Chapter 28: Da Chun is Poisoned

Chen Xiaobei looked at the almost vertical cliff, feeling a little troubled.

There was no choice but to repeat his previous method. He tied both of their clothes together and fastened them around his waist, managing to descend to the bottom with difficulty.

When he finally reached the bottom, he could see clearly.

It was indeed Da Chun.

He called out several times, but there was no response.

Chen Xiaobei looked up at the cliff, feeling discouraged.

There was no way he could get the large Da Chun up here. So the only option now was to carry Da Chun down the valley and back down the mountain.

Da Chun was heavy. As soon as Chen Xiaobei lifted him, his legs began to shake. But there was no other choice—he had to grit his teeth and push forward.

The further he walked down, the more confused Chen Xiaobei became. By all logic, the valley floor should be overrun with weeds since it was a place rarely visited by people. But surprisingly, there weren't many weeds in the valley.

No, there were a few. On both sides, there seemed to be some low-growing plants, but with the limited light from his torch, he couldn't clearly make out what they were. Besides, he didn't have the energy to focus on that right now.

After walking for an unknown distance, he finally saw a gentle slope ahead. From there, a path led up to the mountain road.

Chen Xiaobei laid Da Chun down, held the torch, and examined him. His eyes were tightly shut, his teeth clenched, and his face was somewhat black and swollen.

This... he had been poisoned.

At this moment, Chen Xiaobei faced a dilemma. Should he carry Da Chun back first, or should he carry the person from the top of the cliff down and bring them both back together?

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Xiaobei made a decision. He was going to do the right thing and carry both of them down together.

Just then, a faint shout came from the foot of the mountain. It was a woman's voice.

Upon listening closely, he realized it was Cui Hongyu.

It turned out that Chen Ping and the others had hurriedly fled. When they reached the village entrance, they ran into Xiu Mei and Cuihua and could only say that there were wild beasts on the mountain and that they were too scared to go further.

When Xiu Mei heard about the wild beasts, she immediately began to cry.

In those times, when ordinary people heard about wild beasts, they naturally feared the worst, and they believed Da Chun was in serious danger.

The crying startled Cui Hongyu. After waking Chen Qiao'er and giving her some instructions, she came out. Upon hearing the whole story from Cuihua, she was not convinced.

"Cuihua, sister-in-law, it's hard to see clearly in the mountains at night. Just because there are wild beasts doesn't necessarily mean they will hurt anyone. We should go back up and take a look ourselves."

Cuihua hesitated, but Xiu Mei exploded with surprising energy.

Of course, a mother's protective instincts are strong.

"Let's go then. At least we need to figure out what happened to Da Chun. If he's alive, we need to find him; if he's dead..."

Before she could finish speaking, Cui Hongyu stretched out her hand to stop her from continuing, saying, "Second Aunt, it's not that serious. For so many years, people have always said that there are wild beasts in the mountains, but no one has actually encountered them, right?"

After saying this, she turned and ran up the mountain.

Xiu Mei and Cuihua, suddenly realizing, hurriedly followed her.

As soon as they entered the mountain, Cui Hongyu immediately shouted loudly, calling out Chen Xiaobei's name, and soon after, Cuihua and Xiu Mei started shouting Da Chun's name.

Hearing the back-and-forth shouting, Chen Xiaobei's heart warmed, and he immediately shouted back in response.

Then he climbed up a tree and waved the torch in his hand with all his might.

After running up the mountain for a good while, Cui Hongyu finally saw the light and excitedly shouted, "Look, there's the light!"

Only then did Chen Xiaobei come down from the tree. His heart finally settled.

Cuihua and Xiu Mei came up and saw Da Chun lying on the ground, and they were immediately stunned.

"Xiaobei, what... what happened here?"

Chen Xiaobei sighed and shook his head, "I don't know. I found him at the bottom of the cliff over there."

Cui Hongyu lowered her head and, after just one glance, couldn't help but exclaim, "He's been poisoned."

After saying that, she took the torch and started to carefully examine Da Chun's face. Soon, she found a black, swollen lump on the back of his neck.

Looking at the egg-sized lump, Cuihua couldn't help but cry out again.

Cui Hongyu reached up and took the silver hairpin from her hair, heated it over the torch for a moment, and then quickly drove it into the lump.

Cui Hongyu acted with great force, and the hairpin went in about two inches.

Once the pin was driven in, it was clear that something inside the lump was moving. Immediately, a foul odor came out, and black blood began to flow out.

Xiu Mei was stunned and couldn't help but shout, "Hongyu, what... what are you doing?"

Cui Hongyu turned to look at Xiu Mei and calmly said, "Da Chun is poisoned, and I'm helping him detox."

As she spoke, she reached up and took another silver hairpin from Cuihua's head, heating it over the fire as well.

Then, she placed the hairpin across the neck and drove it in, forcefully lifting it upwards.

In an instant, she made a two-inch long incision.

Next, Cui Hongyu flicked her wrist.

What Chen Xiaobei saw left him speechless. At the tip of the silver hairpin, there was a black object the size of a fingernail.

It was a black insect.

Yes, it was an eight-legged insect, with a few of its legs still flailing helplessly in the air.

"Second Aunt, Cuihua, Xiaobei, look, Da Chun was bitten by this kind of insect, that's why he was poisoned."

As he spoke, he brought the silver hairpin close to the torch, and soon the air was filled with the smell of protein burning.

"Hongyu, please, please help and save Da Chun!"

Xiu Mei suddenly realized what was happening and began to bow repeatedly to Cui Hongyu.

Cui Hongyu looked up at Chen Xiaobei, "We need fish mint. Do you remember where that is?"

Fish mint. Chen Xiaobei's mind clicked. The plants he had seen on his way here seemed to be fish mint.

But now, he didn't want to take any risks.

"I remember. You stay here. I'll go pick it right now."

Cui Hongyu stood up, "I'll go with you."

Xiu Mei opened her mouth, but in the end, she held back. After all, they were husband and wife.

On the way, Cui Hongyu repeatedly asked Chen Xiaobei what had happened.

Chen Xiaobei sighed and recounted his experience of finding two people.

After hearing this, Cui Hongyu looked astonished.

"How did this happen, one poisoned at the bottom of the cliff, and one halfway up the mountain?"

Yes, Chen Xiaobei was just as confused. He couldn't figure out what exactly had happened to them. What was even stranger was that the one halfway up had been badly injured, while the one who fell to the valley floor only had a few scratches and wasn't seriously harmed.

So, they would have to wait for them to wake up to clarify the situation.

"What are you going to do about the person on the mountain?" Cui Hongyu asked again.

Chen Xiaobei's tone was firm, "Since we've encountered this, we have to help. No matter what, we have to get him down the mountain and treat his injuries. After all, that's still a human life."

Hearing his decisive words, Cui Hongyu felt a sense of admiration in her heart.

As the saying goes, "A doctor's heart is benevolent." Actually, Cui Hongyu had been thinking the same thing.

She had planned to go up the mountain herself to help if Chen Xiaobei had refused to offer assistance after asking for directions.