Chapter 5

Zhujiagou is located to the north of Chang'an City, near the Jing River, surrounded by mountains and water. Although there are few good fields, the villagers manage to get by because the temple exempts them from taxes.

"So, your great-grandfather's generation settled in the village?" Li Shan deliberately probed into the details of Zhujiagou, knowing that Li Dewu had been exiled to Lingnan. However, upon reviewing his predecessor's memories, he found that his mother, Lady Zhu, was from Lingnan and even had a brother there.

Zhu Ba casually replied, "Grandpa said that during the great turmoil, the Zhu family moved from Luoyang to Chang'an, but the Zhu family originally came from Guanzhong."

Li Shan pondered for a moment but found no clues. By this time, the two had already entered the village. In the narrow village, people often greeted each other, but they were all greeting Zhu Ba, while ignoring Li Shan... Clearly, Li Shan had left a bad impression on the villagers a few days ago.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly, Li Shan felt a blow to his buttocks and turned in pain to see a child of about eight or nine years old wielding a wooden stick, looking quite serious.

A dull thud sounded as Zhu Ba, quick on the draw, blocked the stick with a bag of plaster and shouted, "Little Stone, what are you doing!"

A young woman carrying a bucket of water nearby pursed her lips and said, "You went down the mountain early this morning and only came back now. I heard that the eldest son of the Li family went to the city?"

The crowd immediately started chattering, with some comments veiled in sarcasm.

"He's destined to eat mutton soup noodles, why would he stay here!"

"Didn't they say he disowned this son?"

"Not necessarily, maybe he'll hang himself again at the Pei family's gate today..."

"Poor Lady Zhu..."

Li Shan listened in silence, realizing how bad his reputation in the village was... He had tried to abandon his mother to enjoy wealth and honor, and even the children looked down on him.

At this time, the imperial examinations had not yet gained prominence, and filial piety was highly valued both in the government and among the people. Moreover, Lady Zhu, though she had only been in the village for a little over half a month, was straightforward and kind-hearted, and had earned good reviews.

Suddenly, a shrill cry came from a distance, and seven or eight people ran over carrying a door panel, followed by several women who were wailing.

"What happened!"

"Stone, Stone, your father is in trouble!"

The child who had just poked Li Shan with a stick ran over crying, "Father, Father..."

"Uncle Ba, save him!"

"Uncle Ba, go get the doctor!"

There was only one surname in Zhujiagou, and the clan leader, Zhu Wei, was the eighth in his generation. He looked at the man on the door panel with a grim face and stomped his foot, shouting, "It's already winter, with no birds or beasts. Why did you go up the mountain?!"

Outside the crowd, Zhu Ba, biting his lip, explained to Li Shan in a low voice that the man on the door panel was his cousin, Zhu Jie, who made a living by hunting. A few days ago, his children had a craving, and as a father, he wanted to try his luck on the mountain. Unfortunately, he slipped and rolled down, and a sharp branch pierced his chest.

Li Shan squinted and watched for a moment. The branch had been removed, and the bleeding had stopped. If there was no infection, it shouldn't be a big problem... Just as this thought crossed his mind, the man on the door panel suddenly opened his mouth and started gasping for air, his face turning rapidly blue.

Li Shan's scalp tingled as a spontaneous and compelling urge appeared in his mind. Without hesitation, he grabbed Zhu Ba and pulled a small knife from his boot, "Go find a towel or a piece of cloth, and make sure it's clean."

"Go quickly!"

In just a few words, Zhu Jie on the door panel was already drenched in sweat, gasping like a fish out of water. The villagers around him were crying, wailing, or silently weeping, but they could do nothing.

Zhu Wei, who had fought in battles in his youth, knew at a glance that there was no hope. Even if the doctor arrived, it would be too late... At this moment, a powerful force came from the side, and an arm suddenly swept him away.

In such moments, doctors instinctively transform.

With a stern face, Li Shan tore open the man's shirt, leaned over, and pressed his ear to the chest, tapping it lightly with his middle finger.

"What are you doing, Li family's eldest son?"

"Don't touch him!"

"He has a knife!"

A man raised a stick to strike, but Li Shan suddenly stood up and let out a fierce roar.

"Shut up!"

The crowd fell silent. Before they could react, Li Shan squatted down, felt the ribs of the injured man, gritted his teeth, and plunged the small knife into the wound.

"Hisss..."

Amid the gasps of the crowd, a hissing sound reached his ears. Li Shan sat down, having made a quick examination and decided to act decisively, which was indeed risky, but he was lucky—it was a tension pneumothorax.

For Li Shan, who had once worked in the emergency department, this was a doctor's instinct and responsibility.

Ignoring the women's cries, Li Shan pressed his ear to the injured man's chest, listening to the hissing sound and trying to pull the small knife out.

In this era, there were no needles... He could only do this. Li Shan used the most practical solution, knowing that infection was inevitable, but it was better than waiting to die.

The women's cries had not stopped, but the others were silent.

Everyone's eyes were not blind. After the small knife was inserted, Zhu Jie on the door panel quickly improved, his face turning less blue, and his complexion looking much better. Most importantly, his breathing gradually stabilized.

"Eldest son, how is it?" The elderly Zhu Wei squatted down and asked cautiously.

"Shut up!" Li Shan scolded, and after a moment, he said without hesitation, "Send someone to find a bamboo stick, the thinner the better, and have someone boil water. Don't move him."

"Okay, okay."

"Send someone to bring a basin of water, quickly!"

"Okay, okay, go quickly!"

Swallowing hard, Li Shan carefully pulled out the small knife, pressing to stop the bleeding, and shouted, "Where's Zhu Ba? Hasn't he come back yet?"

"Here, here!" Zhu Ba jumped up and looked in.

"What's this?" Li Shan muttered, taking a red cloth and starting to bandage the wound.

Confirming that the injured man was still alive, Li Shan straightened up, his body swaying slightly. Zhu Ba and Zhu Wei both reached out to support him.

"That's all I can do for now. We'll try again later," Li Shan said softly. "If he can hold on, he might survive. If not..."

"Already a great act of kindness!" Zhu Wei said decisively. "If not for your help, he would have been dead by now."

"Exactly!" A middle-aged man who had just arrived shouted. "Whether he lives or dies, the Zhu family is grateful."

Zhu Wei pointed to the woman kneeling by the door panel, "If you hadn't acted, your husband's fate would not have been your concern. You must understand this."

The woman, with tears in her eyes, had not yet spoken when Little Stone, who had poked Li Shan with a stick earlier, stepped forward, knelt down, and kowtowed to Li Shan, each kowtow resounding.

Li Shan quickly pulled the child up, his forehead already bruised.

"Don't thank me yet, wait a bit longer."

Half an hour later, Li Shan used a thin, hollow bamboo stick as a tube to try to drain the air from the chest cavity. Without proper tools and instruments, this was the best he could do. Whether the man could survive the subsequent infection depended on his physical condition.

At this moment, the doctor finally arrived, examined the wound, listened to the villagers' account, and sighed at Zhu Jie's luck before taking out a box of ointment.

Although he had studied traditional Chinese medicine during his university years, Li Shan was... He could only assist in applying the ointment, thinking that existence is reasonable.

Removing the red cloth, Li Shan felt a bit strange and turned to see the villagers, who had been respectful, now looking oddly at him.

Li Shan blinked and shook out the cloth... Even with his good psychological resilience, he couldn't help but tremble, turning to look at Zhu Ba.

You were supposed to find a clean piece of cloth, but you brought me a belly band?!