3 The Abandoned Child 3

It didn't take long before that question was solved. A grown adult figure had fallen down from the roof and landed right beside where Li Tian slept. From the moon light, the young boy could tell that the man was injured and needed help immediately. This however was a problem. Where in the world could he find a doctor at this hour. Just then, the man started to move and had grabbed onto Li Tian's leg. The man looked at the startled boy, saying one thing before passing out.

"Moonlight Grass."

"Moonlight Grass.." Li Tian repeated the words from the man that fainted. Why did that grass sound so familiar? Where had I heard of such a plant? Oh! Big Sister Rou Xuan told me about this herb!

It was as Li Tian had said, Moonlight Grass was a common medical herb that was taught to students back in the academy. The medicinal effects of the plant allowed for the user to stop bleeding from their wound. The herb could be commonly found in hilly areas and is easily found on days where the moon was out. The herb had a glowing effect when the full moon was above it.

This herb was one of the few things that Li Tian could remember from his time in the academy. The reason for that was because Jiang Rou Xuan had made sure that this common herb was engrained in Li Tian's head. The great medicinal effects could be put to good use for Li Tian, if he ever encountered any troubles outside by himself. Now, after the weeks of hardcore memorising, the hard work had finally paid off for Li Tian.

Not wasting any time, Li Tian tried his best to cover up the mystery man with his rice sacks and headed off to the hilly forest behind the inn. The child was raised reading the 1000 Great Virtues Book. Till this day, this was the only book that he had understood and read finish. In the years that he was ostracised by his friends and family, Jiang Rou Xuan had painstakingly read the book repeated to Li Tian and had shaped him into the boy that he was today.

Thus, when Li Tian noticed a man in distress, the first thing that popped up in his mind was one of the great virtues. A help of kindness for the weak, is a help worth doing. A help of kindness for the helpless, is a help worth giving. A help of kindness for the hopeless, is a help worth trying. In this case, the man fit that category and so, Li Tian was going to uphold on his part.

In the hilly forest, Li Tian started to ascend upwards. The past few days had been drizzly, resulting in the soil being damp. Many times, Li Tian almost slipped on the moss and mud. Although the hills were very big and vast, making it difficult for Li Tian to find the plat, the biggest problem wasn't that. Rather, Li Tian could not recall how the herb looked like, making this expedition even harder!

After two hours of searching, Li Tian came to a stop on a boulder that laid on the side of the hill. He rested, looking up at the bright round moon. Li Tian may be tired, hungry and exhausted, but he did not have any thoughts of stopping just yet. If he did, he would be abandoning that random man to die on his own. As he leaned on the boulder, a light tickle was felt on Li Xian's hand. The boy looked down to see what it was, and low and behold, it was a particular looking herb. The herb resembled wheat and was white in colour. The most unique part about that herb was that it was glowing along with the moonlight!

"I found it!" Li Tian shouted out excitedly. There were around 4 stalks that were clustered at the front of the boulder. Not knowing how much he required, he decided to just take all of the Moonlight Grass.

When Li Tian went downhill, the boy got lost when trying to find his way back to the inn. During the night, everything was dark and so, it made his journey back really hard too. Not only that, the boy's poor IQ resulted in his forgetting his route back to the inn. It took him an entire hour to find the familiar-looking alleyway. Only then, was he able to help the injured man.

To any normal civilian in a city that wasn't a martial cultivator, the person would've thought that the bleeding man would be dead by now. After all, who could live from excessive bleeding, especially without attempting to stop the bleeding for three whole hours! This didn't cross the mind of the straightforward child, instead, he focused on treating the mystery man. That mindset of a normal civilian cannot be applied to this man too. Even after three full hours of bleeding, the man had not die from bleeding out and was just in a fainted state.

Li Tian held the stalks of Moonlight Grass in his hand as he repeated the process of applying the herb in his head. First, Remove the stalk from the flower and its seeds. Next, grind up the flower and seeds into a paste-like substance. Lastly, apply it to the bleeding wound, stopping the bleeding effectively.

The first step was simple for Li Tian, but the second step had stumped him. The boy had nothing to help grind up the flower and seeds. He couldn't just pick up a rock from the sidewalk and start making paste. It would be too dirty. In the end, Li Tian decided that he should just chew it, using his teeth to grind up the plant. It took the boy several minutes to make the plant into a paste-like substance. The saliva had actually helped to speed up the process.

Li Tian spat out the bitter tasting substance onto his cleaner hand. Opening up the man's robe, he revealed a very well-toned body that was as pale as the moon. The visual combination was rather weird as it was rare to see a fair body with muscles. Most of the time, you would only see scholars with pale skin. Li Tian realised that the left side of the man's waste had medium sized wound, resembling the slashing of a blade. Blood was still flowing out of the man and it looked like there were no signs of stopping.

Li Tian immediately placed his hand on the wound, rubbing and applying the paste on him. The man did not move or wake up from the pain. It looked like he was in a very deep sleep. After applying all of the paste onto him, Li Tian left to the nearby stream that flowed from the river to wash his hands. Finally, when it was way beyond midnight, he fell into a deep slumber that he had not gotten since he had been abandoned by his family.