Chapter 132 – Shh, He Found You – Tang Tang, the Little Doctor (10)
The flames in the villa gradually died down, and the boy’s sobbing grew quieter.
“I just want Tang Tang to be okay. If you’re gone, I won’t live either,” Yu Hongbo said, his words full of emotion.
Bai Tang cried out all the complicated thoughts he had been holding inside, and with Yu Hongbo’s gentle comforting words, the feeling of helplessness faded considerably.
“You’re all dirty, like a little kitten,” Yu Hongbo said, wiping the soot-covered face of the boy, whose face was blackened from the smoke.
“No, no, not a kitten. It’s… it’s a squirrel. Hic…” Bai Tang hiccupped as he protested.
“Alright, it’s a squirrel.” Yu Hongbo smiled softly. The boy was always thinking about pine nuts, truly a little squirrel.
Yu Hongbo wasn’t worried that they might die in the game; he was more afraid that the boy might fall into despair and try to harm himself. After this incident, Yu Hongbo made a silent resolution to keep a closer watch on Bai Tang.
The chaos that occurred tonight had no clear cause, but everyone had sustained some injuries. Hu Peng hadn’t anticipated such a situation, and the only identity item he had was now gone.
Of the ten people who ran out during the chaos, three were missing.
After the fire was completely extinguished, they returned to the first-floor hall of the villa to rest. The fire had mainly been concentrated on the third floor, spreading to the fourth and second floors, but the first floor had been untouched.
The turmoil of the night had drained everyone, and no one was in the mood to talk. Without any lights, and with the cold of the night settling in, Bai Tang curled up in Yu Hongbo’s arms, tearing a piece of cloth from his skirt to wrap around Yu Hongbo’s hand.
They finally endured until the morning, when the sky began to lighten with the faint glow of dawn.
Many people had fallen asleep and were still not awake. Yu Hongbo gazed at the boy’s sleeping face, carefully moving away from him.
“Mm~ Ah Bo, what are you doing?” Bai Tang was still woken up by the movement.
“I woke you up,” Yu Hongbo gently ruffled Bai Tang’s hair.
“Ah Bo, you have a fever,” Bai Tang touched Yu Hongbo’s skin, which was burning with heat.
Due to the infection of his wound and the lack of timely treatment, Yu Hongbo inevitably developed a high fever.
“It’s fine. I plan to go upstairs and have a look.”
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was awake yet, he wanted to check if there was any evidence on the third floor, something that could prove his hypothesis.
“I’ll go too. I’ll find some medicine for you.” Bai Tang lightly jumped off the sofa and ran upstairs.
Since he had previously found medicine for his stomach pain, it proved that there was a first aid kit in the villa. Finding fever-reducing medicine shouldn’t be too difficult.
However, Bai Tang was disappointed. He searched the second floor but only found a few packets of cold medicine. Feeling discouraged, he tossed the packets back into the box and looked up to see Yu Hongbo inspecting the corridor on the upper floor. Due to the fever, Yu Hongbo’s face was abnormally flushed, and he was frowning, searching along the railing.
This won’t do… If it goes on like this, Ah Bo won’t be able to hold on.
It’s hard for a person to naturally lower their fever relying only on their immune system. Bai Tang glanced at Yu Hongbo upstairs, seemingly making a decision. He slipped out of the villa when Yu Hongbo wasn’t paying attention.
As expected…
Yu Hongbo found what he had been looking for at the edge of a doorframe.
Last night, during the chaos, he had fought with the person responsible for the disorder and had torn off the item the person was wearing. With this, there was no way for the person to deny it.
It was his misjudgment of the situation that gave the enemy an opportunity. He had originally thought that Yu Yi was the guard, and handing Bai Tang over to Yu Yi would be safe.
But he had made a mistake. The guard’s skill item had been used once by him, and it was counted as a use by Yu Yi as well. A guard cannot continuously protect one person. It was a mistake to have Yu Yi protect Bai Tang last night, and it almost cost both him and Yu Yi dearly.
There was a lighthouse opposite the villa, but none of them had gone up to check it. Last night, because Yu Yi had used the guard button, confirming Bai Tang as the protected person, the mechanism on the lighthouse had automatically activated and aimed at Bai Tang’s room.
When he chased the “werewolf” to the lighthouse, he discovered something unexpected.
And he was grateful that the “werewolf” had led him to the lighthouse in time.
Yu Hongbo held the “evidence” as he went downstairs, but he couldn’t find Bai Tang on the second floor.
Tang Tang?!
He looked down from above, seeing the front door wide open, with the others still asleep on the sofa.
Could he have run out with the intention of harming himself?
Once this thought sprouted in his mind, it seemed to take root in his brain. Ignoring his dizziness, Yu Hongbo rushed out, hoping to catch up with Bai Tang as quickly as possible.
However, he didn’t know which path the boy had taken. The island was vast and desolate, and all he could see were trees.
“Tang Tang, where are you…”
Yu Hongbo ran while calling out, trying to think of the possible direction Bai Tang might have chosen.
Since Tang Tang had run out on his own, he would want him to find him, so he wouldn’t take the main road. Yu Hongbo deliberately chose the small path.
Coincidentally, Bai Tang, relying on his keen sense of smell, had gone out to search for fever-reducing herbs, taking the very same secluded path.
“I found them.” Bai Tang dug up a few duckweed plants.
The fever-reducing effect of duckweed is very good. It’s a common herb found in the wild. Luckily, the villa is on a deserted island—while they lack many things, they don’t lack a variety of herbs.
“Tang Tang…”
The little squirrel’s sharp ears heard Yu Hongbo calling for him.
“I’m here…”
Yu Hongbo quickly ran towards the voice, only to see the boy smiling brightly, proudly holding a few unfamiliar herbs like a treasure.
“Look, these are for reducing the fever.” Bai Tang was glad that during his time living in the forest, he had learned about many herbs from other animals. He never expected that one day they would actually come in handy.
“You came out just to find this?” Yu Hongbo’s voice was hoarse due to the fever.
“Yeah, and I also found some for external injuries.” Bai Tang did his best to gather every herb that might be helpful for Yu Hongbo. “When we get back, I’ll make a decoction for you. Don’t refuse it just because it’s bitter! Good medicine is always bitter, no picky eating allowed!”
The boy kept chattering, repeating the words the male lead had once used to coax him, now directing them back at Yu Hongbo.
Yu Hongbo felt warm tears welling up in his eyes. “Alright, I’ll drink it when we get back.”
“Hurry, hurry!” Bai Tang tugged Yu Hongbo as they headed back. The longer they delayed, the worse Yu Hongbo would feel, so they needed to hurry.
When they returned to the villa, everyone had already woken up and was making noise. As soon as they saw Bai Tang and Yu Hongbo return, they immediately quieted down.
“You still have the nerve to come back? I thought you two had fled because of your guilt.” The short-haired woman spoke harshly, as usual.
Yu Yi, who had never liked the short-haired woman, retorted without holding back, “Since when did the villa have a rule that people can’t go outside? Is it just that one person ‘accidentally’ pushed someone and now no one else is allowed to move around? Only certain people can break the rules while others are not allowed to do anything? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think someone here is the main planner of this game with all the rules and conditions.”
Yu Yi pointed out the fact that the short-haired woman had indirectly caused the death of an innocent person, and that was irrefutable.
“It’s not just me who suspects, but you’re so targeted at me—could it be you’re the werewolf?” The short-haired woman retorted, unwilling to back down.
“Enough, both of you, shut up!” Hu Peng roared, and the two of them instinctively fell silent.
After experiencing a chaotic night and almost losing his life in the fire, Hu Peng was no longer the sharp, well-dressed figure he used to be. His face and arms were covered in multiple bruises.
Bai Tang was solely focused on Yu Hongbo and didn’t care about what anyone else thought. When the short-haired woman spoke, he quickly ran up to the second floor to the kitchen to get water and wash a kitchen knife.
There were no mortar and pestle tools in the villa, so he had to make do with the handle of the knife. He washed the herbs clean, placed them in a bowl, and used the knife handle to mash them.
Bai Tang ran up and down, busy with his task.
Among everyone, the one who looked the worst was Yu Hongbo. Even just the injuries on his hands were enough to make others stay quiet.
It seemed that the person who orchestrated everything wanted to kill everyone, but they would rather not end up in such a miserable state themselves. Everyone subconsciously ruled out Yu Hongbo as a suspect. After all, he had a guard token as proof, so there was no reason for him to give up being on the side of the good people to help the werewolf or the game planner.
Bai Tang had a swollen half of his face, Pan Quan had bruises all over his body from fighting, and although Yu Yi didn’t have any visible injuries, he was dirty all over. As a result, everyone’s attention shifted to the two who appeared the cleanest: the short-haired woman and Zheng Yao.
“Let’s have her come down and crush the medicine, then we can hold a meeting. Otherwise, we don’t know how many people will die tonight,” Hu Peng said, his voice tired as he put on his broken glasses and slouched on the sofa.
The fever-reducing medicine was simmering on the stove over low heat. The living people were all gathered in the hall on the first floor, not worried about anyone poisoning the medicine.
Bai Tang descended the stairs with a porcelain bowl in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. The people standing near Yu Hongbo were startled when they saw him.
The boy walked over, swinging the knife “menacingly” as if he was about to chop someone.
“I’ll help you,” Li Xinxin stepped forward, trying to take the tools from Bai Tang.
The boy sidestepped, making Li Xinxin’s outstretched hand freeze awkwardly in midair.
From Yu Hongbo, Bai Tang had learned that Li Xinxin had once “accused” him of being the werewolf. While her accusation had been based on facts, on the surface, she was considered one of the good people, which meant she wasn’t as harmless and innocent as she appeared.
Bai Tang had been smart this time. He had spent a long time thinking while organizing the train of thought with Yu Yi last night, and from that, he had deduced that Li Xinxin had malicious intentions. Now, there was no way he was going to let her touch the things meant to treat Yu Hongbo’s wounds. What if she was the witch and poisoned Yu Hongbo?!
Li Xinxin’s hand hung awkwardly in midair. Yu Yi, unaware of the situation, had no ill feelings toward Li Xinxin. She simply thought Bai Tang didn’t want other girls to get too close to Yu Hongbo, so she stepped forward to defuse the tension, saying, “I’m stronger, I’ll crush the herbs. It’ll be faster.”
Li Xinxin descended the stairs and quietly said, “Alright,” before retreating back to her spot.
The villa didn’t have disinfectant, but it did have alcohol. While it wasn’t as pure as disinfectant, alcohol at least contained ethanol. Moreover, it was white liquor with about 75% alcohol content, so it would do for the time being.
“It’s going to hurt. If it hurts a lot, just cry. I won’t laugh at you, Ah Bo.”
The boy, holding the bottle of liquor in one hand, held Yu Hongbo’s hand with the other, speaking seriously.
“Okay.” Yu Hongbo liked the way Bai Tang was so focused on him. He smiled as he looked at his boy, thinking that compared to the self-destructive boy from last night, a little pain was nothing.
The white liquor splashed onto Yu Hongbo’s palm, and bubbles formed where it touched.
“It’ll be over soon, it’ll be over soon…” The boy frowned, his eyes red, as if he were the one in pain. He kept blowing air on the wound, as though doing so would alleviate Yu Hongbo’s suffering.
After much effort, Bai Tang had cleaned the wound, applied the mashed herbs, and bandaged it up. He was dripping with sweat, as if he had just fought a battle.
Yu Hongbo shook his hand, now wrapped like a dumpling, and said to Bai Tang, “Thank you, Tang Tang, you’re amazing.”
“Your right hand is not allowed to touch water, understand?” The boy, despite wanting to cry, still tried to keep a serious face as he gave his instructions.
“Mm-hmm, I’ll listen to Tang Tang, and Tang Tang can supervise me.” Yu Hongbo nodded seriously.
The others: It was just a simple bandage, so why does it feel like we’ve been force-fed dog food?!
Author’s Note:
Thank you to the sweet readers for catching the typos and errors, I appreciate it! Big love~