They had only taken two steps when they heard a noise nearby, and their nerves immediately tensed up.
My first thought was, "Have we been discovered?"
My second thought was, "Are there still people in the city?"
"Who is it? Show yourself!" Ning Yao shouted sharply.
There was another noise, but still no one came out.
Ning Yao was about to step forward when Ning Jin stopped her.
"I'll go."
Ning Jin carefully stepped forward, parted the haystacks and dead branches on top, and revealed the person inside.
"Huh? Why is it a child?"
Upon hearing the sound, Ning Yao rushed over and saw a dirty-looking child.
It was impossible to tell if the child was a boy or a girl. He had short, tangled hair, his face was covered in dirt, his clothes were too short and small, revealing half of his arms and calves, and his shoes were worn out. His exposed toes were red from the cold and showed signs of necrosis.
At this moment, she was staring intently at the two strangers in front of her.
"Why is there a child here?" Ning Jin said, reaching out to pull her.
The child was agile and easily dodged Ning Jin's hand.
"Hey, this kid's pretty quick!"
"Second Brother!" Ning Yao suddenly spoke up: "She's afraid of you, I'll take care of her."
Ning Yao slowly squatted down, looking the child in the eye: "Don't be afraid, are you alone?"
Ning Yao lowered her voice as much as possible and spoke in the gentlest tone.
The child remained very wary, and Ning Yao stared into her eyes, momentarily lost in thought.
Taking advantage of the moment, the child suddenly turned and ran, his small figure quickly disappearing into the night.
Ning Yao instinctively wanted to chase after him, but Ning Jin stopped her: "Don't chase after him, let's get out of the city quickly, don't waste time."
Ning Yao looked at the darkness ahead and said, "Let's go, Second Brother."
The two walked towards the city gate.
The other child, who had escaped, darted through the narrow lanes of Songyang City like a slippery eel.
The darkness of the night did not hinder her steps; on the contrary, she quickly arrived at a familiar courtyard.
She knocked lightly on the door three times before pushing it open and going in, being very careful.
The room was filled with dry grass, and a thin man lay on the bedding, covered with a thin blanket.
Hearing someone enter, the man coughed twice loudly and then asked, "Is Lan'er back?"
The man's voice was weak, clearly indicating that he was terminally ill.
The child crawled up to him and said, "Brother, Lan'er is back."
"Don't wander around. Although there's no one in the city right now, there might still be some refugees wandering around. Just stay here and I'll get you something to eat first thing tomorrow morning."
Lin Qinglan's big eyes were filled with sadness as she said in her childish voice, "But brother is sick, and Lan'er can't find a doctor. It's so cold outside, and where can we find food?"
Lin Qingyu's face was flushed, and he forced his eyelids open to comfort his sister: "Don't worry, your brother is the most knowledgeable person. I will definitely find food for Lan'er. When you wake up tomorrow, your brother will find food and a doctor. Be good, Lan'er, and get some rest."
Lin Qinglan looked at her sleeping brother with worried eyes and pursed her lips.
The next second, as if he had made up his mind, he got up from the ground and ran out.
Ning Yao and her brother encountered Shen Ci'an at the city gate.
"Why are you here?" Ning Yao asked.
"Your uncle and aunt were worried about you, so they sent me to check on you."
Ning Jin had no doubts and readily said, "We found an academy with some food, but not much."
Shen Ci'an nodded, then turned to take Ning Yao's basket: "Give it to me."
Ning Yao didn't stand on ceremony and handed him the basket.
The three of them left the city together.
"Sister, wait a minute!" A soft, sweet voice called out from behind.
Ning Yao's heart skipped a beat. Turning around, she saw the child who had run away earlier running towards her.
"So it was a girl? I couldn't tell just now because she was so dirty," Ning Jin said.
Just as Lin Qinglan approached Ning Yao, Shen Ci'an stepped in front of her and asked, "Who are you?"
The fact that there were still people in Songyang City made Shen Ci'an wary.
Lin Qinglan didn't mind this little incident. Instead, she politely greeted the three of them, saying, "Qinglan greets her older brothers and sisters."
Ning Yao stepped out from behind Shen Ci'an and leaned down to look at the little girl: "Did you need something from me?"
Lin Qinglan's voice was sincere and earnest: "Sister, can you please save my brother? He's sick."
"Where is he? Take me there."
"Yaoyao, no!"
"Yaoyao, you can't go!"
Ning Yao looked at the two people who were trying to stop her and said, "If you're worried, let's go together. It's good to help someone who survived in Songyang City."
Looking at Lin Qinglan, Ning Yao softened her voice: "Let's go, take us there."
Lin Qinglan was overjoyed; she knew she had made the right choice by finding this older sister!
The three followed Lin Qinglan.
The other two were puzzled. Ning Yao wasn't one to meddle in other people's business, so why would she make an exception for this girl she had only met once?
The group quickly arrived at the courtyard. This time, Lin Qinglan didn't use a secret signal but simply pushed the door open and went inside.
Lin Qingyu, who was lying in the hay, was already delirious from the fever.
"Lan'er...run fast...Lan'er...brother will find you something to eat...Lan'er..."
"Brother, how are you? Don't die, Lan'er has sent someone to save you." Lin Qinglan's big eyes were filled with tears.
Then she kowtowed to Ning Yao several times, pleading, "Please, sister, save my brother."
Ning Yao pulled her up and knelt down next to Lin Qingyu, quickly examining her.
This is a stomach ailment caused by prolonged hunger, compounded by fever from the cold weather, making it very serious.
If the fever doesn't subside and the stomach isn't properly cared for, I'm afraid I won't make it through the winter.
After the diagnosis and treatment, a pill was taken out from the secret realm and fed into his mouth.
"Second brother, water."
Shen Ci'an stepped ahead of Ning Jin and handed her his water bottle.
Ning Yao glanced at him, then poured out some water and fed it to Lin Qingyu.
Although Lin Qingyu was unconscious, he was still able to swallow on his own, and the pills quickly went down with the water.
"Sister, is my brother alright?"
Ning Yao patted her head, not minding the dirt at all: "He's fine now, he'll be alright after a good night's sleep."
Lin Qinglan kowtowed to Ning Yao again: "Thank you, sister. Lan'er is willing to serve you as my servant!"
Ning Yao felt a pang of sadness. The little girl in front of her overlapped with the childhood friend she remembered.
Composing herself, Ning Yao continued, "Have you been in Songyang City all this time? Where are your parents?"
Lin Qinglan shook her head and replied, "There are only my brother and me at home. Originally, our home was in a village outside the city, but later everyone started to run away. My brother said they went to escape for their lives, so he took me and hid in the mountains."
"Later, when there was no food left in the mountains, my brother took me to the city. There was no one in the city. We had only been here for a few days when my brother fell ill and never got up again."
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