Episode 04
Saving a Life
Gu Jiao went into the mountains for two reasons.
First, the family genuinely needed firewood.
Second, she wanted to see if she could find anything edible.
The household had not quite reached the point of starvation, but it was close.
If Xiao Liulang were living alone, the remaining food might have lasted several more days.
Now that there were two mouths to feed, things had become considerably tighter.
It was late autumn.
Perhaps because this world had never known pollution, the sky seemed impossibly blue.
A kind of blue Gu Jiao had never seen before.
The air was fresh and clean, enough to lift anyone’s spirits.
As she walked through the forest, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Would those lunatics at the research institute miss her?
Probably not.
They were more likely cursing her for disappearing before handing over the latest research data.
After all, her public identity had been that of a medical doctorate at a university research institute.
Her true identity, however, was something else entirely.
A secret agent.
She had entered the organization at the age of eight.
Everything after that—her education, her career, her accomplishments—had been carefully constructed as cover.
Of course, she had never intended to spend her entire life walking the edge of a knife.
This last mission had been supposed to be her final assignment.
Once it was completed, she would leave the organization forever.
Instead…
The plane crashed.
Looking back now, the accident felt almost too convenient.
But none of that mattered anymore.
She was dead.
There was no going back.
No revenge to seek.
No truth to uncover.
And honestly…
There was probably nobody who would genuinely mourn her death.
Her parents had divorced when she was two.
Both had remarried and started new families.
New children.
New lives.
She had always been the unnecessary one.
In that regard, she and the original owner of this body were surprisingly alike.
The original Gu Jiao had lost her parents young.
Within the Gu family, she had also been unnecessary.
If she died…
No one would truly grieve.
A faintly mocking smile appeared on Gu Jiao’s lips.
There was a chill in her eyes.
Worried about the approaching rain, Gu Jiao didn’t venture too deeply into the forest.
Even so, she found plenty of treasures.
Wild mushrooms.
Edible fungi.
And clusters of thick black wood ear mushrooms growing from old tree stumps.
The ears were large and fleshy, covering nearly half the stump.
She carefully picked the biggest ones.
The area had clearly been logged before.
Tree stumps dotted the mountainside.
And wherever there were stumps, there were wood ear mushrooms.
Before long, her basket grew pleasantly heavy.
Satisfied, she stopped gathering.
She chopped some dry firewood and tied it securely to her basket.
Then she prepared to head home.
Just as she turned around—
Squish.
Her foot landed on something.
A weak muffled groan followed.
Gu Jiao blinked.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
She moved her foot.
“Don’t tell me I’m this unlucky…”
Taking a deep breath, she looked down.
Then froze.
Lying hidden among the weeds was a white-bearded old man.
An old man she had apparently stepped on hard enough to knock unconscious.
Gu Jiao: “…”
Seriously.
Who took naps inside a ditch?
And how had she managed to step directly on him?
Possessing a perfectly functional conscience, Gu Jiao stepped over him and continued walking.
Two seconds later, she stopped.
Then turned around expressionlessly.
And walked back.
“Let’s make one thing clear.”
“I’m not saving you out of kindness.”
Beside the old man sat a tightly tied cloth sack.
From inside came a sudden noise.
Cluck! Cluck!
A wild pheasant flapped its wings.
Gu Jiao glanced lazily toward the bag.
The pheasant immediately fell silent.
Very wise.
She crouched beside the old man.
A large shoe print remained clearly stamped on his face.
It was honestly painful to look at.
His clothes suggested an ordinary villager.
Yet there was something unusual about him.
A natural dignity.
A quiet authority.
As though he were accustomed to commanding others.
Setting down her bundle of firewood, Gu Jiao began checking his pulse.
Although she had studied Western medicine in university, she had later spent five years apprenticing under a legendary physician while carrying out a special mission.
As a result, her traditional medical skills were also excellent.
After examining him, she reached a conclusion.
The old man’s body itself was healthy.
He had likely caught a severe cold, developed a high fever, collapsed into the ditch, and dislocated his left arm during the fall.
Gu Jiao opened her precious medical kit.
First, she took out an ice pack and placed it against his forehead.
Then she reset his dislocated shoulder.
A sharp crack echoed.
The joint slid back into place.
Next, she cut a piece of firewood into a makeshift splint.
Using strips torn from his clothing, she immobilized the injured arm.
Afterward, she checked his temperature again.
Still dangerously high.
Without hesitation, she administered an intramuscular fever-reducing injection.
Nearby stood a simple shelter where villagers rested while traveling through the mountains.
Gu Jiao carried him there.
By the time she finished, his fever had begun falling.
He would likely regain consciousness soon.
Satisfied, she prepared to leave.
Before departing, she placed her umbrella beside him.
“I don’t treat people for free.”
The next moment—
She picked up the sack containing the pheasants and walked away.
Payment received.
Very reasonable.
By the time Gu Jiao reached home, rain had already begun falling.
Within minutes, it became a torrential downpour.
The distant mountains, the village, and the roadside shelters all vanished behind a curtain of mist and rain.
She headed directly into the kitchen.
Xiao Liulang had already cleaned everything.
The dishes were washed.
The table was wiped.
Even the laundry had been brought inside.
Opening the cupboard, Gu Jiao stared blankly.
“He ate all of it?”
She had intentionally left a generous amount.
Who would have guessed that the seemingly delicate scholar had such an appetite?
Then again…
He was still growing.
After raising an eyebrow, she found a cage and placed the pheasants inside.
The rest of the afternoon was spent splitting firewood.
By evening, the rain still hadn’t stopped.
The house felt damp and cold.
Gu Jiao found the family’s only brazier and prepared to light a fire.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
Carrying the brazier, she walked to Xiao Liulang’s room and knocked gently.
“Do you want to warm yourself by the fire?”
No response.
She called again.
Still nothing.
Noticing the door slightly open, she pushed it inward and peeked inside.
Under the dim glow of an oil lamp sat a thin figure.
Fast asleep.
Xiao Liulang had fallen asleep at his desk.
A worn book remained in his hand.
The pages had yellowed with age.
The cover was torn and patched together with oiled paper.
Studying in the countryside was difficult.
Especially for someone like Xiao Liulang.
The Gu family and the original Gu Jiao had constantly exploited him.
He couldn’t afford to attend an academy.
Everything he learned came through self-study.
For a moment, Gu Jiao hesitated.
Then she quietly entered the room.
From a cabinet, she retrieved a padded winter coat and gently draped it over his shoulders.
Xiao Liulang woke sometime after midnight.
The past few days had been exhausting.
He hadn’t expected to fall asleep at his desk.
Opening his eyes, he immediately noticed the coat covering him.
His brows furrowed.
A trace of vigilance flashed through his gaze.
Then he heard a crackling sound.
Turning his head, he froze.
A brazier burned quietly nearby.
Warm orange flames danced in the darkness.
The previously freezing room had become warm and comfortable.
Xiao Liulang stared at the fire.
His expression grew thoughtful.
There was only one brazier in the house.
After giving it to Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao had none for herself.
Back in her own room, she carefully hid away her medical kit before diving under her blankets.
She wrapped herself up like a little silkworm cocoon.
Today’s activities had exhausted her frail body.
Although she felt cold, sleep quickly claimed her.
Gu Jiao rarely dreamed.
In fact, she hadn’t dreamed in years.
Yet that night, she had one.
In the dream, a physician arrived in town.
Hoping to treat his crippled leg, Xiao Liulang went to visit him.
But disaster struck.
A violent disturbance erupted at the medical clinic.
Several innocent people were injured.
Because Xiao Liulang already had one crippled leg, he couldn’t escape as quickly as everyone else.
During the chaos, someone slashed his only healthy leg.
The injury didn’t kill him.
But it did something almost as devastating.
Three days later, Xiao Liulang was supposed to sit for an important examination.
Because of the injury…
He missed it completely.
