Li Yuanxi sat obediently, staring blankly. After getting sick, she had no energy. She wanted either to lie down or sit, her mind a total blank.
“Chuyi, drink this.” Wei Shu brought a bowl of yellowish-brown herbal soup, something she’d found to clear the chill.
Li Yuanxi looked at the dark, bitter-smelling concoction dully. Before she could refuse, Wei Shu grabbed her head and poured it down her throat.
A moment later, Li Yuanxi looked utterly defeated, weakly lifting her eyelids at Wei Shu. Wei Shu bent down and felt her forehead.
The temperature hadn’t risen yet. Wei Shu sighed in relief. She’d dug around in the woods for ages to find a few withered herbs, identified them with difficulty. The bitter taste still lingered in her mouth.
“This is the consequence of not listening. This medicine is really bitter.” Wei Shu took a cup of hot water, drank a couple of sips, then fed the rest to Li Yuanxi.
Li Yuanxi pouted, reluctant. A trace of grievance flickered in her tea-brown eyes. “You’re the one who’s aggrieved?” Wei Shu chuckled, patted her cheek, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. That immediately cheered Li Yuanxi up.
Her eyes curved in happiness. She was satisfied. The pheromone gland at her nape couldn’t be suppressed, releasing her scent—a subtle agarwood with tuberose and a hint of musk.
Wei Shu sensed the meaning of her pheromones and blushed. She shot a glare at the grinning idiot.
The whole cave’s pheromones screamed one thing: I want cuddles. Hold me. I feel bad. I need a kiss to feel better.
Li Yuanxi held out her arms for a hug, looking at Wei Shu expectantly. Her head felt like mush. After a moment, her arms dropped from exhaustion.
“Why don’t you go to sleep? Stop following me. I’m busy cooking!” Wei Shu turned helplessly to face Li Yuanxi, who was stuck to her side. She pinched Li Yuanxi’s nose.
Before she even applied pressure, a clear trickle of snot ran from Li Yuanxi’s nose. Wei Shu stared at the mucus on her fingertip, helpless again, a little disgusted.
Li Yuanxi saw it too and gave her an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to.” She scratched her head, looked around awkwardly, spotted the tissues on the shelf, and grabbed one precious piece to wipe her nose.
“Just sit still, don’t move. Wait for the swan meat tonight.” Wei Shu pushed Li Yuanxi onto a stool, wrapped her in the blanket, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Wei Shu found a small swan from the 200-liter iron drum. Swan meat is neutral-warm, cough-suppressing, and not as strong as deer meat, which could be too stimulating for a sick body.
Wei Shu cleanly chopped the purple-red swan meat on a wooden block into small pieces for easier cooking. She dropped the dried meat into hot water to soak.
She threw lemon leaves into a pot and boiled them. A slightly astringent herbal scent rose. She ladled out a bowl of piping hot tea and put it on the wooden table.
“Let it cool a bit before you drink.” She stroked Li Yuanxi’s head, looking at her bright eyes. Wrapped in the blanket, she was adorable and dazed. Wei Shu’s heart fluttered.
“Why are you so good today?” Wei Shu sat down on Li Yuanxi’s lap, lifted her chin, and leaned in. Just before their lips met, her kiss landed on Li Yuanxi’s hot palm.
“What are you doing?” Wei Shu frowned, displeased, pulling away Li Yuanxi’s hand from her mouth. Li Yuanxi blinked and whispered, “I have a cold. Don’t kiss me.”
“I don’t mind.” Wei Shu leaned in again, stubborn. Why couldn’t she kiss just because of a cold?
“No, I mind. What if you catch it?” Li Yuanxi twisted away, turning her head to the side, refusing.
“Hey, I don’t believe you.” Wei Shu got into it. She straddled Li Yuanxi fully, tried to turn her head back. Li Yuanxi was careful not to strain her neck the other way.
They struggled together for a while, and Li Yuanxi broke out in another sweat. Feeling a bit better, she laughed loudly. “Hahaha, stop moving. I’m ticklish.”
Coughing twice, she caught Wei Shu’s roaming hands and held them still. They hugged, panting.
After a rest, Wei Shu patted Li Yuanxi’s shoulder to be let go. She needed to cook. It was already dark.
An hour later, the aroma of swan meat made Li Yuanxi’s stomach growl. Wei Shu added a pinch of salt, covered the pot, and let it simmer.
Eating the meat, Li Yuanxi found it tasteless, so she just drank soup, constantly sipping. She ate only half a cassava before losing her appetite.
Wei Shu didn’t force her. If she got hungry at night, she could reheat it.
In the middle of the night, Wei Shu felt like she was lying in a furnace, especially her back. The scorching heat woke her up. She wiped the sweat from her face, touched Li Yuanxi’s hand, and was startled by the burning heat.
She immediately sat up, seeing Li Yuanxi’s flushed face, body hot, eyes closed, whimpering softly.
“It hurts…” A weak, feeble voice worried Wei Shu even more. She got up, brought water, fed Li Yuanxi a sip, and used a towel to wipe her down for physical cooling.
All night long, Wei Shu kept wiping Li Yuanxi’s body and changing the cloth on her forehead. The bright fire raised the cave’s temperature. Li Yuanxi was wrapped entirely in the blanket. The most important thing now was to make her sweat.
“Chuyi, hold on. Once you sweat, I’ll go find you medicine at dawn. Be good, don’t kick off the blanket.” Wei Shu pressed down on Li Yuanxi’s hands, preventing her from uncovering herself.
Hearing Wei Shu’s voice in her daze, Li Yuanxi gradually stopped struggling. Wei Shu sighed in relief. Her loose hair obscured her face. She lay on Li Yuanxi, sweaty.
Wei Shu lay sideways, hugging Li Yuanxi tight. She looked at her red face, even the skin on her neck flushed. She racked her brain, searching for old knowledge.
“What herb can clear wind-heat and treat colds, and is common?” She murmured, images of various plants flashing through her mind. Her brow furrowed in urgency.
After a long time, a purple plant appeared in her mind—perilla.
Her eyes lit up, then dimmed. She wasn’t sure perilla grew on the island, but she had no other choice.
Wei Shu didn’t sleep again. She replaced the towel on Li Yuanxi’s forehead. The heat on her face gradually subsided.
“Shu Shu, why aren’t you sleeping?” Li Yuanxi’s weak voice sounded. Wei Shu turned quickly to look at her. Li Yuanxi was awake, but utterly drained, as if her bones had been removed.
“I’m not tired. Do you still feel bad?” Wei Shu touched her forehead, rubbed her cheek against Li Yuanxi’s. Li Yuanxi’s nose was stuffy, speaking was an effort. She replied feebly, “Not bad.”
“Drink some water, then sleep a bit more. I’ll be with you.” Wei Shu helped her sit up and fed her water. Li Yuanxi drank a cup, then felt her bladder full.
“Can you go to the bathroom in the cave? Don’t go outside.” Wei Shu held back Li Yuanxi, who wanted to get up and go out. Li Yuanxi shook her head, unable to do that. She looked at Wei Shu pitifully.
“There you go again with your puppy-dog eyes. Can you stop that?” Wei Shu covered her eyes, unwilling to look. She explained patiently, “If you keep going out into the wind, your cold won’t get better. You just broke the fever. If you get chilled again, you’ll have another fever. What if it burns your brain?”
“Okay.” Li Yuanxi thought about it. Shu Shu was right. If she didn’t recover quickly, Shu Shu would be exhausted taking care of her.
They compromised. Li Yuanxi would take care of business in the cave. But she didn’t want Wei Shu to see. She fumbled around the cave for a while, but couldn’t go. Finally, Wei Shu wrapped her up tight and took her outside.
Relieved, Li Yuanxi fell asleep quickly.
Wei Shu looked at the sky, almost dawn. She started breakfast, boiling cassava with swan soup.
She patiently shredded the meat into the congee with the cassava. That way Li Yuanxi could eat some and get protein.
By the time breakfast was ready, it was light. The deep blue sky had faded from darkness, visibility returning.
Wei Shu ate, checked Li Yuanxi’s covers, boiled hot water, saw no rain, and put on her backpack basket, taking a small axe and her pathfinder stick. She left.
When Li Yuanxi woke again, the cave was empty. Only the warm fire kept her from feeling cold.
Wei Shu bypassed familiar spots, choosing an untrodden path through the forest, constantly searching for perilla.
Perilla flowers bloom in late autumn, seeds in winter. Now, perilla hadn’t withered yet; it would be easy to spot.
She carefully examined areas where animals had passed or grazed. Animals were more sensitive than humans. When they felt unwell, they’d find herbs themselves.
The island must have common herbs for the animals to be so healthy, free from disease.
She tapped the ground with her stick. At this temperature, snakes were hibernating. The stick was to prevent slipping.
In winter, the forest had few green trees, mostly bare. Wild grass was yellow and withered.
Wei Shu knelt among the scant remaining green grass, searching for familiar plants. She came up empty.
Back in the cave, Li Yuanxi slowly sat up. Her body ached a little, but she could move. After washing up, she ate alone, worriedly looking outside. Would Shu Shu find the medicine?
If not, it didn’t matter. She’d recover in a couple of days without medicine.
Wei Shu crossed from one end of the island to the other. She hadn’t noticed how far she’d strayed. She came upon a patch of green forest.
“Is this a porcupine quill?” She picked up a black-and-white quill, looked around. This could be porcupine territory.
Cautiously, she searched among the green plants for perilla. On a slightly sloping hillside, vegetation was thick, with animal droppings visible.
“Have I wandered too far?” Wei Shu looked up at the dim sun, then back at the path she’d come. Dense trees blocked her view.
It had been cloudy when she left; now the sun was high. She’d been out two or three hours.
Resting under a tree, she caught a pungent, spicy smell. “That scent is familiar.”
Following the smell, she found a hole dug in the ground, surrounding grass trampled. She picked up an oval leaf, looked around—many such withered leaves nearby.
Her intuition said something good was here. Using the small axe, she dug along the leaves. Soon, she unearthed a rootstock. She cut a piece; a pungent, spicy odor emanated.
“This is sand ginger.” She quickly rinsed it with water. Cleaned, the yellowish-brown sand ginger was unassuming, but it was a treasure.
True enough, no matter the species, pigs know how to eat.
Wei Shu grabbed her axe and dug relentlessly. A whole patch of sand ginger spread under the tree. She’d dig plenty to make soup for Li Yuanxi.
Oblivious to the black dirt on her hands, she kept digging. Behind a low bush, a porcupine watched her in terror. After a while, it quietly slipped away.
Porcupine inner monologue: This two-legged beast scared away the big deer next door the day before yesterday. So scary!!!!!
Wei Shu filled half her basket, leaving plenty behind. She wouldn’t take it all—animals needed their own medicine.
With the sand ginger but no perilla, she packed up and rushed home, worried Li Yuanxi hadn’t eaten.
Li Yuanxi sat at the cave entrance, wrapped in a blanket, waiting. It had been over three hours. Little Shu still wasn’t back. Li Yuanxi’s heart itched with worry and longing.
Half an hour later, Wei Shu returned, panting with her basket. Li Yuanxi ran out to greet her, but Wei Shu pushed her back into the cave. She left the basket outside, taking only a piece of sand ginger inside.
“Look what this is!” Wei Shu washed the sand ginger, cut a slice, and let Li Yuanxi smell it. “It’s ginger!!!” Li Yuanxi hadn’t tasted ginger in ages. Her eyes nearly welled up.
The scent brought back memories of countless delicious dishes. Its pungent smell stimulated her stomach. She swallowed repeatedly, watching Wei Shu put the sand ginger into the pot.
“I couldn’t find any other medicine for your cold. You’ll have to make do with ginger soup.”
“Ginger soup can dispel cold and induce sweat. That’s enough. You worked hard last night. You were out since dawn. I missed you so much.” Li Yuanxi hugged Wei Shu, nuzzling against her shoulder, acting spoiled.
Wei Shu felt her head—no longer hot. The fever had broken. A couple of days drinking ginger soup should fix the cold.
When the ginger soup was ready, Li Yuanxi made Wei Shu drink first. She’d been up all night caring for her and out early this morning. Li Yuanxi worried she’d get sick too.
“Don’t push it back and forth. There’s plenty in the pot.” Wei Shu gave Li Yuanxi her bowl, watching her blow on it and sip slowly.
Both soon began to sweat. Taking advantage of this, Wei Shu boiled a whole bucket of water with the remaining sand ginger for foot baths. More sweat would speed recovery.
Li Yuanxi sat on the bed soaking her feet while Wei Shu washed the rest of the sand ginger outside, letting it dry for longer storage.
“Shu Shu, I’m done with my feet. Your turn. Hurry, hurry.” Li Yuanxi called her over. She poured the leftover hot water into a bucket for Wei Shu.
“Okay, I’m coming.” Wei Shu washed her hands and returned to the cave for her own wellness session.
Li Yuanxi sat beside her, much more energetic now. Her cold symptoms were receding. A little more rest and she’d be fine.
Wei Shu couldn’t help sighing, “Alpha constitutions are really strong. Last night you were burning up so much I thought you’d get brain damage. And now you’re already getting better.”
“All thanks to Shu Shu’s excellent care.” Li Yuanxi grinned, flattering her.
“Let’s see if you’ll listen next time.” Wei Shu pinched her earlobe, but didn’t use any real force. It felt so good Li Yuanxi nearly purred.
