“Alright, I get it!” answered Qin Sanmu, and then he added in a proud tone, “I had handled a doctor who didn’t belong to the village, as long as he is about to give in. It will be quite promising for us to get lots of problems solved, and we can accelerate our progress of this plan.”
“Oh really? How did you make that? And why don’t you just bring him inside? What if something beyond our expectation happens?”
The person’s tone sounded a little overbearing, so Qin Sanmu cooled off himself either, he said in a low voice, “The master can’t even move his eyes off him, how am I supposed to bring him here? But don’t worry, he will come here by himself because I told him that he might find something valuable for him here. Just pay more attention on the Northwest side.”
“Oh, is he coming for the snowlotus? Oh well, what a gold digger he is, he dares to take the risk himself for that flower? That’s so stupid, isn’t it? Yet, anyway, I always want one for myself, since he will take the initiative to come, I will allow him to work for me!”
Song Qinghan got a complicated mind standing there while hearing that he was being a topic by this group of people. But one thing he could make a further confirmation was that the snowlotus was indeed growing at the Northwest side of this snow forest.
Qin Sanmu kept informing something else to the person. After a while, the sound of the footsteps around Song Qinghan gradually amplified. Though he was fully assured that it was difficult for the others to find out his hidden place, he still couldn’t help but get his heartbeat faster and faster. Only after the footsteps finally dissipated did he heaved a sigh of relief.
Not long after, another light sound of footsteps sounded. Song Qinghan came to know that it was the person who sent the Qin Family out came back. When the person got into the deeper cave, Song Qinghan finally moved his stiff body and looked around as he walked outside.
When he walked out of the cave, he suddenly felt that he himself just survived from a perilous disaster. He raised his head, narrowed his eyes and looked around. After confirming that nothing queer was waiting for outside, he walked out at ease.
It could be estimated that probably Qin Sanmu had gone far now, so it might be the high time for him to launch the signal flare, and it would be the right time for the master to catch them half way.
He took out the signal flare from his arms and raised his hand. “Bang!”
It wasn’t the launching sound of the signal flare, but the sound of the signal flare falling to the ground.
Song Qinghan covered his aching hand and suddenly turned his head to look at Qin Sanmu not far away. When he saw that the man was leisurely spinning the slingshot in his hand, he got his nerve tightened and then he murmured to himself: How come he hasn’t left??
Qin Sanmu walked over slowly and picked up the signal flare from the ground. He put it in his hand for a while and said with a faint smile, “Wouldn’t I fall for your trap if I left without brain?”
Song Qinghan quickly scanned his surroundings and saw that someone else had come out of the tree. These people just looked at him fiercely as a group of tigers did. And then Song Qinghan took a step back unconsciously, and said calmly, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand what you are saying! I am just coming here for the snowlotus, didn’t you just make a deal with me yesterday?”
The only wit for him now was to delay the development of the whole event. Though he failed to launch the signal flare and the action of delaying might not come to effect, Song Qinghan still hoped that there would be a miracle waiting for him.
Qin Sanmu raised his eyebrows, as if he hadn’t seen through Song Qinghan’s thoughts, or perhaps he had seen through them, but he just didn’t want to poke them out. He patiently said, “Yes I did ask you to come here to pick the snowlotus, but I did not ask you to launch this small gadget here, did I? Won’t it be an embarrassment for us if you succeed launching it?”
The patter of footsteps sounded again behind Song Qinghan’s back, Song Qinghan turned his head and noticed that those so-called “Mountain Ghosts” were released from the cave. Right at this moment he found his throat a bit tight, and then reluctantly, he forced himself a smiling face, trying his best to speak genially, “I think we got a chance to cooperate, it seems that you might need a doctor to solve some problems…”
Qin Sanmu nodded cooperatively. Just when Song Qinghan thought he would agree, the man’s face sank and he smiled ferociously, “Yes, but we never want a doctor who will set us up LIKE YOU!”
Song Qinghan suddenly turned around and commenced running fiercely as Qin Sanmu approached with a wicked smile.
However, as a femina man, it was impossible for him to run against a man who got much stronger physical strength than he got. Besides, he had been keeping in the same position in the cave for too long and his body had stiffened which failed him to act nimbly. Therefore, he was caught by Qin Sanmu and thrown to the ground not long after he started running.
Luckily, the snowy ground wasn’t that hard. And Song Qinghan stood up again after a flip on the ground, and then tried his best to run again.
“Phew!”, an arrow flew over and was plunged into the snow aside Song Qignhan’s feet. Subconsciously, Song Qinghan dodged to the other side while his body was wholly dragged to the ground by the the force of inertia.
Qin Sanmu sneered, slowly retracted his hand with the crossbow and raised his eyebrows, saying, “Run, go ahead, I don’t mind playing with you for some more times.”
Song Qinghan narrowed his eyes and fixed his eyes on the crossbow in Qin Sanmu’s hand. He rose slowly and tentatively while trying to get himself moved backwards in a slight movement.
Another arrow accurately plunged into the snow aside Song Qinghan’s feet. Some pieces of the snow were spread upwards, blurring Song Qinghan’s eyes.
He clenched his fists and ran behind a tree. He was almost scratched by the arrows for several rounds from the crossbow Qin Sanmu launched.
In fact, he had counted the times Qin Sanmu launched the arrows in his mind. Just as he counted the six, he stretched forth his arms behind the tree, aimed at the direction where Qin Sanmu stayed and then quickly pressed on the trigger of the crossbow equipped on his wrist.
The smile on Qin Sanmu’s face frozen suddenly, he lowered down his head to see the arrow stabbed fiercely into his flesh on his abdomen. His smile turned into a painful face with wrath in the end.
“You bastard! Go and get him for me! Alive! I want him to taste the bitterness of ‘Fate worse than death’!”
Song Qinghan needed to run against time, and, against the potential danger posted for him. He got no time now for him to immerse in the delight towards the success. So he rushed out quickly towards the entrance of the snow forest.
Qin Sanmu was the only one closest to him. After he got hurt by the arrow, Qin Sanmu naturally couldn’t chase after him. As for the others, even if they took the steps right now, Song Qinghan had already left them far behind.
Finally, the entrance of the snow forest appeared in the sight not long. However, just as Song Qinghan was getting a bit cheerful for that, he could clearly feel the sudden shrink of his heart. With his legs softened, he collapsed suddenly to the ground.
He stared blankly at the sky that was split into small pieces by trees. When he witnessed the rainbow-colored halo appearing in the sky, he finally realized what was happening to him. He slowly closed his eyes and mumbled, “Hey… it’s not the right time for you come into effect, you…”
A gust of noise of tinnitus rang in Song Qinghan’s ears, as if it was about to pierce through Song Qinghan’s brain. Song Qinghan kneed down and curled up as if he was trying his best to bury himself into the snow.
In his blurriness, there were sounds of fighting and screams around him. A man with a gentle force lifted him up and Wu Dahu’s voice sounded.
“Han, Han… Wake up, wake up. I’m here, don’t be scared, I am guarding you!”
Song Qinghan smiled faintly, and then he murmured as his eyes half opened, “I love this delusion! No wonder these people are addicted to it…”
He reached out and hugged “Wu Dahu” into his arms, as if he wanted to integrate himself into “Wu Dahu”‘s body.
Wu Dahu lowered his head to look at Song Qinghan’s flushed face, his eyes were full of worry. He hugged Song Qinghan’s hands tightly and looked up at the master and said, “Are you sure that he will be all fine later?”
“Yes, he will.” answered the master, he was quite envious when he witnessed the two hugged each other tight together, and then he added with decisiveness, “He will be all fine! Doctor Song knows how to treat this disease!”
After receiving the master’s guarantee, Wu Dahu finally came to at ease all at once. He glanced at the ground which was covered by blood and incomplete limbs and then said to the head without any expression, “Alright then, I will take him back to the village first, you handle this messy place.”
Then, he carried Song Qinghan with him onto the sleigh, and then hurriedly rushed back to the distance.
The master withdrew his gaze, he walked to Qin Sanmu who now got no strength at all and then stepped on his chest, yelling in a severe tone, “Why did you feed him with that stuff? And what’s your secret?”
Qin Sanmu spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at the master. He sneered and answered reluctantly, “You should ask that stupid wh**re instead, he might give you a satisfying answer. Well, if he didn’t eat that stupid pack of powder, I wouldn’t have relaxed my vigilance, and furthermore, I wouldn’t have… Ugh, never mind! There are always wins and loses in our life. I won’t say anything more for being stupid. Why don’t you get into that cave and check out yourself?”
The master laughed out of his wrath when he saw Qin Sanmu was still showing his toughness. He then stunned Qin Sanmu with a fierce kick and then ordered to the subordinate, “Tie him up! Enclose the entrance and exit of the snow forest, I don’t want any mice escape from here!”
When Song Qinghan opened his eyes and saw the concerned face of Wu Dahu, he subconsciously closed his eyes again, murmuring, “How come the delusion still exists? And it gets increasingly lifelike!”
Wu Dahu couldn’t help laughing and helped Song Qinghan tuck the quilt. He said softly, “Listen, dear. Get yourself more rest if you’re still exhausted, but I would suggest you to get up and eat something before the nap.”
After a while, just at the moment Wu Dahu turned around, Song Qinghan straightened his back suddenly and reached out to grab Wu Dahu’s arm, he widen his eyes, and shouted in disbelief, “ARE YOU A REAL DAWU?”
Seeing that Song Qinghan’s eyes were full of disbelief, Wu Dahu put down the bowl and hugged Song Qinghan in his arms. He patted Song Qinghan on the back and consoled, “Of course I’m REAL! What did you think you want me to do without you in the town, huh? And you left me alone without getting me informed! If you really encountered something beyond expectation, what’s the meaning for me and Little Shitou in this world? Luckily, I caught up as you were in the most perilous situation. You probably will never know how I felt when I saw you laying down on the ground with a face of pain, it… it really killed me!”
When Song Qinghan smelled the familiar scent of Wu Dahu, tears fell ruthlessly on his face like strings of beads falling down.
He hugged Wu Dahu tightly and said happily, “You’re fine and I’m fine. Nothing beats that, right? I am so glad!”
“By the way, I had already figured out the exact location of the snowlotus. It’s right at the Northwest side of that snow forest! Let’s go and pick it back right now!”
Wu Dahu pulled him away and said in resignation, “You just got a bit strength back yourself! We should negotiate about it after you get a full rest. The snowlotus doesn’t get feet anyway, it can’t run away itself!”
Then he picked up the bowl, scooped a spoonful of hot congee, blew it carefully and fed it to Song Qinghan.
Song Qinghan paused and sat down obediently. He was fed like a toddler by Wu Dahu, no one was able to describe how happy he felt right now.
They stared at each other without words. Silence fell on the room but with no embarrassment or coldness at all.
After Song Qinghan finished eating the congee, the master also came back with his team. Well, it seemed that Qin Sanmu got a real tough and tenacious vitality, the arrow was still fixed on his abdomen yet only several blood could been seen around the area.