Artificial Respiration
Mo Zhen couldn’t stop thinking about the gold. With his wits, he could definitely win it!
Gold, gold. It couldn’t be helped: he was simply too poor.
Mo Zhen’s eyes darted around as he searched for a way out, but there were high walls on both sides, not a tree in sight to help him climb, and nothing he could use as a weapon. The only thing around was a rolling pin someone had left behind. Never mind, something was better than nothing. Mo Zhen snatched it up and held it across his chest. But of the dogs and the horse, the dogs were the more vicious.
“Xiao Ruizi, let’s back away. Don’t provoke them.” If a dog bit him, he’d need a rabies shot, and who knew if they even had those here? At worst a horse could only kick him with its hooves, and an external wound was easier to treat than an internal one.
The most infuriating thing was the person in the carriage. Even if he’d been dead asleep, the jolting should have woken him by now. Could there be nobody inside at all?
“Xiao Ruizi, keep the dogs away. I’ll check whether anyone’s in the carriage. If it’s empty…” He would just lead the horse away while he was at it.
“Master, be careful. We can’t afford to treat you if you get hurt,” Xiao Ruizi reminded him, unable to stop himself from worrying. They had no money for treatment, and asking the imperial physicians would alert the emperor. Then the emperor would find out they’d climbed over the wall and sneaked out of the palace, and he would be left waiting to have his head chopped off.
Mo Zhen’s mouth twitched, and he nearly slipped. He turned and shot Xiao Ruizi a furious glare. He knew they were poor, but did the boy have to say it so loudly?
Xiao Ruizi shrank his neck into his shoulders. His master’s look just now had been so bewitching… No, so sharp.
Mo Zhen edged toward the horse. Now this was strange. The closer he got, the farther the horse backed away. It wasn’t acting infatuated with him anymore. In fact, it seemed afraid of him.
“So now you’re afraid of me? At least you have a little self-awareness. Stay right there.” Mo Zhen put extra force into those last words, and the horse’s timid, retreating hooves actually stopped.
“You’re a smart one. Looks like you understood me. Good.” Mo Zhen tossed aside the rolling pin and leapt onto the carriage. He jumped too hastily, twisted his foot, and fell straight into the carriage, dragging the curtain down with him.
It didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt at all. Mo Zhen opened his eyes and realized why. He’d landed on someone. Of course it didn’t hurt.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I think I jumped too fast. I didn’t crush you, did I?” Mo Zhen scrambled up to apologize, but the man didn’t move at all. A closer look nearly sent him tumbling out of the carriage.
The man’s lips were pale and his face was bluish. Mo Zhen listened for a heartbeat and checked his pulse. Was he dead? But he was still warm. He’d probably only been without air for a few seconds. For a military doctor, saving a life was tense and stirring every second, and he never gave up until the very last moment.
Mo Zhen didn’t hesitate. He opened the man’s mouth to check for anything blocking it, felt his throat, then loosened his clothes so they wouldn’t restrict his chest. He bent over, pursed his lips, lifted the man’s chin with one hand, and took a deep breath. Pressing his mouth to the man’s, he blew air in while pinching his nose shut. As soon as he finished, he released the man’s nose and pressed both hands against his chest. He repeated the process for more than ten minutes. Sweat dripped from Mo Zhen’s forehead, but the man still showed no response, but Mo Zhen wasn’t giving up. The man’s face was slowly regaining its color, which proved the treatment was working.
“Master, the dogs are getting impatient. Hurry up and come out!” Xiao Ruizi was close to his limit. The three dogs had taken this long to cover such a short distance, clearly just to pile psychological pressure on their prey. Everyone on the street had long since hidden far away. Reality could not have been starker: the street was so deserted now that only the two of them were left.
“What are you doing?” A cold voice suddenly rang out.
“Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!” Mo Zhen answered automatically. A second later, he froze and saw that the man had opened his eyes. “You’re awake! Thank goodness. I’ve been giving you mouth-to-mouth for more than ten minutes. I’m nearly out of oxygen myself.”
Mo Zhen smiled faintly and leaned over the man’s chest to listen to his heartbeat. So strong. It seemed he was all right now. As soon as his tense nerves let go, Mo Zhen slumped back weakly, panting as he steadied himself, and completely failed to notice the man’s eyes on him.
“Master, this is bad…” Xiao Ruizi’s voice rang out urgently. Only then did Mo Zhen remember the three huge dogs outside. He was just about to get up when his vision blurred and the man was gone. Right after, he heard the dogs’ howling outside. Within seconds, all was silent. Mo Zhen poked his head out and saw a sight so bloody it made him want to vomit.
What a brutal way to do it!