Every cell and muscle in my body was trying hard to pull him through the snow. Sweat was covering my back, and I hissed like a horse because I was breathing so hard.
I wanted to come across somebody for a helping hand, but at the same time, I was also afraid. If anyone saw me, they would probably think that this girl must have lost her mind to carry a “dead” body in the middle of a blizzard.
They might even think I was a murderer!
Soon we were both covered with a thick layer of snow and ice.
I did not know how I managed to make it to the hut. It might be plain willpower and persistence. When the small hut finally showed up vaguely, I collapsed into the snow.
I was cold and drowsy because all my energy was completely gone.
Shortly after, a familiar figure came close by.
“Oh, LiNa!”
It was Grandma Sha.
I felt safe and warm inside, and fainted heavily in the snow, alongside that bloody blue body.
The blizzard slowly died away, and the silver moon came out from the clouds. Its soft light shone on the land which casted shadows of trees and scattered huts over the white snow.
The night was very quiet, except for the occasional flickering of bonfires and gentle boiling sound of herbal soup. The orange flames fed the bottom of the pot. Cloud-like white steam merged into the dark night silently. A silver haired old woman wearing a shabby cloak walked out the door. Her steps were unsteady due to a disabled leg that was injured years ago. She used a wooden ladle to transfer some of the herbal soup into the chipped ceramic bowl, then slowly made the way back inside the hut.
The bowl was carefully put on an old table to cool down.
She used the wet cloth to wipe the young man’s face one last time to clean away any last bits of blood before hearing some footsteps behind.
“Grandma Sha, how he doing?” I came close and sat next to her, then looked toward the young man laying silently.
The candle flickered softly, casted a few shadows on the wall.
Grandma Sha shook her head, “Not well, I have never seen anyone hurt so badly. There were countless wounds on his body, from swords, whips, or an unknown power. I already bandaged them up as well as I could. It’s a miracle that he is still alive now, but I am not too optimistic that he will make it by dawn.”
That sounded bad enough, I had spent all my might trying to save this guy, and now he would not even survive dawn?
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
[Deeply Sigh…….]
Although he was no longer the color of blueberries due to the warmer temperature inside the hut, he was still very pale. Now he was all cleaned up, it was easier to see some of his facial features. He still had that bronze mask on, but based on the lips and jawline, it was not hard to tell that he was a relatively handsome young man.
It was quite sad to think this handsome young man would not survive dawn.
Too young to die…..
“LiNa, how do you feel?”
“A lot better, Grandma Sha.”
She patted my head with generosity.
“It scared my soul away when seeing you collapsed in the snow. It must be very hard to carry this young man all the way home. You are a small girl, but sure got lots of strength inside, and a generous heart too! ”
After hearing these compliments, I couldn’t help but blushed because compliments were quite rare in my life. I was always the slowest and dumbest in everything, like being the last runner in every school race. There was no sports gene in me at all!
Nobody had ever praised me this way, and no wonder I was so touched by Grandma Sha’s words.
The Land of Ruins really had trained me well on survival skills, especially building stronger muscles. If I go back to the modern world now, I swore I won’t be the last one anymore.
“Where is Grandpa Jin?” Considering the young man took their bed, there was nowhere for Grandpa Jin to sleep. The hut was super small too, which was only enough for two tiny beds and a cramped common space.
“Oh, that stubborn old man went looking for the bag of lost fruits.”
My goodness!
I had completely forgotten that bag of anesthetic fruits! Well done, LiNa! You just did not deserve all those compliments!
The bloody young man had sent me into shock mode that I completely forgot about the bag of fruits and my mission of getting sweet potatoes. Those were the last ten fruits we had, if they were lost, then there would be no more food to survive the winter months and we would all starve to death.
“Grandma Sha, I am very sorry…….” I lowered my head due to the guilt inside. That was entirely my mistake!
Grandma Sha smiled and reassured me, “Child, no worries, our old man was exceptionally good at looking for lost items. Over the last two hundred years, we had lost all kinds of stuff, and he always found them in the end.”
The candle flickered, and there seemed to be a foggy mist in Grandma Sha’s eyes or could have been mistaken by the dim light, but the sound of grief was visible in her voice.
“The only one he couldn’t find was our daughter, and that was his only regret.”
I dared not to ask the details about their deceased daughter and why she died in a fire, since bringing it up would also bring back those painful memories.
“Child, you have done the right thing. Saving someone is the most important of all.”
“But so cold outside, what if something happen to Grandpa Jin?”
“Oh, nothing can happen to that old man. His skin is too rough for any use!”
I did not know what that meant though. Seeing Grandma Sha sighed again while looking at the young man, I figured that his injuries probably brought back the memories of her daughter. Also she was probably very tired by now after taking care of him while I fainted for a few hours.
“Grandma Sha, go sleep, I take care of him.”
She nodded.
I aided Grandma Sha to stand up.
“LiNa, there is a bowl of herbal soup on the table. It might be cool enough now, but I am not sure if it’s still worth feeding it to him. He’s in a very deep coma, but see if he can drink it, at least it will make him feel better for the moment. Hopefully he can make it to the first ray of dawn.”