17 The Gongsun Clan
"Woah, you're very light." The boy was surprised as he heaved her onto the horse. He gave the reins a tug and the pair galloped into the darkness of the night.
Throughout the entire ride, the little girl was held close to his chest, the feeling was extremely warm, and somewhat awkward, because of the position with her wrapped in a thick warm cloak, riding at full speeds.
She tried her best to feign unconsciousness, that was not easy because of the high speed of the horse, she nearly yelled out every time the horse jumped over a log.
[Is this how you would actually treat a gravely ill person?]
[I hope you never encounter another situation like this. If you do, I will pray for that person!]
The scenery outside was passing swiftly as the horse made his way through the forest. But she could not even see the passing scenery because she was tangled up in the warm cloak. All she felt was the warmth emanating from the hand that was around her waist.
But she could clearly hear the whistling of the winds, and the predators lurking within.
[Where is he taking me?]
She soon got the answer when she heard the marching sounds of soldiers and the sounds of the soldiers practicing formations in preparation for the battlefield.
As the horse rode into the heart of the military camp, the soldiers that saw the boy would bow to him as he rode past them. It seemed that he held a high position within the camp.
The military camp was under the great tiger general, Gongsun Hong, nicknamed so for his great achievements in battles, an idol in many soldiers hearts. He was from the Gongsun clan, a great clan of warriors that had served the Great Jin Dynasty since its founding. The women of the clan were said to be valiant, while the men were said to be heroic.
The young boy was precisely the grandson of this great tiger general, Gongsun Leng.
Although he was young, he had shown great achievement in the art of the sword, passing the military tests and earning a place in the camp.
Gongsun Leng goes off the horse and brought down the little girl wrapped in a thick cloak. He was planning to bring her into the tent. This time he was much gentler handling the girl.
"Young master, you're back." A middle aged man from inside the tent came out and greeted Gongsun Leng.
"Uncle Song." Gongsun Leng replied. He was quite respectful of this middle aged man, Song Shun because this man had once been a sworn brother of his father.
"What's the matter? Back so soon?"
"Uh… I ran into someone who needed help. Is the doctor in?" Gongsun Leng said motioning toward the wrapped up cloak in his arms.
The little girl who was wrapped up in the cloak prayed that there was no doctor in the camp.
[Dear camp doctor, please do not be within the camp at this moment.]
Song Shun's mouth twitched as he looked at the bundle tangled in Gongsun Leng's arms.
[With the way you're holding the person, it would be a miracle if they haven't died yet.]
"No, the doctor is at home now, after all, he hasn't seen his family in years, he will be back in three days. He deserves some time off." Song Shun answered.
At this moment, the girl let out a sigh of relief.
[I can at least stay for three more days.]
She made up her mind, to leave the day the doctor returns. She knew her body very well.
[Regular people or inexperienced doctors may not feel anything wrong with my pulse, but experienced doctors who served for many years in the army would definitely know.]
"Okay, can you tell me when he gets back." Gongsun Leng says as he walks into the tent carrying the bundled up cloak.
"Of course." Song Shun says as he goes off to another part of camp.
Inside the tent, it was lit brightly with candles, it is much warmer than the open air outside. Gongsun Leng finally takes a breath of the warm air that circulates through his meridians.
He sets the girl on the bed. It was actually his bed in the tent that he shares with another member of his family. Of course, there are only a few people within the army that had enough status to sleep on a bed.
Although it was just a simple wooden frame with a few quilts, it was better than sleeping on the ground.
As he unrolled the cloak and inside revealed the little girl undisturbed, still sleeping.
[Men and women should not touch each other but at such a time…]
He gently placed his finger on an artery to check for a pulse. He had seen the soldiers do this many times. They said the pulse on the wrist could be easily overseen.
After all, what if a soldier's arm had been cut off during battle. So the neck was the best place to search for a pulse.
He felt a pulse and immediately took his hands off her pale skin. If she was conscious, he would probably apologize for violating her.
He didn't know what to do after he covered her with a blanket. So he sat down by the bed and observed her.
Before it was cold and dark, without much light so he did not get a chance to look at her closely. Now that there was enough lighting and nothing to do, he would take this chance to look at her.
He saw that she had smooth snow-like skin, her hair was thick and black as ink, her eyelashes were thick and curly, she had the complexion of a little porcelain doll that would be a part of every noble girl's toy collection.
At this point, the girl already knew what he was doing.
[I hope you never become a doctor!]
[Who would keep staring at a patient like this?]
Suddenly there were loud footsteps that echoed at the entrance of the tent.
The footsteps were getting louder and louder.
Gongsun Leng quickly got up and ran to greet the owner of those footsteps.
