Chapter 4

Gu Jiao went out to gather firewood, partly because they really needed it, and partly because she wanted to go into the mountains to find something to fill her stomach.

Although their home wasn't so poor that they couldn't afford to cook, it was close. Xiao Liulang could perhaps manage a few more days on his own, but with her, they were struggling.

It was now deep autumn, with clear skies and a crisp, refreshing air.

Perhaps because of the lack of pollution, Gu Jiao felt the sky was especially blue, a shade she had never seen before. The air was also very fresh, invigorating the spirit.

She had ended up here for no apparent reason and wondered if the mad scientists at the institute would miss her. They were probably grinding their teeth, angry that she had disappeared without sending them the latest research results.

However, on the surface, she was a medical doctor at the M University Research Institute, but in reality, she was a spy. She had joined the organization at the age of eight, and all her experiences since then had been to conceal her true identity.

Of course, she didn't plan to live a life of danger forever. She had agreed with the organization that this would be her last mission, and after completing it, she would leave. But the plane had an accident...

Now, thinking back, the plane crash seemed too coincidental.

But it was pointless to dwell on it now. She was dead, and there was no way she could go back to seek revenge.

No one would be truly saddened by her death.

Her parents had divorced when she was eight, and they had each formed new families with new children, making her always feel like an extra.

In a sense, her fate was similar to that of the original owner. The original owner's parents had died early, and she was also an extra in the Gu family.

No one would truly mourn the original owner's death either.

Gu Jiao gave a self-deprecating smile, a cold look in her eyes.

Worried about the rain, Gu Jiao didn't go too deep into the forest. However, she still found many good things: mushrooms, fungi, and wild wood ears growing on tree stumps.

The wood ears were thick and almost covered half of the tree stump. Gu Jiao picked the larger ones.

This area had clearly been logged by villagers, and there were many such tree stumps, with plenty of wood ears growing on them.

Gu Jiao picked them one by one, and soon her basket was heavy.

Seeing that she had picked enough, Gu Jiao stopped, cut some dry wood, tied the wood and the basket together with a rope, and prepared to go down the mountain.

However, just as she turned around, she felt a squish under her foot, as if she had stepped on something.

Then she heard a faint groan, very weak.

She blinked and slowly moved her leg.

"Can't be this unlucky, right?"

She took a deep breath and looked down, only to see an old man with a white beard lying unconscious in the grass...

Gu Jiao: "..."

Why would someone lie in a ditch?

And she just happened to step on him?

Gu Jiao, with a clear conscience, stepped over him.

But after a few seconds, she came back with a blank expression.

"Let's get one thing straight, I'm not saving you out of conscience."

"Cluck cluck—"

A wild chicken in a tied-up cloth bag beside the old man flapped its wings and made a sound.

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and glanced at the bag, which immediately went still.

Then she looked at the old man with the white beard, whose face bore a large footprint from where she had stepped on him, a sight that was quite pitiful.

From his clothing, he looked like an ordinary villager.

But there was an indescribable air of authority in his features.

Gu Jiao put down the dry wood and began to check his pulse.

She had studied Western medicine in school, but later, to carry out a very special mission, she had spent five years infiltrating the home of a famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioner under the guise of being a disciple.

From his pulse, his body did not have any serious illnesses. Gu Jiao deduced that he had caught a cold, developed a high fever, and accidentally fell into a ditch, dislocating his left arm in the process.

Gu Jiao took out her small medicine box from the basket and applied an ice pack to his forehead.

Then, she reset his arm, cut a piece of wood, and tore his sleeve to immobilize the arm.

After doing this, she took his temperature again and found it was still high, so she gave him an injection to reduce the fever.

Not far away was a small thatched shed where villagers could rest while climbing the mountain.

Gu Jiao moved the old man there.

As his fever subsided and he was about to wake up, Gu Jiao got up and went down the mountain. Before leaving, she left her umbrella with him.

"I don't treat people for free."

With that, she took the bag of wild chickens.

When Gu Jiao got home, the rain started, quickly turning into a heavy downpour. The mountains and the village were enveloped in a mist of rain.

Gu Jiao went straight to the kitchen.

Xiao Liulang had already cleaned the dishes, wiped the stove, and put away the clothes.

Gu Jiao put down the firewood and the bag, opened the cupboard, and asked in confusion, "Did you finish it all?"

She had left quite a bit.

She didn't expect the skinny boy to have such a big appetite.

Was it because he was in his growing years?

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and found a cage to put the wild chickens in.

She separated the small and large pieces of firewood, picking out the ones that needed to be split.

By the time she finished splitting the wood, it was already evening, and the rain hadn't stopped. The house was damp and cold. She found a brazier and planned to start a fire for herself. Suddenly, she remembered something and walked to Xiao Liulang's room, gently knocking on the door.

"Do you want to warm up by the fire?"

She asked softly.

There was no response from inside.

She called out again, but still no response.

Seeing the door was slightly ajar, she gently pushed it open and peeked in. In the dim light of the oil lamp, she saw the thin, frail figure already asleep on the old table, still holding an unfinished book.

The book was clearly yellowed, with a torn cover patched with oil paper.

Life was hard for scholars in the countryside, especially for someone like Xiao Liulang, who had been oppressed by the Gu family and the original owner, unable to attend a private school, and had to study on his own.

Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment, then quietly walked over and took a cotton coat from the cupboard, draping it over him.

Xiao Liulang woke up in the middle of the night.

He hadn't slept well in the past few days and hadn't expected to fall asleep at the table. When he opened his eyes and saw the cotton coat on him, he frowned, a hint of wariness in his eyes.

He frowned at the book in his hand and suddenly heard a crackling sound. He turned his head and saw a brazier burning on the floor.

The cold, icy room was instantly warmed by the fire.

Xiao Liulang's gaze fell on the brazier, and he looked thoughtful.

There was only one brazier in the house, and after giving it to Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao had none.

After hiding her small medicine box, Gu Jiao quickly climbed into bed, wrapping herself up like a cocoon.

Perhaps because of the exertion of the day, her small body was quite tired, so despite the cold, she soon fell asleep.

Gu Jiao hadn't had a dream in many years, but she had one tonight.

She dreamed that a doctor came to town, and Xiao Liulang went to see him for his leg. However, a medical dispute broke out at the doctor's pharmacy, and many people were injured.

Xiao Liulang, already limping, couldn't run as fast as others and was soon injured in his other leg, which was originally fine.

This injury didn't kill Xiao Liulang, but it made him miss the exam three days later.