Chapter 7: Returning Home_1

After Wen Wenhai checked everyone's pulse and laughed, he said, "None of you have any serious internal injuries, just some minor bruises and external wounds. I have some common injury medicine here that is very good for treating bruises. You can apply it externally and take it internally when you return home, and rest well." After he finished speaking, he took out some small bottles from his pocket and handed them to Zhang Cai. He continued, "The brother's arm is fractured, and I cannot help with that. Here is some silver for you to see the doctor, it should be no problem." After finishing, he took out some scattered silver and handed it over. Zhang Cai hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "I dare not."

At this point, Zhang Xiaohu, with bruised eyes, said, "Dad, let's take it. We have already received so much from our benefactor. This is just a small token of our gratitude. Please, take it."

Zhang Cai looked back at his son and scolded, "We have already taken the silver that those people paid us, how can we accept more from our benefactor?" After he finished speaking, he took out the silver banknotes they had just been given, counted them carefully, and was shocked. There were forty or fifty banknotes worth ten taels each. It was estimated that the short fat man was too anxious and afraid to count and just handed them over.

At this time, Wen Wenhai handed the silver to Zhang Xiaohu and said, "This young man has a generous nature, which I admire. Take it. The silver you were compensated by others is different from what I'm giving you."

Zhang Cai didn't blame Zhang Xiaohu for taking the silver, but he informed Wen Wenhai about the banknotes, as it was a large sum of money, and he couldn't deal with it privately. Moreover, he was afraid that those people would come back for trouble later. The silver was not a big deal, but their lives were more important. Wen Wenhai, looking at the large sum of money, couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He hadn't expected his junior sister to cause so much trouble for this family. He also didn't dare to make decisions without permission and went to consult with his junior sister.

Zhang Xiaohua, who was accompanying his injured older brother, was far from calm. His cheeks and mouth still burned with pain. The scene of Wen Wenhai descending from the sky and effortlessly taking care of those fierce dogs had a far greater impact on him than almost losing his life to the bullies. His eyes were fixed on Wen Wenhai's sword, and the seed in his heart seemed to be quietly sprouting.

The two village girls stood behind Zhang Cai, not knowing what they could do to express their gratitude. They wanted to thank the woman in purple, but seeing her unapproachable appearance, they didn't dare to approach and just watched from afar.

Soon, Wen Wenhai had a result after consulting with his junior sister. She took a small token from her brocade pouch and handed it to him. Wen Wenhai didn't pick it up and said a few words, but seemed unable to convince her. Shaking his head, he took the token and walked back to Zhang Cai, saying, "Uncle, you should keep this huge sum of money yourself. Even if we took it away, you wouldn't be able to return it to them if they came back for it. This is a token from our sect, which my junior sister is giving you. If they come back to reclaim the silver, you can just return these banknotes to them, and the loose silver coins I gave you should be enough for your healing. However, if they have other intentions, you can take this token to the Lotus Escort Agency's station in the town, find the person in charge, and tell them that the owner of the token told you to find them. You can tell them anything."

After speaking, he handed the token in his hand to Zhang Cai, who carefully received the life-saving token and carefully looked at it. It was a three-inch black card, heavy in the hand, and he didn't know what material it was made of. On the surface were two wonderfully drawn characters, which Zhang Cai didn't recognize, and the side of the characters was covered with strange patterns. On the back of the card was a character that Zhang Cai recognized, "Qing", which was probably the mark of Wen Wenhai's junior sister. Zhang Cai carefully put the card in his pocket and pinched it cautiously to make sure it was there before he let out a sigh of relief.

After Zhang Cai had put away the token, Wen Wenhai said, "Everyone, we have important matters to attend to, so we won't escort you back to the village. If you have the chance to visit Pingyang City, please look for me. Until we meet again." After speaking, he walked away with the purple-clothed woman without waiting for Zhang Cai and others to respond. They looked like ordinary people, but they moved quickly, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

From the moment they left Lu Town, the purple-clothed woman did not speak a word nor remove her face mask to anyone, so Zhang Cai's family did not even know her name or what she looked like. They only knew that her voice was very pleasant.

Watching the two people walk away, Zhang Xiaohua muttered, "They run so fast."

Zhang Xiaohu said, "Don't you understand, Xiaohua? This is the legendary flying skill."

Zhang Xiaohua asked, "Have you seen it?"

Zhang Xiaohu replied, "I haven't seen it, I'm just guessing. Didn't you see that they didn't run, but they were faster than those who did? And they were holding swords, so it's probably flying skill." Zhang Xiaohua blinked and didn't ask any more questions.

The two village girls came over and thanked Zhang Cai, "Thank you, uncle, for saving our lives. If it weren't for you, we..." As they spoke, tears welled up in their eyes as they were still frightened by the events that had just occurred. Zhang Cai waved his hand and said, "We are all peasants, so it's normal to help each other. Let's not talk about that now. We should leave here as soon as possible, as it's inevitable that someone will come. Which village are you from?"

The taller village girl said, "We live in Bali Gully, my name is Liu Qian, and she is my cousin Liu Yueyue." Zhang Cai pondered for a moment and said, "Bali Gully is to the west of Lu Town. If we go back, we'll have to pass through the town, and it's better not to go into the town in this situation. If we go around the town, it will be late, and we probably won't be able to get home before dark. Miss, we live in Guo Village, which is to the north of the town. How about you stay at our house for the night, and we'll take you back tomorrow?"

Liu Qian looked at the sky and said, "Thank you, uncle."

So they all got up and took advantage of the remaining daylight, hurrying along with their injured bodies to get home as soon as possible.

Thirty miles was not too close for Zhang Cai and the others who were not injured, especially as they had to go around the east side of Lu Town. The difficulties of the journey were self-evident. By the time they returned to Guo Village, it was already pitch black. Originally, Zhang Cai wanted to avoid attracting attention by passing through a bamboo grove near the village, but there was no need for that now.

Guo Village in the dark was no different from before, with few people on the village roads. Occasionally, passersby didn't pay much attention to them. This relieved Zhang Cai, who had been worried about people seeing his family's disheveled state. It was not until he got to the fence gate of his small courtyard and saw his wife's figure under the lamp that he completely let go of his worries.

As the group entered the house one by one, Guo Sufei, who had just come to greet them, was shocked by the sight before her. She rushed forward to support Zhang Cai and anxiously asked, "What happened?"

After helping Zhang Cai to sit down, she quickly came over to check on the children, "Are you alright?"

Finally, she noticed the two unfamiliar girls and did not dare to ask. With a puzzled look, she turned to Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai said with a wry smile, "My dear, it's a long story. This is Liu Qian, and this is Liu Yueyue. They are from Bali Gully. You and Xiaohua take Xiaolong to Mr. Chen first, and then we'll talk. Oh, let Xiaolong and Xiaohua wash their faces first, and just say they fell from a tree."

Guo Sufei was still puzzled, but hurriedly fetched some warm water for the brothers to wash their faces. She also wanted to fetch water for Zhang Cai, but he stopped her and urged her to see the children's injuries first. Liu Qian also wanted to go with them, but Zhang Cai stopped her as well.

Mr. Chen was the village's old veterinarian. He had lived in Guo Village for a lifetime, and his medical skills were not bad. On normal days, he treated not only livestock but also people with headaches and fevers. At this time, Mr. Chen was sitting in his small house, enjoying a pot of hot wine that he had asked his wife to heat for him. Just when he started to drink, he heard someone knocking on his door frantically, calling him. He guessed someone in the village was sick, so he put down his wine cup and got up to open the door. As soon as Mr. Chen opened the door, he saw Guo Sufei and her two children, and he laughed, "Big sister, why are you here so late? Did the little one eat too much and get a stomachache?"

Guo Sufei carefully supported Zhang Xiaolong into the house and said awkwardly, "Uncle, tonight Xiaolong and his friends were playing on the east slope and accidentally fell from a tree, breaking his arm. We just got back, so I hurried over here. I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

When Mr. Chen heard that Zhang Xiaolong had broken his arm, his face immediately became serious, "What are you talking about, big sister? This is a big deal for a child! No matter how late it is, I have to get up. Hurry in and let me take a look." He then led them to a clean room dedicated to treating patients. At this time, Mr. Chen's wife also came in, and he asked her to light the oil lamp. He then asked Zhang Xiaolong to remove the sleeve of his injured arm, carefully examined it, pinched it here and there,

asked about Zhang Xiaolong's feelings, and then let out an obvious sigh of relief. He told Guo Sufei, "Big sister, don't worry, it's not a big deal. It's just a fracture. I've treated more serious fractures in cows and horses, so leave Xiaolong to me."

Mr. Chen's wife, who was uneasy, said, "Old man, you just drank, is that alright?"

Mr. Chen patted his chest, "I've been treating illnesses for most of my life; this little bit of alcohol is nothing. Besides, I haven't even started drinking yet. If you don't believe me, go look at my wine pot."

Actually, Guo Sufei had smelled the alcohol on Mr. Chen long ago, but he was the only doctor in the village, so she had no choice but to rely on him. After hearing him say he hadn't drunk much, she was finally reassured. Mr. Chen fetched some wooden splints and brought a ceramic jar of medicine. As soon as he removed the seal, a pungent smell of medicine wafted out. First, Mr. Chen carefully adjusted the fractured bone in Xiaolong's arm. Then, he took some ointment from the jar, evenly applied it to Xiaolong's arm, wrapped it in a white cloth, and finally used the wooden board to secure it.

During the process, the pain caused Xiaolong to grit his teeth and break out into a cold sweat. Guo Sufei wiped his forehead with a towel over and over, feeling heartbroken.

After everything was done, Mr. Chen washed his hands and said to Guo Sufei, "Big sister, take the child home to rest. Come back in half a month to change the medicine. It takes a hundred days for a broken bone to heal, so he won't be able to use a hoe for a long time."

Guo Sufei thanked him profusely and left some copper coins before taking her two kids back home.