Little Widower (Female A, Male O) [ChatGPT Translation]

First encounter

He lowered his head and a look of both surprise and fear appeared on his face.

He saw a person lying motionless in the grass by the river, their body covered in a wet black silk robe. The fabric on their back was cut open, revealing a grotesque and twisted flesh inside.

Blood continued to seep from the wound, while the surrounding area had turned pale from being soaked in river water. The person lay still on the ground, unable to be seen from the front and showing no signs of breathing.

By now, the sky had gradually darkened. The young man's face was filled with panic as he was frightened by the bloody scene. He instinctively took two steps back and turned to run away. However, before he could take two steps, he stopped and hesitantly turned his head to carefully observe the person lying on the ground.

"The wound is still bleeding, and there might still be life in this person," the young man muttered to himself. He clenched his teeth, gathered his courage, and took two steps forward. He bent down, extended his hand, and used his slightly trembling fingertips to feel the person's pulse on their neck.

He pressed his fingers for a while before feeling a faint pulse, like a thread, from the person.

He let out a sigh of relief and whispered, "There is still life, perhaps there is hope."

However, the person's lower body was submerged in the water, resembling a pile of mud. Even if they didn't die from excessive bleeding, they would die from the cold water soaking their body.

The young man looked at the water bucket and pole on the ground, then glanced at the unknown person lying there in a life-or-death situation. After much hesitation, he gritted his teeth and attempted to lift the person from the ground.

He was tall, and the person on the ground was not short either. Although they appeared to be equally thin, their clothes were soaked and much heavier than two buckets of water. Even though he was already exhausted from pulling and dragging, he persevered and carried the person on his back.

By now, the lights in various households had been lit. He secretly hid the person in the firewood shed. It was already past dinner time, so no one would come to this place. After settling the person, he went to fetch water by the river.

After the person left, Xiao Yan, who had been pretending to be dead on the pile of firewood, opened her eyes. Although it was dark around her, her vision was astonishing. With a little moonlight coming in through the window, she could clearly see her surroundings. She unbuttoned her clothes and looked at the wound on her chest. The soaked flesh had turned pale, and blood continued to seep from the deep layers. The sight of the wound was unbearable, yet she took out a porcelain bottle from her pocket, seemingly intending to apply medicine to herself.

However, although she still had the medicine bottle, the medicine inside had completely melted away. Seeing this, she remained calm and simply threw the bottle on the ground. Then, she sat cross-legged and began to practice a technique to dispel the cold. Just as she had regained some of her energy, she heard movement outside the door.

Xiao Yan quickly lay back down, pretending to be unaware of what was happening.

Er Gouzi quietly entered the room, holding a porcelain bowl in one hand with a dry biscuit resting on the rim. In his other hand, he held a stack of paper packets, presumably containing medicine.

He placed the bowl down and started applying the powdered medicine to a cut on Xiao Yan's arm. The medicine was not good, but it had a strong effect. As soon as it touched the wound, it caused involuntary spasms in Xiao Yan's back. In her "unconscious" state, she couldn't help but let out a couple of suppressed groans, clearly in pain.