Chapter 44 The First Skin-to-Skin Intimacy

Chapter 44 The First Skin-to-Skin Intimacy

Upon seeing this, the thugs' expressions changed drastically. They no longer dared to linger and turned to run away.

But Cheng Lanzhou was faster. With a flick of his wrist, the dagger in his hand shot out like an arrow, accurately stabbing the last thug.

The remaining two tried to struggle, but Cheng Lanzhou quickly knocked them to the ground, slashed their throats with a dagger, and they instantly died.

By the time Jiang Huaiyu arrived, a step too late, Cheng Lanzhou had already dealt with the thugs.

Jiang Huaiyu gasped, marveling at Cheng Lanzhou's skill. If he were to fight him, the outcome would likely be decided in no more than ten moves.

Finally seeing help, Jiang Yutang's tense nerves finally relaxed, and her legs went weak and she almost fell. Fortunately, Jiang Songzhi, who rushed over, caught her.

"Little sister, how are you?" Jiang Songzhi asked, looking at her swollen ankle.

Jiang Yutang shook her head, and her eyes instantly reddened as she looked at her family members who had rushed over: "I'm fine... I'm so glad you came."

Jiang Songzhi squatted down and carefully examined her ankle, his brows furrowed: "It's so swollen, you must have sprained a bone. Don't move around, I'll carry you back."

"Let me do it, brother. I'm fast. Let's take her back quickly. Our parents are terrified."

Cheng Lanzhou stood aside, looking at the thug's corpse on the ground, his eyes deep, and said nothing.

"Lanzhou".

He only snapped out of his daze when Cheng Daier called him. He walked forward with a heavy expression and asked, "Elder sister, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just got kicked by that thug." Cheng Daier looked at Jiang Yutang, who was surrounded by her two brothers. "She pulled me up, otherwise I probably would have bled."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Lanzhou's gaze finally fell on Jiang Yutang.

The two carefully helped Jiang Yutang to her feet. Her face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. Jiang Huaiyu carried her steadily on his back and hurriedly ran out of the woods.

Jiang Songzhi stepped forward and solemnly thanked him: "Thanks to you today, otherwise my Tang'er and my wife and sister-in-law would probably have been in trouble."

Cheng Lanzhou said calmly, "We're even."

After saying that, he squatted down and carefully examined the bodies of the thugs on the ground, his gaze falling on the back of their necks.

There was a clear eagle tattoo there, with sharp lines, clearly not a mark that an ordinary refugee would have.

“These are people from the ‘Black Hawk Gang’,” Cheng Lanzhou said with certainty. “They specialize in hiring hitmen to kill people. It seems that someone specifically bribed them to infiltrate the exile group and try to silence us.”

Jiang Songzhi frowned, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Could it be the Gu family who are behind this?"

Cheng Lanzhou slowly stood up, glanced at Jiang Songzhi with an ambiguous look, and said in a somewhat cryptic tone, "You should ask your sister about this kind of thing."

Jiang Songzhi was stunned, looking somewhat uneasy, realizing he had said the wrong thing and mentioned the wrong person.

After all, Gu Wenxiao, the newly appointed top scholar of the Gu family, was the culprit who caused the Jiang and Cheng families to be exiled. He deceived Jiang Yutang and framed the Cheng family for the stolen goods. Now, he probably wants to kill them to silence them because he is worried that they will overturn the case after arriving in Danzhou.

Back at the camp, Jiang Songzhi told his family about discovering the "Black Hawk Gang" tattoo and his suspicion that the Gu family had hired someone to kill him.

Jiang Shengan angrily pounded the armrest of his wheelchair and gritted his teeth, saying, "It must be the Gu family! They have something to hide, that's why they're afraid we'll make it to Danzhou alive! This heartless family is truly ruthless!"

Jiang Yutang sat on a straw mat next to the cart. Mu was squatting in front of her, gently rubbing her ankle, which was swollen like a steamed bun. Her brows were furrowed tightly: "Little sister, I'm afraid you've injured the bone in your foot. Rubbing it won't help at all. You need to set the bone, but I've never learned that skill."

"I can do it!" Jiang Huaiyu immediately jumped out, patting her chest to assure him, "I've always fixed my own ankle when I sprained it before, I'll give it a try!"

As he spoke, before anyone could stop him, he reached out and grabbed Jiang Yutang's ankle, twisting it forcefully.

"ah--!"

Jiang Yutang screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face. A piercing pain shot through her ankle, even worse than when she had twisted it earlier.

Jiang Huaiyu let go of her hand, looked at her painful appearance, then at her still swollen ankle, scratched his head, and looked full of guilt.

"I'm so sorry, little sister. I've only ever done this for myself before, never for anyone else, so I didn't know how to use the right amount of force..."

Jiang Yutang was in so much pain that she couldn't speak. She wanted to scold him, but when she saw the guilty and worried look in his eyes, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and could only grit her teeth and shake her head.

"fine......"

But she doesn't know how to set bones herself. If her ankle doesn't get timely treatment, not only will she not be able to continue her journey, but she'll also likely suffer long-term consequences, eventually becoming a cripple like Jiang.

Watching from the side, Madam Yun was so anxious that she kept wiping away tears: "What are we going to do? How did he get hurt like this..."

Jiang Jiuzhe suggested, "Why don't we go find the yamen runners and see if there's a town nearby where we can find a doctor?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sumin shook his head, his expression grave: "I remember on the map, this area is all barren mountains and wilderness, and the nearest town is two days away. There's simply no time to get there."

Everyone fell silent instantly, their faces full of worry, and no one could come up with a solution.

Just then, a clear, cold voice suddenly rang out: "I can set bones."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Cheng Lanzhou had stood up at some point.

Cheng Lanzhou glanced at the Jiang family members and explained calmly, "Soldiers often dislocated or sprained their joints on the battlefield. I learned some bone-setting techniques from military doctors, so I have some experience. If you don't mind, I can give it a try."

After he finished speaking, Jiang Huaiyu leaned close to her mother and whispered, "Men and women are different. It's not really appropriate for him to set my little sister's bones..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madam Yun glared at him fiercely, her tone tinged with reproach: "Now you know there's a difference between men and women? You were so rough and hasty with Tang'er just now, didn't you think about the feelings between men and women?"

Jiang Huaiyu shrank back after being scolded and whispered in defense, "Isn't she my little sister?"

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped on the back by Yun Shi, making him wince in pain and dare not say another word.

Jiang Yutang was surprised that Cheng Lanzhou would help her. Wasn't Cheng Lanzhou extremely averse to contact with her?

Madam Zhu quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Cheng Lanzhou and my younger sister are husband and wife after all. There's nothing wrong with bone setting for treating illnesses."

But mentioning it only made things worse. Everyone noticed that Cheng Lanzhou's expression darkened, his brows furrowed, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. Clearly, he didn't want anyone to bring up this marriage that had long since become a dead engagement.

You really know how to bring up the most sensitive topic!

Seeing this, Jiang Songzhi was afraid that Cheng Lanzhou would change his mind, so he immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting and said, "My Tang'er's foot can't be delayed any longer, I'm begging you!"

Cheng Lanzhou didn't dwell on the marriage agreement anymore. She nodded, walked around the cart to Jiang Yutang, and slowly squatted down.

He gently lifted her ankle, his fingertips pausing slightly as soon as they touched her bare skin.

This was the first time he had ever been so close to a woman's skin; it was incredibly delicate.

Perhaps due to the long journey, Jiang Yutang's soles and toes were a little red. Her fair and pink ankles swayed gently in front of him, and an indescribable complex expression involuntarily surfaced in his eyes.