Cheng Yao replied coldly, “Put away those fake tears. You make me sick.”
She turned and walked toward the injured shadow guards, no longer sparing a glance at Shao Yutong, who sat sprawled on the ground, beaten from head to toe.
The three shadow guards were all seriously wounded.
Shadow One’s abdomen had been ripped open by a wild boar’s tusk, the wound so deep that his intestines were nearly visible. He clamped one hand over it as blood poured steadily between his fingers. His face was as pale as paper, yet he still forced himself to stand, his eyes sharp and alert.
Shadow Two had a savage claw mark across his chest, and a chunk of flesh had been bitten from his thigh. His breathing was labored.
Shadow Three’s injury was to his shoulder and back. His entire left arm hung limply, clearly dislocated and wounded by a blade.
Cheng Yao crouched in front of Shadow One. “Take your hand away. Let me have a look.”
Her voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
Shadow One seemed uneasy. He edged backward, but the movement pulled at the agonizing wound in his abdomen, and he staggered.
“If you don’t want to die, stop moving.” Cheng Yao frowned, her tone taking on the sternness of a physician.
She pried away Shadow One’s cold, bloodstained hand. The sight of the torn flesh and exposed organs made her heart clench.
An injury like this would require major surgery even in the modern world. Here, it was practically a death sentence.
Cheng Yao rose and called out, “Come on, we’re going outside to treat your wounds.”
Shadow Two instinctively glanced toward a corner. When he saw Zhan Haoting give the slightest nod, he carried Shadow One on his back, and the three obediently followed Cheng Yao.
Zhang Dapeng was just about to stop them when several constables hurried over, grabbed him, dragged him aside, and covered his mouth.
These shadow guards killed without batting an eye. If anyone dared provoke them, no one could say how they would end up dead!
Outside the ruined temple, the grass was taller than a person. When Cheng Yao reached the middle of the grass, she gestured for Shadow Two to put Shadow One down.
“I’ll treat Shadow One first. You two wait somewhere else.”
Shadow Two and Shadow Three exchanged a glance before vanishing from sight.
Cheng Yao appeared to take sterile gloves, iodine, a large suture needle, absorbable thread, and a local anesthetic from the bundle she carried on her back. In reality, she had taken them from her personal space.
Her movements were swift and practiced, while the strange items she used were utterly unfamiliar. Shadow One’s body tensed, his eyes filled with wariness. But when Cheng Yao picked up a syringe containing a clear liquid—the needle nearly as long as her little finger—he could no longer hold himself back.
His legs went weak, and he turned to run.
Cheng Yao chopped at his neck.
From his hiding place, Shadow Three thought she had harmed him and was about to rush out, but Shadow Two pressed him back down.
“Stay calm! Madam won’t hurt us!”
Unfortunately, Shadow One was not knocked unconscious. He simply turned around and looked back at Cheng Yao.
Only then did Cheng Yao realize just how great the difference in their heights was. She couldn’t reach his neck—her hand had merely brushed against it.
The situation was awkward.
She rubbed the tip of her nose and asked Shadow One, “So… are you going to faint on your own, or should you pretend to?”
Shadow One: “…”
He resigned himself to his fate and lay down.
Cheng Yao crouched beside him, tore open his clothes, and administered local infiltration anesthesia around the wound.
To Shadow One, the tiny prick of the needle was no more painful than a mosquito bite. He stared intently at Cheng Yao’s movements, bracing himself for the agony to come.
Yet the excruciating pain he had expected never arrived. He only felt the spot on his abdomen where she had applied the “cool water” rapidly losing sensation until it became completely numb.
What was happening?
His eyes widened in bewilderment.
Cheng Yao ignored his shock and began cleaning the wound at once.
She disinfected it with iodine, then threaded the needle and began stitching.
Her fingers were steady and nimble, her movements as smooth as flowing water.
A profound silence settled over the area, broken only by the howling mountain wind.
All three shadow guards stared in astonishment, especially Shadow One.
He had followed Zhan Haoting onto the battlefield countless times and had seen military physicians treat wounds. They had no choice but to use red-hot irons or strong liquor. The wounded would suffer unbearable pain, their screams more heartrending than those of pigs being slaughtered for the New Year.
When had he ever seen treatment this calm, this almost “elegant”?
The strange needle and thread, the miraculous medicine that numbed the wound, the sensation of his abdomen being pulled together without any pain at all…
What kind of person was Madam?
Shadow One gazed at Cheng Yao’s focused, tranquil profile. An indescribable mixture of shock and gratitude surged through his heart.
He knew that his life had been wrested back from the King of Hell.
After treating the most serious wound in his abdomen, Cheng Yao carefully bandaged it, then disinfected his other injuries as well. Once she was finished, she called out to Shadow Two and Shadow Three.
“You can come out now.”
The two men drifted down from the trees as lightly as falling leaves and immediately went to check on Shadow One.
Shadow One’s voice was hoarse. “I’m fine now.”
He did not even need to say more. Shadow Two and Shadow Three could feel that his breathing was much steadier than before. They turned toward Cheng Yao in disbelief.
Madam truly was a miracle worker. How had she done it?
Cheng Yao held out her hand. “Where’s the medicine I gave you?”
Shadow Two carefully took it out from inside his robe.
Cheng Yao first felt Shadow Three’s dislocated shoulder.
“Bear with it.”
Before she had even finished speaking, there was a soft click.
Shadow Three let out a muffled groan, and his arm was back in place.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but when he realized he could move the arm again, surprise and delight filled his eyes as he looked at Cheng Yao.
“You two lie down as well,” Cheng Yao instructed.
The two men immediately lay flat without a word.
They had doubted Cheng Yao’s medical skills earlier, but now they trusted her completely.
Cheng Yao cleaned their wounds with iodine, then mixed spiritual spring water with Yunnan Baiyao into a paste and applied it to the injuries.
The effect was astonishing—almost immediate. The two men felt a cool sensation spreading across their wounds, as though ice water had been applied. That refreshing chill flowed from the wounds through their entire bodies, and the burning pain was instantly reduced by more than half.
What miraculous medicine!
After treating all their injuries, Cheng Yao looked at the three men’s gaunt, emaciated figures, their still-pale faces, and their cracked lips. She sighed inwardly.
Who knew how long it had been since they had eaten? Heaven help them—they looked worse than beggars!
Once again, she reached into her “bundle.” From her personal space, she took out several meat pies that were still slightly warm and glistening with oil, a large packet of dried beef strips, and several military canteens filled with clean water.
“Eat something and regain your strength.” She handed the food and water to them.
The three shadow guards usually hid in the darkness, and they had already grown accustomed to seeing her “conjure” food from her “magical bundle.” But seeing it happen from such close range was still deeply shocking.
The meat pies smelled wonderful.
The water was so clean.
How could Madam have hidden so much inside that tiny bundle?
The three men swallowed unconsciously.
They lived in the shadows, and even with money, it was difficult for them to buy a decent meal. Now that they were being exiled, obtaining even a mouthful of spoiled gruel was a luxury. When had they ever seen food this delicate?
Shadow One accepted the meat pie and canteen. His hands trembled slightly as he looked at Cheng Yao and spoke in a hoarse voice, with utmost solemnity.
“Thank you… for saving my life, Madam. I, Song Ze, will repay this debt… with my life.”
The corners of Cheng Yao’s lips curved upward. “So your name is Song Ze.”
Shadow Two and Shadow Three also struggled to sit up and offer their thanks.
Cheng Yao waved them off. “Let’s focus on staying alive first.”
