Chapter Thirty-One: The Ingenious Use of Duan Jing

"This morning, the military advisor went to the fields on the east side to inspect the harvest. Unexpectedly, he lost his footing and fell, wounding his leg."

After hearing this, Jiang Bai assessed the situation. Having already packed her medical kit, she quickly slung it over her shoulder and gestured for Pan Rui to lead the way. "Tell me as we go. How serious is Advisor Duan's injury? What exactly happened?"

Pan Rui hurried ahead, panting as he replied, "It's not light. I heard he sustained a large gash and lost quite a bit of blood. The advisor only went to check the progress of the harvest, and nobody knows how he ended up falling."

Jiang Bai silently quickened her pace to catch up with Pan Rui, her mind calculating how to treat the wound.

The two hurried along and soon reached the scene. From a distance, a circle of people could be seen standing on the ridge of the field, looking helpless and unsure of what to do. Duan Jing was sitting on the ground, his face pale, the fabric of his left trouser leg soaked through with blood.

Jiang Bai stepped forward quickly and knelt down to examine the injury. She gently lifted the hem of his garment to inspect his leg, discovering that he had likely been pierced by a sorghum stalk. The wound was deep, and fresh blood was still oozing out. She wiped the wound with a cloth, inadvertently getting bloodstains on her hand. Jiang Bai paused for a moment, then continued tending to Duan Jing. She quickly disinfected the wound, took styptic powder from her kit, sprinkled it over the injury, and wrapped it tightly with clean linen strips.

"Advisor, please bear with me; the wound is quite deep," Jiang Bai said in a low voice. While it looked severe, it had fortunately missed any vital points. The luckiest part was that it was a gash from the sorghum stalk rather than a puncture wound. During harvest, sorghum is cut at an angle, and the remaining stalks are as sharp as spears.

Duan Jing nodded, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent. Jiang Bai’s technique was skilled; she cleaned the wound swiftly and, noting his pale complexion, fed him a medicinal pill.

"You are stable for now, but you need complete rest. The wound must not get wet," Jiang Bai said, standing up and signaling for a few attentive soldiers to carry Duan Jing back.

"Dr. Jiang, I've caused you so much trouble," Duan Jing said, his pale face devoid of color.

Jiang Bai smiled faintly, her tone gentle yet undeniably firm. "Advisor, what are you saying? Saving lives and healing the wounded is my duty. Please, do not speak; rest well. I will examine you thoroughly once we reach your quarters."

Duan Jing nodded. Though his face remained pale, his eyes held a glimmer of gratitude. Seeming to have lost too much blood, he closed his eyes in exhaustion and allowed the soldiers to carefully lift him and head toward the residence.

Pan Rui followed alongside Jiang Bai and asked in a low voice, "Dr. Jiang, is the advisor really going to be alright? I saw him lose so much blood, could he..."

Jiang Bai shook her head, her tone calm. "Although the wound looks serious, it did not hit any vital areas. I have stopped the bleeding and bandaged it. As long as it does not get infected, he will recover after a period of rest. However, he must rest properly during this time and avoid aggravating the injury."

Pan Rui breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "That's good. The advisor is our backbone; we cannot afford for anything to happen to him."

Jiang Bai glanced at Pan Rui. This man was one of the soldiers the General had assigned to protect her. He was highly skilled, but he talked too much—even if you didn't respond, he could chatter for the entire journey. Jiang Bai, however, preferred to stay silent unless absolutely necessary. Having experienced his "power" over the last few days, she was so startled by the prospect of him starting again that she quickened her pace to catch up with the group ahead.

Upon arriving at Duan Jing's room, Jiang Bai had the soldiers settle him on the bed and began a careful inspection.

"Advisor Duan, the wound was treated in a timely manner and there are no other issues. However, you must be careful; since the injury is on your calf, it is easy to bump it," Jiang Bai cautioned.

Duan Jing opened his eyes slightly, his voice weak. "Dr. Jiang, I understand. I will be sure to rest well."

Jiang Bai nodded, took some anti-inflammatory powder and clean bandages from her kit, and began to carefully clean the wound. Her movements were gentle and swift, intended to minimize his pain. After finishing, she fed him another pill and instructed, "Advisor, just be careful for the first few days. It is best to stay in bed and keep the wound dry. It will be fine once it scabs over."

Duan Jing gave a bitter smile, his voice raspy. "Dr. Jiang, how could I have time to stay in bed? You know our grain storage was burned, and this is a critical time for the harvest. If there is a problem with this batch of grain, we will be in big trouble."

Jiang Bai frowned, her tone taking on a hint of severity. "Advisor, your body is your foundation. If you do not let the injury heal, it will only become more troublesome, and you will end up needing even more time to recover—it is not worth the risk. The harvest is important, but I believe the General and the other officers will handle it. You need not worry."

Duan Jing was silent for a moment before nodding. "Very well, I will listen to you."

Only then did Jiang Bai offer a faint smile, her tone softening. "Advisor, please rest well. I will come every day to change your dressing. If you feel any discomfort, you must tell me immediately."

Duan Jing nodded and closed his eyes, appearing utterly exhausted. Jiang Bai gathered the blood-stained bandages he had removed and turned to leave, heading off to find Duan Yue.

After briefly explaining Duan Jing's condition to Duan Yue and entrusting Jiang Ye to his care, Jiang Bai excused herself, claiming to be tired, and returned to her room.

Once the door was locked, Jiang Bai took out the cloth stained with Duan Jing's blood. She was both shocked and surprised; she had not expected her life-bound plant to react to the touch of his blood!

In the post-apocalyptic world, wood-type abilities were quite unique. While other abilities required large amounts of crystals to level up, wood-type abilities required not only the crystals but also the domestication of a life-bound plant. Without successful domestication, one would remain stuck at the primary level forever.

Before her death, Jiang Bai’s ability had reached a high level, and she had long since domesticated her plant. However, after transmigrating here, her ability had returned to the starting point, requiring her to cultivate from scratch. The silver lining was that she didn't need crystals to cultivate in this world—she wondered if this was a small benefit of her transmigration.

The cultivation speed was agonizingly slow, and for years, she had made no progress. Since this wasn't the apocalypse, Jiang Bai hadn't minded much. She cultivated a little bit every day, and two years ago, she had surprisingly reached the peak of the primary level, needing only a life-bound plant to successfully upgrade.

Unexpectedly, once she reached the peak, although she could sense the plant within her body, she could never awaken it, leaving her stuck at a bottleneck. She had tried to contract another one, but it was impossible! She had tried every method to wake it, and she hadn't expected to stumble upon the answer today!

Clutching the bandage in her hand, Jiang Bai channeled her ability. The shackles binding her life-bound plant truly loosened! It turned out that all she needed was Duan Jing’s blood to awaken her plant!

Feeling the sudden, joyful reaction of the plant, Jiang Bai couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. When she had drugged Li Yuan, why hadn't she been more diligent? She should have rushed to hold Duan Jing—whose chest had been covered in blood—before Yang Bin did. Duan Jing had been struck three times by Li Yuan and had spat out so much blood; if she had managed to collect it, her plant might have been activated already! And there had been so much blood on the floor—why hadn't she been more diligent about cleaning? All that blood had gone to waste!

Looking at the now-bleached strip of cloth in her hand, Jiang Bai felt even more remorseful. She had wasted so much blood from his trousers just moments ago.

Thinking this, Jiang Bai made a firm decision: she would find ways to draw blood from Duan Jing whenever she could. From that day on, everyone in the Red Eyebrow Army noticed that their military advisor, who usually enjoyed incredible luck, had started running into bad fortune.

"Dr. Jiang, I accidentally pulled my wound while sleeping last night," Duan Jing sighed. He didn't know what had happened last night; he usually slept quite still, yet he had somehow kicked his leg.

"It's fine, nothing serious. The wound is healing quite well," Jiang Bai said with a serene smile.

"Ah, that's good, that's good." Duan Jing couldn't articulate why, but he always felt there was something strange about Jiang Bai. He had no idea that the reason he had pulled his wound last night was because of her. She had sent her plant to sneakily nudge the injury, and she hadn't let the small amount of oozing blood go to waste, collecting it all with a cotton cloth.

"However, Advisor, your complexion is still poor. You lost a lot of vitality and blood from these injuries; you need to nourish yourself more," Jiang Bai said. For the first time, she truly looked at the man before her, realizing how strikingly handsome he was.

His eyebrows were as if painted, his nose bridge tall and straight, his lips pale, and his skin so fair it was almost translucent. The sleeve he had rolled up to facilitate his pulse check hadn't been lowered yet, revealing a slender, delicate wrist. Sunlight streamed through the window, catching his profile as if gilding him in a soft halo. Jiang Bai felt a momentary trance, her heart beating faster without her consent.

"Jiang Bai?" Duan Jing called out softly. His voice was gentle and clear, yet carried a hint of confusion.

Jiang Bai snapped back to reality, her cheeks flushing hot. She lowered her head, pretending to organize her things to hide her lack of composure. "Yes, I'm listening," she replied, her voice trembling slightly.

"I just asked, what should I eat to nourish myself?" Duan Jing felt the moment had been peculiar; Jiang Bai had been staring at him with such an indescribable expression.

"You should have red rice porridge, and eat more goji berries, yams, black rice, and red dates. These will all be beneficial for you." Once she finished speaking, she decided she might as well make some medicinal meals for him. After all, she would need to draw his blood many more times, and if he wasn't properly nourished, it might harm his health.

Duan Jing replied dryly, "Very well, I will keep that in mind."

Jiang Bai responded absentmindedly, her hands busy packing her things. When she looked up at Duan Jing again, she found him watching her intently, his eyes gentle as water. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly averted her gaze, as if her small secret had been seen through. "Advisor, you must rest more these few days and not overwork yourself," she said, feigning composure.

Duan Jing curled the corners of his mouth into a smile. "Thank you for your concern, Dr. Jiang. I will be careful."

Hearing him address her as "Dr. Jiang" felt distant. To facilitate her future plans, she decided to close the gap. After a moment of thought, she decided to start with how he addressed her. "Advisor, actually... you can just call me Jiang Bai. No need to be so formal."

Duan Jing was stunned for a moment, his voice trembling slightly. "Very well, Jiang Bai."

His voice was clear and gentle, and to Jiang Bai, it sounded as if it carried a hint of doting affection. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and her cheeks burned. She lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.

"Then... I will head back now. Please rest well, Advisor." With that, Jiang Bai turned and hurried away.

Only after leaving Duan Jing’s courtyard did Jiang Bai exhale. She had managed to secure the bandages Duan Jing had removed, and they were now tucked away in her medical kit. She hoped he hadn't noticed her strange behavior.

As she walked, her mind couldn't help but conjure up Duan Jing’s handsome face and his gentle smile. What an elegant and wonderful person he was—no wonder everything about him was perfect, especially his blood.

As Jiang Bai walked back with a shy expression, she failed to notice Yang Bin passing by, staring at her in utter astonishment.

In the following days, Jiang Bai continued to check Duan Jing’s pulse every day, bringing along nutrient-rich food. Duan Jing’s recovery was going well, and his complexion had become much more ruddy. With Jiang Bai’s tacit approval, their relationship grew closer; she was no longer as cold as before and would occasionally share a joke with him.

That day, Jiang Bai went as usual to check his pulse. Just as she entered the courtyard, she saw Duan Jing sitting by the stone table, holding a book, his expression focused. Sunlight bathed him, casting a soft glow. Jiang Bai stood at the entrance, lost in thought for a moment.

"Jiang Bai?" Duan Jing looked up, saw her standing at the door, and smiled slightly. "Come in."

Jiang Bai snapped out of it, hurried into the yard, and said with a touch of embarrassment, "Advisor, did I disturb you?"

Duan Jing shook his head, closed the book, and said gently, "No, I was just getting tired. A rest is welcome."

Jiang Bai walked to the stone table, set down her kit, and began to check his pulse. Her fingers rested lightly on his wrist, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat. She felt she had been taking good care of him. However, thinking of what she needed to do next, she felt inexplicably nervous. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Advisor, your pulse is much better than before. It seems the care over these past few days has been effective," Jiang Bai said with a smile, withdrawing her hand.

Duan Jing nodded, his gaze soft as he looked at her. "It is all thanks to your meticulous care that I have been able to recover so quickly."