"I, Meng Shaode, will pretend I don't have this elder brother."
Meng Shaode was also angry, deliberately speaking loudly, but the person on the ox cart paid no attention.
"Dad, Uncle doesn't understand the bigger picture. If you also don't understand the bigger picture, won't you be the same as Great Uncle?"
A Jiu had held back for a long time before speaking her mind. However, her uncle didn't even turn his head, nor did he respond, clearly indicating that the situation was difficult to change.
Meng Shaode rubbed his precious daughter's head, feeling she made sense. He then saw his daughter supporting that young man.
She pushed him aside and stood in the middle herself, personally supporting him: "Dad, you keep him busy."
Although his daughter was fifteen years old, an age for marriage in this era, she couldn't interact with the opposite sex so early.
What if she, inexperienced, was deceived?
Tuoba Yan stumbled when pushed, nearly falling into the ditch, but was then pulled upright by that force.
Tuoba Yan, standing steady, was not angry. He followed with a limp:
"Uncle, you are really strong. Your physique must be better than ordinary people, right? Can you teach me?"
Meng Shaode was burdened with worries. Hearing this, he grunted:
"Naturally. I will protect you from now on. By the way, kid, you said you'd be gone once we reach Nanming City, right?"
"Yes, Uncle is so smart." Tuoba Yan smiled shamelessly.
"Then it's settled. When we reach Nanming City, you go your own way, and don't follow us anymore."
Meng Shaode's biggest fear was that he would abduct his daughter. Marriage was still years away, and he didn't care about the rules of this world; keeping her by his side for a few more years would be a great joy.
"Okay, I'll listen to Uncle." Tuoba Yan wasn't angry at all.
He went wherever he pleased. He had merely heard on the road that refugees were heading towards Nanming City.
He didn't actually know where to go, so he'd just follow the direction he heard about.
"You're quite good-tempered, kid," Meng Shaode muttered.
"Alright, Old Meng, how much longer do we have to walk? Daughter is frail, she can't endure long journeys, especially now without the ox cart. Sigh..."
Cai Lihua had been silent, looking worried.
The mention of the ox cart was like a knife twisting in Meng Shaode's heart, a second wound.
Furthermore, to save water for his family, his throat was no longer just dry; it felt like it was covered in blisters.
His throat hurt as if it had cracked during the argument with his elder brother.
"I..." Meng Shaode's voice was hoarse. He knew he was wrong, that he had made his wife and daughter suffer.
Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly collapsed, his carrying pole and belongings falling with him.
"Old Meng?"
Cai Lihua pushed aside the belongings to find her husband's face: "Old Meng, what's wrong with you?"
"Dad?" A Jiu instinctively checked his breathing.
He was still breathing, but the hot air exhaling from his nose felt scorching to her hand. As expected, his nasal passages must be full of inflamed boils.
"Water, Mom, the water pouch." A Jiu's heart ached.
Her eyes instantly welled up. In the past, her father was difficult and overbearing in the village, but now that he had suddenly become so good, if something happened to him, there would truly be one less person in the world who cared for her.
"Here!" Cai Lihua rummaged through the carrying pole and suddenly cried out: "Where's the water pouch? Could it be that... all of them..."
It was over.
A Jiu understood. The water pouch was in that basket, which had now been taken by her uncle.
Cai Lihua sat down on the ground, bewildered: "It's over... it's over."
Meng Shaode's breathing grew weaker. A Jiu could feel his body was burning hot but without a drop of sweat, wasn't that strange?
"Uncle is dehydrated and suffering from heatstroke."
A Jiu looked sharply at Tuoba Yan: "What is heatstroke? Tell me quickly."
She was on the verge of tears.
"It can be fatal. It's when the body's internal heat cannot be dissipated. The whole body becomes like a steamer, cooking the internal organs until they are done..." Tuoba Yan watched A Jiu's expression carefully as he spoke.
"Ah? It can be fatal?" Cai Lihua immediately burst into tears.
A Jiu's tears also fell instantly. For some reason, Tuoba Yan felt a pang of sympathy, and his tone became slow:
"On such hot days, many people have died from this illness on the road. It's very, very common."