Chapter 63. The Wooden Head. (Updated on the 16th) I can't see...

The distant mountains looked graceful and small. After the heavy rain, the sky finally cleared up, and a few birds flew out of the forest and across the sky. Wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys on the rooftops.

Zhou Yongyin added firewood to the stove. The half-boiled water was almost boiling. He poured the slaughtered chicken into it, put the lid on, and then sat down.

"grandfather."

The old man looked up, his eyes wide with surprise. "Xichuang, why don't you go get some sleep? I can manage on my own here. You must be tired these past few days. I'll cook dinner and then wake you up. Go to sleep."

"I'm not tired. It's mainly Young Master Jiang and my master who have worked hard. I haven't been able to help much. I'll eat first and then go to sleep."

Xi Chuang moved a small stool over and sat down, offering to help Zhou Yongyin pick wild vegetables. He said, “Grandfather looks to be in good health. My grandfather passed away a long time ago, probably when I was three or four years old. He contracted an illness and suddenly left us, in less than seven days.”

"Life and death are predestined. I'm just an old man who stays on this mountain every day. I can easily grow some vegetables and that's enough to eat. I don't have to do any work. Isn't that great?"

Zhou Yongyin pulled a few roasted potatoes out of the fire, patted off the ash, wrapped them in a cloth, and handed them to Xi Chuang to eat. "Try it, but it's a little hot, so be careful when you eat it."

Xi Chuang paused for a moment, then saw that Zhou Yongyin had already peeled off his skin at the top. After a while, he said, "Thank you, Grandfather."

"No need to thank me, there's plenty more here if you like."

Xi Chuang took a small bite; it was soft, sweet, and surprisingly brought back memories of her childhood.

Before Lian Quesheng sent him to Bailuzhou, he often watched others eat this on the street, but he had no money on him at all. He could only stare at the leftover potato peels, lingering around and watching the people next to him, until no one dared to pick them up.

The cold potato peels were dry and tasteless, not very tasty, but they were the only thing he could eat. Later, he was discovered and had no choice but to run away to the deserted wilderness.

Everything changed dramatically after she met Lian Quesheng.

"Xichuang, can you tell me what's going on outside? I've been stuck here these past few days, and then you all suddenly came back. I have a feeling this isn't going to be anything good!"

“The person outside has fallen ill.”

As Xi Chuang spoke slowly, the potato in his hand gradually cooled down, losing its earlier steam. He held the small, round potato in his hand and ate it clean, bite by bite.

"Waaah—"

Jiang Yu felt completely exhausted and had no strength left. He finally opened his eyes, but everything was pitch black. It took him a while to realize that he was lying in bed.

Was he brought back by Shen Jiuxu?

He naturally reached out to touch the side, and only breathed a sigh of relief after feeling the warm skin. His mind was filled with all sorts of messy threads, making it impossible for him to think about anything else.

When the flower buds saw that he was awake, they snuggled up to Jiang Yu's neck and gently rubbed against him. Jiang Yu touched them and smiled, but he was too tired. Even the slightest movement, such as raising his hand, made him feel exhausted.

But the situation was better than Jiang Yu had imagined.

He had thought that if he forcibly woke Xian Chen to save people, he would probably be unconscious for ten days or half a month, and it would be normal for him to have no spiritual power or even have some physical problems. But he did not expect that the current situation was not that bad.

After a while, the chirping of birds outside the window continued incessantly. Jiang Yu wasn't sure how long he had slept. He touched the flower bud and whispered, "What time is it now?"

“At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), it was already bright outside. Grandfather came by once earlier, but seeing that none of you were awake, he closed the door and left.”

Hua Bao observed carefully and noticed that Jiang Yu's eyes kept blinking. She thought he must be uncomfortable somewhere, so she went over there and gently pressed on them a few times.

Is it broad daylight yet?

Jiang Yu's voice was calm. Hua Bao didn't understand what he meant and just took it as a normal question. She nodded at Ye Zi and said, "Yes, are you hungry? Grandfather's cooking smells so good. It smells like pheasant stewed with wild mushrooms."

"What do you mean, are you hungry or not?"

Before Shen Jiuxu even opened his eyes, his arm was already on Jiang Yu's shoulder, pulling him closer. He held him tightly, as if trying to meld him into his bones. "When did you wake up? Why didn't you wake me?"

"It'll only be a little while, probably about half an incense stick's time. I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you." Jiang Yu buried her face in Shen Jiuxu's chest, feeling the familiar and strong heartbeat, lost in thought.

"How did you lose so much weight?"

Shen Jiuxu touched his shoulders, which were almost bony, and his thin back. His hand slid up and touched his pointed chin. "You used to have some flesh on you."

"It seems that Grandfather was right, you really do need to take good care of your health."

"Hmm." Jiang Yu hummed softly, rubbing her head even closer to his chest, wrapping her arms around Shen Jiuxu's waist, and then fell silent, like a quiet wooden doll.

Shen Jiuxu stroked his smooth, long hair, not disturbing him, until he heard the sound of chopping wood outside again, then whispered, "Are you hungry? Go out and get something to eat."

Jiang Yu didn't say anything, but simply stretched out her hand, "I want a hug."

"good."

Shen Jiuxu naturally had no objections. He got out of bed and found a red dress for Jiang Yu. He took it in his hand and then suddenly put it down. He had seen too much blood these past few days, and he instinctively felt that Jiang Yu probably wouldn't want to see this now.

He then chose an apricot-colored one.

After helping Jiang Yu put on her clothes and simply tying her hair back, Shen Jiuxu picked her up and carried her around the waist. Hua Bao, being quite perceptive, pushed the door open first, and the sunlight outside filled the entire courtyard.

The gloomy weather that had lasted for several days has finally come to an end.

"The sun is shining brightly today. Let's sit under the tree for a while after we finish eating!" Shen Jiuxu looked down at Jiang Yu, only to find that he still had his face buried in his chest, with only a small section of his snow-white neck showing.

"Um."

Jiang Yu was placed on a stool by him, and Shen Jiuxu went to help Zhou Yongyin serve the dishes. When the old man saw them come out, he hurriedly ran to the kitchen. Xi Chuang also brought out a few bowls of soup from inside, and the aroma instantly reached Hua Bao.

Sure enough, it smelled exactly the same as what it had smelled inside the house.

"Young Master Jiang, you're awake. Your grandfather was so worried. When he heard that you risked your life to save someone, he almost fainted from anxiety."

"I'm fine." Jiang Yu lowered his head and sat there alone, with towering mountains behind him and only a lone bird hovering there. For some reason, he looked rather lonely.

His grandfather and Daoist partner were clearly here.

Jiang Yu seemed like a fleeting gust of wind, about to disappear after passing through this small patch of land. His apricot-colored robe looked very loose, with empty cuffs. If he were to stuff it with various gold, silver, jewels, and talismans like Lian Quesheng, it could probably fill half a chest.

“Grandfather was also worried about Young Master Jiang. After all, one’s own child is always the most precious. No matter how important other people’s lives are, they are not as important as one’s own child.”

Xi Chuang pushed a bowl of soup towards Jiang Yu, saying, "This was specially made by my grandfather, who killed a chicken in the yard. It's been simmering since last night, and I've been watching it. Young Master Jiang, please drink more."

"Thanks."

Jiang Yu's voice was very soft. His lips twitched, but his hands didn't move. He remained sitting upright, his beautiful black eyes lowered, as if he were waiting for someone.

The view from the west window was unclear. When Shen Jiuxu and Zhou Yongyin arrived, the four of them sat perfectly at the four sides of the wooden table.

The table was laden with various dishes. Zhou Yongyin, exasperated, launched into a tirade against Jiang Yu, “You’re such a grown man, and you don’t even know how to take care of your health. Look at me, I’ve always been healthy. I finally managed to get you to fatten me up a bit, and now I’m as thin as a stick.”

"You've been busy for so many days without taking a break, Jiang Yu. You're just an ordinary person, and so am I. It's enough to just live your own life. Putting so many things on your shoulders every day, it's no wonder you're getting sick!"

Zhou Yongyin grew angrier as he spoke, but looking at Jiang Yu's pale and thin face, he couldn't bear it. After all, he had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He took an empty bowl, filled it with food, and placed it in front of him, saying, "Eat quickly, don't starve yourself."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

Jiang Yu finally raised her head and smiled, "It definitely won't happen again next time."

"Do you think I'd still believe your lies? It was the same three years ago, and even more so when you were a child. I'm sick of hearing it. If you could change, you wouldn't be the child I, Zhou Yongyin, raised."

As he spoke, he turned his attention to Shen Jiuxu.

"And you too, you all look so smart, how come you're actually such blockheads and not bright at all? You don't even rest when you're tired, you just ruin your health. None of you can give me any peace of mind."

Shen Jiuxu had no way to refute it, because if you were to tell the truth, Zhou Yongyin was indeed right. He was a blockhead, just not an elm.

"Grandfather, please calm down. Everything is fine now, isn't it? Jiang Yu and I are both alive and kicking right in front of you. I promise you, it will never happen again."

Shen Jiuxu could be quite eloquent at times, but it was all just for flattery. Jiang Yu was already used to this side of him. Although he hadn't seen Zhou Yongyin much, he knew exactly what kind of person Shen Jiuxu was.

Like Jiang Yu, they are both people who won't turn back until they hit a wall; otherwise, how could they have gotten together?

"Alright, alright, you're all trying to fool this old man."

Zhou Yongyin waved his hand, picked up his chopsticks, and put a piece of meat on Shen Jiuxu and Xichuang's plates. "Eat up, eat up. This is a chicken we raised ourselves. It's delicious. When I cooked it, I specially put some blood-nourishing herbs in it, so it'll be good for you both."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

“Thank you, Grandfather,” Xichuang said with a smile.

Shen Jiuxu looked at Jiang Yu beside him and saw that he hadn't touched his chopsticks yet. He thought that his wrist was hurting again and that he didn't have much strength to begin with, so he moved the stool closer to Jiang Yu and fed him.

"Try it."

Jiang Yu's body moved slowly, but remained still for a long time. Shen Jiuxu then realized something was wrong. He didn't speak, but just looked at Jiang Yu's lifeless eyes and his mouth opening and closing.

"I can't see."

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Author's note: I finally finished writing this after staying up all night.

I'm grateful to my mentor for handing me a cup of coffee at 10 p.m., which successfully kept me writing until now without feeling sleepy [glasses].

This chapter is a make-up for the update on the 16th. I will update normally today and post it after I finish writing it during the day.

I'm starting to worry about my hair. [lemon emoji]