Fu Xin Ci paid him no mind. Fruit candies were for eating, and who was eating them didn't matter. She'd have one too.
Qi He: He just loved listening to Sister Fu talk.
Xiao Bai: It wants to eat.
The thing flying in the sky: It wants to eat too.
Fu Xin Ci hadn't expected that a few fruit candies would win her a loyal little follower.
And so, the thing flying in the sky got a name that perfectly matched Xiao Bai's: Xiao Hei.
At this moment, Qi He rode his horse behind Sister Fu, his eyes full of envy as he watched Xiao Bai perched on Sister Fu's left shoulder and Xiao Hei soaring in the sky.
If it weren't for the biting north wind and the harsh environment, Fu Xin Ci would have thought she was out on a pleasure trip.
Sigh, observing the desolate wilderness around them, if not for the occasional crisscrossing of hoof prints and footprints, Fu Xin Ci would have suspected they had taken the wrong direction.
"Jiu jiu~"
That little melodic chirp was adorable.
"Zhi zhi zhi." Xiao Bai quickly translated for the humans: someone was approaching.
Now that it had someone to compete with for favor, Xiao Bai dared not slacken in the slightest, fearing it would be replaced by that thing.
"Who is it?"
"Zhi zhi zhi." Not from our garrison.
Hearing Xiao Bai's explanation, Fu Xin Ci understood it to mean that a Liao Dong garrison unit was also on the move nearby.
Thinking they were their own people, Fu Xin Ci told Qi He, and the two of them continued north without hiding or evading.
The sound of hooves approached from afar and grew nearer. The two didn't stop until a troop of about seventy to eighty people halted to their side.
Seeing their uniform military attire stained with dirt and blood, their faces bruised and swollen, and some of them wrapped in bandages from which crimson blood seeped, Fu Xin Ci was reminded of the saying: "Light wounds do not pull soldiers from the front line."
Commander Lin also hadn't expected to encounter two little brats riding Tatar horses while searching for Tatars.
Although the clothing and appearance of these two brats were a bit odd, their looks clearly indicated they were their own people.
However, he was puzzled. In this remote, desolate place, where could these two brats have come from?
Thinking that Tatars could appear at any moment, Commander Lin stopped them and asked, "Whose children are you two? Do you know how dangerous it is here?"
Upon hearing the officer's question, Fu Xin Ci looked at Qi He.
Qi He did not disappoint her. He cupped his fists and replied loudly, "Reporting to you, sir, we are from Yingzui Cliff Garrison. My name is Qi He, this is Sister Fu, and my father is Qi Yuanshan."
"Qi Yuanshan? You are Qi Yuanshan's son?"
"Yes. Does sir know my father?"
"Of course, I know him." Recalling the rumors circulating among several garrisons in the past few days about Qi Yuanshan's invincibility with his great saber, Commander Lin's heart surged with warmth.
"I haven't met your father yet on this trip, but I've met you, which is fate," Commander Lin said. Then he remembered he needed to ask why these two brats weren't staying home but were out and about.
Especially now, up close, he realized one of the brats was actually a little girl.
Damn it, his mind was starting to reel. Were the children nowadays clueless, or did they have the courage of a rutabaga? Daring to wander around when the Tatars were invading Liao Dong.
Thinking this, Commander Lin's expression turned serious. "Young Qi, since your father and I are comrades, this is no place for you two to play. You should head back quickly."
After speaking, Commander Lin remembered that they were already twenty to thirty li away from Yingzui Cliff Garrison and, fearing the two brats might encounter danger, decided to send two of his subordinates to escort them back.
Fu Xin Ci's senses were sharp. Hearing the officer's words, she quickly said, "Sir, we are not out here to play. We are out here to find Uncle Qi and the others."
As she spoke, Fu Xin Ci's eyes fell on a young man behind the officer. He was not much older, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, and his face was unnaturally flushed.
Fu Xin Ci observed his body. His left shoulder was clearly injured, and although the wound was wrapped with a bandage, blood was still seeping through.
Commander Lin also noticed the little girl's gaze and followed her line of sight. His face darkened as he said, "Shun Zi's shoulder is injured, and we..."
He thought of their lack of medical supplies and that Shun Zi was running a fever. He didn't know if Shun Zi could hold on until they returned together.
Fu Xin Ci saw that their military uniforms were not thick and that they were fine without illness or injury. However, the young man's fever caused by his injury, if not treated promptly, might be fatal.
She couldn't stand by and do nothing when she encountered such a situation.
"Brother Qi, give the little brother one of the big fur coats you're holding."
"Alright," Qi He agreed, taking one of the big fur coats draped over the front of his saddle and handing it to the young man.
"Thank you." The young soldier managed a weak twitch of his lips.
"You don't need to thank me, Sister Fu told me to do it."
"Brother Qi, give this fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory medicine to the little brother," Fu Xin Ci said, secretly thankful that most of the medicine in her space was traditional Chinese patent medicine.
"Alright." Qi He didn't think much of it. He took the two dark little pills Fu Xin Ci handed him and then passed them to the young man.
"Little brother, quickly take these two medicines, and your injury and illness will soon be healed."
"Thank you." Shun Zi thought this injury would be the end of him, as his wound hadn't been medicated at all, only bandaged simply.
He really hadn't expected to meet a benefactor. Shun Zi looked at the little girl opposite him and forced himself to manage a stiff smile.
"Hurry and take the medicine."
"Alright." Driven by the instinct to survive, Shun Zi took the two small pills, popped them into his mouth, and then took a swig of water from the waterskin handed to him by a comrade next to him.
"It's a bit bitter." Shun Zi wasn't afraid of bitterness, but for the past few days, he hadn't been able to taste anything.
Yet, just now, he had tasted bitterness.
Seeing that he had taken the medicine, Fu Xin Ci handed the two small oil-paper packets in her hand to Commander Lin.
"This larger oil-paper packet contains the fever-reducing medicine. Take one pill three times a day. This smaller oil-paper packet contains the anti-inflammatory medicine. Take one pill a day."
Commander Lin gratefully accepted the oil-paper packets from the little girl and carefully tucked them into his chest. He kept repeating his thanks.
Commander Lin knew he shouldn't have accepted these medicines so readily. But he couldn't just watch his brother die.
Several of his brothers had fallen in the past few days, and those still alive carried a heavy burden. Especially him, he didn't want to see any more of his brothers fall.