Chapter 33 Rescue

He Yuping suppressed her nausea and went forward to check the breathing of those people. She found that everyone at the scene was lifeless, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

He Caiwei examined the area carefully and realized something was wrong. There was clearly another person breathing here, albeit faintly. She was absolutely certain that someone was still alive.

After a careful search, a man was found behind a large tree, barely alive. He was bleeding from his shoulder and abdomen, breathing weakly, and was unconscious. He was holding a gun and a dagger in his hand.

In this situation, he dared not move forward. If he were mistaken for an enemy, he would be killed instantly, even though he was already unconscious.

The first thing He Yuping did after checking the breaths of these people was to search them for all their guns and knives, leaving no bullets behind, and of course, some silver dollars as well.

After finding them all, I piled them up in a corner and waited for my daughter to come and put them away.

After circling around and making sure that she and her daughter were safe, she turned back to look for her daughter.

"Goodness, is this guy still alive? Judging from the distribution of the bodies, this man should be the enemy of the other dead ones, but we don't know if he's friend or foe to us. What should we do now? Should we kill him, or save him?" He Yuping was undecided. After all, if he was an enemy, would there be any hidden dangers if they saved him? If he was a good person, wouldn't it be wrong not to save him?

“Mother, his wounds are on his abdomen and shoulder. Why don’t we tie him to this tree and treat his wounds first? If he’s a good person, we’ll let him go. If he’s a bad person, we’ll figure out what to do next.” He Caiwei didn’t know what to do either; this was the only solution she could think of.

“Alright then, get a rope first, let’s tie him to this tree. Is the gun in his hand still usable? Maybe we should put it away for now.” He Yuping remembered that when he went to check earlier, all the people there had been shot and killed, which meant that the person on the other side definitely had a gun. This was something they couldn’t be careless about.

"We're out of bullets, but I've already put them away, along with his dagger. Mother, how are things on your end?" He Caiwei had just unexpectedly stored the man's dagger and gun into her spatial storage. Only now that the threat was gone did she dare approach him.

I took out the smallest energy-saving light bulb from my own space, turned it on, and hung it on the treetop, which made the whole area bright.

With the help of this energy-saving light, He Caiwei and her daughter were finally able to see the man's face clearly. He had an ordinary face that would be easily lost in a crowd. His hair was a little messy, and his face and body were covered in dirt. He was sweating profusely on his forehead, probably because of the fight or the pain he was in.

"He looks so ordinary, but his hands don't look like that at all. Look, his fingers are long and slender, with well-proportioned bones. He looks like someone who holds a pen. But there are calluses on his thumb, like someone who holds a gun. It feels a bit contradictory." He Yuping was a little disappointed. After all, when she first saw the man's hands, her first impression was that he should be good-looking.

“Mother likes his hands…” He Caiwei never expected that her mother was a hand fetishist.

“Yes, I especially liked these slender hands when I was in school. Don’t you think they’re beautiful?” He Yuping said, pointing to the man’s long, slender hands that she and her daughter had tied to the tree.

"Yes, he is indeed quite good-looking. Come on, let me treat his wound first. I need to reach in and feel if there's a bullet inside. If there is, I'll have to dig it out, otherwise the wound will get infected and cause more trouble." He Caiwei thought that no matter what, she should wake him up first.

However, neither the mother nor her daughter had any experience in treating wounds, so they could only stop the bleeding for now and wait until the child woke up.

"Wow, I saw someone on TV dig out a bullet with a dagger. Why don't we try it?" He Yuping said with a hint of excitement, like a child who had just seen a new toy.

He Caiwei was almost stunned by her mother's bold idea.

"Mom, that's all a lie to make it look better. Let's not even talk about the risk of infection here in the middle of nowhere. The surgery has to be done in a sterile room, otherwise there's a risk of wound infection if you're not careful. It's not like you can just dig out the bullet with any old knife and call it a day."

"That's too hasty! Even if he doesn't die, he'll be half-dead. Mom, you should just watch TV from now on, don't apply what happens on TV to real life, it'll kill people." He Caiwei sighed and facepalmed. This naive and innocent mother of hers.

"Is...is that so? Okay, I misunderstood, but we can't leave the bullet out, can we?" He Yuping was a little embarrassed; she had thought it was all real.

"I'll give him some water first. After he wakes up, we'll confirm his identity and then decide whether to remove the bullet." He Caiwei felt that if this was one of their own, then helping to remove the bullet would be fine. But if it was an enemy, wouldn't she be making a fool of herself by removing the bullet and letting him live?

"That's true, alright then. Give him some water first, let him lean against this spot. We'll go pack up the things. I just searched those people and found their weapons, knives, and money. I didn't take the dry rations, though, because they have a strong smell and would make them sick." He Yuping felt that things that were in her own possession were truly hers. Leaving things outside meant they could be stolen at any time, so it was safer to keep them with her daughter's treasures.

"Alright, I'll go pack it up first. Mom, you wash your hands first. We'll eat something in a bit. We've been busy all night and we're all exhausted. My stomach is growling." He Caiwei's eyes lit up as soon as she heard about guns. These things are hard to come by. Given the current situation in China, even if you have money, you can't buy them. After liberation, there were bans, making it even harder to get them. This is perfect; why not take advantage of something that's free?

“You are indeed hungry. I’ll go get you something to eat. Are you scared to be here all alone? Why don’t we go back together? I’m worried about your safety in this forest.” He Yuping didn’t dare leave her little girl outside like that; there had just been a gunfight here.

Who knows if there are still enemies lurking behind? She dared not be careless about her own life and property.

“But I’m worried about leaving this uncle out alone, especially since he’s tied up. If an enemy comes, they could easily kill him.” He Caiwei was worried about pursuers.

"Why don't we drag him in and put him in the field over there? After we finish eating, we can take him out together. He's so badly injured, even if the bleeding has stopped, he definitely won't wake up anytime soon." He Yuping knew her daughter was worried that the man would discover their secret. Actually, she didn't want to either, but this was the best way at the moment. They were in the wild forest, and their concern was whether there were any pursuers.