kingnovel Chapter 9 Master is Injured
Chapter 9 Master is Injured
Because Gao Zhu apologized on the spot with her death, Gao Qi and Liu were given a reprieve and exiled. Madam Gao divorced Gao Qi and returned to her father's ancestral home, where she started a small business. This can be considered the end of a tragic relationship, and she began a new life.
After arriving in Jicheng, I encountered Sister-in-law Gao's matter, which delayed me a lot. During this time, I often saw my master going out, but I didn't know what he was doing. He told me to stay in the house, read the Heart Sutra more, and not to go out for walks unless necessary, as the wind and snow outside were too strong and he was afraid she couldn't bear it.
Because their master said they might have to stay in Jicheng for a while, and inns were expensive, they decided to stay in a courtyard a little further from the city gate. It had two rooms and a living room, small but complete, and the rent was two taels a month, which was quite reasonable.
That day, Xu Xiaoxiao had finished preparing dinner, but Li Changchun still hadn't returned. It was getting dark, and her master usually came back as soon as it got dark. Why was it almost dark today and he still hadn't returned? Xu Xiaoxiao was getting worried. Could her master have encountered some danger?
Seeing the food reheated several times and the sky growing completely dark, Xu Xiaoxiao became even more panicked. She was in an unfamiliar place, and her master hadn't told her where to go. Even if she wanted to find someone, she didn't know where to look. "This is driving me crazy!"
"Oh right, we can report this to the prefect and ask him to help us look for it." Xu Xiaoxiao thought of asking for help, so she quickly changed into thicker clothes, put on waterproof shoes, and went out.
Snow was falling heavily outside, and the temperature dropped even lower at night. The wind was strong, causing the lanterns to sway from side to side. Xu Xiaoxiao walked along, trying to protect the lanterns from being blown out, which would be troublesome.
As she walked, she saw a figure ahead covered in snow. Xu Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat. "Is he going to freeze to death?" she thought. Having traveled with her master and seen many things, she wasn't so afraid of this kind of situation anymore.
Xu Xiaoxiao cautiously walked over. Seeing that the person didn't move, she approached and brushed the snow off his face. Upon seeing his face, her hand trembled, and she quickly brushed the snow off his body. Tears instantly streamed down her face. "Master, Master, what's wrong..."
"It's all my fault for not coming out to find you sooner, sob sob sob..." Seeing her master's pale face and cold hands and feet, Xu Xiaoxiao's hands trembled as she wanted to touch Li Changchun's breath, but she didn't dare, afraid that it would be the result she had imagined.
Li Changchun was slapped several times on the face by his young apprentice, feeling a stinging pain. He could also hear a constant crying sound in his ear, as if someone was crying out in grief.
"Cough...cough cough...cough" Li Changchun slightly woke up and saw that Xu Xiaoxiao had two icicles on her face. He wanted to raise his hand to wipe them off, but he couldn't lift his hand, so he gave up.
"Don't cry, cough... I'm not dead yet."
Seeing her master wake up, Xu Xiaoxiao quickly hugged her beloved master, crying, "Master, you scared me to death! I thought you... Waaaaah!"
"Come on, let's go back first, otherwise Master will really freeze to death here," Li Changchun said weakly.
"Master, your legs are frostbitten. Let me carry you on my back first." Xu Xiaoxiao helped Li Changchun up and put his arms on her shoulders. She had grown quite a bit taller and stronger during this time, which was why she was able to carry her master, who was much taller than her.
Li Changchun looked helplessly at his legs and could only resign himself to Xu Xiaoxiao's suggestion. He dared not put all his weight on her, for fear of hurting his little apprentice and having nowhere to cry then.
Even though she only carried half the weight, Xu Xiaoxiao was still panting heavily. She had only one thought in mind: to take her master back quickly to warm him up. He was the first person she had met in this world and the only family she recognized. Even if she was very tired and had difficulty walking, she could not give up.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived at the door of their rented house. Seeing the candlelight inside, Xu Xiaoxiao mustered all her strength and carried Li Changchun inside in one go. "Phew, we're home!"
They quickly moved the stove to Li Changchun's side, poured him a cup of hot water, and fed him. Seeing that his master was slowly regaining consciousness, they finally felt relieved. "Master, are you feeling any better?"
"Cough cough, much better. Master, I'm sorry to have worried you." Li Changchun looked at his little apprentice, feeling embarrassed, as he helped him.
When Xu Xiaoxiao was helping Li Changchun take off his outer cotton coat, she saw that he had bite marks from wild animals on his legs and arms. The wounds were deep, and her eyes reddened with heartache.
"Master, what bit you? What can I do to help you?" Xu Xiaoxiao bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears.
"Don't worry, Master's injury looks scary, but it didn't actually hit any vital organs..." Li Changchun warmed himself by the fire, drank a few cups of hot water and recovered. Now he patiently analyzed the severity of the wound for Xu Xiaoxiao.
Xu Xiaoxiao was both amused and exasperated. "Master, you're so old, why are you doing such dangerous things? What if... what if something happens to you?" As she spoke, Xu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but start to cry again.
Li Changchun dared not say anything more. Although he had no spiritual power, he would not die in the mortal world no matter how badly he was injured, as long as he had a breath left. Seeing that Xu Xiaoxiao was worried about him and her eyes were red from crying, he was still very gratified. This disciple was not taken in vain.
"Master, I know I was wrong, I won't do it again next time," Li Changchun said, affectionately patting her head.
"Hmph, there will be a next time," Xu Xiaoxiao deliberately glared angrily at her master, as if to say, "I'm not satisfied with your answer."
"No next time, no next time. Xiaoxiao, go and get some hot water for your teacher, and some wound medicine from my room. Thank you for your trouble," Li Changchun quickly tried to divert her attention.
Xu Xiaoxiao looked at his wound. Although it wasn't bleeding anymore, it still needed to be treated promptly. If it got infected, it would be very troublesome in this world without advanced medical care.
After preparing the water, Xu Xiaoxiao followed Li Changchun's steps to treat the wounds. Some of the flesh inside the wounds was frozen to death. Her master asked her to scrape the flesh off. Her face turned white. She had never dared to kill a chicken before, and now she was being asked to scrape human flesh. Her hands trembled like a sieve.
"It's alright, Master isn't afraid of pain. You have to go through this eventually, so let's test it on Master first." Li Changchun saw that his apprentice's face was pale and her hands were trembling. He insisted that he couldn't be soft-hearted and still wanted to toughen her up, otherwise she wouldn't dare to use a knife when she encountered bad people in the future.
"Master, I'm afraid I won't scrape it properly and will worsen your injury," Xu Xiaoxiao said, looking at her master with her big, wet eyes, hoping he would give up on letting her scrape the flesh.
“Master believes in you. Only you can help me now. I want to do it myself, but my hands are frozen and I can’t. You don’t want to see me unable to stand up again because of delayed treatment, do you?” Li Changchun lied through his teeth, exaggerating the severity of his injury in an attempt to soften her heart and get her to take this step.
After hearing this, Xu Xiaoxiao didn't dare to dawdle any longer. She took a deep breath and gave Li Changchun a "bring it on, I'm not afraid" look, which amused him. "Don't worry, Master isn't afraid," he said.
"Okay, I'll start then." Xu Xiaoxiao carefully heated the dagger in the fire, forcing herself to calm down and concentrate, not even daring to breathe loudly. She scraped away the frozen flesh bit by bit, almost scraping down to the bone in some places. As time passed, Xu Xiaoxiao's forehead was covered in sweat from tension.