Chen Xiaobei looked at the almost sheer cliff with some distress.
There was no other way but to resort to the old trick. He tied their clothes together with a knot and fastened them around his waist, finally descending to the bottom.
Now it was clear.
It was indeed Dachun.
He called out several times, "Dachun, Dachun," but received no response.
Chen Xiaobei looked up at the cliff above, his heart sinking.
There was no way he could possibly get the bulky Dachun up there. So the only solution now was to carry Dachun and walk down the valley towards the mountain.
Dachun was very heavy. As soon as he put him on his back, Chen Xiaobei felt his legs tremble. But there was no choice; he could only grit his teeth and endure.
The further he walked down, the stranger Chen Xiaobei felt. According to reason, the valley floor, being rarely visited, should be overgrown with weeds. Yet, there were surprisingly few weeds at the bottom.
No, there were some weeds, and some low-lying plants on the sides. But his torchlight had a limited range, and he couldn't see what they were. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to look at them now.
After carrying Dachun for an unknown distance, he finally saw a gentle slope ahead. From here, a path branched off, leading back up the mountain.
Chen Xiaobei put Dachun down and held up his torch to examine him. Dachun's eyes were tightly shut, his teeth clenched, and his face looked somewhat dark and swollen.
He's been poisoned, damn it.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei was faced with a dilemma: should he carry Dachun back first, or should he carry the person from the mountain down and then go back together?
In the end, Chen Xiaobei gritted his teeth and made a decision. He would see this through to the end. He would carry the person from above down and take them both back together.
Just then, he faintly heard shouting from the foot of the mountain. It was a woman's voice.
Listening more carefully, he realized it was Cui Hongyu.
It turned out that Chen Ping and the others had fled in disarray. As soon as they reached the village entrance, they encountered Xioumei and Cuihua. They could only say that there were ferocious beasts on the mountain and they dared not go further.
Upon hearing about the ferocious beasts, Xioumei burst into tears.
In those times, ordinary folk would naturally believe that Dachun was in grave danger upon hearing about ferocious beasts.
The crying disturbed Cui Hongyu. After waking Chen Qiaoer and giving her a few instructions, she came out. After hearing the story from Cuihua, she was skeptical.
"Sister Cuihua, it's hard to see clearly in the mountain forest at night. These so-called ferocious beasts may not necessarily harm people. Why don't we go into the mountain again to take a look?"
Cuihua hesitated a little, but Xioumei, standing nearby, showed surprising resolve.
Indeed, a mother's concern for her child.
"If you want to go, let's go. At least we need to find out what happened to Dachun. Alive, we see him; dead..."
Before she could finish, Cui Hongyu stopped her. "Second Aunt, it's not that serious. People have been saying there are ferocious beasts in the mountains for years, but no one has ever encountered them, have they?"
With that, she turned and ran up the mountain.
Xioumei and Cuihua, as if waking from a dream, quickly followed.
As soon as she entered the mountain, Cui Hongyu immediately started shouting Chen Xiaobei's name loudly. Cuihua and Xioumei, who followed behind, also began calling out Dachun's name.
Hearing the calls echoing back and forth, Chen Xiaobei's heart warmed, and he immediately shouted a reply.
Then he climbed a tree and waved his torch vigorously.
He ran up the mountain for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Cui Hongyu finally saw the torchlight and immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Look, firelight over there!"
Chen Xiaobei then climbed down from the tree, his heart finally at ease.
When Cuihua and Xioumei arrived and saw Dachun lying on the ground, they were stunned.
"Xiaobei, what, what happened?"
Chen Xiaobei sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. I found him at the bottom of that cliff."
Cui Hongyu lowered her head, took one look, and couldn't help but exclaim, "He's been poisoned!"
With that, she took the torch and began to search little by little from Dachun's face. Soon, she found a black, swollen lump on the back of Dachun's neck.
Looking at the lump, which was as big as an egg, Cuihua couldn't help but cry again.
Cui Hongyu reached up and took a silver hairpin from her bun, heated it over the torch, and then plunged it in.
Cui Hongyu was ruthless. The hairpin went in more than two inches deep.
As soon as the hairpin was inserted, it was clear that something seemed to be moving inside the lump. Then, a foul smell wafted out, and black blood flowed.
Xioumei was completely flustered and couldn't help but shout, "Hongyu, what, what are you doing?"
Cui Hongyu turned to look at Xioumei and said calmly, "Dachun is poisoned. I'm helping him detoxify."
As she spoke, she reached out and took the silver hairpin from Cuihua's hair, also heating it with the torch.
Then, she held the silver hairpin horizontally, pressed it against the skin of the neck, and with a forceful flick, pried it upwards.
A cut more than two inches long was immediately opened.
Immediately after, Cui Hongyu flipped her wrist.
What Chen Xiaobei saw in front of him made him stare in disbelief. At the tip of the silver hairpin Cui Hongyu had inserted, there was a black object the size of a thumbnail.
It was a black insect.
Yes, it was an eight-legged insect, its legs still weakly flailing in the air.
"Second Aunt, Cuihua, Xiaobei, look. Dachun was bitten by this kind of insect and was poisoned," she said.
As she spoke, she brought the silver hairpin closer to the torch, and soon the air was filled with the smell of burnt protein.
"Hongyu, please, please help Dachun!"
Xioumei finally understood and began to repeatedly kowtow to Cui Hongyu.
Cui Hongyu looked up at Chen Xiaobei. "We need to use houttuynia cordata. Do you remember the place?"
Houttuynia cordata. Chen Xiaobei's mind stirred. What he had seen on his way here seemed to be houttuynia cordata.
But he didn't dare to take the risk now.
"I remember. You wait here. I'll go and pick it now."
Cui Hongyu stood up. "I'll go with you."
Xioumei opened her mouth, but in the end, she held back. After all, they were husband and wife.
On the way, Cui Hongyu repeatedly asked Chen Xiaobei what exactly had happened.
Chen Xiaobei sighed and recounted his experience of finding two people.
After listening, Cui Hongyu looked utterly astonished.
"What's going on? One is poisoned at the bottom of a cliff, and the other is halfway up."
Yes, Chen Xiaobei was also bewildered. He couldn't figure out what these two had gone through. Even more bizarre was that the one on the mountainside had fallen quite hard, while Dachun, who had fallen into the valley, was surprisingly unharmed, apart from some abrasions.
So, they could only wait for them to wake up to clarify things.
"What are you going to do about the one on the mountain?" Cui Hongyu asked again.
Chen Xiaobei's tone was very firm. "Since I encountered him, I have to help him. I must bring him down the mountain and help him treat his injuries, after all, that's a life."
Hearing his resolute words, Cui Hongyu felt a trace of admiration in her heart.
It was said that a physician's heart was benevolent, and in fact, Cui Hongyu had the same intention.
She had originally planned that if Chen Xiaobei refused to help, she would find out the location and go up the mountain herself.