15: Picking up corpses

“Oh my, someone really died!”

The bolder Wang Houshi leaned in for a closer look.

“Tsk tsk, how tragic! What kind of deep-seated hatred must this have been!”

The man had a bowl-sized wound on his chest, and dark red blood was still seeping out, soaking the withered grass beneath him, which had already been trampled.

The woman’s arms and legs were all cut open by a Sharp Weapon, skin torn and flesh exposed.

The surrounding ground was saturated with their blood, appearing a dark red.

Wang Houshi bravely reached out to check for their breath.

The villagers held no hope for Wang Houshi’s actions; with such severe injuries, how could they possibly survive? They weren’t Immortals!

“Houshi, don’t bother. Just dig a pit and bury them!”

“It’s a shame for such good children, so young, and gone just like that.”

“Everyone, lend a hand. The sooner we bury them, the sooner we can go back and eat!”

...The surrounding chatter was noisy, and some had even prepared to grab their tools.

Wang Houshi placed his finger near the man’s nose.

“Oh my goodness, there’s still Qi!”

Wang Houshi exclaimed in surprise, quickly withdrew his hand, and even took two steps back.

The onlookers were also startled; in such a state, there was still Qi.

These two certainly had tough lives.

“In this condition, there’s still Qi?”

“Are you sure you checked correctly? Is there really Qi?”

Some other villagers, disbelieving, also reached to check the man’s nose, and some went to check the woman’s nose.

“There’s really Qi! They’re not completely dead.”

A faint breath brushed against their fingers.

“Oh my god! The woman also has Qi!”

The villager withdrew his hand, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Now all the villagers had no choice but to believe; what they had found were not corpses, but two living people.

If they were corpses, it would be simple; just bury them on the spot, a few shovelfuls each.

But these were two living people, which made things difficult.

To save or not to save, that was the question.

“How about we send them to Doctor Wu to see if they can be saved?”

“Can they still be saved? They’ve already got one foot in the grave, haven’t they? Look at this blood, it’s clearly not normal, blackish-red. They might even be poisoned.”

“Beyond help, beyond help!”

“Then what should we do? At least they still have Qi. They’re so young, we can’t just watch them die here, can we?”

“Whether they can be saved is one thing, but I’m afraid of getting into trouble. The world is in chaos right now, and our village has only just managed to stabilize.”

As everyone was debating, someone suddenly shouted.

“Make way, everyone, the Village Chief is here! The Village Chief is here!”

Their backbone had arrived.

The villagers quickly cleared a path, and Village Chief Li Fu walked over with vigorous strides.

He frowned, his gaze sweeping over the two people lying on the ground.

“Are you sure they’re alive?”

Everyone nodded in unison. Yes, they were alive, not completely dead yet.

“Village Chief, what do you think we should do about this?” Wang Houshi stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

Li Fu did not answer immediately; instead, he squatted down and carefully examined their injuries.

He reached out to check the man’s breath, then felt the woman’s pulse, his brows furrowing even deeper.

“We can’t just leave them like this; we need to save them quickly.”

He feared that if they hesitated any longer, the two would be completely gone.

First, take them to old Doctor Wu. A few families can pool some grain for the old doctor, and try to save them first.

Whether they live or die will be up to fate.

*

“Uncle Wu!”

“Doctor Wu, hurry and save them!”

Wang Houshi and a few others carried the two dying individuals into a small courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, with various herbs drying scattered about.

It was dinnertime, and Doctor Wu’s family had no fields, so he didn’t need to work the land. He was currently eating in the courtyard.

The scent of vegetables wafted through the courtyard.

“Who? Who’s dying?”

Hearing the shouts, the radiant Doctor Wu put down his bowl and hurried out.

He had even lost one of his shoes.

Doctor Wu was the only barefoot doctor in the village.

In his early years, he had served as an apprentice for three years under a doctor in the town. Later, when monsters caused chaos in the town, Doctor Wu fled to Chang Sheng Village.

He married a girl from the village and became the unofficial son-in-law of Chang Sheng Village.

Normally, Doctor Wu mainly treated the village’s livestock, specializing in treating cattle.

If anyone’s cow in the village fell ill, as long as he treated it, nine out of ten times it would recover.

If it didn’t recover, the whole village would have a feast.

As for treating people, well, that depended on luck.

*

When Wu Baojin came out and saw Wang Houshi and the others carrying two bloodied people, he was immediately startled, and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground.

“Oh dear! What happened? How did they get so injured?” Doctor Wu said, approaching to examine their injuries.

“These aren’t children from our village, are they?”

Seeing Doctor Wu come out, the few people explained in detail how they had found the two.

It was strange; from the foot of the mountain to Doctor Wu’s house, this whole ordeal had taken at least half an hour.

Yet, these two, with their faint breaths, were still clinging to life.

Perhaps they had some unfulfilled wish!

As soon as Doctor Wu heard what had happened, the anxiety in his heart instantly eased by more than half.

It was good that they weren't children from Chang Sheng Village.

“Doctor Wu, can these two still be saved?”

Doctor Wu squatted down, first feeling the man’s pulse, then flipping his eyelids, and then going to examine the woman’s injuries.

“These injuries are quite severe... The blood is all dark and murky, they’re probably poisoned…”

“I don’t know what kind of poison it is.”

“Beyond help, beyond help. Even if they were sent to the Prefecture City, they couldn’t be saved.”

“Doctor Wu, let’s treat a dead horse as if it’s alive!” Village Chief Li Fu hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“We can’t just watch two living people die like this. At least try; it’ll count as accumulating good karma.”

Doctor Wu sighed. In truth, he felt there was no need to save them at all.

In these times, two people dying was hardly a novelty!

And they were strangers, why bother with the effort?

Forget it, these two were still alive after all, and he couldn’t really stand by and do nothing. Besides, he didn’t have any precious medicinal herbs here anyway, so he might as well treat them.

The worst-case scenario was that he’d treat them to death.

Doctor Wu bent down to pick up the chopsticks that had fallen to the ground, rubbing them on his clothes.

“Alright, since the Village Chief and everyone else says so, I’ll give it a try. But let me be clear, I can’t truly guarantee the outcome.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded repeatedly.

Doctor Wu turned and went back into the house, emerging shortly with a tattered wooden box containing various bottles, jars, and herbs.

He squatted down, first picking up a handful of herbs, chewing them to a pulp in his mouth, and then applying them to the man’s chest wound.

“These herbs can temporarily stop the bleeding and remove some of the poison, but it’s only a temporary stabilization. The rest depends on their fate.”

As he was applying the medicine, the man suddenly let out a muffled groan, his body trembling slightly, startling Doctor Wu, who almost dropped his hand.

“Oh dear, I almost spilled it. This child is still conscious; he truly has a tough life.”

The same treatment process was applied to the woman.

After a long period of busying himself, Doctor Wu straightened up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Done!

“I’ve done all I can for now. The rest is up to them to see if they can pull through.”