Jiang Mian's words reminded Xiao Wuchen. He immediately said, "Right! Quickly carry the Crown Prince up the mountain and get the doctor to treat him!"
The oilcloth was used to cover Xiao Jingcheng's body again. The four men exerted force and lifted the wooden board once more. Escorted by the guards, they walked up the mountain.
Jiang Mian was extremely anxious. She tried to stand up from the ground, but her legs were so weak that she failed after several attempts.
Mo Zhizhang bent down, supported her elbow, and helped her up.
But the next moment, she broke free from him, caught up with the four men, and tightly held Xiao Jingcheng's hand that had accidentally fallen out from under the oilcloth.
The yellow dog seemed to be taken aback by Jiang Mian's action. It was stunned for a moment, then barked twice, caught up with her, and closely stayed by her side.
Looking at the hands of the two clasped together, a sudden surge of unease welled up in Mo Zhizhang's heart.
But he couldn't quite figure out where this unease came from. By the time he came to his senses, he had already followed behind Jiang Mian.
Xiao Wuchen also wanted to chase after them, but Zhao Hu said to him, "Your Highness, Prince Ning, we've brought the people from several villages downstream. There are quite a number of them, and some of them are sick. We need to settle them down as soon as possible."
Xiao Wuchen looked back at Jiang Mian and Xiao Jingcheng in the distance. He had no choice but to temporarily suppress his worry and go to accommodate the villagers brought back by Zhao Hu first.
The commotion here soon caught the attention of the villagers in Dongli Town. They gathered at the cave entrance and looked out.
"What's that? It looks like there's a person lying on it."
"Look at those dogs behind Doctor Jiang. Those dogs only obey the Crown Prince's orders. Could it be that the Crown Prince is lying on that wooden board?"
"Oh my god! Could something have happened to the Crown Prince?!"
The crowd whispered among themselves, their hearts filled with concern. Soon, they saw Xiao Wuchen and Zhao Hu leading a strange - looking person up the mountain...
Xiao Jingcheng's body was placed in a cave next to the one where the medicinal herbs were stored.
As soon as the wooden board was put down, Jiang Mian immediately told someone to remove the oilcloth.
Li Zhao and Qi Wen got the news and rushed into the cave. Seeing Xiao Jingcheng lying with his eyes closed on the wooden board, Qi Wen couldn't help but gasp, "Good heavens! What's wrong with His Highness?"
Jiang Mian didn't look up. She said very quickly, "He's injured his head. The wound is still bleeding, and he's in a coma now. We must treat the wound immediately. Qi Wen, go find some firewood and light it on both sides. Make sure his body gets warm."
Qi Wen immediately replied, "Okay, I'll go right away!"
"Dad, please find a clean set of clothes and a handkerchief. I need to dry his body before I can start the treatment."
As she spoke, she reached out to untie Xiao Jingcheng's belt. But either because she was too anxious or because the belt was too tight after getting wet, her fingers kept slipping, and she couldn't untie it.
The yellow dog sensed her mood, walked forward, and pushed her hand with its mouth, as if trying to stop her.
"Big Huang!" Jiang Mian pushed the yellow dog away and shouted, "I don't have time to play with you now. I need to save him!"
If you listened carefully, you could hear the tremor in her voice.
The yellow dog was pushed to the ground and rolled over. It was stunned for a moment, then got up from the ground, turned around, and ran behind Mo Zhizhang. It pushed him with its paw and whined softly.
Mo Zhizhang could tell that Jiang Mian was in a bad mood at the moment, and he also vaguely guessed what the yellow dog intended.
He squatted down, caught Jiang Mian's hand that was trying to untie the belt again, and said, "Okay, niece. You're not the only doctor here. Let me do it."
Her hand was so cold that it startled him.
Jiang Mian looked up at Mo Zhizhang. The tears in her eyes made him stunned again.
"Uncle, please save him."
Everyone in this cave was familiar to Jiang Mian. Once she said this, she could no longer hold back her emotions. "He was being chased and fell off a cliff before. He already had a head injury, but I was not skilled enough at that time and didn't know how to treat him at all. I planned to find a way after you came to Dongli Town, but later... later..."
Later, she met Taoist Yuanzheng. Taoist Yuanzheng said that the reason he had been in a coma was that his soul had left his body and was imprisoned somewhere.
He used his magic to wake Xiao Jingcheng up, and she had forgotten about this matter.
"It's my fault. Such a wound shouldn't have made him unconscious. I didn't tell you in time..."
The girl was extremely self - blaming, and her sobs were really heart - wrenching. Mo Zhizhang, who was not good at comforting others, softened his voice and coaxed her gently, "Maybe this is not a bad thing."
"As you said, he fell from a high place before and was unconscious due to a head injury, which means there should be blood stasis in his brain. Although he woke up later, the blood stasis still remained. Now he's unconscious again because of the new head injury. It should be because the blood stasis has dispersed."
Jiang Mian asked, "Really?"
Mo Zhizhang said, "Don't you trust me, niece?"
Jiang Mian's heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe. She wiped away her tears and finally gave up struggling with Xiao Jingcheng's belt. She gave the position to Mo Zhizhang.
Li Zhao ruffled Jiang Mian's hair and said, "I heard that His Highness has saved many more villagers. Prince Ning is settling them down now, and there are some patients among them. Leave this to us. You go and take a look."
He knew that what she needed most now was to divert her attention. Dealing with ordinary patients could make her calm down quickly.
Jiang Mian herself knew this truth. She nodded, took a few deep breaths at the cave entrance, and then left with an umbrella in hand.
The yellow dog didn't follow her. It watched her enter the next cave, then turned around and went back to Xiao Jingcheng's body. It squatted there, looked up, and let out a bark.
Sang Biao, Juan Mao, and Hei Bei shook off the water on their bodies, ran to its side, and surrounded the wooden board. Their four pairs of eyes stared at Mo Zhizhang together, as if they were protecting Xiao Jingcheng.
Noticing that these dogs were on guard against him, Mo Zhizhang let out a soft laugh and lowered his head to slowly untie Xiao Jingcheng's belt.
The knot that Jiang Mian couldn't untie easily came undone in his hands. He opened Xiao Jingcheng's robe, and the man's strong body was revealed.
Actually, there wasn't much on his chest. But when he turned the man over and took off his clothes, the criss - cross wounds on his back could no longer be hidden. Mo Zhizhang couldn't help but be stunned.
These wounds were all recent. Because they had been soaked in water, the edges of the wounds were already a bit festered, looking extremely miserable.
It turned out that he had more than just the wound on his head. No wonder the yellow dog didn't want Jiang Mian to stay here.
Seeing these wounds, she would probably feel even more heartache for this man.
It was really...
Envious.