"Madam, Madam..." Huan'er called out as she ran out of the west room and strode quickly into the old woman's east room.
Seeing that the old woman had vanished without a trace, she hurriedly retreated and began searching every nook and cranny of the yard. Finding nothing, she grew anxious and ran towards the door.
After a long while, Huan'er slowly and dejectedly returned to the courtyard from outside the door.
At this moment, Ruoxi, who was also looking anxious as she leaned against the door frame, listened carefully and heard Huan'er's hesitant footsteps. She quickly stepped towards Huan'er and asked anxiously, "Huan'er, what's wrong with the old lady? What happened?"
Upon hearing Ruoxi's soft voice, Huan'er first froze in place, looked up at her in surprise, and then suddenly stepped forward, reached out and hugged Ruoxi's shoulder, burying her face in her small shoulder and bursting into tears.
At this moment, Ruoxi's heart skipped a beat as if it had stopped. She then hurriedly said, "Huan'er, don't just cry. What happened? Tell me quickly!"
Huan'er, still leaning weakly on her shoulder, sniffled and choked out, "Ruoxi, something terrible is about to happen. When I heard you wake up, I rushed in to see you and couldn't stop the old lady. She...she went on a long journey alone. For the past eight years, she hasn't left this village once. A few days ago, when I went out, I heard people on the road saying that things are very unsettled outside. There are many bandits and robbers who rob and plunder everywhere, bullying men and women. It seems they are going to rebel against the court, and the court is sending troops to suppress them. In this chaos, what if the old lady encounters them?... Waaah, waaah, waaah..."
Huan'er seemed too frightened to continue speaking, and burst into tears as soon as she finished speaking.
Ruoxi held Huan'er tightly with one arm and gently stroked her back with the other. She was also terrified when she heard this, but she still pretended to be calm and comforted her, saying, "Huan'er, don't cry, Huan'er, don't cry. I'm asking you, do you know where the old lady is going?"
“Madam, she saw that you were always drowsy and lethargic, and your health was not getting better. So, she wanted to go to the City God Temple in the south of the city to wait for Master Xuan Kong to return from his travels, so that he could come and see you in person.” Huan’er wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and finally stood up straight to tell her.
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi felt a pang of guilt. It turned out that the old lady's trip was all because of her. She said, "The City God Temple in the south of the city... Do you know how to get there? The old lady has only been gone for a short while. She must not have gone far. Let's set off to chase after her right away. I'm sure we can catch up with her."
“But…your eyes…” Huan’er asked him hesitantly.
When Huan'er paid special attention to her, Ruoxi realized that her eyes had actually regained some light perception since she woke up early that morning. "My eyes... Huan'er, don't worry, actually, my eyes seem to be able to sense some light again. So, I'll go with you, nothing will happen, don't worry!"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er became extremely excited. She quickly reached out her two chubby little hands to tightly grasp Ruoxi's arm, and exclaimed joyfully, "Is this true, Ruoxi? Your eyes can really feel again?"
Ruoxi nodded heavily at him, a beautiful smile appearing at the corner of her eyes.
"This is wonderful, it's simply a miracle. When Ruoxi woke up, not only had the injury on her head disappeared without a trace, but her eyes were also healed. Ruoxi, if this continues, I believe your memory will soon return, and you will soon know who you are and where you came from." At this moment, Huan'er was so excited that she hugged Ruoxi tightly, so tightly that Ruoxi seemed to be unable to breathe.
At this moment, Ruoxi hurriedly reminded him, "We shouldn't delay. Huan'er, lead the way, let's hurry up and go."
"Yes, yes, hurry up, or we won't be able to catch up!" Just as Huan'er was carefully helping Ruoxi out of the courtyard and they were about to close the gate and leave, a middle-aged man dressed as a woodcutter suddenly rushed over.
The woodcutter looked flustered, sweating profusely, and stammered breathlessly, "Huan'er... Miss Huan'er, where is the old lady... Where is the old lady?"
"Madam? What do you need Madam for? She's gone on a long trip, and I'm just about to go out and find her. Uncle, is there anything you need?" Huan'er asked kindly.
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woodcutter panicked and shouted angrily, "What? The old lady has gone on a long trip? Doesn't the old lady always stay at home? She doesn't go out early or late, why would she go out at this time of year? Oh dear, this is terrible, this is terrible, this could lead to someone's death, what should we do, what should we do?"
"Hey, how can you talk like that? Why can't that old lady go out? What obligation does she have to stay at home all day waiting for you all to come and meddle in your family squabbles? She's not..."
Before Huan'er could finish speaking, Ruoxi quickly interrupted her and softly asked in her direction, "Uncle, may I ask what brings you to see the old lady in such a hurry?"
Upon hearing the voice, the middle-aged woodcutter noticed the stranger in the light blue dress in front of him. He quickly looked her up and down and asked with some puzzlement, "Who are you?"
Ruoxi was in a dilemma when Huan'er quickly stepped forward and shielded her with her small body, saying, "She's my distant cousin whom I just reunited with after a long separation. What's wrong?"
"Her eyes..." At this moment, the middle-aged woodcutter suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with the eyes of the slender, tall, and delicate woman whose face was covered by a light veil, so he asked.
"My cousin's eye is injured. Why are you asking this? What do you want? If you don't tell us, we have urgent business and don't have time to waste with you here." Huan'er said impatiently, then grabbed Ruoxi's hand and was about to walk away.
Seeing this, the middle-aged woodcutter hurriedly stepped forward and spread his arms to block the two women, then said urgently, "Oh... wait, wait, Miss Huan'er, don't be angry. I was just asking out of curiosity, I meant no harm. Miss Huan'er, something terrible has happened! Wang Er is in trouble!"
"What happened to Wang Er?" Upon hearing this, Huan'er was immediately shocked and asked in surprise.
The middle-aged woodcutter finally let out a long sigh and said quietly, "This morning, I ate two bowls of thin porridge, then drank a pot of tea at home, and then..."
"Get to the point!" Huan'er was extremely angry. The more anxious she became, the more confused she got, and the more confused she got, the more anxious she became. Hearing this, she suddenly interrupted him and angrily shouted at him.
The middle-aged woodcutter, startled, quickly wiped the sweat from his brow before getting back to the main point. "Just now, I was gathering firewood in the mountains when I suddenly heard a faint cry of 'Help!' nearby. I went to investigate, and to my surprise, it was Wang Er. He was lying on the ground, seemingly poisoned. I don't know how or what kind of poison he was poisoned. Huan'er, please hurry and see him. Since the old clan chief died, only the old lady and you two know medicine in the whole village. It's getting dark, and if we're late, Wang Er might not survive."
"But...but I...I still need to go see the old lady! You must have heard that things have been quite turbulent outside lately. What if something happens to the old lady?" Huan'er hesitated greatly.
At this moment, Ruoxi, who had been standing quietly without speaking, spoke up, "Huan'er, things have come to this, how about this? Although my eyes can see some light now, they are not completely healed yet. I'm worried that following you all this way, and you having to take care of me, might end up hindering you. Why don't you go after the old lady first, and I'll go with this uncle to check on Wang Er's condition? Once he's out of danger, I'll come find you, how about that?"
Before Ruoxi could finish speaking, Huan'er turned away with a serious expression, seemingly furious, and blurted out, "No? But do you know medicine? Even if you do, can your eyes distinguish herbs? Besides, even if you do all of that, it will probably be dark by then. How can a girl like you go out? Do you even know the way to the City God Temple? You've lost your memory and you're blind. If you get lost, or get attacked by bandits on the way... No, absolutely not."
"No, you can't, you can't go!" To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged woodcutter also firmly rejected Ruoxi's idea.
At this moment, Ruoxi gently reached out and took Huan'er's hand, patiently advising her, "Huan'er, believe me, I can do it. Although I've forgotten who I am and where I came from, I know I can definitely save Wang Er. Besides, we have no other choice right now, do we? If we continue to delay like this, perhaps you really won't be able to catch up with the old lady. Or perhaps Wang Er will also lose his life."
Hearing these words, Huan'er seemed to finally be moved. Indeed, the current matter concerned lives. So, she slowly turned around, and with a quick twist of her wrist, easily grasped Ruoxi's hand, instructing her, "Alright, but don't push yourself too hard, just do your best."
Unexpectedly, Huan'er finally agreed, but the middle-aged woodcutter said with a contemptuous look, "No, I don't agree. She's blind, and I've never seen her in the village before. What if she kills Wang Er and runs away?"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er looked astonished and shouted at him fiercely, "You're the one who's blind! What are you saying? If you don't believe her, then go and give it to Wang Erzhi yourself! Ruoxi, let's go, ignore him."
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