A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"BOOM!!"

Another pale bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, illuminating the entire mountain forest as bright as day, followed by a deafening clap of thunder!

The torrential rain poured down as if the Milky Way had burst its banks.

Holding the cured meat wrapped in oil paper in her arms, Su Nianci ran along the muddy mountain road, her feet sinking deep into the mud. The rainwater mixed with the mud, making her look utterly disheveled.

The dilapidated temple looked close, but it was incredibly difficult to get there.

When she finally stumbled and crawled into the dilapidated temple, she was completely soaked. Cold rainwater streamed down her hair and clothes, making her lips turn purple and her teeth chatter.

"Achoo!"

She sneezed loudly, and a bad feeling crept into her mind.

This body already had a high fever and was very weak. Now, after being caught in such a heavy rain, if it falls ill again, it will be truly a hopeless situation.

Without taking a break, she quickly found a slightly drier corner, took off her soaking wet coat, wrung it out vigorously, and then took out the canvas bag she had hidden close to her body and the precious piece of cured meat, and carefully examined them.

Fortunately, the outer layer of the canvas bag was wet, but the photos and letters inside, which had been kept close to the body, were only slightly damp and otherwise unharmed. The piece of cured meat wrapped in oil paper was completely intact.

Su Nianci breathed a sigh of relief; this was her food supply for the next few days.

She sat down against a relatively intact pillar, using her now-cold body to dry her wet clothes while cautiously surveying the dilapidated temple.

The temple was small, with only one main hall. The statues of the gods enshrined there had long since collapsed beyond recognition, leaving only a base covered in cobwebs and dust. The roof had several large holes, through which rainwater poured in, forming small puddles on the ground.

The air was filled with an unpleasant odor, a mixture of dust, rotten wood, and mold.

Although dilapidated, it can at least provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Su Nianci tightened her half-dry clothes, took out the remaining half of a steamed bun from her bosom, and nibbled on it in small bites.

The cold, hard cornbread tugged at her throat, making it difficult to swallow, but she forced herself to eat it all.

She needed energy, she needed heat to fight off the damn cold and the impending relapse of her illness.

"Boom—Crack!"

A thunderclap seemed to explode right above her head, startling Su Nianci so much that she trembled all over.

In that instant of lightning, out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to catch a glimpse of movement behind the pile of collapsed Buddha statues and rotten wood in the darkest corner of the main hall!

Su Nianci's heart jumped into her throat!

There are other people here!

Is it a human? Or a wild beast?

Her muscles tensed instantly, and her hand instinctively reached for a sharp piece of broken tile on the ground. Her eyes were fixed on that corner, and she even held her breath.

The sounds of rain, wind, and thunder intertwined, like a symphony of the apocalypse.

A deathly silence fell over the dilapidated temple.

Su Nianci and the unknown "thing" were locked in a stalemate, neither making the first move.

Her brain was working at lightning speed.

Judging from the fleeting silhouette, it wasn't very large, unlike a large wild animal like a bear. But the wolves and wild dogs in the mountains were equally deadly threats to her.

Or perhaps... it's a person?

Was she there to take shelter from the rain like her, or... something worse?

Time passed second by second, each second feeling like an eternity.

Just as Su Nianci was about to lose her temper and prepare to strike first, a very faint whimper, like that of a kitten, came from that corner.

The voice was filled with pain and weakness.

Su Nianci frowned.

Is it... a child?

Her vigilance remained unwavering, but the deepest thread in her heart, the one belonging to a doctor, was gently plucked.

She gripped the tile tightly in her hand and slowly moved towards that corner.

The closer you get, the clearer the faint smell of blood and the abnormal body temperature become.

Finally, she moved to the pile of clutter.

By the occasional flash of lightning, she could make out the scene inside—

It was a boy who was a little younger than her, looking no more than three or four years old, like an abandoned kitten, curled up in the corner.

Although his clothes were tattered, the material suggested they had once been of good quality. Now, however, they were covered in mud and dried, blackened blood.

His face was burning red, his lips were dry and cracked, his eyes were tightly closed, his brows were furrowed in pain, and his whole body was twitching slightly uncontrollably.

It was a child, a child with a high fever, who was injured and in a semi-comatose state.

Su Nianci subconsciously reached out and touched the temperature of his forehead.

Scalding hot!

This temperature is at least forty degrees Celsius! If it keeps burning like this, even if they don't die, their brains will be damaged!

She immediately switched to doctor mode and began a quick examination of the boy's body.

In addition to a high fever, he also had multiple abrasions and bruises on his body. The most serious one was a deep wound on his calf that exposed the bone. Although it had stopped bleeding, the skin and flesh around the wound had begun to turn black and swell, indicating a serious infection.

Judging from the shape of the wound, it doesn't look like a fall injury, but rather like... being bitten by some wild animal?

Su Nianci's expression turned serious.

The child's condition was worse than she had imagined.

High fever, external injury, severe infection, dehydration... any one of these is enough to kill an adult, let alone a three- or four-year-old child.

To save or not to save?

Reason told her that she was in dire need of care herself, and taking such a seriously injured child along would be tantamount to suicide. She had no medicine, no food, and not even a safe place to live.

She should leave immediately, stay far away from him, and pretend she never saw him.

but……

Looking at the boy's face contorted in pain, and listening to his unconscious groans of agony, Su Nianci's heart, though wrapped in layers of coldness, couldn't help but soften.

In her past life, she was a doctor, and saving lives was her sacred duty.

In this life, she is an orphan struggling to survive in dire circumstances.

But isn't the boy in front of us the same?

We share the same plight.

"well……"

Finally, Su Nianci let out a long sigh in her heart.

She could ruthlessly kill a villain like Wang Guixiang, but she couldn't bring herself to stand by and watch a dying child die.

This is her bottom line as a "human being," and also her bottom line as a "doctor."

"You're lucky to have met me."

She muttered something to herself, then tossed the broken tiles aside and began to think about how to help.

Just then, the boy who had been unconscious seemed to sense someone beside him. His long eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

What eyes they were!

In those dark pupils, there was no childlike innocence, only the wariness, fear, and...despair of a frightened wild beast.

He looked at Su Nianci, let out a low growl, and struggled to back away, but due to weakness and pain, he didn't even have the strength to move.

Is he unable to speak? Or is he afraid to speak?

Su Nianci's heart was stabbed again.

What exactly did this child go through?