Chapter 20.2

At this moment, the people in front were cooperating, successfully dealing with the pursuing soldiers, and they managed to escape the encirclement.

Glancing back, it was bad—Doctor Gu had not caught up.

“Let’s go, we need to find Doctor Gu.”

“No, we barely managed to escape the encirclement. Going back is just sending ourselves to our deaths, isn’t it?”

“If it wasn’t for Doctor Gu coming to save us, we would have been dead last night. Every extra hour we live is worth it.”

“Let’s go, back!”

Gu Sui pulled Guan Yue out of the woods. “We’re back.”

The excited voices of everyone rose higher. “Doctor Gu, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Guan Yue showed up just in time, drawing off the pursuers and saving me.”

The group’s eyes fell on Guan Yue; where had this girl come from? Also, how did she look so clean, as if she hadn’t run miles through the jungle?

Now wasn’t the time to question or explain these things; getting out quickly was what mattered.

Guan Yue watched as they began to wander off course and just stood still.

Gu Sui understood and called everyone back, making it clear that they should follow Guan Yue’s lead.

Gu Sui explained, “Guan Yue is a herbalist, she’s been running around the mountains since she was little—she knows how to read directions better than any of us.”

Out of respect for Gu Sui, although the others were not entirely trusting, they followed Guan Yue.

Quickly, they were proven wrong.

From the time they had entered the jungle the previous night, switching countless directions, running who knew how far, thinking they would have to spend the night in the jungle today—Guan Yue’s path had them out in just over an hour.

The direction they took led directly to the location of the temporary battlefield hospital.

The group exchanged looks, a bunch of self-proclaimed veterans with experience in jungle warfare, bested by a girl.

Now, the sensation was like their faces were burning.

As they all looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky, someone muttered, “It’s probably just too hot today. No way our faces could be this red from anything else.”

“We’re back!” one of them shouted, causing everyone in the house and the hospital to turn and look. Doctor Gu saw Gu Sui standing there, looking well, and even a tough guy like him had tears in his eyes.

Doctor Gu turned away, arms on his hips, looking up at the sky, his throat working as he tried to steady his emotions.

Gu Sui smiled faintly. “Brother, I’m okay.”

The others quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, thank goodness this girl showed up on time.”

“When we broke through, Doctor Gu didn’t catch up with us—we thought he was definitely done for.”

Doctor Gu turned sharply and kicked one of them over, shouting angrily, “Who can’t talk? Who said he was done for? What do you mean?”

His Beijing accent was clear as day, revealing his fury.

Gu Sui grabbed his Big Brother’s arm. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

Doctor Gu shot Gu Sui a glare. “You’re not a battlefield doctor—what kind of hero are you trying to be? Throw you in the jungle, and you can’t even find your way; trying to save people? Save ghosts!”

Gu Sui didn’t argue, standing there quietly as he took the scolding.

Guan Yue shot a glance at the two of them. “At least go take care of those injuries.”

“Right, right, go quickly.”

“Don’t waste time—if the wound gets infected, it’ll be harder to deal with.”

A group of people who had just barely escaped death pushed and shoved, dragging Gu Sui along as he received his scolding. Only Doctor Gu and Guan Yue remained standing in place.

Doctor Gu sincerely thanked Guan Yue. “Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, Gu Sui wouldn’t know what would have happened.”

Guan Yue nonchalantly waved a hand. “Saving him was just a side thing. Besides, he owes me so many meals—if he died, where would I find a cook who can make food to my liking?”

Doctor Gu was shocked. “You make Gu Sui cook for you?”

“It’s not like I asked him; he volunteered. I cook for him, he gives me medicine—it’s fair. Why, are you backing out?”

Guan Yue’s look at Doctor Gu grew suspicious.

Doctor Gu burst out laughing; he hadn’t expected his little brother, who had always kept his distance from people and seemed otherworldly even when he smiled, to ever voluntarily cook for a girl.

Doctor Gu tried to keep from laughing. “I’m not backing out; it’s actually good. If I’d known, I’d have learned to cook too—many skills don’t hurt, you know?”

He was just thinking out loud, though; if he actually had to step into a kitchen, he probably wouldn’t want to.

Gu Sui was a medical student. Back then, to practice his knife skills, besides working on small animals, he used all sorts of ingredients his mother bought to practice. After mastering it, he’d just throw the dishes together and serve them up—no waste at all!

Back then, Doctor Gu had teased his brother for being overly delicate; now he was relying on his brother’s cooking skills to trade medicine with Guan Yue. Tch!

When Gu Sui had arrived back then, he had just been rescued, his blood not stopping, and the doctors were doing everything they could. The blood that seeped through the bandages was soaked—if it weren’t for the transfusion on the other side, his own blood would have run dry by now.

Gu Sui had arrived, pushed through the crowd, and quickly applied a handful of hemostatic powder—almost immediately, the bleeding had stopped.

Doctor Gu said, “Thanks for the medicine. Even if it wasn’t much, it helped us out a lot.”

Doctor Gu’s yearning look at Guan Yue said it all—he was just one step away from directly asking if she could give him a little more.

Guan Yue was tired and didn’t have the energy for any more arguments. “I just want to rest. Is there somewhere I can go?”

“There is, I’ll take you to the tent for the nurses—it’s got empty beds; you can rest for a bit.”

Guan Yue furrowed her brow. “Is there nothing private?”

“There is something private too, wait a second, let me check.”

Guan Yue was a VIP guest in Doctor Gu’s eyes—he still hoped to get something from her, and so did Colonel and his men.

Colonel had a tent that was empty—Colonel wasn’t there at the moment, so applying for it should be possible.

Doctor Gu went to ask for the tent, but the logistics officer immediately threw him out. “Go away, I’m busy.”

“It’s not for myself!” Doctor Gu protested.

“Not even for your brother!”

“Not for my brother either!”

The logistics officer was genuinely busy and had lost his patience. “Major Gu, I’m busy—can you just say what you need?”

“I need the tent for Guan Yue! The one who made the hemostatic powder!”

The logistics officer hesitated, asking cautiously, “The miraculous powder?”

“Exactly, that’s the one.”

Because of the miraculous effect of the hemostatic powder, they had taken to calling it the divine powder.

The name “hemostatic powder” hardly did justice to its divine-like effects.

The logistics officer slapped his thigh. “Alright, let her use it. I’ll even bring her a new set of bedding.”

Tch, just look at that arrogant attitude—uses people when needed, casts them aside when not.

Guan Yue got the private room she wanted, and before the afternoon was over, three groups had already visited her.

The first group came asking for the formula of that miraculous powder.

Guan Yue wasn’t stingy, and since the formula was a compilation from medical books, it wasn’t something she personally owned. She freely told them.

In the hospital, there were traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and with the formula Guan Yue provided, they immediately started to prepare the powder.

They made a sample batch first to test, then compared it with the original version that Guan Yue had made—close, but not quite the same.

Next, they tried it on patients—their prepared version was just a regular hemostatic powder, and it fell short of half the effectiveness of Guan Yue’s version.

An experienced old Chinese doctor personally visited Guan Yue, humbly seeking guidance.

Guan Yue didn’t hold back, explaining the origin of this formula in detail.

The old doctor was well-read himself and, after hearing her explanation, knew that the formula was indeed top-quality for hemostasis.

The formula was correct, the medicine was correct—it was the person preparing it that was at fault.

Thus, he invited Guan Yue to prepare it on-site and watched closely as she worked.

Guan Yue prepared the powder once more, not using any miraculous method but still achieving about eighty percent of the original powder’s effect. It was better than what others had prepared.

A crowd gathered around Guan Yue, every step she took was exposed to their eyes. After the sample test, the old doctor made his conclusion.

“The formula is correct, but to make the divine powder, it still requires Guan Yue to do it herself.”

A physician who had watched the whole process added, “Yes, and it also depends on the quality of the herbs.”

“Yeah, Guan Yue herself collects herbs. She uses the best materials—those with enough age and potency.”

The crowd sighed, recognizing that such good things couldn’t be mass-produced.

Not to mention, it was impossible to provide enough of the properly aged herbs. And currently, only Guan Yue was capable of making the medicine.

Guan Yue returned to her tent to rest. A moment later, a third group arrived, and Guan Yue was completely flustered.

“Get out, I need to rest!”

Facing Guan Yue’s cold words, the man smiled, not at all upset. “We don’t mean anything by it; we just want you to make some medicinal powder. Even if it’s not as powerful as the god-tier powder, just something with seventy to eighty percent effectiveness would be fine!”

Guan Yue was tired and didn’t feel like talking.

It was Gu Sui who heard that Guan Yue was here and hurried over from the hospital when he saw Guan Yue’s pale face, quickly ushering the others away.

“Come on, we should leave. Are you going to argue over every face we see?” Gu Sui dragged the colonel along.

The colonel, still being pulled away, didn’t forget to remind Gu Sui, “Try to buy us some time. It’s hard work, bleeding and sweating—it’s not easy for a bunch of brothers.”

“I know, I know.”

Gu Sui had been here long enough to understand their urgency. After all, just one good medicine might save several lives.

However, he wasn’t about to force Guan Yue to do it; he didn’t have the right to do so.

Gu Sui pushed the tent flap open. “What are you thinking about?”

Guan Yue lazily sat there. “I want to go back—I don’t want to stay here.”

She had been stable for two years, and coming here, facing this heavily charged, oppressive environment, she feared losing control.

Gu Sui crouched down in front of her. “Is it just that it doesn’t feel good inside?”

Gu Sui’s words were a private conversation between just the two of them.

“It’s not that it doesn’t feel good; it’s just that I don’t like this environment. I want to go back.”

Guan Yue lowered her head, letting her eyelids drop, and her long lashes shielded her gaze. In Gu Sui’s eyes, she looked so fragile it made his heart ache.

Instinctively, Gu Sui wanted to agree to all her demands. “We’ll go back. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

Guan Yue looked up, revealing a happy smile on her fair face. “Li Tao’s cooking isn’t as good as yours; when you’re not around, I’ve lost a few pounds.”

Gu Sui also smiled. “Then we’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll cook something delicious for you when we get back.”

“Sounds good!” Guan Yue’s eyes brightened.