Chapter 24

Lin Tantan had said she needed about another day, so by this morning, when nearly a full day had passed, Ye Xiao was restless. He kept checking the time and glancing up the stairs, where all he could see was the ceiling hung with fans.
Worried that Lin Tantan hadn't eaten for two days and had even stopped her IV, he went to the kitchen freezer to see what he could make. He started cooking minced meat congee, and just as it was halfway done he heard Mei Baisheng's cry upstairs.
He woke up! And it sounded like Lin Tantan was in trouble!
He abandoned the congee and sprinted upstairs.
Then he saw a sight that would make his chest ache every time he remembered it thereafter.
The young girl sat on the floor, clutching her left arm; beside her was a pool of glaringly red blood. Her hair was disheveled, her face deathly pale, drenched in sweat and still showing pain she couldn't entirely hide. Her reddened eyes were wet, yet she gave him a sweet smile.
It felt as if something had struck Ye Xiao in the chest. He rushed over and hurriedly knelt beside her. "You're hurt? Where are you hurt?"
Then he saw the left hand she was holding as if hiding from him... was gone!
Only a bloody stump remained.
Having seen countless gruesome scenes, Ye Xiao was struck like never before; his breath caught and his voice rose, "How could this happen?! You..." He couldn't ask more and immediately began rifling through the medical supplies Bai Cheng had left on the nearby table.
Bai Cheng had not only left everything needed for IV drips but also plenty of medicines and gauze, thinking Mei Baisheng might need them.
Ye Xiao found the gauze and was about to bandage Lin Tantan when he forced himself to ask quietly, "The hand, where's the severed hand?"
If it had been preserved in time, there might still be a chance to reattach it.
All he could think was that; he scanned the surroundings warily, guarding against danger. "How did this happen?"
Seeing how his face and voice had changed, Lin Tantan thought, I knew he'd react like this, I should've tidied up before coming downstairs; look how scared he is.
She shot a glare at Mei Baisheng and told Ye Xiao, "It's fine. It's already been stopped."
Ye Xiao: "You need to go to the hospital immediately." Then he thought better of it: there aren't any functioning hospitals right now, Old Bai might not even be able to handle an injury like this.
Lin Tantan: "No hospital. I'm the best doctor for myself right now, see, the bleeding's stopped. Really, give it a little while and it'll be healed."
Ye Xiao froze for a moment; he had noticed too, the bleeding had stopped, the wound looked neat and clean, and it was already starting to close, though it was still shocking to see.
At the same time he saw the severed zombie hand under one of the tables, judging by its length and shape, it matched Lin Tantan's missing hand. That hand hadn't been there yesterday.
He fell silent, then after a moment said, "So this is your so‑called secret technique? This is why you sent me away?"
He was quick and clever and put the pieces together fast. He added, "She never hid anything before, why would she suddenly want people to keep their distance?"
Lin Tantan gave an awkward laugh. "Well, it's easier for me to concentrate when no one's around."
Ye Xiao looked at her; his eyes were dark, as if full of things unsaid and yet empty. Lin Tantan found she couldn't keep smiling, she felt strangely hollow.
When he went pale with worry her heart tightened; when he fell silent she felt a flutter of unease. She couldn't help it, his magnetic presence was overwhelming. That way of looking, lips pressed together and saying nothing, made her feel cornered.
She couldn't bear that stare!
Her eyes darted about until they landed on Mei Baisheng's dazed face. "Meimei, how do you feel?"
"Huh? Feelings? Pretty good." Mei Baisheng still hadn't quite worked out the situation, he hadn't been supposed to survive, so how was he awake? How had Lin Tantan lost a hand? The leader's expression seemed to be holding something back; after years together he'd rarely seen him like that.
Lin Tantan immediately began, "You might feel stiff for a while, more exercise will help. Eat softer foods for the next few days; your digestive system might not be fully back to normal yet... Oh, and you may feel unwell for a bit, after all, your organs were corroded. Even though they've healed, there's bound to be a lot of waste produced, like your skin peeling. Your body will absorb it slowly; I'll help with that. Anything else to watch out for..."
Just as she was thinking of more medical instructions, Ye Xiao suddenly said, "Don't."
Lin Tantan fell silent and watched him anxiously. Ye Xiao couldn't quite put his feelings into words, was she still worried he'd blame her? He bent his head and carefully wrapped a few turns of material around the edge of her wound so the clothing wouldn't rub it, then forced a smile. "That's not urgent. Rest for now. Hmm, what can I do for you?"
Lin Tantan felt embarrassingly self‑conscious under his gaze and was about to speak when Ye Xiao's expression changed. He lifted a hand and an almost inaudible, razor‑sharp rush of wind passed, something outside the window Lin Tantan had smashed let out a shriek and fell.
Lin Tantan gasped, "What was that?"
In the next moment she understood, another of those things was flying toward the window: a palm‑sized black bird with blood‑red eyes. Clearly, a zombie bird.
It flapped its wings to come in, only to be knocked down by Ye Xiao's gust‑blade.
Then several more came, behaving as if gone mad.
Lin Tantan realized at once. "Blood, my blood!"
Ye Xiao understood immediately. There happened to be a pack of medical gauze on the table; he ripped it open and spread it over the blood on the floor. The blood was immediately absorbed. He took the soaked gauze to the kitchen and set it on fire.
But the smell of blood still lingered on the second floor, and zombie birds kept coming. He said, "This isn't safe. Let's go downstairs."
Lin Tantan: "Sorry, I forgot about that. I caused trouble."
"Don't say nonsense," Ye Xiao said gravely. He crouched, slid one arm around her and the other under her knees, and lifted her up.
Lin Tantan: "!!!"
She gave a startled cry and instinctively wrapped her right arm around his neck, but her right hand was still covered in blood and had brushed against his neck and collar. She hastily pulled it away.
Wh‑why is he suddenly carrying me?
And a princess carry, no less!
Lin Tantan's mind went completely blank. Ye Xiao carried her off.
Mei Baisheng, who seemed utterly forgotten: "..."
Fortunately Ye Xiao walked a few steps and finally remembered him. "Keep up."
"…Oh." Mei Baisheng was still sitting on the ground; he tried to get up, but as Lin Tantan had said, his body was stiff and uncoordinated. Halfway up he stumbled and fell.
Ye Xiao: "..."
Lin Tantan cleared her throat. "Um, could you put me down? I can walk on my own."
It was Mei Baisheng who really needed looking after.
Ye Xiao didn't put her down. Mei Baisheng hurriedly said, "I can do it, I can do it."
He tried twice and finally managed to stand, wobbly and unsteady. Leaning on Ye Xiao's shoulder, he limped along with difficulty, and at the stairwell he held the rail and hopped down on his own.
Ye Xiao carried Lin Tantan and used his foot to close the safety gate at the top of the second‑floor stairs.
The dining hall's first floor was tall, and the stairs down were in three flights. Ye Xiao's footsteps and Mei Baisheng's clumsy hops echoed through the stairwell, and Lin Tantan's heart was pounding wildly.
She was held high; with nowhere else to put her right hand besides Ye Xiao's shoulder she felt awkward and flustered. When they finally reached the first floor he set her by a table and before she could relax he was feeling her wrist. "Your pulse is fast. Is it from blood loss? I'll ask Old Bai whether you can be given an infusion for this. Do you want something to eat now?"
His voice was especially gentle, low and magnetic, as if Lin Tantan were fragile china. She almost swooned and nodded dazedly. "Oh, oh."
Ye Xiao went into the dining hall's large kitchen.
Once again overlooked, Mei Baisheng obediently sat nearby to wait for food, and leaned toward Lin Tantan. "Tantan, did you save me? How did you do it? You're amazing! I, Mei Baisheng, owe you my life! If there's ever anything I can do, just say the word!" He patted his chest with a claw‑like hand, speaking with theatrical bravado.
Lin Tantan was off in her own little world, her eyes dazed, not reacting at all. He had carried her, her dream guy had scooped her up in the most swoon-worthy princess carry. Ahhh, how exciting! No, this line of thought was wrong. He already had someone. Put herself in his shoes: if she had a partner and that person, because someone else had saved his brother, started speaking softly and cuddling them, wouldn't she feel a little stifled?
As she thought, her head ached again. She was exhausted, unbearably sleepy, and her hand hurt.
Just then Ye Xiao came out carrying a bowl of porridge. Lin Tantan straightened as best she could, it was made by her dream man, she absolutely had to taste it.
She took a bite. Wow! The taste, nothing special, really, but it was made by him! No delicacy in the world could compare.
Tears sprung to Lin Tantan’s eyes as she ate; her head drooped bit by bit. Seeing her on the verge of sleep, Ye Xiao hesitated: “Are you very tired? Do you want to sleep first?”
“No, no, I’ll finish eating.” Lin Tantan paused. “Aren’t we leaving here right away?”
“It’s fine. The first floor is safe for now.” The second floor had a broken window; the first floor did not. The doors and windows were shut and the curtains pulled.
“Oh.” Lin Tantan relaxed and tried hard to finish the porridge, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She almost tipped the bowl and fed the porridge up her nose. In the end she couldn’t keep awake and fell asleep.
Ye Xiao had been prepared. He gently supported her head as it slumped and let her rest face-down on the table, then took the spoon from her hand. He gripped it tightly, even this tired, she guarded her food so fiercely that Ye Xiao smiled, but seeing the deep weariness etched on her face his smile faded. He glanced at her left arm dangling by her side and his expression darkened with guilt.
He had been looking at her for quite some time and his expression had grown too complicated. Beside him, Mei Baisheng worried about Lin Tantan but also felt a pang of sadness. Should he tell Ye Xiao that Lin Tantan already had someone she liked?