After eating two pieces of moss, when Xin Yun held the third piece to Yi Luo Xiang's lips, Yi Luo Xiang refused to eat anymore. Although she was just a seven-and-a-half-year-old child, Yi Luo Xiang understood that in such an environment, under such circumstances, each piece of moss was a hope for life. She was very hungry, and two pieces of moss didn't solve any problems; they only made her hungrier. Yet, even so, she just couldn't eat anymore.
If Yi Luo Xiang had not understood the preciousness of these mosses before, the blood-drinking incident had now made everything clear to her. To survive, those four guys actually pinned them down to drink their blood, directly causing the death of her two good friends. If it hadn't been for Xin Yun's timely arrival, her fate would have been no different. Yi Luo Xiang knew that the life she had ahead of her... was given by Xin Yun.
Watching Xin Yun stubbornly push the moss into her mouth, Yi Luo Xiang couldn't understand why this boy was so good to her; no one had ever been so kind to her before.
Yi Luo Xiang's parents were hunters in the village, living off hunting every day. However, in fact, Yi Luo Xiang had never seen her parents. They had died when Yi Luo Xiang was only three years old, and the village had raised her.
As hunters in the village, all the prey her parents caught belonged to the community. After her parents died, the whole village took it upon themselves to provide for her. Hence, having lived for so long, Xin Yun was the first one in her memory to be this kind to her.
She was too young to create any value, only able to consume food. Under such circumstances, who would genuinely be good to her? Therefore... even though the destruction of the village outside didn't bring her too much grief.
Of course, to say she felt nothing would be an exaggeration. When the village was there, she at least had a house to live in and food to eat. But now that the village was gone, how was she going to survive?
Not just for a child, but even for an adult, facing the situation of losing everything, they would probably feel helpless and lost, let alone Yi Luo Xiang who was still just a child.
Chewing on the moss reflexively, tasting the faint sweetness that spread from under her tongue, Yi Luo Xiang's eyes gradually filled with tears. It was her experience of living under others' roofs that made her exceptionally careful and sensitive; she could feel when others were bad to her, and she would never forget when they were kind.
One piece... two pieces... three pieces... Under Xin Yun's coercion, Yi Luo Xiang ate six pieces of moss in one go. Although she still didn't feel full, she no longer felt hunger which was almost unbelievable in the current situation.
Looking deeply at Xin Yun, Yi Luo Xiang's heart was immensely complicated. Were there that many pieces of moss? No... that couldn't be possible. The moss was right where the three girls were, and with Yi Luo Xiang's intelligence, she could fully determine how much was there, and it certainly wasn't that much.
And even if there were a lot, what would it matter? They still didn't know when the rescue team would come; who dared to waste food? Being given one or two pieces to keep her from starving was already a huge act of kindness. Yet now, Xin Yun had almost let her eat her fill!
Yi Luo Xiang knew that the reason she was given so much food was that she was sick, and if she didn't eat enough, it could worsen her condition and possibly lead to her death. But what did her life or death have to do with Xin Yun? He was giving up the hope of survival that belonged to him, giving it to her instead.
To survive, those four boys had cruelly pinned them down, sucking others' blood to sustain their own lives. Yet Xin Yun had given his chance to her. Why was there such a big difference between people?
Back when it all happened, Yi Luo Xiang was on the verge of breaking down, thinking that no man was good, all being cruel, selfish, dirty, capable of anything with their strength. But Xin Yun had changed her opinion; at least... there was still one very good boy in the world.
Thinking of this, Yi Luo Xiang looked up and gave Xin Yun a sweet smile. She hadn't encountered someone who was kind to her for so many years, but now, in her most difficult time, that person had appeared. Was this arranged by heaven?
Looking at Yi Luo Xiang's sweet smile, Xin Yun's heart was instantly filled, feeling that everything he did for that radiant smile was worth it.
Fondly stroking Yi Luo Xiang's hair, Xin Yun stood up, and said softly, "Alright, you get some rest now, you should take a short nap, and who knows? You might wake up to find your sickness has gone."
Obediently nodding her head, Yi Luo Xiang closed her eyes and tried hard to fall asleep. She too hoped that she could recover quickly so that she wouldn't have to be such a burden on Xin Yun anymore.
Before she fell asleep, Yi Luo Xiang, true to her word, wrote down the few pieces of moss she got today. Up until today, she had received twenty-four pieces from Xin Yun. She had to record this.
In the following days, Yi Luo Xiang's health did not improve; in fact, it got worse. The continuous high fever made it impossible for her to sleep. In reality… this was merely an adaptation process after Yi Luo Xiang's breakthrough, a normal reaction, yet it was still extremely dangerous, even life-threatening. If she couldn't hold on, she would truly die.
That day, her brain had been intensely stimulated by an unparalleled excitement, causing inexplicable changes; however, the consumption of this transformation was immense. If Yi Luo Xiang could endure, her future would be unimaginable. But if she couldn't, she would die quickly.
In order to save Yi Luo Xiang, Xin Yun had no choice but to spare his own rations, eating only three pieces of moss a day simply to sustain life.
So it went, as the days slowly passed. Yi Luo Xiang's condition finally stabilized; although there was no sign of improvement, at least it didn't worsen.
Seeing Xin Yun grow thinner by the day, Yi Luo Xiang was deeply distressed. By the eighth day, Xin Yun was staggering as he walked, looking like he could faint at any moment. Even so, he still refused to eat one more piece of moss, but Yi Luo Xiang's food supply never decreased, twice a day, six pieces each meal.
Finally, just as Xin Yun was about to give out, on the ninth day's evening, the second great rain came. Ecstatically standing in the middle of the dried-up well, Xin Yun opened his mouth wide, greedily drinking the rain falling from the sky. Since he now had water, he could continue to hold on.
Unfortunately, the rain only lasted a little over three hours and was not heavy. It stopped soon after. Although much rainwater fell into the dried-up well, aside from making it muddier, there were no other changes.
There was still a full week before the rescue team would arrive… but Xin Yun was at his wits' end. Although he could last another two days on the rainwater he had drunk, there was very little moss left.
Some people might mock him, laughing at him for not rationing food properly, but Xin Yun was helpless. To prevent Yi Luo Xiang's illness from deteriorating, six pieces per meal, twice a day was already the bare minimum. Xin Yun had been hoping that she would recover quickly—who would have thought she would be ill for ten days without a single sign of improvement?
Looking at the mere seventeen pieces of moss left in the bag, Xin Yun was completely at a loss. What to do… There were six days left, but only seventeen pieces of moss. That was less than three pieces a day, not enough for even one person to eat!
Meanwhile, as Xin Yun was lost in thought, Yi Luo Xiang on the earthen bed was already brimming with tears. No, no… in fact, her tears had been falling silently for a while, it's just that... she didn't want Xin Yun to see them, forcibly holding them back. Xin Yun was already in enough distress, she didn't want to add to the chaos.