How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

The two had been staying there for several days. During this time, Xin Wu Hui behaved himself and did not overstep any boundaries, so Qing Ru gradually felt at ease and began to call him "Brother Xin" affectionately.

Xin Wu Hui only had a scrape on his arm. After resting for a while, the wound scabbed over and was mostly healed.

At that time, Yanru was most afraid that the two of them would get a high fever. If they fell into the water and got injured, coupled with a high fever, they probably wouldn't survive in this place where there was a lack of medical care.

Fortunately, Yanru had a fever for the first two days, but with Xin Laohei repeatedly wiping her down with cool water, she gradually recovered. However, the wounds on her arms and legs just wouldn't heal. The scabs would scabbed over and then be washed away by new blood within a couple of days. Qingru guessed that pus was draining out and the wounds were infected, which was why they kept bleeding.

Xin Wu Hui probably has a bit of a chick complex. Since waking up, the only person he has seen is Qing Ru. After taking care of her for several days, he can't help but treat her as half a family member.

"You're bleeding again. We need to get out of the mountains quickly and find a doctor to treat you."

Qingru felt a little dizzy, and through her hazy vision, she saw Xin Wuhui carrying her and moving her around. She couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Is the injury on your arm any better?"

"You're feeling better, but your injuries aren't healing properly. You still need to see a doctor."

Judging by the time, Xin Wu Hui's injuries should have healed by now. In fact, Qing Ru had wanted to tell him to leave a few days ago, but since Xin Wu Hui's injuries hadn't healed and he was in an unfamiliar place, she was afraid he would perish here. Now that he had brought it up himself, it seemed that it was time for him to leave.

After a quick tidying up—there wasn't much to tidy up, really—Xin Wu Hui tore off strips of cloth from his body to tie up Qing Ru's wounds, and then took some wild fruit that the two of them had eaten over the past few days before setting off.

Qingru struggled to keep her eyes open and remain alert. Seeing that Xin Wuhui was walking somewhat haphazardly, she asked, "Brother Xin, how do you determine your direction?"

"Ah? Oh, this is... going with the current. Where there's water, there are people. Don't worry, it won't be wrong."

Qingru was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "There are many stones here, and wherever there are many stones, there is moss. Find a conspicuous stone to observe. The side covered with moss is the north side, and the dry and bare side is the south side."

Upon hearing this, Xin Wu Hui put Qing Ru down and took two steps at a time to carefully observe the area. "Uh... but, Cui'er, there's moss along the water's edge. How do you count that?"

Qingru hadn't expected this either. Her face flushed for a moment, and she coughed awkwardly. "Um... I also saw it in a book. How about we try another method? Find a tree, the side with the most lush branches is the south side, and the side with the sparse branches is the north side."

Xin Wu Hui glanced at Qing Ru and decided to trust her one more time. "Alright, you're well-read, I'll listen to you."

But the forest was so dense and lush, with tall trees growing strong, that Xin Wuhui couldn't tell them apart.

After hesitating for a moment, Xin Wu Hui said, "How about... you think of another way?"

Qingru sighed helplessly and said weakly, "The book says that you can also look at the direction of ant nests in the wild; most of the entrances face south."

Xin Wu Hui looked around at the surroundings: the flowing river, the soft sandy beach, the jagged rocks, and the endless forest. He asked blankly, "Are we really looking for an ant nest?"

After thinking for a moment, Qingru said, "Let's listen to you, Brother Xin, and go with our gut feeling."

Xin Wu Hui nodded solemnly in agreement, "Yes." If they had followed his advice from the beginning, they could have saved so much time.

After carrying Qingru for a while, Xin Wuhui couldn't help but ask again, "If you can really distinguish between north and south, how do you tell which side has people? Ah, I'm really curious, is it written in the book?"

Xin Wu Hui kept babbling on and on, so Qing Ru could only awkwardly pretend to be asleep. Damn it, she should have known better than to talk so much.

A shepherd boy rides a yellow ox, his song echoing through the woods.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Xin Wu Hui was also tired. He put Qing Ru down, gulped down several mouthfuls of water before stopping, and then fed Qing Ru water again.

"Damn it, this road is so difficult to travel. Does anyone live around here?"

Qingru wasn't sure where the two had been swept away by the water. Logically speaking, the river in Sifang City didn't look deep, so even if they went downstream, they shouldn't have gone far. Why hadn't anyone come looking for them yet?

Qingru couldn't help but think of Guo Zixing, wondering if he would come looking for her. Logically speaking, it was obvious who was more important, an orphan girl and a young master of the Huang family, so Qingru dared not hold out any hope. Fortunately, Xin Wuhui didn't ask any further questions.

The two shared a few wild fruits when they suddenly heard children's voices coming from afar.

"What a poor little thing, spending all his time herding cattle..."

The sound was intermittent and indistinct. So the two held their breath and listened intently, and sure enough, they heard the voice getting closer, "...Having a stepmother and a stepfather, poor little Erlang..."

"Woof woof~" The dog's barking suddenly rang out, gradually becoming clearer towards Qingru.

"Woof woof~" In just a moment, the sound of something rushing over and stirring the bushes came, and Qingru and the other person knew that they had encountered people and their dogs.

Xin Wu Hui quickly tied Qing Ru to his back with a vine, then leaped up the tree in a few strides, sighing as he looked at the big dog that had already rushed down to the bottom of the tree.

"Holy crap, I almost got bitten by a dog! That was really fierce!"

"Erniu, Erniu, come back!" the child's voice called out loudly.

Xin Wu Hui stood on a tree branch with Qing Ru, not daring to move. Fortunately, Qing Ru was not heavy, so Xin Wu Hui did not feel too tired.

Before long, a shepherd boy riding a yellow ox slowly came over, called back the dog named "Erniu", and saw that the two adults had been frightened and jumped up the tree, so he couldn't help but laugh loudly, "Haha, you were so scared by my dog ​​that you jumped up the tree, how embarrassing, hehehe."

The shepherd boy was making faces, but Qingru and the other person saw it as a lifeline. Xin Wuhui, in particular, was thrilled to finally see a human figure. He exclaimed, "Hey kid, quickly call the dog away. We'll go down the mountain with you. We need to find a doctor."

The shepherd boy scoffed, "I'm not letting it go! Who knows who you are? You're all dirty like beggars. What business is it of mine if you want to go down the mountain to find a doctor?"

"You!" Xin Wu Hui exclaimed urgently, "If you don't take us out of here, I... I'll beat you up!"

The shepherd boy was even more disdainful.

Qingru gently pinched him and said softly, "Little brother, please do us a favor. We're not bad people, we just got lost in the mountains. Look at what this older brother is wearing, beggars don't wear clothes like this. If you lead us out to find a doctor, we'll give you a reward, one silver dollar, how about it?"

The shepherd boy, mimicking an adult stroking his chin in thought, said in a precocious manner, "How could a bad person admit to being a bad person? Don't try to fool me. But if you give me a silver dollar first, I might consider it."

This child is so clever. Qingru could only whisper to Xin Wuhui, "Do you have any silver dollars on you?"

Xin Wu Hui said with a bitter face, "No way, the only few cents I had were washed away by the water."

Seeing the two dawdling, the shepherd boy grew impatient. "Hey, do you have any money? I told you you're a liar. Humph, I'm going home. I'm leaving."

"Hey, wait a minute," Qingru said hesitantly. "Brother Xin, put me down and take my earrings for him."

Xin Wu Hui slowly put Qing Ru down and took one of her earrings, throwing it down.

The shepherd boy picked it up and examined it carefully for a while, unable to tell whether it was useful or not. His eyes darted around, and he stuffed the earring into his pocket. "I'll ask my mother when I get home," he said. Giddy up!

As he spoke, he drove the ox like a horse, and in a moment, his figure darted away.

"Hey! Wait!"

Xin Wu Hui was filled with regret at this moment, "I even lost an earring, that wretched child!"

Qingru chuckled and shook her head. "Forget it, Brother Xin. It's just an earring. Even though the child ran away, he left traces. We can just follow the path he took."

Xin Wu Hui slapped his thigh, "That's right, how come I didn't think of that? Haha, this brat, I have to follow the road to find his house."

The two carefully slid down the tree trunk and followed the path trodden by the yellow ox.

Qingru's vision grew increasingly blurry, as if a yellowish veil had been placed over the world, leaving everything shrouded in darkness.

"I have a fever," Qingru said to herself before she fainted.

"You child, you've been lying, you've been lying..."

The sound of a child being hit came from outside—the dull thud of an adult's hand striking clothing. Qingru frowned, her temples throbbing, and a throbbing pain in her head made her groan softly.

"You're awake? Here, have some medicine." Xin Wu Hui heard her voice and quickly brought over the medicine, helping Qing Ru lean against the bedside and feeding her the medicine spoonful by spoonful.

"How long have I been asleep?" Qingru asked after taking her medicine and clearing her throat.

“One day and one night,” Xin Wu Hui finished feeding her the last bite and then poured her some water. “It’s already the afternoon of the second day.”

She drank some water from his hand, and then, thinking of the sound she had just heard, she asked, "I thought I heard someone hitting a child. What happened?"

Speaking of this, Xin Wu Hui said proudly, "I actually found that child. He took the earring but didn't dare tell his family. But his parents are reasonable. When they found out about this, they not only took us in, but also called a doctor. Look, the things tied to your hands and feet were done by that barefoot doctor."

Qingru moved her hands and feet and indeed felt that they were bound with some hard things, so she felt relieved.

"Well, they're being kind. They'll send the money over once we get back to the city. By the way, where is this place?"

Xin Wu Hui stammered, "I'm not going back to Sifang City. This is Woniu Village, which is more than a hundred miles away from Sifang City. Going back might not be easy."

"So far?!" Qingru was somewhat incredulous. Unlike Xin Wuhui, who was a bachelor, she had family over there and was determined to go back.

"What did the doctor say? How long will it take for me to get better?"

"It takes at least a hundred days to recover from a broken bone."

Qingru pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Brother Xin, if you really don't want to go back to Sifang City, could you send me back? I'll give you some money so you can live outside, because my family is in the city, and I can't abandon them. Also, Huang Qian, I'm the aggrieved party, and I must punish him to clear your name."

Xin Wu Hui felt a little uncomfortable when the topic of "family" came up, but when she mentioned Huang Qian and the need to clear her name, she wavered. "Then... can we be stronger than Huang Qian? He's a young master, how can I possibly defeat him?"

Qingru reassured him, "Do you know Young Master Guo? He's an upright and good man. He's the one who saved me when I was in trouble. We shouldn't bother two people for the same thing. Besides, I was murdered as his companion, so he would lose face. I believe we have a good chance. Moreover, things are different now than before. This is a new society."

Xin Wu Hui was persuaded, "Alright, then let's set off once you've recovered."

"I can't wait any longer. There are hospitals in the city. If I go back, I'm afraid I'll recover faster. I think I should leave as early as tomorrow."

"So fast……"

"Bang!" It seemed like something had broken. Immediately, someone outside the window said, "Erniu, you're running around again and broke a bowl. Sell it and you can buy another one."

Qingru looked at Xin Wuhui with concern, feeling a strange unease for some reason.

Xin Wu Hui gave her a reassuring look, "You rest first, I'll go out and ask about the situation."

Xin Wu Hui took the bowl and went outside. The lady of the house was sitting on the doorstep training the dog. When she saw him come out, she smiled憨厚ly and said, "Hey, brother, is your sister feeling better?"

Xin Wu Hui handed her the bowl, saying gratefully, "Thank you so much. She's feeling much better after taking the medicine. By the way, Sister-in-law Niu, I have a question for you. Are there any oxcarts around here? And how much would it cost to rent one to go back to town?"

Sister-in-law Niu said with a bitter face, "Oh dear, why are you leaving so soon? Your sister's injury is not easy to move. She must be fully healed before leaving. This is a major event in her life. No, your sister is being unreasonable, but you can't be unreasonable. I have to persuade her to go."

"Hey, sister-in-law." Xin Wu Hui couldn't stop her. Sister-in-law Niu was one of the few people in the village who was well-off. She had a thick waist and a lot of strength.

She rushed into the house in a flash, saying urgently, "Hey, sister, are you saying my house is too simple?"

Qingru was puzzled and said with a forced smile, "No, what's wrong with you, sister-in-law?" As she spoke, she looked at Xin Wuhui for help, but the latter only gave a helpless response.

Sister-in-law Niu slapped her thigh and said, “Sister, they are all men and don’t know, but I saw it clearly when I was applying the medicine to you. Oh my, you have such delicate skin, you’ve never done any hard work, have you? You’ve suffered such a serious injury, you can’t be willful. Even if you want to go home, you have to heal your injury first, otherwise it will affect your walking in the next life.”

Qingru couldn't stand her enthusiasm and silently withdrew her hand, saying, "It's that serious, that's why I need to go back to the city to see her. Sister-in-law, I appreciate your kindness..."

"It seems you still haven't taken it. Sigh... Why are you so stubborn? Even if you want to leave, you should at least rest for a few more days until the wound has scabbed over and stopped bleeding before setting off. If you just set off like this, especially now that it's cold, you might catch a cold, which would be a serious matter."

Seeing Sister-in-law Niu's disapproving expression, Qingru felt a little embarrassed, as if she were truly someone who would act recklessly and disregard life and death.

Seeing this, Sister-in-law Niu tried to persuade Qingru again, and finally, unable to refuse her earnest request, she agreed. However, she still insisted, "I'll leave once the wound has scabbed over. Sister-in-law, I don't want to trouble you."

Sister-in-law Niu waved her hand and said, "That's more like it. I may have a short temper, but I have a kind heart. Alright, I won't bother you anymore. Get some rest."

"Hey, brother, could you see your wife off and then help me with something?"

"Hmm," Xin Wu Hui agreed and went out. A figure also darted out after her, spitting at Qing Ru, "Pah, short-lived ghost."