"Grandma."
"Mom!"
Ajiu quickly turned back to chase.
Meng Shaode put down the bamboo basket and slid down the rocky slope following the direction the old woman had fallen.
He pulled Wang Shi, who had fallen into the ravine, up.
This sight was alarming. Ajiu gasped. Grandma's forehead had hit a rock and was bleeding profusely.
Cai Lihua reacted quickly, tearing off a piece of her front cloth to cover the wound.
Tuoba Yan limped over to help lift Wang Shi to the top of the mountain.
The two men weren't particularly tired, but Cai Lihua sat on the rocks, panting, jumping up from the heat.
Even though the sun was setting, the rocks, baked by the sun all day, were hot enough to fry an egg.
Ajiu squatted beside Wang Shi, still pressing on the wound, afraid the blood would spurt out if she let go.
Meng Shaode said that sun-baked sand and soil could reduce inflammation and stop bleeding, and he was already searching the rocky summit.
"Big Brother, you've been pressing for so long, let me do it." Little Yan Yan looked at Ajiu, who was concentrating with a small frown, and felt a pang of sympathy.
"No need. There are many mosquitoes in the mountains. Go find some camphor trees for us to use tonight."
Ajiu instructed. She dared not let go now. She wondered if the spiritual spring water, which had made her feel so energetic the first time she drank it, would have miraculous effects on cleaning wounds.
"Sister Ajiu, you know so much. It's Little Yan Yan's good fortune to have met you."
Tuoba Yan smiled and got up, approaching Cai Lihua, who was grimacing and rubbing her sore backside from the heat.
"Auntie, what is a camphor tree?"
"Ah? You kid probably lived too comfortably in the past. You don't even know what a camphor tree is. I'll take you."
The air suddenly fell silent. Ajiu didn't know if she was overthinking, but it was worth a try.
She released the wound, and blood began to flow out. Ajiu quickly removed the stopper from the water flask and was about to lift the gauze to pour some onto the wound.
To her surprise, Wang Shi sat up abruptly.
Ajiu, startled, plopped onto the ground. She stared at the unceasingly bleeding wound on her grandma's head, completely forgetting the pain in her own backside.
Her hand emptied, and the water flask appeared in Wang Shi's hand.
The old woman tilted her head and gulped it down.
"Grandma, save some." Ajiu finally came to her senses, snatched it back, and shook it tenderly. Oh my heavens, it was half gone.
Ajiu was on the verge of tears.
Wang Shi, however, curled one leg, rested her elbow on her knee, and rubbed the blood from her face with the demeanor of an old rogue, grumbling,
"You girl are too heartless. If it weren't for this old man just now, your short-lived father would have died long ago. You're so stingy with your spiritual water."
Ajiu could tell. This old woman was faking it, just waiting for the spiritual spring water.
However, on second thought, something was indeed amiss.
"Grandma, you saved my father?" Ajiu remembered that when she came out of the spiritual spring space, her father had woken up before she could even give him water.
"I exhausted all my spiritual energy. I can barely walk now. Do you think I'm not making a profit? You ungrateful child."
Wang Shi was clearly a bit angry. She instinctively touched the blood on her head, licked her dirty hand as if afraid of wasting it.
Ajiu frowned. If her grandma had really saved her father, then had she been ill or not?
"Then... tell me how you saved him?" Ajiu didn't believe her and wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Of course, it was spiritual energy." Wang Shi's eyes widened, then she waved her hand helplessly,
"Heaven's secrets must not be revealed. You girl should ask less in the future. However, if you give me more of this spiritual water, I would be extremely grateful."
Heaven's secrets? Ajiu scratched her head. What did that mean? Why did she sound like an immortal?
This wasn't right.
Ajiu hugged the water flask tightly:
"That won't do. I only get this much water every now and then. If we are to reach Nanming City safely, I really can't use it with you. This matter is non-negotiable."
She got up and went to rummage through the bamboo basket beside her.
Currently, there were only three pounds of wheat grains, not enough for the family to eat for a day. She had to find a way to take some out and see if it could take root on the spot.
"Good girl, I saved your father this time. Can't you show some mercy?"
Wang Shi leaned in.