Chapter 18 – Can’t Let This Girl Run Away

“June 18th, Nanshan Church in Mo City. You’re to find a… middle-aged man wearing a black hat and a red flower pinned to his chest.”

“Ask him… ‘What time is it now?’ If he replies… ‘Dawn is near,’ then hand him this letter,” Lu Xiuyuan forced himself to enunciate each word clearly.

June 18.

Today was June 10—eight days away.

Su Miaomiao reached out and took the envelope from Lu Xiuyuan.

“I promise. But what if I get there and don’t find the person you mentioned?” she asked.

“If… he doesn’t show… go again one month later on the same day. Someone will be there…”

“Alright.” Su Miaomiao tucked the envelope into her chest.

Having finished his instructions, it was as if Lu Xiuyuan had used up the last of his strength—his entire body fell slack and lifeless.

“Then… what about you?” Su Miaomiao couldn’t help but ask.

“I’ll rest a bit… then lead those people… further away…”

Su Miaomiao knew he was doing this to protect her and the village below.

If he died here, those pursuers would surely come down the mountain to search.

She furrowed her brow and began rummaging through the basket on her back.

“Consider yourself lucky to have run into me today.” She pulled out a few herbs that could stop bleeding.

Then, using two rocks, she mashed them into a thick juice.

“Take off your clothes,” Su Miaomiao ordered.

But Lu Xiuyuan didn’t move at all.

“What? Afraid I’ll take advantage of you?” she frowned.

“It’s not that… I just… don’t have the strength…” he replied weakly.

Ah—she’d forgotten about that.

Su Miaomiao stepped forward and directly helped him remove his shirt. His broad chest was covered in wounds—bruises, cuts, and what appeared to be a bullet wound on his left side.

She frowned again. Injured like this and he still ran? Is this guy made of iron?

Without another word, she pressed the herbal juice straight into his wounds.

Lu Xiuyuan gasped sharply from the pain.

Su Miaomiao had no sympathy—she tore his inner shirt into strips and bandaged his wounds simply but firmly.

“There’s no equipment here, so I can’t remove the bullet. But my herbs will at least stop the bleeding for now,” she explained as she worked.

The pain cleared Lu Xiuyuan’s head a little. He looked down at the girl in front of him, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

She was clearly young, yet calm and decisive under pressure.

Any ordinary girl would’ve screamed and run the moment they saw him in that condition. But she? She didn’t even flinch and was now treating his injuries as if it were routine.

Could a girl like this really come from a remote mountain village?

Su Miaomiao, of course, noticed his gaze but didn’t bother to explain. After bandaging him up, she turned around and pretended to retrieve something from her clothes.

In truth, she was reaching into her storage space for a few slices of ginseng.

This ginseng had been something the late Butcher Su had stumbled upon—a wild root over 600 years old.

One slice alone could restore a life.

She didn’t have much left, but for a soldier fighting for the good of the country, she was willing to use her best.

She stuffed three slices of ginseng into Lu Xiuyuan’s hands.

“This is ginseng that’s nearly 600 years old. If you ever feel like you can’t hold on, put one in your mouth and let it dissolve.”

Lu Xiuyuan looked at the ginseng slices in his hand — they were bright in color, clearly high-quality.

“…Thank you,” he said hoarsely.

“That’s enough. I’ve done what I can. Whether you survive or not is up to your own luck.” Su Miaomiao slung her basket over her back, ready to leave.

“What’s your name?” Lu Xiuyuan asked instinctively as he looked at her back.

Su Miaomiao turned her head — her delicate and captivating face seemed to glow even in the dim forest, so radiant that Lu Xiuyuan almost thought everything he had just experienced was a hallucination before death.

“If you survive, I’ll tell you.” She smiled and turned to leave.

Lu Xiuyuan stared for a moment before he came back to his senses. The forest around him was utterly silent.

If not for the three ginseng slices still in his hand, he really would’ve thought he’d imagined her.

He popped one slice into his mouth — the fresh herbal aroma, tinged with slight bitterness, immediately spread through his entire mouth.

His exhausted body miraculously recovered a bit of strength.

He tucked the remaining two slices into the inner pocket of his shirt, leaned against a tree, and shakily stood up.

He had to get farther away…

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After coming down the mountain, Su Miaomiao found a small stream to wash off the bloodstains. Once she made sure there was nothing unusual about her appearance, she returned to Old Zhao’s house with her basket.

“You finally came back, girl! You were gone so long I thought you got lost,” Old Zhao had just been about to head up the mountain to look for her.

He was surprised to see her return just as he reached the door.

“There were more herbs today, so I took a little longer.” Su Miaomiao set down her basket.

The moment Old Zhao saw the basket nearly overflowing, his eyes went wide.

“You picked this much? Did you go deep into the mountain?”

“The lower and outer parts of the mountain have already been stripped clean. If you want good herbs, you have to go deep,” Su Miaomiao said frankly.

“You little rascal, what if you ran into danger going in so far alone? Next time—” Old Zhao started to scold her but glanced at the basket full of herbs and quickly changed his tone, “Next time I’ll find someone to go with you.”

These were life-saving herbs — he couldn’t not collect them.

Originally, he just wanted to test Su Miaomiao’s knowledge of traditional medicine, so he hadn’t arranged for anyone to accompany her.

But now he realized she had training in both traditional and Western medicine. If he had known earlier, he would’ve had more people go with her — maybe they could’ve brought back even more herbs.

But with Su Miaomiao around, there was no rush.

“Miao girl, go rest over there. I’ll handle these herbs.” Old Zhao grinned as he happily poured out the contents of the basket.

The more he looked, the more shocked he became. Besides the common medicinal plants, there were also many rare and valuable herbs.

A girl from the capital really isn’t the same as us mountain folk…

He had to talk to the village chief later — they needed to look after the Huo family better.

They absolutely couldn’t let this girl slip away.

“Oh right, Grandpa Zhao, how far is Mo City from here?” Su Miaomiao asked casually as she sat on the steps, watching him sort the herbs.

“Mo City? That’s pretty far. Why are you asking?” Old Zhao didn’t even look up.

“Nothing, really. I just went to the county last time, and the supply co-ops there didn’t have much. I thought maybe I could check the city sometime,” Su Miaomiao said, making up an excuse on the spot.