"Stop talking," Ajie interrupted Tuoba Yan.
She stared intently at the fleshy face before her.
Spiritual spring, do you have water yet?
Save my father.
Ajie suddenly collapsed into her arms.
"Jiu'er? Ajie..." Cai Lihua hadn't recovered from the impending loss of her husband, and now her daughter collapsed.
She was too scared to cry.
"Sister Ajie?" Tuoba Yan pushed Ajie. "Don't you dare die."
"My daughter won't die, you brat, don't talk nonsense."
Cai Lihua held her daughter in her arms, and in that moment, she realized how thin Ajie was. Her skin and bones curled up in her embrace, like a seven or eight-year-old child.
"Mother, I'm not dead," Ajie sighed in the spiritual spring space.
She had just discovered that as long as her will was firm, external disturbances could be blocked. However, she could hear her mother's voice, just couldn't reply.
Looking towards the spring's source, she parted the grass and gasped, "Heavens, there's water again!"
Ajie paid no mind to tasting it herself. She quickly plucked off her water skin and carefully poured the water in. Without tools, cupping it with her hands was also efficient.
This time, she filled half her water skin. Perhaps it was because she hadn't drunk any herself, but the volume of water was indeed a little more than before.
Father, I hope this water helps.
"Go away."
It was Grandmother's voice.
What was she doing? Ajie wondered in the space.
Ajie's vision suddenly cleared. The sunset glow in the sky remained. As she opened her eyes, she felt her face was wet.
"Mother, I'm not dead."
Cai Lihua's tears of grief had fallen onto her face.
"Ajie, you scared your mother to death," Cai Lihua held Ajie tightly. "If something happens to your father, I'll only have you."
She held her too tightly, and Ajie couldn't breathe. "Mother, Mother, I can't breathe."
To be honest, her mother's grip was much stronger than before.
"Oh, alright, alright, Mother didn't... Mother didn't mean to." Cai Lihua loosened her grip slightly.
Ajie looked back. Her mother behind her had a look of shock, as if Ajie would die if she scared her again.
Focusing her eyes, she saw Grandmother sitting cross-legged beside her father, her hands forming a circle on her abdomen, doing something.
Tuoba Yan stretched his head to Ajie's face. When Ajie noticed, she gasped in fright.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing, I was afraid you'd die, just checking if you still had a pulse."
"You're the one who's going to die," Ajie cursed, then affectionately patted her water skin. It was heavy, confirming the spiritual spring water was inside.
Ajie quickly pulled out the stopper, ready to give it to her father.
"Hmm, done." Wang Shi circled her hands around her body, then placed them calmly on her abdomen, as if pressing unseen energy into her lower belly.
Then, she lowered her eyelids and became still.
"Girl..." Wang Shi's voice was very weak, as if she had no strength left.
Ajie instinctively felt her father breathing again. She didn't hear Grandmother's weak voice:
"Father, Father? How are you? Drink some water."
"I... Old man, I am the one who needs it most..." Wang Shi's voice was low. Then, her head tilted, and she collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
"Oh dear, what's happening? Why are they falling one after another?"
Cai Lihua had no affection for her mother-in-law, but today, she had produced her treasure to help everyone avert disaster.
At this moment, she no longer saw her as a villain. "Mother? Mother..."
Tuoba Yan, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. He had seen many deaths on the road, but never people collapsing one after another, like lining up.
"I... What's going on?"
At this moment, Meng Shaode sat up, holding his forehead, looking bewildered and rubbing his temples.
"Father, you fainted just now. Drink some water." Ajie handed him the water skin.
"Fainted?" Meng Shaode looked suspicious. He tried clenching his fist, and his biceps were full of strength, not at all as weak as his daughter said.
"Yes, drink a couple of mouthfuls. Don't hold back, otherwise, if you get sick, what will happen to me and Mother?"
Ajie watched, feeling anxious.
"That's true, health is the foundation of everything."
Ajie didn't understand this saying. She shoved the water skin into her father's mouth, and he reluctantly tilted his head and took a small sip.
"Son, old man, I am your mother, right?" Wang Shi, lying on the ground, suddenly widened her eyes. The aura of spiritual energy emanated strongly into the air.