Chapter 199: Rest

He Yu and I went back and forth, our conversation peppered with the occasional curse word, but by now, my Fourth Brother must have understood the full story. He had never cared much for material objects, and since he had always spoiled me, his attitude was clearly one of wanting to avoid a major confrontation.

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 incredibly dangerous down there. I remember the records of the Yin-Yang Thirteen Palaces in that ancient volume, the Bafang Yinyang Jianwen; it’s classified as a place of extreme peril. The Black Hoof Iron was passed down from our ancestors to protect their descendants. If it was used in such a manner, no great harm has been done. Why not just give him a light punishment?”

Although I had been looking to Fourth Brother, my mother was here, and any decision on my punishment would ultimately be hers. However, no matter how one 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 approaching. Since your Fourth Brother has requested leave for you, don’t bother going back to school. Your Fourth Brother is heading to Inner Mongolia after the New Year, and I need to return home for a while to keep an eye on the Pankou for him. The matter of the Black Hoof Iron is no small thing. During this time, I won’t allow you to run around anymore. You are to stay home and behave yourself.”

My mother’s intention was to settle the score later. There were too many different people here, and any news would spread until everyone knew. She wanted me to follow her boat back, and once we were within the borders of Henan, she would decide how to deal with me.

An inexplicable tightness began to weigh on my chest again.

Seeing my low mood, Fourth Brother waved his hand dismissively. “You’ll leave with your mother’s boat in a while. For now, go put on some more clothes. Look how thin that layer is. Both of you go to Bai Shenxian and get checked out. If there’s nothing wrong with your health, remember to send someone to bring me word.”

He Yu answered for me, grabbing my arm and pulling me out through the tent flap. The moment we stepped outside, a sense of relief washed over me. My nose caught the scent of natural earth, making me feel much more comfortable and clearing my head.

He Yu looked indignant as he supported my arm, walking toward the open space where the cooking fires were. “What’s the big deal? If you ask me, out with the old and in with the new. It’s just a piece of rhino material, isn’t it? My family has as much of that as you could want. What’s there to treasure? If it’s that important, I’ll just have another one made and sent to you!”

He was extremely sensitive to emotions and likely sensed my foul mood, so he stopped to say something lighthearted. “It’s nothing, don’t take it to heart. At worst, you’ll get a tongue-lashing when you get back. If you’re taking the boat, I’ll go with you. I’ll call home in a bit and tell them I’m not coming back for New Year’s this year. It’s no big deal.”

I don’t know which part of his words got to me, but my eyes suddenly grew moist. I turned and gave him a fierce hug, using the moment to quietly wipe away the tears gathering in my eyes.

He Yu was stunned for a moment, then patted my back. “Alright, that’s enough hugging. Don’t get all mushy in the middle of the day, it’s a bad look.”

That one sentence made me laugh despite my anger. I let go of him immediately and gave him a punch that sent him reeling back several steps. We looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

“Hey, sorry about that. Back inside, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” I apologized as we walked toward the tent on the left. I knew that was the makeshift tent set up specifically for 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 have a good time. 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 person I knew. Asking me to let him take the fall would be like stabbing him in the heart.

Just then, Bai Shenxian emerged from the tent fully geared up. The center of his white coat was stained a brilliant crimson, and his gloves were dripping 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’m not busy enough? If you’re just loitering, go find somewhere else to cool off. 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 loitering? We’re patients. Chen Si sent us here for a checkup. You’d better have a better attitude toward us 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 check your injuries. Though you look like you can jump and run, eat and drink. Doesn’t seem like there’s anything majorly wrong.”

“I’m fine, it’s mostly him.” He Yu suddenly 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 simple 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, pulled back 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 beds set up inside. Around one of the beds, white curtains were drawn tight. Several people were likely standing inside, but their backs were to the curtains, and 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 as he instructed. 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 on the pulse before taking 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 produced a quilt from somewhere 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 brooked no argument, Bai Shenxian signaled for me to take off my jacket and settle into the bed. Then he turned his attention to He Yu, pointing at a table on the other side of the room. “You. Go sit on that stool and wait for me.”

Perhaps it was because Bai Shenxian currently radiated the authoritative aura of a high-ranking 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 just pretending to sleep.”

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