Chapter 41 – A Group That Looked Like Beggars

“This place is like a fairyland. So the people of Medicine God Valley are all living immortals,” Zhao Hu said in awe.

The others looked at Old Gu with eyes full of admiration and respect.

Seeing the children chattering nonstop, Old Gu quickly shooed them out. He was about to start acupuncture now, and not a single move could be careless.

However, he kept Da Ya behind—this girl seemed to know a bit about medicine and could stay to help.

The rest looked at Da Ya with envy. They also wanted to see how the people of Medicine God Valley treated patients.

The few brats who got kicked out sat in a row at the bamboo hut’s door, bored, counting ants.

“Village Chief, why are we sitting here?” A’Dou poked at an anthill on the ground. It had been almost two days since they left, and he was starting to miss home.

“Once Grandpa Gu saves the patient, we’ll go back,” Xiaojiu  also didn’t want to just sit at the door doing nothing.

They kept poking at the anthill.

“Protect the man inside the bamboo hut. Reward: 100 points + one lucky draw.”

The sudden voice startled Xiaojiu  so much she almost jumped.

“Scaring people can scare them to death!” Xiaojiu  cursed the system several times in her heart.

The system played dead.

It expressed that it would dare to do it again next time.

Just then—

A little boy outside the bamboo hut poked his head around, trying to peek in.

Xiaojiu  and the others stared at him.

The little boy suddenly bolted away.

“What? Why did he run? Do we look that scary?” Zhao Hu asked, puzzled.

Xiaojiu  immediately ran after him, and Zhao Hu and the others followed close behind.

They hadn’t gone far before the boy tripped and fell with a thud.

“Why are you running?” Xiaojiu  squatted down to ask.

In her mind, she also asked the system, “Is he an assassin?”

“Host, do you think that’s possible?” the system replied speechlessly.

A three- or four-year-old who barely knew his characters—how could he be an assassin?

“Where did you beggars come from? And what are you doing at my master’s door?” the little boy asked, shivering.

Who could understand this?!

A group of beggars sitting at his master’s door—he had to hurry and ask his senior sister what was going on!

“Who are you calling a beggar?” Xiaojiu  clenched her fist.

A’Dou glanced at the leaves stuck in the Village Chief’s hair and quietly reached over to pluck them out.

Then he looked at the others—their clothes were torn to shreds from the mountain branches, and their faces were covered in soot.

Hmm… at first glance, they did look like beggars.

The little boy noticed Xiaojiu ’s clenched fist.

“Open your hand! If you dare to hit me, I’ll call for help,” he quickly said, scooting further away.

A’Dou leaned in to whisper to the Village Chief, “We really do look like beggars right now.”

Xiaojiu  lowered her head to look at herself, then at the others.

Someone who had always cared about saving face, she now wished she could find a hole and crawl into it.

“Where can I buy clothes around here?” Xiaojiu  awkwardly picked at the hole in her sleeve.

Seeing her loosen her fist, the little boy let out a sigh of relief.

“Up ahead!” He pointed toward a bamboo grove. “They sell things over there.”

“You’re really not beggars?”

“No. We just had our clothes torn by branches while climbing the mountain,” Xiaojiu  ground out between her teeth.

“Oh! Sorry, then… I’ll take you to buy clothes,” the boy said, a little embarrassed after realizing his mistake.

He led Xiaojiu  and the others to a bamboo forest.

“This is our Medicine God Valley market. Everyone comes here to buy things.”

Xiaojiu  and the others headed straight for the clothing shop.

The owner of the bamboo hut was a woman.

Seeing a few unfamiliar little beggars come in, the woman assumed they were some poor souls picked up by a kind-hearted person from the valley.

“Are you here to choose clothes?” she asked.

Xiaojiu  nodded. “Can we take a bath here?”

She felt absolutely filthy right now.

“Of course!” The woman led them into the bamboo house.

Soon, after washing up and changing into new clothes, everyone felt that the surrounding air was much fresher.

They paid for the clothes, thanked the owner of the bamboo house, and left.

The little boy looked at the now clean group and asked, “Are you also Master’s disciples?”

“Of course not, we’re here to bring your master home,” Zhao Hu said—he had no interest in studying medicine.

“Oh…” The boy looked a little disappointed.

“What’s fun to do in Medicine God Valley?” the group, bored out of their minds, asked the little boy.

“Nothing,” the boy shook his head, though his eyes flashed with curiosity and longing for the world outside the valley.

“Medicine God Valley is full of herbs and medicine. My senior brothers and sisters say the outside world is the colorful one—there are mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, and all kinds of people and events you can encounter.”

“You don’t usually go out?”

“I’m still small. Master says the outside is dangerous and won’t let me go. But if Master gives orders to collect rare herbs, or if there’s a large-scale plague or war outside, then my senior brothers and sisters will go down the mountain.”

A’Dou patted the little boy on the head. “Then next time you can come play in our village with your master. It’s very safe there, no danger at all.”

Hearing this, the boy’s eyes lit up, but then he hesitated. “I… have to ask Master first.”

They came to a small hillside.

Xiaojiu  lay lazily on the grass, a dogtail grass stem in her mouth, basking in the sun.

She pulled some spicy strips from her pocket and handed them out.

“What’s this?” the little boy asked, unsure how to eat it.

The chubby kid immediately grabbed a packet, tore it open, and stuffed some into his mouth. “These are spicy strips—they smell amazing. Try it!”

The boy hesitantly put one in his mouth. At first, he frowned, seemingly unaccustomed to the sudden spiciness, but soon his expression turned to delight. The sweet-and-spicy, stimulating flavor was so addictive that he couldn’t help but eat several in a row.

“Wow! This is delicious! Can I bring some back for my senior brothers and sisters to try?” the boy asked excitedly.

Xiaojiu  lazily rolled over, narrowing her eyes. “Of course, but you have to tell me your name, and who the person lying in your master’s bamboo house is.”

She still found it strange—why did she feel such a sense of closeness toward someone she had never met?

The boy answered while eating, “My name is Jiang He. I’m Master’s youngest disciple. The one in the bamboo house is Uncle Shi. But Uncle Shi was poisoned, and we haven’t been able to cure him. Master said that if we can’t find a Tianshan Snow Lotus, Uncle Shi won’t survive this month. That’s why Master went down the mountain this time—to find medicine for him.”

“Can I call you ‘big sister’?” Jiang He liked Xiaojiu  a lot—she gave him a sense of safety.

Before Xiaojiu  could answer, the usually silent little boy beside her stood up in protest.

He went straight over to block between Xiaojiu  and Jiang He, angrily declaring, “She’s my big sister!”

Xiaojiu  was full of question marks.

She raised her foot and nudged the mute-like boy. “Who’s your big sister?”

The boy pointed firmly at Xiaojiu . “You—you’re my big sister.”

“Village Chief, now that you mention it, you two really do look alike. Could it be you’ve found your long-lost younger brother?” Zhao Hu’s gaze swept back and forth between them. The more he looked, the more alike they seemed. He’d never noticed it before, probably because this boy was so quiet and unnoticeable that everyone often forgot he was there.

“What’s your name? If you don’t tell me, we’ll send you straight to Magistrate Shen when we get back,” Xiaojiu  threatened.