Chapter 8 In the Cave

Chapter Eight

While gathering herbs, Long Xiaoshan heard a sound and, after circling past a clump of bushes, saw a petite figure squatting on the ground chopping wood, her black braid held in her mouth.

He let out an "Eh" and said, "Chun Tao, what a coincidence."

He had just sent Chun Tao back to the village that morning, and he didn't expect to run into her again in the afternoon.

Chun Tao was startled and quickly turned around. Seeing Long Xiaoshan, her face, covered with a fine sweat, flushed red, and she said somewhat flustered, "Little Xiaoshan, what are you doing here too?"

She had deliberately waited until after noon to go up the mountain, not expecting Long Xiaoshan to still be there.

Thinking of those rumors, Chun Tao's heart pounded uncontrollably.

This guy couldn't possibly have been following her all the time, could he? That would mean she had just escaped from the tiger's mouth only to fall into the wolf's jaws.

Long Xiaoshan said, "Chun Tao, let me help you chop the wood."

He saw Chun Tao, a rather delicate woman, doing such heavy work as chopping wood, which must be tough, and reached out to take the wood-chopping knife from her hand.

"No, no need," Chun Tao jumped back two steps, hastily saying, "I've chopped enough, I was just about to go down the mountain."

Chun Tao picked up the scattered firewood on the ground and tried to leave in a fluster.

Long Xiaoshan realized that Chun Tao was afraid of him.

He felt disgruntled but couldn't explain himself.

Just as he was about to turn around and continue gathering herbs, suddenly a loud crack of thunder sounded, followed by a dark cloud drifting over from the horizon, and a heavy rain poured down.

The weather in July can change in an instant, and the rain was fierce. Chun Tao, running down the mountain, could not withstand the weight of the firewood on her back, stepped into a void, cried out, and fell to the ground, scattering the wood all over the place.

Long Xiaoshan quickly ran over and saw Chun Tao covered in mud and water, holding her foot, unable to stand up after several tries, her eyes reddened and her face either wet from rain or tears. She sat there, looking dumbfounded, her gaze wrenching one's heart.

"Chun Tao, you've hurt your foot," Long Xiaoshan observed that Chun Tao's foot had swelled up like a bun, obviously twisted just now.

He reached out to pick up Chun Tao.

"Don't touch me!" Chun Tao forcefully pushed Long Xiaoshan.

"Don't just sit there, it's pouring," Long Xiaoshan reached out again to embrace her.

"I told you not to touch me, none of you are good people," Chun Tao yelled, pushing and hitting Long Xiaoshan.

"Enough!" Long Xiaoshan's anger rose, he roared, startling Chun Tao into stillness. He then scooped her up and looked around quickly, rushing toward a certain direction.

He remembered there was an abandoned Guanyin Cave on the Back Mountain.

It was said to have existed before the Liberation. Later, during the campaign against the Four Olds, the Guanyin Statue was smashed, and the incense offerings ceased.

After running for a while, he indeed saw a cave entrance, which had been obstructed by vines and brambles. Long Xiaoshan, holding the knife, hacked open the vines and carried Chun Tao into the cave. The cave was dry, yet it was full of cobwebs due to the long absence of people.

Long Xiaoshan found a flat spot and gently laid Chun Tao down.

"Chun Tao, let me take a look at your foot," said Long Xiaoshan as he grabbed the injured foot.

Seemingly frightened by Long Xiaoshan's recent shout, Chun Tao struggled a bit with her foot, unable to free it, and fearfully watched Long Xiaoshan touch the swollen area, then produced a long golden needle and aimed it at her ankle.

"Little Xiaoshan, what are you doing?" Chun Tao grabbed Long Xiaoshan's arm, terrified of the nine-inch long golden needle.

"Don't be scared, your injury is quite serious. If we don't remove the blood stasis promptly, you might be unable to walk for a month once you get home," Long Xiaoshan said.

"But…"

"Trust me, it won't hurt much, I have experience."

"Well… okay, little Xiaoshan, be gentle…" Chun Tao, hearing that she might be unable to walk for a month, no longer dared to stop Long Xiaoshan.

"Are you ready? I'm going to start now!" Long Xiaoshan said again in a soft voice.

"Mhm!" Chun Tao clenched her eyes shut, turned her head aside, her little face pale.

Long Xiaoshan saw how nervous Chun Tao was, smiled a little, and slowly began pushing the golden needle down…

"Ah!" Chun Tao cried out, clenching one hand into a fist, while the other gripped Long Xiaoshan's arm tightly, almost pinching off a chunk of flesh.

Long Xiaoshan grimaced and said speechlessly, "Chun Tao, I haven't even pricked you yet! Your… your hand, don't grip so tight…"

"Sorry!" Chun Tao murmured an apology, her cheeks flushed, and slowly retracted her hand from Long Xiaoshan's arm.

"Your muscles are too tense; I can't insert the needle! Relax, try to relax a bit!" Long Xiaoshan frowned.

Chun Tao bit her lip and hesitantly said, "Then… let's try again… I'll try to relax."

"Okay, relax a bit, I'll try to be as gentle as possible..."

"Does it feel a bit better now?"

"Mhm! It just feels... tingling and numb..."

"That's good, I'm activating the circulation and dispersing the blood clots now."

"How is it?!" Long Xiaoshan noticed that Chun Tao was trembling violently.

"It's sour and swollen, unbearably uncomfortable..." Chun Tao's tightly closed eyes crinkled at the brows, looking as if she might cry any moment.

"Just hold on a little longer, it will be fine once the clot is removed," Long Xiaoshan soothed Chun Tao.

Chun Tao made a soft hum from her nose and slowly nodded.

After about ten minutes or so,

Chun Tao felt a slight numbness in her foot and heard Long Xiaoshan's somewhat exhausted voice, "It's done, Chun Tao."

Chun Tao quickly opened her eyes and saw that her originally swollen ankle had returned to its slender shape. She tried moving her ankle, and the sharp pain was gone.

Chun Tao was somewhat incredulous, how could little Xiaoshan be so skilled?

It takes a hundred days for a muscle or bone injury to heal, and given the severity of her sprain, it would have taken at least a month to recover.

"I'll help you up, try walking a few steps," said Long Xiaoshan as he extended his hand and pulled Chun Tao off the ground.

Chun Tao tried walking a few steps and couldn't help but be overjoyed. She exclaimed, "Little Xiaoshan, I'm really all better. You're amazing."

She grabbed Long Xiaoshan's arm, her black eyes blinking rapidly. Soon she noticed that Long Xiaoshan's gaze was a bit unusual, for he had been busy administering the acupuncture to Chun Tao, and the cave was somewhat dark, so he hadn't looked carefully.