Chapter 640: Chapter 639: Emaciated and Gaunt

In the dim light, Zhu Yu carefully examined the unconscious man lying on the ground.

The man looked to be around fifty or sixty years old, of medium height, extremely thin, with sunken eye sockets and cheeks, making his cheekbones appear particularly prominent.

His skin had the pallor of someone who hasn’t seen daylight for a long time, almost bloodless, and combined with his skeletal frame, he truly embodied the phrase "skin and bones."

How did someone with such a frail body manage to move the stone coffin lid on a daily basis?

The more Zhu Yu looked, the more incredulous he felt. Reflecting on how the man had quickly escaped before them, it seemed even more puzzling.

"Fu Lu, make a trip to the town." Zhu Yu glanced at the nearby Fu Wen with reddened eyes, instructing Fu Lu, "This man is securely tied and was knocked out by you. He probably won’t wake up anytime soon, so we can ignore him for now.

Go back to the inn, bring some of those pancakes the landlady made, and also grab the ice balm I placed there, get some bath beans, and bring a change of clothes for your brother. Make it quick."

Even though Fu Lu didn’t know Zhu Yu’s intentions, the lady’s orders were equivalent to the master’s, so he agreed without hesitation and quickly left the small wooden building.

Fu Wen’s eyes were somewhat bloodshot. Even after rinsing with water, the stinging sensation hadn’t disappeared, and his eyes kept tearing up, making him look quite sorrowful.

He could guess what a sight he must look like now, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed under Zhu Yu’s scrutiny, he raised his arm to wipe his eyes with his sleeve, but Zhu Yu hurriedly stopped him.

"I’m out of water in my canteen right now!" She quickly warned Fu Wen, "Your sleeve might still have the powder that person threw earlier.

If you rub your eyes, it might intensify the burning pain, and you won’t be able to open your eyes, which means we’d lose a valuable helper!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Upon hearing her reminder, Fu Wen hurriedly lowered his sleeve and secretly brushed it off a few times.

As for the tears continuously streaming from his eyes, he had to let them flow.

Fu Lu returned after more than an hour, likely more familiar with the area after several trips and worried about the situation back here, sprinting back as fast as he could, still panting heavily upon arrival.

"Second Master, I brought everything you asked for!" As he gasped for air, he glanced at the still-unconscious frail man on the ground, "This guy hasn’t woken up yet!"

"Hmm, don’t bother with him for now." Zhu Yu nodded, signaling him to put the items down, "Help your brother change into the clean clothes quietly. Don’t shake the one he was wearing, take it outside, and hang it on a tree branch to let the wind blow it.

Make sure you don’t stand downwind."

Fu Lu didn’t know what had transpired inside the underground mausoleum as he couldn’t enter the passage due to his build, and he wasn’t aware of the potency of the powder thrown by that man. Seeing Zhu Yu’s detailed instructions, he was extremely cautious while helping his brother change clothes and carefully took the old garment outside.

When he returned, Zhu Yu had already used the remaining little water to help Fu Wen wash his face and hands thoroughly with the bath beans, then applied a thin layer of ice balm around his eyes.

The ice balm was something Lu Qing had given her during the hot weather to apply on the forehead or neck to feel a bit cooler.

She had carried it around without much use and, unexpectedly, found a perfect use for it in this situation.

The balm worked perfectly; Fu Wen’s eyes, which had been tearing up from the stinging pain, found relief after a thin application of the balm. Even though his skin remained noticeably red and swollen, he managed to open his eyes, feeling much less discomfort now.

"Second Master, thank goodness you were here today, or else my eyes might have gone blind..." Fu Wen spoke with a mix of fear and relief, harboring a bit of regret, "It’s also my fault. When I jumped up, I anticipated he might attack, but I didn’t expect him to use such a dirty trick!"

"Blindness was unlikely, you would’ve just suffered and endured some hardships." Zhu Yu waved it off but Fu Wen’s words reminded her of something else.

She called Fu Lu over and whispered instructions in his ear, to which Fu Lu nodded repeatedly.

After all that was settled, the person still showed no signs of waking up. Zhu Yu and the others were tired, so they sat down nearby, resting on the ground. Fu Lu took out the pancakes he brought back from the town and the four of them began eating.

Perhaps because Lu Qing was quite generous, despite the town’s scarcity of resources, necessitating long journeys over mountains to secure essentials, the landlady hadn’t skimped on oil and ingredients while making those pancakes. Even eating them plain didn’t feel too dry or bland; in fact, the natural wheat fragrance was quite delicious.

As the four of them were halfway through their pancakes, a loud growling sound of hunger suddenly resonated.

All four simultaneously turned their gaze toward the nearby man with his hands tied behind his back— they were eating and more than half-full at that, so it couldn’t have been their stomachs. The only possibility was that the man was about to wake up, his body reacting to the aroma out of sheer hunger, even before his mind caught up.

Sure enough, soon the man let out a muffled groan, his eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He probably hadn’t seen light in a long time, and although the brightness in the small building was far too dim for the four of them, just slightly better than night time, it was enough to make the man struggle several times before he managed to open his eyes.

Lu Qing approached, standing in front of him, holding a half-eaten pancake in his hand.

The man couldn’t open his eyes at first but his nose continuously twitched, struggling to swallow as if ensnared by the pancake’s aroma.

Finally adjusting to the light in the small building, he squinted his eyes open, looking tensely at Lu Qing.

"Who are you? Why are you hiding here?" Lu Qing asked.

The man wriggled on the ground, finding his arms tightly bound with no chance of freeing them. His expression was tense and fearful, opening his mouth only to emit strange whimpering sounds from his throat.