It was supposed to be a casual game, but the Long March dungeon brought tears to everyone's eye

After the rice was collected, the rain finally stopped.

Some of the villagers, terrified by the gunfire, retreated to their drafty mud houses, while others hid behind stacks of firewood.

They stared with terrified and numb eyes at the dozen or so men in gray uniforms who remained in the village.

In their mindset that they were always being robbed, even though the main force of these soldiers had left, there were still some who remained, and who knew how they would plunder the land.

In particular, these villagers had just been robbed by soldiers and bandits...

"Hawkeye, go on alert."

The old sergeant collected the last grains of rice he had scooped out of the mud, wiped the mud off his hands on his trousers, and glanced around at the tightly closed doors and windows.

"Yes." Hawkeye, gun in hand, silently slid towards the high slope at the village entrance.

"Crazy kid, don't stand there like a door god and scare the villagers." The old squad leader kicked Crazy Brother, who was still in a daze.

"Go with the rest of them and repair those doors that were kicked down by the soldiers and bandits."

"Oh... okay." Madman came to his senses, slung his gun behind his back, and called to the other soldiers to move the rotten wooden planks that had fallen to the ground.

Ruan Ruan stood in front of Nier.

Nier was about five or six years old, barefoot, her body was still trembling, and a large patch of skin had been scraped off her knee.

The blood that seeped out mixed with the black mud and sand, making Ruanruan feel heartbroken.

"Ni'er, don't be afraid."

She crouched down softly, wanting to smile as a sign of friendliness.

But with his face covered in mud and sweat, his smile looked rather comical.

Nier shrank back a little shyly, hiding behind the hunched old man.

"This girl's legs need treatment, otherwise they'll rot." Ruan Ruan raised her head and looked at the old man.

"Sir, could I have a bowl of boiled water? I need it boiled."

The old man's cloudy eyes moved slightly. He looked at the red five-pointed star on the soft hat, then at Kuang Ge and the old squad leader who were busy repairing the door next to him. His lips trembled a couple of times, and finally he pointed to a dilapidated house behind him.

"There's...a hot pot on the stove..."

The room was ridiculously low; you had to bend over to get in.

The room was dark, filled with a musty smell and a faint smell of cooking smoke.

Ruan Ruan led Ni'er to a slightly brighter spot under the eaves and had her sit down.

Then I roughly cleaned Nier's wound with cooled boiled water.

At last……

"It might hurt a little, so please bear with it."

Ruan Ruan took out a bottle of saline solution that was only half full and a small tin box wrapped in layers of cloth from the patched medic's satchel.

The tin box was opened, and inside was a finely shaved wooden stick with a little bit of yellowish cotton cloth wrapped around the top.

Next to it was an even smaller, sealed bottle of life-saving red medicine.

This is the most valuable "medical device" that Ruanruan possesses in this instance.

In this era of scarce medical resources, alcohol was extremely precious, and iodine solution had not yet been invented.

This small bottle of saline solution and this boiled and sterilized cotton swab are the key to whether or not these legs can be saved.

Nier didn't say anything, she just stared at Ruan Ruan with her big eyes.

She gently unscrewed the cap and carefully poured a little salt water onto the cotton wool.

She poured very slowly, each drop like pouring gold.

"hiss--"

When the cold saline solution touched the wound, Nier's small body twitched violently, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

"Don't cry, sweetie, I'll sing you a song."

As Ruan Ruan gently cleaned the grit from the wound, she hummed softly.

"Sleep well, sleep well, the stars will lead you home, and the moonlight will wash away all your scars..."

She hummed the Blue Star Lullaby softly and gently, her voice as sweet and gentle as a pair of tender hands.

Nier listened in a daze, forgetting to shed tears, as if she had never heard such a beautiful tune before.

The wound was thoroughly cleaned, the mud and sand were removed, revealing the bright red flesh.

Ruan Ruan then took out a small handful of dried, blackened herbs from her bag, which, when chewed, could stop bleeding and reduce inflammation.

She chewed the herbs in her mouth and gently applied them to Nier's knees.

Then he took out a clean strip of cloth that had been steamed and boiled long ago from his bag and skillfully tied a knot in it.

"Alright." Ruan Ruan breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Don't get it wet or step in mud for the next couple of days."

Nier looked down at the white bow on her knee, then looked up at Ruan Ruan.

She suddenly reached into her tattered, filthy overcoat and rummaged around for a while.

Ruan Ruan was stunned for a moment.

All I could see was something clutched in Nier's small, black hand, which looked like a withered twig.

She timidly handed it to Ruan Ruan.

It was a piece of sweet potato candy, only the size of a fingernail.

It was dark and covered with lint and dust from clothes, and had become somewhat limp from being warmed by body heat, making it look rather disgusting.

But in this era, in such an impoverished village, this small piece of candy might be a child's treasure saved up for a whole year, the most precious thing she could offer.

The chat room fell silent instantly.

There was no disdain, no ridicule.

Countless viewers on Earth looked at that dirty little hand and that inconspicuous piece of rotten candy, and felt a tightness in their chests.

This is essentially what is meant by a two-way journey.

You saved my leg, so I'll give you my only candy.

Ruan Ruan looked at the candy, her eyes slightly red.

She sniffed, showing neither disgust nor refusal.

Ruanruan simply reached out and gently pinched off a small half of the soft sweet potato candy with her fingernail.

"Keep it for yourself, Ni'er. Just have a little bit, older sister."

Ruanruan put that tiny bit of dusty sweet potato candy into her mouth.

It's not actually very sweet; it has more of an earthy smell and a burnt sweet potato taste.

But Ruan Ruan smiled with her eyes crinkling, and her voice betrayed no hint of the small pearl about to fall.

"So sweet."

Nier smiled at Ruan Ruan, and she grinned, revealing a row of missing teeth.

Then, he carefully rewrapped the remaining half of the candy and hid it back in his arms where it was pressed against his flesh.

……

"Stop hiding it! Let's go out and do business!"

Suddenly, a loud shout from the old squad leader broke the cozy moment between Ruanruan and Nier by the large millstone at the village entrance.

Ruan Ruan patted Ni'er's head, stood up, and looked outside.

The old squad leader stood beside the stone mill used for grinding grain, holding a cloth bag that the company commander had given him.

"Splash—"

The old squad leader poured the cloth bag onto the millstone, and the crisp metallic clanging echoed in the empty courtyard.

Dozens of gleaming silver dollars and a pile of copper coins sat on the millstone, gleaming alluringly in the gloomy sky.

Kuang Ge and the soldiers who had just repaired the door were dumbfounded.

What is the old squad leader up to now?