Volume One: The Carefree Journey Amidst Indistinguishable Leaves Chapter Twenty-Six: Adversity

Yang Ning spread his hands on the ground, leaning back and laughing, "You don't remember my name? I think I told you, I'm called Little White Rabbit."

"Little White Rabbit?" The young man scoffed, "Do you think I'm a fool? That's not your name."

Yang Ning smiled, "Believe it or not, I'm a wanderer, with no name or surname, so it's nothing strange. By the way, your martial skills seem quite good. Did you learn from that old man? What's your name?"

Hearing Yang Ning mention the elder in the brown robe, the young man immediately got up, saying, "You give me that horse first, and I assure you, I will return it tenfold in the future." Without waiting for Yang Ning to respond, he continued, "That horse was tied outside the tavern, and you took it amidst the chaos. Now that you're safe, it should naturally return to its rightful owner."

"I don't like what you're saying," Yang Ning also stood up. "What do you mean by taking? Didn't you see that if the horse had stayed there, it would have become a dead horse? I saved it, and I also saved your life. Besides, you have no proof that this horse is yours. Even if it is yours, does saving your life not outweigh a horse?"

"Fine, let's say I borrowed it from you," the young man seemed to realize that continuing to argue with Yang Ning would yield no results, so he simply stated, "I will return it to you a hundredfold later."

Yang Ning crossed his arms and laughed, "Anyone can boast, but you've run off with my horse. Who knows if I will ever see you again? Besides, to me, this horse is worth its weight in gold. I need it to accomplish great things. You should just give up on the idea." He advised, "I say, little brother..."

"I'm not your little brother," the young man retorted angrily.

Yang Ning laughed heartily, "Then what should I call you? I can't just call you Mud Man, can I?" He chuckled inwardly at how muddy the young man was, unaware that he was not in much better shape himself.

After a moment of hesitation, the young man replied, "My name is Xiao Guang!"

"That's definitely not your real name," Yang Ning remarked. "But it's better than having no name at all. By the way, I advise you not to go back. You've seen the methods of those people; do you think returning will be useful? You saw the people from the escort agency, right? Without some skill, they wouldn't be able to survive in the agency. Even they nearly suffered complete annihilation. I can hardly imagine what would happen when you return. Are you throwing yourself into the net? Or are you flying into the fire?"

The young man, Xiao Guang, pondered for a moment, then chose to say nothing, turning to leave, even forsaking the horse.

"Are you really going back?" Yang Ning called from behind. "Don't blame me for not advising you; going back like this is looking for death. That old man risked his life to ensure your escape. If you return now, everything he sacrificed will be in vain. I say, brother, you don't look like a fool; don't you understand this logic?"

Xiao Guang suddenly halted in his tracks.

In the rainy night, the atmosphere was bleak and desolate; the wind seemed to have died down a bit, yet the persistent autumn rain showed no signs of stopping.

Seeing that Xiao Guang had stopped and was silent, Yang Ning continued, "Who is that man to you? He cares for you greatly; I see his martial skills are not bad and he may not truly be killed by those people. Alone and without worries, he might still escape. If you rush back, you might only distract him. Besides, we've come this far; regardless of life or death, there should already be a result over there. If he is dead or has escaped, do you really think you can handle so many people alone?" He grabbed the reins and mounted the horse, turning back to say, "Moreover, since he risked his life to get you out, it shows that in his heart, your life is far more important than his. If you die, I can't imagine what he would think."

Xiao Guang did not turn back, but stood there in a daze, letting the wind and rain beat down on him.

Yang Ning shook his head, thinking he had at least managed to get this person out; the next matters were beyond his concern, and he did not wish to get entangled further. He shook the reins and was about to urge the horse forward but couldn't help glancing back one last time, only to see Xiao Guang stagger and suddenly collapse to the ground.

Yang Ning was startled, dismounted, and ran over, finding Xiao Guang sprawled in the mud, unmoving. He quickly turned him over and furrowed his brow, calling out, "Hey, Xiao Guang, wake up! What happened? Did I say something too direct that struck a nerve?"

Rainwater splattered on Xiao Guang's face as Yang Ning wiped some mud from his face, revealing his pale complexion, tightly clenched jaw, and closed eyes, his body trembling.

Yang Ning placed his hand on Xiao Guang's forehead and was shocked to find it burning hot—he realized the young man was running a fever.

Yang Ning felt overwhelmed, as he had intended to continue pursuing the escort team toward the capital, fueled by a glimmer of hope. Yet now, this fellow was feverish, his forehead burning, clearly in a serious condition.

At this moment, leaving Xiao Guang behind was not an option. Not to mention that the group of pursuers could catch up at any moment, even if they didn't, Xiao Guang could very well die here.

He was already severely ill, and if he continued to be drenched in the rain, he would undoubtedly perish.

Yang Ning sighed and shook his head, lifting Xiao Guang and placing him on the horse's back. He then mounted the horse himself and held Xiao Guang from behind, looking around. In the rainy night, the surroundings were vague and indistinct, making it impossible to discern direction.

Yang Ning knew that even if he couldn't find a doctor, he needed to seek shelter from the rain as quickly as possible. Otherwise, letting Xiao Guang continue to burn with fever would be futile.

At this moment, he couldn't afford to be picky; he urged the steed to go wherever it could.

He couldn't help but think that Xiao Guang's constitution was truly weak. Although the young man seemed to have some martial skills, which should indicate a stronger physique, after just one rain, he had become seriously ill.

As the horse galloped through the rain, Yang Ning lost his sense of direction, letting it run freely. He felt Xiao Guang trembling violently and couldn't help but pray, "This fellow doesn't look like a bad person. If he dies from just being caught in the rain, that would be such a waste. May the Bodhisattva protect him; just don’t let him die in front of me."

Uncertain how much time passed, Yang Ning noticed the rain appeared to lessen somewhat. He looked up and realized that without realizing it, the horse had run into a bamboo grove.

The bamboo grove was dense, blocking the rain, and a refreshing scent of green bamboo filled the air, soothing to the senses.

Yet there was no shelter around. Earlier, Xiao Guang was still trembling, but at this moment, he lay still. Yang Ning reached out to touch his forehead, only to find it cool, and his heart sank, wondering if he had died. He checked for breathing and was relieved to find that he was still alive.

As the horse entered the bamboo grove, it slowed down its pace. Yang Ning looked around and saw that a layer of mist hovered in the air among the bamboo, hazy like smoke.

After a while, the horse exited the bamboo grove, and Yang Ning looked ahead, feeling a surge of hope as he saw a house not far away. Approaching, he discovered the house was dilapidated, with a collapsed courtyard wall, revealing a deserted yard.

Despite its state, he had finally found a place to take shelter from the rain. Yang Ning dismounted carefully, cradling Xiao Guang in his arms toward the house. The eaves of the house were deep, but they were covered in spider webs, and the door had long been lost, with the open entrance sealed by a complex network of webs.

Yang Ning looked up to see a half-broken plaque above the door, also obscured by thick webs. Coupled with the darkness of the night, he couldn’t see what was written on it.

He gently laid Xiao Guang down, found a piece of scrap wood, and cleared the webs blocking the door. Only then did he carry Xiao Guang inside. As soon as he entered, a musty odor filled the air, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to be picky. The dimness made it hard to see, and after feeling around, he found a spot to lay Xiao Guang down.

He knew that Xiao Guang was drenched, and if he stayed like this, the fever would only worsen. After a moment of hesitation, he started to strip Xiao Guang's clothes in the dim light, leaving him in only his shorts, thinking that if there were straw to start a fire, that would be perfect.

The most basic survival skill in the wild was to make a fire. Yang Ning had done it using stones before; although it took time, it was the only way to survive at this moment. However, fire required dry straw, and without dry straw, even stones wouldn't help.

He crouched down and wandered around the house, which was dim and unclear, and during his search, he found that the place was filled with broken walls and scattered wooden beams. Perhaps fortune smiled upon him; in one corner, he stumbled upon a pile of dry straw, which made him overjoyed, as he could see that there was quite a bit of it stacked there.

Finding stones took a considerable amount of time, but he finally managed to start a fire. Yang Ning disregarded everything else, first using the dry straw to kindle the flames, then using an ice blade to trim the dry beams into shape. In no time, he had built a bonfire and felt warmth returning, letting out a sigh of relief as he looked at Xiao Guang, who was curled up on the ground, only in his shorts, shivering violently.

Seeing that there was plenty of dry straw in the corner, Yang Ning quickly laid down a makeshift bed of straw not far from the bonfire and placed Xiao Guang on it, then piled some dry straw over him for warmth. Noticing Xiao Guang's delicate skin, he thought this young man must have been spoiled and wondered who he actually was.

He couldn't help but feel that he had wasted valuable time for this stranger and had to busy himself around, feeling quite a loss.

He thought to himself that when this young man woke up, he would definitely have to ask him for some service fee; this fellow seemed to come from a decent family, so asking for some silver shouldn't be a problem.

Seeing Xiao Guang still trembling, Yang Ning reached out to touch his forehead, which felt hot again. The alternating cold and hot made it extremely uncomfortable for him, but Yang Ning was not a doctor; even if he were, he had no medicine at hand.

He pondered that after a fever, it was best for a person to drink hot water to help bring it down. Although he was somewhat reluctant to move, seeing the young man's brows tightly knitted and his face pale with evident pain, he thought that since he had done a good deed, he shouldn’t give up halfway. He had no choice but to get up and boil some hot water for Xiao Guang, all the while thinking about how much silver he might get from him once he woke up.