Taking a second look at the boy, he knew for sure his hands would be dysfunctional from now on. Even with modern technology, it’d require a miracle to leave them in perfect condition, and that’s after several major surgeries. Fortunately, his head remained intact despite a concussion. In theory, he could save the boy’s life, but he would become worthless. Without dexterous hands, he would never be able to feed himself. At that point, it may be better to just let him die now.

Yet, taking a second glance at the expectation Yuki had in her bright eyes, he decided not to betray them. For some irrational reason, the resolute shine in her gaze prompted him to save the boy at all costs.

Looking left and right and ensuring the crowd left entirely, he lifted the boy on his back and dragged him away through the narrow alleys.

He thought of bringing him back to the orphanage, but their funding was incomplete and lacking as it was. The local nobles wouldn’t give a penny more, and Anabella wasn’t that kind to care for a cripple at the expense of the others. All in all, the boy’s fate was hard to determine.

Plopping him down by the creek, he looked at Yuki and sighed, unsure what would become of their attempt.

“We’ll need to clean his wounds first of all, and then bandage him. I need you to go collect dry woods and start a fire, just like I taught you last autumn. Can you do it?”

“Yes, brother!” the girl scampered away after a determined shout, leaving Leo alone by the creek to care for the boy.

Removing the kid’s clothing, he tore up his shirt and washed it in the creek water, getting rid of the blood on it and cleaning it as much as possible given the conditions at hand. He then climbed atop a tree and retrieved an old metallic bowl he’d nicked from a backyard, and brought it back to boil some water. Once Yuki returned, they’d set a fire and hopefully increase the kid’s chances of survival by a small margin.

While the boy was still unconscious, he took advantage of it to reset his bones to the best of his ability. He couldn’t do much for the nerve damage, and it would require more than a miracle for the fractures to heal properly.

At most, he could take of the alignment and bruises, as well as make sure the kid didn’t die of an infection. Well, hopefully — it’s not like he had antimicrobials at hand. He could only scour the area for some natural remedies and pray for the best.

“Got them, big brother!”

Carrying a bundle of sticks bigger than her own height, she looked rather amusing as she struggled to return. Though seeing as she was doing it out of kindness, he wouldn’t douse her enthusiasm with a reproach.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“We just need to boil some water, little fox, not roast a pig. But, since you brought so much, I’ll go see if we caught ourselves anything this morning. You watch the fire and remove the pot once the water boils for five minutes.”

Leaving the boy next to the makeshift campfire, he set the pot in place then ran off to check the traps.

As luck would have it, two of the dozen traps they’d set up were sprung and he caught a pair of large rodents. As they’d stepped on the pressure plates in the middle of the tunnel contraption, the gates one either side closed and they remained stuck in a makeshift wooden cage.

Were they given a day or two, they might become too hungry and start gnawing at the cage, probably destroying it. Alas, with barely a few hours gone by, they didn’t seem to think of escape.

Leo reached a hand through the gap in the cage and poked the rodent’s head. This swift yet simple gesture was all it took for the rat to plop down in the cage, dead.

This was a part of the special move he’d been practicing. If complete, one could use one’s fingers as a lethal weapon, and with a tap it could cause internal organs to rupture. The skin on the outside would remain unblemished, making it a fierce assassination tool.

Alas, he didn’t have the opportunity to practice on bigger targets, and at most could rattle a rat’s brain to death. Even this simple strike exhausted quite a bit of his internal energy, or natural chi as his memories referred to it.

By guiding energy via finger and through an opponent’s acupoint, it would overload that organ or muscle. Against a walnut-sized brain, it became as lethal as a bullet blasting through it. Were he to target a broader area, however, it would gradually greatly deplete his own energy and leave him fatigued for hours.

With his small body and limited experience, he could at most use it a dozen times a day before drying up. If he were to target a large animal or human, that move would at most be effective twice. Doing it thrice would put his body under serious strain and risk of internal injuries.

Leaving his calculations aside, he dragged the two rodents along and returned to the camp, where he promptly dissected and skewered what little meat they had.

Having boiled some water, he once again cleaned the boy’s injuries and removed the makeshift tourniquet stemming his blood flow. Once done, he cleaned the kid’s shirt and used it to bind his hands tightly, both as a bandage and to make sure his cast bones didn’t move.

Finally, he took to cooking the skewered meat. Sprinkling some sea salt he’d proudly extracted himself, he split the available chunks into 3 portions and watched the flames sizzle.

Absentmindedly sinking into meditation, he regained awareness only when a soft groan escaped the boy next to him. As he woke up, he choked and gasped emptily with tears pooling in his eyes, perhaps too weak to even scream out his pain.

“Give him some clean water, Yuki. Then feed him. Since you want to take care of him, then it’s your responsibility to see it through.”

Giving the boy a thorough look with his life-vision, Leonardo nodded subtly in satisfaction as the infection was staved and the boy didn’t seem to run a fever yet.

“As for you, little thief,” he glared at the kid with a predator’s gaze, before continuing once he drank a full pouch: “Tell me everything!”