Why would the female protagonist seek his help?
Indeed, in the original plot, the original owner didn’t come to Xian Guo Temple this time. If the female protagonist wanted to find someone, she wouldn’t go to him. For some unknown reason this time, she sought help from the big brother she rarely interacted with.
“Big brother, is it not possible?” Seeing Li Shu’s silence, Li Xinuo thought he disagreed. Well, considering they weren’t very familiar with each other, and she was asking for help for an unidentified person, it was normal for her elder brother to have reservations. “Big brother, don’t feel pressured. Since Xinuo has asked, Xinuo will leave.”
“Hey, wait, I didn’t say I wouldn’t agree,” Li Shu gestured for her to enter the room. “Why are you still running around outside in this weather? Come in first.”
He gave the female protagonist a cup of hot water to warm her body. He saw the anxious look on her face and comforted her, “Don’t worry. Tell me what happened. Apart from you, does anyone else know about this?”
“No, I didn’t bring any maids with me when I went out. I saw the person in the woods behind the mountain. He’s half-buried in the snow and has already passed out.”
This was somewhat different from the plot. Li Shu called for Qinghe and asked her to find a trustworthy servant to help carry the male protagonist back. “Remember, get someone who is discreet.”
“The servant understands.”
Not long after, Qinghe brought a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face. Presumably, Qinghe had already negotiated the terms with the man. Without saying a word, the man followed them up the mountain to carry the person back.
The male protagonist’s injuries were more severe than in the plot, and he was almost completely unconscious. Li Shu directed the middle-aged man to dig the male protagonist out of the snow and carry him down the mountain.
[Warning! Warning! The male protagonist’s life value is below 10%. Please initiate emergency treatment, host! Please initiate emergency treatment, host!]
The cold mechanical voice kept ringing in Li Shu’s mind. Irritated, Li Shu scolded, [Shut up!]
1314 felt wronged: [I didn’t say that, it’s the alarm sound. It automatically activates in emergencies.]
[Can it be turned off? Turn it off.]
[…Okay.] Li Shu’s expression wasn’t good. 1314 didn’t dare to provoke him at this moment and quickly turned off the system’s built-in alarm.
There were people coming and going in the temple. Thanks to Li Shu’s somewhat remote location and it being nighttime, they didn’t encounter anyone on the way. The process of moving the male protagonist to the room went smoothly.
Li Shu waved his hand, motioning for Qinghe and the middle-aged man to leave. He believed that Qinghe could handle the subsequent events.
“Big brother, can he still be saved?” After all the hustle, the unconscious man showed no signs of waking up and Li Xinuo suddenly had a bad premonition. The man had multiple wounds on his body and had been buried in the snow for an unknown period. His face was turning blue, indicating his life was hanging by a thread.
“Don’t worry, he can be saved.”
Li Shu’s tone was too calm. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Li Xinuo felt relieved. Since her big brother said so, then this person would definitely be fine.
“Big brother, can you watch him for a while? I’ll go find the doctor.”
Xian Guo Temple often hosted high-ranking guests, so they had hired a specialized doctor just in case. When Li Xinuo said she was going to find a doctor, it was likely someone employed by the temple.
In the original plot, the female protagonist sought the temple’s doctor, but her actions were discovered by the Left Prime Minister, which started a series of heartbreaking plots.
“Wait, this person’s identity is unknown. It’s not good to rashly let too many people know. Let me check on him first.”
“Big brother, you know medicine?” Li Xinuo was surprised. But on second thought, her elder brother lived a secluded life, and his health wasn’t great. As the saying goes, “Long illness makes a doctor”. It wasn’t so surprising that he knew some medical techniques.
“I know a bit.” The original owner had learned some basic medical skills from Doctor Lin. Li Shu wasn’t proficient in this area, but fortunately, he had a system that could be used as a cheat.
Li Shu walked to the bedside and looked at the male protagonist lying there, his brows slightly furrowed. The male protagonist’s condition was not good—his face was ashen, almost lifeless, and his chest barely rose and fell. His wet clothes had frozen together with the blood at the wound, making them impossible to remove. And now, the blood had thawed because of the warm temperature in the room, and the wounds began to bleed again.
He sat at the bedside, but just as he grasped the male protagonist’s wrist, a sudden force swept in. In the blink of an eye, their positions switched, and Li Shu found himself pinned on the bed, facing a pair of pitch-black eyes.
“Who are you?”
The man’s eyes were fierce, and one hand was gripping Li Shu’s wrist. If it weren’t for the bright red warning displayed on the system panel, it would be unimaginable that the person pressing him down was the same one who lay lifeless and dying on the bed a moment ago.
Should it be said that this is the male protagonist who can reach the pinnacle in absolute peril? Even though he was so seriously injured, the male protagonist managed to catch him off guard and restrain him, though there were other reasons he didn’t resist entirely.
Blame it on 1314 who kept nagging in his mind, saying the male protagonist couldn’t endure much more and asked him to go easy on him.
Their eyes met, one calm and composed, the other cold and resolute, and the atmosphere remained tense. It was the female protagonist who broke this deadlock.
“What are you doing?”
The man’s movements were too fast. Before Li Xinuo could react, the situation had escalated. She walked over without hesitation and tried to pry the man’s hand away.
The male protagonist turned his head and glanced at her with a cold look in his eyes. Li Xinuo was startled, and unconsciously let go of her grip. Suppressing her fear, she explained, “We mean no harm. My brother just wanted to check on you. Please let him go.”
Li Shu coughed lightly. Li Xinuo’s actions just now made the male protagonist increase the pressure on his wrist until it started to hurt.
Meanwhile, 1314 was constantly advising its host not to aggravate the male protagonist’s injuries further. [Host, the male protagonist is seriously injured. Don’t let his condition worsen. If his life value drops below 5%, the system might not be able to save him.]
[I know.] Li Shu’s voice showed no emotion. If not for this concern, he wouldn’t have given the male protagonist the opportunity to restrain him. Although this body was weak and incomparable to his true form, it still had no trouble dealing with the heavily injured male protagonist.
However, the male and female protagonists are the pillars of this world. If either of them died prematurely, it could trigger a world reset. Li Shu didn’t want to take that risk.
Hearing the weak cough, the man turned his head, once again meeting Li Shu’s calm eyes. He loosened his grip slightly, holding the delicate wrist without releasing it directly.
“Who are you? Where is this?” His eyes remained cautious, and body was in a tense state, guarding against potential attacks.
“We came to Xian Guo Temple to offer incense. I found you unconscious in the woods behind the mountain, so I asked my brother to lend the room for you to recover. We mean no harm, and no one else knows about you being here.”
“I’ll trust you for now.” The man released his hold on Li Shu’s wrist and took a step back.
Originally, he was half-pressed on top of Li Shu. After stepping back, he provided room for Li Shu to sit up. Li Shu rubbed his wrist and sat up, and Li Xinuo quickly came over to support him, asking worriedly, “Big brother, are you okay?”
“Ahem, I’m fine.” Fortunately, the male protagonist had restrained his strength, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
“How could it be fine? Look at your wrist, it’s all red. It’ll surely bruise later. I’ll bring some ointment for big brother later.” While speaking, Li Xinuo glared at the culprit with reproachful eyes.
Hearing this, the man’s eyes shifted to Li Shu’s wrist. Indeed, a large red area had formed, and he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. He didn’t remember exerting much force, why did it look so serious?
He didn’t know that some people’s skin was naturally prone to getting marks, and even a little force could make the bruise appear serious.
The original owner had this kind of skin prone to leaving marks. As Li Shu moved his wrist, he felt a slight tingling sensation. It was not too severe and completely within the tolerable range. No longer focusing on this issue, he sat back by the bedside and said to the male protagonist, “Extend your hand, let me take a look.”
In fact, 1314 had already provided a treatment plan for the male protagonist’s injuries. This was just a cover.
The male protagonist remained motionless. For martial arts practitioners, the significance of the vital acupoint was self-evident. Extending his hand was akin to voluntarily exposing his vulnerability; he needed to assess the credibility of this brother and sister.
Even trusted subordinates had betrayed him, let alone strangers.
Understanding the concerns in his mind, Li Shu didn’t insist on taking the pulse, “If you’re unwilling, so be it. Xinuo, come with me.”
“Big brother, should we still save him?” The door closed, and Li Xinuo asked anxiously. When she rescued him, she hadn’t considered it so much, she just couldn’t bear seeing a life slip away in front of her eyes. Now she realized that saving people might bring trouble to herself.
The man’s behavior when he woke up clearly showed that his identity could not be ordinary. If it were just her alone, she would not have any entanglements. Since she saved him, she would definitely see it through to the end. However, her brother was now involved, she didn’t want him to suffer harm because of this.
At this time, the female protagonist was still young and had a simple mind. Her thoughts were written all over his face. Li Shu felt moved and said, “Of course, we have to save him. I’ll write a prescription. You find a trustworthy maid to buy medicine and some other necessities. No one should know about this, absolutely no one.”
“I understand.” Li Xinuo wasn’t stupid. With her brother’s advice, she deduced that the person they saved was not an ordinary individual. If others knew about this, it might lead to some bad consequences, especially considering her brother’s upcoming participation in the imperial examinations. After some thought, she suggested, “Big brother, maybe I should find another place to settle him.”
That way, if something went wrong, it wouldn’t implicate her brother.
“Don’t overthink, little girl. Since your big brother agreed, everything will be arranged properly, and nothing will happen.”
He copied down the prescription provided by 1314 and handed it to Li Xinuo. Just then, a maid came over. Li Xinuo quickly tucked the prescription into her sleeve and left with the maid.
Li Shu closed the door and walked into the inner room. The male protagonist was leaning against the headboard, and he turned his head upon hearing footsteps. His dark eyes scrutinized Li Shu and he asked in a deep voice, “Who sent you, and what is your purpose?”
He had secretly returned to the capital this time, and theoretically, no one should know his whereabouts. However, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation today. Who knew what if there was another trap waiting for him.
“Didn’t you hear? I was entrusted by someone to save you.” Li Shu slowly walked to the table, sat down, and poured himself a glass of water.
It seems the male protagonist felt there was no use prying further. The man closed his eyes, unperturbed. There was no rush, there would be a time when the truth surfaces.
