Chapter 00043: My Man
# My Man
Chapter 43
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 43: My Man
What relieved Luo Caisi was that there were no wild beasts in this cave, just a pile of animal bones and some dead leaves and branches.
After cleaning up the cave and bringing Lan Xiaobu inside, Luo Caisi felt utterly exhausted. She had been busy earlier, not realizing how tired she was until she finally paused; now she felt pain all over and was chilly.
She took out a few band-aids to stick on her shoulder and pulled out the only coat in her bag to wrap around herself. The mountain wind blew through, making Luo Caisi shiver as she felt very cold. Her eyes instinctively fell on Lan Xiaobu’s feet; he was still wet and even barefoot, which surely would make him fall ill.
Despite her exhaustion, Luo Caisi gathered some dry branches from around and started a fire at the entrance of the cave.
With the firelight, Luo Caisi finally felt a bit warmer. At that moment, she even felt fortunate that she still had a lighter in her bag.
The clothes on Lan Xiaobu were starting to produce vapor. Luo Caisi took out a towel and simply wiped Lan Xiaobu, wrapping the towel around his chest.
She didn’t dare to give Lan Xiaobu her coat; she worried about getting sick herself. If she fell ill, both she and Lan Xiaobu would be headed for disaster.
The night gradually deepened, and as Luo Caisi looked at the misty valley outside, she felt lost, unsure about what to do next.
From deep in the gorge came the roar of unknown beasts, making Luo Caisi's heart grow uneasy. She instinctively moved closer to Lan Xiaobu and observed his still bewildered expression, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Lan Xiaobu, why are you in the Qinling Mountains?"
Lan Xiaobu murmured, pausing briefly as if pondering the question, but soon he furrowed his brow in pain and began to mutter again.
Luo Caisi sensed that Lan Xiaobu's issue wasn’t severe; he could at least understand his own name, but something must have triggered his current state. If she were to rescue him, she had to proceed slowly and definitely not rush.
As the flames gradually dimmed, Luo Caisi added a few more twigs. When the flames surged again, her thoughts sank back into the thick night enveloping the gorge outside.
Luo Caisi had a long dream, where she dreamt she was on the verge of finding a treatment plan for her grandfather, but she was missing a crucial herb. She ventured deep into the mountains to find it but lost her way. During her search, she encountered a pack of wolves and in her fear stumbled into a deep cliff…
Panic jolted Luo Caisi awake. She found herself curled up against Lan Xiaobu, who was burning with fever, yet still mumbling.
This was bad; Lan Xiaobu was sick.
Outside the cave, the sky was faintly brightening, signaling dawn was near.
Luo Caisi felt a bit dazed. She hurriedly pulled out her phone from her bag and inserted her SIM card. Though she was a doctor, her expertise lay in Western medicine. Without herbs or equipment, she felt powerless to save Lan Xiaobu.
Just as she was about to make a call, she hesitated and put the phone down. At this moment, she didn’t know whom to seek help from.
She had very few friends, not even a close companion. The only one who could assist her was her family, the Luo family. If she called them, she would likely be grounded immediately. As for Lan Xiaobu, even if the Luo family didn’t do anything to him, they wouldn’t risk offending Qian Yin to save him.
She regretted not getting Ji Zheng's number; if she had it, she could contact him. Ji Zheng and Lan Xiaobu had co-authored a paper, so their relationship should be decent.
“Lan Xiaobu, Lan Xiaobu, stop mumbling for now; you're in danger…” After putting down the phone, Luo Caisi began shaking Lan Xiaobu urgently, hoping he would wake up.
However, Lan Xiaobu ignored her, still lost in his rambling.
For the first time, Luo Caisi felt so helpless. Years ago, she had crossed oceans alone to a strange country, but she never felt as helpless as she did now.
She thought of herself as strong, only to realize that her strength was perhaps just a façade. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she fought to hold them back. Feeling dry, she stood unsteadily, wanting to go out and fetch some water. As soon as she stood, however, her body swayed, and she weakly collapsed back to the ground.
Luo Caisi realized she was also ill; her head was spinning, and she likely had a fever.
“Lan Xiaobu… please don’t keep talking to yourself. We are both sick, you are a man, you are a man…” Luo Caisi shook Lan Xiaobu anew, but he kept his dazed eyes and kept mumbling.
Luo Caisi could no longer hold back her tears; she was not strong at all. The bravado she had before now seemed laughable. Now she saw her fragility; she needed a strong support, not to look after a madman in this wilderness. "Lan Xiaobu… are we going to die here? Lan Xiaobu…” She wiped her tears, feeling anxious, murmuring like Lan Xiaobu, and slowly closed her eyes.
Time passed, and Luo Caisi opened her eyes again. The sky was bright, but outside the cave remained a haze of gray.
The fog and heavy mist of the mountains blended together; even deep in the Qinling Mountains, sunlight still couldn’t penetrate.
Struggling, Luo Caisi made her way to the cave entrance, peeking outside. A faint glimmer seemed to pierce through all obstacles and shine on her face.
In the distance, she heard the roar of beasts, but Luo Caisi seemed not to hear, gazing at that glimmer of light. Her thoughts drifted away, and she felt she could burst through the shell of fog and find a place she yearned for.
“Lan Xiaobu, do you think if there were no fog, the light could shine directly where we are?” Luo Caisi’s cheeks had tear stains, yet she reached out towards that shaft of sunlight.
After crying, the false hard shell around her seemed shattered. Although she felt weak and her head was still heavy, her heart felt lighter. If her grandfather were still alive, she would be a little girl, the one he loved most.
Perhaps the greatest fear in life is death; when she forgets about death, everything becomes serene and calm.
“Lan Xiaobu…” Luo Caisi called again, turning her head to find that Lan Xiaobu was gone. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly called out, “Lan Xiaobu, Doctor Lan…”
Surrounded only by the sounds of flowing water and the calls of birds, along with the sporadic roars of wild beasts, Luo Caisi felt a surge of panic. She leaned against the stone wall to stand. Her head grew heavier, and fear crept back in. When she was with Lan Xiaobu, even if he was a bit of a scoundrel needing her care, she felt some reliance, a companion. Now, left alone here, she felt an indescribable loneliness and fear.
“Doctor Lan… Lan Xiaobu…”
No one responded, and after a while, her voice echoed back from the depths of the gorge, making the silence even more pronounced. Luo Caisi shivered; she suddenly felt that the greatest fear in life was not death but loneliness and solitude. It was in solitude that fear took root and grew.
Feeling a bit of strength return, Luo Caisi leaned on the stone wall to step outside. She had to find Lan Xiaobu; the unbearable loneliness made it impossible for her to stay here alone.
“Woo…” A familiar wolf howl echoed, and Luo Caisi’s face turned pale. It was that gray wolf from yesterday; it had come back.
Then she thought of Lan Xiaobu. Had he gone outside the cave alone and been eaten by that gray wolf? The thought of the wolf tearing into Lan Xiaobu made Luo Caisi tremble uncontrollably. She wanted to crawl back into the cave, but she knew that even if she returned, the gray wolf would still come for her.
Tears fell uncontrollably again; dying here was one thing, but being torn apart and eaten by a wolf was terrifying to think about.
After standing at the cave entrance for a few minutes, Luo Caisi took a deep breath, seemingly reaching a resolve. She slowly stepped back into the cave, took out a cute cartoon hairpin from her backpack to stick in her short hair, and then pulled out a box. Inside the box was a necklace. It wasn’t anything special, just an ordinary pearl necklace. With great effort, Luo Caisi managed to put it around her neck, ran her fingers through her hair, and murmured, “I wonder how my grandfather is managing down there alone.”
“Yuan Cailiang? The east of the river. Who is thinking of whom? It's beautiful, Meng Yong…”
Luo Caisi murmured, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, her face taking on a bit of color. “Grandpa said I’m the most beautiful girl in the Luo family, and someday a strong man will come to take me to the most beautiful place, and then I will marry him…”
Luo Caisi looked up at the hazy sky, “Perhaps that strong man is on the other side of the sky; I have to dress my best to go to him…”
“Aw…” The gray wolf’s howl brought Luo Caisi back to reality, her mind growing heavier, shaking her head vigorously, “Am I going to die?”
Deep down, she knew she might not have much longer to live; otherwise, why did she keep thinking of her grandfather?
Shoving those thoughts away, Luo Caisi continued towards the direction of the wolf's howl. Lan Xiaobu must have been eaten by the wolf; rather than waiting for the wolf to come into the cave to eat her, she might as well go towards it herself, at least for the last moments, she'd have someone to accompany her. Compared to death, she feared loneliness more; she didn’t want to wander alone on the road to the afterlife. With Lan Xiaobu, at least there would be a companion.
(End of Chapter)