Saying he was knocked out would be an exaggeration.

Cen Yan was already quite weak, and if he got hit on the head again, Zhuang Dongqing feared that if the enemy didn’t kill him, he might die at the hands of his own people.

Clearly, they couldn’t take him away like this. The guards only dealt with the snake venom, the arrow wounds, and the cuts from swords, and they had to tidy things up a bit before they could carry him and continue on their way.

“Can’t we pull out the arrows here?”

With such penetrating wounds, once the arrows were pulled out, they would need to stop the bleeding immediately, but they didn’t have the conditions to do that right now.

Moreover, after pulling them out, it would take some time to stop the bleeding. Otherwise, if they carried him like this, blood would flow all over the grass, making it the best signpost for the enemy, telling them, “We’re heading this way, come chase us!”

“No, but we have to break the arrows first, or we won’t be able to carry him,” the guard said.

Zhuang Dongqing replied, “Alright.”

“Master, please bear with it.”

One guard held the front end of the arrow while the other held the tail, preparing to break it in the middle.

Cen Yan remained silent, only closing his eyes.

With a crack, Cen Yan didn’t make a sound, but the wound was pulled, and blood seeped out again. Zhuang Dongqing couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Cen Yan’s face seemed to turn even paler.

They applied medicine powder and wrapped the wounds.

The cuts from swords were treated in the same way.

After tidying up, one guard carried Cen Yan on his back and nodded to Zhuang Dongqing.

“Little Young Master, where should we go now?”

Zhuang Dongqing said, “Let’s follow the original tributary.”

Cen Yan lifted his eyelids, realized he couldn’t see clearly, and closed them again, reminding, “Don’t follow the tributary I floated to.”

“I know, I won’t,” Zhuang Dongqing replied.

They continued on their way.

Cen Yan was on the guard’s back, his face pale, eyes closed. The arrow was in his shoulder, and to avoid bumping into things, he leaned slightly. Zhuang Dongqing glanced at him from time to time, feeling a bit nervous.

After a few more glances, he turned his face again and suddenly locked eyes with Cen Yan.

Zhuang Dongqing: “…”

He pretended nothing was wrong and looked away, but after a moment, he stole another glance and found that Cen Yan had closed his eyes again.

Does he know I’m looking at him?!

Ah, ah, ah, his toes curled into the ground.

On the surface, Zhuang Dongqing acted natural, adhering to the principle that as long as I’m not embarrassed, others won’t notice my embarrassment, and he walked steadily step by step.

After getting through that moment, Zhuang Dongqing realized something else: this must be really uncomfortable, right?

Thinking about it, with an arrow stuck in him, snake venom coursing through his veins, and cuts from swords, it would indeed be hard to feel comfortable.

After walking for a while, they could no longer see the junction of the tributary and the main stream. Zhuang Dongqing asked, “Is he okay like this? His clothes are all wet; does he need to change?”

After saying that, he mumbled, “Do we have any of his clothes?”

Liufu replied, “Let me check.”

He opened the backpack and indeed found three sets of clothes. Zhuang Dongqing recognized one set as his own, another as Liufu’s, and the remaining one was undoubtedly prepared for Cen Yan by Liu Qi.

Taking advantage of this time, the two guards switched, and Cen Yan was moved to another guard’s back.

He hadn’t intended to speak, but upon hearing these words, Cen Yan, with a blank expression, said, “Did you forget we’re fleeing?”

Zhuang Dongqing whispered, “I know, but…”

Cen Yan opened his eyes again, and under his gaze, Zhuang Dongqing completed his sentence, “But it’s easy to catch a cold like this, and you have injuries. If you get a fever in the middle of the night, that would be hard to deal with, right?”

“…” Cen Yan closed his eyes again, “Thank you for being so considerate.”

His words were almost squeezed out one by one, and Zhuang Dongqing could hear the gritted teeth behind them.

Sensing that Cen Yan was in a bad mood, he fell silent.

The guard was still waiting for their orders: “So what should we do now…?”

Cen Yan said, “Keep going, we’ll talk about it when we find a place to rest.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

Cen Yan was willing to give orders, and Zhuang Dongqing would definitely listen to him, after all, he had no experience in survival in the wild.

So they walked for a while longer, passing through a forest, and everyone decided to take a break. Cen Yan was also set down, leaning against a tree. Zhuang Dongqing reached out to touch his clothes, which were completely soaked, and sighed.

Cen Yan ignored him and let the guard check the spot on his leg where the snake had bitten him.

When the bandage was removed, it was already swollen quite a bit, but the guard’s voice was a bit excited: “The blackened area hasn’t spread!”

Zhuang Dongqing, standing by, reached out to press on the skin of his leg and asked, “Do you have any feeling?”

Cen Yan shook his head but didn’t say anything about wanting them to leave him behind.

Zhuang Dongqing estimated that it was just as he had predicted: it was a venomous snake, but since it had been a while, the snake must have been dazed. The horse’s hooves had trampled on it, scaring it and causing it to release venom in self-defense, but the one that bit Cen Yan was probably still dazed and didn’t see him as prey; it just reacted instinctively.

But even without venom, the proteins secreted by the venom glands could still cause an allergic reaction, and it would take some time to reduce the swelling.

Cen Yan looked at the sky and asked Zhuang Dongqing, “What’s the weather like?”

Zhuang Dongqing hesitated, “…It’s good?”

Then he realized, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“Blurry vision.”

It was probably also affected by the venom gland secretion.

Cen Yan said softly, “I wish it would rain.”

Zhuang Dongqing: “?”

Seeing him so shocked, the guard explained, “Although we’ve dealt with the scene, there will still be many traces left. If they examine it closely, they will notice. Rain can wash away a lot of evidence.”

Like footprints, bloodstains, and the trampled grass and riverbank.

Zhuang Dongqing understood.

He looked at the sky again and mumbled softly, “Then let’s not wish for that. It’s already like this; if it rains again, I’ll probably catch a fever.”

Cen Yan: “…”

Cen Yan: “Can’t you wish for something good for me?”

Zhuang Dongqing shrank his neck, his voice getting even softer, “I’m just hoping it won’t rain.”

Cen Yan stopped talking. He didn’t want to.

After resting for a while, they all drank some water and continued on their way.

About an hour later, they saw a village. Their group stayed outside the village while the guard went to check it out.

“It’s called Yushui Village, with about thirty households. The tools at the entrance suggest that most of them are hunters,” the guard reported back.

It wasn’t Wangshan Village after all, and Zhuang Dongqing felt a bit uneasy about the plot, thinking it would be better to go to the one where the male lead had stayed.

But he didn’t know how to say it, scratching his head while thinking of how to phrase it, when Cen Yan spoke up.

“Keep going. This village lives off the hunting grounds, and the palace occasionally hires the hunters there to clear the hunting grounds. The villagers have many connections with the palace, so it’s not safe.”

Zhuang Dongqing felt relieved.

Indeed, he had a brain comparable to the original owner.

They set off again, and this time, they walked for a long time.

The sky had darkened, and they still hadn’t seen a village. Zhuang Dongqing was anxious: “What if there are no villages behind?”

What if Wangshan Village isn’t here? Did he get the plot wrong?!

Cen Yan remained calm: “If there’s nothing, we’ll rest in the wilderness and continue tomorrow.”

He asked the guard, “Is there anyone around?”

“We’ve passed through three forests, Master. The surroundings look like desolate wilderness.”

“Hmm.”

The one who was most injured was the calmest.

Hearing him say that, Zhuang Dongqing felt more at ease. Worst case, they could just walk out on foot; it wasn’t impossible.

They couldn’t ride horses in the woods, and there was a patch of forest that was dense and large. They had to go through a lot of trouble to navigate it, and if the pursuers wanted to ride over, it would also take some effort.

After resting again, the guard went to check the surroundings while Zhuang Dongqing fed Cen Yan some water.

They had brought five water pouches, one for each guard, and Liufu carried three. Cen Yan was said to be a person with cleanliness issues, so Zhuang Dongqing took him a new one.

He fed him carefully, and when he felt it was about enough, he relaxed his grip and looked up to find Cen Yan watching him closely.

After a moment of eye contact, Cen Yan asked him, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Zhuang Dongqing answered honestly, “My legs are a bit sore from walking, but everything else is fine.” He thought Cen Yan was probably asking about the thing he was carrying, so he added, “I don’t feel anything else uncomfortable.”

Cen Yan nodded, his face pale, and closed his eyes again.

Zhuang Dongqing touched his collar; as soon as his hand made contact, he got Cen Yan’s response: “It’s still wet inside; I’ll have to wait until after tonight.”

“Oh.”

Zhuang Dongqing’s hand retracted, and he obediently sat beside him to rest.

In the midst of a dizzying headache, Cen Yan thought to himself that Zhuang Dongqing didn’t talk much, which was good; he wasn’t a nuisance.

One guard brought back new information: “There’s a small village ahead; let’s go take a look.”

Zhuang Dongqing quickly nodded, feeling a hint of anticipation in his heart. When they reached the village outskirts and waited for the scout to return, sure enough.

“It’s called Wangshan Village, particularly small, with less than ten households. Two of them seem to be hunters.”

They found it!

Zhuang Dongqing’s eyes lit up as he looked at Cen Yan, who said, “Don’t look for hunters; find a farming family and ask if we can stay. As for the things…”

Zhuang Dongqing replied, “Oh, oh, oh, I have silver and some gold pieces in my bag. What should we use?”

Cen Yan said, “…Use copper coins.”

They did have two strings of copper coins, not many, and after hearing the numbers reported, Cen Yan added a silver hairpin.

The guard went to negotiate, while Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan waited outside the village for the results before going in.

Before long, the guard returned, “We found a family. We gave them two strings of copper coins. It’s a family of four: a father, a mother, and two sons. One of the sons is about to marry, and there’s a new house nearby that hasn’t been occupied yet. I borrowed it, and we agreed that when we leave, we’ll leave half of the silver for them. They’ll take care of our food and lodging during this time.”

Zhuang Dongqing asked, “What did you say to them?”

Cen Yan was injured, and tonight, others wouldn’t know, but tomorrow it would be hard to hide.

The guard replied, “He got sick on the road, and we took care of his wounds. We brought clothes to change into, and tomorrow the master can just lie down.”

Oh, that’s a good reason.

Cen Yan suddenly laughed, “As if you could come up with a better one.”

Without needing to ask, Zhuang Dongqing could tell it was directed at him.

“…”

Into the village, into the village!

By the time they entered the house, the sky was completely dark. The farmers didn’t get a good look at Cen Yan’s condition, and the guards blocked them at the door. Perhaps the aura of the royal guards was just different; the farmers brought them food and informed them where the village well was before leaving.

They said it was a new house, but it wasn’t much; there were only two rooms that could accommodate people.

After discussing, two guards and Liufu would share one room, while Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan would share another.

With their clothes half wet and not dry, they didn’t put them on the bed when they entered. The guards first laid down a layer of straw and placed Cen Yan on it.

Now that they had a place to rest, they had to pull out the arrowhead.

The clothes were already damaged, so they didn’t bother with any fuss and directly cut open the part where the arrow had struck. Zhuang Dongqing watched Cen Yan’s wound, feeling nervous.

It seemed that just as Zhuang Dongqing had guessed, the snake that bit him hadn’t released its venom. After walking for half a day, Cen Yan’s eyes had cleared up a lot, and seeing Zhuang Dongqing constantly swallowing, Cen Yan said, “If you’re scared, you can go out.”

Zhuang Dongqing replied, “No, I’m not scared; it’s just…” He thought for a moment and said honestly, “It looks really painful.”

It was his first time seeing an arrow wound.

“…”

Using a heated knife to cut open the wound, before pulling it out, Zhuang Dongqing took out the alcohol he had brought, “Let’s disinfect it first, kill the germs.”

The guard didn’t understand and looked at Cen Yan, who stared at Zhuang Dongqing for a while before nodding.

The alcohol was poured onto the wound, and Cen Yan let out a grunt.

Zhuang Dongqing couldn’t help much; he held his left hand with his right and watched as Cen Yan bit down on a piece of gauze, tilting his head back.

“Master, it’s time to pull it out.”

After saying “master,” he actually moved his hands, aiming for a surprise attack.

Even though he had cut it open beforehand, the arrowhead’s barbs would still reopen the wound, blood and flesh flying everywhere. Cen Yan’s forehead was dripping with sweat, and Zhuang Dongqing held a cloth, but Cen Yan didn’t move much, while Zhuang Dongqing’s hand that wiped his sweat trembled slightly.

After pulling it out, they needed to bandage it. The guard was about to come directly, but Zhuang Dongqing stopped him, “No, no, think it through quickly; we need to clean the wound first?”

Cen Yan’s exhausted voice came to his ears, asking, “What’s that?”

“Just, clean the wound with alcohol, flush out the dirt, disinfect…”

As he spoke, Zhuang Dongqing realized that this seemed like torture, and his voice became increasingly soft.

Cen Yan changed his tone, his voice airy, asking him, “Are you trying to take revenge on me?”

“No! Really! Otherwise, if there are foreign objects in the wound, it will get inflamed repeatedly later, and if it gets inflamed, it might lead to a fever.”

“I can tell you’ve been waiting for me to get a fever this whole time.”

“I haven’t…”

Before he could finish, he noticed Cen Yan laughing, and Zhuang Dongqing: “…”

Cen Yan said, “Let him come.”

The guard handed the alcohol and cotton to Zhuang Dongqing, perhaps feeling that the scene was too cruel to bear, and went out to help.

The wound was reopened by the arrowhead, looking quite tragic. Zhuang Dongqing swallowed hard and said cautiously, “It might hurt a bit; just bear with it.”

Cen Yan replied, “What else?”

“…”

Zhuang Dongqing realized that the other party was just messing with him, so he shut his mouth.

The strong alcohol was poured down, and Cen Yan didn’t say anything, but his back trembled. Zhuang Dongqing was also sweating, trying to make his movements as gentle and quick as possible, cleaning while intermittently blowing on his wound. By the time he finished cleaning, Zhuang Dongqing was drenched in sweat, and Cen Yan’s brows were furrowed tightly.

He really could endure.

Not even a grunt; he was tough.

“I’m going to bandage you now.”

There were scissors in the backpack; it had to be said that Liu Qi had made ample preparations for injuries.

Wrapping the wound, Zhuang Dongqing’s hand accidentally brushed against Cen Yan’s skin, feeling the cold sweat from the pain, and his heart skipped a beat.

He said softly, “It’s just the two of us here; if it hurts, you can shout; I’ll pretend I’m deaf.”

Cen Yan’s voice was already hoarse, but he still didn’t forget to ruin the mood, saying, “Isn’t that a bit late for you to say?”

“…Eh, do as you wish.”

Zhuang Dongqing wrapped the gauze, blowing on the wound a couple of times in between. Cen Yan saw this and lowered his voice even more: “That’s a way to comfort a child.”

Zhuang Dongqing discerned that it wasn’t a sarcastic retort and replied, “Just consider it my unnecessary action.”

After all, it didn’t affect anything.

“Like this.”

His tone almost faded away, and it was clear he was in pain. Zhuang Dongqing felt a bit reluctant and reached out to cover Cen Yan’s eyes, “If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to; just rest.”

Cen Yan’s eyelashes brushed against his palm twice, and Zhuang Dongqing was waiting for him to retort, but unexpectedly, after a moment, Cen Yan listened to him and closed his eyes.

Zhuang Dongqing finished treating the wound and wiped Cen Yan’s forehead sweat again.

He secretly used his fingertips to rub his clothes, sighing inwardly; they were still wet.

Liufu was already boiling water outside, and when Zhuang Dongqing went out to throw away the blood-soaked gauze, he was stopped by the guard.

The guard looked a bit troubled and said, “Um, Little Young Master, since we brought an extra set of the master’s clothes, could you…?”

“?”

The guard gritted his teeth: “Could you please help the master wash up and change into clean clothes?”

Ah, this.

The guard said, “The master usually doesn’t let anyone get close, so he probably won’t want us to touch him.”