THE WEIRD HERMIT 4

Zhu Su twitched to surprise as he returned to Man's house and found many people had gathered there. And he became more surprised as seeing they were surrounding Zhu Youdun.

"What's going on?!" The instinct of a father immediately provoked Zhu Su to ask these people worryingly.

But apparently, no need for him to ask, he soon got the answer. As the center of attention, Zhu Youdun lay restlessly. His body was wholly wet with damp sweat. His face was bright red, his eyes was half-closed. His chest rose and fell with the rapid breath, like someone who could not get enough oxygen.

"Your son has a high fever," Man spoke up. Man's wife was busy taking water to give a cold compress for Zhu Youdun.

Zhu Su quickly grabbed Zhu Youdun's hand. "Youdun, can you hear me, Boy?"

"Yes... Fu Wang..."

Zhu Youdun answered, his voice was barely audible. He wanted to open his eyes, but it seemed that it was very difficult for him to do it

"It really hurts... My head is spinning... I'm dizzy..."

Zhu Su bit his lip. Zhu Youdun's arms were injured as a result of being crushed by rocks, sooner or later he would experience a fever due to inflammation. Moreover, it was already seven o'clock in the evening, twilight had changed to night, and the cases of fever due to inflammation occurred mostly at night.

His wound must be treated as soon as possible. And even though his wound had been treated, inflammation might still occur. Moreover, not only his wound had not yet been treated properly, Zhu Youdun even had to endure pain by wandering around until he could finally take rest - and he just rested without having his wounds being treated appropriately.

Infections and inflammation without getting treated, not to mention the high fever. And he did not get any medicine to treat his son. Such a complicated case which almost forced him to give up...

"Mrs. Man has given you a compress. Do you feel better?"

"A little..."

"Yes, a little is enough..." Zhu Su turned to Man. "Do you have a sterile little knife?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Can you please lend it to me?"

"Sure." Man stood up, entering the kitchen to get a small knife Zhu Su requested.

Zhu Su observed the small knife inside his grasp. Actually, it was much safer to use percussopunctator * , but in such kind of place even acupuncture needles would not exist for sure. He had no way out, in order to save his son, he must use whatever things existed here.

Zhu Su cleaned the wounds and bruises that caused inflammation in Zhu Youdun's hands. Then, he raised his knife.

"Youdun... it will be very hurtful, but we have no way out. So you must endure it. By then you can regain your vigor."

Zhu Youdun blinked. "Fu Wang... you want to take the stagnated blood out with... with that knife?..."

"We have no other choice, Youdun!"

Zhu Youdun stared at Zhu Su with a look that made Zhu Su feel his heart got sliced ​​into pieces. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

"Well then, Fu Wang... I believe in you..."

Zhu Su pressed his lips. He brought the knife aside to Zhu Youdun's bruises, was about to stab into it.

"Forgive me, Youdun!..."

"Stop that! Are you stupid?!"

The scold made Zhu Su's knife stop in the air.

"How can you bleed with a knife?! Do you think we are still living in the stone age? Humans living in this era won't be as strong as the humans from thousands of years ago, let alone this young lord, he won't be able to withstand the pain of being stabbed by a knife!"

This voice! Zhu Su, Hu Nayin, and the others quickly turned behind. Gao Qing was standing in the doorway.

"What else can we do? I have no medical equipment, I can't pick plants in the forest, either. Whatever it takes, I must save my son."

Gao Qing walked closer. He then sat next to Zhu Su, and withdrew a quite thick gold needle from his bag.

"Puncturing with this will be not so painful." After that, he jabbed it around the bruises on Zhu Youdun's arm. Black, thick dead blood that was viscous and difficult to flow emerged from the wounds. He managed to do it in just a few minutes, and after that he closed Zhu Youdun's wound with a pungent herbal patch. In the end, he thrust the acupuncture needles into the acupuncture points of Zhu Youdun's entire body.

"Don't you wish to see Youdun die and I suffer? Why do you help us instead?" Under the bright velvet sky illuminated by the millions of stars, Zhu Su asked Gao Qing. Now they were waiting for the time until the needles were pulled out, while sitting in the house backyard which was directly adjacent to nature - to the mega-constellations above them. Under the sky of perfect midnight velvet, under the stars which were so brilliant they drew the eyes heaven bound. The night aroma spread out, filled this whole dark panorama with its unique fragrance. In Mogaung winter was not too cold, similar to mid-late autumn in Kaifeng. After all, Mogaung is even much southern than Kunming, and Kunming itself, earns the nickname "Four Seasons Are Like Spring" because of its warm temperature. That was why they could sit at night without fear of cold air, and instead, they could enjoy this beautiful night.

For a few moments, only the sound of crickets that accompanied the silence of the night. Gao Qing just kept quiet while lowering his eyes. Zhu Su waited for his answer patiently.

...

* percussopunctator = or pyonex. A type of acupuncture needle, not widely used. Its shape: 5 to 7 pieces of 6 or 7 stainless steel sewing needles bundled in a small hole at one end (drilled a small hole) of a flexible chopstick (or a small bamboo stick, a small wooden stick, etc.). The needle tip is exposed and bundled into a bunch, shaped like a plum.