novelden Chapter 116 Gained at the cost of one's life
Chapter 116 Gained at the cost of one's life
The snow leopard's body stiffened abruptly, its front paws still firmly pressed against Li Xiangyang.
A hint of confusion flashed in its eyes, and then its dark green pupils slowly lost their luster.
Warm blood flowed down its body, staining the tattered wolf skin on Li Xiangyang's body red.
"You...you hit him?"
Wang Ergou's voice came from inside the cave, tinged with uncertainty.
Li Xiangyang used all his strength to push the snow leopard's carcass aside.
He was panting heavily, unable to speak for a long time.
That was really dangerous.
Fortunately, Wang Ergou's shot hit its mark, otherwise he would probably have died here.
"Xiangyang!" Wang Ergou ran out with his gun, quickly helping Li Xiangyang to his feet. "Are you alright?"
By the moonlight, Wang Ergou could see Li Xiangyang's miserable state.
The wolfskin protective gear was almost torn to shreds, revealing bloody, mangled wounds underneath.
Even on his neck, there was a deep, bone-revealing scar that was just an inch away from severing his major artery.
"It's nothing," Li Xiangyang grinned. "Thanks. That was a great shot. If it weren't for you, I'd be done for today."
Wang Ergou finally breathed a sigh of relief and squatted down to examine the snow leopard's wounds.
The bullet hit him right between the eyebrows; this shot was perfect.
"I...I didn't expect to be so accurate either." Wang Ergou scratched his head sheepishly. "I just remembered what you said: it's okay to aim a little longer, but make sure you aim carefully before you shoot."
"Yes, well done," Li Xiangyang said, enduring the pain from his wounds as he stood up and stretched. "We can't waste any more time. We need to drag the snow leopard back first; we risked our lives for this."
The two men nimbly dragged the snow leopard back to the cave.
As for how to deal with it, Li Xiangyang was truly powerless at this point.
The wounds were constantly throbbing with pain, and some of the larger wounds were still bleeding profusely.
Fortunately, he still had a water plant; otherwise, if the bleeding hadn't stopped today, he would still have died here.
"Ergou, I can't go on anymore, I need to rest. Go and cut some branches, and hurry up." Li Xiangyang's expression was grave. "The gunshot just now was quite loud; we might have alerted other prey."
Your injury...
"You won't die, hurry up."
Although Wang Ergou was worried, he obediently took the wood-chopping knife and went out.
Li Xiangyang leaned against the cave wall and took out the last waterweed from his pocket.
He obtained this aquatic plant from Fox Fairy Valley. He used one to save Accountant Yang's son, and this is the last one.
Compared to the injuries suffered by Accountant Yang's son that day, my injuries were much less severe.
I think one-third should be enough.
A short while later, Wang Ergou returned carrying a large bundle of tree branches.
"Xiangyang, do you have enough branches? Should I go cut some more?"
"That's enough." Li Xiangyang gestured for him to put the branches down. "Sir, make a fire and melt the snow to boil water."
After the fire was lit, Li Xiangyang grabbed a handful of snow and put it into the pot.
The black cat squatted to the side, occasionally rubbing its head against his hand.
Once the water had cooled down, Li Xiangyang broke off a third of the aquatic plants, crushed them, and put them into the water.
"Ergou, give me a hand. Help me take off my clothes, be careful not to touch the wound."
Wang Ergou quickly helped Li Xiangyang remove the tattered wolf skin and clothes.
Seeing Li Xiangyang's body covered in wounds, he gasped in shock.
He didn't care about the cold anymore; he soaked a cloth in warm water and gently wiped the wound.
Soon, a miraculous scene unfolded.
As the warm water seeped into the wound, Li Xiangyang felt a cool sensation, and the wound, which had been bleeding continuously, gradually stopped.
Although the wound is still gruesome, at least it is no longer bleeding.
"This...this..." Wang Ergou was dumbfounded.
"Alright, stop staring blankly and help me wipe the parts I can't reach," Li Xiangyang said softly. "These are life-saving herbs I picked in Fox Fairy Valley. If it weren't for these, I wouldn't have dared to risk my life against the snow leopard."
After Li Xiangyang said that, Wang Ergou quickly came to his senses and helped him wipe his wound.
Their clothes were already tattered beyond recognition, but the two grown men didn't care much. So Li Xiangyang simply stripped naked, shivering from the cold.
Wang Ergou quickly and efficiently wiped his wound.
"Ouch, be gentle." Li Xiangyang gasped. "The cut on my back is the deepest."
Wang Ergou became even more careful, wiping the wound while exclaiming, "Xiangyang, your medicine is amazing! If this were in a hospital, it would cost a fortune!"
"Damn, can you stop being so greedy? This is a life-saving item, I wouldn't sell it for any amount of money." Li Xiangyang said with a laugh.
After Wang Ergou finished cleaning all the wounds, Li Xiangyang quickly crawled into the bearskin sleeping bag.
Although the wound has stopped bleeding, I really can't stand being naked in this awful weather.
"Alright, let me catch my breath." Li Xiangyang wrapped himself up tightly.
"Okay, you rest for a while. I'll go chop some more firewood, otherwise I won't be able to get through the night."
"Wait, give me the clothes." Li Xiangyang called out to Wang Ergou, who was about to go out to chop firewood. He looked at the tattered wolf skin and other coats and was both amused and exasperated.
"These are practically just strips of cloth; the underwear is still barely wearable."
"What about the outer clothes?" Wang Ergou asked worriedly, looking at the leather jacket that had been torn to shreds.
"There's no other way; we'll just have to take apart our sleeping bags and wrap ourselves in them on the way back. We'll have to worry about the present for now. You go chop some firewood; I'll pack my clothes."
Li Xiangyang laid out the torn clothes one by one. The fur coat had been completely torn to shreds by the snow leopard's claws and could not be repaired at all.
Although the underwear had several tears, it was still wearable.
He dried the few clothes he could still wear over the fire and put them on.
A short while later, Wang Ergou returned carrying a tree branch.
He quickly added a few branches to the fire and changed the snow water in the iron pot.
"Ergou, we need to discuss something," Li Xiangyang said slowly. "I need to rest because of my injury. How about this, I'll take a nap first, and I'll keep watch for the rest of the night."
“Okay, you get some rest,” Wang Ergou readily agreed. “I’ll keep watch.”
Li Xiangyang wrapped his remaining clothes tightly around himself, then wrapped his sleeping bag around himself again and closed his eyes.
Although the wound had stopped bleeding, the pain still made it difficult for him to fall asleep.
Fortunately, my body warmed up, and drowsiness gradually crept in.
Before he fell completely asleep, he heard Wang Ergou add a few more pieces of firewood to the fire.
Looking at the sleeping Li Xiangyang, Wang Ergou secretly made up his mind that he would not let the fire go out tonight no matter what.
If this injury gets chilled again, it could really cause serious problems.
As for the shift change in the middle of the night, he had no intention of waking Li Xiangyang up at all.
And so, Li Xiangyang fell into a deep sleep, while Wang Ergou added firewood while keeping a watchful eye on the movements outside the cave.
Li Xiangyang woke up just as dawn was breaking.
He opened his eyes and saw Wang Ergou sitting by the fire, staring intently at the outside of the cave.
The fire was burning brightly, and it was clear that someone was constantly adding firewood.
Looking at Wang Ergou again, his eyes were bloodshot, and his eyelids were still drooping, but he was stubbornly trying not to fall asleep.
"You little brat..." Li Xiangyang suddenly realized that this guy hadn't asked him to switch shifts at all.
"Awake?" Wang Ergou turned around, forcing a smile. "I saw you were badly injured, so I let you sleep a little longer."
"Give me the clothes right away." Li Xiangyang sat up, feeling that the pain from his wound had subsided. "You haven't slept all night; don't collapse on the way back."
Only then did Wang Ergou take off his fur coat and hand it to Li Xiangyang.
He couldn't hold on any longer and fell into the bearskin sleeping bag, where he soon started snoring.
Looking at Wang Ergou, Li Xiangyang felt a little guilty.
This kid was clearly exhausted, but he stayed up all night by himself.
After putting on Wang Ergou's fur coat, Li Xiangyang quietly added a few more pieces of firewood to the fire, intending to let Wang Ergou get a good night's sleep.
The bleeding stopped last night, but with all these injuries, I don't know if I can make it back home.
Most importantly, they also need to bring the snow leopard back.
This was something that truly cost us our lives.