A Jiu scrambled up and ran towards the spot.
The mountains were high and low, densely covered with trees, truly a good place to hide.
"Mother, what's happening?" A Jiu hurried to ask. She saw the water skin in her hand had fallen to the ground. Fortunately, the stopper was quite firm, and no water was wasted.
"Your mother, she was frightened by those people," Meng Shaode quickly pinched her philtrum.
A Jiu looked in the direction he pointed. Those people were all huddled together, their gaunt faces filled with fear.
In the darkness of the woods, it was no wonder they would be scared at first glance.
But they also looked exceptionally frightened.
"Who are you?" someone called from over there.
A Jiu sighed. These were the same people from the yi zhuang whom she had treated. It was just that this kind of illness had sequelae, and it wouldn't be easily recovered from without ten days, half a month, or even three to five months.
"I am Meng Jiu'er. You are all patients who recovered from the yi zhuang, right?"
Upon hearing A Jiu's words, a commotion erupted from the other side.
"Is... is it Meng Jiu'er?"
"The voice sounds like it's really Meng Nüyi."
"I think so too."
After whispering amongst themselves, someone called out, "We apologize for scaring your family. We are not ghosts."
A Jiu crouched down and whispered into the ear of her fainted mother, "Mother, they are not ghosts. They just have the same illness as Madam Qian."
As soon as Madam Qian was mentioned, Cai Lihua slowly stood up. "No wonder they looked so much like ghosts. But there are so many of them. Gathering together in the middle of the night is really frightening."
Meng Shaode wiped the sweat from his brow in exasperation. His heart had been pounding with fear too.
As they were speaking, footsteps gradually approached from over there, but then stopped about ten meters away. Someone cautiously asked,
"Meng Nüyi, why are you on the mountain? Shouldn't you be staying at the inn?"
"We're so sorry. We were afraid of scaring people if we took the main road, so we took the mountain path. Where are you heading, Meng Nüyi?"
The two cautiously moved a few steps closer. "We are truly sorry. Our hair hasn't grown back yet. Once it does, we'll look like human beings."
Cai Lihua was still trembling and instinctively hid behind Meng Shaode.
"We plan to settle down in Lingnan," A Jiu, having seen this before, stepped forward.
"You've all almost recovered, haven't you?" A Jiu examined the two of them. Although they were emaciated and had sparse hair, their eyes were no longer red, and their voices were stronger. With good care, they would surely recover completely.
"Much better, we just look a bit frightening," the middle-aged young man scratched his head. "We heard that Naming City is at war. We are not locals from Nanzhou County, so we have nowhere to go. We heard that Lingnan might still offer a way to survive."
"Yes, alright. Our family is also planning to go there," A Jiu said, turning to leave.
Seeing that the first two individuals hadn't scared Meng Nüyi's family any further, the group of over a hundred fellow patients who had recovered from the illness crowded forward.
"Ninth Miss, I have a piece of dry rations here. Please don't refuse it."
Saying this, someone squeezed out from the crowd, took a steamed bun from their embrace, and handed it to A Jiu.
A Jiu looked down. It was wrapped in oil paper, and inside were white, fluffy steamed buns, though a bit dry.
"I have one too, given when we left the yi zhuang."
"I have a wowo tou here. Ninth Miss, please don't be offended."
Cai Lihua secretly poked her head out from behind her husband. These people were truly enthusiastic.
A Jiu looked down at the food she was holding, then looked up at their faces that were less than human, like ghosts. Everyone was beaming with anticipation, as if they would be happy to see A Jiu finish eating.
"The road to Lingnan is too far. You'll need to eat along the way," A Jiu took a step forward with the pile of food.
"No, no!"
To her surprise, everyone collectively stepped back, shaking their heads and waving their hands.
"Meng Nüyi, do you dislike it? You saved all our lives. These little bits of food are nothing."
When the leader said this, A Jiu took another step forward, about to say that they had just recovered from a serious illness and needed more nourishment.
Who knew that this time, the group waved their hands and turned to run.
Heh, they were forcing their generosity on her.
Cai Lihua saw this and said, "These people are quite decent!" Her fear immediately lessened.