The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 20

“Wang Lan, where are you taking me?” deep in the forest, a man was being led around by a tiger. The person had a stick in one hand, which the other end was in the tiger’s mouth. A bandage was wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. “Honestly, you and your brothers suddenly disappeared and then you came back to pull me somewhere. Did you three find lost children again? I did warn the nearby villager to not let the children play in the forest without adult’s supervision…”

The tiger let out a small snort as it continues to lead the male by the stick, and hearing this response, the man chuckled. “Alright, I won’t ask anymore. I’ll send that child home later.”

The blind man allowed the tiger to lead him until they reached the foot of the cliff where the two other tigers were waiting. Almost immediately, the blind man scrunched up his nose. “This… this is the smell of blood. Did you guys accidentally harm someone? Because it is definitely not food. If it was, then you guys always bring them to me instead of bringing me to them…” he asked in a worried tone, but the tiger only replied with a soft roar. “No? So, the three of you say you found this person already injured?”

‘No! This person fell from the sky!’ one of the tigers tried to tell the blind person but unfortunately, it only came out as several short roar.

“From the smell, I can assume that this person is heavily injured. Wang Lan, bring me to the injured,” he said, and the tiger understood. When they were close, the tiger nudged on the man’s leg and the man knelt on the ground.

He gently felt the ground until his finger touched the body, then as gentle as he could, he ran his hand over the body. His hand came across the arrow and he became worried. He continued moving them, until he found it resting on the chest. “Still breathing, and his heart is still beating strongly despite his wound… But if left alone, it’s only a matter of time before this person have to cross over to the yellow spring,” he murmured in a grave tone. “Wang Lan let’s bring him home,” he said as he carefully picked the body up and set it down on the tiger’s back.

“Wang Fan, Wang Zan, come on along. We need to treat him,” he said while letting the tiger guide him back home. When they reached their abode, the man placed the body onto his bed and then realized that because of his visual impairment, theirs is only little that he can do. “Wang Lan let’s go to the nearby village and get a doctor quick! Wang Fan, you follow! Wang Zan just stay here and keep watch.”

He got onto the tiger’s back and the two tigers rushed out to the exit of the forest. Once they neared the edge, the tiger stopped, and the man got off. The man walked forward, knowing that the village is nearby. The villagers knew of him and even knew he lived with three tigers. But because he had been helping them deal with the bandits nearby, they always welcome him and even trade with him.

This time, after finding out that the blind man needed to find a doctor, a kind villager quickly rushed to get the doctor personally. Then the two rushed back to the cave where the blind man lived along with the tiger.

The blind man let the doctor treat the young man he found earlier and after a while, he finally hears the doctor speak. “His wounds were heavy; it seems that he had several traumas on the back of his body. I assume its from falling. His head is also heavily injured, and the two arrows on his body… He might’ve been attacked before and barely escaped death. From the clothes he’s wearing, he seems to be from a well-off family. Anyway, as long as he lived past tonight, his life will not be in danger. In few days, I’ll come over to look at him again,” the doctor informed him. “I will also try to find out if there is any well-known family that have been attacked recently near here. They might want to know they have survivor.”

“Alright. Thank you, doctor. How about have Wang Fan send you back to the village?”

At this, one of the tigers stood up, ready to send the doctor home but the doctor was too afraid. “No need! No need! I can walk back myself,” he said with a nervous laugh. If the blind man was around, it is fine, but he is too scared to be with the tiger alone. “The village is not far. Speaking of which, I haven’t thanked you for saving my grandson before, right? At the time, I was attending a patient so I couldn’t go out and see you. So, allow this humble doctor to thank you properly,” the doctor said as he bowed down even though he knew that the blind man couldn’t see.

“No need thank me. The people in the village have all shown me kindness. It is natural for me to repay them with equal kindness.”

“En. I wished I could’ve found the cure for the poison in your body back then… then you might have not gone fully blind,” the doctor said with a hint of regret.

“Do not worry about it, doctor. This is just my fate. And I have long accepted it. Right now, I am just content living my life here…”

After that, the doctor left, and the blind man went to the bed where the injured person is resting. He reached out and touched the forehead and felt that it was hot to touch. “He’s having fever now. Though the doctor would have given him medicine… I still need try and keep his temperature down. Wang Lan, bring me to the lake,” the blind man said as he went around in the cave that he called home. He got the bucket and a cloth.

When he reached the lake, he cleaned the cloth several time with water before filling the bucket with lake waters. When he returned, he proceeded to take care of the injured person he had taken in.

Few days passed and the blind hermit tried his best to keep the person alive. He fed him herbs and congee and even changed his bandages. He was surprised by the will to live that this person has and taking care of him was actually an easier task than he first expected. The doctor came again to check on the patient and confirmed that he should be waking up soon before leaving again. Another few days passed, and the blind hermit was just making dinner when his patient stirred.

“Mmn… Where…?” the person on the bed groaned. He tried to sit only to be pushed back on the bed gently.

“Careful. You’re injured. You should rest more,” the blind man said in a gentle tone. “Are you hungry? Wait a bit, the congee should be done soon.”

“Who… are you? Where am I? I—” the man stopped as he thought hard, noticing that something is wrong when he cannot remember anything. “Who am I…? How did I get injured?”

“You… don’t remember?” the hermit sighed. “Well since you don’t remember… how about staying here for a while? I’m sure someone will come looking for you. Your clothes were made of silk… So, you must be from a well-off family. Do you at least remember your name?” he asked.

“No…”

“I see. Your memory loss is a lot severe than expected. It would be rude to keep calling you, ‘You’, so how about I give you a name? Since we met in the forest… how about I call you Lin Xiao? Is that alright with you?”

As someone who didn’t know his own name, he didn’t have any problem with the name and nods his head. Then, he realized that the other won’t be able to know if he nods his head or not, so he opened his mouth to speak. “En. Thank you. And thank you for saving me,” he said with a smile. He gazed at the hermit before asking: “What should I call you, kind sir?”

“Me? I’m… YinLian,” the hermit answered after a slight hesitation. “Long YinLian…” he trailed off as he mentioned his name, as if it felt foreign even to himself.

“Then Lin Xiao thank Master Long for saving him,” Lin Xiao said with a smile on his face. Then he looked around his surrounding and noticed the place he’s in. “Does Master Long live alone?”

“No. Not at all. I have ‘King’ Lan, ‘King’ Fan and ‘King’ Zan with me,” Long YinLian answered with a small chuckle.

Lin Xiao was a bit skeptical when he heard what Long YinLian had said. He doubts that Kings would live here. He once again looked around and noticed how clean the place is. ‘This cave is neat, and everything is in its own place… does this mean that he’s been blind for a long time now?’ he wondered before his stomach let out a loud grown, making him blush in embarrassment.

“Oh, guess you are hungry. I made some herbal soup earlier. You should eat this first since the congee isn’t done cooking yet,” Long YinLian said as he helped Lin Xiao sit up. He then handed a bowl of soup for Lin Xiao to drink.

Lin Xiao drank the whole bowl and handed the empty bowl back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now rest more. When the congee is done, I will wake you up.”

With that, Long YinLian helped Lin Xiao lay back down on the bed and once again told Lin Xiao to have a rest while he continued to look after the congee he’s making.