Chapter 42 – Big Sister, My Name Is Shi An

“Big sister, my name is Shi An.”
The little boy scooted closer to Xiaojiu .

“Hiss—!” Everyone gasped in shock.

“Don’t tell me you really are the Village Chief’s younger brother? You both have the surname ‘Shi.’”

Xiaojiu  was puzzled too. She remembered the clan elder once told her that when he found her, she had a jade pendant engraved with the character “Shi,” so he named her Shi Xiaojiu .

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Xiaojiu  could no longer lie down; she quickly sat up and asked, “Then where are your parents?”

“Father’s dead!” Shi An thought about it—yes, his father was indeed dead. He had never even seen what his father looked like since the day he was born.

The others looked at him with pity.

“That’s so tragic!”

“What about your mother?”

“Mother’s in the capital.”

“Then why did you say I’m your big sister?” Xiaojiu  asked.

“The portrait—you look like the person in the portrait. That’s big sister,” Shi An said, so anxious he was almost crying.

“In the capital, the only family with the surname ‘Shi’ is the family of Old General Shi. Don’t tell me you’re the Old General’s missing little grandson?” Shen Zhiyuan’s eyes widened.

The age matched, too—what a coincidence!

Shi An nodded.

“Then why didn’t you say so before?” Xiaojiu  was annoyed when she thought of how this brat had acted all clueless earlier.

“Scared!” Shi An answered honestly.

His mother had always told him not to talk to strangers.

“How did you end up being kidnapped and brought to Qingshan County?” Shen Zhiyuan was extremely curious.

After all, the capital was a long way from Qingshan County.

Not long ago, when her father received the news from her grandfather in the capital that the Shi family’s young grandson had gone missing, he had been pacing at home in a panic, feeling as if the heavens were about to doom the Shi family.

Shi An shook his head. He had woken up in a carriage. At first, he had cried and fussed, but every time he cried, the men in black would hit him. Eventually, he got smarter—he stopped crying and followed them quietly.

“But I’ve never heard of the Shi family losing a little girl!” Shen Zhiyuan knew a bit about the Shi family; her own grandfather had been close friends with Old General Shi for many years.

When news came that Old General Shi had died in battle, her grandfather had been bedridden with illness for a long time.

“Who is Old General Shi?” Xiaojiu  asked curiously.

At that, Shen Zhiyuan launched into an enthusiastic explanation—

She told them how Old General Shi had led the Shi family army in fierce battles against three different states, and how deeply the common people revered them.

One scene after another was so stirring that everyone listening felt their blood boil; they, too, wanted to follow Old General Shi to defend their homeland.

“And then? What happened next?” everyone urged.

“Then, during a major border rebellion, Old General Shi and all four of his sons died in battle,” Shen Zhiyuan said with a heavy expression.

“What? All of them died in the border chaos?” Everyone was stunned.

It was like someone surviving a jump off a cliff only to die from tripping into a small ditch.

“I know, I know—isn’t it that saying Teacher Xu taught us? Something about birds flying… something hidden!” Zhao Hu was trying to remember the phrase.

“It’s ‘When the birds are gone, the fine bow is put away; when the cunning hare dies, the hunting dogs are cooked!’ Idiot!” A’Dou quickly supplied the missing words.

Shen Zhiyuan and the chubby boy hurried to cover their mouths.

“Shh! If anyone hears that, you’ll be beheaded!” These two really dared to say anything.

“It’s true though!” Zhao Hu still wanted to say more.

Realizing the danger, A’Dou quickly clamped a hand over Zhao Hu’s mouth.

“Then… should I still be a general?” Zhao Hu asked Xiaojiu , feeling a little deflated.

He had been so full of confidence about becoming a great general, a great hero—

But now, it seemed it might not be anything like what he had imagined.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t you? I’m here, so what are you afraid of?” Xiaojiu  assured him.

“Alright, then I still want to become a super powerful general!” Zhao Hu’s previously dejected mood instantly surged with excitement.

The heavy atmosphere from earlier was instantly broken—after all, they were still just a group of kids dreaming about the future.

Xiaojiu  looked at Shi An, who was clinging to her. From what Shen Zhiyuan had said, the Shi family had never lost a young granddaughter, so Shi An and she probably weren’t siblings. Sharing the same surname was likely just a coincidence.

Now that she knew he was the son of a hero, Xiaojiu ’s attitude toward him improved a lot.

She had always held great respect for generals who defended the country—because of them, the common people could live in peace.

Therefore, the descendants of heroes deserved even more special treatment.

“If you want to call me ‘sister,’ then go ahead!!” Xiaojiu  couldn’t be bothered to correct him—being called that wouldn’t cost her a piece of flesh anyway, so she let him be.

Boys crying all the time were just troublesome.

Shi An’s eyes lit up—his sister had finally agreed to let him call her that.

He was so happy now he could almost float.

They had been out long enough, so the group prepared to head back to the bamboo house.

Xiaojiu  asked Jiang He, “Are you coming back to the bamboo house with us, or going somewhere else?”

Jiang He actually wanted to go along, but he still hadn’t finished his homework. If his senior brother found out he had snuck out again, he’d definitely get scolded.

“I’m not going. I’ll come find you to play tomorrow.”

Xiaojiu  pulled out a bunch of snacks from her pocket. “Here, these are for your senior brothers and sisters.”

“Thanks!” Jiang He thanked her sincerely.

After parting ways with the young boy, Xiaojiu  and her group strolled back toward the ancient bamboo house.

At that moment, the old man and Da Ya had just come out from inside.

Both the old and the young had joy written across their faces.

“Is the uncle inside cured?” Xiaojiu  asked.

After all, the system had told her to protect this person.

He mustn’t die!

“Yes, the poison has been cleansed. He just needs some time to recover.” The old man was clearly pleased, his brows completely relaxed.

“Luckily we had the Tianshan Snow Lotus you gave us—otherwise, even a god wouldn’t have been able to save him.” The old man looked at Xiaojiu  with deep gratitude. This child was truly his lucky star.

“When the person inside wakes up, I’ll go back to the village with you.”

Xiaojiu  shook her head.

Ever since she learned the old man was from the Medicine God Valley, she had dropped the idea of having him come to the village to teach.

She felt that, rather than having the old man teach in the village, it would be better for him to stay in Medicine God Valley—people outside needed them more.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” the old man asked in confusion.

Xiaojiu  said, “How about we make a deal—you stay in Medicine God Valley, but could you let Da Ya study medicine here?”

The old man nodded. “This little girl does have a talent for medicine. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was already thinking the same.”

Xiaojiu  asked Da Ya if she wanted to stay and study medicine.

Da Ya did, but she wanted even more to stay by the village chief’s side.

After Xiaojiu  repeatedly promised she would come visit often, Da Ya finally agreed to stay in Medicine God Valley.

Pointing to the bamboo house, Xiaojiu  asked the old man, “When will he wake up? Can I go in and see him?”

“Of course. He’s already awake, and since you saved his life, he ought to see what his savior looks like.” The old man quickly let them in—it was also a good chance to distract the man inside, who had been saved with great effort but had shown no will to live.

Xiaojiu  tiptoed inside, with Shi An—her little shadow—following just as quietly behind her.

The general lying in bed heard the sound and slowly turned his head.

When he clearly saw the two children walking in through the doorway—

His eyes widened, and his breathing quickened.

“Fifth Sister? Third Brother?”