Chapter 165 My Doubts
Sophie tried to guilt-trip me into saving someone.
Lucas's face turned frighteningly cold. He stepped forward, firmly shielding me behind him, his eyes sharp as knives, stabbing straight at Sophie. "What if I don't want her to save anyone?"
Sophie froze. "Lucas, this is the Woods family. Are you going to offend the Woods family for her sake?"
Lucas curled his lips into a smirk and asked arrogantly, "Why not?"
I gently pressed Lucas's arm and gave him a reassuring look. "Don't worry, I'll go take a look."
Lucas gripped my right hand in return. "Can your hand handle it?"
So he was worried about my old hand injury.
"It's fine, saving someone comes first." I patted the back of his hand.
After Sophie pushed me into the spotlight, I couldn't just do nothing.
I walked toward Octavia, with Lucas following beside me in a protective stance.
The most obvious wound on Octavia's body was on her neck. The wound was strange—it started vertically from below her left ear, ran down the side of her neck, reached her collarbone and curved along the bone, continued cutting down through her chest, and finally stopped about half a palm's width above her navel.
The wound appeared to be made by a sharp blade. It wasn't deep, but the continuous blood loss had caused Octavia to pass out.
Several girls around Octavia had given her first aid. Though their technique was rough, it was barely effective, which was exactly why I hadn't stepped forward immediately to save her.
"Are you a doctor?" asked a girl with short blonde hair. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and through the slits I could see her fear and hope.
"I'm a doctor, don't be afraid," I said.
"Can you save her?" asked another girl with long brown hair, sobbing. "Will Octavia die? She hasn't even grown up yet."
"I'll do my best." I answered while continuing to examine Octavia's injuries.
Apply pressure to stop bleeding, stabilize the wound, keep the airway clear, stabilize the pulse. I performed the emergency treatment step by step, then took out the Phoenix Blood Balm I always carried with me and applied it generously to Octavia's body.
"What did you put on her?"
"The blood! The bleeding stopped!"
Two girls' voices rang out almost simultaneously. Then a third girl suddenly stood up, rummaging through her belongings to pull out a small medicine jar. "Are you using Phoenix Blood Balm? I have some too! My uncle gave it to me! My uncle is Jonas!"
"Thank you, Octavia really needs Phoenix Blood Balm. It's the best medicine for stopping bleeding." I took her medicine, and combined with the jar Lucas had on him, used it all on Octavia.
After that, there wasn't much more I could do. Fortunately, someone had already gone to get the Woods family and the medical team. I rubbed Octavia's fingers—her body temperature was very low. I was about to take off my own jacket when Lucas had already handed me his.
I covered Octavia with the jacket and felt her breathing gradually become steady again.
"That's it?" Sophie asked suspiciously. "That Phoenix Blood Balm you put on her—what is it?"
Phoenix Blood Balm wasn't famous enough for everyone to know about it. At least half the people present didn't know what it was.
"Bleeding medicine," I answered her briefly.
"Does it work? Don't just randomly smear weird stuff on Octavia." Sophie pressed aggressively. "If she dies, can you take responsibility?"
"What responsibility should I take? I'm not the one who hurt her." I was almost amused by Sophie's anger.
Lucas walked toward Sophie and suddenly swung his fist.
A chorus of gasps erupted around us. Sophie was so scared she covered her head with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut.
But Lucas didn't actually hit her. His fist stopped about 3 inches from Sophie's face, with only the wind from the punch landing on her face.
Even so, it was scary enough.
Lucas spoke expressionlessly, "Can't you see for yourself whether it works? If you can't save people or help, just shut up and stop talking nonsense. So annoying!"
Sophie held her head, tears streaming from her eyes, murmuring Lucas's name as if wanting to explain, but Lucas didn't want to deal with her anymore and walked back to my side.
Half a minute later, many chaotic footsteps rapidly approached from far to near—the medical team had arrived.
Octavia's parents came too. When they saw Octavia in a pool of blood, their legs went weak and they nearly collapsed.
"Make way! Gerald is here!"
The medical team placed Octavia on a stretcher. Gerald quickly examined her injuries, then looked at me and nodded. "Perfect first aid. The bleeding has stopped. Take her to the hospital—she should be able to be saved."
Octavia's father, Alphonse Woods, trembled violently. "Thank goodness!"
They rushed Octavia to the hospital. The people left behind talked among themselves, looking at me with jealousy and envy.
"It's great to have medical skills. Saving someone from the Woods family—even if it's a small family, they're about to soar!"
"Should we go make friends with her? I'm so jealous—she also has a close relationship with Lucas!"
"Didn't Lucas divorce her? They seem to get along pretty well?"
Sophie retreated from the crowd and quickly left.
I didn't pursue it, thinking about Octavia's wound.
"Scalpel," I murmured to myself.
"What?" Lucas tilted his head closer to me.
"Octavia's wound is very fine and thin, with unusually neat and smooth edges, like it was made by a scalpel." I looked at Lucas hesitantly, not sure if I should voice my speculation.
Besides Albino, there was another person with a similar style—a true demon who took pleasure in torturing and killing women.
And in my mind, I had a suspect.
"What are you thinking?" Lucas pressed.
I shook my head. "Let's go back."
Just as I was about to step forward, I remembered Jonas's niece. Looking back, I saw the three girls standing there helplessly.
I waved at them, and they immediately ran over.
"Whose children are you? I'll take you back to camp," I said.
After experiencing something like this, even the boldest children needed to rely on adults. They nodded vigorously, wishing they could stick to me.
On the way, I asked them about how they found Octavia. I learned that the three of them had teamed up for the scavenger hunt. While looking for items, they accidentally passed by the woods. The blonde girl smelled blood. They thought it was an injured rabbit or some other prey, but when they got closer, they discovered it was Octavia!
I asked if they had seen the attacker. The blonde and brunette girls both shook their heads. Jonas's niece, Della, said hesitantly that she had seen a dark shadow.
"I didn't see his face clearly. The sun was setting, and the light in the woods was very dim. That person was wearing all black clothes. It felt like a man."
I patted her shoulder. "It's okay if you can't remember. You found Octavia, stopped her bleeding, and called for help. You saved her. You three are brave heroes."
The three girls smiled shyly at my words.
Lucas and I first took the blonde and brunette girls back, then finally took Della back.
Jonas's family was looking for the child and was thrilled to see us.
I told Jonas that Della seemed to have seen the attacker. I didn't know if someone was targeting the Woods family, but I reminded him to be careful, then politely declined his dinner invitation.
Jonas's family's camp was right next to Gerald's camp.
Lucas and I walked back and happened to run into Beckett coming out of the camp.
"Beckett," I instinctively called out to him. "Where were you just now?"