450: They fell into a cave and discovered someone inside had a fever.

Lu Jing handed the net bag to Niannian and said,

"There are eight in total."

"Two are small. If you want to keep them, you can take them home in a couple of days."

Hearing his words, Xiao Niannian nodded.

It wasn't convenient to keep cats and dogs at home, but rabbits could be kept in the backyard. There was an empty storage room in the backyard that could be converted to raise a few rabbits, which would also make Grandparents happy.

"We'll go deal with the rabbits. You watch here, and in half an hour, throw the rope down to him," Lu Jing said with a smile, glancing at Shen Yan who was struggling below.

"Okay."

Xiao Niannian knew Lu Jing and Shen Yan's intentions. She treated Shen Yan like her own younger brother and knew that Shen Yan needed more tempering. Enduring hardship now was better than suffering and losing his life later.

Watching the time tick by, Shen Yan finally couldn't hold on, but he didn't shout like before.

Xiao Niannian had been listening for Shen Yan's movements. When she heard him fall, she tied the rope around herself and quickly slid down.

In less than ten seconds, Xiao Niannian had slid to the cave entrance. She had heard Shen Yan's muffled groan just now.

"Where did you fall?"

Xiao Niannian's voice rang out.

Shen Yan looked up, and a flashlight beam appeared above his head.

Shen Yan felt that Sister Xiao, at this moment, appeared before him like an immortal.

"I'm fine."

Although it hurt a little, he could endure it.

Shen Yan grinned at Xiao Niannian, showing his teeth. Sister Xiao was still the best to him; his brother and Brother Lu were too ruthless.

Xiao Niannian looked at the cave and found that there was still some light inside, and the cave seemed quite large. When Shen Yan spoke, there were echoes.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Hearing Sister Xiao's words, Shen Yan quickly said,

"Sister Xiao, you don't need to come down. I'll find a way to climb up, or you can give me the rope, and I'll climb up myself."

If Sister Xiao fell, how could Brother Lu spare him?

Xiao Niannian ignored Shen Yan and slid straight down.

The cave was more than three meters from the entrance. The entrance wasn't large, but the cave itself was very spacious.

There were many rocks inside. Fortunately, where Shen Yan fell, the rocks were all against the cave wall. Otherwise, even at just over three meters high, falling and hitting the rocks would have been much worse for Shen Yan.

Xiao Niannian shone her flashlight forward, where there was light.

Xiao Niannian guessed that if they walked further, there would be another cave entrance, and perhaps another path.

The further they walked, the more Xiao Niannian realized that the cave was getting larger, and the light ahead was getting brighter.

She also heard breathing.

The nasal sound was heavy, and she also heard the person groaning uncomfortably.

Xiao Niannian immediately became cautious.

Shen Yan was about to speak when Xiao Niannian gestured to him.

"There's someone ahead."

Shen Yan immediately widened his eyes and nodded vigorously.

There was actually someone in this cave? Could it be another unlucky person who fell down like him?

Xiao Niannian and Shen Yan walked forward.

The further they walked, the brighter the light ahead became. Soon, they saw a person lying on the ground not far away.

"He couldn't have been injured from a fall, and without anyone to save him, so..."

"Go check on him."

Xiao Niannian instructed.

Shen Yan immediately ran over. He leaned closer and heard the person's heavy breathing, which seemed somewhat obstructed.

"So hot." Shen Yan touched the person's forehead and saw that their face was also very red.

"He has a fever."

"I have medicine here. I'll make a cup of it, and you feed it to him later."

"Okay."

Xiao Niannian walked to the side, picked up the enamel mug on the ground, and opened her portable military canteen. Inside was freshly boiled snow water, perfect for brewing cold medicine.

Xiao Niannian poured in a packet, stirred it with a nearby wooden stick, and handed it to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan took the enamel mug, stirred it for a while longer, and when he felt the temperature had dropped a bit, he helped the person on the ground up and called out to him.

"Wake up."

The person had a fever and was drowsy. Hearing the sound, he tried hard to open his eyes and saw a man and a woman in front of him.

"Who are you?"

He asked, somewhat flustered and scared.

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Niannian frowned. Why was he acting like this?

"We just arrived in this cave and found you had a fever."

Shen Yan certainly wouldn't say he fell down.

Just then, Lu Jing and Shen Yan's footsteps also sounded.

The person still looked at them warily, his voice very weak.

"I won't eat it."

Seeing his wary demeanor, Xiao Niannian felt something was amiss.

"What's his situation?"

Lu Jing looked at Xiao Niannian and asked gently.

"Xiao Yan fell into the cave, and we found this person had a fever."

Xiao Niannian explained.

"Who are you?"

Lu Jing asked the person.

The person looked at Lu Jing and the others, his face growing even paler, but he said nothing.

Military Doctor Shen directly took the person's hand and checked his pulse.

"His body is quite depleted... now with a fever, if he doesn't take medicine, his condition will be critical..."

"If he doesn't drink it, force it down," Lu Jing said with a serious tone.

Hearing Brother Lu's words, Shen Yan immediately handed over the medicine.

The person hadn't expected these people to force the medicine into his mouth while they were talking.

This medicine was very different from any he had drunk before. Why did it have a slightly sweet taste and an indescribable smell? Could it be poison?

He was thirsty and uncomfortable, and he certainly couldn't deal with these four people alone right now. So he drank it.

After drinking the medicine, he still stared at the four people in front of him.

Xiao Niannian looked at him and noticed he was extremely thin, his cheeks sunken, with little flesh on his face. The clothes he wore, though cotton-padded, had many patches, and he was still shivering from the cold.

"Go check the cave entrance ahead. If there's firewood, gather some and start a fire..."

Xiao Niannian said to Lu Jing and Military Doctor Shen.

"Okay."

Lu Jing and Military Doctor Shen walked towards the cave entrance ahead.

Upon reaching the entrance, they found it was also a forest with a small path, and some of the surrounding trees were withered.

Lu Jing and Military Doctor Shen quickly gathered some firewood and returned. Shen Yan also quickly made a fire by friction, igniting the wood.

The bonfire was not far from the person. Once the fire was lit, he quickly noticed it.

Warm, it was truly warm.

He had also made fires by friction before, but these past few days, he hadn't felt well. Although he had gathered herbs, he hadn't improved.

He stared at these people, wondering about their origins. In such cold weather, they had come to the mountains of Medicine King Valley.

Could it be that they were sent by those people to search for him? And what they were doing now was just to mislead him, so that once he lowered his guard, they would kill him?