“Cough… cough, cough…”
With every cough, Lin Xi felt as if her internal organs were being seared by fire. The wound on her left leg was so deep she didn’t even dare to look at it; the fresh blood had already stained the grass beneath her into a shocking patch of dark crimson.
She knew that this injury was far more severe than the time she was kicked in the back of the head by the rabbit. Her internal organs might be damaged, and her femoral artery could very well be ruptured. Relying solely on common herbs like purple-flower wild ginger wouldn’t be enough to stop this bleeding.
If this continued, she would slip into hemorrhagic shock and die long before the bandits ever caught up to her.
What should I do?
Her brain was beginning to grow foggy from the intense pain and blood loss, yet her survival instinct continued to scream frantically.
Marshaling her last shred of strength, she cast out her mental energy once more like a tattered net.
『Save me…』
『I need help… is anyone there… someone who can treat wounds…』
Her consciousness flickered in and out, so weak it felt as though it might snap at any moment.
This time, the surrounding mountains and forests were deathly silent. No animals answered her. Perhaps the distance was too great, or perhaps her mental strength had dwindled to the point where it could no longer be perceived.
Despair, like freezing seawater, slowly began to submerge her mouth and nose.
Was she really going to die here so miserably—before her great revenge was exacted, before her journey to find her father had even begun?
Just as her consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness, a warm wave of intent, carrying a thick sense of kindness, suddenly drifted over from a direction she had never sensed before.
『…Human… tiny… hurt… pitiful…』
That intent didn’t come from a wild beast, but from… a dog!
Furthermore, there wasn’t a hint of wildness or aggression in this message; instead, it was filled with the specific docility and closeness that comes from being long-domesticated by humans.
There are people!
There’s a household nearby!
This discovery was like a shot of adrenaline slammed straight into Lin Xi’s heart!
She snapped her eyes open and looked toward the source of that intent. Deep within the thick forest, she could just barely make out a faint, flickering glimmer of light—as if shining through a window!
It was a hunter!
Only hunters who spent their lives in the deep mountains would build a log cabin in a place like this.
A fierce desire to live instantly erupted in Lin Xi’s eyes. This was her last chance! She had to seize it!
She didn’t know if the people in that house were good or evil, but she no longer had a choice. Rather than waiting to die here, she would take the gamble!
“Huzi… help me…” she whispered weakly to the frantic cat beside her.
Huzi seemed to understand. He immediately pressed his body against Lin Xi’s back, providing her with a steady support.
Gritting her teeth, Lin Xi used her uninjured right leg and both arms to prop up her weight. Bit by bit, she crawled across the ground toward the direction of that light.
With every inch she moved, a heart-wrenching pain shot from the wound on her left leg. She left behind a long, ghastly trail of blood on the grass.
The distance had seemed short, yet it felt as though she had been crawling for a century.
By the time she finally reached the small log cabin, she was utterly exhausted. Mustering her last shred of strength, she raised her hand and knocked—faintly, weakly—three times on the wooden door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Then, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.
……
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Xi slowly woke up amidst a sensation of warmth and a faint scent of herbal medicine.
She opened her eyes gradually and found herself lying on a warm, soft… bed?
Though the bed was simple—constructed from wooden planks—it was layered with thick hay that smelled of sunshine and an old but clean animal pelt. Her body was also covered with a patched, vintage cotton quilt.
She moved slightly and realized that her injured left leg had already been treated. The wound had been cleaned and smeared with a thick, dark herbal salve, then carefully wrapped in clean linen. While it still throbbed, the terrifying sensation of uncontrollable bleeding was gone.
She had been saved.
Turning her head, she surveyed the room.
It was a very modest log cabin with walls built from thick timber. Bows, arrows, animal pelts, dried mushrooms, and medicinal herbs hung in the corners. In the center of the room, a fire blazed brightly in a hearth. A small iron pot hung over it, bubbling away as it simmered something that released a rich, savory aroma of meat.
Huzi was crouched by the hearth, lapping up meat broth from a wooden bowl. His injuries had also been simply treated with herbs.
A tall middle-aged man with broad shoulders sat with his back to her by the hearth, poking at the fire with a wooden stick. He wore coarse cloth clothes covered in patches, though they were very clean.
“You’re awake?”
The man seemed to hear her movement and turned his head.
He appeared to be in his forties, with a square jaw and dark, weathered skin—the marks of years spent exposed to the wind and sun. His gaze was calm, like a mountain lake; though his face lacked expression, he wasn’t intimidating.
Lin Xi’s heart tightened, and she instinctively tried to sit up.
“Don’t move,” the man said in a deep voice. “Your injury is severe, and you’ve lost a lot of blood, If the gash on your leg had been any deeper, the tendon would have snapped. I’ve already applied the best gold-core ointment for you. Don’t move around too much these next few days; just rest and recover.”
His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried a convincing strength that inspired trust.
Lin Xi looked at him, her lips trembling as she tried to say thank you, but her throat was so dry she couldn’t make a sound.
The man seemed to notice her predicament. He stood up, ladled a bowl of steaming hot meat soup from the pot, walked over to the bedside, and handed it to her.
“Drink up. It’s wild chicken soup—it’ll help replenish your blood.”
Lin Xi struggled to take it herself, but the man, brookly no argument, helped her up to lean against the headboard. He picked up a spoon and began to feed her personally, one mouthful at a time.
His movements were clumsy, even a bit rough; several times, the scalding soup spilled out, making Lin Xi flinch from the heat. Despite this, he fed her with extraordinary patience.
As the bowl of hot soup hit her stomach, Lin Xi felt a warm current instantly spread through her entire body. Finally, a flicker of strength returned to her limbs.
“Thank you… Uncle,” she whispered in a scratchy voice.
The man’s hand paused for a moment. He glanced at Lin Xi but said nothing, silently ladling another spoonful of soup and bringing it to her lips.
“How did a little girl like you end up all alone deep in these mountains? And with such heavy injuries?” Once she finished the soup, the man finally spoke. “Where is your family? Did you get separated from them?”
Lin Xi’s heart suddenly constricted.
Family? She had no family.
She didn’t know how to answer. Should she say she ran away? That she was sold by her family? Would this stranger believe her? Would he think she was just a bad child full of lies? Or worse… would he send her back to the village?
She chose silence. She lowered her head, her long eyelashes masking the fear and hatred in her eyes.
The man looked at her—at her resemblance to a startled little animal, at her tattered and clearly ill-fitting clothes, and at the overlapping marks of new and old wounds. A flash of realization and a trace of indiscernible pity flickered in his calm eyes.
He didn’t press her further.
He sighed and said, “If you don’t want to say, then don’t. Just focus on recovering here. Once you’re better, I’ll find a way to take you wherever you want to go.”
With that, he turned back to organizing his animal pelts and herbs, leaving her in peace.
Lying in bed and watching this taciturn man—quiet yet with a heart as kind as a mountain—Lin Xi was filled with gratitude. She knew that once again, she had gambled and won.
Over the next few days, Lin Xi lived the most stable and peaceful days of her two lifetimes in that small wooden cabin.
The hunter uncle went up the mountain every day to hunt, and upon his return, he would boil the best meat into soup for her. He didn’t speak much, but he was meticulous as it happened. He would use warm water to help clean her, change the medicine on her wounds every day, and even used a piece of soft deerskin to make small sleeping mats for her and Huzi.
Under his meticulous care, combined with the spiritual spring water Lin Xi secretly drank (which she “fetched” from the cave using her mind while the hunter was away), her injuries healed at an astonishing speed.
In just five or six days, the wound on her leg had already scabbed over. Her internal injuries were mostly healed as well, and she was already able to get on the ground and walk around slowly.
That day, the hunter uncle headed up the mountain again. Lin Xi stayed in the clearing in front of the house, leaning against the wall as she practiced walking.
The old yellow dog the hunter kept to guard the house lay docilely at her feet, lazily soaking up the sun. Over the past few days, Lin Xi had used her “Beast Taming” ability to become good friends with this equally taciturn old dog.
Suddenly, as if it had discovered something, the old dog leaped up. It didn’t bark; instead, it ran to a patch of ground at the corner of the house and began digging excitedly and rapidly with its front paws.
“Dazhuang, what are you doing?” Lin Xi asked curiously.
She could sense the excited thoughts Dazhuang was projecting—a “treasure-finding” sort of pride, as if he were offering her a gift.
Soon, a small cloth bundle wrapped tightly in oilcloth was unearthed by Dazhuang. He picked up the bundle in his mouth, ran to Lin Xi, and wagged his tail, dropping the prize at her feet as if claiming credit.
Puzzled, Lin Xi picked up the bundle. It was heavy and felt hard inside.
She unwrapped the outer layer of somewhat decayed oilcloth and opened the equally aged cloth bag.
Clink!
Several silver-white objects, shimmering with an enchanting luster in the sunlight, rolled out of the bag and hit the ground with a crisp, pleasant sound.
Lin Xi’s eyes instantly went wide!
Those… those were…
Silver dollars! A total of five bright, shiny “Yuan Datou” coins!
In an era where people fought tooth and nail over a few cents or a few pounds of grain coupons, these five silver dollars were undoubtedly a massive fortune dropped from the heavens—enough to change one’s destiny!
She stared at the silver dollars on the ground, then looked at Dazhuang wagging his tail at her. For a moment, she froze in place, not knowing whether to be shocked or overjoyed.
Was this… compensation from the Heavens for all the suffering she had endured?
But just as she leaned over to pick up the silver dollars, a tall silhouette suddenly appeared at the doorway of the wooden hut, blocking out all the light.
The hunter uncle was back.
He looked at the silver dollars on the ground, then at the shocked Lin Xi. For the first time, a look of extreme complexity appeared on that usually calm and expressionless face.