Chapter 48

Ye Baizhi hesitated, and Da Bao tilted his head, his soft, sweet voice calling out, “Mother, I want to sleep on the bed with you tonight.”

“I want Mother to stay with me.” Da Bao gazed at her with pitiful, adorable eyes.

It was a look Ye Baizhi couldn’t resist—her heart melted instantly. She nearly agreed on the spot.

Seeing her uncertainty, Da Bao’s expression dimmed. He lowered his head, pressing his small fingers together, looking sad and dejected.

“Mother is sleeping on the ground… Da Bao feels bad. If Mother sleeps there, Da Bao will sleep on the ground too.”

Ye Baizhi saw his sorrowful face and softened, relenting. “Alright then. Tonight, I’ll sleep on the bed. Uncle Ye will lie on the inner side, and we’ll sleep on the outer side.”

“You’ll be in the middle, and I’ll be on the outside. That way, it won’t be an issue.”

Ye Baizhi paused for a moment before speaking seriously. “But you must not tell your Uncle Ye about this later.”

She reasoned that, since Ye Wulan was still unconscious, he wouldn’t be aware of what was happening outside.

Da Bao nodded obediently. “Mm-hmm! Mother, I won’t say anything!”

“Da Bao is a good baby—I’ll keep my promise.”

Ye Baizhi couldn’t help but laugh. She gently patted his head. “Good boy, Da Bao.”

“How can a baby be this clever and adorable?”

She noticed how thick and dark his hair was—so soft to the touch. The sensation made her recall how Xue Youchen would sometimes tenderly stroke her hair. She wasn’t sure if it was just affection or something more.

“Mother is the most beautiful and the best.” Da Bao made an earnest effort to praise her.

Being with him filled Ye Baizhi’s heart with pure joy. His emotional warmth was simply overwhelming! Too good at sweet-talking.

During the day, Ye Baizhi stayed with Da Bao, cooking for him and telling him stories. At night, they settled in to sleep. Even though Ye Baizhi lay on the outer side while Da Bao rested in the middle, it wasn’t a problem. Yet, for some reason, she could still catch a faint medicinal fragrance in the air. She knew it was Ye Wulan’s scent. It gave her a strange feeling—one that made it difficult to sleep. She tried to ignore it, but it lingered at the tip of her nose. The scent had an almost bewitching quality.

It wasn’t until late at night, when exhaustion finally overtook her, that she drifted off. Unbeknownst to her, mother and son were restless sleepers.

While asleep, Da Bao gradually shifted to the other side.

Ye Baizhi, lost in deep slumber, felt warm in the middle of the night and instinctively moved inward. The cool temperature within was soothing. In her drowsy dreams, Ye Baizhi felt as if she were embracing a cool, smooth jade.

When she woke the next morning, she was horrified to find herself tangled around Ye Wulan like an octopus. Her eyes snapped open, only to be met with Ye Wulan’s mesmerizing, almost ethereal face. Her heart nearly skipped a beat.

“Oh no… I—I…”

Panicked, she scrambled to sit up, flustered.

“I’m so sorry! I… I didn’t mean to!”

Even though Ye Wulan remained unconscious and unaware of the situation, Ye Baizhi still felt embarrassed—she owed him an apology.

Somehow, saying sorry made her feel slightly less guilty. She exhaled deeply and turned her head—only to meet Da Bao’s clear, wide-eyed gaze from the foot of the bed. He was staring at her, blinking curiously.

Ye Baizhi was utterly mortified. She forced a stiff smile. “Uh… Mother was asleep. I didn’t know anything.”

Da Bao spoke in his soft, sweet voice. “Mother, Uncle Ye is feeling a little better.”

Ye Baizhi’s expression shifted, and she immediately focused, checking Ye Wulan’s pulse. To her surprise, his condition had indeed improved. Though his health had always been fragile, his internal injuries had visibly healed compared to the day before.

“He’s definitely better. If he rests well and you continue using wood-based abilities to heal him, he should recover.”

“But I think my own wood-based ability has strengthened too.”

Ye Baizhi could feel a noticeable increase in her energy—not as weak as before.

Da Bao nodded seriously. “Mother, since you were holding Uncle Ye all night, your ability naturally helped repair his internal wounds. And you also gained more wood-based energy yourself.”

Ye Baizhi was momentarily stunned—was that even possible?

Still, she sighed. “It might have its advantages, but Da Bao, we can’t keep doing this.”

“I don’t sleep very still, and if I keep holding onto Lord Ye every night, it would feel like taking advantage of him. So, we shouldn’t sleep on the bed anymore.”

“This morning, after breakfast, we’ll go outside and find materials to build a proper couch or wooden bed.”

Da Bao nodded obediently. “Alright!”

After washing up, Ye Baizhi prepared milk powder for him, made steamed egg custard, and boiled shredded radish and meat soup using the spiritual spring water.

Although Da Bao was still small, he had a big appetite. He finished everything she had prepared, expressing how delicious it was and how much he loved eating it.

Ye Baizhi was delighted—his enthusiasm gave her motivation to cook.

After breakfast, she carried Da Bao outside. She led him into the forest and instructed him to use his wood-based ability to cut down a thick tree. With his ability, chopping wood was as easy as carving with a blade.

Ye Baizhi painstakingly crafted a wooden bed. Then, she gathered some stones and had Da Bao refine them, shaping them into a small grinding stone. She moved the wooden bed into the cabin and stored the grinding stone in her space. Now, she could hasten the growth of wheat and grind it into flour.

As they ventured into the nearby forest, they discovered an abundance of medicinal herbs. It was as if someone had intentionally cultivated them there.

“Mother, there are so many herbs!”

Ye Baizhi was just as excited at the sight. Some of the herbs were unfamiliar—ones she had never seen before and didn’t even know the names of.

“This is good. We can collect some to help heal your Uncle Ye.”

“Mother, these particular herbs can be brewed into medicine to strengthen the body.”

“Alright, I’ll use them to make herbal medicine.”

“But since we’re using Uncle Ye’s herbs, we must repay him later.”

Although Ye Baizhi knew Ye Wulan was mysterious in origin, she was deeply grateful to him for saving both her and Da Bao. She was someone who always distinguished between gratitude and grievances—and she never forgot to repay kindness.

Over the next few days, mother and son thoroughly explored the area around the wooden house. They discovered an abundance of medicinal herbs and confirmed that there were no wild beasts nearby.

The only creatures they found were fish in the river.

To ensure Da Bao had a balanced diet, Ye Baizhi caught fish and prepared fish soup for him. Of course, every day, she also brewed medicine using spiritual spring water for Ye Wulan.

After dinner each night, she prepared the herbal remedy and approached the bed, as usual, to feed Ye Wulan.

Carefully, she spooned the medicine into his mouth.

“Lord Ye, I wonder when you’ll wake up.”

“These herbs are good for you—they’ll help heal your old injuries.”

“I’ve checked your pulse these past few days, and your condition has improved.”

“Today, we caught two fish from the river and made fish soup. We also harvested some medicinal herbs.”

“And we just discovered sugarcane in the forest—that’s incredible! Sugarcane can be refined.”

Although she knew Ye Wulan was unconscious, the stillness of the place made her instinctively chat with him. After all, she was using his resources—it felt right to acknowledge it. But just as she was feeding him and speaking, Ye Wulan slowly opened his eyes.