Chapter 97: Who Are You?
The boy nodded, but kept his head habitually bowed, not looking up at Bai Zhi.
As he moved, however, a bit more of his face was revealed. Bai Zhi then noticed a long gash near the corner of his eye. Blood had already trickled past his eye and down his face, forcing him to keep it shut.
Seeing the wound still oozing blood, Bai Zhi couldn’t help but gasp, "You’re bleeding!"
She had just taken some Hemostatic Medicine out of her dimensional space when she looked up and saw the boy raise his arm. He swiped at the blood with his filthy sleeve, wiping away some of the grime on his face and revealing his defiant expression.
He’d managed to wipe some of it away, but the bleeding didn’t stop; it continued to seep from the wound.
The gash was clearly on his brow bone, yet he remained stubbornly silent. After wiping his face, he turned to leave.
Bai Zhi quickly followed him. "Hey, wait! I haven’t treated your cut yet."
The moment he heard the word "medicine," he stopped in his tracks. His clear, dark eyes filled with a glimmer of hope. Pointing at the vial in Bai Zhi’s hand, he asked, "Can... I... have... it?"
Perhaps because he rarely spoke, his voice was strained and slow, with a hint of a rasp, as he forced the words out one by one.
Bai Zhi held up the medicine. "You mean this? Yes, you can have it. But it’s just Hemostatic Medicine."
When he heard it was only Hemostatic Medicine, a look of disappointment flickered across the boy’s face.
Seeing his reaction, Bai Zhi guessed he didn’t want the medicine for himself. She asked tentatively, "Is someone in your family sick? I have some basic medicines, but I wouldn’t know what to give without seeing the patient. If it’s not too much trouble, could you take us to see them? Consider it a reward for giving me the Crystal Stone."
The boy’s eyes lit up, but he shook his head. "No... need... for... a... reward."
He said very little, but his intentions were easy to guess. Looking at his tattered clothes, Bai Zhi could tell his family must be in a dire situation. Even so, he had good character.
Bai Zhi tried again in a gentle voice, "Then how about this? I need more of these Crystal Stones. You lead the way, and I’ll trade you medicine for them. Is that okay?"
Just then, Hu Yan and the others arrived and happened to see the scene unfold.
The young woman was bent over slightly, a gentle smile on her lips, patiently talking to a grimy-looking boy.
If this had happened just half a month ago, they never would have believed a vicious female like Bai Zhi could have such a gentle side. But watching her now, it felt as if all the pain she’d caused them was a distant memory. They hadn’t even thought about it in a long time.
The boy nodded emphatically.
Bai Zhi straightened up. Catching sight of Hu Yan and the others out of the corner of her eye, she smiled and said, "You’re here. Perfect timing. I found us a little guide. This will just be a small detour."
When the boy saw several more tall Beastmen appear, his body instantly tensed. He pressed his lips together, his eyes filled with anxiety, worried that he wouldn’t get the medicine after all.
Hu Yan said with a faint smile, "The Matriarch will decide."
Hearing the tall, white-haired Beastman agree, the boy let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
Sang Mo blurted out coldly from the back, "Meddling in other people’s business."
The boy, who had just begun to relax, tensed up again and looked nervously at Bai Zhi.
Lang Qiu said in a low, warning tone, "Sang Mo."
Sang Mo snorted but said nothing more.
’I know I might be meddling this time,’ Bai Zhi thought. ’People always say when you’re away from home, it’s best to avoid trouble.’
’But seeing this boy reminds me of a classmate I had back in school. She was bullied so badly she developed psychological problems. If only someone had been willing to reach out and help her back then, maybe she wouldn’t have died?’
’That’s why when I saw those people ganging up on him, I was inexplicably reminded of her.’
’In that situation, even if Hu Yan and the others hadn’t rushed over, I could have had Yan Yichen fly me into the air. At the very least, we wouldn’t have been hurt.’
’With Hu Yan and the others here, I had even less to fear. And if worse came to worst, I still have my system.’
Along the way, Bai Zhi learned that the young boy’s name was Saye and that he had a gravely ill mother. He had taken the risk of stealing the Crystal Stone just to trade it for medicine for her.
But as luck would have it, that group of thugs had seen him.
Soon, they arrived at a small house. It wasn’t large, consisting of only two and a half rooms—the "half room" being a small washroom.
Before they could even enter, they heard a series of coughs from inside the house. "COUGH COUGH COUGH..."
The coughing was so violent it sounded like the person was about to cough up a lung.
Hearing the coughing, the boy’s expression changed dramatically, and he rushed inside.
A hoarse female voice immediately sounded from within. "How did you get hurt?"
Saye stammered, "I’m... I’m okay. I... got... medicine. You’re... going... to... be... okay."
As he spoke, Bai Zhi knocked on the doorframe and stepped inside. "Hello."
Seeing several tall figures appear at the door, the female on the bed immediately grew wary. She pulled Saye behind her, shielding him with her frail body. "Who are you?"
Saye quickly tugged on the female’s arm. "Mom, she... saved... me. She has... medicine. It... can... cure... your... sickness."
Only then did the female relax. Her relief was immediately followed by another violent coughing fit. Having not seen the sun for years, her skin was unnaturally pale, and the force of her coughs now turned her face bright red.
After a moment, she caught her breath and said, "I’m sorry, I’m not well. Thank you for saving Saye. I’m well aware of my own condition... I won’t waste your medicine."
Lang Qiu pulled Bai Zhi back a few steps. He had seen others with this illness before; they would cough until they spat up blood, and then die not long after.
This kind of illness was difficult to treat, even with a Treatment Chamber. Without... well, it was essentially a death sentence.
Treatment Chambers were extremely effective for external injuries. They could even reattach a lost arm or leg, as long as the limb was still available. They had some effect on internal injuries as well, but the chances of a full recovery were much lower than with external trauma.
’Looking at her symptoms... Saye must be in constant contact with her, but he hasn’t been infected. That means it’s not consumption—what we’d call tuberculosis in the modern world.’
Hu Yan had reached a similar conclusion. Since the boy hadn’t caught it, the illness likely wasn’t contagious. However, this star system had virtually no medical infrastructure; treatment would require traveling to another system.
But seeing how much Bai Zhi seemed to care for the boy, he didn’t try to stop her.
Bai Zhi asked curiously, "Have you always lived here?"
The female shook her head. "No. I was in the late stages of my pregnancy when I fled here with my Beast Husband. After he... had an accident, I started coughing not long after my son was born."
Bai Zhi asked another question, "Are there any other symptoms besides the cough?"
The female thought for a moment. "My throat gets itchy, and once I start coughing, I can’t stop. Sometimes I feel like I can’t catch my breath."