Chapter 3 The Lantern Festival brings unexpected events
Xiao Qing, who was separated from Bai Suzhen, anxiously looked around in the crowd. Finally, she showed a happy expression and hurriedly ran towards the direction of the two, waving and shouting, "Beautiful lady, I'm here-"
She hadn't run a few steps when suddenly a gust of wind blew, causing her to step back a few steps. Suddenly, the surroundings were filled with flying sand and rocks, and everything in front of her was shrouded in black mist. The cries of children and the calls of mothers came from the crowd...
The crowd became chaotic, and Xiao Qing sniffed a familiar scent, her playful expression suddenly turned serious. This scent was from the centipede... This is bad!
The masked centipede demon walked leisurely on the street, causing chaos wherever she went. She scanned the crowd and her eyes fell on a young man wearing a brocade robe with a sachet hanging from his waist. The corners of the centipede demon's mouth under the mask lifted up.
Countless centipede claws reached out towards the child. For a moment, the cries of children and the cries of parents filled the air. The centipede demon looked at the crowd dispersing like ants and laughed wildly. The laughter alternated between male and female voices, eerie and creepy.
As Fahai arrived at the street corner, he felt the resentment in the air and shouted, "Purify the evil with the demon-slaying staff!" He threw the staff, and it immediately emitted a golden Buddha light and flew towards the centipede demon. Fahai followed the staff and flew towards the demon.
In the chaotic crowd, Xu Xian protected Bai Suzhen and allowed the crowd to push and shove him. "Someone is injured! Help, save me-"
Xu Xian looked up and saw that the roadside stalls had been pushed over by the crowd. Many people were lying on the ground, some were injured by being trampled and shoved, and some were injured by falling objects. Xu Xian frowned, his expression serious. He pushed Bai Suzhen behind a tree and instructed her, "Miss Bai, stay here and leave when the chaos is over." He then rushed towards the chaotic crowd.
Bai Suzhen grabbed him and asked, "Where are you going?"
Xu Xian urgently replied, "I'm going to save people!" He then rushed towards the chaotic crowd.
Bai Suzhen immediately wanted to follow, but Xiao Qing held her sleeve and said anxiously, "Beauty, it's not safe here, come with me!"
Bai Suzhen firmly shook her head and said, "No, many people were injured just now, and I have to help save them."
Xiao Qing had an anxious expression, "Don't you smell it? That's the scent of the big demon. Her powers are something I've never seen before. Even if we join forces, we can't beat her! We can't afford to offend her, let's go!"
Bai Suzhen calmly pulled her arm out of Xiao Qing's hand and shook her head, "Thank you. You go first, I can't stand by when innocent people are in danger."
Xiao Qing became angry, "Why are you so stubborn? You're a demon! Why do you care about the life and death of mortals?"
Bai Suzhen's expression was full of compassion as she explained, "I was guided by Guanyin to come to the human world to gain experience. Whether it's a demon or a human in danger, I will try to help them." She then left Xiao Qing and ran towards Xu Xian's direction.
Xiao Qing watched Bai Suzhen leave and became so angry that she stomped her feet. Does Guanyin really have such great powers? You are so ignorant. If you don't become immortal, you'll become a ghost. I've been considering you at every turn, but you're so self-righteous. If you run into that stinky centipede demon, don't blame me for not stopping you!
She turned and walked away, muttering to herself, "Do whatever you want. I'm not going to serve you anymore!" As she walked, she stopped and turned back to look in the direction where Bai Suzhen had left. She was extremely conflicted and thought, what if she really encounters the centipede demon? Oh well, I'm a big person. If this idiot runs into trouble, it's not my problem.
After convincing herself, she immediately turned around and ran towards Bai Suzhen's direction. On the street, Xu Xian crouched beside an injured person, bandaging him up. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Don't panic, listen to me! Those with minor injuries can find some clean cold water nearby, mix in some fine salt, wash the wound clean, and bandage it themselves."
As he spoke, some lightly injured people started to get up and began to mix salt water and find clean cloth to bandage each other. Comforted by Xu Xian, the crowd gradually calmed down, and he began to treat the injured people.
At this moment, a woman rushed in, pulling Xu Xian's sleeve and crying, "Doctor, Doctor, my husband is dying! Please save him!" Xu Xian followed the woman and ran quickly to a man who was unconscious. The man was not breathing. Xu Xian crouched down, listened to the man's chest, felt his pulse, and then opened his eyelids.
Xu Xian urgently asked, "Who's wearing a cotton jacket? Lend it to me!" Someone took off their jacket and gave it to Xu Xian. Xu Xian tore open the jacket, took out the cotton, and carefully stuffed it into the man's ears.
"Who can give me a reed pipe?" he asked again.
A delicate hand passed a reed pipe to Xu Xian, who thanked the person and immediately instructed them, "Thank you, can you lend a hand? Help me pinch his nose and don't let go."
The person complied, and Xu Xian inserted the reed pipe into the unconscious man's mouth, covering his mouth with his hand. He leaned forward and blew into the pipe.
After a long while, the man gradually began to breathe and coughed, opening his eyes.
The woman exclaimed with joy, "My lord, thank Buddha, you're awake!"
Xu Xian breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his sweat with his sleeve. When he turned around, he saw that the person who had helped him was none other than Bai Suzhen.
Surprised, Xu Xian asked, "Miss Bai? Why are you here?"
Bai Suzhen smiled and nodded, "I also know a bit of medicine, perhaps I can be of some help."
Xu Xian bowed, "Miss Bai is truly generous. Thank you, Xu Xian is grateful."
Bai Suzhen declined his thanks, saying, "Saving lives and healing the wounded is our duty as doctors. It's my responsibility, not a burden."
Xu Xian looked deeply at Bai Suzhen and suddenly felt a sense of empathy towards her.
With many injured people, Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen each tended to their own patients. Bai Suzhen knelt on the ground to treat the patients, her white dress becoming stained with mud, but she didn't seem to mind. Xu Xian occasionally looked at her, his gaze filled with an admiration he didn't even notice himself.
To clean the wounds of the injured, Bai Suzhen reached for the burning alcohol on the table without lifting her head. Without thinking, she grabbed a hand, only to be surprised when she looked up and saw Xu Xian staring at her. Her cheeks turned red as she quickly withdrew her hand. Bai Suzhen saw Xu Xian's sweat dripping down his forehead, and turned to take a handkerchief to wipe it off, but saw Xu Xian staring at her.
She handed the handkerchief to Xu Xian and turned around, continuing to treat the other patients as if nothing had happened.
Xu Xian held the handkerchief tightly, a smile forming on his lips.
After a lull in the chaos among the crowd, Changsheng realized he had been separated from his parents. He called out to them while looking for them in the crowd, but didn't notice the evil eyes watching him.
Finally, Changsheng found his parents and ran over to them. Just then, a strange wind suddenly swept him up, causing the jasper bead around his neck to fall off and the lantern in his hand to drop from the air. The lantern lit the lanterns below, and a string of lanterns along the street burst into flames, turning the entire imperial street into a sea of fire.
The air was filled with eerie laughter, sounding both male and female.
More and more people were injured on the street, and Bai Suzhen was busy with her work when Xu Xian suddenly whispered, "Oh no, I've run out of my hemostatic medicine and bandages."
Bai Suzhen looked around and grabbed the ashes left over from the fire, smearing them on the wounds of the injured. Before Xu Xian could react, she went to a nearby tree and "rudely" tore off a piece of bark, then felt around for another spot on the tree with no bark.
Bai Suzhen requested, "I'm sorry, can I borrow some bark to save this person's life?" Then she rubbed the bark in her hand and patted it onto the injured person's wound.
Xu Xian was amazed by her actions and asked, "Miss Bai, what are you doing?"
Bai Suzhen replied matter-of-factly, "I'm treating the wounds. Ash can stop bleeding, bark can be used to bandage wounds, and our people... the She people, use this method for external injuries. Doctor Xu, don't be put off by the dirt, it's useful in critical situations."
Xu Xian checked the wounds of the patients and saw that the bleeding had indeed stopped.
Xu Xian nodded with satisfaction, "I didn't expect those folk remedies to actually work. Miss Bai is knowledgeable and resourceful, and I've learned from you."
Bai Suzhen felt a little embarrassed and waved her hand, saying, "No need to be polite. In times of crisis, you have to resort to unconventional methods."
She lowered her head to look at her hand, realizing that it had been pricked by the bark and blood was oozing out.
Ah, the human body is so weak, it's better to have the strength of a snake!
She instinctively wiped her injured hand on her clothes, but when she saw that the bleeding wouldn't stop, she reached out to grab some of the ashes.
Xu Xian suddenly reached out and held Bai Suzhen's hand, putting her fingers in his mouth. For a moment, the two of them were stunned.
Xu Xian quickly let go, his face flushing. He explained, "Miss Bai, I'm sorry, I was just in a hurry and suddenly thought of..."
Bai Suzhen hadn't noticed anything wrong and smiled brightly, showing no signs of anger. "I didn't expect that even this method can stop bleeding. It's a good solution!"
Xu Xian felt a strange feeling in his heart, but didn't know where it came from. He dared not look at Bai Suzhen again and lowered his head to attend to the wounded patients.
Suddenly, a path was cleared in the crowd and a bloody injured person was carried over. The person was unconscious and kept speaking incoherently. Xu Xian immediately went over and unbuttoned his clothes, discovering a black mass on his stomach wound.
Xu Xian looked at the wound and was stunned. It looked like it had been caused by a sharp object, but strangely... why was the decay spreading so quickly? In this weather, it shouldn't be happening...
Bai Suzhen looked at the black mass on the wound and her expression changed to a demonic one!
Xu Xian heard her muttering and asked, "What's wrong?"
Bai Suzhen quickly replied, "Uh... I mean, we need to detoxify him first!"
Xu Xian nodded, "Please use the alcohol to detoxify him, I'll go look for a knife to remove the rotten flesh around the wound."
While Xu Xian turned around, Bai Suzhen pinched a spell and a white light enveloped the person's wound. Gradually, the black mass dissipated and the blood oozing from the wound turned bright red.
Xu Xian turned around and was surprised to see that the wound, which had returned to its normal color, had disappeared.
"The ulcer has actually disappeared. How did you save me just now, miss?"
Bai Suzhen's eyelashes trembled. "I, I just followed your instructions and used baijiu to clean the wound. Perhaps, just now, the wound was covered in mud and was not actually ulcerated."
Xu Xian was puzzled, "It's impossible. I clearly..."
He had only spoken halfway when he saw a string of flames burning along the lanterns that hung on the road. The surrounding glass lamps were invaded by the heat, exploding instantly, and the flames surged out several feet high. The glass lamp, wrapped in flames, was about to smash onto Bai Suzhen.
"Be careful!"
Xu Xian rushed forward and tightly protected Bai Suzhen, pulling her aside.
The glass lamp fell to the ground, and fragments scattered everywhere.
Xu Xian anxiously asked, "Miss Bai, are you okay?"
Bai Suzhen's gaze fell on Xu Xian's arm, where a cut from the glass fragments had left a wound.
Bai Suzhen realized that even though he was the one injured, he was concerned only for her.
Xu Xian saw her looking down and not speaking, and his tone became urgent. "What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"
Bai Suzhen shook her head, "I'm fine, it's just that you're bleeding."
Xu Xian finally felt relieved and smiled, "It's just a small wound, it's okay."
As they were talking, the fire in the area had already started and continued to grow.
"Water! Help!"
"My wife is still in that restaurant!"
The cries in the crowd grew louder and louder.