Huo Er held the wormwood grass in her hands, slowly moving toward the two fruits.
The fruit was a bit far from her, and after a while, she managed to get close to one of them.
The slope here was a bit steep, and when Huo Er reached out to grab it but couldn’t reach, she moved forward a little more, stretching her other arm toward the tip of the wormwood grass, trying to lengthen her reach as much as possible.
With this effort, Huo Er finally reached the fruit with her hand.
A smile appeared on her face as she placed the fruit into her clothing pocket on the side and moved forward again, trying to reach the fruit further down.
A few days ago, autumn rain caused many leaves to fall and loosen the soil quite a bit.
The wormwood grass Huo Er was holding onto could no longer withstand the weight and was pulled out by its roots.
Huo Er, pulling at the grass, didn’t realize it in time and found herself rolling down the slope while still holding the wormwood grass…
For these children, especially the more agile primitive ones, falling wasn’t a big deal; it was just an everyday occurrence.
Seeing someone fall and roll down the slope wasn’t surprising to them.
The child continued picking fruits for a while, but after a few moments, he looked back and noticed that the person who had fallen still hadn’t gotten up.
This puzzled the child, and he scratched his head. Shouldn’t someone get up quickly after a fall?
After waiting a bit longer and seeing that the person still hadn’t moved, the child, still a little naïve, finally pointed to where Huo Er had fallen and spoke up.
Other adults picking fruits nearby heard the child’s words, and after a brief hesitation, one of them reacted and shouted as they ran in that direction…
Huo Er, who was still dazed, opened her eyes. She had been trying to sleep, but the noise prevented her from resting.
She opened her eyes to see a few concerned faces, their expressions a mix of surprise and worry. These were women from the tribe who had been picking fruits nearby.
Why weren’t they continuing to pick fruit? Why were they all gathered around her?
Huo Er was confused, and after a short moment, the memory of what had just happened began to piece itself together.
She had fallen and rolled down the slope…
But she had fallen many times before, so it wasn’t something to make a fuss about. Why were so many people gathered around her?
This was delaying the fruit picking!
“You all, go pick the fruit,” Huo Er said.
If they didn’t pick more fruits now, they’d go hungry when the cold weather arrived.
Saying this, she threw away the wormwood grass in her hand, placed her hands on the ground, and tried to get up.
She still needed to pick up the fruit she had missed earlier.
It was fine as long as she didn’t move, but as soon as she tried, a sharp pain shot through her thigh, and she couldn’t help but cry out. Her lips trembled.
Her leg had hit a stone.
This was the first thought that came to Huo Er’s mind.
When she was young, she had fallen from a tree, and her leg had hit a stone, causing her to bleed a lot.
Though the thought made her heart ache a little, she wasn’t afraid.
Because even when her leg had been so severely injured back then that the bone was exposed, she had still recovered.
The stones on the slope weren’t numerous, and she had rolled down, not fallen from a tree like before. Even if it was serious, it couldn’t be worse than when she was young.
She thought to herself as she tried to sit up with all her strength.
But the sharp pain hit her again, draining the color from her already pale face.
What was worse than the pain was that she found she couldn’t move her left leg.
No matter how hard she tried, her left leg wouldn’t move at all…
When Huo Er fell, Han Cheng was still in the yard working on something.
His heart immediately tightened as soon as he heard the two half-grown children’s unclear shouting.
He shouted to Liang, who was nearby sorting dried herbs, and quickly ran toward the accident scene with the two children.
His heart was in his throat the entire way.
Children weren’t afraid of falling; the more they fell, the stronger they became. Young adults weren’t afraid either—they could immediately recover from a fall and pretend nothing had happened to ease the awkwardness.
But for the elderly, it was different. As they aged, their bones and muscles weakened, and a simple fall could often lead to something much more serious.
By the time Han Cheng reached Huo Er, she was still lying on the ground, barely moving.
It wasn’t that the people around her weren’t trying to help her sit up, but as soon as she moved, the pain was so intense that she couldn’t bear it.
Han Cheng’s heart sank, and he feared the worst.
Huo Er, still lying on the ground, called out to him as he rushed over, panting.
Han Cheng squeezed Huo Er’s thin, brittle hand tightly. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
He then began asking her where it hurt.
Han Cheng felt more at ease when he learned it was her leg.
Injuries to legs or arms, compared to other parts of the body, generally weren’t life-threatening.
After comforting Huo Er, Han Cheng gently pressed on her left leg to assess the severity of the injury, wondering if it was a fracture or something more serious.
Han Cheng wasn’t overly worried, even if it were a broken leg. Once the leg was aligned correctly and stabilized with bamboo planks, it had a good chance of healing.
Although there would likely be some permanent disability, she would still be able to walk. His only concern was her age—recovery would be slower, and she might not be able to endure it.
As Han Cheng continued to examine her leg, his heart grew heavier every moment.
When he finally determined that Huo Er had broken her leg at the top of her thigh, his heart sank to the bottom.
While fractures in the legs or arms could be treated with the rough methods he had discussed before, this didn’t apply to the upper thigh or the arms near the shoulder.
Because those areas couldn’t be fixed with bamboo boards!