At three in the morning, when all was still, the hallway was quiet, with only an orange lamp piercing the darkness.
In the sickroom, the person sleeping soundly in bed suddenly opened his eyes and looked over to the bed opposite. The person lying there breathed long, fine, and steady breaths even in deep sleep. Lan Tian moved and stood at Mo Junhua’s bedside, watching him for a few seconds before quickly applying a sleeping spell.
He removed the plaster cast from his leg, slowly felt from his bare foot up to his knee, and once done, Lan Tian had a clear idea in his mind.
The situation was not serious. The bone-setting doctor at the hospital had skilled hands; the setting was well done. Lan Tian did not need to reset the bones; applying some ointment would suffice. If only he knew how to make pills, a Vitality Pill would heal him in seconds.
Rolling up Mo Junhua’s pant leg, he took out a bottle of homemade Bone Healing Ointment from his Sleeve Universe, evenly applying a layer on the fractured area. His palms gently pushed and massaged to help the wound absorb the ointment quickly. Then he used Spiritual Energy to repair the injured muscles and meridians. After that, he pulled down his pants and refastened the plaster cast, then went back to lie down in his bed.
The effect of the ointment was slow, taking a week to fully heal. Lan Tian thought it was still a bargain as he fell asleep.
Originally, when Mo Yuanle broke his leg, it took more than two months to heal. Lan Tian learned from this and prepared some ointments using precious medicinal materials from Taohua Valley based on ancient recipes from his Sea of Consciousness; Mo Junhua was the one benefited.
In the morning, a nurse came to change Mo Junhua’s dressing. She sniffed around, the room didn’t have a strong smell, just a strange one, unpleasant. Lan Tian, who had blocked his sense of smell, naturally did not catch the scent and ignored the nurse’s impolite behavior.
Mo Junhua woke up, saw the nurse glancing at his leg frequently, looked there himself, and his gaze then swept toward Lan Tian.
"Did you smell something strange?" The nurse, fixated on Mo Junhua’s leg, asked the two of them—it was almost clear she suspected Mo Junhua’s leg.
Lan Tian shook his head indicating he smelled nothing, and upon hearing her words, Mo Junhua gave a cold look with a sharp gaze like a blade, making the nurse shiver and stopping her from asking further.
"I’ll change your dressing first!" The nurse dared not ask further and began to remove the plaster from Mo Junhua’s leg.
How could Lan Tian let her do that? If the cast was removed, it would give everything away. He approached Mo Junhua, leaned to his ear, and whispered, "I’ve already changed your dressing, it’s a family remedy, no need to change it, just let her go quickly."
Mo Junhua only felt a warm breath brushing by his ear, the cool voice as if it penetrated his ear and entwined his whole heart with silken softness, inescapable, softening him too. His heart uncontrollably pounded violently as if his blood ignited.
It felt like holding her tightly and fiercely tormenting her, seducing him like that!
Don’t criticize him for lacking a soldier’s demeanor; any man seeing the woman who moved his heart would act impulsively, those who wouldn’t aren’t real men.
It’s not the time yet, you have to hold back!
Impulse is the demon! The demon! The demon!
Place a tight spell on yourself!
His expression still calm and breezy, he sat up and pushed the nurse’s hand away, incidentally increasing the distance between him and Lan Tian, "No need to change it!"
The nurse still wanted to argue that it was her responsibility, but Mo Junhua sent a cold glare her way, and she reluctantly left. She looked at Lan Tian with a hint of sympathy, marrying a man whose moods were so unpredictable, she really felt sorry for her ability to endure—if it were her, she would have been scared to death.
"Eat!" Lan Tian handed over the freshly bought buns from the cabinet, still wrapped in greasy paper and warm!
"Have you eaten?" Mo Junhua glanced at the paper bag in Lan Tian’s hand, but did not take it.
"I ate earlier while you were still asleep." Lan Tian stuffed the paper bag into his hand, got up, went over to the cabinet, pulled out a peach from Sleeve Universe, squeezed it into juice, and brought it over to him, "Drink this too."
Mo Junhua looked at Lan Tian, picked up the cup, and drank it all in one go, subtly furrowing his brows, and handed the empty cup back to Lan Tian.
"Brother, how... how are you?" Suddenly someone pushed open the hospital room door from the outside; Chunhua peeked in at the doorway, ran to Mo Junhua’s bed, and asked breathlessly.
Lan Tian saw her sweaty with trembling hands clutching the bedrail; she moved a stool over for her to sit.
"It’s okay, just bumped my leg a little, I’ll be fine after a few days rest. That’s how big hospitals are, making a mountain out of a molehill, it’s nothing." Mo Junhua was not accustomed to comforting others, even if this person was his sister.
Chunhua’s voice was tinged with crying, "Last night, Grandma Sun came to our house, told mom you saved her and got hit by a car, staying in the hospital. Dad and mom were almost scared to death, grabbed money to come look for you, it turned the house upside down..."
Mo Junhua’s family had come, probably having a lot to say, Lan Tian tactfully went out with a hot water bottle to leave space for the siblings.
Deliberately dawdling awhile in the water area, Lan Tian returned after a long time with a kettle of hot water; Wang Guiyu and her husband were also inside the room.
Not sure how Mo Junhua explained to them, seeing Lan Tian enter, their expressions were calm, not firing at Lan Tian. Only Wang Guiyu’s eyes were a bit red, forcing a smile upon seeing Lan Tian.
"Lan Tian, come check, does Sanwa’s leg look okay?" Wang Guiyu tightly gripped Lan Tian’s hand as if clutching at a last straw.
Chunhua also grabbed Lan Tian’s hand, crying like a tear-stained cat, pleading incoherently, "Lan Tian, you must help me, if Brother becomes lame, what will our family do?"
"Aunt, I have already checked Brother Junhua’s leg, I’ll do my best!" Lan Tian didn’t promise too much, just in case something unexpected happened and Mo Junhua ended up lame, Wang Guiyu’s family would surely blame her, although the possibility was slight.
From Sleeve Universe, she picked out a container, wiped off the bone ointment from the river clam shell, handed over the smallest plaster, "This plaster is passed down from ancestors, apply it to Brother Junhua continuously for three nights, let’s see how it goes first, remember to keep it a secret for me!"
She whispered the last sentence close to Wang Guiyu’s ear. Wang Guiyu nodded, aware of the standards with Lan Tian.
Hearing Lan Tian say she’d look after her brother’s leg, Chunhua felt at ease.
In recent years, the family finances had slightly improved, married off two sons, built a new house, but savings weren’t much, less than four hundred yuan.
That four hundred yuan was untouchable, reserved for Mo Junhua’s engagement, she wouldn’t touch it no matter what.
Wang Guiyu also knew she owed this son, as the family’s major income relied on him. With Mo Junhua’s accident, the family was nearly finished, but that was the situation at home, they simply couldn’t afford to stay in the hospital.
After discussing with Mo Junhua, they decided he should be discharged and recuperate at home. This was the scene when Lan Tian came in.
The money for yesterday’s medical and hospital expenses were all covered by Lan Tian’s family, totaling eight hundred yuan. Mo Junhua’s father had clarified it well, not being discharged would require another three hundred yuan, where would the money come from?