Chapter Eleven: Wounded

When Banxia arrived at the clinic, everyone there was familiar with Lin You, so she was brought straight into the inner room. The old physician was about to dress Banxia's wound when Lin You suddenly interjected, “Why is a man doing this? Let Miss Xin handle it.”

Before the old doctor could respond, Banxia answered directly, “A healer should care for all as their own children. What difference does it make if it’s a man or a woman? Besides, it’s just my arm, not anything private—why be so particular? Doctor, please hurry, it’s killing me.”

“Hey, young lady, I’m only thinking of your reputation,” Lin You protested.

“Then, ‘Young Master Lu,’ who’s so worried about my reputation, could you please step outside? I’m about to take off my clothes.”

Lin You blushed and quickly left. Banxia chuckled inwardly; she’d thought he was experienced, but it turned out he was still quite innocent.

It was just a scrape, nothing serious, so it was quickly bandaged. When Banxia came out, Lin You was chatting with the pretty medical assistant. Upon seeing Banxia, he hurried over. “How are you? Does it still hurt?”

Banxia clearly saw the girl’s expression dim. Not wanting to cause any misunderstanding, she took a step back and said, “We’re nothing more than passing acquaintances. You bought my vegetables, which was a kindness, and now you’ve helped cover my medical fee—so everything between us is settled. Let’s part ways here.”

She took the vegetables out of her basket, put the medicine inside, and prepared to leave.

“Hey, come on, we’ve been through life-and-death together, you don’t have to treat me like a stranger.”

“It’s not that I’m treating you like a stranger, it’s just that we are strangers. There’s no need for goodbyes either; there’s little chance we’ll meet again.” With that, Banxia walked out of the clinic.

Lin You stood stunned for a moment before chasing after her, calling loudly, “My name is Lin You! We will meet again!”

Banxia didn’t turn back, only waved a hand to him as a farewell.

Seeing that it was still early, she went to the rice shop to buy some rice. Both she and Gan Sui were used to eating rice, while coarse grains always felt hard to swallow. At least she’d earned two taels of silver today—enough to buy quite a few things.

But by the time Banxia finished her shopping, she found she had very little of the two taels left. Poverty had once again defeated her desire to shop. Oh heavens, why not grant me a golden finger? Am I not your favored little princess anymore, tell me.

Heaven’s answer: Get lost.

The most pressing problem wasn’t the lack of silver, but that Banxia suddenly realized she couldn’t carry everything after shopping. Fortunately, the rice shop owner was kind and had one of his helpers deliver the goods to the bookshop. Banxia barely managed the walk herself and collapsed onto a bench upon arrival.

Gan Sui was just finishing his copying work. Hearing Banxia’s voice, he didn’t look up until he finished writing. Then he noticed the wound on her arm.

“What happened?” His voice dropped several tones.

Banxia tried to brush it off. “Nothing, just a little incident.”

“Did someone bully you?”

“How could they? Who’d dare bully me? I’d knock their teeth out.”

Gan Sui clearly didn’t believe her, but it wasn’t a good place to press further. He shot her a look that said, “I’ll deal with you at home,” and took the copied book to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper glanced over the work. “Excellent, excellent—really well done. I’ll pay you for this batch right now.”

“There’s no need,” Gan Sui replied. “This is my first time copying for you; consider it a gesture of friendship. You can start paying me from the next batch.”

“Such generosity, Scholar Gan. I’ll graciously accept,” said the shopkeeper. “Since you’ve bought so many things today, might I tell you where to find a cart to rent for your journey home?”

“I have a donkey cart in the back, but the usual driver is off today. Do you know how to drive a cart, Scholar Gan?”

“May I try? I could return the cart tomorrow when I bring the next volume.”

The shopkeeper readily agreed. Banxia thought Gan Sui must be the one blessed with a golden finger—he could even drive a cart! She was in awe.

By the time Gan Sui and Banxia made it back to the village, it was nearly noon. Gan Sui pulled the cart up to the entrance, and Banxia hopped off, ready to unload.

“You’re injured—let me do it,” Gan Sui said.

“It’s just a scrape; it’ll be fine in two days…” Banxia started, but fell silent as Gan Sui shot her another warning glare.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Banxia grabbed the bag of rice and darted inside. “I’ll take the rice in and start cooking. You can unload the rest at your own pace.”

Gan Sui watched her retreating figure, feeling helpless. This body was simply too weak. He needed to get stronger quickly—only then could others rely on him.

Banxia was rinsing the rice when she heard voices outside. To her surprise, it was Gan Sui’s second aunt. She looked rather unsettled. Why had she gone to town to see her son and returned before even eating lunch?

“Auntie, you’re back. You haven’t eaten, have you? Stay and eat with us,” Banxia invited.

“I’ll eat at home,” Gan Sui’s second aunt replied, declining politely. Though she’d been Gan Sui’s neighbor for years, she’d never interacted with him as much as the past few days.

“No need to be so formal. It’s just an extra pair of chopsticks. Or is it that you think my cooking isn’t as good as yours?”

“No, no…” the woman stammered, suddenly at a loss. “I’ll just go home and change, then come back.”

Knowing they’d have a guest for lunch, Banxia took out some meat she’d bought to prepare a dish of stir-fried pork. Gan Sui tended the fire, while Banxia chopped vegetables, grumbling, “I used to believe those time-travel novels about people in ancient times never eating pork offal. Turns out pork offal is more expensive than meat itself—those novels are misleading.”

“How much did you make selling vegetables today, to afford all this?” Gan Sui asked.

“Two taels,” Banxia replied.

“That’s impossible.” Gan Sui did the math—a tael of silver was worth over six hundred yuan, so two taels was over a thousand. Those vegetables would be lucky to fetch a hundred coins, let alone that much.

“I just got lucky and found a sucker,” Banxia said.

Gan Sui wanted to ask more, but Gan Sui’s second aunt entered. “How can you let a scholar tend the fire? Let me do it.”

“Oh, please, you’re our guest. It’s just two dishes—sit and relax, it’ll be ready soon.”

“Why even bother with meat? Such extravagance.”

“You saved our lives—besides, Gan Sui needs to build up his strength,” Banxia replied.

“What happened to your arm?” the woman asked.

“There were too many people at the market today, I scraped it against a wall,” Banxia lied, not wanting to elaborate. Luckily, Gan Sui’s second aunt didn’t press. Banxia was quick in the kitchen, so by the time they’d exchanged a few pleasantries, lunch was ready.

Gan Sui was never one for many words, and his aunt seemed downcast. So the meal passed in quiet. After eating, the woman went home.

“Why did she seem unhappy?” Banxia asked.

“You didn’t ask earlier, so how would I know?” Gan Sui replied.

“You really don’t know? In my eyes, you’re capable of anything.”

“Don’t worry about others. Let’s talk about your injury…”

“I’m so sleepy, I want a nap,” Banxia interrupted.

“Su Banxia!” Gan Sui scolded.

“Alright, don’t be mad. I’ll tell you.” Banxia briefly explained what had happened.

“Did you lose your wits when you crossed over? Sorry, but someone who’d risk her life chasing a thief is probably never had much sense to begin with.”

“You could just talk, no need for personal attacks,” Banxia pouted.

“Let me ask: did you know that man?”

“No…”

“Could you have beaten those people?”

“No…”

“So, a complete stranger had you risking your life. Tell me, are you brainless?”

“I just acted on impulse,” Banxia said, feeling aggrieved. “I was scared too, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I’m not scolding you. I just want you to think before you act. You’re not alone—you’re my family now. If anything happened to you, I’d be worried sick.”

“Boss, this sudden tenderness from you is really throwing me off.”

“…I shouldn’t have tried to comfort you,” Gan Sui muttered, silently berating himself.