Chapter 17 - 17 17 Providing Timely Help

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Providing Timely Help Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Providing Timely Help “What the hell?”

Chen Jie was practicing the Yang Chun Skill when he heard a scream. Opening his eyes and peering through the bushes, he saw someone rolling down the hillside.

“Doctor Bai?!”

Chen Jie instantly thought of this person.

He then saw Doctor Bai roll all the way to the bottom of a large ditch, and perhaps because of his age, he fainted on the spot.

Chen Jie saw this and got up, but then he sat back down.

Wait, going over there now to help would make it seem as if he had been waiting for him to fall, as if he wanted to do a great favor. To really save someone, he had to rescue them from danger.

After all, people remember those who bring coal in the snow with more gratitude.

Thinking this, Chen Jie closed his eyes and continued his cultivation.

About half an hour later, the unconscious Doctor Bai came to, feeling as if his body had fallen apart; he was in serious pain. He moved his arms and found them to be alright, but when he tried to stand, he couldn’t move his legs.

Touching them, he felt a swelling, and his ankle was oddly angled—a dislocated bone.

Doctor Bai touched it and with a sudden force, he heard a “crack” as he set his ankle straight again, sucking in the cold air from pain.

Yet, when he tried to stand up, he couldn’t move at all.

Looking around Wild Wolf Gully, Doctor Bai began to fear. Few people passed by this area, and it was said to be home to wild wolves. With his legs unable to move, what would he do if a wolf came?

Moreover, even if he didn’t encounter wolves, the temperature difference between inside and outside the forest was significant. If he were to freeze here overnight, that would be nasty, too!

What terrible luck he had!

Thinking this, Doctor Bai tried to get up and save himself. With the support of a tree, he finally managed to stand up, but he fell down after taking a few steps, too pained to recover quickly.

“Is anyone there?”

As he thought this, Doctor Bai shouted out, only to startle a flock of birds from the trees.

In the vast forest, only his voice echoed, making the place seem exceptionally desolate, slowly bringing fear to Doctor Bai’s heart.

“Is anyone there~”

Doctor Bai called out a couple more times, but no one responded. Instead, a wolf howl sounded in the distance: “Awooo~”

This completely terrified Doctor Bai.

So, Chen Jie was awoken by the noise. Having cycled through one complete round of the Yang Chun Skill, Chen Jie felt the sleep deprivation he had been experiencing replenished, and his groggy mind became clear. Moreover, his tired body felt reinvigorated.

Although the Yang Chun Skill had no combat techniques, it was still very effective for recovery.

Chen Jie got up and saw that Doctor Bai had awakened and was obviously panicking. Feeling that the time was about right, he shouldered his small bamboo basket and then circled the ridge, ensuring he would appear in Doctor Bai’s field of vision.

Indeed, Doctor Bai noticed him.

As Doctor Bai struggled with his ordeal, he suddenly saw a young herbalist passing on the ridge and was overjoyed.

Seeing hope for survival, he shouted, “Boy, boy, whose boy are you? Come and save me!”

“Ah...”

Doctor Bai shouted, then saw the young man act as if he hadn’t heard, turned around, and disappeared down the slope.

Doctor Bai panicked: “Hey, here, here...”

Amid Doctor Bai’s calls, Chen Jie’s figure vanished.

Doctor Bai felt as if struck by lightning, akin to a situation where he was about to drown in a vast sea, and suddenly a plank floated towards him. Just as he was about to grasp it, a wave came and blew the plank far away.

To have the hope of life slip away right before one’s eyes was truly devastating.

Doctor Bai slumped to the ground in despair. It’s over, I’m surely dead. Perhaps this is my fate!

Doctor Bai felt as if his heart had turned to ash, but just then, the young man who had vanished from the hillside suddenly reappeared. The youth looked around as if searching for something.

Doctor Bai’s hope for life reignited; from who knows where, he found the strength to wave his arms and shout, “Over here, over here...”

The young man seemed to finally determine the direction and looked towards Doctor Bai, then he spotted Doctor Bai and hurried over.

He quickly made his way down to the bottom of the gully.

As their eyes met, Chen Jie was the first to speak, “Doctor Bai?”

Doctor Bai recognized the young man in front of him as somewhat familiar, but for the life of him, couldn’t recall who it was.

The young man, however, asked, “Doctor, what’s happened to you?”

Doctor Bai replied with a bitter smile, “I was gathering herbs and wasn’t paying attention. I rolled down here and twisted my ankle.”

“Ah, is it serious? Let me help you look at it.”

Doctor Bai smiled and responded, “No need to worry, but my foot can’t move now, so I can’t walk.”

The young man said, “Ah, this... wilderness is so rugged, and there are wolves around here at night, it’s very dangerous...”

When Doctor Bai heard about the wolves at night, he shivered visibly, but Chen Jie’s next words still managed to calm him down.

“How about this, Doctor Bai, I’ll carry you down the mountain.”

“Ah, this... that’s not good, is it?”

Doctor Bai politely declined, to which Chen Jie laughed and said, “At a time like this, there’s no need for politeness.”

Chen Jie then simply squatted down and said, “Come on, Doctor Bai, hop on.”

“This... thank you for your trouble, young man.”

“Hey, why say that? We’re from the same village, can’t just stand by and watch someone in trouble.”

Chen Jie said as he carried Doctor Bai on his back and continued forward. Doctor Bai was thin and wiry, so he wasn’t very heavy, making it not too strenuous for Chen Jie to carry him.

“You just said we’re from the same village – are you from Xiantao Village too?”

Chen Jie answered, “Yes.”

“No wonder you looked familiar. Whose young man are you?”

Doctor Bai made small talk with Chen Jie.

“Oh, my granddad is Chen Yongwang.”

“Who!?”

Doctor Bai was startled, and his voice changed somewhat. Chen Jie said, “Doctor Bai, please don’t get agitated. I know you have old grudges with my granddad, but that’s between the older generation. We shouldn’t meddle in it as the younger ones.”

“Besides, in these deep mountains and dense forests, discussing these matters is useless. When we get back to the village and are safe, we can then talk about other things.”

Doctor Bai fell silent, and after a long sigh, he said, “Ah, it’s old history now, better left unmentioned. To be honest, I do acknowledge that your granddad had skills. I was convinced when I lost to him.”

Chen Jie had chosen his moment well. Doctor Bai’s heart had just gone through tremendous ups and downs with a brush with death, which made the old resentments easier to let go of.

Thus, the two of them walked down the mountain ridge while chatting along the way. When Doctor Bai heard that Chen Jie had once squandered his days in frivolous pursuits, ruining the Chen family’s wealth, he chided Chen Jie a bit and also expressed his regret about Chen Yongwang’s fate!

“Jiu Si, you reforming from your wayward ways is good. You can’t mess around in the future; the reputation your granddad built in his lifetime cannot be lost through your hands.”

“Yes, yes.”

Chen Jie nodded in agreement. They had been walking the mountain path for about a quarter of an hour, and Chen Jie was sweating profusely. To leave a good impression on Doctor Bai, he spared no effort.

Feeling Chen Jie’s breathing becoming heavier, Doctor Bai said, “Take a rest.”

“No need to worry, your injury can’t be delayed. It’s better to get down the mountain sooner.”

With that, Chen Jie continued walking forward.