"This medicine is for applying to the legs and feet. Pain is inevitable, but I hope the young master can endure it. If possible, Kunling truly wishes she could bear this suffering in his place." Guan Kunling twisted a clean white towel in her hands, cautiously wiping Meng Shuyan’s legs. The usually cold look in her eyes was now filled with sorrow.
Wasn’t this exactly what she thought too? Tian Sangsang asked, "How severe is the pain?"
"It’s extremely painful. Indescribably painful. To restore the deadened senses, intense stimulation is necessary to provoke them."
He’s only a child, not even four years old. Tian Sangsang wiped away her tears. Yet, the more precious something is in this world, the harder it is to obtain. To be reborn with a better body, one’s physical form must endure great suffering; there is no such thing as a reward without cost. She understood it—she understood all of it. But as a mother, her emotions often outweighed her logic.
One wiped his legs, the other wiped his face.
Tian Sangsang was gently wiping Meng Shuyan’s forehead. Perhaps due to the sheer pain in his legs and feet, tiny beads of sweat appeared on his small brow. His thick eyelashes trembled like delicate fans, and his pale face was beginning to flush red.
"Yanyan... hold on. Mommy knows you’re the strongest child." She held his soft, tiny hand constantly encouraging him in a quiet voice beside his ear.
"Your dad is here. It’s your dad... You need to recover quickly so you can see him."
Guan Kunling’s hand paused slightly in its movement. Dad, Father? The young master’s father is here?
The seemingly endless moments felt like cruel torture as they ticked by. After about an hour, both Tian Sangsang and Guan Kunling were drenched with sweat, and the medicinal liquid had been fully applied.
Meng Shuyan’s complexion had returned to normal, his lips were no longer dry and lifeless; instead, they now carried a hint of color. Tian Sangsang affectionately placed her hand on his small forehead and brushed over it. Suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Yanyan, you’re awake." Tian Sangsang exclaimed in surprise and looked over at Guan Kunling, who was watching the little boy intensely, without blinking.
Meng Shuyan, still drowsy, gradually cleared the fog from his gaze and murmured, "Mommy."
Guan Kunling, who wasn’t someone prone to smiling, unexpectedly smiled at this moment. Her smile was radiant, as if the thaw of ice and snow had come and streams of spring water flowed over the earth, bringing blossoms and the revival of life.
"Aunt Guan..." the little one rubbed his eyes and recognized the beautiful woman.
"Mommy." Meng Shuyan’s dark, glistening eyes shifted and quietly said, "I had a terrible dream. In the dream, someone was pounding on my leg, and it hurt so much." There was blood everywhere, and nails were stuck painfully in his legs, impossible to remove.
After he finished speaking, he looked down at his legs.
"That wasn’t a dream; it’s real." Tian Sangsang cradled him close, whispering, "Your leg is injured and can’t move for now. Thanks to Aunt Guan’s treatment, with a little more time... Just a little more treatment, and you’ll be fine."
"A month," Guan Kunling replied.
"That’s right, one month."
Meng Shuyan’s peach blossom-shaped eyes turned red. "Thank you, Aunt Guan." He was still very afraid, but since his mommy said he would get better, he chose not to be scared.
"Yes," Guan Kunling responded softly again. This, indeed, was her young master. At such a tender age, he was already far more mature and composed than most children his age.
"My feet feel numb. Will I still be able to walk?" he asked quietly, his voice pitiful.
"You will." Tian Sangsang cupped his delicate face and kissed his cheek. "You will, Yanyan. Just one month, and you’ll be walking again."
"Kunling, you should go attend to your duties now. You have other tasks to handle, and I can take care of things here," Tian Sangsang said, realizing that Meng Shuyan was temporarily stable and recalling the pale man she had seen earlier.
Guan Kunling stood up with reluctance. "Sangsang, wait for me to come back, and please be extra careful."
"You too. During rescue missions, every minute lost could mean someone’s life. In that time, countless opportunities have already vanished. You are their hope. I regret not being able to help you more." Tian Sangsang gave her a firm wave. "Goodbye, and I’ll be waiting for your return."
"You’re mistaken, Sangsang. My priority is for both you and Yanyan to be safe and sound. If not, I don’t care about other lives." Her heart was small, only holding space for her master and the young master. "However, I’ve defied the task you assigned me and turned back."
What kind of talk was this? "Thank you for turning back," Tian Sangsang said.
Tian Sangsang froze, her nose stinging with emotion, staring at Guan Kunling’s retreating figure in somewhat of a daze.
"Yanyan, if you’re tired, just sleep for a while. Mommy will take you back. This isn’t a place we can linger for long."
Meng Shuyan nodded, curling up against her, unnaturally silent.
Tian Sangsang carried Meng Shuyan back, considering how she might craft a wheelchair for him. He could sit in it every day; otherwise, further injury to his legs would be too easy. She found an inconspicuous bag and packed some ordinary items inside to keep up appearances in case food supplies ran low later. She casually found a spot to sit down, joining a group of people nearby.
They were all townsfolk rescued out of disaster. Noticing her prior movements, a woman among them asked, "Sangsang, what’s wrong with your son?"
Tian Sangsang smiled slightly. "His leg is injured, so he can’t walk for now. I have to carry him."
The woman’s expression fell sorrowfully in response. Tian Sangsang subtly wrinkled her brows, resting her hand on Meng Shuyan’s head. Such pitying gazes always made her feel uncomfortable.
"Then he’ll be a cripple, a little cripple," the woman’s child said innocently, his gaze unconsciously sharp like an arrow.
"I’m not a cripple! My mommy said I’ll get better!" Meng Shuyan protested, his small head poking out in defiance, his breathing labored.
"Don’t say such things!" The woman pulled her child aside, possibly out of embarrassment, and sat further away.
Tian Sangsang didn’t bother explaining further. With the current circumstances, nobody was free from their own wounds and struggles.
As the sun dipped westward, the rescue efforts in the town began to wind down. Relief workers distributed apples among the survivors to stave off hunger, promising that proper meals would follow prepared by chefs soon. Though modest, this was the best they could manage given the state of the country’s economy.
Tian Sangsang’s eyes grew hot with emotion, listening to the murmuring of hunger around her. She felt an urge to share what she had hidden in her bag with them but couldn’t yet find a suitable excuse to do so.
For now, she hesitated and held back.
Meng Shuyan was holding his apple and nibbling at it slowly, creating one neat little hole after another with his tiny bites, crunching sound after crunching sound.
As more refugees arrived from nearby villages, the crowd grew larger, and the apples began to run out.
Some newly arrived children stared hungrily at Meng Shuyan’s apple.
"Here... for you..." Meng Shuyan began, but before he could finish, a tall boy snatched the apple right out of his hands, biting into it voraciously.
The other children weren’t willing to back down and prepared to wrestle over the boy’s apple.
"Children... please, calm down. Don’t fight. Auntie still has more." Tian Sangsang couldn’t bear to watch their desperation. She pulled out a few oranges and pieces of pastry from her bag and offered them to the children.
Some snatched them eagerly, some hesitated with a mix of discomfort and gratitude, while others shyly smiled and whispered, "Thank you."
Just hearing those soft thanks felt like a small moment of fulfillment.
Meng Shuyan also chuckled softly, his eyes curving like crescent moons.