269. A pair of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people

The little boy didn't know where his grandparents had gone; all he could hear were the sounds of villagers looting and things breaking.

She couldn't resist climbing out.

When she looked up, she saw the villagers fighting over things like robbers.

"Stop taking it! These are Grandpa and Grandma's things!" The little dumpling tried to stop the villagers who were moving the cabinet.

But she was small and weak, and couldn't stop them at all. Instead, she was pushed by the villagers and staggered a few steps.

"Where did this little girl come from?" A villager was stunned, looking the little girl up and down. "When did the old couple start hiding a stranger?"

"Maybe she's a relative of the old couple?" another villager said, his eyes darting around. "The scouts just left. If this girl is related to that Xie guy, we're in trouble! Quickly take her to the village chief!"

Several villagers stepped forward, grabbed the little girl's arm, and forcibly dragged her toward the village chief's house.

The little boy cried and shouted, "Let me go! I want to find my grandpa and grandma! Where did you take them?"

The villagers ignored her completely and only cared about taking her to the village chief.

-

The village chief's house.

The village chief was sitting on the doorstep smoking his pipe.

Seeing the little dumpling being dragged over, he frowned: "What's going on here?"

"Village chief, this girl is hiding in those two old geezers' house, we don't know what she's doing!" said the villager holding the little girl. "The old couple are probably dead, what should we do with this girl?"

The village chief stood up, walked over to the little girl, and carefully examined her clothes.

He was, after all, the village chief, and he had more knowledge than these villagers.

Although the little dumpling was covered in snow, the fabric was of the finest silk, clearly indicating that she was not from an ordinary family.

He frowned, waved his hand, and told the villagers to let go of the little dumpling: "You all go back first, I'll handle this."

The villagers left without hesitation, though they were still thinking about going back to rob the villagers.

Only the little dumpling and the village chief remained in the courtyard.

The little boy rubbed his arm, which was sore from being grabbed, his eyes filled with confusion and unease: "Grandpa Village Chief, where are Grandpa and Grandma? Where are they?"

The village chief sighed, squatted down, and softened his tone: "Child, your grandparents... are gone. The scouts came, and since they couldn't hand over the grain, they were taken away by the scouts."

"Gone?" The little dumpling froze, blinking blankly, tears streaming down her face. "How could this be... how could this happen... was it because Yue'er was bad? Did Yue'er bring this upon them...?"

"Don't cry," the village chief patted her shoulder, "This isn't your fault, blame those rioting soldiers. It's just that you..."

He paused, a troubled look on his face: "Our village is poor to begin with, and now the heavy snow has blocked the roads, and there's been unrest among the soldiers. I can't take care of you for more than a few days. I'll ask around the village to see if anyone is willing to take you in, but if not... there's nothing I can do."

The little dumpling looked at the village chief, feeling both confused and afraid.

She missed her father and mother, her two older brothers, the little princess and the little prince, Brother Xie, and Qu Zijin…

But now she doesn't know where they are, or whether she will be able to wait for them to come and rescue her.

She slowly squatted down, hugged her knees, and sobbed softly. Her tears fell onto the snow and quickly froze.

The village chief felt a pang of pity for her pitiful state.

He sighed, turned and went into the house, took out a steamed bun, and handed it to the little dumpling: "Eat something first, don't starve. No matter what, just stay alive, there's hope as long as you're alive."

He paused, and although he felt it was inappropriate, he still said, "I can see that you are from a wealthy family. Just stay here and wait for your family to come looking for you."

"We have no way to send you home. The Prince of Zhennan is very strict. If we cross the border without permission, we will be arrested immediately."

"If you're capable of surviving and being found, you might even be able to avenge the old couple."

"Remember that. Those scouts are soldiers of the Prince of Zhennan. The one in charge is called Sun Weicai."

The little dumpling held a steamed bun in its hands, staring blankly at him.

She didn't say anything, but she remembered.

-

The next day, the village chief took the little dumpling to the ancestral hall.

Inside the ancestral hall, the little dumpling sat in a corner, listening to the adults nearby having a heated debate—

"You can't do this! The old couple's bodies are barely cold, and you're already trying to seize their property?! That child was taken in by the old couple. They had no descendants, so this child is their descendant. If you want the old couple's property, you have to raise this child until her family comes to find her! Otherwise, after you've divided up all the property, how will a three-year-old child survive?!" The village chief was angrily banging on the table.

"What does a three-year-old know? She's just a worthless girl. If she dies, she dies. Besides, she wasn't even from our village."

"That's right, this girl was picked up by those two old bastards from the roadside. She should be grateful that she's lived these extra two days."

"A worthless, barren bastard who deserved to be drowned at birth, what right does she have to inherit assets? She deserved to die!"

The little dumpling couldn't fully understand what they were saying, but she grasped some of the principles.

These are all bad people; they all want to take the old man and woman's things and don't want her at all.

The little dumpling lowered her head, rubbed her watery eyes with her soft little hands, slowly stood up, and walked outside.

No one noticed her, or perhaps they did, but didn't care.

She wanted to go home.

She knew the village chief would no longer support her, and no one would help her if she stayed.

So she wanted to walk home by herself.

However, she didn't know the way.

Looking around, it is surrounded by mountains on all sides.

She thought for a moment, then chose a direction to walk towards the mountain.

The path up the mountain was very steep, and she walked unsteadily. When she encountered steep sections, she used both her hands and feet to climb up, getting herself all dirty.

Halfway there, she tripped and fell.

The little dumpling got up, looked down, and discovered that the person who had tripped her was... a person?

The man lay face down on the ground, wearing light silver armor and carrying a sword. There was a wound resembling a throat slit on the back and side of his neck, and a pool of blood meandered across the ground, staining the grass below red.

It feels... somewhat familiar.

The little dumpling cautiously poked the person with her finger: "Are you alright...?"

The person did not wake up.

She looked up again and saw a broken wall.

The little dumpling thought that the person must have fallen from the broken wall above.

She wanted to save him: "He needs medicine, Yue'er is going to find medicine..."

The little dumpling mumbled something, but then a problem arose.

She knew absolutely nothing about herbs.

Suddenly, a clump of snow fell from the sky and landed on her nose.

The little girl looked up blankly and saw a squirrel, which was curiously watching her from a branch.

After a few seconds of staring at each other, the little squirrel climbed down from the tree and ran to her.

"Huh?" The little dumpling tilted its head.

This little squirrel isn't afraid of people at all; it's so friendly...

[Host, this is because you possess advanced animal affinity.]

The system auntie suddenly spoke up.

"Oh right..." The little dumpling belatedly realized.

However, she felt that, for some reason, the system auntie wasn't speaking as rigidly this time.

She also had a feeling that the system aunt had been secretly watching her all along, preparing to help her.

[Host, you can resolve the current problem using your advanced animal affinity.]

For example, asking an animal to fetch the herbs you need.

The little dumpling suddenly understood: "I get it, thank you Auntie!"

You're welcome.

The little dumpling looked at the little squirrel: "Little squirrel, little squirrel, can you help Yue'er? Yue'er needs herbs that can save lives!"

The little squirrel looked at her for a while, turned its tiny head, and finally nodded in a human-like manner before darting into the snow.

After a while, the little squirrel returned with the herbs, carrying them with great effort.

[Pick the leaves from the tree, crush them on a stone, and then apply the paste to the wound.]

"Okay, okay." After picking the leaves, the little dumpling placed the herbs on the stone next to it, then picked up a small stone and crushed it with a "heave-ho" sound, before applying the green paste to the person's wound.

The bleeding was stopped quickly.

The person stirred, as if about to wake up.

The little dumpling squatted down, its eyes wide open, and met the gaze of the person who was slowly sitting up.

The little boy's eyes first showed confusion, then shock, and finally delight: "Thank you, brother!"

[Task Completed]

The plague has been resolved, and you've found Xie Wenling—under very dire circumstances.

You and Lin Fuman are separated; you are in trouble; Xie Wenling is in trouble too.

You two are now a pair of old, weak, sick, and disabled people.

But regardless, you found him, he's alive, and you're alive too.

[Award Received: A complete set of modern chemical laboratory equipment]

[Note: The reward has already been advanced and will not be issued this time.]

---

Mini-theater:

System Auntie: You two are now a pair of old, weak, sick, and disabled people.

Little dumpling: Huh?

Xie Wenling: What do you mean?

Little Dumpling: (Counting on her fingers) But, there are four words: old, weak, sick, and disabled. There are only two people, Yue'er and Brother Xie.

System Auntie: Xie Wenling – Old and disabled. Jin Lanyue – Sick and weak.

Little dumpling: Ah...

Xie Wenling: ?

Xie Wenling (only twenty years old): You are really rude.