The dilapidated house had a basement.
The girl pulled Zhan Bei Jue inside, first fetching him a cup of water from the faucet and making him drink it.
Then, she dragged him directly into the basement.
A dark red carpet was spread on the basement floor.
As soon as he stepped on it, thick dust flew up, stinging his nose.
A dirty pillow was tossed onto the carpet, surrounded by discarded bottles, jars, and scrap metal.
After pulling him onto the carpet and laying him down, she took off her coat and draped it over Zhan Bei Jue. Then, the girl left.
She was gone for the entire day.
During that time, Zhan Bei Jue woke up several times.
The thirst had subsided somewhat, but his head ached, and his whole body hurt as if he had a high fever, causing him to writhe in pain.
He felt dizzy and disoriented, wanting to grab onto something to feel alive, but he couldn't grasp anything.
Thus, alternating between chills and fever, drifting in and out of consciousness, he persisted until he could see nothing, and then someone pushed open the door.
With a soft "click," the room lit up.
Zhan Bei Jue slightly opened his eyes and saw those worn-out, dirty, and foul-smelling sneakers again.
The girl, wearing the shoes, stepped onto the carpet and walked to his side.
As she stepped on it, the carpet stirred up a layer of dust that swirled in the light.
The dust made Zhan Bei Jue cough a couple of times before he wearily closed his eyes again.
She knelt beside Zhan Bei Jue and reached out to touch his face.
Then, she couldn't help but murmur in English, "So hot. Why the high fever?"
"Where exactly is it bleeding? How could you sustain such a serious injury? Why come to my doorstep of all places?"
To determine the location of the wound, she roughly placed her hand on his head and felt around.
She touched the split wound.
The pain was so intense that Zhan Bei Jue felt as if his tail had been grabbed, and his whole body trembled.
He wanted to curse her, to tell her to be gentler.
But at this moment, he was on the brink of death. His mind could still think, but his voice was completely gone.
"You're quite resilient."
After feeling it and seeing the considerable size of the wound, the girl removed her hand, wiped it on his clothes, and turned to leave again.
The touch from her had caused Zhan Bei Jue so much pain that he couldn't recover for a long time.
It wasn't until she had been gone for a while that she returned, bringing a plump woman with her.
The two of them closed the door and spoke quietly beside him, conversing entirely in English.
Seeing the man in such a filthy state, severely dehydrated and bleeding, the plump woman first sighed as if accustomed to such sights, then asked.
"Where did you find him? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"
The girl shrugged and replied.
"I found him outside my house. Of course, I'm afraid of trouble. I didn't want to get involved, but he just kept lying there."
"If he died there and turned into a pile of rotten flesh, it would be even more troublesome for me."
"His injuries are not minor. Min'er, I can't extend any more credit to you. You know, I have children to feed."
The girl named Min'er seemed to have anticipated this and answered directly.
"I know. Don't worry, I'll pay you first this time. Treat him first. If he really dies in my house, then I'll be in big trouble."
"Alright," the plump woman agreed.
"He has a large wound on his head; we need to stop the bleeding quickly. I'll have to shave his hair. Go get some hot water and bring a towel."
Min'er opened the door and quickly left.
The plump woman took out a clipper from her toolbox and began to shave Zhan Bei Jue's head.
Soon, he was completely bald.
The plump woman asked Min'er to hold his head still at this angle.
"Now I'm going to stitch him up."
On Zhan Bei Jue's left ear, diagonally upwards, was a split about the length of a thumb.
Fortunately, it was only a superficial wound and hadn't fractured his bone; it just needed to be stitched.
This was also why he hadn't died despite losing so much blood.
Stitching with bare hands, even Guan Yu had to bite a towel.
The woman stitched without hesitation. As the needle pierced his skin, Zhan Bei Jue let out a muffled sound, almost jumping up.
It hurt so much.
Does anyone know what it feels like to have a needle jabbed into their scalp?
It hurt so much he wished he were dead.
"Don't move."
The woman, as if operating on a fish, pushed the needle into his skin again.
Zhan Bei Jue's consciousness gradually returned.
In this dirty and broken basement, without any disinfection or hygienic conditions, they were stitching his head?
It would be strange if he didn't develop complications.
He wanted to use all his strength to lift his right hand to stop them. Min'er was startled by his bloody, grimacing struggle.
"Da Mei, why don't you give him some anesthetic and let him sleep? He seems to be in a lot of pain."
The plump woman said, "His leg and left shoulder are both broken. It would be good to anesthetize him and repair them together."
"However, are you sure, Min'er? The cost is not low."
Min'er lowered her head and looked again at Zhan Bei Jue's messy, blood-smeared face.
"Give him the anesthetic. I'll pay you as soon as I earn the money. Just get rid of this trouble for me quickly."
The two of them treated him like a salted fish.
They knocked Zhan Bei Jue unconscious and did as they pleased.
With a series of stitching sounds, his shoulder and leg were fixed with plaster casts.
His entire body was wrapped like a mummy, and then he was placed back on the carpet.
In the following days, Min'er still visited him once a day.
For the first two days, Zhan Bei Jue was groggy and his fever wouldn't break. He couldn't eat or drink.
Each time Min'er entered, she gave him his medicine, covered him with the coat, and left.
It wasn't until the third day that Zhan Bei Jue, who hadn't eaten, drunk, urinated, or defecated for days, felt the urge to use the restroom.
As Min'er was about to leave, he reached out and pulled her.
"Bathroom, I need to go to the bathroom."
He almost hummed the words out.
"There's no bathroom here."
Min'er looked at him, wrapped like a mummy, and thought.
Even if there were, you couldn't go like this, and I can't help you.
"Do you need to go number two or number one?"
"Number one."
Zhan Bei Jue didn't even realize they had been communicating in English the whole time.
"Wait a moment."
Min'er casually picked up a large cola bottle from nearby, unscrewed the cap, and placed it on the floor.
Then she walked over to Zhan Bei Jue and said, "Do it in here."
Do it in here?
Zhan Bei Jue instinctively wanted to reject this idea.
But Min'er had no time to indulge his sentimentality.
"Your leg is injured, and you can't move now. There's no bathroom for you here. If you don't do it in here, you'll have to do it in your pants. Choose one."
"I'm out of time and have to leave immediately. If you choose to do it in the bottle, I can help you. If not, I'm leaving now."
Saying this, she didn't even give him time to think.
She tossed the bottle onto the carpet and stood up, about to leave.
Zhan Bei Jue quickly pulled her again.
It was inconvenient to wear pants while applying the plaster cast, so Da Mei had simply pulled his pants off.
Beneath the coat, Zhan Bei Jue had one leg in a cast and the other bare.
Min'er, accustomed to the task, reached in and secured it in a couple of movements, averting her gaze.
"Begin."