Wei Nanxun blurted out a word, immediately wanting to take it back. She was only passing by and hadn’t reached the point of saving someone.
“No, it’s not, you…”
But before she could finish explaining, the man fainted again, this time his head falling directly into her palm, giving her no time to react.
Wei Nanxun: …
She originally wanted to collect something useful from him, but now, she had no choice but to save him.
Perhaps knowing she wasn’t alone, even with a person lying there unable to move, her courage and confidence grew a bit.
Wei Nanxun picked up a thick broken branch as a crutch. She looked around and found that this was a flat, low-lying area. It seemed her luck wasn’t too bad; her chaotic running and rolling yesterday had brought her close to the foot of the mountain.
Since they were no longer on the mountain, it was no wonder they had lain there all night without being carried off and eaten by wild animals. It was a stroke of luck within misfortune.
Calculating the time, she had only been unconscious for one night. Having been missing for so long, she wondered if Pei Yuyan’s people had left. If they had, Zhixia and the others would definitely be worried and looking for her. She had to find a way to get someone to the temple to notify them.
Wei Nanxun explored in all four directions and finally found a small path leading out. She returned to drag the man on the ground.
But whether it was from not eating and being exhausted, or the man was truly too heavy, she tried with all her strength several times, but he didn’t budge.
Although this man was tall, his pale face and long gown gave him the air of an impoverished scholar. He shouldn’t be that heavy.
Perhaps the difference between a man and a woman was too great. Wei Nanxun tried two more times but still couldn’t move him. She had to leave him aside for now, planning to find the road first and then come back to save him.
But after taking a few steps, she felt a little unbearable. After thinking about it, she turned back and squatted beside the man.
Although he was unconscious and couldn’t hear anything, she solemnly said, “I’m not abandoning you. I really can’t move you. Wait here, and I’ll come back to save you when I find my family.”
“You… you wait for me, I’ll be back.”
After saying that, she glanced at him before hobbling forward along the path with her crutch, without looking back.
Of course, she wouldn’t notice that the sleeping man’s fingers twitched slightly at his side the moment she left.
After an unknown amount of time, a rustling sound grew closer. It was still the petite figure, but this time, she was pushing a crude wooden cart in a wobbly manner.
With her movement, flocks of birds were startled into flight.
Wei Nanxun had indeed left, but she walked far without seeing anyone. Finally, she discovered a shallow stream. Remembering what Zhixia had said, where there is water, there will be farmland and people.
She continued to walk along the stream and actually found a thatched hut. Before she could be happy for too long, she realized that no one lived in the hut. It looked more like a place for hunters to rest when they went into the mountains.
Inside was a wooden bed filled with straw and a tattered raincoat. She was really too tired. She didn’t need to look to know there must be blisters on the soles of her feet, and the wounds on her body were throbbing.
She had to rest here and planned to drink some water and find some fruit to fill her stomach.
However, she found the wooden cart behind the hut before she found any fruit. After thinking it over, she decided to go back and rescue the man first.
If she waited until she found someone to come back and find him, not to mention whether Lu Hai could find him, the man would starve to death.
Since she had said she would save him, she couldn’t go back on her word. Considering his appearance had also saved her, she would take it as repaying a debt and accumulating merit for herself.
Wei Nanxun drank some water, rested for a while, simply cleaned the wounds on her feet, and then pushed the wooden cart back.
The man was still lying there motionless as she had left him, his face pale and bloodless. If he didn’t have any breath left, he would look no different from a dead man.
He had many injuries, not just from falls but also looked like knife wounds.
When he woke up, she would definitely ask him how a poor scholar had gotten himself into this state.
Wei Nanxun stopped the wooden cart and came forward to drag the man. Having drunk water and rested, she had much more strength. She finally managed to drag the man onto the cart, pulling and tugging.
On the way, she had planned that if she still couldn’t move him, she would simply put a straw mat under him, tie him to the cart with a rope, and drag him along. As for whether it hurt, it wasn’t something she could consider.
Unexpectedly, it was much smoother than she had imagined.
Wei Nanxun was very unskilled at maneuvering the wooden cart, and it was crooked all the way. Fortunately, it had rained yesterday, and the ground was muddy, leaving deep ruts in the ground.
On the way back, there was one more person on the car, which made the overall balance much better, and it was not as easy to tilt as before.
But the weight of the man could not be changed. Even with the help of the wooden cart, every step she took was still very difficult.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, the weather was extremely humid and hot. The skin on her palms was broken, and blood mixed with sweat dripped down. She stopped and rested countless times, and wanted to give up many times.
But looking at the thatched hut that was about to arrive, she was unwilling to give up halfway. She gritted her teeth, tore a strip of cloth from her hem, tied it on her palm, and continued to push forward.
In this life, she was drugged in the palace, injured by vicious dogs outside the store, and rescued by others many times. This time, wasn’t she accidentally protected by this stranger?
She didn’t want to owe anyone a favor. She might not be able to repay the first two benefactors in this life, so she would do her best to save the one in front of her.
Sweat blurred her vision, her back was already soaked, and her lips were parched. Fortunately, she finally arrived at the thatched hut before she couldn’t hold on anymore and dragged the man into the house.
Wei Nanxun’s arms were already numb, and her legs and feet were stiff from the pain. She stood there blankly for a moment before suddenly letting go and collapsing to the ground.
The endless wilderness and thatched hut in front of her, coupled with her dirty and messy appearance, made her want to cry and laugh at the same time.
If Pei Yuyan saw her in such a mess, he might not recognize her, and he would be so frightened that he would never dare to force her again.
But did she regret running away?
She would definitely shake her head. Even if she was down and out and embarrassed now, she was free, able to do whatever she wanted, instead of being a canary locked in the deep palace courtyard waiting for her master to tease her.
The sun rose little by little. Wei Nanxun sat and rested for a while, but it was too hot to bear, so she struggled to get up, went around to the stream to simply wipe off the sweat and blood on her body, cleaned up, picked a large leaf, filled it with water, and returned to the thatched hut.
She thought she was very good at taking care of people. Pei Yuyan didn’t like having servants around when they were together, so she gradually learned how to serve people.
Even when he was sick in bed many times, she took care of him day and night.
Therefore, seeing this unconscious man, she habitually put her hand on his forehead.
Scary hot.
I don’t know how long he’s been burning, but if this continues, even if he doesn’t starve to death, he will burn his brain.
Wei Nanxun tried to feed water into his mouth, but most of it spilled out. Looking at the water droplets sliding down one by one, she felt both distressed and regretful.
But it’s not a solution to not be able to feed like this. With her closeness to Pei Yuyan, she could use her mouth to feed him, but she could never do that to a stranger.
After thinking about it, she had to squeeze her fingers into his lips and teeth, trying to take the opportunity to feed the water in.
But as soon as her finger squeezed in gently, she felt a hot and humid sensation wrapping her finger, holding it tightly…