The little girl tugged at Li Ping'an's sleeve and led him into a tent on the outskirts.
A barbarian woman lay on a beast-hide mat.
She was still tall and powerfully built, but her face was ashen, and she was terribly weak.
The little girl pointed at the barbarian woman, then offered Li Ping'an all her possessions wrapped in a beast hide.
She clearly wanted Li Ping'an to save the disease-ridden woman.
Li Ping'an examined her carefully.
Barbarians had much the same bodily structure as ordinary people; they were simply taller and had stronger constitutions...
Living amid ice and snow year after year, their bodies had undergone certain changes under the influence of their surroundings.
But they were largely the same.
Soon, Li Ping'an withdrew his hand.
He had some idea of what was wrong, but he had no medicinal herbs ready to hand.
After a moment's thought, he could only take out his silver needles.
He inserted the silver needles into her acupuncture points.
The action startled the little barbarian girl as she watched Li Ping'an pierce her mother's body with some sort of sharp weapon.
Currents of energy invisible to ordinary eyes radiated from the surfaces of the silver needles.
Li Ping'an employed Sixteen Needles.
He had meant to tell the little barbarian girl that the silver needles needed to be removed after eight hours.
But without a shared language, communicating something so complicated was clearly rather impossible.
Li Ping'an could only stay and keep watch, though he did not find it troublesome.
He would be passing the time either way.
If he could save a child's mother without much effort,
why not?
Li Ping'an sat on the ground and leafed through his books.
The barbarian girl brought him food and drink.
After a sleepless night, the next