Chapter 115 Inner Torment

"Wanwan!"

When Jiang Wan found Sanlang, he was crying with tears and snot all over his face.

Sanlang rushed over, grabbed Jiang Wan, and examined her carefully several times. After confirming she was unharmed, Sanlang sat down on the ground, panting heavily. "Wanwan, didn't I tell you to wait for me right here? Why did you run off on your own?"

Jiang Wan rolled her eyes. "Little brother, you left me alone in the mountains and you have the nerve to blame me for running off? Tell me, when did you finally remember that you abandoned me?"

Sanlang froze, not daring to look at her.

He had chased after a wild rabbit, but instead of catching it, he found some wild berries.

He thought his little sister would definitely like to eat them, so he started picking them. He couldn't stop until his clothes were almost overflowing. It was only then that he remembered he had left Jiang Wan in the mountains.

He broke out in a cold sweat and quickly retraced his steps to find her. But when he returned, Jiang Wan was nowhere to be seen. He frantically searched the entire mountain.

He searched this area thoroughly without finding any trace of Jiang Wan. Images of wild beasts attacking young children flashed through his mind repeatedly, scaring him half to death.

If his little sister had been carried away by wild beasts, how would he explain it to their parents? If his little sister had been eaten by wild beasts, he wouldn't want to live either.

After Jiang Wan understood his thoughts, she smiled and flicked his forehead. "Silly little brother, what wild beasts do you think could defeat me in these mountains?"

Sanlang was stunned: ...

Did he act a bit rashly?

Jiang Wan glanced at the wild berries he had gathered in his clothes, reached out, grabbed a handful, and popped them into her mouth. She immediately winced from the sourness. Could these things even be eaten?

As the siblings went down the mountain, Su Shi saw the large basket of wild berries Sanlang had picked and smiled. "Quick, bring them here. I'll wash them and make jam for you later."

Jiang Wan thought of the teeth-aching sourness and wasn't very interested. "Sister-in-law, these are too sour, they don't taste good. Don't bother, be careful not to tire yourself out."

Su Shi smiled. "When I'm done, don't you dare snatch them."

Jiang Wan didn't believe her. She really didn't like such sour things.

She turned and ran to Jiang Pan. "Dad, there are many edible things in the mountains, and quite a few wild animals. Do you want to tell the villagers to go into the mountains to pick them?"

Jiang Pan's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! I'll go tell them right away."

Buying the wasteland had used up most of the village's money, and their fields were still a large area of wasteland. To get a harvest, it would take until autumn at the earliest. Therefore, the food and income for the next half-year would depend on the mountains behind them and the big river in front of their house.

So Jiang Pan quickly went to the village to spread the news to the villagers.

Soon, many villagers, carrying baskets and homemade weapons, entered the mountains. Da Lang and Er Lang also went to join the fun.

Jiang Wan, however, focused her attention on that small courtyard.

She wondered about the owner of that small courtyard. Why hadn't he returned for half a year? Had he run out of resources and also fled the famine?

This possibility was very small. After all, this was Jiangnan. Not to mention anything else, just the wild animals in these mountains made this possibility non-existent.

Did he die in the mountains due to a hunting accident?

That also seemed unlikely.

Because those clothes were not for an adult, but were about Sanlang's height.

The possibility of such a young child hunting in the mountains was very small, and there were no fierce beasts on this mountain.

What kind of situation would cause a child around ten years old to be away from home for half a year without returning?

There were no indigenous people nearby, so she couldn't find anyone to ask.

Jiang Wan felt as if her heart was being scratched by cats.

Before, when she thought her special ability could only grow and upgrade through overdraft, she had never been anxious. But now that she knew this world had an energy source that could help her upgrade, she really couldn't calm down.

How could someone who had been a strong person be willing to remain an ordinary person for a lifetime?

Seeing her distracted, Sanlang came over and asked, "Wanwan, what's wrong? Are you bored? How about I take you fishing?"

Jiang Wan waved her hand listlessly, not wanting to go.

Chen Yuezhi saw her looking dejected and thought she was sick. She came over and touched her forehead. "Wanwan, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Jiang Wan shook her head. She couldn't even talk about this matter with her family.

Da Lang and Er Lang saw that she was unhappy and thought she was bored because she had no playmates. So they built a swing for her in the yard.

"Wanwan, come here, second brother will push you on the swing."

Jiang Wan sat on the swing, and no matter how high Er Lang pushed her, she still looked absent-minded.

During dinner that night, Su Shi served her a bowl of the jam she had made. "Wanwan, try it. It's delicious with steamed buns, and it's also good to mix with water."

Jiang Wan took a bite. It was sweet and sour, and indeed tasted good.

But she only managed a smile at Su Shi, her mind still preoccupied with her own affairs.

Seeing her like this, the whole family was worried.

At night, after Jiang Wan fell asleep, Chen Yuezhi got up and took her pulse. She found nothing unusual and couldn't help but sigh.

"I wonder what's wrong with her today? She looks so preoccupied. I've never seen her like this since she recovered. I don't know what could be troubling such a young girl so much?"

Jiang Pan knew she was worried about Jiang Wan and comforted her, "Don't worry, Wanwan will be fine tomorrow."

Chen Yuezhi sighed again. "I hope so."

The next day, however, Jiang Wan was still in the same preoccupied state.

She got up early and whispered something to the little horse. The little horse went into the mountains and returned shortly, squatting on Jiang Wan's shoulder and whinnying a few times. Jiang Wan's mood worsened.

Chen Yuezhi was truly worried, so she coaxed her and asked, "Wanwan, you seem to have something on your mind?"

Jiang Wan shook her head. "No."

Even if she did, she couldn't say it. After all, she herself had no solution to this matter, and telling her family would only cause more trouble.

Chen Yuezhi clearly didn't believe her. "How about I take you to the city to play with Si Nian?"

Jiang Wan waved her hand, uninterested.

Cheng Si Nian was too childish, and playing with him was not fun at all. It was purely like looking after someone else's child.

Looking up and seeing Chen Yuezhi's worried expression, Jiang Wan finally said, "Mom, I'm fine. I'm just in a bad mood. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest."

Chen Yuezhi felt a little relieved when she heard this and smiled, poking her forehead. "How can someone so young be in a bad mood?"

Jiang Wan said helplessly, "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be sad or upset, Mom. Don't worry about me, go do your own things. I'll take some time to myself."

How could Chen Yuezhi really let her deal with it herself? If the little one bottled up some bad thoughts, that would be a real problem.

So she called Sanlang over. "Find some girls and boys to accompany Wanwan to the small river to catch fish."

In her opinion, children who were in a bad mood were mostly just idle. If she found something for her to do, she wouldn't remember those unpleasant things.