Chapter 71.3: Alone Under the Cliff
In this place where a common cold could kill you, these injuries, if not treated immediately, would very easily become inflamed. Jing Wan’s expression was very grave.
Taking in her surroundings, there were very obvious markings. She could tell people often came by here. Jing Wan searched around the place, and as expected, found some commonly used things, fire starters[1], earthen jars, and so on. Although, even if there weren’t these things, she also knew how to start a fire, but that required time. Moreover, she only knew how to do it, and has never really tried it before. She didn’t know if she would be able to succeed or not. Having a ready-made one was still for the best, and having an earthen jar to boil some water to disinfect the cuts was also better than not treating anything at all.
Using the straw to light a fire, then add firewood, igniting an open fire. Then she moved Li Hong Yuan’s body, so as to avoid freezing him.
Jing Wan picked up an earthen jar from the ground, picked up Li Hong Yuan’s middle clothes and inner shirt, and went to the river bank to clean them. Then, she filled the jar with water and headed back.
She had the earthen jar placed on the simple stove, and after waiting for the water to boil, she poured some out and placed it to the side to cool. She then had the clothes torn apart, thrown in to cook, and then fished back up. Because she was in a hurry to use it, Jing Wan then had it roasted dry over the fire. She didn’t know whether or not this will affect the disinfection process.
She swayed the cooling boiled water in her hand, making it cool faster, and afterwards used the strips of cloth dipped in water to wipe clean the areas near the numerous cuts on Li Hong Yuan’s body one by one once over, then used the roasted dry strips of cloth to wrap up the cuts.
Jing Wan’s bandaging skills naturally didn’t need to be doubted.
When Jing Wan was half hugging Li Hong Yuan, using the cloth strips to go around his back, she suddenly heard a murmuring sound from this Wangye’s mouth brush past her ear. His exhaling breath lingered on her sensitive earlobes, feeling slightly ticklish. He seemed to be calling someone’s name. Jing Wan didn’t hear very clearly. Unsure if it was her imagination or not, he seemed to have called out ‘Wan Wan’. Jing Wan naturally wouldn’t be so narcissistic to think he was calling herself. It was either someone else with a same sounding name, or just a similar pronunciation.
The deepest cut on his left arm was about to reach the bone, very troublesome. But she didn’t have thread and needle, even if she wanted to stitch it up, she didn’t have a way to.
After she finished taking care of his wounds, Jing Wan, because of her aching body, was slightly sweating. Jing Wan furrowed her brows. She also needed to clean herself.
Jing Wan went over to the river bank, wetted her handkerchief, and simply wiped herself clean. Just then, she was the fish swimming in the river. Very good. There was dinner now.
During that extremely difficult period of her past life, catching fish was naturally an essential skill. Unexpectedly, even this could be put to good use right now.
Jing Wan turned back, found some flexible straw, and had some places that got in the way tied up, such as her sleeves and skirt. Then, she returned to the riverside, took off her socks and shoes, and stood on top the pebbles barefoot. These feet that wore socks and shoes all year round, suddenly touching the earth directly, really weren’t an ordinary kind of pain. However, because Jing Wan often walked barefoot on top of pebbles in her own territory, this bit of pain wasn’t unbearable. She stretched her foot into the water to test the waters. This early spring river water was still rather cold. Furthermore, her feet, unlike hands that were exposed to the air year round, when encountering something cold or hot, would always feel a bit more sensitive. By the time both feet were in the waters, Jing Wan couldn’t help but slightly shiver.
She somewhat stood still for a while to get use to the water, then slowly advanced forward. Her movements were very light; her feet for the most part were gliding in the waters and weren’t lifted, so naturally there weren’t any big movements. When the water was about to reach past her knee, she discovered her target. Jing Wan stopped, bent her waist, spread both her hands, and only used a few seconds to lock on the target, swiftly shooting her hand out. With a splashing sound, she lifted her hands. A fish wider than her palms was firmly grasped in her two hands. The fish, because it was out of the water, rapidly flapped its tail. The flying water droplets scattered in all directions like pearls.
As expected of something carved into the bones, this many years, and her hands were still familiar. Looking at that plump fish, Jing Wan smiled in satisfaction. Originally, if it was just her eating, then one was more than enough, but she wasn’t certain if that noble Jin Qinwang would wake up or not. In the end, she still decided to catch another one. Turning back, she had the fish in her hand thrown towards the riverbank….
What Jing Wan didn’t know was that her fish catching skills were seen clearly by the few people hiding in the dark. They all couldn’t help but look to each other in dismay. They all believed, even if someone were to let them come catch fish, they might not necessarily be able to catch one with barehands, let alone succeeding in one strike. This was definitely considered the skills of a seasoned fish catcher. That said, a young lady of the boudoir, how come has this kind of ability too? The Luo family could cover half the sky in Qi’an Fu, and naturally had countless properties of all kinds. Perhaps because she was too playful, she obtained such an ability? But even if it was just playing, could one ‘play’ to this degree? However, they were unable to come up with any other explanations. So, in the end, should she be said to have natural talent, or perhaps uniqueness?
“Perhaps, should say, as expected of someone master fancies? Far from what an ordinary delicate woman can compare to?” Someone among them said.
The other three looked to him, with ‘there’s also this kind of saying?’ clearly written in their eyes.
For Jing Wan, catching a fish was rather simple, but handling it was a bit bothersome. Because of the strict regulations over ironware, in rural families, everything that was made using metal were all very precious. That place they were taking shelter in simply didn’t have any cutting tools. With that being the case, Jing Wan could only temporarily make one using a rock. And if she wanted to save time, then naturally which rock she picked was very important.
Polishing a rock definitely isn’t a relaxing task. Not long after, Jing Wan’s hands were already red. She lifted her hands, looked them over, and went to get the remaining cloth strips to wrap around her hands. It was a bit better this way.
The shadow guards were all vexed, and already made preparations to be punished by their master after the fact. The future Wangfei’s body and flesh was delicate and noble. Master would even heartache at the tiniest of cuts. Messing around like this….they knew they should have long left a dagger on master. A Wangye carrying a fine dagger inlayed in precious stones was very normal, definitely wouldn’t raise any suspicions.
Preparing the fish truly took quite a bit of time.
To have been able to have found salt was certainly an unexpected surprise. Although it was sparse, using it to cook fish soup was more than enough. She originally considered roasting the fish, but then changed her mind.
She began boiling the fish soup, while also drying her wet clothes with the fire to the side. From time to time, she would also feed Li Hong Yuan some water, keeping him hydrated. Then looking again to the chipped coarse porcelain bowl in hand, Jing Wan amusingly said to herself, “A pampered Jin Qinwang, spoiled by gold and jade, having fallen to the point of needing to use this kind of thing, truly must be difficult for you.”
If Li Hong Yuan was conscious, he would probably think, ‘This prince doesn’t mind you personally feeding with your mouth.’
Jing Wan drank a bowl of fish soup. Perhaps because of having been tossed around, in addition to her appetite on ordinary days being quite good, she ate an entire fish. Fish that have only been flavored with salt, naturally couldn’t compare to the meticulously cooked dishes, but because it was something purely natural, in addition to perhaps the environment here being different, the fish actually didn’t have a fishy taste. Instead, the flavor was quite good.
She fed Li Hong Yuan some of the fish soup. Without something like a spoon, it was really quite difficult to feed him.
The sky gradually darkened, yet she still didn’t see anyone come looking for them. Looks like there wasn’t a direct path leading down. They’re probably planning to go around from the foot of the mountain or some other place.
Jing Wan was fine herself, but she was very worried about Li Hong Yuan. His situation right now isn’t good in the slightest. No need to think of ‘what if’, he will definitely have a fever.
Despite being tired and sore all over, Jing Wan didn’t dare to fall asleep. Not long after nightfall, Li Hong Yuan, sure enough, began burning up.
Jing Wan covered his forehead with a wet cloth, while helping him wipe down his body, over and over, nonstop. She didn’t count on this being able to reduce his fever, only hoping for him to feel a bit more comfortable.
Perhaps because of the high fever, or perhaps because deep in his heart he was still thinking about his purpose this time, Li Hong Yuan woke up. Just he was still in a muddled state, and wasn’t that sober. However, there was one thing he was very certain of, the person before him, was the one he wanted.
While being caught off guard, Jing Wan was pulled by the wrist by Li Hong Yuan and fell onto his sturdy chest. “Wan Wan……” Bearing boundless deep affections and fondness, his voice hoarse and deep. In that moment, she instantly felt numb to the bones.
Jing Wan immediately blanked, and even didn’t hear what he said clearly. A moment later, she finally realized how intimate their current positions were. She began to struggle to get up, but the more she struggled, the tighter Li Hong Yuan held. Those hands were like clamps. Li Hong Yuan’s consciousness was already very muddled. He didn’t have any willpower, and didn’t know to restrain himself. He was only following his innermost desires, longing for her, wanting her. Her struggle made him feel as if she was trying to leave him, how could he allow for this kind of thing to happen?
He held on to her and flipped over, having her pinned below him. Jing Wan’s four limbs were firmly locked. Li Hong Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. The abyss of those eyes were filled with a near maddening obsession, “Wan Wan, you’re mine, you can only ever be mine in this lifetime, don’t think of escaping!” Afterwards, he unhesitantly kissed her.
Jing Wan was somewhat frightened. Facing danger, she instinctively resisted.
Li Hong Yuan increased his strength, even biting onto Jing Wan’s neck, seemingly warning her, if she keeps resisting, he might really bite her to death.
[1] Fire Starter – It’s a type of advance match ancient people used, usually made from bamboo. There’s chemical powder stored inside the tube and when you blow on it, it lights up.
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