Heizi came back with a pale face, carrying a bucket of water. Seeing Qin Sang's gaze, he walked over quickly.
Qin Sang scolded him,
"Why did you take so long?"
Heizi explained loudly,
"I didn't know the way and got lost. I only found my way back after asking an Official."
Qin Sang had already set up the stove outside the house. Heizi lit the fire, and Qin Sang added the Medicinal Herbs.
Heizi whispered carefully in a voice only the two of them could hear,
"I heard them saying they've gathered three hundred ears. They're going to find more people from two other villages to make up the numbers, until they have five hundred. That will be enough."
"Aunt, are those ears they mentioned from the people of Chen Family Village?"
"What do they want ears for?"
"Can people still live without their ears?"
Heizi's continuous questions caused a sudden explosion in Qin Sang's mind.
The phrase 'slaughtering civilians to claim military merit' instantly surfaced in her heart.
In ancient times, Government Soldiers recorded military merit by heads. Usually, after killing an enemy soldier, they would cut off the enemy's ear to prove how many people they had killed.
Cutting off ten ears could make one a squad leader, and a hundred ears would raise one's rank by one level, and so on. This was a direct manifestation of a soldier's combat power, which is why ancient descriptions of fierce generals often used terms like 'thousand-man slayer' or 'ten-thousand-man foe'.
The army of the Daxing Dynasty was no exception.
These Government Soldiers did not bother killing Rebel Soldiers, but instead slaughtered civilians to fake their own military achievements. They were simply more detestable than the Rebel Soldiers.
Even Heizi, who used to be one of the Local Ruffians, didn't understand what they were doing; Qin Sang didn't think those uneducated villagers knew of this darkness.
When facing Rebel Soldiers, everyone felt fear in their hearts and would flee or hide. But these were Government Soldiers; the common people trusted them and sought their protection, only to be murdered by them in return.
No wonder there were corpses everywhere after the flood.
No wonder not a single villager who left the mountains could be found.
No wonder even the buried corpses of Rebel Soldiers had been dug up.
In their eyes, there was only military merit—where were the people?
Natural disasters are unavoidable, but this was a man-made calamity...
A chill rose from the soles of Qin Sang's feet, and her fingers couldn't help but tremble with indignation.
"Where's the medicine? Hurry up and brew it. Are you trying to kill me?"
Inside the house, a soldier was grumbling and shouting at Qin Sang from the communal bunk.
Heizi looked at Qin Sang with some concern. Qin Sang snapped back to her senses, cast aside the complex emotions in her heart, and continued cleaning the Medicinal Herbs, replying in a low voice,
"It will be ready soon."
Qin Sang did not intend to use poison or cut corners.
On the contrary, she had to cure these soldiers; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to go back.
...
It had to be said that the fever-reducing medicine was truly effective. By nightfall, the high fevers of the two comatose soldiers had broken, and they had even regained consciousness.
The other soldiers who had taken the medicine also felt much better. The Captain brought some men to check on them once. Seeing that Qin Sang's treatment was working, and noting that the person at the very end still showed no movement, the corners of his mouth curled slightly. He rewarded the two of them with a coarse rice steamed bun each.
Qin Sang accepted it into her robe with profound gratitude. Seeing this, the Government Soldier asked,
"Why aren't you eating it?"
Qin Sang replied,
"Official, could I save these dry rations to take home for my little granddaughter to eat?"
Qin Sang had already instructed Heizi not to eat the food here. She would take advantage of when no one was looking to slip Heizi small snacks. Heizi had also suffered from hunger before and could endure it; following Qin Sang's example, he also put the bun into his robe.
Seeing how much they cherished food, the Government Soldier finally believed her words about her family being unable to put food on the table. His eyes flickered slightly.
"Suit yourself."
Whether or not they would be allowed to go back was still uncertain.
Once the men left, Qin Sang and Heizi slept in their clothes. When everyone in the room was asleep, Qin Sang crawled up to feed the soldier who hadn't woken yet some cooled water and some Glucose.
Like a person dying of thirst in the desert, the man tasted the clear, sweet flavor, and his throat gulped it down.
Seeing that he was conscious enough to swallow on his own, Qin Sang took a bowl to soften the bun and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.
After he had eaten enough, she fed him another dose of Anti-inflammatory Medicine.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Sang whispered a sentence into the man's ear,
"Keep sleeping. Someone wants you dead."
The man's eyes remained closed, and Qin Sang wasn't sure if he could hear her.
Qin Sang was gambling—gambling that she could save this person.
All of this was done in the middle of the night, unknown to anyone else.
Over the next few days, Qin Sang reduced the dosage of the medicine. Firstly, it was because she hadn't thought of a way to leave yet, and secondly, because the man's recovery was slow.
He had three saber wounds and two arrow wounds on his body; the deep wounds were so severe that bone was visible. Qin Sang needed to stall for time.
In this way, she stalled for five consecutive days, and half of the men had completely recovered.
The wounded camp had emptied out quite a bit. A Government Soldier came over to check, pointing at the few soldiers still lying on the beds, his gaze finally landing on the soldier who was still unconscious.
"Why aren't these people better yet?"
Qin Sang let out a sigh.
"Their injuries are too severe. My medical skills were never that refined to begin with. I can prescribe a formula for a common cold that works well enough, but they all have wounds on their bodies. I'm afraid those methods of mine aren't of much use."
The corner of the leader's mouth curled almost imperceptibly. He had heard that this woman's method of treating wounds involved cutting with a knife and sewing with a needle.
That fellow Lin Qi actually isn't dead yet; he's truly stubborn.
But that was fine too. When the time came and he died, they would just push the blame for Lin Qi's death onto this woman. That way, the higher-ups wouldn't be able to blame them.
"Well, just do your best," the leader comforted her hypocritically.
"Official, can you let my son go back to get more Medicinal Herbs? The herbs are all used up. Without medicine, I have no way to treat them."
Qin Sang pointed to the two empty back baskets.
"If the Official is worried, you can send someone to follow him. It's just that we are hiding in the mountains now, so a round trip would probably take two days."
Qin Sang's initiative to suggest surveillance actually put the man at ease. However, to walk on mountain roads for two days and possibly encounter Rebel Soldiers who had been driven into the mountains—he would have to be a fool to go along.
Thinking of something, he had someone bring a bag of grain, about twenty jin, and tossed it in front of Heizi.
"What's there to be worried about? You mother and son have performed very well these past few days. This is a reward from the Chief Officer. Remember to bring all the Medicinal Herbs back with you."
"The more Medicinal Herbs you bring, the greater the reward. The Chief Officer won't let you suffer any losses."
Seeing the food, Heizi's eyes immediately 'lit up'. He stepped forward and pulled the bag of grain into his arms, holding it more tightly than he would a wife.
"Alright, Official! I'll definitely bring all the Medicinal Herbs."
The Official nodded with satisfaction.
"Now that there are no Rebel Soldiers anywhere, the villagers of your Xiakou Village can come out of the mountains. Hurry up, and you can still plant a season of rice. That way, you'll have food for the New Year after the autumn harvest."
Heizi nodded with 'profound gratitude'.
"The Official is right. I'll organize the villagers to come down the mountain as soon as I get back."
The Government Soldier left satisfied. Heizi urgently lowered his voice and said,
"Mother, why are you making me leave?"
Qin Sang explained in a low voice,
"It's too dangerous for both of us to leave together. You go and reunite with everyone first. They must be worried after all these days; you must go back and send word first."
"But what about you? If something happens to you, Mother, how will I explain it to Sec... to them?"