Chapter 23: Escorting Out of the Mountains…

The night in the cottage passed peacefully. No sign of any remaining bandits, no wild beasts appearing at the door—nothing happened at all. Instead, the two who took turns keeping watch ended up with dark circles under their eyes, looking exhausted. Even the speed at which they packed up their things the next morning was affected—it was clearly slower than the day before.

“Are you sure you can walk with all that stuff?”

Zhang Cheng looked at Fang Dahai, who had somehow found a large basket packed full of items. Not only that, but he had also picked up two quilts that looked relatively clean, tied them tightly with rope, clearly intending to take them along. Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but speak up in concern.

“These things won’t fetch much money. Haven’t you heard how stingy the pawnshops are? Even if you take in an antique bowl, they’ll label it ‘rat-bitten junk’ and offer pennies. These quilts are maybe seventy percent new—how much could they possibly be worth?”

“If I don’t carry these, what else would I carry? Grain? That’s even heavier. This is still more cost-effective. I just did the math: this five-pound quilt, if I don’t sell it elsewhere but trade it in the village right after we leave the mountains, even with the current inflated grain prices, I can exchange it for fifteen pounds of coarse grain at a 1:3 ratio.”

Oh? Things could be done that way? This half-grown boy sure knows how to work an abacus!

Zhang Cheng listened to Fang Dahai’s calculations, his eyes nearly glazed over. Looking around the room, it felt like he was seeing piles of treasure.

If that’s the case… If he could organize people to take over this area, then this food—no, when they get out, the first thing he should do is report to his superiors and get people sent in to secure this place. Otherwise, it’ll just be a windfall for whoever happens upon it.

Fang Dahai placed the bundled quilt, square like a block of tofu, on top of the basket and secured it with a rope. Then, with a practiced motion, he lifted the basket smoothly onto his back. He strapped on his bow and arrows, tucked a short wooden silo at his waist, tied a pouch of sub-bow arrows to his belt, and finally grabbed a long rifle. After pulling and testing a few wooden silo pegs to make sure everything was secure, he was fully geared up. Turning back, he called to Zhang Cheng:

“Brother Zhang, what are you standing there for? Hurry and grab your things—let’s go.”

Grab things? What could he grab in his current state? He wasn’t in good enough shape to carry anything heavy. At most, he could bring a wooden silo and some bow arrows. Everything else would have to wait for the troops to retrieve later.

“I don’t have anything to bring. Let’s just head out.”

Zhang Cheng picked up the wooden silo he had kept nearby during the night watch. He glanced back at the fewer than twenty wooden silos and less than two thousand rounds of sub-bow slips scattered on the bed, then stepped out the door and closed it behind him.

Fang Dahai, who followed behind, saw his actions clearly and understood Zhang Cheng’s thoughts. But he chose not to say anything—it wasn’t worth pointing out. So instead, he pretended not to notice, looking at the gear in his own hands and sighing dramatically.

“Ten birds in the forest aren’t worth one in the hand. People should learn to be content. I’ve already made a good harvest—I should be satisfied.”

“If you had relaxed your expression a bit while saying that, I might’ve actually believed you.”

Seeing Fang Dahai like this, Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but smile and tease him warmly.

“Take the small and give up the big—and I’m still not allowed to feel a little heartache?”

“Alright then, go ahead and keep feeling your heartache. Hurt as much as you like—maybe if it hurts enough, you’ll get used to it.”

“What? Get used to it? That’s not good! Things like this are better experienced less often. We won’t be lucky every time.”

Huh. Even if it was a slight misinterpretation of his words, Fang Dahai’s level-headedness was still surprising!

To manage a one-against-thirty situation and come out with such gains—most battle-hardened veterans wouldn’t stay this clear-headed under pressure. And yet this kid, just a teenager, was merely an ordinary hunter. What a waste of talent.

“Hey kid, I still don’t know what your family does. How did you end up hunting in the mountains at such a young age? Are all the adults in your family just letting you run wild? Your parents sure have some nerve.”

Now that he felt Fang Dahai had potential, and since there was time on the road, Zhang Cheng figured he might as well dig a little deeper. If the boy’s background didn’t present any issues, maybe he could be recruited into the team—after all, every capable person counted when it came to supporting the revolutionary cause.

Fang Dahai wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of family-background questioning. He had enough experience to recognize it for what it was. And as far as background checks went, he had nothing to fear. His family’s situation—wherever you looked at it from—was innocent and clean.

“My mom and dad? Nothing to manage—they’re both at the end of the line, waiting for reincarnation. I’ve got younger siblings at home who still need to eat. If I don’t come out and hunt, what else can I do? What kind of job could I even get in the city at my age? Not enough to feed a whole family. I’d rather not watch them starve.”

Though Fang Dahai spoke lightly, the weight of his words hit hard. Zhang Cheng was momentarily at a loss for words. Was Fang Dahai bitter? Of course. But in this environment, there were far too many children like him. Zhang Cheng wanted to offer comfort, but didn’t know how.

In the end, all he could manage was a half-encouraging, half-vague statement:

“It’ll be alright. Everything will be alright.”

What else could he say? Suggest they hold a grievance meeting? Launch into a lecture on ideology? No way. He was still on a mission—he couldn’t reveal his identity.

“I get it,” Fang Dahai said. “People always have to look ahead. When I’m older and my skills improve, things at home will naturally get better.”

After saying this, Fang Dahai quickly changed the subject—just like anyone would after bringing up something sad—and asked:

“Brother Zhang, is your injury really not serious? Do you need to find a place to rest for a while?”

It was definitely serious. After walking for just an hour, Zhang Cheng’s forehead was already drenched in cold sweat. The wound near his shoulder blade—inflicted by a wooden spike—was still bleeding, and the fresh bandage he had changed that morning was now completely soaked in red. The lash marks left by the bandits throbbed with pain, and after being tormented on the tiger bench, his legs had turned weak and shaky.

But time was running out. Right now, the person meant to rendezvous with him was likely already waiting at the liaison point. If he didn’t arrive today, there was no telling what could go wrong.

“I’d love to slow down,” Zhang Cheng replied, forcing a smile. “But this Mu Cang wound can’t wait. If I delay any further, I might just bleed myself dry.”

Hearing that, Fang Dahai instinctively glanced at Zhang Cheng’s face.

Sure enough, it had already turned pale. The blood loss was obviously significant. If he kept going at this rate, there was no way he’d make it out of the mountains before nightfall.

What to do now? Speed up?

Impossible.

The mountain paths were treacherous even under normal conditions. For an injured man, every step was a struggle. Zhang Cheng was already relying on a wooden stick as a crutch, and even the wooden barn he’d used for defense had now become a makeshift support. There was no way to pick up the pace.

If that wouldn’t work, then…

After a moment of silent deliberation, Fang Dahai stopped in his tracks, turned to Zhang Cheng, and asked with a serious expression:

“Brother Zhang, do you… trust me?”

Hmm? What kind of question was that? Why ask something like this so suddenly?

Zhang Cheng had a faint inkling of what the boy was getting at. He blinked, then smiled warmly and said sincerely:

“You’re the one who saved my life. How could I not trust you?”

“Good,” Fang Dahai nodded. “Since you trust me, then let’s find a spot to stop for a bit. I’ll take a look at your wound.”

Take a look? Could it be… this kid actually knows medicine?

That was hard to believe. Based on what he’d said about his family, Fang Dahai didn’t seem like someone who’d had the chance to study medicine.

But at this point, they’d come too far to turn back. Refusing now would seem inappropriate.

“Alright,” Zhang Cheng agreed. “Brother Zhang will listen to you. I’ll let you take a look.”

No matter whether the kid had real training or not, his intentions were clearly good. And who knows—he might actually have some tricks up his sleeve.

Fang Dahai did, in fact, have a method. After inspecting Zhang Cheng’s wound, he narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly:

“Brother Zhang, the tip of this arrow is lodged right against the bone. It’s not that hard to take out—look…”

“You know what this is? This is a wooden spike injury!”

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment. Had he misjudged this boy?

“That’s why I asked if you trusted me,” Fang Dahai said calmly. “My family used to live at the foot of the mountain—see that area southwest of the Thirteen Tombs? We often went up into the mountains for food, so I had plenty of chances to interact with old hunters.

You know as well as I do, most hunters these days—anyone with a bit of patience—can get their hands on a wooden spike trap. Most of them still use the old barrel-style spring traps, but those also fire single bolts. With something like this, how could they not learn how to treat the wounds it causes?

I may be young, but I’ve watched and learned over the years. I’ve just never had the chance to practice much. That’s why I didn’t want to interfere at first. But your injury… if we can’t get down the mountain before nightfall, and there’s no shelter in this deep forest—it’s going to be dangerous.”

Yes, I’m being forced to step in. Otherwise, with my half-baked skills, I wouldn’t dare show my face. So whether or not you want treatment, you decide for yourself!

What could Zhang Cheng say? Everything Fang Dahai said made sense. If he refused to let the boy try now, wouldn’t that make all his earlier talk about trust meaningless? If he couldn’t even trust the person who had just saved his life, what kind of man did that make him?

Zhang Cheng nodded, though the movement was stiff and heavy—he himself could feel his hesitation.

To his surprise, though, despite Fang Dahai’s young age, his hands were far more skillful than expected. Zhang Cheng had barely clamped down on a stick, bracing himself for the pain, when Fang Dahai’s small flying dagger flashed like a bolt of lightning and dove into the wound. Before Zhang Cheng could even register what was happening, the embedded bolt had already been pried out—in the space of just three breaths.

“It’s out already?”

“Mm-hmm. It’s out. Don’t talk—I need to apply medicine.”

“Wait, medicine? You actually have hemostatic medicine with you?”

“What do you think? Of course I do. It’s not free, you know? I’m using up my own supply here. Mountain folk who don’t know how to treat injuries—they’re basically just waiting to die.”

Fang Dahai grumbled, but his hands never stopped moving. In just a few quick motions, he not only cleaned and treated the wound from the spike but also applied medicine to the whip marks and bruises all over Zhang Cheng’s body.

“I added a bit of numbing herb to the mixture,” he explained. “Sure, it’s not ideal if a doctor needs to make a diagnosis later—but right now, we’re not worried about that. The important thing is to stop the pain so you can keep moving.

Try walking now. Feel any better?”

To be honest, the tricks Fang Dahai had learned from those old Jin Yiwei medical techniques were surprisingly effective. Less than a quarter of an hour after applying the medicine, Zhang Cheng felt the pain starting to fade. After taking just a couple more steps, he instinctively reached out to touch one of the scars.

He was walking the same way as before—but whether it was the arm leaning on the wooden stick or the waist and abdomen that had been tugged and torn, the sharp pain had already lessened by nearly half. It was almost… bearable now.

This…

“Kid, you’ve got good skills.”

“Oh, just a few makeshift techniques—only good for emergencies.”

“Being able to handle an emergency is already impressive. Come on, let’s pick up the pace. Otherwise, your efforts will be wasted.”

“Glad you understand! Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up!”

Fang Dahai had all five senses heightened and alert as he walked ahead, carefully clearing the path for Zhang Cheng. He stuck to the trails he was familiar with—those he knew to be relatively safe. Whenever he sensed danger or picked up the scent of a wild animal, he immediately led Zhang Cheng to avoid it. Thanks to his caution and instincts, they made it through the deep forest without incident—not even a moment’s delay.

As the trees around them began to thin out and the red sun still hung in the sky, Zhang Cheng took a few quick strides forward and clapped Fang Dahai on the shoulder, finally allowing himself to smile.

“We’re almost out. Dahai, I really have you to thank.”

“Brother Zhang, it’s a little early to celebrate, don’t you think? What, haven’t you noticed yet? The effects of the numbing herb I gave you have already worn off.”

“Huh? The numbing herb…? Oh no—I almost forgot about that! No wonder my whole body suddenly started aching! I thought it was just because I’d finally relaxed after staying tense for so long… but turns out the pain from the wounds is coming back!”