Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Somebody secretly entered the house when he wasn’t in?
Besides that, the other party witnessed the entire process of his infiltration into the residence of the Luo family. At that moment, a huge “danger” word flashed across Xia Fan’s mind.
However, soon, he realized that the voice seemed a little familiar.
After a short while of stalemate, Xia Fan tried to take out the fire fuse and reached for the candlestick near the table.
Meanwhile, the other party did not stop him.
The candle was lit, and the flickering fire dispersed the darkness. He managed to see the visitor’s face.
It was none other than the fox demon who frequented his room’s window for the previous two days.
This time, she was no longer looking down from above. Instead, she sat leaning against the wall with her tail coiled into a ball. She looked much smaller.
And much closer.
Instantly, Xia Fan’s hanging heart sank back down to the ground from the sky.
“What on earth? Can you not randomly appear behind me? I almost died of a heart attack.”
“So, you will be afraid too.” She smiled and sneered.
“Nonsense, I’m not a robot, of course, I will be scared,” Xia Fan said unhappily. However, he felt that something was wrong. As compared to the sneer before, her tone seemed less sinister.
Hold on, what was wrong with him, was he not used to it because the fox demon wasn’t sarcastic?
“Why can’t you be afraid if you’re a robot?”
“Because the programmer did not code that.”
“What is a pro… grammer?”
“Erm… Forget it.” Xia Fan realized that he didn’t have the talent of telling jokes. Meanwhile, he realized that the fox demon’s face was obviously pale, and she sounded weak. That was also why he didn’t realize that the visitor was her at the start. “What happened, are you ill?”
Then, he smelt a faint scent of blood.
“How I wish I was only ill…” The fox demon smiled forcefully and was about to hold the wall and stand up when her expression changed drastically. She saw Xia Fan take big strides towards her, crouch down, and shroud around her like a shadow.
Instantly, the thought of fighting to her death leaped to her mind. Along with that included the guilt and apologetic feelings towards her “master”.
However, Xia Fan pressed his hand on the wall behind her back.
“This is… blood.”
He pointed at the blood on his fingertips and frowned. “You’re injured.”
“I…”
As soon as she opened her mouth, Xia Fan interrupted her. “Let me take a look.” Then, he separated the fox demon’s hands in front of her chest.
Although she resisted, it was futile.
Xia Fan took a deep breath when he saw the black-red tone in front of her chest and stomach.
Although the wound couldn’t be seen, the amount of blood was way beyond normal. Moreover, some of the blood had already coagulated and formed a mass of black blood clots. This meant that she was injured for some time.
After hesitating slightly, he used a little force and tore open the wet clothes from the bottom.
The fox demon clenched her teeth as though she was enduring great pain.
A hideous wound the length of half an arm was seen, her intestines could be seen at the deepest part.
This also allowed him to confirm that the fox demon wasn’t a human.
If this happened to an ordinary human, with that injury, she would only be able to sustain for three to four hours. Moreover, the more common situation would be shock due to severe pain on the spot. Without emergency first aid measures, the person would die.
Of course, in the ancient times when medical technology was lacking, no matter how long she held on, it was useless. When the injuries hit the intestines, it was equivalent to death.
“When did you get injured?”
“This is not important…” The fox demon wanted to push him away but did not succeed. “Listen to me…”
“Alright, at most a day ago.” Xia Fan looked around and did not see new spots of blood. “No new bleeding, has the internal bleeding stopped? Anyway, I was never a doctor nor a veterinarian, I can only try my best.”
Then, he carried her and placed her on the bed.
“Hold on, what… what do you want to do?”
“What question is that? Of course, I’m trying to save your life.”
It was hopeless if she was an ordinary person. However, since the fox demon was able to sustain until now with her self-healing ability, it meant that she was tenacious. Xia Fan knew nothing about surgery, and even if he did, there was no modern equipment available for him to perform it. Therefore, he could only perform the most basic first aid methods. As the saying went, the last straw broke the camel’s back. Therefore, if he plucked out the last straw, she might be able to survive.
In other words, anything he did at this moment was better than doing nothing.
Xia Fan asked for hot water from the lobby. Usually, the kitchen would have a stove always lit to meet the various needs of the guests. Moreover, one had to move around at night in order to find the spirit fire. Therefore, his request wasn’t strange.
However, when he took out the needle and thread and threw them into the pot, and emphasized that the water had to boil, the staff looked at him strangely.
After the “service tip” of a teal of silver, the staff immediately smiled and did what he was told to.
Then, he took out the braised beef and passed it to the staff, asking him to cut it into smaller pieces and add them into the congee before sending it over. Supper was a regular service of the inn, so the staff agreed.
After receiving the prepared items, Xia Fan returned to his room and began the emergency treatment.
Her dirty clothes had to be changed, and the dirty blood around her wound was the source of infection. She was surprisingly quiet, without any doubts or opposition. Instead, she looked at him straight as though she had submitted to fate.
After cleaning multiple teams, he held up the needle and said, “It may be painful.”
“Can I… scream?” She opened her mouth slightly and asked without any energy.
“No, endure it.”
Xia Fan took a deep breath and pressed down with his needle.
The fox demon’s body evidently trembled.
This was undoubtedly a painful and long process. Suturing without any anesthetic could be described as torture. The incense might be able to reduce the pain and soothe her mind, but there was no way he could perform the suturing while lighting the incense.
“Human, are you saving me… or are you intentionally taking revenge?” The fox demon said with cold sweat. “I… I have never heard of this… treatment.”
“Skin is stretchy, so it’s difficult to heal by itself. Suturing not only reduces the time to heal but also avoids infections. Also, I’m Xia Fan.”
Xia Fan was no better. Sewing up the wound was easier said than done, not to mention the difficulty of using a small sewing needle to penetrate the wound back and forth. In fact, pinching the blood-soaked slippery skin was enough to make one’s skin tingle. He began with the idea of sewing as neatly and beautifully as possible, but it soon became evident that it was alright as long as he could complete it. This inadvertently further increased the fox demon’s pain. Under this pressure, the sweat on his forehead was no less than the fox demon’s.
The fox demon stared at him for a long time before speaking again. “… Li.”
“What?” He was unable to react for a moment.
“My name.”
After that, she shut her eyes tightly and no longer paid attention to Xia Fan’s actions, seeming to let him do his own thing.
It took a full hour for Xia Fan to finish the suture. He was amused at how the fox demon never made any sound. Even though her nails broke her palm due to the intense clenching of fists and her sweat wet the entire bedsheet, she never made any voice.
The last step was to apply medicine and bandage. Although the medicine was natural herbs, it was used to stop bleeding and for anti-inflammation in clinics. It should be useful.
After all of these, Xia Fan felt drained of power. Ever since he learned how to channel Qi into his body, he hadn’t had this feeling for a long time.
However, it wasn’t the time to rest yet.
He went to the staff again and asked for a set of clean bed sheets and clothes for the fox demon to change into. Being clean and fresh was the most critical part of the healing process. Diligently changing the bandage and clothing could significantly reduce the chances of infection.
After all of that, the sky slowly brightened.
He could finally sit beside the bed and feed the fox demon porridge.
“Do you not want to know… how I got injured?” Li asked.
“I do, but maybe later.” Xia Fan didn’t stop. “I believe the story is long.”
“… If I say from the start, it’s indeed quite long.”
“Then, I will wait until you finish this and wake up.” He shrugged and said, “You barely survived until now, I believe your body will give up soon. The first rest after a severe injury is crucial. Don’t go against your body. I have done all I can, I can only leave the heavens after this. After all, it depends on your body’s healing ability.”
“You… don’t detest demons?”
“I don’t detest you.” Xia Fan smiled. “Didn’t you say too? There are many different demons. I don’t like every human too.”
Like what he said, after eating the porridge, the dizziness swarmed in and Li fell asleep. The sleepiness was more intense than the pain, and she couldn’t resist anymore.
However, she didn’t seem to need to resist anymore.
Until now, Li still felt unreal. Before she came, she was mentally prepared for anything, including Xia Fan’s drastic change in attitude, reporting to the Privy Council, or treating her cruelly. She didn’t know what price she’d have to pay for Xia Fan to patiently hear her finish the story of her “master”. However, no matter what, she never expected this outcome…
Xia Fan didn’t ask for the reason or state any terms.
He immediately extended a helping hand.
Even when she resisted.
Li never believed in unconditional kindness. Humans did things for their own benefit, including Xia Fan. From what he said, Xia Fan wanted to learn more about demons through her. She was confused over whether this benefit was worth his actions. After all, she couldn’t think of other benefits she could bring him.
Li gradually lost consciousness.
However, this time, she no longer resisted.
In her blurred vision, a figure appeared near her. By right, she should be more cautious, but now, she was assured.
In the long-awaited silence, she closed her eyes.