The snow-white ground was stained with conspicuous blood, smearing a path that pointed to their yard.
Li Shuchen lightly pushed off with his toe and prepared to hurry back using his superior agility techniques, but found Qi Huan still clinging tightly to his robe.
With no time to think, he swept her up in his long arm and raced back toward the thatched hut, the small burden pressed against his chest.
"Ahhh!"
Caught off guard as her feet left the ground, Qi Huan was anxious and dismayed. The frigid wind took the chance to blast her full in the face.
She quickly clamped her mouth shut and buried her face in Li Shuchen's chest, using him to block the piercing cold wind.
Very soon, they arrived at the front of the house.
Before even going inside, they heard the weak, pain-filled cries.
"Ow, hurts...hurts..." Sprawled on the bed, Yan Qinghe's face was twisted in a grimace.
At his bedside, Xiu Wen had no time for comforting words. He soaked cotton cloth in hot water, wrung it out, and gingerly dabbed away the blood clots on Yan Qinghe's buttocks.
Seeing the scene as he entered, Li Shuchen's brows drew down. "What happened?"
Sensing Qi Huan trying to twist her head for a look, he quickly pressed her head back against his chest.
With her face smothered against him, Qi Huan couldn't see anything, but she could still hear.
She heard Xiu Wen guiltily explain, "Replying to Your Highness, this was my fault."
"While I was eating biscuits, I was seen by another convict named Liu Meng. He is arrogant and vicious, quick to cause trouble, and immediately demanded I hand them over. But I had already stuffed them in my mouth. Still unwilling to cause a fight, I took them back out and gave them to him. Who knew he still wasn't satisfied, believing I had insulted him, and wanted to beat me violently."
Xiu Wen didn't know martial arts, so he could only run to the overseer to tattle.
But before he got there he ran into Yan Qinghe.
Hot blooded Yan Qinghe saw his friend being bullied and sent Liu Meng flying with a kick, smashing him against a tree trunk.
This scene was witnessed by the overseer, who ordered Liu Meng to be seized and given 50 strokes of the rod as punishment.
"Why didn't you tell the overseer that Liu Meng was the one bullying people first!" Qi Huan said anxiously.
"We did say that, but the overseer said we were making excuses," Xiu Wen replied indignantly.
"He even said he deliberately did it, that killing Ahe was easier than pinching an ant to death. He just likes seeing these former nobles become piles of mud under his hands."
After getting the story straight, Li Shuchen carried the burden in his arms out of the room and blocked the door, holding out his hand to her. "Money."
Qi Huan untied her purse and placed it in his palm.
Taking the money, Li Shuchen headed for the pharmacy.
In a flash, Qi Huan remembered the parcel she had unpacked the night before contained some medicines.
Taking out the medicine box from her space, she carefully read the instructions on each package. "Here it is!"
Holding up the anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving ointment, she excitedly ran to Yan Qinghe's door then abruptly halted.
Xiu Wen had just said he was struck with a plank across his buttocks.
She still didn't go in, but called Xiu Wen out to take the medicine instead. The system notified her, "Deed of kindness +1, points +10."
Qi Huan let out a breath, turned around preparing to go to the kitchen to make everyone a hot meal.
By chance she ran into Li Shuchen returning empty handed. She looked at him strangely, "Weren't you going to buy medicine?"
"Injured soldiers, medicine is only for the armored guards," he said.
"No problem, I already found medicine for Yan Qinghe," Qi Huan said.
Li Shuchen nodded his thanks.
At noon, wanting to add some nutrition for everyone, Qi Huan took out her self-heating pot to make claypot rice. This was the best food she could make currently, with rice and meat.
"Deed of kindness +4, points +112."
Added to the evening points, she now had 224 points.
Counting sheep, she soon fell into slumber.
As she slept, she began to dream.
She dreamed Li Shuchen held her flying through the air... Suddenly he let go and she started falling downward.
Qi Huan woke with a start calling out, "Li Shuchen!"
Dreams were the projection of the day. Likely because it was her first time witnessing ancient lightness skills today making a deep impression, resulting in this kind of dream.
Throwing aside the covers, preparing to get out of bed to boil water, she met an inquiring gaze.
"Why were you calling my name in your sleep?" It was Li Shuchen, overhearing her dream mutterings.
Qi Huan felt somewhat mortified. "Why are you in my room?"
"I knocked, but you didn't respond."
Li Shuchen's phoenix eyes were exceptionally bright. His hoarse voice carried a hint of fragility as he said, "Ahe has a fever. Do you have any medicine to reduce fever?"
"Let me check!"
Taking out the medicine box, she swiftly scanned the instructions on each package until she saw the words [can be used for fever reduction] on the Ibuprofen package.
Handing the medicine to Li Shuchen, she slipped on her shoes. "This is fever medicine from the Celestial Realm. Take it to Ahe. I'll go boil water first."
"I'll go."
Pressing her back down, Li Shuchen clutched the medicine and headed toward the kitchen.
Sleepless tossing and turning the whole night, her taut nerves only started relaxing when she heard the system prompt of points +10, before slowly falling asleep.
The next morning.
She woke a bit late. Xiu Wen and Xie Wu had already gone to the logging grounds.
Yan Qinghe was still sleeping soundly. Only Li Shuchen, hearing her door open, went to the kitchen to cook noodles for her, placing it on the wooden table to thank her for the medicine.
Qi Huan looked at the black watery soup in the bowl. Suddenly she didn't feel very hungry.
"Did you pour too much soy sauce from the stove top into it?"
"I saw you put it when you cook. What's the problem?"
"...No problem. Thank you."
This was the first time in her memory Li Shuchen had entered the kitchen. Not wanting to discourage his enthusiasm, Qi Huan still picked up her chopsticks, fished for a noodle, and ate it all up.
"Have Xiu Wen and the others eaten?"
"Mm. Xiu Wen got up early and cooked noodles for everyone."
Seeing the red veins still in the corners of his eyes, Qi Huan pushed him. "Go get some sleep too. I'll call you when lunch is ready."
"Can't sleep."
When he closed his eyes, he would see Low Commander Zou refusing his request for medicine for the military hospital, ridiculing him that he had thoroughly lost all value now that the Second Prince was born.
Even the lowest ranked soldier was trying to trample him into the dirt.
And the arrangements he had hastily made before his banishment still had no news coming in.
"Are you worried about Yan Qinghe?" Seeing his brows knot tighter and tighter, Qi Huan spoke up interrupting his thoughts.
"It was me who didn't protect him well enough."
The overseer must have received word too before daring to mete out such cruel punishment to Yan Qinghe.
"You shouldn't feel guilty. What does this have to do with you? It's clearly Liu Meng's provocation, the overseer's inability to distinguish right from wrong, and his abuse of punishment." Qi Huan said indignantly.
In the medically impoverished Mo County, 50 heavy strokes of the rod was enough to take a life.
Moreover, Yan Qinghe's offense wasn't even that egregious.
She couldn't help adding, "Heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing slips through. Those villains will get their retribution sooner or later."
"Yes. They will pay a price."
Mentioning the overseer and Liu Meng summoned up an icy storm in the depths of Li Shuchen's eyes.
A few days later, when Qi Huan went to RuYi Restaurant to deliver spicy cabbage, she finally understood what 'price' he spoke of.
"Have you heard? That Lai Steward overseeing the logging grounds was actually crushed to death by a tree right in front of his own door!"
"A thick, sturdy tree like that, how could it suddenly break on a nice day?"
At another table in the bustling restaurant lobby, a diner turned his head and leaned over. "Could be the heavy winds last night were too much and snapped it."
"Yes, that's what I heard from others too. They said the place it broke didn't look clean cut, so it definitely wasn't sawed through, otherwise the surface should be flat."
After listening in on the beginning and end of things, Qi Huan hugged the empty vats and hurried out of the restaurant.
