Qingshan Wild Man Valley

Chapter 14

What happened next...

Xu Yi has been found.

Xu Yi cured the leader of the martial arts alliance, and Xu Yi began to become famous.

Later, the lines "Where can one find someone who cherishes life like gold? People flock to the brothels" also became famous.

Later still, the fireworks shop owner also became famous for disappearing from work from nine to five.

Later still, even the saying "Xu Yi does not heal people when he goes out" became famous.

In short, Xu Yi became completely famous.

So becoming famous is easy. To sum it up, you need two things: first, you need guidance from a celebrity; second, you need to know how to sell your products. Xu Yi is really good; he has both of these qualities at once.

However, I understood what he meant, but the savage turned halfway to the side, covered his mouth with his hand, and turned pale. He felt like vomiting again.

"A savage?" I called him.

He lowered his hand and turned to look at me.

He pretended to be something he'd never seen before, then covered his mouth and rushed out of the shop. He hadn't even stepped halfway across the threshold when he grabbed the doorpost, bent over, and started vomiting violently, probably even bringing up his stomach acid.

However, I felt nervous the first time I saw him like this.

Seeing him like this a second time would be terrifying.

Seeing him like this a third time makes me want to vomit.

Seeing him like this for the fourth time makes me feel helpless.

The fifth time, I think I should persuade him to seek medical treatment.

...

The nth time...

The wild man conscientiously helped the shopkeeper clean up the vomit with charcoal ash, drank water, rinsed his mouth, and wiped his mouth clean before finally walking back to the seat next to me, his face pale.

"Sit down." I patted the stool.

His lips were paler than his face; he lowered his head and slowly sat down.

"It hurts me to see you like this," I said, pounding my chest. "Do you know how much it hurts me to see you like this?"

The savage lowered his eyes; this was his usual reaction when admitting his mistake.

"Have some porridge first." I pushed the porridge in front of him.

He nodded, leaned slightly forward, and picked up the spoon.

Actually, it's not his fault at all. I can't get angry, and I don't know who to blame... I never noticed before when we were in Savage Valley that the savages' stomachs were so bad.

Back then, he ate raw food, and there was no oil or fat in the valley. Later, I brought back biscuits and instant noodles from over a thousand years later. He ate very little of the bottled biscuits, at most one piece at a time, so his reaction wasn't strong. As for the instant noodles, he couldn't eat MSG; it would cause him to break out in rashes all over his body. He only tasted a tiny sip of the soup from beginning to end.

Looking back now, I remember that when the savage in the valley boiled water or cooked wild vegetables, he fed me. He never cooked anything extra for himself and ate everything raw, which resulted in him being unable to eat anything after leaving the valley.

He vomits at the slightest hint of oil. Furthermore, he refuses to eat scallions, ginger, garlic, spicy foods, cilantro, loofah, meat, hot foods, starchy and fiber mixtures, dark-colored fruits and vegetables, bananas, celery… In short, I suspect he truly can't eat these things, or is he just giving himself psychological suggestions. Logically, he's been in good spirits these days, and aside from my occasional scolding, he shouldn't be developing anorexia—does even scolding him hurt him?

At that moment, the savage put down his spoon completely, and I reached my hand onto the table and took his hand.

"I'm sorry..." I apologized, and he looked up.

Once we left the valley, his face was so thin it was almost unrecognizable. And it wasn't until then that I noticed that even my thin, pale lips, which I always loved, would still crack and bleed after applying lip balm... Even having big eyes had its downsides; when he looked at me with such self-reproach, I felt like I should disappear into a hole and be utterly ashamed.

It was always the wild man who took good care of me, and although I considered myself his girlfriend, I never really cared about him.

Now he's thinner, his chin is sharper, his cheeks are thinner, his eyes are misty, and his lips look like they're about to curl up... "Savage, you've become so incredibly thin!" I finally couldn't help but blurt out.

He paused for a moment, then smiled.

The smile was faint, but it was a very happy one.

...

A few days later...

As evening fell, I sat shoulder to shoulder with the wild man on the small stone beach in Dujiangyan, basking in the sunset.

The sun was a bright red, its halo spreading across the water, making the water feel warm and the atmosphere cozy. This little life was truly worthwhile.

"Savage..." I leaned my head against him and called him lazily.

He turned and glanced at me; the dazzling light behind me paled in comparison to the tiny glimmer of light in his eyes that stirred my heart.

"Savage, do you think I'm fierce?" I asked him. "I always get angry with you, I always scold you, and I bully you every day..."

He neither shook his head nor nodded, but he reached out and put his arm around my shoulder.

He was so gentle that I couldn't help but feel increasingly swayed, and the consequences of that swaying were... "Savage, let me ask you, if the person you met in Savage Valley wasn't me, but someone else who met you first in Savage Valley, would you treat that person as well as you treated me?"

The savage guessed that I wanted to ask some random questions. After thinking for a while, he pulled out my hand and wrote: That person, it's you.

"I mean..."

He hugged my upper body, interrupting me. By then, the sun had receded below the water's surface, the river flowed, and the slanting sunlight cast a dazzling, shimmering glow.

"But...but..." I stretched out my arms and hugged the wild man's neck, "What if you see that Sheng Huan in the future? Will you leave me? Will you go with her? Will you suddenly realize that the person you like is her, not me?"

The savage paused, shook his head helplessly, sighed slowly, then pulled my hand down and wrote: If you have the chance to go home, will you stay for me?

I'm at a loss for words.

His meaning was clear: no one knows what the future holds. He didn't know what his relationship was with the woman named Sheng Huan, and I didn't know if I could go back a thousand years. If I only had one chance to choose, would I stay for him?

The savage didn't want to make things difficult for me; he just wanted to tell me that this question was of the same nature as the Sheng Huan question that I had been clinging to—until that day came, no one would know the real answer.

"But I'm not good to you..." I said, my face falling. "I have a bad temper and I'm always thinking of ways to torment you. What if one day you get fed up with me and just leave?"

The savage burst into laughter.

He grabbed my hand forcefully and wrote rapidly: Who are you? You are not Sun Qingshan!!!

"You're not Sun Qingshan!!" I suppressed a laugh and smacked him on the head. "I was just being sentimental for a little while, and you took the opportunity to make fun of me. You savage, who gave you the guts to betray me?!"

The savage wrote: Be nicer to me.

I was indignant. "Why?"

The savage wrote: "I feel better now."

"Savage..."

For a moment, I felt that the savage was very wronged.

However, a carriage approached from the road not far away, interrupting all the emotions I had painstakingly cultivated.

"Here it comes! Here it comes!!" I pushed the savage hard, my eyes shining.

Xu Yi's Story

Five days ago, I established a mutually beneficial relationship with the kids in the Chengdu Qingyangsi commercial district, which has a good foundation among the community.

Three days ago, I lured them with my fruit gummies to play a game called: Look, look, what, man, demon, uncle, is, doing, today.

This morning, the wild man and I hired a small donkey cart and traveled for most of the day to reach the edge of Dujiangyan.

There are few people living here, but it can still be considered a small town.

Little P said that he saw the ladyboy uncle ride out of the city in a small horse-drawn carriage before noon every day.

Little P Kid #2 said he bribed the coachman with a fruit gummy, and although the coachman didn't tell the truth after eating the candy, he still wanted to ask me for another fruit gummy.

Little P Kid Number Three said that he climbed onto the roof of the carriage and followed the carriage here.

I'm truly astonished. The children raised by the ancients were so remarkable; how can only children compare?

I used to hear my mom say that my brother climbed onto a train when he was seven years old. I didn't believe it then, but now I believe everything.

Because Little P Kid No. 3 just turned six this year (not his age in the traditional Chinese way).

Now, the uncle's carriage stopped at the entrance of a secluded alley. The uncle got out of the carriage, still dressed like a flamboyant butterfly, extremely ostentatious.

The old man was walking unsteadily, so the coachman drove the horse elsewhere to find a parking spot, while I pulled the wild man along and chased after him.

In front of the detached house, the uncle knocked on the door, and an old woman came out of the yard with a mournful face and led the uncle inside.

I gave the savage a thorough persuasion, and he finally led me to the rooftop.

Lifting two roof tiles is something martial arts masters often do. As dusk falls, the light inside the house is dim and completely dark.

It seemed there was someone lying on the bed, and the uncle was treating that person. In an instant, I felt incredibly deceived. What Xu Yi said about not treating people when he went out? This whole thing was just a way to increase his own fame.

The entire consultation was so quiet that I didn't dare to breathe. The doctor eventually explained some details and then got up to leave.

So all my efforts with the savage were in vain—although I understood that the savage had a poor appetite and was physically weak, I still chased after him without hesitation.

The donkey cart had already been returned to the post station. The savage was carrying me so that his feet couldn't touch the ground as he chased after the horse-drawn cart. I actually felt very sorry for him.

But why did I do this? Why did I go to such lengths to find out what Xu Yi was doing? Why did I drag the savage along to spy on and stalk him? It's all because this uncle has no medical ethics whatsoever!

Ten days ago, when the uncle came out of the fireworks shop, everyone waiting in front of the shop was ready to rush forward, but as they were pushing and shoving, a child had an asthma attack.

The uncle happened to pass by the child, who pitifully grabbed his clothes and said that his mother was sick and begged the uncle to save her.

The man only frowned and glanced at the child, then threw down a packet of some unknown powder and walked away.

Someone in the crowd spoke up for him, and Uncle Xu's path was blocked again.

How could you leave without any compassion?!

The man replied, "Why not?"

"This child's mother is seriously ill. Please go and see her. You must at least do him a favor and fulfill his filial duty!"

The uncle replied, "What does his filial piety have to do with me?"

"...Aren't you a doctor?"

The uncle replied, "So what if he's a doctor, and so what if he isn't?"

"As a doctor, one should treat illnesses and save lives; otherwise, how can one live up to the title of 'physician'?!"

The middle-aged man replied, "I'm not in the mood to owe anyone anything, get out of my way!"

"Ahem..." I coughed dryly behind the uncle. He turned around and asked, "Young lady?"

Then the uncle fainted.