Amidst the villagers’ clamorous discussions, Village Chief Su Minghui emerged.
He was Su Mingyuan’s paternal cousin. Not yet forty, he had aged considerably in the past month of fleeing.
He had been tending to the injured Su Mingyuan. Upon hearing from the villagers that the Su family’s eldest daughter’s ghost had returned, he hurried over to assess the situation.
As the villagers saw their chief arrive, they spontaneously parted to the sides of the road, revealing the young girl in the middle. Su Minghui was startled when he saw Su Muqing’s face.
“Qingjie’er, you? Weren’t you already…” Su Minghui swallowed, unsure how to continue. Was he truly seeing a ghost in broad daylight?
“Uncle, I’m not dead. I woke up not long after you all left yesterday. Then, a group of people passed by and heard my calls. They rescued me,” Su Muqing calmly delivered the explanation she had prepared.
“Weren’t you very ill at the time?”
“There was a skilled physician in that family. He said I wasn’t sick, just too thirsty and hungry. He gave me a bowl of sugar-salt water and something to eat, and then I recovered. The lady of that family even gave me a set of clothes. Uncle, where are my father and brother?”
Su Minghui was about to ask more questions but his eyes welled up instantly upon hearing Su Muqing ask about her father and brother. He opened his mouth several times, but could not speak.
The surrounding villagers, upon hearing she was alive, had initially considered her fortunate. She had died and been buried, only to be rescued and revived.
But then, thinking of Su Mingyuan lying in the dilapidated temple, the villagers looked at her with pity. She had survived, but her father was nearing his end. They wondered if this resurrection would be a blessing or a curse for the girl.
Seeing the village chief’s hesitant expression and feeling the villagers’ sympathetic gazes, Su Muqing had a bad premonition.
“It’s good that you’re alright. Hurry and see your father! He’s about to…” Su Minghui finally managed to utter the words with difficulty.
In times of disaster, death was common. However, Su Mingyuan was his cousin, and besides…
Last night, they had gone hunting together. On their way down the mountain, they encountered a tiger so thin its bones were visible. But even emaciated, it was a starved king of beasts. The village’s strong laborers, worn out by days of fleeing, had lost their former vigor.
After a stalemate, Su Mingyuan voluntarily lured the tiger towards a cliff. With the cooperation of the others, they forced the tiger over the cliff.
In the end, everyone else only sustained minor injuries. Only Su Mingyuan was bitten in the abdomen by the tiger and had his left leg broken. He had been carried down the mountain and remained unconscious since.
Su Muqing was momentarily stunned. Why was he about to die? In her memory, Su Mingyuan had always been in excellent physical condition. She quickly rushed into the dilapidated temple.
Besides the village chief’s family, others from Su Mingyuan’s household were also present. However, they had little contact with him, only sending gifts during festivals and allowing Su Mingyuan into the old ancestral home.
Su Mingyuan had six siblings. He was the second among them. His mother had suffered greatly during his birth, almost dying. Therefore, his mother had always been rather indifferent to this son, feeling they had incompatible destinies.
Later, when Su Mingyuan insisted on marrying the fallen Su Li Shi, his mother immediately disowned him. After marriage, Su Li Shi had difficulty conceiving, and coupled with other matters, his mother’s disdain for them grew. Eventually, she cut off all ties.
Later, when Su Mingyuan became prosperous, Su Chen Shi claimed that as the one who gave birth to him, she deserved filial piety regardless of any severed ties. She frequently demanded money and goods from him.
She could give birth but not raise him, yet he could not be old and uncared for.
Upon seeing Su Muqing run into the temple, Su Chen Shi glanced at her indifferently before turning away. They had already heard the conversation outside and knew she was not dead. However, they did not care about her life or death.
But this girl had indeed a tenacious life, to survive such a situation. Now that she was back, it would likely not be so easy for the second family’s possessions to be entirely obtained. Her clothes were also quite nice…
Su Muqing walked forward and looked at the blood-soaked figure lying on the pile of dry grass. Tears welled up uncontrollably, impossible to wipe away.
Su Muqing felt deeply distressed. Personally, she only felt a sense of pity. The majority of her sadness was likely due to being influenced by the original owner’s emotions.
“Ah, ah… me… ah…” The baby in Wang Shi’s arms, seeing Su Muqing enter without acknowledging him, cried out eagerly, drooling and reaching out his hands for her to hold.
This was the original owner’s younger brother, named Su Muxuan, nicknamed Xuan Ge’er. He was only over eight months old. He had been a plump, fair-skinned baby, but as the famine worsened, he too had lost weight.
Especially after Li Shi’s death, there was no more breast milk. Every time, Su Muqing would hold him and beg kind aunts for a little milk to appease his cravings. Without milk, he could only be fed some watery gruel and often cried himself hoarse from hunger.
Su Muqing took her brother and then squatted beside Su Mingyuan. The dry grass beneath him was soaked, and the wounds on his body had only a thin layer of medicinal powder sprinkled on them, which did nothing to stop the bleeding.
Su Muqing was extremely anxious. She mentally checked the spirit spring stone. The dropper was empty… She suddenly felt useless.
Although she studied medicine, she specialized in Western medicine. She was only in her third year and was a mere dabbler. She could handle simple external injuries or minor illnesses, but in a situation like this, she was completely helpless.
Watching Su Mingyuan’s increasingly ashen face, his slightly parted lips cracked and dry, Su Muqing knew in her heart that he was only holding on by a thread.
She shifted her body and used her finger to touch his lips, attempting to secretly drip some pure water into his mouth with her mind.
Others merely thought Su Muqing was reluctant to part with her father and that she was dripping it carefully, drop by drop. Thus, no one around noticed anything unusual.
After a while, possibly due to drinking some water, Su Mingyuan’s eyelids fluttered. Su Minghui saw him slowly open his eyes and exclaimed with surprise, “Mingyuan, you’re awake?”
Su Mingyuan struggled to open his eyes and look at the people before him. In truth, he could no longer see clearly, only identifying them by their voices. “Big Brother, I’m useless… my children… let Qingjie’er establish a household to care for her brother… Big Brother, please help look after them more.”
As soon as Su Mingyuan mentioned letting Su Muqing establish a household, Su Chen Shi immediately interrupted, “Second brother, you’re truly muddled! Why would Qingjie’er, a mere girl, establish a household? When you pass on, won’t your son still rely on us to raise him? If you let her establish a household, are you going to leave all your possessions to her? She’s not a descendant of our Su family. If you do that, then we won’t help raise Xuan Ge’er.”
Su Chen Shi glared at the person lying on the dry grass, speaking words that pierced the heart.
Her aged face was covered in wrinkles. Days of fleeing had caused the once plump old lady to suddenly dehydrate, resembling a sun-baked, mottled orange – truly a hag from a Western fantasy drama.