Chapter 3 The Moon of Yesteryear
Just as Xie Ning was wondering, the little boy stepped on the bricks piled up at the corner of the wall and quickly climbed up to the top of the wall, as nimble as a little monkey.
Seeing Xie Ning's shocked mouth slightly agape, the woman cleared her throat apologetically, "My son is just mischievous; he's always climbing trees to raid bird nests. That's why he's so agile, it's not like he trained on purpose..."
Xie Ning smiled and gently shook her head. "You naughty boy, you know. I used to climb trees and scale walls when I was little too."
Yes, yes.
The door opened, revealing a small courtyard inside. Perhaps it hadn't been tidied up for a long time, as there were quite a few fallen leaves piled up in the yard. The firewood, on the other hand, was neatly stacked in the corner, with only some of the chopped firewood already used. All of it was chopped by the original owner.
"Grandma Liu!" The woman had a loud voice. She carried the hanging basket and led Xie Ning inside, calling out as she went. The little boy also skipped and hopped into the house.
The shouts were interspersed with faint coughs.
The room was very dark and there was no heating. Because the windows were not open for ventilation, it was stuffy. However, it was relatively clean. There was another room in the corner of the main room, separated by a curtain. That was where the old lady lived.
The room was simply furnished; the most expensive items were probably the embroidery frame and the needles and thread.
"Oh dear! Granny Liu, why are you burning up so badly?" Xie Ning rushed over to check on her and found that Granny Liu was not only burning up, but also covered in sweat, which was like oil flowing from her body, a sign that she was about to die.
Seemingly noticing Xie Ning, Granny Liu reluctantly opened her eyes. "You've come?"
The cloudy eyes were looking at Xie Ning, and the words were naturally spoken to Xie Ning. Now the woman no longer doubted Xie Ning's identity, and quickly said to her youngest son, "Youngest son, go to the street and find Doctor Zhang!"
Xie Ning called out "Wait a minute," then wrapped Granny Liu in a thin blanket and said in a deep voice, "Granny Liu, I'll take you to see a doctor. You'll get better."
She only has a superficial understanding of medicine, and perhaps she made a mistake; there should still be hope.
After saying that, she picked the person up. The person was small and seemed to weigh less than seventy or eighty pounds. Although the person was light, Xie Ning was not fully recovered, so it was a bit difficult for her to carry the person. However, she gritted her teeth and endured it.
"I'm going to die, I don't need to exert myself anymore."
The words were a refusal, but the old man had no strength left to resist.
Xie Ning was panting heavily, the wind whistling and stinging her throat.
The clinic wasn't far from here; Xie Ning arrived in just over ten minutes, with the woman following along and guiding him the way.
When they arrived at the clinic, Granny Liu was barely breathing. After taking her pulse, the doctor only gave her a few acupuncture needles and didn't even prescribe any medicine. He simply said, "Prepare for the worst. The old lady will probably wake up soon. If you have anything to say, say it quickly."
After watching the doctor leave, the woman turned around and was startled. "Oh dear, Mr. Xie, why are you crying?"
Xie Ning sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat dazed. Hearing the woman's scream, she raised her hand to touch her face. Sure enough, her face was covered with cold tears. It was not that she had any deep feelings for Granny Liu, since the two had only just met. It was probably the lingering consciousness of the original owner that was causing this.
"It's nothing, I just never expected that we would be separated forever after we just met."
After receiving acupuncture from Dr. Zhang, the old lady became much more lucid, and her vision was no longer so blurry. Only then could she clearly see Xie Ning's current appearance. His face was still the same as before, but he was wearing a long gown, a thick black scarf, and had a buzz cut.
The old woman was so shocked she couldn't recognize him. "A little beggar?"
Xie Ning didn't know if the other beggars had seen the original owner's clean face, but the old lady certainly had. No wonder, the old lady was a clean person, and the original owner would clean herself up before leaving and then smear mud and soot on her face.
Although the old lady's question was rhetorical, she must have already confirmed that Xie Ning was indeed the little beggar. However, because their souls were no longer the same, their expressions and mannerisms were different, which is why she had that slight doubt.
However, Xie Ning did not intend to answer this question, which can be considered as giving an answer in another way.
“Grandma, they all say you have no relatives or friends here. After you leave, I will hold a funeral procession and break a basin for you. There is a Taoist temple to the west of the town. I remember you believe in the Heavenly Venerable. Would it be alright to enshrine your memorial tablet there?”
The old woman understood something. Her lips trembled, and tears seemed to glisten in her eyes. Her first words were, "Where is the little beggar?"
Xie Ning was stunned. She knew that the old lady was stubborn but soft-hearted, but no matter what, she probably didn't have much affection for the original owner. It was just like raising a dog for a few years.
Unexpectedly, after promising to arrange the old lady's funeral, she still asked the original owner of the body. Xie Ning's idea was that it was best for the two of them to know the truth, and that some things should not be revealed.
Meeting the old woman's stubborn eyes, Xie Ning sighed, "She was fighting with someone for a steamed bun, fell down here, and is now reporting to the King of Hell."
Xie Ning pointed to the wound on her head, which she had simply bandaged herself with gauze from her spatial storage.
"Stubborn as a mule, what's wrong with asking my old woman for a little more food? He just insists on... insists on..."
"You've been a dutiful son and grandson to this old woman, and I have nothing left to give you. This is a talisman my father got for me at the temple when I was little, so I'm giving it to you. It has protected this old woman my whole life; it's a spiritual being..."
His speech became somewhat slurred towards the end, his hand gripping Xie Ning tightly, looking at her as if she were a different person, "Wait, old woman..."
The old lady, who had lived alone for more than a decade, finally closed her eyes.
Xie Ning held the yellow triangular talisman in his hand, the other end of the red thread still hanging in the old woman's withered hand. Just as Xie Ning was about to return the talisman to her, his palm was burned. The talisman, which was somewhat old but still intact, suddenly burst into flames and was reduced to a pile of ash in an instant.
What's this?
Blowing away the ash, Xie Ning stared in astonishment at the particles that had sunk into her flesh. They were white, like large grains of sand. Just as she raised her hand to pry them out, a sharp pain shot through her head.
Suddenly, his small space of one cubic meter expanded by about half a meter, and now it was about three cubic meters.
Xie Ning's eyes widened in disbelief. This space could actually expand?!
When Xie Ning finished digesting and went outside, there was another man outside. He was dark-skinned and thin, and not even as tall as Xie Ning. However, when he rolled up his sleeves, he revealed a section of firm muscle, which indicated that he did manual labor.
“Oh, Mr. Xie, you’re out. This is my husband, you can call him Zhang Er. Grandma Liu was dying, so I called my husband back. We agreed that after Grandma Liu passed away, my family would bury her, and her yard would belong to my family… I’ve been taking care of Grandma Liu all this time.”
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