Chapter 108
Jian Yao slept until it was quite late*. When she opened her eyes, there was no one by her side. She lifted her head and saw a familiar figure in the yard. The sky had cleared up.
*T/N 日上三竿 (ri shang san gan) – the sun has risen to the height of three bamboo poles (竿) above the horizon i.e. it’s late.
She unexpectedly laughed in relief. She also felt more at ease.
That guy, with injured legs, deep in the tiger’s cave, nevertheless could not sit still. Who knows what tricky manoeuvre he was contemplating in the early morning.
Sure enough, not long after, Bo Jinyan walked towards her using the wooden stick for support and said, “We should go and meet them.”
Jian Yao stiffened.
Under clear skies, the little town seemed to be somewhat more lively. There were more pedestrians on the streets, and the houses and trees seemed fresher and cleaner. Although they looked at Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan with great curiosity when they met them, they were nevertheless quite friendly. From outward appearances, they really looked like typical ordinary people from a poor and backward mountainous region. Moreover, they once again met several people carrying water back home. Jian Yao had been continuously observing the people they met on the road, but could not tell who belonged to Buddha’s Hand, or where they could be hiding. Could it be that they were on the upper floor of some building spying on them?
They reached the doctor’s clinic very soon. Jian Yao wanted to get some more gauze bandages and topical medicine so she could change Bo Jinyan’s bandages herself. Supporting Bo Jinyan, she pushed aside the curtain and entered the clinic, only to be startled.
There was a patient in the clinic today.