and terrifying.
What’s the difference between being dead or alive for a man like me? A few more days of living is just a few more days of suffering.
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The author has something to say:
This world was too malicious towards Yu Yuan, and there wasn’t anyone or anything that he was reluctant to leave behind, so he has somewhat self-destructive tendencies.
Translator’s Note: Hello readers, just wanted to update you guys that Dog Egg Zhang’s name has been changed back to Zhang Goudan (and yes Goudan means dog egg). Some of you might think Dog Egg sounds weird so I just change it back. Also, you might be curious why Hunter Zhang would name his son Goudan(Dog Egg), it’s related to older days custom or tradition. If you are still confused, it will be further explained in the future chapters so stay tuned keke! ( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧
[1] 此起彼伏 (cǐqǐ-bǐfú) – direct translation: up here, down there (it’s an idiom) -> to rise and fall in succession/ no sooner one subsides, the next arises/ occurring again and again (of applause, fires, waves, protests, conflicts, uprisings etc)
[2] 无头苍蝇 (wútóucāngying or méitóucāngying) – ‘headless fly’ a metaphor for someone who is rushing around frantically
[3] critical hit
[4] 外强中干 (wàiqiáng-zhōnggān) – outwardly strong but inwardly weak/ strong in appearance but actually weak
[5] Make use of an opportunity immediately