Chapter 123: Sending Medicine
Xiao Cui scrambled to find cloth strips. Unable to find any in her panic, she pulled one of Boss Zhang’s clean undershirts from a bundle and forcefully tore it up.
The group worked together to bandage Boss Zhang’s wound. Just then, Uncle Ma walked over. Seeing that Boss Zhang was unconscious, he was about to move on and check on the others when he suddenly noticed the bloodstain on Gu Fei’s back. He frowned and said, "Little Fei, stop worrying about all this. You’re injured yourself. Go get that treated right away."
Gu Fei grunted in agreement. Just as she was about to leave, Mrs. Chen had already rushed over. She anxiously grabbed her, saying, "Your back is hurt! Let me put some medicine on it for you."
Gu Qing helped the old lady out of the cart. The old lady gasped when she saw the bodies on the ground and began to chant, "Amitabha Buddha, what a terrible sin, what a terrible sin."
Gu Fei climbed into the cart. Mrs. Chen unfastened her daughter’s clothes, and tears welled up and streamed down her face when she saw the gash on her back.
When Gu Fei noticed her mother had suddenly gone silent, she turned her head to see her crying. Gu Fei winced, forcing a smile. "Mom, it’s nothing. The cut isn’t deep—it’s just a scratch."
It was true. Thanks to Su Chen’s shout, Gu Fei had thrown herself forward so that only the tip of the blade had grazed her back. The wound truly wasn’t serious, but it had bled a lot, making it look scary.
Mrs. Chen wiped away her tears and silently applied the medicine, bandaging the wound with a cloth strip. Then, she helped Gu Fei change into a clean undershirt and a small padded jacket before putting her sheepskin coat on over everything.
Just as she finished dressing, Chen Hu’s voice came from outside. "Miss Xiao Fei, you were injured, weren’t you? My young master had me bring over some of our finest antiseptic medicine."
Gu Zhang accepted the medicine, thanked Chen Hu, and had Lian’er pass it into the cart.
Gu Fei’s wound was already bandaged. She took the medicine from Lian’er and tucked it inside her robes.
After Lian’er left, Gu Fei took a few anti-inflammatory pills of her own before getting out of the cart.
Gu Zhang said anxiously, "You’re injured! What are you doing out here? You should be lying down."
Gu Fei asked, "What’s the situation with everyone?"
Gu Zhang sighed. "Boss Zhang is the most severely injured. As for the others, your great-uncle-in-law, eldest uncle, third uncle, the village chief, Jin Sheng, Yinsheng, and Shanzi were all wounded to some degree."
Gu Fei sighed. ’So that means every family has someone who was hurt,’ she thought. ’I should have been faster.’
At that moment, Uncle Ma walked over. He looked at Gu Fei and said in a solemn voice, "If it hadn’t been for Little Fei today, I’m afraid none of us would have made it out of here alive."
Just as he spoke, Ms. Qian’s wailing cry came from nearby. "Those damn bandits! They stole all of our family’s grain! How are we supposed to survive now?!"
Her family hadn’t bought any grain on their last trip into town, so they were already running low. Now was the perfect opportunity to blame it all on the bandits.
Boss Zhang’s family also had a sack of grain stolen, but they were in no mood to worry about it at the moment. Boss Zhang was still unconscious.
Uncle Ma took a deep breath and bellowed, "Everyone, pack up and get moving! We can’t linger here."
Gu Fei’s family had suffered almost no losses, and the village chief’s family hadn’t lost any grain either. This was partly because Gu Fei had arrived so quickly, and partly because their family members had fought desperately to protect their food.
Just then, Xiao Cui from Boss Zhang’s family came over to Gu Zhang and Uncle Ma. "Uncle Ma, Second Uncle Gu," she said, "my uncle is badly hurt, and now our family doesn’t even have anyone to drive the cart."
Gu Fei’s great-uncle-in-law walked over. "My family has people to spare. Tie Niu can drive the cart for you."
Xiao Cui thanked him and hurried away.
Soon, the caravan began to move forward again. Gu Fei glanced back one last time, her eyes falling on the twenty or thirty bodies left scattered across the mountain path.