Lingdang spoke as she walked toward Zhang Zhaocai's house. Li Yanhao called out to her, "Are you really planning to go take a look?"
Lingdang nodded and said, "It seems Zhang Zhaocai didn’t go to school during the day. I don’t know what happened. I’ll just go and come right back."
Li Yanhao sighed and quickly followed her, saying, "I’ll go with you. Don’t worry, though my skills aren't as good as yours, I can still move unseen so the villagers won’t notice."
Lingdang saw he was coming along and didn’t bother to stop him. The two headed toward Zhang Zhaocai’s house together.
By this time, it was already dark. There was no one outside, and Lingdang and Li Yanhao lightly jumped onto the roof of Zhang Zhaocai’s house.
Qin Sanniang and Zhang Zhuzi were already asleep. Inside, it was pitch black. Lingdang moved like a cat, her steps light as she walked onto the roof of the woodshed. Peering inside, she saw Zhang Zhaocai curled up on a pile of straw, his face flushed red, deeply asleep.
"He seems to be sick," Lingdang said to Li Yanhao.
Li Yanhao curled his lips, thinking to himself, "She cares so much because he’s sick, but why doesn’t she care about me?"
After speaking, Lingdang lightly jumped down and skillfully pressed the acupuncture points on Zhang Zhaocai’s body to check his condition.
Li Yanhao followed her down and noticed the woodshed was drafty on all sides, filled with a strange smell. He frowned, thinking, "This is no place for a person to live."
Lingdang touched Zhang Zhaocai’s forehead and found it burning hot. Then she noticed two sticks tied to his leg. She reached out to gently feel it, her expression changing.
"What’s wrong with him?" Li Yanhao asked, watching Lingdang’s delicate hand touch the leg of the troublesome boy, squatting nearby looking pitiful.
Lingdang sighed and said, "His leg is broken. He used the sticks to fix it himself. No wonder he didn’t go to get food or attend school. In this state, he can’t even leave the house."
"Ah? His father really broke his leg!" Li Yanhao clicked his tongue. His own father, the King of Huainan, might scold him or threaten to break his leg when angry, but it was just talk. He never actually hurt him and always cared for him deeply afterward.
"Sigh, his father Zhang Zhuzi is a scoundrel," Lingdang shook her head. She took a porcelain bottle from her pocket and poured out a few pills, feeding them to Zhang Zhaocai.
These were medicinal herbs carried by her secret guards, all made from precious ingredients, very beneficial for Zhang Zhaocai’s injuries.
Zhang Zhaocai, still in a deep sleep, took the medicine. His brows furrowed as if he was in extreme pain even in his dreams.
Li Yanhao squatted down, looking at the pitiful Zhang Zhaocai, and said to Lingdang, "Lingdang, what do you plan to do?"
"Sigh, I’ll first set his broken leg. Otherwise, if the bone heals crooked, he’ll become a cripple," Lingdang said as she rolled up Zhang Zhaocai’s trouser leg, aligned the broken bone, then firmly fixed it with sticks. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she added, "This is all I can do for now."
Li Yanhao wiped his chin, looking at Zhang Zhaocai. As a pampered young master, this was the first time he had seen the harsh life of a poor child up close. He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy and said to Lingdang, "I guess he won’t live long before his father kills him."
Lingdang sighed, knowing that in the hands of Zhang Zhuzi and Qin Sanniang, Zhang Zhaocai’s life was probably not safe.
Li Yanhao felt a pang of compassion and poked Lingdang, saying, "Since we’ve seen this, we can’t just stand by and do nothing. How about we help him?"
Lingdang’s eyes darted as she said, "Young Master, are you really planning to save this kid?"
Li Yanhao replied, "Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. Since I’ve seen it, I can’t just ignore it. I’d feel uneasy if I did."
Lingdang suddenly sized up Li Yanhao from head to toe, a strange smile curling at the corner of her mouth, making Li Yanhao shiver all over.