The young man stammered, "Grandma, are you serious? Then, I..."
"What 'then you'? They are all free now. Ask if anyone here is willing to marry you."
Finally, someone tentatively took the deed of sale. Then, everyone excitedly found their own, crying and laughing, kneeling to Ling Yao and kowtowing.
What would happen to a group of rootless, weak women, even if they were free?
Ling Yao simply took out three more bank notes, "Find a place to exchange these for silver coins, divide them up as support, and then leave!"
The women thanked her profusely, tears streaming down their faces. Xu Da Niu's numb eyes also regained their sparkle.
They all left.
The young man clutched the six taels of silver in his hand, wanting to cry.
No one was willing to marry him.
Ling Yao had only two bank notes left. She waved to the young man, who had a mournful face.
"Why the long face? With money, you can properly marry a wife. These last bank notes are all for you. Go, go back, marry a wife, have a child, and properly honor your mother."
Ling Yao patted his shoulder, stood up on her injured leg, and limped towards the mountain.
"Grandma, I'll wait for you to come down the mountain," the young man shouted.
Ling Yao waved her hand behind her.
With every step, her leg throbbed with searing pain, bringing tears to her eyes.
"A Shan, it's not that I'm being fussy this time, it genuinely hurts."
It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, she was still at the edge of the mountain. Ling Yao was hungry.
She then remembered that she hadn't brought any food and had given away all her money. Would she starve to death before Nirvana?
She stopped walking and took out the portrait again, crying.
"Without you, I really am an idiot."
She wondered if that young man was still waiting for her at the foot of the mountain.
There were rustling sounds around her. She was slow to react, and her hearing wasn't good either, until a large hand snatched the painting from her.
Ling Yao then realized two men were standing beside her.
"Give me back my painting!"
She was anxious and tried to snatch the painting. Her leg gave way, and she fell to the ground, only to have a man step on her.
"Old woman, hand over all the money you have!"
"I told you I don't have any, I spent it all!"
Indeed, people's hearts had changed. After all she had said, they had still followed her.
"Stop wasting time with her, strip her and search."
The man lifted her up like a chick. Just as his hand reached for her belt, a branch flew over and pierced his forehead.
The other man met the same fate, his throat pierced by a branch.
Ling Yao crawled to the side, picked up the painting that the man had thrown on the ground, and looked into the distance.
A tall figure walked towards her, hazy in the distance.
Her heart began to pound.
The painting in her hand felt like it was burning, and she fumbled to hide it behind her.
As the person approached, she saw clearly. Her blood seemed to freeze, and only her heart was beating so rapidly it felt like it would leap out of her throat.
She hurriedly covered her face, but then thought, in her current state, who would recognize her?
The bitterness in her heart surged like a tidal wave, her cries becoming aged and hoarse.
"Old lady, why are you crying?"
Xiao Shan asked in a deep voice, his tiger eyes dark and unfathomable.
"It's not like him at all, not like him at all. That painting was drawn in vain."
"How did the back of your hand get scraped? What's going on!"
Ling Yao's crying stopped. He really didn't recognize her. While she felt relieved, a greater sadness washed over her.
"I'm crying because my life is bitter. I married a man who died early, and my son is unfilial. Tell me, shouldn't I cry?"
"You should cry," Xiao Shan nodded. "I want to cry too."
"Why are you crying at such a young age?"
"I came back from war, and my wife ran off with someone else. My son was given away by her. When I came out looking for people, a child asked me if I wasn't dead. They said my old mother was holding a portrait and crying. My mother has been dead for decades, so who is this mother? Tell me, are people today lacking in morality? Why do they curse people to die?"
Ling Yao: "..."
She no longer covered her face, lowered her head, and clasped the painting behind her back, gripping it tighter and tighter. The portrait became even more wrinkled.
Xiao Shan looked around. "There shouldn't be any large beasts in this mountain, but there are definitely snakes and rats. When night falls, they come out."
"How do you know?" Is he trying to scare me?
"I saw quite a few rat holes, and snake eggs. Oh, and these..."
He reached up and plucked a leaf from overhead. A large caterpillar was clinging to it, crawling with a pulsating movement. Its shiny head sniffed around, both disgusting and terrifying.
Ling Yao was too scared to look, and felt itchy all over. Although she no longer had her fragrance, these insects were also attracted to people.
She squirmed, unable to sit still, and looked for a stick to try and stand up.
Xiao Shan casually squatted down, turning his back to her.
"Old lady, let me carry you down the mountain. Your son is unfilial, I'll discipline him for you."
On what grounds can you discipline someone else's son?
Besides, Xiao Shan never liked to meddle in other people's affairs. Why would he be so kind to an old woman? Could it be that he recognized her?
"No need, I don't have money for you."
"Ai!" Xiao Shan sighed heavily.
Then, he suddenly turned around and scooped Ling Yao into his arms.
The movement made Ling Yao dizzy. She grabbed Xiao Shan's neck and cried out hoarsely, "It hurts!"
"Where does it hurt?"
"My leg, my leg is broken, it hurts!"
Xiao Shan's gaze sharpened. He sat down again with her in his arms and, seeing her leg that she dared not move, directly pulled up her pant leg.
Her lower leg was already swollen high, likely a fracture of the tibia.
And Ling Yao, seeing her wrinkled, loose-skinned old leg, which was terribly ugly, turned her head away in disbelief.
He must have recognized her.
He had seen her entire unsightly appearance.
"The injury is very serious, we need to get down the mountain to find a doctor quickly."
"Finding a doctor is useless. I'm old, I won't heal."
Looking at her now, she was seventy or eighty years old. How could her bones heal well? And she was aging rapidly, not growing at all.
"But you can't be in so much pain!" Xiao Shan said in a low voice.
He picked her up again, this time with extreme care, as if holding an incredibly precious treasure.
Ling Yao nestled in his arms, smelling his familiar scent. Amidst the overwhelming bitterness, there was a hint of sweetness.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, the young man who had brought her was still waiting.
"Grandma, he, you, your son came to pick you up?"
This man truly had an imposing presence. Grandma was indeed from an extraordinary family, perhaps even from a royal family in the capital.
"Oh, yes, my son." Ling Yao gave an awkward smile, revealing her missing teeth.
They were gaping.
She quickly covered her mouth and mumbled, "You should go home quickly!"
This time, the young man was relieved. He happily left with the bank notes.
As he walked away, he thought: Grandma's son holding Grandma looked a bit strange.
Shouldn't he be carrying her on his back?