Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 263: Striking Ruthlessly

The powder entered their noses, and both of them started sneezing incessantly.

Their eyes turned red.

Yi Chichi observed their expressions and silently counted in her mind. When she reached five, the tall one started scratching himself like he was infested with lice, followed closely by the short one.

"Just what the hell is this... gosh, I’m itching to death..."

The sentence was so clumsily put together that, apart from expressing the itching, the rest was a complete muddle.

Yi Chichi understood, though. She smiled and said, "It’s supposed to itch."

As soon as she said that, both of them glared at her, and the short one looked especially fierce, raising his hand to strike.

"I also have poison."

Their aggressive steps halted with her gentle threat, and the short one sat down on the ground in pain, scratching his face wildly and pleading, "Please, granny, we were wrong. Can you stop the itching?"

The tall one thought his tone and attitude weren’t right and flattered, "Please, auntie, we’re begging you."

Yi Chichi looked at them expressionlessly as they scratched their faces into a bloody mess and said calmly, "It’s easy to stop the itching. Just tell me what you were doing in the woods."

Then she noticed a clear panic and guilt in their eyes, "We... we weren’t doing anything."

"You don’t seem like you weren’t doing anything."

There was no hope they’d be honest, so she’d better take matters into her own hands.

With that in mind, she said to them, "I’ll relieve the itching, no fighting, or I’ll poison you."

"Okay, okay..."

The itching was unbearable; their minds were mush from the itching inside them. They simply wanted relief from the maddening itch.

Naturally, whatever Yi Chichi said, they complied.

So Yi Chichi seized the opportunity to approach them and gave each a jab with a needle.

"You..."

Caught off guard, the short one was about to say something but blacked out and fell to the ground.

The tall one also fell with a thud, following his companion.

Yi Chichi reached into her pocket, pulled out a clam oil container, and opened it. Inside was not antifreeze cream but ointment to relieve itching.

She used her fingernail to scoop some out and applied it to their carotid arteries, looked around, and seeing no one, headed into the woods.

The needles remained in them. As long as the needles stayed, they wouldn’t wake up with the itch relieved.

But time was of the essence. If they woke up and removed the needles, it would be difficult to overpower them again.

Therefore, she had to hurry and find out what happened.

Luckily, the big snowstorm on New Year’s Eve was substantial and continued until the third day, stopping only yesterday. Though it was a sunny day, the large amount of accumulated snow couldn’t melt in one day, given the Northeast temperatures.

In the woods, where the dense trees made it difficult for the snow to melt, Yi Chichi had no trouble finding two clear sets of footprints and a dragged mark suggesting a struggling person.

An ominous feeling arose in her chest, prompting her to quicken her pace following the marks.

The scent of blood in the air grew stronger, and the previously pure white snow stained red.

In her field of vision, a vibrant splash of red stood out, different from the fresh crimson of blood, the dark red when it congeals, or the red mixed with melting snow. The color was striking in the nearly pristine white woods.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a red wool scarf.

The owner of the scarf lay on the ground, head turned so that the features weren’t visible.

Yi Chichi felt an uneasy feeling swell within her, thinking if she remembered correctly, Xue Jiahuan had a red scarf like this. She had seen it several times.

She prayed it wasn’t her.

But heaven didn’t favor her; praying was useless. Turning the face over revealed it was indeed Xue Jiahuan.

Beaten, her face was bruised and swollen, with dried blood under her nose and chin and a distinct handprint on her face.

Feeling for her carotid pulse, she was still alive.

The likely reason she was unconscious was that she had been knocked out.

Further inspection showed her clothes pockets were torn, the outer cover of her down jacket was ripped, her pants pockets had been rifled through, but the waist buttons remained intact.

Women’s pants nowadays didn’t have front openings, but at the side. So, the intact buttons meant she hadn’t been assaulted.

The pair outside were probably simply after money.

Yi Chichi’s heart eased slightly, and she gently tapped her face, "Xue Zhqing, Xue Zhqing, can you hear me?"

No response.

If it weren’t for her strong pulse and warm breath, she would seem dead.

Applying pressure to the philtrum, this time there was a reaction.

"It hurts..."

A faint mumble escaped her lips, causing Yi Chichi’s heart to leap for joy. She pressed harder, and Xue Jiahuan gasped in pain and opened her eyes.

"Who the hell is pinching me..."

Not fully awake, the words came out as a curse.

Yi Chichi’s mouth twitched slightly, and she replied helplessly, "Doesn’t your face hurt?"

"Ouch!"

Mentioning it triggered memories, and her face and body started to throb with pain, while Xue Jiahuan’s previously dazed eyes grew clearer.

She looked around and saw only Yi Chichi, then moved her eyes returning the question, "How did you end up here?"

"Caught two bad guys."

The concise statement of fact rendered Xue Jiahuan silently thunderstruck.

The world fell silent then. A gust of wind passed, breaking ice on branches that shattered audibly upon hitting the ground.

With a bitter smile, Xue Jiahuan looked at her and asked, "Can you help me up?"

"No!"

Injured as she was, checking for other possible injuries was a must. What if there was a fracture or a concussion? It could do more harm.

Seeing her frustration rising, Yi Chichi asked, "Other than your face, were you attacked anywhere else?"

Xue Jiahuan paused, "Does kicking a few times count?"

Yi Chichi nodded that it counted and inquired where she was kicked. Xue Jiahuan said her stomach.

After a check, thanks to the thick winter clothing, neither internal injury nor bruising was present. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Continuing to inquire, the facial injuries were the most severe.

"Do you have a headache? Any dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or ear pain?"

Xue Jiahuan gave it some thought, weakly responding, "A bit of ear pain, some nausea, and dizziness—uncertain since I’m lying down."

Yi Chichi concluded, most likely a mild concussion.

The eardrum damage might be present too.

The situation was challenging—no medicine on hand, and the only three needles were used on the troublemakers outside, she couldn’t even administer any acupuncture.

Leaving her here was impractical; given Xue Jiahuan’s condition, failure to get her out in time would result in hypothermia.

"I’ll help you up. Let’s see if you can move."

"Okay."

In times like this, she became compliant, cooperating with everything Yi Chichi said.

"How do you feel now?"