Jiang Yutong hadn’t expected Ma the Butcher to still be unwilling to give up at this point, much less have the strength to fight back. Fortunately, she was quick on her feet and dodged to the side.
This time, Jiang Yutong showed him no mercy. She kicked Ma the Butcher hard, knocking him to the ground, then dislocated his arm.
“You’re pretty tough, aren’t you? Looks like I went too easy on you just now.”
Ma the Butcher finally felt genuine fear and hurriedly begged for mercy.
“Please let me go! I won’t do it again. Please!”
Jiang Yutong patted Ma the Butcher’s face.
“Too late.”
With that, she dislocated both of his legs as well. Then she dragged him to the side of the road and tossed him down.
“You just stay here and wait. If someone comes to save you, then you’re lucky. If no one comes, you can wait to be eaten by wild animals.”
All four of Ma the Butcher’s limbs were now useless. Seeing how deserted the road was, he felt fear for the first time in his life.
Why had no one ever told him that Jiang Yutong was this terrifying?
“Please! I was wrong! Let me go! I swear I’ll never do it again!”
Jiang Yutong found him extremely annoying.
“Shut up. If you keep making noise, I’ll dislocate your jaw too.”
Ma the Butcher immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Only then was Jiang Yutong satisfied. She dusted off her hands and walked away.
Ma the Butcher could only watch helplessly as Jiang Yutong left, not daring to make a single sound.
Jiang Yutong walked for a while before turning a corner and seeing several figures up ahead.
“Hurry! They’re just ahead. If we go faster, we might still be able to save Yutong!”
It was Uncle Niu’s voice.
Leading the group were Fang Hu and Li Nanxing, each carrying whatever weapons they could find—hoes from home, woodcutting knives, and the like. Even Aunt Li had come along.
When they saw Jiang Yutong, everyone crowded around her.
“Yutong, are you all right? Where’s Ma the Butcher?”
Jiang Yutong was actually quite touched.
“I’m fine. Something suddenly came up with Ma the Butcher, so he left first.”
Everyone looked suspiciously at Uncle Niu, as if saying, Weren’t you the one who said Jiang Yutong was going to be beaten to death? She looks perfectly fine.
Uncle Niu scratched his head. He didn’t know either. The situation really had looked dangerous at the time.
Jiang Yutong led everyone back.
“Let’s go home. It’s getting late. Thank you all for coming.”
Aunt Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
“As long as you’re all right. Ma the Butcher is not someone you can afford to offend. His brother-in-law works as a constable in the county town, so he practically runs wild around all the nearby villages.”
Jiang Yutong linked arms with Aunt Wang.
“If Ma the Butcher is really that powerful, why did all of you still risk your own safety to come save me?”
“We couldn’t just stand there and watch him beat you to death.”
Jiang Yutong was truly touched.
“Thank you, everyone. Another day, I’ll go up the mountain and hunt some game, then personally bring some to each of your homes to thank you.”
Everyone waved her off politely.
“No, no. We didn’t even manage to help.”
The group chatted as they walked back toward Shangyuan Village.
After returning to Shangyuan Village, Jiang Yutong said goodbye to everyone and went home. There was still a patient at home, and she was eager to check on him.
As soon as she pushed open the courtyard gate, Banban happily ran toward her, barking.
“Woof, woof!”
Jiang Yutong said softly, “Banban, did you miss me? Are you hungry? I’ll feed you right away.”
Inside the room, Xiao Yifeng heard Jiang Yutong’s voice and breathed a sigh of relief.
He had actually been worried that she might come back with the authorities.
Jiang Yutong put her things down in the main room, then knocked on Xiao Yifeng’s door.
“Can I come in?”
“Come in.”
Jiang Yutong pushed open the door.
“How are you feeling today? Are you doing all right?”
She walked over to Xiao Yifeng, checked his temperature, and examined his wounds. Seeing that there was no blood seeping through, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“I bought some medicine for you. I’ll boil it for you later. You’ll gradually get better.”
“I also bought two bolts of fabric for you. When I have some free time, I’ll make you a couple of sets of clothes.”
Jiang Yutong chattered on and on, like a wife who had gone into town and returned home to chat with her husband about everyday things.
Xiao Yifeng said nothing. His thoughts had wandered somewhere else.
It wasn’t until he heard Jiang Yutong close the door that he came back to his senses.
Just now, he had suddenly remembered how his mother and father used to interact.
It was just like this.
His mother would chatter endlessly in front of his father, while his father would look at her with tenderness in his eyes.
Xiao Yifeng shook his head, forcing those thoughts out of his mind.
Jiang Yutong soon pushed the door open again. She had just gone to the kitchen to make something to eat. Everyone had been hungry after such a long day.
“Are you hungry? I made some noodles. Eat something first.”
Xiao Yifeng really was hungry. He had only eaten a little flatbread at noon, and it had been dry and hard to swallow. He also hadn’t dared to drink much water because he was afraid he would have to keep running to the toilet.
His legs were inconvenient to move right now, so the fewer trips to the toilet, the better.
Jiang Yutong placed Xiao Yifeng’s bowl of noodles on the table, then sat down and began eating heartily herself.
As she ate, she said, “I checked around. Everything in the county town is normal, so you can rest assured and focus on recovering.”
Xiao Yifeng hummed in response.
What he didn’t say was that while the county town appeared normal, the military camp was definitely not.
The two of them finished their noodles. It was already getting late.
Jiang Yutong boiled Xiao Yifeng’s medicine, and after finishing everything, she finally had some time to sit in the courtyard and play with Banban for a while.
Listening to Jiang Yutong’s cheerful laughter from the courtyard, the corners of Xiao Yifeng’s lips unconsciously curved upward.
As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Yutong locked the courtyard gate and returned to her room to sleep.
She slept until dawn.
Jiang Yutong stretched comfortably after waking up and lay in bed for a while before finally getting up.
Hearing her movements, Banban began barking excitedly.
Jiang Yutong let Banban out first and allowed it to run around the courtyard before getting on with her own chores.
Xiao Yifeng had slept fairly well the previous night too. His leg felt much better than before, and his body felt considerably lighter.
It seemed the medicine Jiang Yutong had prescribed was quite effective.
Xiao Yifeng grew increasingly curious about Jiang Yutong.
She was so young, yet her medical skills were remarkably good.
From the very first bark Banban gave, he knew that Jiang Yutong had gotten up. He tidied himself up a little and sat up in bed.
He knew Jiang Yutong would soon come in to check his injuries.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Jiang Yutong pushed open the door and greeted him.
“Morning. How are you feeling today?”
Jiang Yutong treated herself like a doctor. Asking about a patient’s progress every day was simply part of a doctor’s job.
“Morning.”
Xiao Yifeng’s voice was slightly hoarse after waking up.
“Much better than yesterday. The wound itches a little, but otherwise I’m fine.”
“Itching is normal when a wound is healing. I’ll boil today’s medicine for you later. Go wash up first. I’ll make breakfast.”
Xiao Yifeng’s range of movement had increased somewhat, and Jiang Yutong didn’t want to act like his mother. If he could handle something himself, he could do it himself.
Jiang Yutong prepared breakfast.
She was quite particular about breakfast too, making sure there were eggs, meat, and vegetables.
After breakfast, Jiang Yutong put the medicine into a clay pot and left it to simmer slowly.
Then she spread out the fabric she had bought the previous day and began thinking about how to make the clothes.
Suddenly, she remembered that she didn’t know Xiao Yifeng’s measurements.
She knocked on his door and entered.
“I’m going to take your measurements.”