Chapter 44: New Efficacy

They ran towards Li Ling like two little rabbits.

 When they saw Ling Yao and Ling Xuemei beside Li Ling, the two little ones stopped in their tracks, looking at them timidly.

 Their eyes were full of curiosity and a hint of vigilance.

Since their father became a murderer, no one had come to their house except for debt collectors.

 The neighbors around them also avoided them. It was as if they had a virus that could infect them.

Li Ling walked forward and rubbed the heads of the two little ones, “Don’t be afraid.

They’re my sister’s friends. This is Auntie Ling, and this is Sister Ling Yao. Say hello.”

“Auntie Ling! Sister Ling Yao!” The two little ones called out timidly, hiding behind Li Ling.

Their bright black eyes sized up Ling Yao and Ling Xuemei.

Ling Xuemei had always loved children. She reached into her pocket but couldn’t find anything,

“Yaoyao, did you bring any candy?” If she had known that Li Ling had a brother and sister, she wouldn’t have come empty-handed.

Ling Yao took two candies from her pocket and handed them to Ling Xuemei.

Ling Xuemei took them, walked forward, squatted down, and handed the candy to the two little ones, “Here’s some candy.”

The two little ones looked at each other and then looked at Li Ling.

“Take it.” Li Ling smiled and nodded.

The two little ones immediately smiled happily and reached out to take the candy from Ling Xuemei’s hand,

 “Thank you, Auntie Ling!” They hadn’t had candy for a long time. They had almost forgotten what it tasted like.

“Good!” Ling Xuemei lovingly rubbed the heads of the two children.

“Auntie Ling, Ling Yao, I’ll take you to your room first.” Li Ling handed the bag to her younger sister, “You and your brother eat first. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay.” Li Lan nodded obediently, took the bag, and pulled her brother’s hand towards the house.

Li Ling took Ling Yao and Ling Xuemei to her room and lit an oil lamp, “You can stay here tonight. The blankets have been sunned.”

“Thank you!” Ling Yao glanced at the room. There was only a bed and a stool in the room. There was no other furniture. It was truly bare.

“Then go to sleep. I’ll sleep in the next room. Call me if you need anything.” Li Ling said, walked out of the room, and closed the door for them.

Ling Xuemei walked to the bed and sat down. After hesitating for a long time, she said,

 “Yaoyao, maybe we shouldn’t rent that house.” She wasn’t afraid before, but after hearing those sounds tonight, she was a little uneasy.

After careful consideration, she still felt it was better not to rent the house. She was fine. She was old anyway.

But Yaoyao was still young. What if something happened? It would be too late to regret it.

“I’ll think about it.” Ling Yao planned to go to the house tonight and see what was going on.

It was late at night, and Ling Yao heard Ling Xuemei’s even breathing beside her. She sat up, put on her clothes, and quietly slipped out.

She came to the courtyard she rented. Under the night sky, the courtyard was eerie and gloomy.

 Especially the sound of knocking, one after another, was chilling.

Ling Yao pushed open the door and entered the courtyard. She closed the door and saw several black shadows floating in the air, “Who’s there?”

She chased after the shadows, wanting to get to the bottom of it. But after chasing for a few steps, the shadows disappeared.

Ling Yao was puzzled. She felt something approaching her from behind.

She was about to turn around when she suddenly felt the jade pendant hanging around her neck getting warm.

 She lowered her head in confusion and saw a white mist emanating from the jade pendant hanging around her chest, swirling towards her back.

“Ah! Ah!” Several sharp sounds echoed through the air.

Ling Yao turned her head in surprise and saw several figures struggling in the white mist.

Soon, the figures were swallowed by the white mist and disappeared without a trace.

As the black shadows disappeared, the surrounding chill also vanished completely.

The air in the entire courtyard became fresh and no longer felt as lifeless as before.

The white mist turned into wisps and slowly drifted back into the jade pendant hanging around Ling Yao’s chest.

 The temperature of the jade pendant gradually decreased, returning to its previous temperature.

Ling Yao looked down at the jade pendant hanging around her chest, her eyes filled with disbelief, “This jade pendant actually has this effect. It’s amazing.”

She silently muttered a word in her heart, and the next moment, she appeared in the space.

She felt like it was her imagination, but the white mist in the space seemed thicker than before.

Taking a deep breath, Ling Yao smiled happily. This space was truly a treasure. Fortunately, the jade pendant wasn’t taken away by Zhou Yu this time.

A red sun gradually rose on the horizon, illuminating the entire earth. The quiet city began to bustle again.

Ling Yao walked out of the room and saw Li Ling cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She walked in.

“You’re awake. Did you sleep well?” Li Ling was cooking rice and making porridge. She smiled at Ling Yao when she saw her come in.

“It was good. Do you need any help?”

“No, I’ll be done soon. I’m sorry for the simple food. My house only has rice porridge.”

The rice was leftover from the state-owned restaurant yesterday.

But compared to before, she was already very satisfied. At least she could eat enough every day.

Ling Yao walked to the side, took a few bowls, and handed them to Li Ling, “When is Auntie getting discharged from the hospital?”

“This Saturday.” Li Ling took the bowls and ladled the rice porridge into them. “What about Auntie?”

“She went out early this morning. She should be back soon.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ling Xuemei’s gentle voice came from outside, “I’m back.

 I went out and bought some fried dough sticks and flatbread. Li Ling, go call Lanlan and Xiaogang to eat.”

She felt a little embarrassed yesterday because she didn’t bring anything, so she went out early this morning to buy breakfast.

“Auntie, how can I accept this?” Li Ling’s nose felt a little sore. It was her good fortune to meet Ling Yao and Auntie Ling.

Ling Xuemei smiled and put the flatbread and fried dough sticks on the table, “Go call them quickly. They won’t taste good if they get cold.”

“Okay.” Li Ling sniffed, suppressing the tears in her eyes, and quickly walked outside.

After a while, Li Ling came back, leading Li Lan and Li Gang, “Auntie Ling bought you fried dough sticks and flatbread. Go thank Auntie Ling.”

“Thank you, Auntie Ling!” The two little ones’ eyes lit up when they saw the fried dough sticks and flatbread on the table.

 They couldn’t help but swallow. They hadn’t eaten fried dough sticks and flatbread for a long time.

They had almost forgotten what they tasted like.

“Come eat.” Ling Xuemei took the fried dough sticks and flatbread from the bag and smiled at the two little ones.

The two little ones smiled brightly, quickened their pace, walked to Ling Xuemei, took the fried dough sticks and flatbread, and began to eat.

Their faces were full of satisfaction.