NOVEL NEXT Chapter 484: Saving Lives
"Don't just stand there, go help Sun Si with the rescue of the injured."
"Alright." Xiaoxiao nodded obediently, noticing grandpa's genuine concern, while Da Hei, who had made significant contributions, stood by her side.
Da Hei had indeed been a huge help. Almost everywhere he sniffed and reacted positively to the rubble, there were living people, making these spots priority areas for excavation, significantly raising the chances of survival for those buried under the debris. After all, the sooner they're dug out, the more hope they have.
Sun Si was the son of Dr. Sun. This time, he and several apprentices volunteered to join the effort, and he ended up in Xiaoxiao's group.
Although his medical skills weren't as refined as Dr. Sun's, having a doctor at all in times like these was already a luxury no one was going to quibble over.
Fortunately, there were more living people than dead, and although most were injured to varying degrees, with some having serious injuries, ultimately, being able to see the light of day again and not lying buried in the dark ruins waiting hopelessly for death was something to be grateful for.
Xiaoxiao didn't just assist Sun Si as her grandfather suggested; instead, she took the initiative to help the lightly wounded apply medicine and dress their wounds, easing a significant burden off Sun Si and his team.
Out of hundreds of people dug out, the deaths were easily overlooked; amongst the survivors, seventy percent were injured, while the remaining thirty percent were luckier, with some escaping unscathed.
To Xiaoxiao, these people must have done a lot of good deeds in their past lives to be so fortunate.
Not using the medicine brought by Sun Si, Xiaoxiao used from her own medicine chest. Both she and Sun Si, as medical practitioners, had come fully prepared with plenty of ready-made medicines and, of course, ample herbal supplies.
"Where are you feeling uncomfortable?" Xiaoxiao crouched beside a woman and instinctively tried to uncover her clothes to examine the bleeding arm but was weakly pushed away by the woman, who was tightly clutching her clothing while also protecting the child beside her. The mother and child were covered in soil; the child was clearly frightened, even though he was about ten years old, clinging tightly to his mother, but looking slightly better than the woman.
"Don't worry, I'm a woman." Detecting her resistance, Xiaoxiao softly reassured her, this time using her actual voice, which was gently sweet and decidedly not a man's, easing the woman's expression visibly although she still didn't let go of her hand and instead, slowly sat up.
"Young lady, could you check my child first?"
This was a mother's instinct, placing her child before herself. Seeing the woman's condition was not too bad, Xiaoxiao nodded in understanding.
While she couldn't take a pulse, Xiaoxiao was adept in observing, listening, and inquiry, having occasionally gleaned this knowledge while visiting Dr. Sun. At least for external injuries, Xiaoxiao could handle them without issue.
After examining the child's skin, Xiaoxiao found only scrapes on the head and hands with no other visible injuries.
"Does anything hurt?" Xiaoxiao asked.
The child shook his head; perhaps Xiaoxiao's gentle voice helped lower his guard, showing a slight improvement from earlier when he clung tensely to his mother, looking very frightened.
Xiaoxiao nodded in acknowledgment, then pressed gently on the child's major joints and vital areas, noting no apparent pain.
"There shouldn't be any major issues. If you're still worried, you can ask Dr. Sun to take a look later; I'm not skilled in internal injuries," Xiaoxiao said frankly and without reservation, pointing to where Dr. Sun was busying himself in another direction.
The woman, too, was sensible; seeing her child wasn't in distress, she looked gratefully at Xiaoxiao.
"Well... is it alright now?" After simply disinfecting and wiping the child's forehead and arms and applying some ointment, Xiaoxiao looked at the woman's arm and asked.
The woman didn't speak but began to untie her outer garment herself, glancing around with embarrassment yet gritting her teeth and persevering.
Seeing this, Xiaoxiao opened the oil-paper umbrella she carried, using it to shield the woman's side, understanding the sensitivity of the injury site and respecting her modesty.
Upon revealing the woman's injured area, Xiaoxiao sharply inhaled at the sight of the wound.
The woman's demeanor had led Xiaoxiao to believe the injury wasn't severe, but she hadn't anticipated a wooden splinter driven directly into the back of her left shoulder, with the wood broken off, leaving just a short stub. Her arm was also heavily abraded.
At this moment, the mixture of fabric and wound, despite the rain's soaking, made it excruciating for the woman when peeled off, her pain barely contained, likely for her child's sake, resisting the urge to cry out.
"Mother..." Despite her efforts, the child was still frightened, watching his mother nervously.
The woman's eyes filled with joy upon hearing her child call her 'mother', as if this moment made the pain worthwhile; her son was finally coming out of his shock, no longer just a shell of instincts.
"It's alright, the doctor is treating mother's wound. Don't be scared!" The woman, although panting, continued to reassure the boy, then looked at Xiaoxiao: "It's okay, young lady. I can endure this, please proceed."
Feeling the throb at her shoulder, the woman knew that she must take advantage of the available medical help. Once gone, an uncontested wound left too long could be dire. Glancing at her in-laws who lay motionless in another direction and looking towards where her own husband and two other sons lay, their fate uncertain, her heart wrenched with pain, but she knew she must hold on.
Seeing the beads of sweat or rain on the woman's forehead, Xiaoxiao took a wooden stick from the medicine box, "Bite on this, it will hurt a lot."
The arm wound was manageable, but the penetrating shoulder injury was tougher for anyone to bear, and she didn't have Powder for Anesthesia available.
The woman trembled, but after taking a deep breath, she bit down hard on the wooden stick, nodding resolutely at Xiaoxiao.
"You... hang in there." Placing all the surgical tools she might need under the umbrella, Xiaoxiao focused her spiritual power, attempting to pierce the shoulder to extract the wooden stub.
The first attempt failed, mainly because she hadn't dared to apply enough force, considering the wood splinters embedded in the flesh, forcing it might exacerbate the woman's suffering.
Carefully observing, she took out a smaller scalpel to try and gently separate the tiny splinters first.
"Hang in there," Xiaoxiao said, her eyes finding the woman as she quickly slashed a cross on her shoulder with the scalpel, expertly peeling away the surrounding splinters, then wrapped the cloth around the wood's top and yanked out the stick as thick as a baby's wrist, causing a gushing flow of blood.
"Mom..." The child turned pale, fearing for his mother, who was stopped by Xiaoxiao when trying to shield her.
Honestly, seeing so much blood, Xiaoxiao felt a bit faint, yet she held on, then examined the wound for remnants, disinfecting, hemostasis, applying medicine, and finally taking needle and thread to stitch the wound, as it was extensive and would heal better this way.