Dragging the remaining wolf carcasses behind her, Lu Yao led the children back to the campsite she had chosen.
She wasn’t in a hurry to skin the wolves.
First, she needed to make a proper bed for the children.
The worn cloth she had spread out earlier was still there.
She set Song Ziyu down on it.
At that moment, Song Hongsheng and Song Hongli arrived, carrying Song Ziyang and the quilts.
Seeing the pile of vines Lu Yao had gathered, they were puzzled.
“Sister-in-law, what are you doing?” Song Hongsheng asked curiously.
“I’m making a hammock for the children. The ground is damp, and I’m worried they won’t be able to handle the cold and moisture.”
After giving a brief explanation, she resumed working.
Then she noticed Song Hongsheng was still carrying Song Ziyang.
Putting down her work for the moment, she took the sleeping boy into her arms and laid him on the cloth.
Next, she accepted the quilt from Song Hongli and carefully covered him.
“Do you need any help?” Song Hongsheng asked.
It was already getting late. If they didn’t get enough rest tonight, tomorrow’s journey would be even harder.
“No need, Brother Hongsheng. You’ve already helped me enough today. I’ll finish this by myself soon. You should get some rest. Don’t you still have patrol duty?”
Her refusal was polite but firm.
“All right. If you need anything, just call for me.”
With that, Song Hongsheng left.
Song Hongli, however, lingered behind.
He opened his mouth several times before finally gathering his courage.
“Sister-in-law, I know how to tan hides. If you need your wolf pelts treated, I can help. Just try to keep the skins intact when you remove them. Then you can make fur clothing for the children. Fur is the warmest thing to wear in winter.”
Lu Yao’s hands paused for a brief moment before she continued weaving the vines.
This time, however, she didn’t reject his kindness.
“Then I’ll have to thank you. Once I’ve skinned the wolves, I’ll bring the pelts to you.”
“Great! Then I’ll head back.”
Even though she hadn’t given much of a reaction, Song Hongli left happily.
After quite a bit of work, Lu Yao finally completed a large woven hammock suspended between trees.
It was big enough for all four of them to sleep on together.
Above the hammock, she casually strung several vines between branches.
Then she secretly took a piece of military tent fabric from her space and spread it across the vines.
After securing the edges to nearby tree trunks, she had created a simple shelter.
Next, she laid the quilt she had traded for across the woven hammock.
Then she quietly took out a down comforter from her space.
By now, Song Ziyu and Song Zixuan were so sleepy they could barely keep their eyes open.
Lu Yao lifted them onto the hammock and tucked them beneath the blankets.
She also placed Song Ziyang beside them.
Before covering him up, she checked his pulse and was relieved to find nothing seriously wrong.
Only then did she carefully tuck the blankets around all three children.
Ever since arriving in Songyang Village, Song Zixuan had never slept beneath such a comfortable quilt.
It carried a faint pleasant fragrance.
It was light, soft, and incredibly warm.
Already exhausted, he drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
Lu Yao then brought three wolf carcasses into her space for processing.
She didn’t want the scent of blood attracting more wolves.
After considerable effort, she finished butchering them.
The meat was stored in the kitchen.
The pelts were hung out on the balcony.
Only then did she leave the space again.
After such a long day, she rotated her stiff neck.
Removing her shoes, she carefully climbed into the hammock.
Lying down beside Song Ziyang, she adjusted Song Zixuan’s blanket one final time before finally closing her eyes.
Although the day’s activities had been intense, they were nothing compared to the training she had endured in her previous life.
The problem was that this body wasn’t nearly as strong as the one she used to have.
The accumulated exhaustion quickly caught up to her.
It wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
Aside from the patrols, the entire camp slept soundly.
Well… almost everyone.
Madam Li remained awake.
Her stomach growled with hunger.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fall asleep.
More importantly, her four sons still hadn’t returned.
A growing sense of dread settled in her heart.
Her sons might be troublemakers, but they had always been filial toward her.
Whenever they found food, they never forgot their mother.
Yet tonight they had been gone for an unusually long time.
Could something have happened?
Looking out into the pitch-black forest, Madam Li didn’t dare venture out alone.
Instead, she decided to seek help from the patrol.
Wrapping herself in her blanket, she headed toward the guards.
By coincidence, Song Hongsheng and Song Qingsong were on duty during the first watch of the night.
Approaching Song Hongsheng, Madam Li spoke in a pleading tone.
“Hongsheng, my boys still haven’t come back. Could you help this auntie look for them?”
The moment he saw her approach, Song Hongsheng felt a headache coming on.
How am I supposed to answer this?
Now that she had asked directly, he couldn’t avoid it.
“Auntie, it’s not that we don’t want to help, but we’re on patrol. We can’t abandon the safety of everyone here.”
Madam Li immediately burst into tears.
“Hongsheng! It’s so late already. Where could my four sons have gone?
“We’re deep in the mountains. What if something happened to them?
“This old woman begs you—please go look for them.
“My eyesight is poor. I can’t see in the dark.
“You young people have good eyes. Please help me!”
Seeing her gray hair and remembering that her sons would never return, Song Hongsheng couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy.
Finally, he nodded.
“All right, Auntie. Go back and wait. I’ll look around for them.
“But I can’t guarantee I’ll find anything.”
“Good, good! As long as you’re willing. I’ll wait for good news.”
Satisfied, Madam Li returned to her bedding.
After she left, Song Qingsong walked over.
“Brother Hongsheng, the men are dead. Where exactly are we supposed to look?”
Song Hongsheng glanced toward Lu Yao’s camp and sighed.
“I know.
“But if I didn’t agree, would she have left?
“We’ll just walk around for a while and come back.
“Then we’ll say we couldn’t find them.
“She may be troublesome, but she’s still a pitiful old woman.
“If we tell her right now that all four sons are gone, do you think she’d survive the shock?”
Song Qingsong knew it wasn’t a long-term solution.
Still, it was enough to deal with the immediate problem.
Meanwhile, another crisis was unfolding in Dayang Village.
Madam Yang had carefully followed Lu Yao’s instructions and monitored Goudan’s condition.
Before midnight even arrived, the boy’s body became scorching hot.
Terrified, she immediately shook her husband awake.
“Child’s father! Wake up!
“Goudan has a fever!”
Yang Zhiwei woke with an irritated expression.
But once he understood the situation, he jumped up and ran toward Songyang Village.
The patrol guards stopped him immediately.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Sweating anxiously, Yang Zhiwei replied,
“I’m from Dayang Village!
“My son has developed a fever.
“I’m here to find the female physician.”
The patrol wasn’t willing to let a stranger wander through camp at night.
For all they knew, he could be a thief.
“Wait here. I’ll report it to our captain.”
Yang Zhiwei nodded frantically.
“Please hurry!
“My son really does have a fever.
“The healer said to come find her if this happened.”
The guard didn’t respond and immediately went to find Song Hongsheng.
After locating him at the rear of the camp, he reported:
“Captain, someone from Dayang Village is looking for the female physician. His son developed a fever. I wasn’t sure whether to let him through.”
The moment Song Hongsheng heard this, he knew exactly which child it was.
“Let him in.
“I’ll go wake Hongyi’s wife.”
The guard hurried off.
Song Hongsheng made his way toward Lu Yao’s hammock.
Standing nearby, he called softly,
“Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law… wake up.”
Lu Yao’s vigilance was exceptionally high.
Even asleep, part of her mind remained alert.
The moment Song Hongsheng called, she woke up.
Carefully climbing down from the hammock so as not to disturb the children, she put on her shoes and approached him.
“Brother Hongsheng, it’s so late. Is something wrong?”
Despite having just awakened, there wasn’t the slightest trace of drowsiness in her voice.
Her tone remained cool and composed.
Rubbing his hands awkwardly, Song Hongsheng said,
“Sister-in-law, sorry for waking you.
“The child from Dayang Village has developed a fever.
“His father came to ask if you’d take a look.”
Only then did Lu Yao remember the boy with the head injury.
Hearing that he had a fever didn’t surprise her at all.
Infection after such an injury was entirely normal.
Unfortunately, among the herbs she’d gathered earlier, there hadn’t been any bupleurum root.
She would have to rely on medicine from her space instead.
Taking out several pills, she handed them to Song Hongsheng.
“These are some medicinal pills I made back in the village.
“The larger pills are for reducing fever.
“Take one pill three times a day.
“The smaller pills are for infection.
“One pill in the morning and one at night.
“Give them to him for two days.
“If the fever doesn’t return, he should be fine.
“I’ll change his dressing again tomorrow.”
Holding the medicine, Song Hongsheng sincerely thanked her on Yang Zhiwei’s behalf.
“Thank you, Sister-in-law.
“If it weren’t for you, that child probably wouldn’t survive.”
Lu Yao waved dismissively.
“Brother Hongsheng, if there’s nothing else, I’m going back to sleep.
“Thank you for all your hard work on patrol.”
Feeling embarrassed, he replied,
“We’re only protecting our own families.
“There’s no need to thank us.
“Go get some rest.
“I’ll deliver the medicine immediately.”
Watching Lu Yao climb back into the hammock, Song Hongsheng hurried away with the pills to find Yang Zhiwei.