Supporting the handsome man in black, Guan Xiyue helped him toward the side room. Thanks to her sturdy build and considerable strength, she didn’t find his weight difficult to manage.
The room was small and cluttered with old junk. There was no bed, only a pile of straw in one corner.
She laid him down on the straw and finally got a good look at his injuries.
They were severe.
There were deep wounds on both his shoulder and leg, horrifying to behold. His clothes were soaked with blood, though the black fabric made it less obvious.
Should she really hide a critically injured stranger here?
Before she had even finished considering the question, Guan Xiyue had already cleaned up the bloodstains he’d left behind. Then she gathered all the medicine she could find.
She remembered that the wound on her own head had been treated with a medicinal powder, probably something used to stop bleeding.
Carefully, she sprinkled the powder over the handsome stranger’s wounds and wrapped them tightly with cloth strips.
The shoulder wound was relatively minor, and the bleeding slowed quickly.
The wound on his thigh, however, was deep. The bandages were soon soaked red again.
Kneeling beside him, Guan Xiyue searched her memory for basic first-aid knowledge.
There was no tourniquet.
If she remembered correctly, in situations like this, you were supposed to apply pressure closer to the heart.
With that in mind, she pressed her palm firmly against the area above the wound.
The man in black stirred awake.
A flash of sharpness appeared in his phoenix-shaped eyes, though he lacked the strength to do much more than weakly question her.
“What are you trying to do? Taking advantage of the situation?”
Guan Xiyue froze.
Then she realized what he meant.
Her hand was pressing near the inside of his thigh, and apparently this handsome fellow thought she was taking liberties with him while he was injured.
She almost laughed in exasperation.
What exactly was this ancient man thinking?
Did she really look that desperate?
After applying pressure for two full minutes, she sprinkled more medicinal powder onto the wound. Repeating the process several times, she finally managed to stop the bleeding.
She bandaged his leg properly.
Still annoyed by his accusation, she deliberately gave the bandage a hard tug.
The man in black shuddered in pain, but stubbornly refused to make a sound.
Guan Xiyue immediately scolded herself inwardly.
What was wrong with her? Why was she arguing with a severely wounded handsome guy?
Feeling slightly guilty, she tied the bandage into a neat little bow.
Ling Jingren struggled to remain conscious.
Through half-open eyes, he watched the brightly dressed, extravagantly adorned fat woman leave the storage room and instruct a maid to bring food and medicine.
Fat though she was, her voice was surprisingly clear and pleasant.
Then he heard the maid address her as Yiniang—Concubine.
The revelation shocked him.
There was a saying:
“When choosing a wife, seek virtue. When taking a concubine, seek beauty.”
Yet this woman, with such looks, was actually a concubine?
When he awoke again from a fitful sleep, the plump concubine had returned.
She fed him a bowl of porridge.
Not long afterward, she forced down a bowl of medicine as well.
As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he seemed to be fleeing assassins once more.
Blades flashed everywhere.
He ran desperately.
The nightmare felt endless.
Guan Xiyue touched the forehead of “Little Black Handsome.”
That was the nickname she’d secretly given him.
As expected, he was burning with fever.
This was bad.
Judging by the way he struggled in his sleep, the fever was serious.
What if it damaged his brain?
And if he became delirious and started talking nonsense, she wouldn’t be able to keep him hidden anymore.
Habitually rubbing the mole at her temple with her fingers, she considered her options.
Should she send Xiaoyun to fetch a doctor?
Or simply have her buy some fever medicine?
Suddenly, a cute yet dissatisfied voice sounded beside her.
“You finally noticed me.”
Guan Xiyue nearly jumped out of her skin.
She looked left and right.
No one was there.
Where had the voice come from?
It sounded oddly mechanical, like a synthesized robotic voice.
She laughed at herself.
Maybe she’d gone crazy.
After all, she’d already transmigrated to ancient times and was somehow still expecting modern electronic sounds.
As she rubbed her temple again, the voice returned, this time urgently.
“Don’t take your finger off! I’m your spirit companion—the legendary golden finger, get it?”
Guan Xiyue was stunned.
Then, oddly enough, reassured.
A spirit?
A legendary cheat ability?
At last, heaven seemed willing to show her some mercy.
It turned out that the opportunity was connected to the mole on her temple.
As long as she pressed on it, she could communicate with the spirit.
Delighted, she instinctively began conversing with it through her thoughts.
“So what’s my golden finger?”
“Me, of course. You can buy things from my shop.”
“And what do I pay with?”
“Real gold and silver.”
The spirit sounded rather pleased with itself.
“Everything in my shop is expensive, so you’d better work hard and earn lots of money.”
Through their conversation, Guan Xiyue learned that the spirit’s store contained virtually everything.
Food.
Tools.
Information.
Knowledge.
Almost anything imaginable.
The catch was that everything cost a fortune.
The spirit gave an example.
A single meat bun cost ten copper coins.
Guan Xiyue was dumbfounded.
“Why is it so expensive? If I wanted to buy a smartphone, wouldn’t that cost a ridiculous amount?”
The spirit replied helplessly,
“Master, you’re overthinking this. Even if you had a smartphone, how would you use it in ancient times? How would you charge it? Where would you find a network signal?”
Guan Xiyue quickly abandoned her fantasies.
More important matters needed attention.
“You have fever medicine, right? Ordinary ibuprofen. It reduces fever and inflammation. If this guy’s fever isn’t brought down, he might end up brain-damaged.”
The spirit was stunned by her shamelessness.
Hadn’t it just explained that purchases required actual gold and silver?
After several rounds of arguing, Guan Xiyue finally snapped.
“This is a human life we’re talking about! It’s an emergency! Let me buy on credit. I’ll definitely have money in the future, and I’ll pay it back then.”
The spirit responded cautiously and somewhat aggrieved.
“Master, it’s not that I’m stingy. But only this once. If something goes wrong, I’ll disappear, and then no one will accompany you through your life in ancient times.”
After a pause, it added,
“Ten taels of silver. Remember, this is a loan.”
Guan Xiyue silently nodded.
The transaction was complete.
A single ibuprofen tablet suddenly appeared in her hand.
Without delay, she stuffed the pill into Little Black Handsome’s mouth and helped him swallow it with water.