Luo Wu had been awake for a whole day and night, but he was so worried about Gu Jinxiu going to the Winter Embroidery eting that he dared not rest. Instead, he rode his horse furiously along the official road towards the Prefecture.
From ti to ti, he would dismount to inspect the ruts on the road, asuring their length with his hands. When he saw a palm-wide rut accompanied by horseshoe prints, he would follow them.
However, Gu Jin’an and Gu Jinxiu had already been traveling for a day and a night, and even if they had rested along the way, catching up to them was no easy task.
Luo Wu did not give up, one thought consud his mind: he could not allow Sister Xiu to go to the Winter Embroidery eting, it would be the death of her!
After another two days and a night of frantic riding, he finally caught up with Gu Jinxiu and the others on the official road from He’an Prefecture to Linhe Prefecture in the afternoon of the second day.
"Sister Xiu~ Sister Xiu~" Luo Wu shouted desperately, but he was so exhausted that his voice was barely audible. As he watched the Gu family’s mule cart speeding away, he had no choice but to pull out his dagger and stab the horse’s back.
Neigh!
The brown horse neighed in pain and began to sprint forward.
The rapid hoofbeats grew louder and louder. Gu Jin’an frowned as he watched the brown horse charging wildly—it looked familiar, like the one Luo Wu often rode.
And there was a person on the horse’s back, but that person seed to have passed out; it was unclear if it was Luo Wu.
"Zezi, quickly pull the mule cart to the side of the road; there’s a mad horse coming from behind," Gu Jin’an urgently instructed Zezi, worried the brown horse might collide with their own mule cart.
"Yes," Zezi responded, steering the mule cart towards the roadside.
However, the person on the horse had not fainted. Just as the brown horse galloped past their mule cart, he suddenly leaped off and landed on the roadside, falling face-first onto the ground with a thud.
Gu Jin’an was shocked by the sight, although the figure seed familiar, he quickly drew his waist knife and pointed it at the fallen figure, commanding, "Zezi, Qiu Lang, surround him, don’t let him get up and hurt anyone."
His oldest sister was still in the mule cart, and Gu Jin’an dared not relax.
Zezi, Qiu Lang, Ah Duo, Danian, Feng Lian, and others quickly surrounded Luo Wu.
Inside the mule cart, Sister Li, Tong Xiaoxue, Nanny Tao, and Qingrong, who had dical skills, also guarded Gu Jinxiu.
"Good Brother An, what’s happening outside?" Nanny Tao didn’t let Gu Jinxiu speak but asked herself. She had a lot of experience traveling and feared they might have encountered robbers. If robbers heard a young girl’s voice from inside the mule cart, it would spell disaster.
"Nanny, it’s alright, soone suddenly fainted by our mule cart, and we’ve already surrounded him," Gu Jin’an instructed Zezi, "See who he is? Be careful when you turn him over, beware he might be feigning unconsciousness to launch a surprise attack."
"Aye," Zezi complied, expertly pressing his knife against the back of Luo Wu’s neck and warning, "Don’t move, or I’ll stab you if you try anything."
After waiting a mont, they flipped him over and when they saw his face, they exclaid, "Good Brother An, it’s Luo Wu."
Gu Jin’an also saw Luo Wu, feeling a mix of hatred, anger, and worry in his heart, truly wishing he could just stab him to death and be done with it.
"Brother Luo Wu? Is it Brother Luo Wu?" Gu Jinxiu, hearing the commotion, asked from inside the mule cart.
Gu Jin’an stayed silent, wanting to leave Luo Wu behind and continue on with his older sister.
But Gu Jinxiu had already rushed down and seeing Luo Wu lying on the ground, thinner by several degrees, imdiately threw herself on him, embracing him and crying, "Brother Luo Wu, what happened to you? Wake up, wake up."
Brother Luo Wu, dazed and confused, heard Gu Jinxiu’s voice, instinctively grabbing her wrist, mumbling, "Sister Xiu... don’t go... to the Winter Embroidery eting..."
If you go to the Winter Embroidery eting, you will die.
Gu Jinxiu couldn’t make out what he was saying, but seeing him holding onto her hand persistently, she knew he didn’t want her to leave, hastily saying, "Brother Luo Wu, rest assured, I won’t go, I’ll stay right here, don’t be afraid."
She repeated the words he had once said to her when they were children.
At that ti, their father had been away working, and only their mother and three siblings were ho; Brother Cheng hadn’t been born yet. Their mother, starving and beaten by her sister-in-law, had fainted. Good Brother An and Xiao Yu, angered, went to seek revenge and were caught and punished by their grandmother.
She stayed by their unconscious mother, worried about Good Brother An and Xiao Yu, utterly frightened, until he stealthily ca to give her food, telling her, "Sister Xiu, don’t be afraid, my father has gone to call the doctor, my mother will bring the doctor here."
Perhaps it was her voice that cald Brother Luo Wu sowhat.
Gu Jinxiu, fearing sothing bad might happen to him, quickly called out, "Qingrong, co quickly and check on Brother Luo Wu."
Qingrong and Qingping, who had co with Nanny Tao, were versed in dicine, and three years ago, Gu Jinli had them study dicine under Doctor Dai, giving them quite a bit of skill.
"Coming." Qingrong got off the mule cart with her dicine box.
Nanny Tao also ca down, seeing Gu Jinxiu holding Luo Wu, she hurried over, saying, "Sister Xiu, lay him down, such a robust young man won’t die just like that."
Gu Jinxiu knew it wasn’t proper to be holding Brother Luo Wu in such a public manner, obediently setting Luo Wu down, yet Luo Wu, terrified she would leave, clutched her wrist tightly, and Nanny Tao struggled to pry his grip open.
"It’s alright, Nanny, it doesn’t hurt, let Brother Luo Wu hold on," said Gu Jinxiu, urging again, "Qingrong, quickly check him, see if we can wake him?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, Luo Wu turned his head to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Brother Luo Wu!" Gu Jinxiu was terribly frightened, her voice trembling, "What’s wrong with you? Don’t die, you can’t die!"
Qingrong urgently checked his pulse, and after a while, she said, "He’s been running around without rest for too long, caught cold previously, and has had severe emotional swings, which caused him to vomit blood. Once he calms his breath and consus so herbal redies for a while, he should recover."
She was trying to ease Gu Jinxiu’s worries with hopeful news, yet such strenuous effort typically leaves one at high risk of abrupt death.
Gu Jinxiu was not so easily deceived: "But Brother Luo Wu has vomited blood."
Vomiting blood was a sign of severe illness, and on the road during the famine, many had died after vomiting blood.
Qingrong said, "Him vomiting the blood might actually be better, Sister Xiu, don’t worry, he will be fine."
Without delay, she swiftly administered an acupuncture treatnt to Luo Wu, stuffed a pill into his mouth to temporarily preserve his life, then said, "He is too exhausted, it’ll take a while before he wakes up, let him sleep."
After that, she took out paper and pen to write a prescription; simply consuming a pill wouldn’t suffice for Luo Wu—it would need to be followed by a course of herbal soup.
Seeing that Luo Wu was not going to die, Jin’an stepped forward and forcibly pried Luo Wu’s hand off Gu Jinxiu, saying, "Big sister, back to the mule cart."
Gu Jinxiu, knowing Brother An was upset, didn’t want to escalate the conflict, so she agreed to get into the cart, yet pleaded with Jin’an, "Brother An, find a place to stay first, let Brother Luo Wu recover for a couple of days, otherwise, I’m afraid he won’t make it... After all, we have received great kindness from his family."
Jin’an’s expression darkened upon hearing this: "I understand."
It was only because of the past help from the Luo Family that he was willing to help Luo Wu now; otherwise, he really didn’t want to be involved.
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