Chapter 182 - Baoshans Past (1/2)

“Yes, I remember,” Ye Xiaoxian replied.

“Then why try to save him? What if he hurts you after he recovers?” Li Hongmei would rather let Li Chengru die of disease or poison him when he was weak.

Ye Xiaoxian smiled and said, “Mom, he’s just a paper tiger, not really daring to kill people. He just threatened me with the knife that time. Do you remember what the senior monk told us when we went to the temple last time? He said we should do more good deeds. This is our chance now. After all, it’s better to save one life than to build a seven-story paG.o.da, isn’t it?”

“Well…Oh dear!” Li Hongmei heaved a sigh. “I’m afraid he will harm you again.”

“Mom, don’t worry. We’ll be safe. I’ll protect this family.” said Ye Xiaoxian.

Li Hongmei knew a doctor who had cured various diseases as he wandered from village to village. Perhaps he could save Li Chengru. But she didn’t know where to find him. It would be a matter of luck.

…

When Li Hongmei went out to find the doctor, Ye Xiaoxian headed for the inn to see whether Li Chengru had got any better.

After taking a warm bath, Li Chengru had cooled down slightly. Just as Ye Xiaoxian said, Fengsheng helped his master into a light unders.h.i.+rt and thin pants.

Ye Xiaoxian could vaguely see his bulging muscles through the close-fitting clothes.

She hadn’t expected that a fair-skinned man would have such a robust body, though she only treated him as a patient now.

She asked Fengsheng to get some cold water from the well, soak a towel, and place it on Li Chengru’s forehead. When the towel turned warm, he should change it for another one immediately. But Fengsheng wasn’t as careful as a woman. After all, even the towel that he folded was a mess. Seeing this, she could only do it by herself.

In the two hours that followed, she changed the towels again and again until Li Chengru’s temperature decreased a bit.

During this period, he opened his eyes several times. Every time he woke up, he would murmur with his lips and soon give up. It seemed that he didn’t even have the strength to speak.

Another two hours later, Li Hongmei came with the doctor. She had found him in another village thanks to a constable’s guidance. What good luck!

The doctor lifted Li Chengru’s eyelids and felt his unstable pulse which showed that the fever was serious. He said if Ye Xiaoxian hadn’t cooled the patient down in time, things would be even worse.

He prescribed two packs of medicinal herbs and asked Fengsheng to brew one instantly. After sending the doctor away, Ye Xiaoxian decided to stay and take care of Li Chengru.

Worried that Ye Xiaoxian would get harmed here, Li Hongmei insisted on staying with her. After the medicine was prepared, Fengsheng found it hard to feed his master alone.

Li Chengru was lying on the bed with his mouth shut. If Fengsheng lifted his master’s upper body, he wouldn’t have free hands to feed the medicine. If not, the medicinal liquid would just flow out of his mouth.

Seeing that, Ye Xiaoxian offered to feed the medicine as Fengsheng supported Li Chengru’s upper body. At the same time, Li Hongmei tried to help the patient open his mouth

After feeding him the medicine, the three of them were more than tired. Fengsheng wiped away his sweat after laying Li Chengru down.

Now, they only needed to wait for Li Chengru to wake up.

While Fengsheng was looking after his master on the bed, Ye Xiaoxian sat down on a stool and asked, “Fengsheng, I’ve been curious about one thing. What has Xiao Baoshan done? Why do so many people want to catch him?”

Fengsheng looked very surprised. “You do not know?”

Li Hongmei said angrily, “Of course not, or why would we ask you?”

Ye Xiaoxian explained calmly, “Baoshan hadn’t been home for years before he came back. It’s said that he once fought on the battlefield. We don’t know much about his past. After we got married, I opened a restaurant and he worked at a dock. Since he suddenly disappeared, many people have been coming here claiming they want to take revenge on him. This is all we know. Could you tell us more?”

Fengsheng took a look at Li Chengru and then Ye Xiaoxian. Suddenly, he burst out crying. “Young, young master is very poor. Among his several brothers, he has the least love from his parents. But he doesn’t care about that or…well, the family property. Anyway, his fourth brother treated him like a father and brother, teaching him riding, archery and martial arts. This elder brother gave my master great happiness until his death. Until he was murdered by Xiao Baoshan.”

Li Hongmei and Ye Xiaoxian looked at Fengsheng with astonishment.

Li Hongmei asked, “How?”

Fengsheng said, “It’s true that Xiao Baoshan used to fight in battles, but do you know that he was once a famous general? When there was serious turmoil in the West, he led the troops to fight against the enemy. The war ended in total failure. All of our soldiers were sacrificed in that war, but he survived. People say that we failed so badly because Xiao Baoshan betrayed our country and divulged military secrets.”

Li Hongmei was stunned, as was Ye Xiaoxian. Li Hongmei was surprised that her son had once been a general. A famous one too!