Chapter 64 Suckling Pig

Chapter 64: The Suckling Pig

A subterranean stream flowed out from the side of the Broken Head Cliff, and Cheng Ge tested its depth with a pebble and figured it was probably pretty deep.

So Lin Nanshu couldn’t have run off across the river.

Cheng Ge carefully checked the tracks around him, moving cautiously through the forest.

It was completely dark by now, so Cheng Ge took out a fire starter he’d brought along.

Fortunately, the dense trees and deep forest at the cliff’s base helped him keep it from getting soaked, though visibility was poor.

Cheng Ge hunched down and moved deeper in, the occasional bird chirp here and there reaching his ears.

The cliff base was vast, and after wandering around the woods for a few hours, Cheng Ge found no trace of Lin Nanshu, but he did run into a few groups of guys in black.

Not sure if they were friend or foe, he dared not approach recklessly, or he’d end up dead before he could save anyone.

After searching the woods for most of the night, he still couldn’t find Lin Nanshu.

The weather just got worse, with rain pouring down like it was free, and thunder started rolling in later that night.

Cheng Ge was genuinely afraid of being struck by lightning and have to go through some heavenly tribulation, and he was starting to feel worn out.

He decided to find a spot to rest and get out of the rain, planning to look for him again once he’d rested up.

He headed off in a more remote direction to avoid running into those guys again.

Eventually, he found a narrow crack in the cliff, just barely big enough for one person.

Cheng Ge bent down and cleared away the rubble around it, then stepped aside to grab some dry grass to make a bed, so it’d be more comfortable to lie on.

He was quick about it and soon had a big pile.

Just as he was about to go back, he noticed the dry grass seemed to hide an empty space behind it.

Cheng Ge froze, his heart skipping a beat, and quickly pushed the grass aside.

He stuck his fire starter in to light up the area, revealing a hidden cave that looked pretty deep.

A rush of joy hit him, and without a second thought, he ducked down and crawled in.

The cave wasn’t very wide, which is probably why no one had found it before, but it went back quite a ways.

Cheng Ge moved carefully, holding the fire starter up, the cave damp and dark, with a faint, musty smell.

Before long, he reached a bend, his heart racing as he tightened his grip on the small knife.

When he rounded the corner, what he saw made his eyes go wide.

Several bodies were scattered on the ground.

And there was Lin Nanshu, slumped against the cave wall, covered in bloodstains, with some dry grass thrown over him.

Cheng Ge stood there in shock for a few seconds, his mind blank and his blood running cold.

After a long moment, he snapped out of it, rushed over, crouched beside him, and whispered, “Yuli! Yuli!”

But there was no response; his eyes were shut tight. Cheng Ge reached out to check his pulse and heartbeat—weak, but still going.

Cheng Ge felt a wave of relief; at least he was still alive.

He quickly looked around, making sure there was no danger, and started checking Lin Nanshu’s injuries.

Lin Nanshu had a bunch of wounds, some from knives and others from scrapes, the blood had long since dried.

But the wounds hadn’t been treated in time and were starting to swell and get infected.

Cheng Ge frowned, then turned to see if any of the others were still alive.

Unfortunately, none were—all dead, some missing limbs, with nasty injuries.

They must have fought desperately to barely keep Lin Nanshu alive.

As a modern person, Cheng Ge couldn’t fully grasp the master-servant relationships of this era, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a sense of respect.

He couldn’t just leave the bodies outside, as they’d attract wild animals and easily give away their location.

But ignoring the corpses scattered around was also difficult for him.

After much deliberation, he decided to move the bodies to the deepest part of the cave.

Once he brought Lin Nanshu back, the Lin family would likely send people to retrieve and handle the remains.

He shifted Lin Nanshu outward, laying him flat on a stone slab.

Lin Nanshu’s clothes were filthy, and sticking to the wounds would only increase the risk of infection—they had to be dealt with.

Cheng Ge left the cave and searched outside for a long time, gathering some half-dry, half-wet branches and a handful of purslane from a rock crevice.

He arranged the firewood, used the oilcloth he had prepared to ignite it, dried out the moisture from the branches, and after much effort, managed to start a fire.

The mountain was damp and cold in the rain, and it was easy to lose body heat, so he had to be careful.

He grabbed a handful of goji berries and stuffed them into his mouth, a hint of sweetness instantly filling his palate.

After layering some dry grass on the stone slab, he scooted over and sat close to Lin Nanshu.

He picked up a rock to crush the purslane he had gathered, chewing on goji berries as he worked.

He was too hungry and needed to replenish his energy.

Once the medicinal paste was ready, his hands turned to the unconscious Lin Nanshu.

Soon, Lin Nanshu was as exposed as the David statue in the Florentine Academy.

By the firelight, Cheng Ge applied the green paste to the wounds, its color oddly vivid.

Fortunately, these wounds looked frightening but weren’t fatal.

Lin Nanshu’s unconsciousness was likely due to blood loss and infection.

However, the knife wound about four finger-widths above his navel was still quite dangerous.

“Heaven must be watching over you. If it had been just a little lower, Yuli, you’d have been done for.”

After treating the wounds, Cheng Ge draped his own dried outer robe over Lin Nanshu.

At the cave entrance, he used the rainwater dripping down to roughly scrub Lin Nanshu’s clothes.

There were still a few hours until dawn, so Cheng Ge hurriedly covered the cave entrance with weeds.

Cheng Ge crouched by the fire, adding some wood to it, and let out a soft sigh.

"Ah~ I'll have to skip work again tomorrow. I wonder if they'll dock my pay... Tsk, luckily I just collected last month's salary today. What a shame about that baked chicken—I didn't even get one bite."

At that thought, Cheng Ge's stomach growled again. He yawned and tried to reassure himself.

"Forget it, I'll just get some sleep. Once I'm asleep, I won't be hungry."

With that, he lay down right beside Lin Nanshu. Since the stone bed wasn't very large, Cheng Ge had to sleep on his side.

Even with the fire burning, it was still a bit chilly, so Cheng Ge instinctively pressed closer to Lin Nanshu.

Carefully, he reached his arm across Lin Nanshu's chest to tuck the robe securely around him.

Gently resting his forehead against Lin Nanshu's shoulder, he slowly closed his eyes.

After a long while, there was a sound of someone slurping saliva. "Sss... so white... like a suckling pig..."