Yan Xiaohan gently pressed down his hand: “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got involved…”
Fu Shen was almost startled by this sudden sincerity, wildly waving his hands: “No no no! It’s fine! You don’t need to apologize!”
“Don’t move,” Yan Xiaohan helplessly pressed down his other hand, “You have a wound on your back, be careful.”
Fu Shen looked horrified at this killer suddenly transforming into a gentle lamb, wondering if he was the one who had hit his head.
They had been pushed off the cliff by the wild boar, expecting certain death, but unexpectedly, there was a deep pool at the bottom. Fu Shen had dive-bombed head-first into the water, knocked unconscious by the water pressure, while Yan Xiaohan was luckier, hitting the pool wall and seemingly breaking a rib, but staying conscious.
He pulled Fu Shen from the pool and found a dry cave nearby to shelter him.
During Fu Shen’s unconscious period, Yan Xiaohan gathered some dry firewood and used the fire starter from Fu Shen’s oil-paper package to start a campfire. He estimated they might not escape the valley tonight, but the weather turned, and it soon began to rain.
Fu Shen felt his back and discovered a deep wound from the wild boar, simply treated with bandages. He was wrapped in two layers of dry outer robes, with his middle garment drying by the fire. Yan Xiaohan wore only wet thin clothing, with a torn lower hem and a large bloodstain on his lower back.
“Aren’t you cold?” Fu Shen sat up, trying to pull off Yan Xiaohan’s outer robe, but was stopped by a glance: “Keep wearing it. There’s not enough firewood, and it’ll be very cold tonight.”
After a pause, he added: “I only have a minor external injury, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
Fu Shen didn’t know about the broken bone and, seeing no other wounds, believed him, leaning back against the stone wall: “I probably can’t walk now. We’ll have to make do here tonight. If you’re able, wait for the rain to stop and you can leave. Follow the valley, and you’ll be out by morning.”
Yan Xiaohan poked the fire with a branch, not looking up: “I’ll take you out. Don’t worry.”
