Lin Dayu said, "It's not easy for it to grow from a seed to what it is today. Why do you have to break it? As long as you don't mind, I'll carry you on my back, okay?"
Zhenshu quickly waved her hand and said, "That's not necessary, I can walk by myself."
She tried to take two steps down, but couldn't see clearly in the shadows. She almost fell, but luckily Lin Dayu was behind her and caught her, helping her onto the official road. He knelt down in front of Zhenshu and said, "Come on up. I'm just a farmhand, and I know my status is lowly. I had no intention of taking liberties with you. I just wanted to help you out when you were in trouble."
He had put it so firmly, how could Zhenshu possibly refuse? She bent down and crawled onto his back, her hands resting lightly on his broad shoulders. Before she could even think, Lin Dayu stood up, carried her a few steps, jumped off the official road, waded across the stream in a shallow spot, and walked along the reeds towards the gentler side of the mountain.
Lin Dayu, a seasoned traveler of mountain paths, strode confidently under the moonlight. Though carrying a woman on his back, he moved with effortless grace. Zhenshu had eaten breakfast early that morning and had been traveling with the carriage ever since, only managing a light lunch of dry rations at a roadside teahouse. Now, with the moon high in the sky, it must be nearly midnight. Gazing at the dark mass of trees flashing by on either side and the faint twinkling stars in the sky, she gradually dozed off to Lin Dayu's rhythmic pace, eventually resting her head on his shoulder and falling asleep.
She didn't know how long she had slept, but in her dream, she relived the scene of being thrown off the carriage, crying uncontrollably. As she cried, she suddenly woke up, looked around and saw the sky was just beginning to lighten. Looking down, she saw she was still clinging to Lin Dayu, who was standing motionless. She lowered her head and softly called out, "Brother Dayu..."
"Shh!" Lin Dayu whispered, "Don't move, don't speak."
Zhenshu didn't know what had happened, but she wisely kept quiet. She lowered her head and rubbed her cheek against his clothes. She noticed that half of his shoulder was sticky and wet. When she wiped her mouth, she realized that it was all drool she had drooled in her sleep. She felt even more embarrassed and whispered in his ear, "Put me down."
Lin Dayu slowly turned his head to the side, his lips almost touching her face, and frowned as he whispered, "There's a big worm over there."
Although born in the countryside, for Yu Zhenshu, tigers were nothing more than ferocious beasts in New Year pictures, from childhood to adulthood.
She followed his gaze and saw, as dawn broke, a few grayish-yellow spots faintly visible in a waist-high thicket in the distance. Fear gripped her heart, and her body trembled slightly. She tightened her grip on Lin Dayu's shoulders and whispered in his ear, "Put me down, let's run together."
Lin Dayu slowly turned his face and said softly, "No, it's extremely fast, we can't outrun it."
"Then what should we do?" Zhenshu asked.
Lin Dayu turned his head again, his lips almost touching Zhenshu's ear. After a long while, he whispered, "We can only wait like this and see if we can force it back. Or perhaps..."
Zhenshu suddenly realized and said, "You mean you've been standing here for a long time?"
Lin Dayu tightened his grip on Zhen Shu's back and said, "We've been at odds ever since we discovered it was there."
Although Zhenshu had never been there before, she knew the situation was critical and hoped Lin Dayu could come up with a better way to escape the beast. In Chenjia Village near Caijia Temple, a peasant woman was once bitten on the face by a wolf while working alone in the fields. Although she was later discovered and the wolf was driven away, saving her life, half of her cheek had been bitten off, and the horrific sight was unforgettable for Zhenshu after seeing it once. If this beast were to bite her to death today and then devour her until only bones remained, she would truly suffer the most injustices of her life and die with her eyes open in disbelief.
She stared intently at the bushes, gradually making out the tiger's shape. Although it was still dark, she could see that its fur was glossy and smooth, indicating that it was a fully grown beast. Looking down its waist, she saw a long tail, as thick as her fist.
Lin Dayu slowly turned around and said, "There's no way to dodge it now, it's going to launch an attack."
Zhenshu asked, "How did you know?"
Lin Dayu didn't answer, but slowly let go of Zhenshu and let her slide down, saying, "When I count to three, you run. You can only run behind me, not to the left or right, understand?"
She can neither help him nor protect herself; the only way she can help him now is to stay away.
Zhenshu nodded slightly and said, "Okay!"
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Dayu released her completely and put her on the ground, shouting, "Run!"
Just then, the tiger in the bushes leaped forward and pounced.
If Lin Dayu hadn't witnessed it firsthand, he would never have imagined that a tiger only four feet long could possess such speed and power. Not only was its speed astonishing, but the force with which it pounced was like a mountain collapsing. If he had rolled away to avoid it, the battle would have been much more advantageous for him. Unfortunately, the little girl he had picked up along the way was still fleeing behind him. If he dodged, the tiger would inevitably pounce on her with another leap.
Before Lin Dayu could think, the tiger roared and pounced. He aimed and threw a punch straight at the tiger's forehead, but the tiger's force sent him staggering backward. The tiger then spread its claws and pounced on him.
Zhenshu heard a tiger roar behind her, which terrified her. She forced herself to run a few more steps forward, but she couldn't stop worrying about Lin Dayu. She remembered reading in a book that tigers could swim, but they couldn't climb trees. Although her leg had been reattached yesterday, her entire right leg, from her ankle to her thigh, was swollen and extremely painful after last night. Running away was impossible now; if she wanted to escape, she might as well endure the pain and climb a tree.
Although she had reached marriageable age, she hadn't lost her childhood instincts of climbing walls, roof tiles, and trees. She took off her shoes and tucked them into her waistband, found a tall, straight pine tree, jumped and hugged it, gripped the tree tightly with her feet, and began to climb.
☆, Chapter 21 Stitching
Zhenshu had only climbed a few feet high when she suddenly heard Lin Dayu shout loudly, followed by a low growl from the tiger. She turned around and saw Lin Dayu pinned down by the tiger not far away, his face and neck covered in blood. He had been supporting the tiger's head with his hands for a while, but soon his hands went limp and the tiger's head slumped down.
Zhenshu thought the tiger had killed Lin Dayu, and that since he was dead, the tiger would surely come to eat her. Even if she managed to climb the tree, she would eventually have to come down. As long as the tiger was waiting, she would not be able to escape. Then she remembered that Lin Dayu had been eaten by a tiger while trying to deliver her, and she felt no fear, but instead, anger rose within her.
She jumped down from the tree, thinking: Since I've already fallen to such a state, even if I die, I can't just keep crying about being sick and weak. Even if it's just a stone, I should throw it at that tiger and make it feel some pain. She looked around and saw that there were no stones in the forest, only half a dead tree branch not far away. She picked it up and dragged it barefoot to Lin Dayu, calling softly, "Brother Dayu."
The tiger remained motionless, and so did Lin Dayu. Zhen Shu thought to herself, "If the tiger isn't moving, it must be dead." But she didn't believe Lin Dayu could kill a tiger with his bare hands, so she raised her stick and struck the tiger's back hard. To her surprise, the tiger, which had been keeping its eyes closed, suddenly opened its eyes wide in anger after being struck, roared, and stood up to pounce.
Zhenshu was terrified, her hair standing on end, but she still gripped the stick tightly and struck the tiger's back again. The tiger opened its mouth as if to roar, but blood gushed from the corner of its mouth. It struggled to its feet and approached Zhenshu step by step. Zhenshu retreated, still striking the tiger's head with the stick. Only then did she see clearly that a dagger was stuck in the tiger's throat, presumably inserted by Lin Dayu during their fierce battle.
The tiger, provoked by Zhenshu, was enraged to the extreme. Though blood was still flowing, its fur stood on end, its tail was raised high, and its front paws were outstretched. It was poised to pounce. Zhenshu retreated step by step, glancing sideways at Lin Dayu, who remained motionless. Filled with intense hatred for the tiger, she raised her stick again, channeling all her resentment towards Su Shi and Zhenxiu into it. With a loud shout, she seized the moment as the tiger leaped forward and hurled it fiercely.
The tiger was already at its limit and had no strength left to hurt anyone. After being struck by Zhenshu's blow, it immediately collapsed to the ground, its body limp.
Zhenshu, fearing it still wouldn't die, tapped the tiger's head a few more times with the stick. After a while, seeing it still didn't move, she threw down the stick and went to look at Lin Dayu.
She lifted her skirt and wiped the blood from his face and neck. Seeing no wounds on his face, she realized the blood must have come from the tiger's neck. She then checked his body and legs, finding no external injuries. Listening to his even breathing, she felt a little relieved. She quietly stayed by his side, waiting for him to wake up.
Last night, Lin Dayu carried a woman on his back for half the night, and then spent a long time in the woods following a tiger. He finally managed to kill the tiger with all his might. The tiger had immense strength in its paws, and although he managed to put a dagger into the tiger's neck, the tiger knocked him unconscious. He slowly opened his eyes after a long while, and saw Zhenshu staring at him with her mouth pursed and her almond-shaped eyes wide open. After a long pause, he asked, "Miss, why didn't you run away?"
When Zhenshu saw that he had woken up, she was overjoyed and wept. She buried her face in his body and cried, "You saved my life last night, how could I abandon you?"
Lin Dayu tilted his head and looked around. He saw the tiger lying not far away and grinned, saying, "I actually killed a tiger."
He was somewhat tempted by the little girl's dependence on him, and by the wholehearted trust and reliance she showed when she looked at him. He was reluctant to interrupt, so he closed his eyes and squinted for a while.
It was already broad daylight, with the morning sun just beginning to rise. He raised his hands in front of his eyes, the backs of his hands covered in gashes from when he fought the tiger, with deep blood seeping through them. Zhenshu helped him sit up and saw that his back was also soaked with blood, so she helped him up and said, "Let's quickly find a place with people so we can change your clothes."
Lin Dayu waved his hand and said, "I can't show my face in this entire Wen County. I know a place to go, but you'll have to help me get there."
He pointed to the area on his left where the trees were sparse and the terrain was gentler, and said, "Go a little further in that direction, and you'll find a small river. We'll go upstream, and about two miles away, there'll be a hunter's hut. You can drop me off there."
Zhenshu draped his arm over her neck and stood up. This strong, tall man now leaned heavily on her shoulder, being dragged forward step by step. Zhenshu gritted her teeth, enduring the pain in her right leg, and walked for about an inch until she saw a clear stream winding through the forest, presumably a tributary of the river beside the official road. The terrain along the river was difficult; in many places, the river flowed along the cliffs, requiring her to wade upstream.
After walking upstream for an unknown amount of time, the sun shone brightly in the sky, warming the river water. Bees and butterflies danced all around. Then, Zhen Shu saw a thatched hut on a gentle slope not far away.
Lin Dayu seemed completely unconscious, slumped onto Zhenshu's shoulder, making it hard for her to breathe. Zhenshu gritted her teeth, half-carrying Lin Dayu on her shoulder, and with all her might, rushed up the hillside. She used her foot to pry open the wooden door of the straw hut. The inside was relatively clean. A wooden plank bed took up the entire back half of the room, covered with some dry grass. In front was a large vat with a lid, and next to it was a small urn, also with a lid. In addition, there were several strings of peanuts and dried sweet potatoes hanging on the wall.
She placed Lin Dayu on the bed, knelt beside him, and softly called, "Brother Dayu, can you hear me?"
Lin Dayu slowly raised his hand and waved it slightly. Zhenshu saw that he could hear her and said, "It's already broad daylight. I'll follow this stream and I should be able to reach the main road. Then I can walk over the Wuling Mountains and find my family."
Lin Dayu gently waved his hand again, seemingly indicating that she should leave. Zhenshu hesitated for a moment before asking, "If I leave, can you manage?"
Lin Dayu lowered his hands and closed his eyes, remaining silent for a long while. Zhenshu was puzzled, thinking that even if the tiger had knocked him unconscious, he should have woken up by now. Could it be that he had other injuries? She tried to help Lin Dayu turn over and saw that the grass where he had been lying was covered in blood. She quickly turned him over completely and saw two deep claw marks on his back, with bright red blood slowly seeping from the rolled-up flesh.
I don't know when the tiger caught him, but it caught him so badly.
Zhen Shu stretched out her hands and gently pressed around the wound, causing Lin Dayu's muscles to contract sharply in pain.
She got out of bed and lifted the large vat, only to find a few spider webs inside.
She lifted the lid of the urn again; it was half-full of white rice. Looking under the bed, she saw a pile of miscellaneous items, including a wooden basin with a chipped rim. Inside were a bowl and a pair of chopsticks, clearly used by hunters for their nights' rest. She cleared the bowl out and tore off the blood-stained curtain of her skirt. Carrying the basin, she went to the stream to wash the curtain clean, then returned with half a basin of water. She knelt beside Lin Dayu and began wiping the wound on his back.
His wound was everted, and if it wasn't stitched up soon, it might not only fail to heal but could worsen. Although Zhenshu had never used needles or thread since childhood, she was bold enough to run wild. When she was a child, she often secretly watched farmers roasting pigs in the village. Moreover, she had read all the books in Song Anrong's study, and had also read a few medical books, so she knew some simple prescriptions.
She knew how to disinfect and suture the wound, and she also knew the consequences of ignoring it. However, there was no needle and thread, no water or fire, and wiping it with raw water alone would not be enough to completely disinfect it.
She sat on the edge of the bed, silently staring at Lin Dayu for a long while, before getting up and hanging the handkerchief on a tree branch outside to dry. Then she went back inside and took everything out from under the bed, one by one, and carried it outside to dust it off. She pulled out a triangular pot from under the bed, inside which lay a completely dry handkerchief, presumably used by the hunters to wash the pot after cooking. She also pulled out a pine needle duster, presumably used by them to clean the house.
Zhenshu first took out all the dry firewood from one side of the bed that hadn't been stained with blood to air and clean it. Then she wiped the bed board clean with a handkerchief. After that, she took the dry grass back and spread it out loosely. Only then did she take off her skirt and lay it on top, making it a soft and clean bed. After that, she wiped every place in the room clean with a damp cloth. Then she took water, sprinkled it on the floor, and swept it clean, starting from under the bed.
After Zhenshu finished doing these things, Lin Dayu was still deep in a deep sleep. She stared for a while before coming out again and began to tidy up the pile of miscellaneous items outside. Among them were tattered clothes stained with old blood, a tattered cotton blanket wrapped in a ball, a tattered hat, and a trap covered in rust.
Zhenshu sighed, thinking to herself that there were no needles in the room and she couldn't move Lin Dayu to the outside of the mountain. What should she do?
He had saved her from danger, so how could she just stand by and do nothing?
Hungry and unable to start a fire, Zhenshu returned to the house. Standing on the bed, she carefully wiped and felt the roof beams. When she reached a slanted pillar on top of the large vat, she found a palm-sized object wrapped in animal hide. Overjoyed, Zhenshu quickly took it down and unwrapped it. Inside, she found a flint and steel, and even a three-inch-long needle tucked inside.
Hunters are often out hunting, and injuries are common, so it's understandable that they carry needles with them.
With this needle, Lin Dayu's wound can be stitched up. Zhenshu jumped off the bed and ran outside, picked up some dry branches and grass, crushed the grass into small pieces, and struck the flint with a flint and steel a few times. The sparks gradually ignited.
She knelt on the ground and gently blew on the fire to make it burn brighter. She then arranged the branches into a triangle and placed them on top, and soon the fire was blazing. She fetched water and boiled it in a pot. She took some thread from her undergarment, boiled it, and set it aside. She also carefully boiled the needle and heated it over a fire. Then, she took a clean handkerchief she had taken from her skirt and used the hot water to clean Lin Dayu's wound. She threaded the half-dry thread through the needle, tore off the clothes covering Lin Dayu's back, and prepared to stitch up his wound.
To everyone's surprise, Lin Dayu screamed and scrambled to her feet after just one stitch, groaning, "It hurts! It hurts!"
Zhenshu quickly pushed him down onto the bed and coaxed him softly, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, at most two more needles will be enough."
Lin Dayu had just fallen asleep when Zhenshu stitched her up again. This time, Lin Dayu cried out in pain and sat up abruptly. Seeing the needle and thread in Zhenshu's hand, she angrily said, "Little girl, why are you poking me with a needle?"
Zhenshu picked up the needle and said, "That tiger scratched two deep marks on your back, the flesh is turned inside out. If I don't sew them up, what if you catch a cold?"
Seeing that the bed on one side was neatly made, Lin Dayu didn't dare to get close to it, even though he was covered in wolf shavings. He just kept hiding in the corner of the wall. He waved his hand and said, "It's just a small scratch like a cat's claw. It will be fine in a couple of days."
Zhenshu's own leg was still swollen and shiny, making it difficult for her to move. Kneeling on the bed with her knees bent, her knees were in excruciating pain. She was both anxious and angry. She forcefully pushed Lin Dayu down onto the bed and straddled him to prevent him from moving. She coaxed him, "Such a thin needle, it's only as painful as a bug bite. It will be fine in a little while."
Without scissors, she had to bend down and bite off the loose thread with her teeth after each stitch. Although Lin Dayu was injured, Zhen Shu's soft lips, breathing warm air onto his wounded back, were undoubtedly the best anesthetic. Each time their lips touched and their teeth rubbed together, he felt an unbearable, pleasurable sensation throughout his body. Therefore, he obediently lay still.
Only after Zhenshu had stitched up both wounds did she say, still somewhat unsatisfied, "Is that all?"
☆, Chapter 22 Overnight Stay
Zhenshu had no idea what he was thinking. She got up and wrapped the needle, thread, flint, and steel in animal hide, saying softly, "It's done. Seven stitches for one wound, three for the other. See, it doesn't hurt, does it?"
How could it not hurt? At this moment, his back was burning with pain, but Lin Dayu lay prone in the dry grass, savoring the warmth and elasticity between Zhen Shu's lips just now. Afraid that he would give himself away if he turned over, he remained lying in the grass and nodded, saying, "It doesn't hurt."
Zhenshu placed the animal hide on a high place, cleaned the area around his wound thoroughly, then took the water out to pour it away, brought in fresh water to boil again, and came back in to pull the tattered clothes off Lin Dayu's body from the shoulders before saying, "Go lie down where you laid it out, I'll tidy this up a bit more."
Lin Dayu had spent the night in this small house a couple of days ago and knew how filthy and messy it had been. Now, getting up, he saw the room was spotless, even the rim of the vat gleamed. He thought to himself that this young girl was quite efficient. However, noticing that Zhenshu was only wearing a pair of trousers, he knew that the blanket on the floor was the skirt she had tied up. He couldn't possibly sleep on it. So he shook his head and said, "I'm injured; it's more comfortable sleeping here."
Zhenshu glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and said, "There's blood all over here that needs cleaning. Go to bed now."
Her glare, a delicate yet captivating anger, made him seem like her closest kin. Lin Dayu felt a mix of tingling and trembling in his heart, and quickly climbed onto her. Zhenshu then took off her own undershirt and covered him with it, carrying away all the blood-stained firewood. A moment later, she returned and wiped the half of the bed board clean with a damp cloth.
Lin Dayu saw her grab two handfuls of white rice from the jar and leave, then return a moment later to sit beside him. Glistening beads of sweat glistened on her round nose, and her face was smudged with a light dusting of ash. He knew she must have been exhausted while he had dozed off. He wanted to thank her but couldn't find the words, and after a long pause, he finally said, "You must be a farm girl."
Zhenshu nodded and said, "You should be glad that I am a peasant girl, otherwise, I'm afraid you would still be lying there now."
That's natural; if she weren't strong, how could she have dragged him here?
Before Lin Dayu could speak, Zhenshu opened the door and went out again. A moment later, the aroma of white rice filled the air. She cooked the porridge until it was very soft, then took the only bowl, ladled it in, and handed the only pair of chopsticks to Lin Dayu, asking, "Can you move your arm?"
Lin Dayu's arms were naturally still mobile; after all, he was a seven-foot-tall man. However, with those two small scars on his back, how could he be so weak that he couldn't even hold chopsticks?
He tried to stretch, gritting his teeth and frowning, "It hurts too much."
Zhenshu stirred the porridge with her chopsticks, then picked up some and fed it to the person, saying, "Open your mouth!"
Lin Dayu opened his mouth in response, but after taking only one bite, he shook his head and said, "It's hot, too hot."
Zhenshu was afraid that he had really been burned, so she knelt on the ground and carefully blew on it again and again, then used the tip of her tongue to test the temperature before putting it in his mouth.
Lin Dayu looked at her disheveled hair, her slightly parted red lips, blowing on the little bit of white porridge, and her tongue always sticking out a little bit, wishing he could turn into that little bit of white porridge and lie on her chopsticks.
Zhenshu was so hungry that she wished she could immediately stuff the whole bowl of porridge into his mouth. However, when she thought of how he had single-handedly blocked the tiger and told her to escape to save her, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She carefully fed him the whole bowl of porridge before going out to wash her own bowl and serving herself.
After they had eaten their fill and tidied up the hut, the sun was already setting in the west, and it was evening. Zhenshu walked to the water's edge and looked around for a while, then returned to the hillside, climbed up a high slope behind it, and looked around again. All she could see were lush pine and cypress trees, and she couldn't make out any signs of human habitation.
A full day and night had passed since she fell from the carriage. Only now could she sit down and carefully reflect on everything that had happened from yesterday to today. The anger she felt yesterday evening had gradually faded, replaced by a sense of uncertainty about the future and the situation she would face after returning to Caijia Temple.