Chapter 696: Fever
Chapter 696: Chapter 696: Fever
The second day’s journey went fairly smoothly. Upon reaching The Whispwood, Evelyn had everyone stop to rest.
At 8:00 p.m., a light rain began to fall. Evelyn took out an extra-large tent, big enough for the four of them to huddle inside and take shelter.
The sky grew even darker on this rainy night. Though it was only a light rain, the constant pitter-patter was getting on their nerves. In the beam of a flashlight, the dead poplar trees in the distance resembled soldiers standing guard. Flynn Hansen’s wound had become inflamed, and Ryan Rowe was applying medicine to it. Evelyn took out an alcohol stove and a small pot to start on dinner.
Dinner tonight was instant noodles again. Ronan Kendrick had a big appetite, and he ate a whole pot by himself.
After eating and drinking their fill, they listened to the rain for a while. Flynn Hansen was the first to fall asleep again. Evelyn hadn’t drugged him today. His wound was inflamed, and after getting caught in the evening rain, he had come down with a fever.
Seeing him delirious with fever, Evelyn and Ronan Kendrick quickly brought the tent, along with the four horses, into the space.
Flynn Hansen had a fever and needed to be put in a guest room to rest. Ryan Rowe was worried about his condition. After all, the bloody hole in his arm was not only oozing blood and pus but was also surrounded by red swelling.
"Evelyn, did Captain Hansen’s wound get infected because I didn’t treat it properly?"
"It has nothing to do with you. Your technique was very professional. His wound probably got infected because he’s been too exhausted these past two days. I’ll redress it for him, and he should be fine."
Ronan Kendrick followed Evelyn into the guest room. "It’s also possible that we stayed at The Barren Peaks for too long and inhaled a lot of aerosolized microorganisms. Flynn Hansen mentioned this morning that when he led his team through The Barren Peaks before, they didn’t just experience vomiting, dizziness, and diarrhea—some even urinated blood."
Evelyn nodded. "That’s highly likely. He already had an injury, so if the microorganisms entered the wound, it would cause the infection and suppuration. That would make sense."
After redressing Flynn Hansen’s wound, Evelyn popped a potent pill into his mouth. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she and Ronan Kendrick closed the door and went to the living room.
"You don’t have to wait for us to eat from now on. It’s almost ten o’clock, and we’ve already eaten. Zoe and Annie are still growing; irregular meals can easily cause stomach problems for them." Evelyn said with a hint of helplessness, looking at the large spread of food on the table.
"Got it. We won’t wait for you tomorrow. But you should eat a little more. We made braised rabbit meat especially for you as an extra dish. How’s Captain Hansen? Is he going to be okay?"
"He’s fine."
Evelyn patted her stomach. She was already stuffed, but seeing the large basin of rabbit meat, she felt she could still eat a little more.
Ronan Kendrick had the same idea. He had already more or less digested the pot of instant noodles he’d eaten earlier. As for Ryan Rowe, he was rooted to the spot at the sight of a table laden with meat.
"Did it go smoothly today?" This was still everyone’s main concern.
"It was, but after entering Serena Province, we came to The Barren Peaks. The Barren Peaks isn’t an official place name; we called it that because thousands of acres of forest were corroded by acid rain into a wasteland. The soil there is all scorched black. You could probably dig down ten meters and not find a single handful of good earth. Captain Hansen’s wound got infected because he inhaled too much of the stench from The Barren Peaks."
"So you guys are okay?"
Evelyn waved her hand, then picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of rabbit meat. "We’re fine. We’re tough as nails."
"I’ll go make some meat congee for Captain Hansen. His wound is inflamed, so he can’t eat anything too spicy. He needs to be on a bland diet."
Evelyn was used to being rough around the edges and hadn’t even thought of that when they were eating earlier. ’And I call myself a doctor,’ she thought.
"We had instant noodles tonight, the braised beef flavor. I even added three large spoonfuls of chili."
"Instant noodles aren’t exactly heavy food; they won’t worsen the inflammation. Flynn Hansen has a strong constitution. Seeing his ruddy complexion, I’m sure he’ll be lively and energetic tomorrow. Don’t worry." Ronan Kendrick reached out and patted the back of Evelyn’s hand.
"Mm, I know."
After dinner, Evelyn asked about Leo Denton and the others.
"They’re all doing well. They work efficiently and are very diligent, leaving early and coming back late every day. They’re practically model workers. The people in the mining area are also behaving themselves." Evelyn nodded in satisfaction after hearing Ethan Dawson’s report.
"That’s good. Before long, the second harvest of grain will be ready, which should help alleviate the base’s food crisis."
"Plus, with the hundreds of tons of water celery, the base can finally breathe a little easier."
"Water celery can be grown in wetlands. We can dig up some roots to take back for the base to plant. The stuff grows as fast as water hyacinth; in less than half a year, we could have a huge patch."
Ryan Rowe’s eyes lit up instantly. "Evelyn, I wouldn’t have even thought of that if you hadn’t mentioned it! We should definitely dig up some roots to take back. Oh, right, when you were talking with Captain Hansen this morning, I heard him say there are over a thousand wild boars and bison. We should catch some of them alive, too."
"Rhys Chase’s entire purpose for sending us on this trip was to capture live wild boars and bison. Don’t worry. Once we get to Demon’s Ridge, we’ll set up an inescapable trap. None of the boars or bison will get away." Evelyn was confident about this, at least. After all, she had made a lot of tranquilizers herself, and now they would finally come in handy.
After chatting for a while, everyone went back to their own rooms to rest. Wendy was worried about the situation at the hospital, so Evelyn had a private word with her. Zoe and Annie kept pestering Evelyn, asking when school would start. ’Those two little rascals,’ Evelyn thought, ’I don’t remember them ever being this eager to study.’
—
The next day, Flynn Hansen’s wound had improved considerably. It was also a rare day of good weather. The dark clouds had scattered, the light rain had stopped, and the scent of sand and soil hung in the air.
As Evelyn looked at the rows of poplar trees in the distance and stretched her limbs, a small black bird flew over and landed directly on her shoulder. The bird’s body was swaying precariously. It was probably weak from not having eaten for a long time.
Evelyn casually moved the bird into the breeding area of her space. ’I hope I can save its life,’ she thought.
When Flynn Hansen woke up, Ryan Rowe quickly called everyone for breakfast. Taking the bowl and chopsticks, Flynn Hansen felt a pang of guilt when he saw the meat congee inside.
"I’m so sorry for troubling you all last night. My wound was clearly healing, but for some reason, it started getting inflamed again yesterday. You don’t have to go out of your way to take care of me and make me meat congee. I can just eat the same food as everyone else."
Evelyn waved it off. "Don’t be so formal. Hurry up and eat; we have to get back on the road after this. How are you feeling today? Any nausea, queasiness, or dizziness?"
"No, I feel great all over now, and my wound doesn’t hurt anymore."
Ryan Rowe patted his shoulder. "That’s good. Evelyn redressed your wound last night. She’s a professional doctor and cleaned out all the pus. You can’t get caught in the rain again today, or you’ll get another fever."
Hearing this, Flynn Hansen thanked everyone again.
"Beyond this expanse of The Whispwood are Serena’s famous Twenty-Four Peaks. The Twenty-Four Peaks are actually a range of snowy mountains."
Ryan Rowe was shocked. "Serena has snowy mountains?"