Chapter 36: Fate Has Not Yet Run Its Course

Jiang Nian looked at the man on the ground. The average height of people from the north was slightly taller than that of people from the south, and this was especially true for him.

He was tall and strong, and at first glance, he looked very sturdy and powerful. His hard-looking features were sharp, the kind of man who made you feel reliable at first sight.

But at this moment, his right calf was bleeding profusely. There was a trap nearby, and not far away was a deep pit. The bloodstains extended from the pit to where he was lying.

He must have stepped into someone’s hunting trap while going into the mountains.

Jiang Nian squatted down and tore open his pants leg, revealing the gruesome wound.

He had been injured for at least two hours. The blood on the edges had already turned dark, and the wound was still slowly bleeding. There was a tight bandage around it, which he must have applied himself. However, he had injured an artery, so the simple treatment couldn’t stop the bleeding.

He was lucky to have encountered her.

Jiang Nian took out a medicine box from her space, cleaned his leg, and then stopped the bleeding and applied medicine.

When it was time to go back, she was faced with a dilemma.

She was strong enough to drag him, but she didn’t want to carry a man down the mountain, especially since he was so messy. Sweat and blood were mixed together, making him look dirty.

Jiang Nian didn’t hide her disgust.

Without much thought, she took a sleeping pill from her space and fed it to him, then put him into her space.

Outside her courtyard, Jiang Nian released him on the ground. The tabby cat meowed and ran towards her.

Animals are always more sensitive than humans. Seeing it run out, Ye Zhiqiu knew that Jiang Nian was back.

“Mas…” The words slipped out of her mouth, but when she saw the figure on the ground, she immediately switched to the name they had agreed on, “Teacher, you’re back? Who is this…”

Seeing her expression, Jiang Nian asked, “Do you know him?”

“He’s Director Yan from our cooperative. He used to be a soldier. He only came back from demobilization last year. What happened to him?”

“He’s injured. I happened to see him, so I brought him back.” Jiang Nian said, “Go to the village head’s house next door and call someone. See how to arrange things.”

“Okay.” Ye Zhiqiu finished and quickly ran off.

Zhou Shitou’s leg had healed, and he looked no different from a normal person now. He came out with the village head.

Jiang Nian handed the man over to them and went back.

Ye Zhiqiu told the village head and wanted to go back as well.

But the village head chased after her and asked, “Jiang Nian, is Director Yan’s injury serious? I saw you bandage him, but he can’t be woken up. Do you need to observe him for a while?”

He couldn’t be woken up because the effects of the sleeping pill hadn’t worn off yet, but she couldn’t tell the village head that.

She said, “He’s not in danger for now, but the leg injury is a bit serious. And it’s been a while, so he’s lost a lot of blood. He needs to have his bandages changed for the next few days to make sure the wound doesn’t get infected. I can get the medicine ready for him to take back later. He should eat some good food to replenish his nutrition. It will take time to make up for the blood he lost.”

“Okay.” The village head looked at the surroundings and said, “You don’t have a place here. I’ll take him to my house first, then notify his family to come and pick him up. You prepare the medicine and have Xiaoju send it to my house.”

Ye Zhiqiu emphasized from the side, “Grandpa Village Head, my name is Ye Zhiqiu now.”

She had told Village Head Zhou about changing her name and surname. Zhou Shugen didn’t care, but as the village head and a respected elder in the clan, he didn’t agree with this matter and insisted on not calling her by her new name.

“I’ve said it before, it’s understandable that a child has a bit of a temper, but you can’t be reckless. Your surname is given by your elders. How can you change it so easily? Zhou Xiaoju, if you want to change your name, that’s fine. You can just use Xiaoju as a nickname. But if you want to change your surname, that’s like betraying your clan. You don’t need to call me grandpa anymore.”

“Yes, Village Head.”

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t have anything to miss about Zhoujia Village.

Perhaps these elders had felt sorry for her, but when she and her mother were suffering, they only felt sorry.

“You…” The village head was so angry that he simply turned and left.

Jiang Nian took the opportunity to educate her, “You’re too impulsive. After all, you’re still in this village, and you’ll inevitably need the village head’s help. Offending him won’t do you any good. As for the name issue, when you reach a high point one day, when you can make others look up to you and need you, naturally, whatever you say will be what it is, and no one will dare to object.”

Ye Zhiqiu said in confusion, “I understand.”

Whether she truly understood or not didn’t matter. What mattered was that she understood what she wanted.

Did she want to enjoy the scenery along the way while achieving her goal, or did she just want to achieve her goal? Although the results were the same, the feelings were different.

Jiang Nian didn’t ask her to do anything specific. She just wanted her to face her own heart and truly understand her needs.

She took the wound medicine and prescribed a few internal medicine prescriptions for her to send to the village head’s house.

When Ye Zhiqiu came back, Jiang Nian was extracting snake venom. The tabby cat cowered in a corner, not daring to move. Just the sight of it made her heart skip a beat.

“Scared?”

She put the venom-filled fang back into the basket and covered it. Then, she picked up two centipedes from a bottle. They were wriggling and looked terrifying.

“No… not scared!”

Ye Zhiqiu tried to calm herself down. She still had some common sense and knew that the ingredients of Chinese medicine weren’t just plants, but also these terrifying snakes, insects, and poisonous ants. As long as they were used correctly, they would all have different effects.

But her trembling voice showed that it was impossible not to be scared.

Jiang Nian didn’t mind. After all, she was just starting to learn, and she was a girl. It was inevitable that she would be scared.

She told her to boil some water and prepare a wooden tub for a medicinal bath.

That night, Ye Zhiqiu soaked in the medicinal water for a full hour. It wasn’t just the unpleasant smell of the medicine, but also the burning pain on her skin, as if something was desperately trying to burrow into her skin.

When she got out of the tub, her whole body was weak. She couldn’t even stand up straight without holding onto something.

Jiang Nian carried her back to bed and lay her down. Then, she boiled some water again and took a medicinal bath herself.

After constant exercise over this period of time, her skills had basically recovered to their previous state. However, the original owner’s body was not comparable to her body, which had been trained in martial arts since childhood, so her fighting ability was greatly reduced.

She put the place on her arm where she had been scratched by the wolf outside the tub. She felt much more comfortable soaking in it. She didn’t show the same pain as Ye Zhiqiu.

When Ye Zhiqiu woke up, the uncomfortable feeling from last night had completely disappeared. Instead, she felt refreshed and eager to vent it out.

She came out of the house and saw Jiang Nian in the yard.

“How do you feel?”

Ye Zhiqiu told her honestly about her current state.

Jiang Nian was very satisfied. She told her to exercise according to her instructions, to vent the evil fire in her body, and to study medical theory and memorize medical knowledge in the afternoon.

The tasks were heavy, and Ye Zhiqiu didn’t dare to slack off for a moment.

She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to do it, and she was even more afraid of disappointing Jiang Nian.

When Yan Jin woke up, it was already bright outside.

He opened his eyes and saw the beams of his own house. He was lying in his own bed.

The door opened, and a girl’s surprised voice came in, “Brother Yan, you’re awake! How’s your wound? Does it still hurt? I’ll go get the medicine that’s been simmering in the kitchen for you.”