Chapter 840: It Hurts, It Hurts Too Much

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Yu Youyao was a little surprised. “No wonder the defenses inside and outside the stockade are so tight.”

Be it the location of the mountain, the drawbridge, or the construction of the internal and external fortifications, they were not ordinary mountain bandits. “Unfortunately, they encountered the You army.”

Hearing her casual words, Yin Huaixi almost flared up again.

Seeing that his expression was amiss, Yu Youyao quickly changed the topic. “By the way, how’s the situation outside? Are Military Advisor Huang and Yin Shi alright? Have the hostages been saved? Have you investigated the situation in the stronghold?”

Yin Huaixi could only say, “The plan went very smoothly. Most of the bandits went to the drawbridge to deal with the enemy. Old Huang and Yin Shi were fine too. They joined forces with a few subordinates who had been captured into the mountains and were clearing out the bandits left behind in the stronghold. Yin San brought General Black to the place where the hostages were locked up to save them. However…” He frowned. “The situation in the stronghold is a little complicated.”

Yu Youyao’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yin Huaixi said, “There’s a gold mine at the back of the mountain. It was accidentally dug out by mountain bandits when they were building fortifications at the back of the mountain. It was only discovered not long ago.”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened. “There’s a gold mine hidden in the mountain? No wonder the mountain bandits want to capture men to go up the mountain to do manual labor.”

All the minerals in the Great Zhou Dynasty were in the hands of the Imperial Court. Opening mines privately was a capital crime. Gold and silver mines were rare minerals. Even Yin Huaixi only had a few iron mines under his name.

Yin Huaixi said, “According to the information Yin Shi obtained, this gold mine is very big. The gold ore produced is very pure and can be refined into pure gold.”

Yu Youyao was pleasantly surprised. “This is really a windfall!”

Yin Huaixi smiled. “However, the news of the bandits attacking you has already been sent to Liancheng. Tomorrow morning, the government will come over to take over the subsequent matters. We still have to arrange that gold mine carefully to avoid being discovered by the government.”

The suppression of the bandits was also the government’s business. After the government took over, they would arrange for someone to investigate the entire stockade and take over the mountain bandits and hostages who were still alive.

Yu Youyao was a little vexed. “If I had known earlier, I would have gotten someone to send the news later.”

She did not have much time to deal with the matter of the gold mine now. There were too many people among the mountain bandits. Previously, they had even captured many hostages and sent them into the mine to work. If there were too many people, the government might notice something amiss.

Yin Huaixi comforted her. “Old Huang will handle it well.”

Yu Youyao heaved a sigh of relief, and her stomach growled.

Yin Huaixi’s expression changed again. He took out an oil paper bag and handed it to her. “Fill your stomach first.”

“Why did you bring food?” Yu Youyao took the oil paper bag in surprise and quickly opened it. She saw three golden round cakes and two white pastries inside.

Yin Huaixi said, “The golden cake is a more unique pie in the Xiuyan area. The filling is made with a local nameko. It tastes crispy, tender, and refreshing with a unique flavor. The other type is the small white skin pastry. On the outside, it’s oily, and it’s soft in the mouth. Inside, the filling is made of peaches, peanuts, and so on. They’re also considered pie snacks. There are many cows and sheep in Liaodong. In terms of pies, the meat filling is more delicious. When you’re past the mourning period, I’ll bring you to taste it carefully.”

Yu Youyao liked all kinds of delicacies. When she arrived at a new place, she first had to ask around about the local delicacies that were more special. They were often brought to her.

Yu Youyao was overjoyed. “Thank you, Nineteenth Brother.”

Yin Huaixi couldn’t help but laugh.

After eating, Yin Huaixi stood up and reached out to pull Yu Youyao back.

As soon as Yu Youyao stood up, she felt a piercing pain in her ankle. Her face instantly turned pale and she staggered. She threw herself into Yin Huaixi’s arms and took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” Yin Huaixi immediately asked. He immediately noticed that her standing posture was amiss. “Did you sprain your ankle?”

Yu Youyao was in so much pain that she couldn’t speak. Perhaps it was because she had been standing for too long just now, and her ankle bone had numbed the pain, but she didn’t feel much pain. Later, after sitting for a while, the numbing pain returned. When she suddenly stood up, she felt a piercing pain.

Yin Huaixi quickly helped her sit down and half-knelt in front of her. With just a glance, he raised her left foot. “How long has it been since you sprained it?”

Yu Youyao bit her lip lightly. “I sprained it on the way up the mountain.” Noticing that Yin Huaixi’s expression had instantly darkened, she quickly added, “At that time, I only sprained it slightly. It didn’t hurt my bones, and it didn’t hurt much…”

Yin Huaixi took out a dagger and cut open her sheepskin boots, revealing her small feet that were wrapped in socks. Her feet were very swollen, making the loose socks seem tight.

Her swollen and painful feet were finally released from her shoes. She was clearly in great pain, but Yu Youyao strangely felt a sense of relief.

Seeing Yin Huaixi holding her leg, she felt that it was inappropriate and tried to retract her leg.

However, Yin Huaixi held a dagger and cut off the socks on her feet.

Her entire foot was already swollen like a radish. As her feet had been squeezed in her shoes for a long time, her skin was greenish-white. The veins hidden under her skin also surfaced on her skin, looking a little shocking.

Yin Huaixi’s expression darkened as he held Yu Youyao’s ankle and pressed it hard.

“It hurts…” Yu Youyao screamed, and her throat couldn’t help but gasp.

“You said that you sprained your ankle but didn’t hurt your bones.” Yin Huaixi heaved a sigh of relief. It was obvious that her feet were badly swollen. He was angry and heartbroken. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She was delicate and afraid of pain since she was young. Even if she was slapped a few times by Ms. Ye, she would still cry out in pain.

Yu Youyao whispered, “I forgot.”

Yin Huaixi couldn’t even be angry anymore. He quickly took out the ointment and applied it on his entire foot. “I’ll help you treat it first. It’ll hurt. Bear with it.”

Before Yu Youyao could answer.

He pinched her swollen ankle. A feeling of oppression and pain made Yu Youyao’s mind go blank. She no longer had the time to think about whether she followed etiquette or not.

It hurt. It hurt too much.

“You, do you know how to ma.s.sage? How can it hurt so much?” Yu Youyao was trembling in pain. She suspected that Yin Huaixi was deliberately punishing her for “taking a risk”. “Chun Xiao, let Chun Xiao come…”

“It takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury. There’s a bruise on your ankle bone. There’s a tear in the tendons. If you want to recover as soon as possible, you need to use a special method to clear your tendons and meridians, dissolve the blood, and reset it. Chun Xiao can’t do it.”

Yin Huaixi used the smooth ointment. He rubbed it along her ankle bone all the way to her toes. Then, he repeated his previous actions over and over again.

The horizontal push method could relieve the fascia and reset its position.

Yu Youyao did not believe it. She gritted her teeth and endured the pain.

Yin Huaixi explained patiently, “The training in the army is intense, and there are often all kinds of injuries. The medical resources in the army are limited, and I’m best at dealing with such injuries.”