Doctor Gu sat on the table, head propped up. He hadn't slept all night and was exhausted. The old man opened his eyes slightly and suddenly noticed the specks of bright red in Huo Xiaolong's hand.
What are you holding in your hand?
The little dumpling wasn't in the mood to reply, but simply opened its palm for him to see. The old man examined it for a while, then suddenly snatched the red fruit from Huo Xiaolong's hand.
"This...! This! This can save one of your sisters, you choose one!"
Huo Xiaolong raised his head, looking at Doctor Gu with some disbelief, and said...
"Didn't you just say it couldn't be saved?"
"But I can try! I can only try! If it doesn't work, then it's their fate, but I can only save one."
The Thousand Red Fruit was something Gu Shilin had only ever seen in books. Legend has it that there was a tree that blossomed every five hundred years and bore fruit every two thousand years. Its fruit could heal bones, and eating it could restore what was missing; when applied externally, its essence would enter the body.
Huo Xiaolong grabbed a handful of things from his crossbody bag and stuffed them into Doctor Gu's hand, saying...
"Is that enough? I want both my older sisters to live."
The old woman took a deep breath and swallowed. Huo Xiaolong, thinking it wasn't enough, took the bag off her body, removed its contents, and placed it on the ground. She then turned the bag upside down and poured all the red berries inside into the old woman's hand. A few even rolled to the ground.
Is that enough?
Doctor Gu nodded hurriedly, and holding the red fruit, he said to Huo Xiaolong...
"The more of this stuff, the better, but I can only try. My sect hasn't seen it for generations. If it doesn't work..."
He dared not give Xiao Tuanzi any assurances; the two girls were seriously injured, and would have died long ago if it weren't for the pills that kept them alive.
Huo Xiaolong didn't say anything, just nodded and watched Doctor Gu go into the room to treat his two older sisters.
She turned and left the brothel, arriving at the Hou family residence. Hou Xiangxiang and her daughter had already been brought back and had just finished bathing. Seeing her friend, who hadn't even changed her clothes, Hou Xiangxiang stepped forward and asked...
"Long'er?"
"Xiangxiang, could I borrow your grandma's Buddhist shrine for a while?"
The little girl knew that Yousheng and Ping'er were seriously injured and unconscious. She pursed her lips and led Huo Xiaolong to Grandma Cheng's Buddhist hall. Inside, incense smoke filled the air, and there were golden Buddha statues.
Two little girls knelt on the prayer mats, clasped their hands together, and kowtowed in greeting.
I've lived two lives and never believed in gods or Buddhas. But people come to you when they're desperate. Does that mean if I beg you, you'll return my two older sisters to me?
Hou Xiangxiang knew that her younger sister Long'er never believed in these things. She was not the kind of person who would place her hopes on others. She had never worshipped Buddha or any god.
I only came here because I have a desperate need and have nowhere else to turn.
Please forgive my sister's lack of manners, all you gods and Buddhas have to offer. However, her request is my wish, and if it can grant her wish, I am willing to sculpt a golden statue and build a temple for you.
"Where are you going?" Cheng Xiangxiang asked her sister as she got up to leave.
"After praying to Buddha, it's up to us to do things ourselves."
The little girl didn't stop them, pursed her lips, and continued to clasp her hands together, silently praying, "Where is home? Please return Yousheng and Sister Ping'er to you."
"Let them soak for an hour and see if they can wake up," Doctor Gu said in the room.
Everyone left, leaving only the little boy guarding the door. Chunying and Mantuo were already sobbing uncontrollably. It was only because Mother Cen ordered them to go back to their rooms to rest that they were allowed to stand outside crying.
The little dumpling secretly opened the window and saw her two older sisters being put into a tub, covered with a lid, leaving only their heads sticking out. Huo Xiaolong touched their cheeks tenderly, remembering Doctor Gu's words, "The more the merrier." He heard a sound like dumplings being boiled in the tub, and then the person disappeared.
"Aren't you sure you shouldn't go check on Long'er?" Huo Shuwen asked.
He Yi shook her head and replied
"No need. She's already feeling bad, let her cry it out and calm down."
Moreover, she doesn't even know where her daughter is. She just saw Huo Xiaolong go to the Cheng family and then come back, but she doesn't know what he's doing. Er Ya said that Xiao Tuanzi is now locked in Lu Feigong's iron furnace room, and she doesn't know what he's doing.
"Don't cry, Yousheng will be alright."
Lu Wangji also had several superficial wounds. Mantuo didn't want him to go to the city wall, but the man changed his clothes and went secretly anyway. He stood guard behind her and Yousheng. The corpses around him were piled up like a small mountain. The man was doing his best to protect his beloved.
"Before, she didn't like to talk... she was like a silent gourd, but things have gotten a little better... a little better..."
The beautiful woman was no longer her usual self; she leaned against the person beside her, sobbing uncontrollably. My heart aches, it truly aches.
Chunying remained silent in the room, tidying up Ping'er's belongings one by one, tears wetting the wristband the maid had embroidered for her. Huo Xiaocheng stood guard outside the door, like a pine tree standing watch for her, unmoving.
Inside the blacksmith's workshop, the furnace in front of the little girl was blazing hot, the firelight reflecting on her face as she strained to pull the bellows. If only her two older sisters were awake.
If he doesn't wake up, he'll be watching the molten iron and copper.
She had prepared the molds long ago, having asked Lu Feigong to make them for her; a row of bullet-shaped molds lay beside her. The little dumpling knew that the advent of firearms would only exacerbate casualties in wars worldwide, and that even the grasslands would crumble before them.
but……
Huo Xiaolong's expression was icy, as expressionless as in his previous life, his eyes like a pool of stagnant water.
She had prayed to the gods and Buddhas, now she had to rely on herself. If her two older sisters didn't wake up, she would avenge them herself.
The spring breeze swept through the courtyard, bringing blessings from the goddess.
You Sheng slowly opened her eyes. She could not feel any other part of her body except her head. The little girl turned around and saw a bottle that looked just like her.
"Ping'er, Ping'er!"
The little girl next to her also woke up, looked at Yousheng, and said to her...
"I feel like I've lost everything below my neck, what about you?"
"Me too, but I just checked, they're still there, just their heads. I guess neither of us will survive."
"Is that thing on the ground that our Long'er always holds and eats and plays with?"
"It seems so..."
Hearing a noise from inside, the child knocked on the door and asked softly.
"Are the two young ladies awake?"
"Um……"
The "hmm" was still somewhat weak, but at least he could speak. The boy immediately got up to find Doctor Gu.
The moment the old man stepped into the room, he felt a surge of anger. Seeing the bathtub lid that Qian Hongguo had pushed open, he roared from inside the room.
"Huo Xiaolong!!!"
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