Chapter 454 - 453: Treating Injuries

Chapter 454: Chapter 453: Treating Injuries

Mu Lianxiao was moved to the kang bed, and Du Yunluo followed closely behind, her eyes fixed intently on him.

The military medic arrived, and they lit an oil lamp in the room for more light. General Huang brought over the lamp stands from his place to help.

Mu Liankang blocked Du Yunluo’s way.

He looked tired, his clothes dirty and wrinkled, with stubble covering his chin, and his voice was hoarse, "Sister-in-law, you go sit in the room opposite; leave this to the military medic."

Du Yunluo pressed her lips together, glanced at Mu Liankang, and leaned to look inside.

"Sister-in-law, Ah Shao’s most serious injury is on his back, a knife wound so deep it reaches the bone. He has many other smaller wounds too," Mu Liankang said bluntly.

Du Yunluo’s eyes tightened, and she covered her mouth with both hands to stop herself from crying out.

"These injuries are from when he first went missing, about ten days ago, and now they look even more terrifying," Mu Liankang said with a hard heart, "If you watch, you won’t be able to bear it, and it will affect the medic treating the wounds."

What Mu Liankang said made sense, and Du Yunluo knew it herself.

This had nothing to do with her being brave or timid; it was simply that concern leads to confusion.

She was prone to tears; seeing such festering wounds would make her cry uncontrollably, and Mu Lianxiao would have to endure his treatment while worrying about her, which would be too hard.

And while the military medic was treating and bandaging Mu Lianxiao’s wounds, she shouldn’t be distracting.

Although she understood the logic, Du Yunluo’s heart was still in turmoil.

She took a deep breath, clenched her hands, and said, "I’ll listen to Uncle; I’ll wait in the room opposite. Please, Uncle, take care of the Princely Heir for me."

Mu Liankang, seeing her being sensible, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and nodded, "Don’t worry, since Ah Shao has been found, his life can be saved. He’s strong, and even with such grave injuries, he hasn’t developed a fever. Once he recovers, he’ll be as lively as before."

Du Yunluo nodded in agreement; as long as he was back, everything would be fine.

Jin Rui helped Du Yunluo to sit behind the big desk.

Du Yunluo said, "Move the oil lamp on the table over as well; I don’t need it here since there are torches burning outside that can provide enough light."

Jin Rui knew it was futile to persuade her otherwise, so she complied and took the oil lamp over.

Shuying and Ming Liu were also injured, and Jiuxi carefully cleaned their wounds.

Jin Rui glanced at them and then looked away.

Du Yunluo sat in the chair, repeatedly clenching and unclenching her hands, gradually stabilizing her turbulent emotions.

When she first saw Mu Lianxiao, her mind was a bit blank.

This weak version of Mu Lianxiao was something she had never seen; he lay across a horse’s back, wrapped in strips of cloth, likely torn from someone’s clothes to temporarily stop the bleeding.

Nevertheless, Du Yunluo could still smell the blood, probably because his wounds had reopened.

That scent made her head throb with pain.

She didn’t know what to say to him, nor did she dare to touch him, so she just followed behind, stumbling back home.

Now it was quiet, and she gradually calmed down.

Once again, she smelled the strong scent of blood.

It was similar to when she gave birth to Brother Yan.

Back then, Mu Lianxiao was outside waiting for her. Now, she was waiting for him here. Did that make it even?

In the small dimly lit room, she could hear Mu Lianxiao’s muffled groans and painful growls.

Mu Lianxiao, who never complained about pain, couldn’t keep quiet, showing how serious his injuries were.

Du Yunluo’s heart pounded fiercely, and without realizing it, tears began to fall silently. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from sobbing.

Jin Rui stayed by her side, and although their worries were not entirely relieved, they felt more at ease.

"Madam," Jin Rui whispered beside Du Yunluo, "Don’t worry. Didn’t the Princely Heir just have his wounds roughly bandaged? It must have been done by the Master and Ming Liu.

We women don’t know how to deal with knife wounds, but Ming Liu has fought battles in the Northern Border with the Princely Heir, and the Master was once a bandit, so he knows how to care for the injured.

I’m sure they’ve helped the Princely Heir with his wounds many times on the way here, and now there’s a military medic, so there’s nothing to worry about."

Du Yunluo nodded tearfully.

Outside, Jiuxi reported in a low voice, and Du Yunluo allowed him to enter.

"Where are Ming Liu and Shuying?" Du Yunluo asked.

Jiuxi replied respectfully, "Madam, they said they haven’t cleaned up properly in days and it’s not suitable for them to report directly to you."

Du Yunluo shook her head, "Why bother with such formalities at a time like this?"

"I asked them briefly," Jiuxi began, organizing his thoughts before relaying what the two had told him, "The day the Master went missing, the Master and Ming Liu went searching for him, but without success. Later, news came, and Shuying also went out.

The Master sent the army back to Shanyu Pass, then went beyond the pass to search, only to meet Shuying.

The two joined forces and searched together until the day before yesterday, when they encountered the Lord and Ming Liu.

Ming Liu said that when he found the Lord, he was already sprawled across the horse’s back, barely hanging on, with only a breath left in him, and it was the horse that kept moving on its own.

He wanted to bring the Lord back, but couldn’t find the way, so he just followed where the Lord’s horse went."

Jiuxi paused.

Ming Liu said that they had no water or food in the Great Desert and were on the verge of collapse. He had to kill his own horse, using its blood as water for Mu Lianxiao and its meat to stave off hunger.

Mu Lianxiao was seriously injured and couldn’t handle any jolts, yet they kept on going without slowing down.

Such a pity for that horse.

Ming Liu spoke with his eyes glowing red, while Jiuxi trembled with fear.

Not for the horse, but for the sight of the numerous wounds on Ming Liu’s arms.

He suddenly understood; horse meat could be cooked and taken, but not horse blood.

Ming Liu must have been feeding his own blood to Mu Lianxiao on their journey, and all those wounds on his hands were proof of it.

Ming Liu wouldn’t say, and Jiuxi pretended not to understand, gritting his teeth as he treated the wounds.

These events were too gruesome, and Jiuxi didn’t dare to speak of them, fearing that Du Yunluo, already emotionally volatile these past days, wouldn’t be able to handle it.

"Thank goodness the Lord’s horse knew the way, slowly leading them back until they met the Master and Shuying and finally returned," Jiuxi said.

Du Yunluo listened carefully all the way through, saying nothing. She knew the situation was far more severe than Jiuxi had described, and what Ming Liu and Shuying told Jiuxi wasn’t the whole story.

The hardships and perseverance needed not always be voiced.

The old horse that knew the way home was indeed a blessing, giving Mu Lianxiao a chance to survive and return.

From the eastern room came Mu Lianxiao’s muffled groans once more, piercing Du Yunluo’s ears and sending a chill through her body, even numbing her fingertips.

"Take care of Ming Liu and Shuying," Du Yunluo instructed, "It’s too late tonight; in the morning, go back to the small town and send word to the sister-in-law so she won’t worry."

Jiuxi agreed and left the room.

Du Yunluo leaned back, listening to the sounds from the eastern room until the faint light of dawn marked the end of the treatments there.