This dirty, unremarkable little girl wasn't the same one holding two dying lambs that day?
She had only said one sentence throughout, so ordinary that no one paid her any attention.
"Really?" Peng Chao scrutinized her from head to toe, unable to discern anything special about her.
Seeing his eager, beast-like expression, Madam Wang knew her granddaughter had already learned to conceal her spiritual energy. If this old fellow could see through it, wouldn't his teachings be in vain?
Ah Jiu, on the other hand, rolled her eyes.
If Grandma didn't want a disciple, she could just say so. Why use her as a shield to push people away?
Ah Jiu was already accustomed to her unpredictable comings and goings. She quietly bent down to cut grass.
Madam Wang scoffed, "If I move elsewhere and you follow me again, I'll shatter your skull with a single palm strike."
Watching Madam Wang recede into the distance, Peng Chao finally withdrew his gaze and focused on the busy, small figure.
"Girl, you... are you really that capable?"
Peng Chao looked around, unashamedly embarrassed to find a sickle. He picked it up to help, thinking it would be a good way to strike up a conversation.
"Don't listen to my grandma's nonsense," Ah Jiu didn't think it was that amazing; she had only found the ability to conserve warmth by circulating energy last night, which was quite practical.
As for washing marrow and transforming, she knew nothing of that.
Peng Chao looked at the "prospective master" who had already disappeared, then at the girl. He truly didn't know whom to believe, so he could only bury his head and help cut grass.
If he couldn't pester the "prospective master," he could still pester her granddaughter.
He had to admit, Old Peng next to him was cutting even faster than her, wheezing and panting, yet not blushing or out of breath.
Like a calf, he pushed forward while cutting, and in no time, a large pile was cut.
"Are you cutting grass to feed sheep?" Old Peng finally remembered to ask, seeing how much had been cut.
"I'm weaving grass mats. It's getting cold now, and the wind howls in the cave," Ah Jiu said, already sitting down and using her feet to tread and twist grass ropes.
"I know how to do this. You'll have to hand-twist until your fingers blister to weave it well. Girl, you rest." Old Peng looked around, then his eyes fixed on a flat, irregularly shaped rock.
He started twisting hemp rope in a proper manner, then found two trees spaced apart and tied one end of a rope to each, pulling it taut.
Then, he hung a brick from the twisted hemp rope onto the horizontal rope, creating a pendulum. With the back-and-forth motion and the weight of the stone, the grass mats would be woven tighter and flatter.
"See, this way is much easier," Peng Chao spat into his palm, looking full of vigor.
"Old Peng, you're truly clever," Ah Jiu gave him a thumbs-up.
Just as Ah Jiu sat down to rest, someone on the mountaintop shouted, "Time to eat!"
"Eat first, then get back to work, Old Peng," Ah Jiu said, getting up to leave.
"It's alright, you go eat. I'll finish weaving it for you shortly," Old Peng's eyes didn't leave his work.
Ah Jiu didn't insist. Back at the camp, several strong men were carrying a large basket with poles, filled with pots and pans.
Then, everyone orderly lined up, waiting for Aunt Lu to ladle out the soup.
The soup was watery, and there was only a small piece of meat per person, not enough to even fill a tooth. However, because of the salt, drinking just the soup made everyone praise it.
Ah Jiu stepped forward and asked Aunt Lu to ladle an extra bowl. She carried two bowls of lamb soup back into the valley.
"Old Peng, have some soup before you work."
"Ah, is this the lamb soup?" Old Peng's eyes lit up. He wiped his hands haphazardly on his clothes and took the bowls. He took a deeply appreciative sniff:
"This is the taste. It has spiritual energy."
Ah Jiu swallowed, realizing her grandmother was right. He must have been drawn to their sheep because he smelled the spiritual energy.
"Take your time eating."
Ah Jiu quickly returned to the cave. Cai Lihua heard the commotion and sat up, touching her forehead groggily.
"How long have I been asleep, my daughter?"
"Not long, Mother. Aunt Lu just finished breakfast. Drink it while it's hot," Ah Jiu knelt before her mother.
The ewe on the side bleated, and the lambs inside the cave were bounding around like they had epilepsy. Only the scrawny lamb tremblingly snuggled next to its mother.
"Mother, that little lamb froze to death last night. You also caught a cold, so I got a tiger skin from the boss to cover you."
Ah Jiu felt no particular sorrow. Her father had said that if a sheep gave birth to too many, the later ones would be hard to raise. She just didn't know how long that little lamb could last.
"The boss is also a loyal person. Your father's decision was correct." Cai Lihua, perhaps from a high fever followed by profuse sweating, spoke weakly and had no energy to concern herself with the sheep or the tiger skin.
"Where is your father?" Cai Lihua asked, finishing the soup. A light sweat broke out on her body, and she stretched her leg out from under the tiger skin.
"The boss said he went hunting with some companions last night." As soon as Ah Jiu finished speaking, a cheer erupted from outside.