The sound of a reply made Wei Shu’s face brighten. She lifted her torch and rushed forward, trying to see if it was truly Li Yuanxi, her feet moving without stopping.
Li Yuanxi, a wide smile on her face, limped towards the firelight, a hint of tears in her eyes. She couldn’t see the path; her eyes were fixed only on that beam of light rushing towards her.
“You!” Wei Shu rushed up to Li Yuanxi, breathing heavily, the torch in her hand. She saw the wound on Li Yuanxi’s forehead, her unsteady leg, the mud-caked clothes, and that silly grin on her face.
Tears welled up in Wei Shu’s eyes. She reached out and touched Li Yuanxi’s forehead. Li Yuanxi grinned foolishly. “It’s stopped bleeding. It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
She ducked her head down, letting Wei Shu see that the cut on her forehead was fine and no longer painful. Wei Shu’s warm fingers lingered on Li Yuanxi’s face. Her voice was hoarse, her emotions unclear. “Really doesn’t hurt?”
“Mm, it doesn’t hurt.” Li Yuanxi’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Wei Shu. She hadn’t expected Wei Shu to come looking for her. A film of moisture clung to her eyes, which pained Wei Shu’s heart.
She supported Li Yuanxi as they slowly moved. It was impossible for Li Yuanxi to walk in the dark with her injured leg. But her wounds had to be treated. Leaving them untreated for another night would risk infection.
Wei Shu bit her lip, frowning. Her gaze was fixed on Li Yuanxi’s left leg, which couldn’t bear weight. She closed her eyes tightly, then steeled herself. “We have to go home.”
“Huh?” Li Yuanxi, looking at Wei Shu’s flushed, strikingly beautiful face after her exertions—her skin was like white jade, her elegant, swan-like neck beaded with translucent sweat—thought to herself, How is she so beautiful?
She completely missed what Wei Shu had asked. Seeing Li Yuanxi’s evasive gaze and distracted reply, Wei Shu thought she was feeling unwell. Now, more than ever, she wanted to get her home.
“Bear with it. There’s anti-inflammatory medicine in the cave. Your wounds need to be treated. We’ll go home slowly.” Wei Shu stroked Li Yuanxi’s head. Li Yuanxi nodded like a docile puppy, leaning on Wei Shu for support.
Wei Shu relit the third torch and tied them together. A bigger torch would cast more light, making the surroundings clearer.
She had brought six torches with her. Now she was on the third.
Li Yuanxi took the torch, and Wei Shu supported her. Wei Shu wrapped one arm around Li Yuanxi’s waist, helping Li Yuanxi drape her arm over her own neck. They trudged away slowly.
Nothing strange happened on the way. It was just incredibly slow. The quiet forest was occasionally filled with the calls of seabirds and the rustling of small animals.
Now that she had Li Yuanxi, Wei Shu wasn’t bothered by these sounds at all. Her sole focus was on getting Li Yuanxi home. Her breathing was ragged; every step was an effort.
Li Yuanxi didn’t put her full weight on Wei Shu. She could see Wei Shu’s flushed face was covered in sweat, her expression one of pure exhaustion.
Wei Shu had been going back and forth, relying purely on her willpower. She never complained of tiredness, just held tightly to Li Yuanxi, afraid she would fall again.
It took two hours, but they finally made it back to the cave. “Hold on, sit down first.” Wei Shu helped Li Yuanxi carefully onto a stool.
Wei Shu turned around and began to expertly relight the nearly extinguished fire. She added firewood, set up the iron bucket, and poured a bucket of water into the bucket she used for boiling.
“Let me help you take off your clothes and pants. I need to treat your wounds first.” Wei Shu walked over to Li Yuanxi and bent down, asking her to raise her arms. It was the first time in her life she had helped someone undress. She wasn’t very skilled, but she was exceptionally gentle.
Li Yuanxi raised her hands and looked at Wei Shu, so close. She hardly dared to breathe. Wei Shu carefully removed her clothes.
The dried wounds were stuck to the fabric. Before Wei Shu could even pull, “Sss…” Li Yuanxi let out a soft hiss and held her breath. Wei Shu didn’t force it. She used cold boiled water to soak the clothes, softening the wound and the dried blood.
After taking off her clothes and pants, Li Yuanxi sat with her hands held up awkwardly, her face scarlet. Her eyes darted around as she protested weakly, “I can do it myself… AO should maintain some boundaries—”
“Save it. Thank goodness the suitcase had some regular medicine, or else…”
Wei Shu didn’t finish the sentence, but Li Yuanxi understood. With the large patches of abrasion she had, as long as there was no external infection, it would heal fine. The worst thing would be an infection.
“I’m an alpha. My constitution is very strong. My healing is super fast. I’m not like normal people.” Li Yuanxi watched Wei Shu carefully cleaning her wounds, her face red, her eyes wandering, as she muttered incessantly.
Wei Shu got annoyed. She pressed down a little harder, and Li Yuanxi started yelping, her tough-girl act crumbling. Her mouth was the only thing that was still tough.
“Lighten up…” Li Yuanxi sniffled and quieted down, slightly parting her scraped legs to make it easier for Wei Shu to clean.
Wei Shu glanced at Li Yuanxi, who was swallowing while looking at the dried venison, and told her mercilessly, “You can’t have venison tonight. Dried venison is too heaty, it won’t be good for your injuries.”
Li Yuanxi drooped her head, looking wronged. “Oh.” She was so hungry. Her stomach was already growling.
“I picked some new thunder bamboo shoots on the way back. You’ll eat that. It won’t taste as good as before, but it’s edible. Tomorrow, you can have fish.”
Wei Shu wiped her hands, then sprayed alcohol on Li Yuanxi’s wounds, which had stopped bleeding, to disinfect them.
She examined the skin around the wounds, her expression dark. The first day of a fall wasn’t too bad, but the second day would be the start of real pain.
Even if Li Yuanxi was an alpha, the pain would still be there for the first two days. Fast healing didn’t mean no pain.
After eating the thunder bamboo shoots, which had just a pinch of salt, Li Yuanxi collapsed onto the bed. She was asleep in seconds, even snoring lightly. She was completely exhausted.
Wei Shu’s hair was a mess, and her clothes were dirty. She turned away, took off her clothes, and used the hot water to wipe her body. She changed into clean clothes. Before getting into bed, she added firewood to the stove.
Only then did she turn around, carefully climb over Li Yuanxi’s body, and cover her with a jacket to prevent her from getting a fever. For the first time, she didn’t snuggle into Li Yuanxi’s arms that night.
The next day, it was almost noon when Li Yuanxi was woken by her growling stomach.
Wei Shu was bent over in the forest, looking for plants that could help heal Li Yuanxi’s injuries. She would have been over the moon to find dandelion or san qi.
Even knowing it was a bit of a fantasy, she searched for any other herbs that could serve as a substitute. Beside a moss-covered rock, she found a dense cluster of creeping plants.
Wei Shu had walked past them the first time without a second glance. On her way back, she realized they looked like Dichondra repens.
Dichondra repens is a creeping herb with thin, fragile stems that grows in large patches. It had a wonderful use: stopping bleeding, promoting tissue regeneration, reducing inflammation, and detoxifying. It was exactly the medicine Li Yuanxi needed.
After identifying it carefully, Wei Shu picked the Dichondra repens and placed it in her small backpack basket. She stood up, getting ready to head back. She came to this area often but had never noticed this treasure before.
When Li Yuanxi woke up, she was met with a face full of pain. Her left foot was especially swollen. Her body was covered in green and purple bruises. Even a small movement was agonizing, let alone walking.
Li Yuanxi needed to go to the bathroom, but was too embarrassed to ask Wei Shu for help. She braced her hands on the bed, grabbed the bamboo stick that Wei Shu had left by the headboard, and slowly got up.
The movement sent a jolt of pain through her entire body. Gritting her teeth, she slowly hobbled.
“What are you doing?” Wei Shu walked back into the cave, silhouetted against the light, carrying her pack. She saw Li Yuanxi struggling to move.
“I need to pee. Move aside.” Li Yuanxi sniffled, enduring the pain as she shuffled forward.
Seeing her stubbornly trying to be strong, Wei Shu sighed. She put down her pack, washed her hands, turned around, and helped her walk out of the cave.
Wei Shu helped Li Yuanxi to the back of the cave. She couldn’t dig a temporary toilet today. Li Yuanxi would just have to make do.
“You don’t need help with your shorts?” Wei Shu hesitated, looking at Li Yuanxi, whose face was red hot.
“Who asked you to help?!” Li Yuanxi, her face bright red, her neck stiff, snarled back.
Wei Shu let out a low laugh. She knew Li Yuanxi was embarrassed. Having finally turned the tables on Li Yuanxi for once, she felt pleased.
But Wei Shu’s own cold, elegant face was just as red. She looked up at the drowsy sun in the sky. She needed to go to the beach to check on Li Yuanxi’s bait.
Li Yuanxi struggled through her business. Moving slowly, she turned around, not wanting to be any more humiliated in front of Wei Shu. As long as she could rest for another day, her body would recover. Just two days.
Wei Shu was standing with her back turned under a tree. She heard Li Yuanxi’s footsteps. Ignoring Li Yuanxi’s shyness, she helped her back into the cave.
“This is the Dichondra repens I picked. It’s anti-inflammatory and helps wounds heal. It’ll be good for you.” Wei Shu washed the herb and placed it in a small pot, grinding it into a pulp. The green sap was enough to dress Li Yuanxi’s wounds.
As soon as the green liquid touched her scrapes, Li Yuanxi felt a cool sensation. The dull ache in her wounds lessened considerably. By the time she was covered head to toe in the green paste, she was feeling much more comfortable.
The furrow in Li Yuanxi’s brow finally relaxed. Wei Shu breathed a sigh of relief. She washed her hands and felt Li Yuanxi’s forehead. No fever. The wounds weren’t hot. Now that the medicine was on, as long as they didn’t get wet, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
Afterwards, Wei Shu made Li Yuanxi a simple lunch and ate with her. Then she said, “I’m going to the beach to see if I can catch a fish. You need protein and nutrition.”
“Oh, oh. Let’s go together. We’ll definitely have a good harvest today. I threw a good ten or more jin of offal in there!” Li Yuanxi hurriedly finished her last mouthful of rice and stood up, ready to go.
As soon as she stood, her ribs and leg protested. “Ah… it hurts…” Li Yuanxi looked at Wei Shu with teary eyes.
“Then it’ll hurt. I’ll go to the beach alone. You stay here and watch the fire.” Wei Shu picked up her backpack basket and waved goodbye to Li Yuanxi with a smile. Li Yuanxi couldn’t go into the water anyway. There was no point in her coming.
Li Yuanxi could only watch Wei Shu leave, waving back at her. It was rare for Li Yuanxi to be the one left behind. She stared wistfully at Wei Shu’s retreating back.
Wei Shu didn’t want Li Yuanxi to come. She was afraid that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to resist getting in the water, and all the medicine on her wounds would be wasted.
