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墨書 Inktalez
"You see, I'm injured..." I raised my wounded arm, displaying a pained expression on my face. "We heard there were wild beasts in these mountains, so we brought bows and arrows for protection."
"Yeah, look at my friend; he's hurt. Can you please help him?"
Seeing this, the scruffy man hesitated for a moment, but then the older man, who was referred to as the village chief, spoke up. "Alright, don't make it difficult for him. It's not just a small matter when something happens in the village..." He turned to me and Yao Long with a kind expression. "The mountain roads are very dangerous at night. Whether you're lost tourists or something else, since you're injured, we can't just ignore you. Come back with me first..."
With that, he turned and signaled for everyone to follow him. I exchanged a glance with Yao Long, who understood, and together we followed the group of villagers deeper into the mountains.
We walked in silence, closely trailing behind them. The sight of their old-fashioned hunting rifles made me feel uneasy. I thought to myself, "If we anger these people, we might really be in trouble. And in these deep mountains, if someone were to die, it would hardly be known."
As this thought crossed my mind, I felt a pang of fear and regretted following them. But then I remembered that we had rushed out without any emergency supplies. Now that Yao Long had been bitten, if he didn't receive timely treatment, it could lead to infection or even rabies.
Just then, some lights appeared in the distance ahead. Squinting to see better, I noticed a small village nestled between two hills. It wasn't large; from afar, I could count only about twelve or thirteen houses scattered haphazardly around. They seemed to be built from stones piled up from the nearby mountain and didn't look very sturdy.
The source of the light was the lanterns flickering in front of the houses. Although dim, they were undoubtedly a beacon of hope for anyone lost in such deep mountains.
We wound our way down the mountain path until we reached the village entrance. The village chief stopped and called over a thin man standing nearby. "Huzi, is your aunt home? Have her take a look at these people's injuries."
Upon hearing this, Huzi nodded and approached me with an awkward demeanor. In halting Mandarin, he stammered, "You... you come with me..."
It seemed he struggled with his speech. Noticing he also carried a long gun on his back, I glanced back at Yao Long. He was gripping his Azure Spirit tightly in a defensive manner. I patted his shoulder to signal him not to be too obvious. Then I turned back to Huzi and asked, "Do you have a doctor in your family?"
He didn't respond verbally but nodded vigorously before turning around and gesturing for us to follow him. Reluctantly, I complied as the group led by the village chief returned homeward; they all looked somewhat dejected for reasons unknown to me.
Silently, Yao Long and I followed the thin man as he led us through the village until we arrived at a house. It was built of stone and mud bricks, with a roof covered in dry yellow straw, and a swaying lantern hung by the door.
“Bang—bang—bang,” the frail man knocked on the door. After a moment, a woman's voice came from inside, “Who is it?” The thin man replied loudly, “It’s me!”
At his response, footsteps approached the door at a leisurely pace. With a creak, the old wooden door swung open.
A young woman appeared before us, dressed in a cloth garment with her hair neatly styled. Her willow-like eyebrows exuded an enchanting aura.
For a moment, both Yao Long and I were stunned; we never expected to find such a beautiful woman in such a remote place. “Who are these two?” she asked the thin man with a voice like silver bells.
“I... we met in the mountains... the village... the village chief...” Before he could finish, she nodded and said, “I understand. The village chief asked me to treat their injuries, right?”
“Yes!” The man nodded vigorously.
“Come in,” she beckoned us with a wave of her hand. “Thank you for your kindness...” I replied politely as I followed them into the house.
Once inside, the woman pulled over a wooden stool for us to sit on while she went into another room. She returned with a dark wooden box and began rummaging through it. “You two don’t seem like locals; what brings you to this place? You’re not here on vacation, are you?”
She emphasized the word "vacation," as if trying to hint at something.
Although I couldn't grasp her exact meaning, I sensed that something was off about this village. However, since I didn’t yet understand the truth, I could only go along with her words: “Yes, we came for vacation but got lost and ended up here.”
“Oh really? Well, you should be careful; this place isn’t very safe...” As she spoke, she found some dried herbs in the wooden box and ground them into powder. She sprinkled some of the powder onto Yao Long's arm before handing him something that looked like an insect. “Here, eat this.”
Yao Long took the object and examined it closely in front of him. I looked as well. The thing resembled a shriveled, yellowed insect, and its appearance was somewhat terrifying, making it hard to swallow.
"What is this?" I asked curiously.
The woman smiled and said, "Anything that can heal or treat illness is considered medicine." With that, she turned and went back into the house, holding the box. The frail man had been standing behind us the whole time, watching intently.
Seeing that Yao Long hesitated to eat the object in his hand, he urged, "Go on, eat it. It's fine."
I glanced back at the man and noticed a strange smile on his face, which appeared eerie in the flickering candlelight.
I then looked at Yao Long again; he was frowning deeply, staring seriously at the insect-like object in his hand, unable to bring it to his mouth.
"Bitter medicine is good for the illness; just eat it." I gave a light pat on Yao Long's thigh. He immediately understood my meaning and loosened his grip with his thumb and index finger. The object fell into his palm, and he quickly clenched it tightly before bringing it to his mouth, mimicking a swallowing motion...
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