stonecrandall Chapter 12 Eating Umbrella, Lying on a Plank
Chapter 12 Eating Umbrella, Lying on a Plank
Upon hearing Yan Zu's address, Xiao Wu smiled, a pure and bright smile like sunshine after rain, instantly dispelling the gloom in the small house.
Her two little tiger teeth no longer looked fierce; instead, they added a touch of cuteness and innocence.
Su Qing got up, fetched a basin of hot water, and found Yan Zu's old clothes: "Xiao Wu, take a bath first and change your dirty clothes. Your injuries need to be cleaned properly."
Xiao Wu looked down at her tattered clothes, a blush rising on her face.
She had never been so embarrassed in front of humans in all her life.
"I...I can do it myself," she said softly.
"Your injury hasn't healed yet, don't move around." Su Qing said gently but firmly, "Mother will help you." She had gotten used to saying "Mother" at home.
"Mother?" Xiao Wu was taken aback.
"What's wrong?"
"No...it's nothing." Xiao Wu lowered her head, her eyes reddening again.
She remembered that her mother had already...
Su Qing didn't ask any questions, but gently removed Xiao Wu's tattered outer clothes. When the blood-stained clothes were removed, Yan Hu turned his head away, and Yan Zu also turned and left.
"Aunt, go and bring the chicken soup that's keeping warm on the stove," Su Qing instructed from inside the house.
"Alright," Yan Zu replied.
"Ah Zu, come in." Su Qing's voice came.
Yan Zu brought the chicken soup into the house, and Xiao Wu had already changed into his old clothes. The loose-fitting clothes looked slouchy on her petite body, yet they had a unique charm.
She sat upright on the bed, her hands neatly placed on her knees, but her eyes darted around nervously.
"Here, have some soup." Su Qing scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to her lips.
Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth and drank.
After drinking the warm chicken soup, she felt warm all over, as if she had returned to the days when her mother was still alive.
My eyes welled up with tears.
"What's wrong? Did you burn yourself?" Su Qing panicked.
"No..." Xiao Wu shook her head, her voice choked with emotion, "I...I haven't had such delicious soup in so long."
In the Starry Sky Forest, she ate fresh fruit and drank mountain spring water.
During her time wandering after transforming into human form, she often went hungry, and no one ever cooked soup for her.
Su Qing felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She handed the bowl to Yan Zu, then pulled Xiao Wu into her arms, gently patting her back: "Good child, don't be afraid, you'll have everything from now on."
Yan Hu also walked over, his burly frame crouching down, trying to make himself look less intimidating: "Xiao Wu, if you don't mind, make yourself at home here. Although I, Uncle Yan, am not very capable, I can still make sure you have enough to eat and wear."
Xiao Wu leaned against Su Qing's chest, feeling a warmth she had never experienced before.
She thought of her mother.
When her mother was still alive, she would hold her like this and lull her to sleep.
"Can...can I stay?" she asked softly, uncertainly.
Yan Zu pointed to a small bed next to his own bed, "This bed is yours from now on."
Xiao Wu nodded without speaking, but the sense of belonging in her eyes said it all. She knew she had found a safe haven where she could temporarily find refuge, and a group of people who were genuinely kind to her.
Seeing that Xiao Wu had completely let down her guard, Yan Hu and his wife were very pleased.
They didn't inquire about Xiao Wu's background, nor were they curious about why she was alone in the mountains. In their eyes, the child was too pitiful, and if she was willing to stay, they would treat her like their own daughter.
As night deepened, the oil lamp was blown out, and the small house fell into silence.
Xiao Wu lay on her small bed, but she couldn't fall asleep at all. She could clearly feel a warm energy surrounding her, the aura of Yan Zu, which made her feel incredibly safe.
She closed her eyes, and the smile on Yan Zu's face when he handed her the spicy snacks, Aunt Su Qing's gentle hug, and Uncle Yan Hu's honest and kind appearance appeared in her mind.
Yan Zu lay in bed, but did not fall asleep immediately. He could clearly sense Xiao Wu's emotional changes through the auspicious beast charm, from initial fear and wariness, to later curiosity and gratitude, and now to peace and affection.
As time passed, summer turned to autumn. The rice paddies of Wuhun Village rippled with golden waves, and the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard was covered with withered leaves. Xiao Wu had been recuperating at the Yan family's house for more than three months.
During this period, the little girl's injuries were completely healed under the nourishment of the Qilin's vitality and Su Qing's Qinghe. Her pale face, which had been pale due to her transformation and the danger she had encountered, became rosy and full. Her personality also gradually changed from being wary and timid to being lively and cheerful.
She already possessed the purity and agility of a soul beast in human form, and now, having let down her guard, she was even more like a light little rabbit, following Yan Zu around all day calling him "Little Brother Zu."
While Yan Zu was cultivating, she would sit on the stone steps beside him, resting her chin on her hand and watching quietly, occasionally reaching out to touch the fallen leaves that had drifted onto his shoulder.
When Yan Zu went to the back mountain to gather herbs, she followed closely behind, using her spirit beast's keen senses to help him locate the herbs. Once, she pointed to a brightly colored mushroom and confidently declared that it could definitely be used in medicine. Yan Zu glanced at it—a highly poisonous mushroom, the kind that would make you bedridden if you ate it.
He silently put the mushrooms into his basket, thinking: I'll keep these; maybe I can use them to poison my enemies later.
Xiao Wu, standing to the side, said smugly, "Little brother A-Zu, aren't I amazing!"
Yan Zu nodded: "Impressive. From now on, if anyone messes with us, you'll feed them this kind of mushroom."
Xiao Wu: "?"
When encountering low-level soul beasts, Xiao Wu would instinctively stand in front of Yan Zu, revealing her sharp little tiger teeth, looking both serious and adorable. She was blocking a thirty-year-old "cowardly rabbit," which was so frightened by Xiao Wu's imposing manner that it pretended to be dead on the spot, lying flat on its back with its tongue lolling out.
Xiao Wu paused, then squatted down and poked the rabbit: "Little brother Azu, it... is dead?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the rabbit tumbled up and disappeared into the bushes.
Yan Zu said expressionlessly, "Yes, he died very suddenly."
Xiao Wu: "..."
Yan Zu taught her to recognize the Douluo characters, which she learned very quickly. However, after learning the characters, she would always pester him to tell her stories about "Grandpa Whitebeard." So Yan Zu adapted some fairy tales from Blue Star and told them to her.
When the story of Little Red Riding Hood came up, Xiao Wu asked nervously, "Did the big bad wolf eat Grandma?"
Yan Zu said, "No, the hunter rescued Grandma."
Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Was that hunter exceptionally skilled?"
Yan Zu thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, the hunter has a very sharp axe."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up: "Is that hunter's martial spirit an axe? Like Uncle Yan's?"
Yan Zu: "...More or less."
When the topic turned to "The Three Little Pigs," Xiao Wu asked, "What happened to the Big Bad Wolf in the end?"
Yan Zu said, "He got his butt scalded by boiling water and ran away."
Xiao Wu nodded thoughtfully, then asked a question that left Yan Zu silent for a long time: "Did the fur on its butt fall off?"
Yan Zu: "...It should have fallen off."
Xiao Wu: "Oh, won't it be cold in winter?"
Yan Zu: "..." Why does this rabbit always focus on such strange things?