096 An Unexpected Encounter with a Master, My Liver Took a Beating

“Watch out!”

Du Ruo reacted in a flash, lunging forward a step. One hand went to protect Xiang Yuanyuan’s head, the other braced her waist, keeping her from suffering a second injury when she fell.

In a place like this, only he would dare let go of the iron chain to help someone else. The others around him, though worried, were powerless to do anything. Each of them gripped the chain even tighter and moved with even greater care beneath their feet, terrified of making the slightest mistake.

“How are you?”

Du Ruo held her head with one hand and her waist with the other. Xiang Yuanyuan was almost half-sprawled in his arms, both hands clamped tightly around his arm. Her face had gone bloodless, and her legs were still trembling a little.

“I suddenly felt dizzy just now. My legs went soft, and I twisted my ankle.”

Xiang Yuanyuan’s voice was very low, and she still sounded shaken.

A twisted ankle was nothing serious. Almost falling was not especially frightening either. What had been truly terrifying was the possibility of slipping off the chain after falling. This was Carp’s Back, high above the sea of clouds. Once someone went sliding off here, there would be no chance of survival.

“Can you still walk?”

Du Ruo turned to look. A long line of people had already formed behind them. Carp’s Back was not even a meter wide, and with the railing and iron chain in place, the two of them standing still in the middle had blocked the passage completely. Yet no one complained much; they only watched curiously to see what had happened to Xiang Yuanyuan.

“It hurts. I can’t walk.”

Xiang Yuanyuan looked pained and did not dare stand. Up here in the sea of clouds, not everyone had the courage to walk like Du Ruo, with both hands free of the chain.

“Hold on tight.”

With that, Du Ruo slipped one hand under her knees and the other around her shoulders, lifted her cleanly into his arms, and started forward along Carp’s Back.

Xiang Yuanyuan had never been held like this before. She hurriedly wrapped her arms around Du Ruo’s neck.

“It’s crowded here, and we’re blocking others. Once we get down, I’ll check your ankle again.”

Du Ruo had no intention of taking advantage of her. This was a famous scenic spot, after all, and crowded even on ordinary days. Only because of the rain today had so many people been afraid to climb. Otherwise, the line would probably have taken half an hour just to get up here.

“Wow... that’s so romantic.”

A few young girls behind them actually sighed at the sight.

Carrying Xiang Yuanyuan, Du Ruo did not hold the chain or stoop down to walk. He simply strode ahead, the two of them seeming to move across the clouds, full of a dreamlike tenderness.

Still, no one demanded that their own boyfriends do the same. In a place like this, even if someone dared to carry them, they might not dare to be carried. Du Ruo alone had absolute confidence in himself. A martial artist had strong lower-body stability to begin with, and he was as steady as a rock, never fearing a slip or misstep.

Carp’s Back stretched for more than a hundred meters, with the most dangerous section rising more than ten meters. The whole way was only a meter wide, and the narrowest part was barely twenty centimeters across. Because they had paused just now, no one was ahead of them anymore. Du Ruo therefore moved quickly, and in less than half a minute they had descended from Carp’s Back.

“Are you still dizzy?”

Once they reached a slightly wider spot, Du Ruo set her down so she could rest against a rock for a moment. Seeing her pale face, he could not help asking.

“Mm. I feel weak all over, and my vision is a little dark.”

Xiang Yuanyuan nodded faintly, looking sleepy, her eyes almost unable to stay open.

“Handsome, your girlfriend probably has low blood sugar. I have a chocolate bar here. Here, give it to her. Let her eat it, and if you have a drink, she can sip a little too. It’ll help quickly. Otherwise she may faint again.”

At that moment, a girl nearby seemed very familiar with Xiang Yuanyuan’s condition. She took a chocolate bar from her backpack and handed it to Du Ruo.

“All right, thank you.”

After thanking her, Du Ruo took it and quickly tore open the wrapper, bringing it to Xiang Yuanyuan’s lips.

Xiang Yuanyuan took a bite, and the symptoms immediately eased. She took the chocolate from Du Ruo and could now slowly eat it herself.

Seeing this, Du Ruo untied the water flask at Xiang Yuanyuan’s waist, wanting her to drink some water.

“Don’t—”

Xiang Yuanyuan tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Du Ruo had already twisted the cap open, and a strong smell of alcohol began to spread at once, making the atmosphere awkward.

“People with low blood sugar shouldn’t drink. Don’t drink any later on the way down. Have my water instead.”

Du Ruo capped the flask again and did not pass it back to Xiang Yuanyuan. Instead, he handed her the half bottle of water he had been carrying in his pocket.

Water would not relieve low blood sugar directly; it was just to help food move more quickly into the stomach.

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose. There’s always liquor in my flask. I just grabbed it by habit today.”

Xiang Yuanyuan had already finished the chocolate. For some reason, she whispered an explanation.

“Heh, quitting all at once isn’t possible. Just cut back slowly. From the way your body’s doing, I’m afraid the drinking has a lot to do with it. After we get down, we should go to the hospital. First let me take a look at your ankle.”

Du Ruo smiled. He crouched down and lifted Xiang Yuanyuan’s foot slightly. Since it was a mountain climb and it had been raining, she was wearing fairly loose jeans, so there was no need to worry about anything being exposed.

There was no injury to the bones, only some swelling. She likely would not be able to continue climbing.

Du Ruo looked at the faint redness and swelling around Xiang Yuanyuan’s ankle. He guided his inner force into his hand and pressed with the techniques of the bronze man method. The bones were not displaced, and the tendons were not seriously damaged. It was only a mild sprain, though some blood vessels had been affected. Under ordinary circumstances, she might still manage to tiptoe along, but climbing a mountain was out of the question.

The two of them fell silent after that. Du Ruo crouched to one side and watched Xiang Yuanyuan finish the chocolate. Once he confirmed that she had recovered somewhat, he shifted his weight and crouched in front of her.

“Up you get. There’s no way you can walk down on your own. If you keep walking, that slight sprain will probably get worse.”

Xiang Yuanyuan did not argue. She knew her own condition better than anyone else. Even the slightest movement hurt, so she obediently climbed onto Du Ruo’s back and let him carry her.

“Let’s go to the cable car station and take the cable car down.”

Du Ruo gave a little bounce to adjust his grip. Xiang Yuanyuan was not heavy, probably around fifty kilograms or so. That was nothing to him. Besides, she had a very good figure, and carrying her felt soft and comfortable. If she had been too skinny, he imagined she might have felt bony and awkward.

“Let’s not take the cable car. I’ve never been carried while climbing a mountain before. Looking at the Yellow Mountain like this, it feels like I can see even farther.”

Xiang Yuanyuan blushed a little, but she also seemed to have discovered a new world. Her view was broader than before, and being carried meant she did not have to climb herself; she could admire the scenery all the way. She knew Du Ruo was formidable, and carrying her was certainly no burden, so she said it quite sincerely.

“All right, you really know how to enjoy yourself. Then let’s go. But you can’t keep climbing up either. We’ll head down now, and we should reach the hospital by noon. You need a proper examination to see what’s going on.”

Du Ruo did not object. For him, climbing mountains had never been difficult or challenging.

“It’s only low blood sugar. Is that really necessary?”

Xiang Yuanyuan muttered softly, but she was speaking right by Du Ruo’s ear, and he heard her very clearly. He did not answer. After checking that nothing had been lost, he started down the mountain.

Descending from Carp’s Back was just as difficult, but it did not trouble Du Ruo. With one hand supporting Xiang Yuanyuan behind him and the other gripping the chain, he moved down the steep slope with extraordinary speed.

Xiang Yuanyuan was delighted. She looked left and right, occasionally swinging her feet happily, almost on the verge of singing.

Once they were past Carp’s Back, the road became much easier. Carrying someone no longer affected him in the least, and in fact he seemed only to go faster and faster.

The travelers along the path were also full of curiosity about Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan’s pair. After all, this was the Yellow Mountain. Climbing it alone was already difficult enough, yet here was someone carrying another person and still moving so fast. Quite a few young girls were deeply envious of Xiang Yuanyuan.

“Tch. If my girlfriend were that pretty, I could carry her and still move like the wind.”

...

Du Ruo kept picking up speed. His eyes and ears were alert to everything around him. There were many routes up the Yellow Mountain. In ordinary circumstances, staying on the mountain for three to five days still would not let one see all the different scenery, so it was impossible to take one quick trip and claim to have seen every view.

The route Du Ruo chose for the descent was not one of the most popular ones. He had only made a simple loop and come back down, but even so, there were still plenty of people climbing it.

“Hey, careful.”

At a turn in the path, just after Du Ruo stepped down, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, nearly colliding face-first with him as he descended.

Du Ruo freed one hand and was just about to reach out and steady the other man’s arm, so the man would not injure himself while dodging.

“It’s fine. Just be careful on the way down.”

Unexpectedly, the other man reacted even more sharply, as if he had been burned by fire. He sprang aside in a flash and neatly avoided Du Ruo’s hand.

Du Ruo raised an eyebrow. Even though he was carrying Xiang Yuanyuan, what he had intended was only an ordinary grab at the other man’s arm. But Du Ruo had trained. Even if his skill had already become part of daily life, even a simple grab was not something an ordinary person could evade.

“Sorry about that. I was moving too fast. My apologies.”

Du Ruo stopped and apologized to the man in front of him.

At the same time, he studied him. The man looked to be in his forties, about one hundred and sixty-five centimeters tall, speaking with a regional accent and built fairly sturdily.

What stood out most was his hands. Du Ruo could tell at a glance that the man had definitely trained, and his skills were probably not shallow. His fingers were coarse, but not in the ordinary sense. The joints were thick, the skin on his palms was yellowed, and the entire hand had a remarkable toughness to it. His middle finger was almost level with his index finger.

That was the mark of someone who had endured bitter training in claw techniques and achieved some success. With hands like that, if he seized or locked an opponent, he would almost certainly not miss.

Added to that, Du Ruo had not heard the sound of his footsteps just now. Du Ruo had not been fully alert with all his senses engaged, but since he was worried about bumping into people, he had still been paying close attention. If someone had been breathing heavily or making footsteps at the corner, he would definitely have heard it.

Since he had heard nothing, it meant the other man had extraordinary stamina. Whether his training was in external or internal martial arts, it was clearly already well developed.

So Du Ruo had subconsciously studied him with greater care.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just be careful.”

Only then did the man notice that Du Ruo was carrying someone. Guessing that Du Ruo might be in a hurry to get down the mountain, he waved it off with a smile and turned to continue climbing.

“What is it?”

Xiang Yuanyuan noticed the change in Du Ruo’s expression and asked softly. They were already near the foot of the mountain, and there was not much scenery left to see, so she had not been paying much attention to their surroundings.

“That man just now was an expert.”

Du Ruo answered as his steps slowed. What interested him was that when he had reached out to grab the other man, the man’s reflexive dodge had been pure evasion. An ordinary person would not have been able to avoid it, and a trained martial artist would usually respond with an instinctive block. Such a reflexive avoidance was rare.

“How expert?”

Xiang Yuanyuan swung her feet a little and asked with curiosity.

“Probably about as high as Halfway Pavilion.”

“Wow, that high? Then what about you?”

“I should be a little higher than him.”

As he spoke, Du Ruo made a gesture that would probably have enraged a man from the Korean peninsula.

“I see. Then that uncle must be very impressive.”

...

Du Ruo did not think much of it. The man might indeed be formidable, but they had only crossed paths briefly. Strangers meeting by chance would not likely have any further connection.

He chose not to go to the clinic, and instead took the shuttle bus down the mountain.

There were several medical stations on the Yellow Mountain to provide first aid for tourists, but that was for emergencies. Xiang Yuanyuan’s ankle was only lightly injured, while the low blood sugar needed a proper hospital checkup.

A normal person with low blood sugar might not have much trouble; a candy in the pocket would do. But for someone like Xiang Yuanyuan, a habitual drinker, if low blood sugar struck while she was drinking, neither she nor anyone else might notice in time, and that could be dangerous. So Du Ruo still decided to take her to the town hospital for an examination.

When they came up, Xiang Yuanyuan had ridden a small electric scooter with Du Ruo on the back. Now it was Du Ruo riding, with Xiang Yuanyuan seated behind him.

The town was not large. After leaving the scenic area, Du Ruo rode for about ten minutes before reaching the hospital.

The doctor at reception asked a few questions, then began writing out forms and ordering tests.

After being busy for most of the day, the two of them went out to eat while waiting for the results. This was the first time Du Ruo had seen Xiang Yuanyuan eat rice noodles. At noon, she had, unusually, not drunk any alcohol, since nobody knew whether there would still be more tests that afternoon.

When the results came out, they were handed to the doctor at reception.

“Do you drink?”

“Yes.”

“Do you drink a lot?”

“Two jin?”

“?”

“At least two jin of strong liquor every day.”

Du Ruo answered from the side.

“?”

The doctor put down the report and looked at Xiang Yuanyuan in disbelief.

“Your problem is a bit serious. Your liver function is quite badly damaged. You need to be checked for alcohol dependence, have blood tests done, and get an MRI. Only then can I prescribe the right medicine.”

More tests followed.

In the end, after reviewing everything, the doctor only prescribed a batch of medication and sent the two of them on their way.

“You drink that much every day, and it’s only a mild dependence?”

Du Ruo was somewhat incredulous. Xiang Yuanyuan’s liver function was impaired, though not enough to require hospitalization. She was given a long list of medications: liver-protecting drugs, liver-restoring drugs, various treatment medicines, plus medication to suppress alcohol craving and all kinds of vitamins.

“But I can’t drink for the next while, can I?”

Xiang Yuanyuan wore a troubled expression. If her liver function was damaged and she still drank, it would definitely affect the treatment, and could even make things worse.

Ring, ring, ring—

Just as Xiang Yuanyuan was about to say something else, her phone suddenly rang.

“Qiqi... you’re here? That’s wonderful. I need you more than ever right now. Wait for me, I’ll be back right away.”

After hanging up, Xiang Yuanyuan said to Du Ruo, “Hurry, hurry. Qiqi’s at the tavern, and she brought her cousin with her.”