Save Who You Can

"Hey, Chiba, do you feel any better?"

Chiba looked at the beaming young man before him, nodded silently, and said nothing, lost in his own thoughts.

Today marked the seventh day since Chiba had cheated death.

Initially, Chiba had been overjoyed to have escaped with his life, but by the second day, he discovered a grave problem: his wounds had become infected.

Perhaps it was because this body was too frail—having suffered from prolonged starvation and poisoning—that Chiba possessed virtually no resistance.

After struggling for a few days, Chiba had suddenly collapsed by a small stream just after emerging from the forest.

Fortunately, perhaps it was not yet Chiba's time to die, as a group of refugees traveling along the river happened to pass by and saved him.

The young man with the exceptionally infectious smile before him was the leader of this refugee group, and his name was Xia Mu.

Xia Mu was a man who wore a smile regardless of the circumstances; he could easily infect others with his cheerfulness, and everyone in the group held him in high regard.

However, if Chiba had to give this guy a rating, he would only offer three words: a bleeding heart.

Although he was deeply grateful that this man had saved him, Chiba still disapproved of some of his methods.

Take the act of saving him, for instance; almost everyone in the group had opposed it at the time, as they were merely refugees themselves and were short on food.

Moreover, a wounded person like Chiba would inevitably consume the group's precious medicine and require someone to look after him, which was undoubtedly a massive waste.

Especially since, even if he recovered, Chiba was just a child with no skills; besides consuming rations, he could never contribute anything to the group.

Yet, Xia Mu had forcibly suppressed the opposition and kept him.

Having stayed with the group for a few days, Chiba had gained some understanding of them.

They were mostly people from the same village, forced to migrate to escape the ravages of war.

Compared to these people, Chiba, an outsider, always felt somewhat out of place.

Watching the busy crowd around him—whether they were digging for wild vegetables, catching fish, or tending to the fire—everyone had something to do. Chiba, even if he were fully healed, likely couldn't do any of it, or rather, his meager labor wasn't worth the consumption of such precious food.

Looking at his surroundings, Chiba felt conflicted.

In particular, the sight of a child mixing dirt into the grain left Chiba deeply shaken.

Suddenly, while Chiba was lost in thought, a clamor broke out not far away.

"Xia Mu, if you keep doing this, you'll get us all killed."

"Yeah, yeah. We let it slide the last few times, and those kids were at least somewhat useful, but this kid is clearly a burden. The medicine wasted on him is enough to trade for several days' worth of food!"

"Xia Mu, you really can't keep doing this."

People were chattering incessantly, but the core message always revolved around driving Chiba away.

Xia Mu, meanwhile, was flustered, desperately trying to reassure them.

"Please, trust me. I will definitely lead everyone out of this predicament. Please, I'm begging you."

After a long while, seeing that their opposition was futile, the group dispersed in frustration, though they couldn't help but cast hostile glares and insults at Chiba before leaving.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Xia Mu said to Chiba with an awkward smile, "Don't mind what they said. Rest assured, I—"

"Let me leave."

Looking into Xia Mu's eyes, Chiba said earnestly.

"In a few days, when my wounds are mostly healed, I'll leave. I won't drag you down."

As he spoke, Chiba took out half of the money he had obtained from Scarface and handed it to Xia Mu.

"Consider this payment for saving my life."

Leaving was a decision Chiba had reached after careful deliberation.

Over the past few days, many in the group had begun to give their leader trouble. In Chiba's view, regardless of whether he wanted to stay, Xia Mu's overly gentle personality meant he might be ousted by his own people at any moment, which would only make Chiba's situation more dangerous.

With the money and tools from Scarface, Chiba felt he could survive for a while. As for what came after, he would just have to figure it out then.

However, Chiba's proposal was not accepted.

"Hey, kid, do you have to be so stubborn?"

Ignoring Chiba's protest, Xia Mu ruffled his hair roughly.

"You idiot, how much food can this little bit of money buy you now? Especially with the medicine you used—it's not nearly enough. Just stay put and behave. You can leave once you've paid off your debt, and don't even think about sneaking away."

Chiba fell silent for a moment, his expression complex as a warm current flowed through his heart.

"I know you're doing this for my own good, and I'm very grateful you saved my life, but I know you're in a difficult spot. You see them giving you trouble every day. If this continues—"

For days, people had been coming to harass this meddlesome leader, and Chiba couldn't just play deaf and dumb under these circumstances.

Regardless of anything else, Chiba didn't want to drag his savior down.

Xia Mu smiled faintly and said softly, "It's nothing. They're just venting; they wouldn't dare go too far. You're so young—what's the difference between throwing you out and killing you? Don't worry, we aren't hurting for that little bit of food."

Xia Mu's tone was incredibly firm, as if they truly weren't lacking that little bit.

This wasn't the first time Xia Mu had rejected Chiba; he always had various reasons to keep him.

After a long silence, Chiba asked a question: "Why?"

"Hmm?"

Xia Mu looked at Chiba with a puzzled expression.

"I'm asking, why are you being so good to me?"

Even though Chiba understood that he perhaps shouldn't be asking this—the man had saved him without saying a word, yet he himself kept pestering him—at this moment, Chiba desperately wanted to know what was driving the person before him.

They were mere strangers who had met by chance, with no prior relationship, yet Xia Mu had helped him with all his might without a moment's hesitation; Chiba was desperate to know the reason why.

Xia Mu was slightly taken aback by the question, his gaze gradually drifting into the distance as if recalling something.

"Why, you ask? Perhaps it's because I, too, was once a war orphan."

As he spoke, Xia Mu's tone carried a hint of sorrow and complexity.

"I understand how difficult it is for people like us to survive in a world like this, enduring endless hardships and grievances."

One heartbreaking story after another flowed from Xia Mu's lips, and as he spoke with such deep emotion, even Xia Mu found his own eyes turning red without realizing it.

"So, I can never help but reach out to children who were once like me. I know I can't save everyone, but at the very least, I'll save as many as I can."

By the end, a faint, unconscious smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as if the act of doing this brought Xia Mu a sense of happiness.

"Save as many as you can, huh?"

Staring blankly at the clean, gentle smile on Xia Mu's face, Chiba silently lowered his head.

Save as many as you can—this simple sentence struck Chiba with immense force.

Perhaps it was only in a world like this that one could encounter such a person.

In his past life, Chiba had long grown accustomed to the deceit, coldness, and treachery between people; he had never seen such a person, let alone imagined becoming one himself. Occasionally, when he heard others mention such people, he would dismissively call them fools, but now...

Thinking of this, Chiba fell into a deep, heavy silence once more.

And just as Chiba remained silent, someone from the front arrived with anxious news.

"It's bad, Xia Mu! There are Bandits blocking the road ahead."

Upon hearing about the Bandits, Xia Mu did not show much panic. In such chaotic times, Bandits were as numerous as hair on an ox, and they had already encountered more than one group along their journey.

Frowning, Xia Mu took out a massive bow and arrow and walked forward.

Staring blankly at the giant bow that seemed clearly mismatched with Xia Mu's physique, Chiba couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt: could a bow like that really be used by a scrawny guy like Xia Mu?