A Jiu walked out, suddenly feeling as if a night breeze was blowing in her face, scattering the restless emotions of her entire day.
This time, there was no need for Tuoba Yan to bellow to establish his authority. The villagers automatically parted a path, their eyes fixed on A Jiu as she departed.
The village elder let out a sigh of relief. This must be a living Bodhisattva reborn.
"Little Sister A Jiu, you are truly amazing," Tuoba Yan followed closely, giving a thumbs-up.
"You have no idea how scared I was earlier, afraid of not being able to cure them and harming them, afraid of not knowing how to treat it myself. In short, my legs went weak with fear."
A Jiu recounted her feelings from before.
Thankfully, heaven had not forsaken her.
"You're not scared now, are you? Little Sister A Jiu, honestly, when you were fierce just now, you were especially..."
"Especially what?" A Jiu couldn't remember being fierce.
"Ah, especially beautiful," Tuoba Yan quickly covered for himself. What he had actually wanted to say was that she was very spirited, possessing an indomitable aura.
She looked more like their superior issuing commands.
"Pfft!" A Jiu covered her mouth and laughed, unable to straighten up.
Accompanied by the night dew, the tall and short figures joked, "I think your biggest strength is your sweet talk. Do you have any other skills?"
"Of course, but you just don't know it yet." The happiest thing for Tuoba Yan since coming to this world was seeing A Jiu smile.
"Yes, the things you ghosts do are quite different from us humans," A Jiu said, reaching her doorstep and knocking.
"Who is it?"
Cai Lihua's voice came from inside.
"It's me, your mother, Jiu'er." A Jiu didn't understand why her mother was so frightened.
As soon as the door opened, A Jiu saw her mother, cleaver in hand, anxiously pulling her daughter inside and quickly closing the door.
"Where did you run off to? You worried your mother sick, you know?"
A Jiu didn't know why her mother was so agitated. It was peaceful outside now, and she wasn't going to be captured by refugees.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
"I heard that the deadly fever has spread to this village. Mother has already packed our bedding, ready to flee. Your father went to look for you."
"Ah?" A Jiu then noticed Aunt Li leading two children, with a large bundle in front of her and the basket packed to the brim.
"What 'ah' for? Let's go. That land belongs to Old Master Niu anyway, he can harvest it later. Our lives are the most important thing."
Cai Lihua still had a look of fear in her eyes.
"Auntie, Little Sister Jiu has cured Sister Qian's fever. Please don't worry." Tuoba Yan didn't want A Jiu to move. Now that he had infiltrated an official position, he could help A Jiu with many things.
If she left, he would have to go too, and he would lose his chance to be impressive.
"Cured?"
"Yes, cured, Mother. Please don't worry. That illness is not a plague at all; it's merely a parasite," A Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Parasite?" Cai Lihua lowered her gaze, her eyes darting around.
"That illness isn't contagious. A plague spreads through the air, saliva, even breath. If what you say is true, then it really isn't contagious. But Mother doesn't understand why the outside world is spreading such terrifying rumors, saying it's contagious and that whoever gets it is certain to die."
A Jiu's eyes lit up when she heard this.
"Mother, you understand?"
"Of course. Most illnesses called plagues are respiratory infections. If it's a parasite, then it's different."
"Respiratory?" A Jiu and Tuoba Yan exchanged glances. The word was strange. "Mother, what does respiratory mean?"
"It's... it's the organ for breathing," Cai Lihua could only explain it that way.
"Breathing?" A Jiu frowned. That would involve the lung meridian. However, if this plague didn't spread through these channels, she suddenly remembered her mother saying before that she understood something called food therapy.
"Mother, then tell me, what kind of food would cure the worms in the blood?"
"Ah?" Cai Lihua was startled by her daughter's question. "Could it be... a blood parasite disease?"