Chapter 57: Midnight Mischief

Lu Yuanbao didn’t panic when Chu Yue saw through his thoughts at a glance. His big shiny black eyes looked up attentively.

Lu Yuanbao said loudly, “Tomorrow I want to go with you.”

Chu Yue smiled and asked back, “Where did I say I was going tomorrow? You just want to come along? Maybe tomorrow I’ll just stay home and sleep all day?”

Lu Yuanbao wasn’t swayed by Chu Yue’s few words. His small face was determined and serious as he insisted, “I know. Tomorrow you’re going up the mountain to pick chestnuts, and I want to go with you.”

Afraid Chu Yue might think he was too young, he quickly added without pausing, “Don’t look at me as a kid, I’m actually very strong. You—you know, I can till the land, carry a hoe, and I’m good at walking mountain paths. I can take care of myself and won’t be a burden to you.”

Probably really worried Chu Yue would refuse, Lu Yuanbao spoke faster and faster, very anxious.

Chu Yue picked up a peeled chestnut that Lu Yuanbao had prepared and stuffed it into his impatient mouth.

“Okay, I’ll take you with me tomorrow.”

Lu Yuanbao’s whole face immediately lit up. “Really? Really for real?”

“Really. Eat your chestnuts calmly; you don’t have to peel any more for me.”

Chu Yue patted Lu Yuanbao’s head to reassure him.

The longer they spent together, the more Chu Yue understood Lu Yuanbao’s personality—he was smart but sensitive, especially afraid of being abandoned. Every time Chu Yue planned to go out alone, he always looked uneasy.

With Chu Yue’s reassurance, Lu Yuanbao happily ate the warm, fragrant, soft chestnuts, his eyes narrowing in joy.

He kept talking, “Not only can I walk mountain paths, I can climb trees and pick bird eggs… Other kids in the village only know how to shoot birds with slingshots, but I’m different. I can climb really, really high… I can also gather firewood and carry firewood…”

There was one thing Lu Yuanbao didn’t say: it wasn’t that he didn’t want a slingshot; it was that other kids had slingshots, and he didn’t.

He was trying hard to show Chu Yue that he was a useful kid.

Only then would Chu Yue’s milk, wedding candy, and malted milk powder be worth it.

…

That evening.

Lu Zhanlin didn’t come back, but Chu Yue wasn’t surprised. She ate a simple yet rich dinner with Lu Yuanbao, then cleaned up the stove. Lu Yuanbao squatted by the basin washing dishes and even stood on tiptoes to put the cleaned bowls and chopsticks back on the rack.

Chu Yue poured half hot water and half cold water into an enamel cup, put away the toothpaste smeared with tooth powder, and reminded Lu Yuanbao to brush his teeth and wash his face before bed.

Then Chu Yue went into the room.

She sat at the only writing desk in the room, with a notebook and a fountain pen, and began to scribble.

Chu Yue remembered the agreement with Pei Hanchuan—she had to deliver a prescription in a week.

What she was drawing now was… the prescription!

After a while.

Soft footsteps came from outside the room, stopping at the door without entering.

Chu Yue twirled her pen several times, added a circle on the notebook, then stopped writing and turned to look.

She saw Lu Yuanbao standing hesitantly by the door, hugging a pillow, torn between stubbornness and embarrassment.

He had talked all afternoon about how capable he was, but now at night, he came over holding a pillow.

He pursed his lips and softly said, “Can I sleep with you?”

After all, he was still a child.

Chu Yue waved to him, “Come in, did you wash your hands and feet?”

“Yes, I did!”

Lu Yuanbao answered excitedly and loudly.

He rushed into the room, quickly climbed onto the bed in just a few moves, placed the pillow he brought next to Chu Yue, and patted it down neatly.

It was a bit far, but still better to be close.

Lu Yuanbao then nudged his pillow closer, resting it tightly against Chu Yue’s pillow.

Now he felt reassured.

After arranging the pillows, Lu Yuanbao moved from the head of the bed to the foot, knelt on the bed with both knees, and leaned over the writing desk. He just happened to see the scribbles and doodles in Chu Yue’s notebook, then furrowed his brow.

What was this… drawing little people?

Chu Yue wasn’t writing characters or calculating—she was drawing one little person after another on the neat, clean paper.

Each little person was vivid and lifelike, with round heads and tiny limbs, posed in various static postures.

At first glance, each little figure looked quite a lot like Lu Yuanbao.

Lu Yuanbao didn’t make a sound to disturb Chu Yue but tilted his head to the side, watching with interest, though he didn’t really understand.

After finishing a row of little figures, Chu Yue paused to rest and rotated her wrist.

At this moment, Lu Yuanbao finally spoke up, pointing at one of the little people with his pinky finger, then pointed to himself. “Is this little person me?”

“Sort of,”

Chu Yue answered vaguely, because when she drew, she hadn’t really paid attention, and the little figures unknowingly resembled Lu Yuanbao.

Lu Yuanbao was very happy about this. He looked at the little figure, then stood on the bed, swinging his limbs and mimicking the pose of a little person.

Seeing his movements, Chu Yue reminded him aloud.

“Legs apart, left hand a bit higher, right hand straight… yes, very good. Squat your hips down, relax your body, hold this posture… deep breath, slowly inhale, then slowly exhale… very good.”

The pose Lu Yuanbao struck was exactly the second move of the “Eight Brocade Qigong” — “Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Eagle” (with illustration).

This was also the prescription Chu Yue had drawn in her notebook — the “Eight Brocade Qigong.”

She had taken Pei Tianci’s pulse; the child didn’t have any major illnesses, just congenital frailty inherited from his mother’s womb. The Pei family certainly wasn’t lacking in medicine or nutritious food. It was clear the child’s constitution was poor, and his body had weak absorption.

So instead of continuing with medicines, it was better to first build up the body’s foundation.

What Chu Yue was drawing now were the eight movements of the Eight Brocade Qigong, and afterward she would continue to draw the “Five Animal Frolics.”

The Five Animal Frolics were created by Hua Tuo, mimicking the movements of animals (tiger, deer, bear, ape, bird/crane) as a form of fitness exercise. Each movement provided good training for the body and internal organs, suitable for both elderly and children to practice daily to strengthen their health.

Over thousands of years, the Five Animal Frolics had almost been lost, with surviving versions being inaccurate. Only the version Chu Yue had was authentic.

This was because her copy of the Five Animal Frolics came from a rare medical treasure book dropped randomly during the upgrade of the Lingbao Space.

The medical treasure book not only contained the Eight Brocade Qigong and Five Animal Frolics, but also many ancient Chinese medicine secrets. That was how Chu Yue learned her medical skills—self-taught from these books.

After nightfall,

Lu Yuanbao practiced the Eight Brocade Qigong for a while, then watched Chu Yue draw little people for a bit, and eventually dozed off.

Chu Yue took care to cover him with a quilt, then continued drawing little figures, working well into midnight.

She stood up, stretched, and turned off the light in the room—not to sleep, but to—

Go out!

Midnight was the best time to do bad things!