"Quick, A'luo, fetch the scissors!" Chen Yuezhi's tone was urgent.
Su Shi fumbled through the sewing basket and handed over the scissors. Chen Yuezhi took them, pursed her lips, and quickly cut open the clothes on Zhang Qiaoxiu's back, which were soaked through with blood.
"Mmm—" Su Shi felt a wave of nausea from the sight of the mangled flesh and wounds, and unable to bear it any longer, she quickly retreated from the room.
Chen Yuezhi glanced at Zhang Qiaoxiu's injuries, her scalp tingling. She quickly grabbed Zhang Qiaoxiu's wrist to take her pulse. Jiang Wan, after examining the wounds, couldn't help but frown. Zhang Qiaoxiu's entire back had been torn open by the bear, a bloody mess, with bones visible in the wounds.
After checking Zhang Qiaoxiu's pulse, Chen Yuezhi urgently said to Madam Cheng, "Sister Cheng, I need hot water. Please prepare some." Madam Cheng quickly went to prepare it.
Once the others had left, Chen Yuezhi looked at Jiang Wan with great anxiety, "Wanwan, I can't treat Qiaoxiu's injuries. Do you think the old immortal has a way? Quickly, if it's any later, Qiaoxiu will lose her life!"
Jiang Wan nodded without a word. However, her abilities were less effective when used on humans. Zhang Qiaoxiu's injuries were too severe, and she wasn't very confident she could save her life at the moment.
The situation was critical, so she didn't waste any more words. She quickly placed her hands on Zhang Qiaoxiu's back, continuously channeling her energy into her body. Zhang Qiaoxiu had lost too much blood. Even with the energy infusion, there was no reaction. Jiang Wan remained silent, constantly mobilizing her energy to transfer it to Zhang Qiaoxiu.
Chen Yuezhi didn't understand what Jiang Wan was doing, but she could see Jiang Wan's face rapidly turning pale. She wanted to tell Jiang Wan to stop, but seeing the dying Zhang Qiaoxiu, she couldn't bring herself to say it. This was a living soul, and the only daughter of the Zhang Gui couple.
Jiang Wan felt her energy draining rapidly, then being overdrawn. Finally, she couldn't muster another ounce of energy and leaned back against the bed, exhausted. Chen Yuezhi quickly stepped forward to support her, "Wanwan, how are you?"
"Mother, I'm fine. Go quickly and check on Sister Qiaoxiu." After saying this, Jiang Wan's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Chen Yuezhi looked at the two girls in the room, stamping her feet in distress. But she forced herself to calm down. She remembered Jiang Wan saying that after the old immortal performed a great feat, she would be weak for a while, but it wouldn't affect her body, and might even be beneficial. So, she forced herself to ignore Jiang Wan for the moment and focus on the more critical Zhang Qiaoxiu.
After taking her pulse again, Chen Yuezhi felt a little relieved. Zhang Qiaoxiu's pulse was much stronger, the bleeding had stopped, and it seemed her life was temporarily out of danger.
When Madam Cheng rushed in with the hot water, she saw Jiang Wan slumped by the bed and asked, "What happened to Wanwan? Why is her face so pale?"
Chen Yuezhi gritted her teeth and said, "She fainted from seeing blood." Madam Cheng looked shocked, "She can faint from seeing blood?" She hadn't even flinched at the bloody scenes when they fought the wolves before.
Chen Yuezhi forced herself to say, "She fainted from human blood." Madam Cheng looked enlightened, "So that's it. I'll take her to my room first, then come back to help you."
"No need, I can manage here by myself. You haven't done this before, you might get scared." She had been paying close attention to Madam Cheng's expression, which was also quite bad, and she was clearly forcing herself to endure.
Seeing that she could manage alone, Madam Cheng said, "Then I'll take Wanwan over. Call me if you need any help." After Madam Cheng carried Jiang Wan out, Chen Yuezhi found some medicinal powder and clean bandages and began to dress Zhang Qiaoxiu's wounds.
Halfway through, she heard the crying of the Zhang Gui couple from outside the door, "Qiaoxiu, Qiaoxiu, my child..." Chen Yuezhi called through the door, "Sister Zhang, you've come at the right time. Come in quickly and lend a hand."
Zhang Qiaoxiu's mother, Madam Zhang, hurried into the room. Upon seeing Zhang Qiaoxiu's back, she burst into tears again. "Sister, please stop crying. Your tears will drip onto Qiaoxiu's wounds and it will hurt." Madam Zhang quickly wiped her tears, but they seemed endless.
Chen Yuezhi said, "Sister, Qiaoxiu is not in mortal danger for now. Don't worry too much." Hearing this, Madam Zhang immediately tried to kneel before Chen Yuezhi. She was a timid and indecisive woman, and upon hearing that Chen Yuezhi could save her daughter, this was her instinctive reaction.
Chen Yuezhi stamped her feet, "Sister, please come and help. We can talk about other things after Qiaoxiu is better!" Only then did Madam Zhang hurry forward to help. However, her "help" consisted of standing by the side with trembling hands, wiping away tears, and Chen Yuezhi ended up completing all the bandaging by herself.
Zhang Qiaoxiu was severely injured and could not be moved for the time being, so Chen Yuezhi asked Madam Zhang to stay in the room to watch over her and went out to ask Erlang about the situation. Erlang's clothes were also stained with a lot of blood, but he seemed to be in shock, sitting there without changing his clothes, as if he had lost his soul.
Just as she was about to ask him what had happened, she heard exclamations from the village entrance: "Quick, someone else has been injured by the bear!" Chen Yuezhi was startled and, forgetting about Erlang, rushed towards the village entrance. It was then she remembered that her husband and eldest son hadn't returned yet! The thought that her husband and son might be among the injured made Chen Yuezhi's legs go weak.
When she reached the village entrance, she saw Jiang Pan and Da Lang each carrying someone on their shoulders. Only then did Chen Yuezhi's heart finally settle. "His wife, quickly, come and take a look at Daniu and the others!" Chen Yuezhi hurried forward and, at a glance, saw that Daniu and the others were not seriously injured, just superficial wounds.
With several people injured by the bear, the villagers became frightened. The village was too close to the mountains, and they finally realized something belatedly: why was this village deserted? The bear must have entered the village and injured people before, and the original villagers, out of fear, had all moved away collectively. They had lived in this village for two months because the heavy snow had blocked the mountains and the bear was hibernating. Now that the weather was warming up, the bear had woken up and could run into the village at any time!
The villagers grew anxious and insisted on leaving immediately. Jiang Pan also felt that this place was too dangerous, so he instructed everyone to pack their belongings and set off early the next morning. After arranging things for the villagers, Jiang Pan finally had time to explain to Chen Yuezhi what had happened.
They had gone into the mountains that day but hadn't encountered any prey. They found it rather strange, as they had previously caught quite a few wild animals using grain as bait. It couldn't be that they had depleted all the wild animals in the mountains in just one go! After wandering in the mountains for a long time, they were about to head back when the bear suddenly appeared. At that moment, Erlang was only a few steps away from the bear. Everyone was so terrified that they couldn't react in time. The bear swiped its paw towards Erlang. Just as he thought the sky was about to fall, Zhang Qiaoxiu suddenly rushed out and pushed Erlang aside. Erlang escaped, but Zhang Qiaoxiu was severely wounded by the bear's claws.