When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 33

Qu City.

“One little finger broken… severe leg injury, diagnosed as shattered bones.”

“Several ribs fractured, uncertain if they’ve punctured the lungs. Severe trauma to the back of the head, bloodshot eyes…”

“These are all signs of beating.”

“Excessive blood loss—her gums are already snow-white.”

He asked Jiang Nan and Xiao Ran, “When did you find her?”

“At dusk,” Xiao Ran replied.

The physician shook his head. “Given the severity of the blood loss, I estimate she was injured roughly two hours ago.”

“I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee she’ll survive.”

Jiang Nan nodded, her gaze falling on the pale-faced girl lying on the bed. Her clothes were soaked in blood, her breathing faint, her eyes tightly shut—she hadn’t regained consciousness.

Not long ago, she had sent Jiang Nan two thick letters, every inch of the paper filled with words and even doodles in the margins. She had written about so many things, full of hopes for the future.

Jiang Nan had thought that the next time they met, she would see a more spirited, radiant version of her.

But she never imagined that their reunion would be like this—Qin Wan, nearly beaten to death and left in the wilderness.

The moment Jiang Nan found Qin Wan, she rushed back to the nearest city, Qu City, hoping to save her life.

This girl’s passion for life had once moved her. She didn’t want her to die like this.

The elderly physician worked tirelessly in the room for a quarter of an hour, bandaging the wounds, stopping the bleeding, and prescribing oral medicine.

Perhaps due to his age, he was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

Jiang Nan had tried hiring younger physicians, but those who came took one look at the situation and sighed. The more timid ones, afraid of being held responsible for a death, waved their hands and said they couldn’t treat her, suggesting she find someone more skilled.

Only this old physician stayed.

Jiang Nan sat to the side, carefully replaying every relevant plot point in her mind.

There was nothing.

Aside from the setback in Yang City when the goods were stolen, the original story had no mention of this incident.

After finishing his work, the old physician wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and said, “Now it’s up to fate.”

Xiao Ran felt a pang of sorrow.

She didn’t know Qin Wan, but seeing her lying alone in the wilderness, covered in horrifying wounds, made her chest tighten.

Jiang Nan asked Xiao Ran if she needed someone to escort her back to Yang City.

Xiao Ran shook her head. “There’s nothing urgent for me in Yang City. I want to stay and see this girl recover.”

As night fell, Xiao Ran returned to her aunt’s home.

Xiao Wan was surprised to see her back so soon and covered her mouth with a laugh. “What did I tell you? Last time you came back after two days, now it’s just two hours.”

Xiao Ran pressed her lips together and explained what had happened.

Xiao Wan was shocked.

Just hearing about the injuries was enough to terrify her.

“What kind of grudge could drive someone to do this to a young girl?” Xiao Wan was a kind-hearted woman and immediately told Xiao Ran to take some medicinal herbs from the storeroom when she returned.

________________________________________

The old physician came for five or six days straight.

Qin Wan showed no signs of waking, remaining in the same state as when she was first brought back. Her cheeks grew increasingly hollow.

“If she doesn’t wake soon, it’ll be dire. I must warn you—it might only be a matter of days now,” the old physician said gravely.

Jiang Nan’s expression darkened. “Money isn’t an issue. Please, try everything you can.”

The old physician frowned while taking her pulse and finally sighed, “She herself doesn’t want to wake up.”

After the old physician left, Jiang Nan sat on the stool and asked the person on the bed, “Qin Wan, you were beaten so badly—don’t you want revenge?”

There was no response from the bed.

Over the past few days, Qin Wan’s face had grown deathly pale, her body gaunt and emaciated. A shadow of death seemed to cling to her, as if she were barely clinging to life by the medicine alone—if the treatment stopped, she would leave this world immediately.

At that moment, Xiao Ran brought a basin of warm water. A Jiu took it, wrung out a cloth, and gently wiped Qin Wan’s hands.

Jiang Nan continued, “What about your companions? Don’t you care about them anymore?”

The three of them watched Qin Wan quietly.

After a long while, the person on the bed slightly moved her eyes.

Jiang Nan quickly leaned in to check and found that she hadn’t woken up, but she had reacted to her words.

She pressed on, “What about the goods you worked so hard to transport for so long? You can give them up, but what about your team members? They traveled mountains and rivers with you for months, all counting on this batch of goods to change their lives…”

Jiang Nan slowly uttered the words, “…to change their fates.”

“You can just think of yourself, refuse to wake up, refuse to face it. But…”

Jiang Nan moved closer, ensuring she could hear clearly.

“If you don’t wake up soon, those goods will be lost forever. I can help you get them back, but you need to wake up and tell me who did this.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Wan’s fingers twitched, and her eyelids struggled to open.

Jiang Nan let out a sigh of relief.

A Jiu and Xiao Ran immediately gathered around, genuinely happy to see her finally awake.

Xiao Ran’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Jiang Nan.

It actually worked—as expected of Sister Jiang.

Qin Wan had woken up. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. The first words she spoke were, “My lady, I heard everything. Please… help me… get the goods back.”

Her voice was hoarse, like the hollow sound of wind whistling through a half-cut tree.

A Jiu quickly supported her.

Jiang Nan nodded. “Rest first, don’t worry. On the day I found you injured, I already sent people to track them down. They should be bringing the goods back today.”

Qin Wan weakly thanked her, “Thank you… thank you, my lady.”

Jiang Nan asked, “What exactly happened? Who hurt you?”

Qin Wan was silent for a long time. When she finally raised her head, the once bright and cheerful girl now had red-rimmed eyes, her voice trembling. “My parents.”

“They tried to kill me.”

As she said this, her entire body shook.

The others in the room fell silent.

The room was so quiet that only the faint chirping of late-summer cicadas outside could be heard.

“They lured me out, struck me with weapons, using all their strength.” Qin Wan’s fingers dug into the edge of the bed, her nails turning white, yet she didn’t seem to feel the pain.

“They never intended for me to live. When they hit my head, I begged, ‘Mother, please stop, it hurts.’ But all I got was even worse beatings—I was pleading for mercy, but they were afraid my cries would draw passersby.”

Qin Wan forced a fragile smile, one that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

From her slow recounting, Jiang Nan pieced together the entire incident.

It turned out that before she left her hometown, her parents had asked about her travel route. Qin Wan, unsuspecting of their intentions, had told them everything, thinking they were simply concerned for her safety. She never imagined anything else.

During the journey, the caravan changed routes after encountering another merchant group. As they neared Qu City, Qin Wan’s parents caught up with them, tearfully claiming that bandits had robbed their home and they had come seeking refuge with her.

They said they had private matters to discuss and asked her to step aside with them. Worried that her parents had suffered mistreatment, Qin Wan complied and followed them further away.

But to her shock, once they were out of sight, her father struck the back of her head with a club, rendering her immobile. Soon after, her younger brother arrived, and the three of them began beating her mercilessly.

“I wasn’t stubborn—I begged for mercy, but they didn’t believe me.”

Her parents hurled vile insults, accusing her of being troublesome and distrustful, claiming that was why she had changed routes.

They were well-armed, having previously claimed the weapons were for protection against bandits. In truth, they had come to kill her.

None of them were as skilled in martial arts as Qin Wan, so they feared she might escape.

After beating her until she was covered in blood, the three of them—each holding an arm or a leg—dragged her into the wilderness and abandoned her there.

Before she lost consciousness, she faintly overheard them conspiring with mountain bandits to loot her goods.

What they wanted was her merchandise—to pave the way for her younger brother. In their eyes, sacrificing one daughter meant nothing if it secured his future.

“Only then did I realize,” Qin Wan said with a tearful smile, “even after proving myself stronger than my brother, in their hearts, I was just an obstacle.”

“I asked them then—I asked my mother,” Qin Wan’s voice was hoarse, barely recognizable, “If they never loved me, why did they bring me into this world? Why didn’t they just strangle me when I was a child?”

Jiang Nan asked, “What did they say?”

Qin Wan replied, “They said nothing… just struck my throat with a club.”

Jiang Nan silently watched her for a moment before speaking. “I’ll help you find them. When we do, you can deal with them however you wish.”

“My lord,” Qin Wan smiled faintly, her voice soft and fragile, “My legs are ruined, aren’t they? I can’t be a merchant anymore, can I?”

Jiang Nan said, “I’ll do everything I can to heal you. If you can’t travel, stay by my side. I’ll teach you the trade.”

Qin Wan’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Thank you, my lord.”

Xiao Ran brought her a cup of water. “Drink some water.”

Jiang Nan nervously glanced into the cup.

Fortunately, there was nothing unusual in it.

Xiao Ran noticed Jiang Nan’s look and immediately understood. “I came in a hurry today and didn’t bring any. Next time—”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Jiang Nan quickly reassured her.

Qin Wan’s awakening had surprised the old physician. Seeing her conscious, he admitted bluntly, “I’d been holding back, wanting to tell you to prepare a coffin. Never thought she’d wake up.”

In the following days, Qin Wan cooperated fully with her treatment, gradually recovering.

One day, Jiang Nan arrived to find her missing. After searching, he discovered her sitting on a stone bench behind the house.

After this ordeal, Qin Wan seemed like a precious treasure tarnished with dust and wrapped in filthy rags.

Jiang Nan told her that her parents, younger brother, and the bandits had been captured and sent to the authorities, and all the stolen goods had been recovered.

Upon hearing this news, Qin Wan’s eyes finally lit up with hope.

“What about my team members? Do you have any news of them, my lord?”

“They split up to recover the goods. Aside from some minor injuries, they’re all safe and sound.”

“That’s good, that’s good. Then I have no regrets left.”

Hearing her say this, Jiang Nan turned to look at Qin Wan.

Qin Wan smiled. “Don’t worry, my lord, I won’t take my own life. Since I’ve survived against all odds, it means fate isn’t done with me yet. From now on, I’ll shamelessly cling to life!”

“But… I’ve failed your expectations, my lord. I might not be able to do anything meaningful.” Qin Wan said.

“Don’t call me ‘my lord’ anymore,” Jiang Nan mused. “Would you… like to call me your sworn sister?”

Qin Wan froze, staring at Jiang Nan. “Really?”

Jiang Nan nodded.

Overjoyed, Qin Wan immediately changed her address. “Sister!”

Just then, Xiao Ran came looking for the two of them. Spotting them together, she brought over the pastries she had made. “Today’s are peach blossom crisps…”

Qin Wan turned to Xiao Ran and said, “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Xiao Ran stood rooted to the spot, her cheeks instantly flushing a deep crimson.