Chapter 199: Rest

He Yu and I went back and forth, our conversation peppered with the occasional curse word, but by now, Fourth Brother must have understood the whole story. He had never cared much about material possessions, and since he had always spoiled me, he clearly wanted to avoid making a big deal out of it.

Thus, Fourth Brother began to plead on my behalf. He turned to my mother and said, “Sister, based on what they’re saying, things must have been extremely dangerous down there. I remember the record of the Yin-Yang Thirteen Palaces in that ancient volume, 《Bafang Yinyang Jianwen》; it’s listed as a tomb of extreme peril. The Black Hoof Iron was passed down by our ancestors to protect future generations, so if he used it like this, no real harm was done. Why not go easy on his punishment?”

Although I had asked Fourth Brother, my mother was here, so any decision on my punishment would ultimately fall to her. But no matter how you looked at it, there was no way she was going to let me off easy.

My old lady thought for a moment and said, “New Year’s is coming up. Since your Fourth Brother got you time off, don’t bother going back to school. Your Fourth Brother is going to Inner Mongolia after the New Year, and I have to go back home for a while to keep an eye on the Pankou for him. The Black Hoof Iron is no small matter. I won’t let you run wild anymore during this time. Stay home and behave yourself.”

My mother meant to take her time dealing with this. The crowd here was too mixed, and any rumor would spread like wildfire until everyone knew. She wanted me to take her boat back with her, and only once we reached Henan would she decide how to deal with me.

A tightness settled over my chest again for no apparent reason.

Seeing the low mood hanging over me, Fourth Brother quickly gestured. “You’ll leave on your mother’s boat in a little while, but go put on some more clothes right now, look how thin you’re dressed. Both of you go over to Bai Shenxian to get checked out. If you’re fine, remember to send someone to leave word for me.”

He Yu answered for me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling open the tent flap to head outside. The moment we stepped out, a wave of relief washed over me. Smelling the fresh, natural earth, I felt much more comfortable, and my mind cleared up.

He Yu looked indignant as he helped me along toward the open space up ahead where they were cooking. “What’s the big deal? If you ask me, out with the old, in with the new! Isn’t it just a piece of rhino horn? My family has as much of that stuff as you could want. What’s so precious about it? Worst case, I’ll just have another one made and sent over!”

He was always sensitive to emotions and probably sensed my bad mood, so he stopped and tried to lighten the mood. “It’s nothing, don’t take it to heart. At worst, you’ll just get chewed out when you get back. If you’re taking the boat, I’ll come with you. I’ll call home in a bit and tell them I’m not coming back for New Year’s this year. What’s the harm?”

I don’t know which of his words struck a chord, but tears suddenly welled up in my eyes. I turned and hugged him tightly, taking the opportunity to quietly wipe away the tears that had gathered.

He Yu froze for a moment, then patted my back. “Alright, alright, that’s long enough. Don’t get all mushy in broad daylight, it’s a terrible look.”

His words made me laugh despite my annoyance. I let go of him right away and socked him one, sending him staggering back several steps. We looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

“Hey, sorry about earlier. Back inside, I didn’t mean to yell at you,” I apologized. The two of us talked as we walked toward the tent on the left, which I knew was a makeshift tent set up specifically to house the wounded.

He Yu shielded his eyes from the piercing sun. “I get it. I know you didn’t want to drag me into it. After all, if things really blew up, neither of us would get off easy. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let you shoulder the blame alone.”

We stopped in front of the tent. He Yu waved a hand at me and said, “I’m telling you, if you had taken the whole fall today, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. Not even in ten years. You get me?”

I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it two light pats. He Yu was the most loyal guy I knew; making him let me take the fall for him would be like stabbing him in the heart.

Just then, Bai Shenxian emerged from the tent fully geared up. The front of his white coat was stained a brilliant crimson, and his gloves were slick with blood. He must have just finished a surgery. He held up his hands and looked at us, tilting his head. “You two, do you think I don’t have enough on my plate? Bystanders, go cool your heels somewhere else. Don’t crowd the entrance and get in the way.”

Having said his piece, Bai Shenxian peeled off the bloody disposable gloves and tossed them into a bin. He went straight to a water bucket nearby, picked up a ladle, and crouched down to wash his hands with several scoops of water.

“What do you mean bystanders? We’re patients. Chen Si sent us here for a checkup. You’d better treat us with a bit more respect this time,” He Yu said, slapping him on the shoulder.

Bai Shenxian finished washing his hands and looked up at us. “So you two finally remembered to get your injuries checked. You look like you can run, jump, eat, and drink just fine, though. Doesn’t seem like there’s anything majorly wrong.”

“I’m fine, it’s mostly him.” He Yu yanked me forward. “He fell off a very high stone beam earlier. He was knocked unconscious and couldn’t stop coughing up blood. I had to carry him for a while before he woke up. You need to check him over.”

“How high?” Bai Shenxian asked, then rephrased, “The place you fell from, how high was it?”

I thought back for a moment, remembering that I had been in the air for at least two or three seconds. A quick calculation meant the distance was at least a dozen meters, so I told him the truth.

At that, Bai Shenxian’s expression finally shifted. He stood up immediately, lifted the tent flap, and gestured for me to enter. “You fell from that height and coughed up blood, yet you didn’t think to come find me the moment you got out?”

“He was held up by his family’s business. Even after all that, his people still want to punish him over that Black Hoof Iron,” He Yu grumbled.

I followed Bai Shenxian into the tent and found several cots set up inside. The white curtains around one of them were drawn tight on all sides; people seemed to be standing inside, but with the curtains completely drawn, nothing could be seen from the outside.

Lu Ayao was lying on one of the beds, resting with his eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if he was asleep or still unconscious.

Bai Shenxian led me to the bed next to his and gestured for me to lie down. He picked up a fresh pair of gloves and pulled them on. I took off my shoes and climbed onto the bed. He told me to reach out my hand; with one hand he took my pulse, while the other occasionally pressed against my chest and abdomen, asking if it hurt.

He didn’t spend much time taking my pulse before pulling out a stethoscope. After listening for a while, he said, “Your pulse is a bit erratic. It’s highly likely you suffered a pulmonary contusion when you first fell, but it isn’t much of an issue now.”

“What do you mean? What do you mean it’s not much of an issue now?” He Yu asked, standing off to the side.

Bai Shenxian didn’t answer him. Instead, he turned back to me and asked, “Did you just go through a major emotional upheaval?”

I thought to myself, Holy crap! Are you a doctor or a mind reader?

Seeing the look in my eyes, he seemed to understand. Bai Shenxian brought over a quilt from who knows where and draped it over me. “Try to keep your mind at ease,” he said. “Don’t leave yet. You’re exhausted, so just rest here. Stay until evening; we’ll wake you when it’s time for dinner.”

With a look that commanded me to take off my jacket and lie back down, Bai Shenxian then turned his attention to He Yu, pointing at a table on the other side of the room. “You. Go sit on that stool over there and wait for me.”

Perhaps it was because Bai Shenxian currently radiated the authoritative aura of a major hospital physician, but He Yu was actually intimidated. With his hands in his pockets, he obediently walked over to the chair.

As Bai Shenxian prepared to stand up, I tugged on the hem of his white lab coat. I glanced toward Lu Ayao in the next bed and asked with my eyes, Is he okay?

“Oh,” Bai Shenxian said, straightening his collar as he stepped aside. “Don’t worry about it. Just rest. He’s awake; he heard everything I just said. He’s pretending to sleep.”

The moment the words left his mouth, I saw Lu Ayao roll over, turning his back to us.