The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Broken Waist

Ji Huan suddenly cried out in alarm.

The vagrant, who had been sitting quietly on the edge of the *kang* bed, had suddenly stood up. He took a single step on the foot fitted with the new Achilles tendon boot and immediately pitched forward.

Ji Huan watched, wide-eyed, as he fell toward her like a collapsing mountain. Her first instinct was to dodge.

But she was the closest one to him. If she moved and he fell, what if he tore the newly healed tendon again?

It seemed like a lot of thoughts, but it all happened in an instant.

Before her cry had even faded, she gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and threw herself toward the vagrant—

Her intention had been to push against his chest, but somehow, when the motion stopped, she found herself with her arms wrapped tightly around the vagrant’s waist.

"Quick... my back... my back... my back’s about to break."

It all happened so fast that Xin Ziqi hadn’t even processed it. Only when he heard Ji Huan’s broken cries for help did he hurry over to separate them.

To support the vagrant, Ji Huan had bent backward into a ninety-degree angle. One more degree and they both would have collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Once the mountain of a man was lifted off her, Ji Huan rubbed her lower back, puzzled.

’I was actually prepared to be his human cushion. I can’t believe I was strong enough to hold him up!’

Xin Ziqi pointed at the vagrant. "When I was helping him up, I saw it. He was putting all his strength into his right leg to keep from crushing you."

Otherwise, with Ji Huan’s small frame, there was no way she could have supported the vagrant.

The vagrant’s thin lips pressed together slightly, his gaze falling on the hand Ji Huan was using to rub her back.

Ji Huan’s temper flared.

’Did he think he could just take off the cast and be up and about in no time? Or was this supposed to be some kind of surprise for me?’

’He scared me half to death!’

But with Xin Ziqi still present, she held back her anger.

After Xin Ziqi left, Ji Huan pulled up a stool and sat down in front of the vagrant, facing him. They were locked in a stare-down.

To be precise, it was a one-sided glare from Ji Huan.

The vagrant wasn’t glaring back, nor did he avoid her gaze. Beneath his calm expression, there was always a strange, soothing power.

The anger pent up in Ji Huan’s chest suddenly dissipated.

She actually understood the vagrant.

’When the light of dawn is right in front of you, if you don’t reach out and touch it for real, you might think you’re still dreaming.’

"It doesn’t listen to you at all, does it? Not only can you not lift it, but it feels like someone’s grabbing it and pulling it down, right?"

The vagrant paused, then nodded.

Ji Huan told him to try lifting his leg.

The vagrant did as he was told.

He couldn’t lift it smoothly. It felt even weaker than when it had been in the cast.

Though his expression didn’t change, the vagrant’s heart sank, and his brow furrowed slightly.

For the first time in a long while, Ji Huan sensed a clear emotional fluctuation from him.

"Don’t worry. The surgery wasn’t a failure, and your leg isn’t ruined."

The vagrant’s gaze shifted back to Ji Huan’s face, his questioning look obvious.

"After being immobilized for so long, there’s bound to be some joint adhesion. Plus..." Ji Huan patted his left calf, which was noticeably thinner and flabby.

"The long-term lack of movement has caused severe muscle atrophy. Decreased flexibility and balance, along with a serious loss of strength—all these issues combined mean it’s not yet functional enough for normal walking. You still need to do physical therapy step-by-step. You’ll start with bearing weight, then standing, then walking slowly with crutches, and finally walking independently... That’s why I prepared the Achilles tendon boot for you. You’ll use crutches to slowly get used to it, and soon you’ll be able to ditch them and walk naturally on flat ground."

Hu Dacheng walked in carrying a washbasin. "Miss Wan, the water is boiled. I’ve mixed in the cold water, too."

Ji Huan tested the water’s temperature. It was hot, but not scalding—just right.

She got up, went to the head of the *kang* bed to grab the medicinal powder Xin Ziqi had left, and stirred it into the basin. Hu Dacheng had already deftly helped the vagrant take off his boot and was about to put his feet in the basin when Ji Huan stopped him.

"Let’s wait a few days. Just like with the other foot, he can start soaking it daily once the scabs fall off."

After giving the instruction, Ji Huan rolled the vagrant’s pant leg up above his knee.

She dipped a cloth into the basin, wrung it out, and spread it over his knee to apply a hot compress.

While applying the compress, Ji Huan used her free hand to massage the muscles of his calf.

She had also taught the massage technique to Hu Dacheng, but he was too clumsy to do it right, so Ji Huan always ended up doing it herself.

Even though the sensation in his leg was still dull, the vagrant could feel a pair of soft hands moving over his calf.

Deftly, efficiently, without a trace of the shyness one might expect from an ordinary woman.

He lowered his eyelids, and his gaze happened to fall on the delicate tip of Ji Huan’s nose. A bead of sweat trickled down from her smooth forehead, finally coming to rest on her small, rounded nose, trembling as if about to fall.

His fingers twitched involuntarily, as if wanting to wipe away that glistening drop for her.

In the end, however, he only pressed his lips together slightly and turned his head away.

After the hot compress, Ji Huan helped the vagrant sit on the edge of the *kang* bed. She had him bend at his left knee as a pivot point, lifting his lower leg until it was parallel to the floor.

Then he was to bend it again, repeating the exercise.

"Immobilizing it in a cast for so long inevitably reduces the knee’s mobility. Doing these exercises after a hot compress will help mobilize the joint and restore knee function. Twenty leg lifts is one set. Do ten sets a day."

After the joint mobility exercises, Ji Huan had the vagrant do some simple exercises for his legs and elbows.

She thought for a moment, then added, "I’ve been focusing on your left leg because it bears the most weight and is most prone to problems, but if you ever want to draw a bow and hold an arrow with your right hand again..."

Ji Huan paused. The vagrant’s eyelid twitched.

"No, I mean... if you want to be able to use a knife to chop vegetables, or hold chopsticks to eat, you still need to be extremely careful. But don’t get discouraged. It’s just... COUGH! Anyway, you should rest. I’m going back now."

Hu Dacheng had already vanished. Ji Huan picked up the basin and was about to leave when the vagrant suddenly spoke.

"How long until I’m... truly healed?"

This time, Ji Huan didn’t hide the truth from him.

"For a patient with a complete tendon rupture, after surgery, the cast period is eight to ten weeks. It takes half a year to be able to walk normally, and you can’t do any strenuous exercise for at least eight months. As for a full recovery... generally speaking, it takes about a year."

The vagrant fell silent.

Ji Huan could more or less guess what was on his mind.

"If you’re in a hurry to leave, you can actually do so three months post-op. As long as you don’t travel for long periods, get proper rest, and properly..."

Ji Huan suddenly found she couldn’t continue.

’He’s a vagrant. How is he supposed to get proper rest? How is he supposed to take proper care of himself?’

’But if he insists on leaving, I can’t stop him.’

’Besides, wasn’t my original intention for him to leave as soon as he was healed?’

The vagrant’s mouth moved. Ji Huan thought he was going to ask something else.

Instead, he asked in a raspy voice, "Does it hurt?"

Ji Huan was taken aback for a moment before she realized what he meant.

She reflexively rubbed her lower back. It did hurt a little. She had probably strained it. She would have to put some medicinal oil on it when she got back.

"It’s nothing. You rest for now. I’ll bring you lunch in a bit."

After Ji Huan left, the vagrant stared at the empty doorway for a while, then turned his head to look at the wall to his side.

On it were two rows of vertical marks, dense and numerous, but the lines were faint.

He raised his left hand, as if intending to add another mark, but for some reason, his hand paused in mid-air and didn’t move for a long time.

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