9. Chapter – Hunt after The Green Star

Li Wei packed all of their belongings and prepared Mei Lin for a journey. When he was ready, he woke her up once more. She began talking nonsense about the falling star again. This time, Li Wei received new information. A green falling star had descended from the sky somewhere downstream. Initially, he didn't believe her, but after hearing the story repeatedly, he arranged a carriage for Mei Lin, and they set out on their journey to find the fallen Green Star.

He attempted to place Mei Lin inside a basket, but he lacked the strength to lift it. Before long, he fashioned a palanquin using a few small trees and covered it with a blanket. Placing Mei Lin on it, he covered her with additional blankets and other items to ensure nothing would be lost during the journey. They began traveling alongside the water stream descending from the mountains.

The journey was exceedingly arduous and challenging, particularly for Li Wei. He had to bear the burden of his less-than-optimal condition and Mei Lin. As they progressed, her condition deteriorated further. Despite changing her bandages, her wounds continued to worsen. Their sole recourse was to locate the fallen Green Star. The rationale was evident that returning to the village held no promise of salvation for her, and he would likely face punishment. Moreover, Mei Lin's incessant ramblings centered solely on the fallen Green Star, leaving them with no alternative.

Their journey was very slow. Now and then they need to stop because of Mei Lins's problems. Not long after she started vomiting everything that she ate and she was even weaker. The first night was not very comfortable they didn't have a shelter and were forced to sleep under a tent blanket. Days flew by.

*****

A week later, they arrived near a waterfall with a large pond. The pond under the waterfall was remarkably peaceful, and the area around it lacked any trees, making it appear safe from the wind. Within ten meters of the pond, only green grass and some herbs, suitable for medicine and tea, could be found. The waterfall, about two meters tall, ensured there was no humid weather in the vicinity. To reach the pond, they had to take a small detour downhill.

They didn't find a fallen Green Star or any evidence of its landing. It wasn't good, but yesterday Mei regained her consciousness and even tried to stand up. It took them a long time to descend, and eventually, they arrived next to a pond. With the help of a rocky cliff, they set up a tent, ensuring that one of the free sides was sealed.

Li Wei set a fire and began to warm up a rabbit, which he had hunted down yesterday. After placing the rabbit near the fire, he took a bath. The water was very cold but refreshing. His first proper bath in nearly two days since they left the village. After his bath, he prepared Mei Lin to take a bath too.

Her injuries were a little better than a week before, but the fever was still rampaging. He was frustrated after a week of walking, but he finally helped her go into a pond. To her surprise, he nearly threw her in. His happy smile was immediate.

"You piece of shit. It so fucking cold. Are you crazy? Haha…" Li Wei starts laughing. "Aren't you happy that you can wash up? Take a bath I will prepare food." Mei Lin starts washing up and taking her bath. Not long after she starts also smiling. She carefully took off her bandages and washed them up. They smelled very bad but they didn't have any spare so this was her only option. After taking a bath and washed clothes she put some bandages on and tried to stand up. She was trying to stand up. "Li help me out, please. I can't push myself out. Of course, but you need to make us tea. Haha…" 

The ascent was very hard, but she managed to stand up with some help from Li. They went back to the fire to heat up and eat. 'What will we do now? Do you know where we are?' Not long after, Li Wei explained the situation to her." "So we need to find a fallen Green Star." She can't even pick a rabbit's leg and start eating. Her hands were still in bad shape and all the work was on Li Wei.

Winter is slowly arriving, but at this moment, they don't think about it. Their only priority is to find a fallen Green Star. After they ate a rabbit, Li Wei went to the forest for some firewood, and Mei Lin went to the tent to sleep. Li Wei placed the tent against the rocky wall so they wouldn't have two open entrances.

*****

A few days went by.

In this part of the forest, there are a lot of herbs, so Li Wei picked a variety of them. In their free time, Mei Lin taught Li Wei everything she knew about the herbs he had picked. She didn't know their real names, but Li Wei, even though he could read, never told her that each herb was named in her illustrated book. But even that didn't matter, he felt like he was home and safe.

Li Wei managed to build something like walls around the tent with logs, creating a natural barrier against the wind. Both of them prepared the tent to withstand strong winds and shielded the rocky wall with wood and tall grass for protection against the cold. From afar, it looked like a makeshift house in the woods with a tent inside.

*****

Ten days later, Mei Lin's fever went down, and her wounds started closing very fast a she slowly started walking. On this day, Li Wei went hunting, and she went to take a bath in the pond. After nearly a month, she started slowly walking. She took a bath and washed the bandages. Before Mei went back to the tent, she took a pot and went to the waterfall to catch falling water for tea.

When she was under the waterfall, trying to catch falling water, the process was slow because she could only hold the pot with one hand. The other one was wrapped in bandages and sticks so her fingers could heal. When the pot was nearly full, Mei wanted to turn around and go back. Her legs slipped on the slimy stones, and she started falling. She tried grabbing everything around her, but her attempts were meaningless. She fell on the rocks and slipped into the pond. Many of her wounds were instantly torn open, and they immediately started bleeding. With her damaged hands, she couldn't push herself up from the water, and after a while, she lost consciousness. As her slipping consciousness faded away, she started sinking under the water.