After a pause, Jiao Lizhi added, "But if you can't, then it means you never changed this baby's diapers and this sister had no way of seeing the birthmark. That means this sister must be his mother—she would naturally know about the birthmark."
Under her questioning, the old woman finally snapped and shouted, "I'm not his grandmother but I picked him up and fed him with my blood. So he is mine! No one can take him from me!"
The old couple and the woman were stunned. They had only been focused on getting the baby back and hadn't thought to ask anything else. Now that they heard this, they didn't know whether they should take the baby by force or not.
The next moment, Wen Kai stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, when we found this granny and the baby, she was protecting him. And we did see traces that she fed him her blood."
Jiao Lizhi looked at the old woman and said, "Granny, even if you saved the baby's life, he is not your grandson. You need to return him to his family."
"As for whether you can continue to have a relationship with him, that is up to his family. But refusing to return him to his mother is unfair to him. He is just a baby—he needs his mother."
When she heard her words, the old woman lowered her head and cried, "I killed my real grandson with my own hands after he turned into a monster. I can't lose this one too… or I will die."
Despite her words, Jiao Lizhi felt no pity for her. Separating a mother and child was a cruel act. Whatever her reasons, this old woman had no right to do that.
Since she still refused to return the baby, Jiao Lizhi walked over and snatched him from her arms. The baby was startled and began to cry.
"Waa… waa…"
Before he could cry louder, Jiao Lizhi pulled a pacifier from her pocket and placed it in his mouth. The baby immediately quieted down and started sucking on it.
"Give him back!" the old woman shouted, lunging at Jiao Lizhi.
Jiao Lizhi sidestepped, avoiding the attack, and asked, "Brother Qin, do you sense anything wrong with this Granny?"
Qin Luzi nodded and said coldly, "She is infected."
As soon as he said that, everyone backed away in a panic, no longer daring to stay and watch.
"I'm not infected!" the old woman retorted in panic.
Just after she said this, she saw a small scratch on her wrist and was stunned. The flesh around the scratch was already festering and starting to rot. She tried to remember when she had gotten it. After a moment, she laughed bitterly.
Earlier, she had snuck off to eavesdrop on the conversation between these people and the husbandry's owner. When she came back, she felt a sting on her wrist but ignored it.
She hadn't realized that little sting was a death sentence for her. If she hadn't gone to eavesdrop, she wouldn't have been scratched—and wouldn't have been infected. In the end, everything that happened was her own doing.
She raised her head and said, "Please kill me. I don't want to turn into a monster."
Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi said, "Granny, are you sure you want to die now? Who knows—you might still have a chance to survive."
The old woman shook her head and replied tiredly, "My son, daughter-in-law, and grandson all died, leaving me alone in this world. I'm tired. I just want to rest now."
Jiao Lizhi looked at her for a long time before saying, "Since that's the case, then I will fulfill your wish."
The old woman looked at the baby in her arms and said, "Please take good care of him."
Jiao Lizhi handed the baby to the woman and said, "He has his family to take care of him."
Hearing this, the old woman smiled faintly and nodded, "You are right."
When Jiao Lizhi walked over to the old woman, the Phantom Team members instinctively tried to stop her. But before they could speak, they saw their captain watching them with a firm gaze. Seeing this, they could only stand there and watch.
Jiao Lizhi squatted in front of the old woman and said softly, "Granny, close your eyes. When you wake up, everything will be fine."
The old woman smiled and whispered, "Thank you."
She knew the girl was lying to her. She would become a monster soon—how could anything be fine? Even if she knew that, she still let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.
Jiao Lizhi placed two fingers on the old woman's forehead and channeled her energy into the woman's body. As her energy entered the old woman's veins, it transformed into a hair-thin needle that moved through her body and pressed her nerves.
Suddenly, the old woman collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi took out her dagger and carefully cut away the rotten flesh on the old woman's wrist. She washed the wound with water from her space pond, applied medicine, then took out a small water bottle from her pocket and fed her more pond water.
Afterward, she guided her energy back through the woman's body, steering the needle from her nerves toward the wound. Then she transformed the energy into a thin membrane and wrapped it around the infected area.
She didn't know if this method would work, but she had once heard of a healer using a similar technique to save a leader's life.
Standing up, she turned to the woman and said, "Sister, no matter what she did before, this granny saved your son's life. So, you need to return the favor."
"I will give you medicine, food, and water for her. Later, you will need to check her temperature and monitor her condition. Make sure she stays hydrated. If you see any signs of the rot spreading, inform me immediately."