The following morning, the sun shone brightly.
Lin Yu was urged awake, and without even a bite of breakfast, she yawned her way to the casualty area to change bandages.
“Those Lanforthians were utterly decimated last night!”
“Indeed, our First Battalion brothers slaughtered hundreds of those foreign devils…”
‘Hmm?’
The idle chatter of the wounded caught her attention, leading her to wonder if the shelling from yesterday had actually been a Lanforthian attack.
Well, whether it was a Lanforthian offensive no longer mattered; what truly mattered was the impending arrival of another deluge of casualties, promising to bury her under a mountain of seemingly endless work.
In the operating room, the military doctor capable of healing magic had already guzzled over a dozen bottles of magical potions, casting healing spells twice per operation on average.
Yet, even this proved woefully insufficient, with many more wounded succumbing to their injuries due to delayed treatment.
‘Should I tell everyone that I, too, possess healing magic…?’
Her gaze drifted to the stretchers at the far end of the array, where untreated casualties lay, and she pondered silently.
Regardless, the war had devolved to such a state that her workload would remain immense whether she used magic or not, and even a transfer to another unit would be a welcome change for someone under Commander Yang’s watchful eye.
‘Speaking of Commander Yang, I wonder if he’s still alive.
While a part of me wishes he’d simply remain buried in the earth, never to reappear before me, I can’t shake the feeling that I owe him so much for his past care.
I should at least find an opportunity to repay him, proving that I don’t merely accept favors unconditionally.’
‘Otherwise, I’d become the kind of ‘bad woman’ who believes ‘receiving a gift does not equate to my agreement.”
Having finished changing the last casualty’s bandages, Lin Yu cleared her throat and approached the medical company’s commanding officer.
“Captain, I apologize for the interruption…”
He set down the potion bottle he was holding and looked at Lin Yu with bloodshot eyes.
“What is it?”
‘He looks utterly exhausted; his eyes wouldn’t be this red unless he’d spent three days and nights battling it out in an internet cafe.’
Silently dreading the side effects of the magical potions, Lin Yu put forth a request: “May I go to the frontline medical station across the river to assist?”
“…You are the second person I’ve encountered who has voluntarily made such an outrageous request.”
‘The first, presumably, was Nangong, who came to see him yesterday.’
“However, the frontline is indeed severely understaffed.
Your willingness to volunteer there would greatly aid our efforts, so, go ahead.”
Only after receiving permission did she step out of the tent, her gaze sweeping the surroundings as she made her way toward the bridge.
The “field hospital,” situated behind the right bank’s fortifications, was some distance from the main position, and the position itself was also a fair way from the bridge.
Even with the frontline medical station on the left bank positioned at the bridgehead, the combined distance would take her a considerable time to traverse.
体内深处的魔力如潮水般涌动，林雨一路向前，沿途给四五人说明情况后才被放行到桥面上。
Two railway tracks stretched forward, one connecting to their own positions in the rear, the other extending into the Lanforthian-occupied territory ahead.
Just across the bridge, at the disembarkation point, several white signs bearing red crosses stood erected.
The frontline medical station was there, and Nangong was there.
Lin Yu had, in truth, deceived the weary military doctor.
Her true intention in coming to the frontline was not to assist, but to persuade Nangong to return to the rear.
It was far too perilous within the range of Lanforthian heavy artillery; having only just rediscovered Nangong, she desperately hoped her friend wouldn’t vanish without a trace due to shelling once more.
“Nangong, are you here…?”
Following the sounds of pained cries, Lin Yu eventually located the person she sought within a large pit covered by a canvas tarp.
There, the individual was brandishing a surgical saw, creating a chilling, grating cacophony against a wounded soldier’s bone.
“You… what brings you here?”
Upon seeing Lin Yu as the intruder, Nangong immediately ceased her work, handing the saw to a nearby medic.
“Is something urgent?”
A pang of guilt rose within her, knowing she had come to Nangong with a trivial matter.
She shook her head.
“It’s not convenient to talk here.
How about we step outside?”
Exchanging glances with the other medics to confirm they could continue the operation, Nangong removed her gloves and set them aside, then followed Lin Yu out of the grave-like pit and back to ground level.
Lin Yu walked several dozen more paces, waiting until the wails from the amputation surgery faded to an inaudible murmur before turning to tell Nangong her purpose for calling her out: “Let’s return to the rear.
It’s too dangerous here on the frontline; a shell could drop any day.”
Nangong offered no argument.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.
The only reason I initially insisted on coming here was because I heard you hadn’t evacuated, and I wanted to stay at the very front to see if you had merely been a little slow.”
Nangong placed a hand on Lin Yu’s shoulder.
“Now that you’re standing before me, hale and hearty, there’s no need for me to remain in this place either.
I’ll find an opportunity today to speak with the Captain about it.”
“Mm.”
“Anything else?”
“…No.”
Lin Yu shook her head, preparing to depart.
Nangong withdrew her hand, crossing her arms instead.
“Then it’s my turn to ask you something.
How about it?”
‘…’ Lin Yu considered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“Mm.”
“I’ve inquired with the scouts who returned from the front,” Nangong began, her tone laced with concern about Lin Yu’s return yesterday.
“You were unconscious, lying on a flatbed cart, and pulled back the entire way.
How’s your body? Are you injured anywhere?”
“I don’t know.
I was so dazed that I just fell asleep, and I’m not clear on what exactly happened to me.
The kind woman who looked after me after I woke up didn’t tell me either.”
Lin Yu herself hadn’t figured out why she had fainted then.
Could it have been the healing spell pressed against her forehead?
Noticing the confusion in Lin Yu’s eyes, Nangong swiftly changed the subject.
“If you’re unclear, let’s set that aside for now.
I want to ask you about something else.
The person who rescued you from being heavily surrounded by the Lanforthians—who was he? Have you properly thanked him?”
“Oh, him, he’s… he’s that one… the one who always got injured before, and then came back to the tent asking me to treat him.
Yes, that’s him.”
Such a vague description forced Nangong to ponder for a while before she understood whom Lin Yu was referring to.
Then, with an incredulous gasp, she exclaimed, “Lin Yu, you… you can’t possibly still not know his name!”
“That’s right, I’ve always—”
“And you’re nodding so self-righteously, saying ‘that’s right’?” Nangong rubbed her temples, her voice tinged with utter exasperation.
“He saved you twice, twice!
The first time, he helped clear your name of being a Lanforthian spy, and the second time, he directly brought you out of the Lanforthian army completely unharmed.
You… you actually don’t even know his name?”
“Th-this is for a reason.”
“What reason could there possibly be?
Or perhaps you genuinely believe you could have survived without him?
In that courtroom?
On yesterday’s battlefield?”
“I… I… I understand, but… but I have nothing to thank him with right now, and he doesn’t seem to care much about the things he’s done.”
The last time she repaid a life-saving kindness, the gifts had come from her senior medics, along with a flask of spirits Commander Yang had poured into her canteen.
In her current predicament, where was she supposed to find sliced meat for hotpot (TL Note: ‘Shuan rou pian’ refers to thinly sliced meat, typically for hotpot or shabu-shabu.) and strong liquor?
“Gratitude is never measured by the quantity of gifts, but by the sincerity of the intention,” Nangong said earnestly.
“Even if you go empty-handed, as long as your heart is in it, he will understand.”
‘And besides, you actually have many other gifts you can give him.’
Nangong’s final words echoed repeatedly in Lin Yu’s mind.
Steadying the steel helmet Nangong had placed on her head, Lin Yu began searching the entire trench for the man’s whereabouts.
‘What else could I possibly offer him in return…?’
As she navigated the trenches, barely tall enough to reach her head, she mused silently, pressing her left hand to her chest, feeling the fierce thumping within.
‘It couldn’t possibly be marrying him (TL Note: ‘Yi shen xiang xu’ is a traditional idiom meaning to pledge oneself in marriage as a form of repayment or devotion.), could it?
Is that kind of repayment still in vogue these days?
Commander Yang would surely laugh himself silly if he found out.’
‘Still, he has undeniably helped me a great deal… I should maintain a proper attitude.
Even if he usually irritates me, he never fails when it truly matters.’
‘How, then, should I thank him?’
Lin Yu began aimlessly searching for inspiration, eventually unearthing a very old memory from the depths of her mind.