Sueños Florales en la Ciudad

Capítulo 76

Zhu Huihui pulled out the stopper from the jade bottle, brought it to the mouth of the bottle and smelled it. A cool scent rushed into her nose and brain, and she couldn't help but sneeze twice. She tilted the bottle and poured out a few golden-red pills in her palm. They looked like water droplets and were quite cute.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven," Zhu Huihui counted the number, pouted, and muttered, "Stingy guy, you have the nerve to give away so few pills!" He clasped his hands together and stuffed all seven pills into his mouth.

The gentleman and lady were startled and quickly stopped them, saying, "No! Spit it out!"

Zhu Huihui didn't understand why. She blinked her big eyes, opened her small mouth, and stuck out her tongue to show them that she had swallowed it completely.

The gentleman and lady exclaimed at the same time, "You child, how could you take medicine like that!"

Zhu Huihui said, "It's not something to eat randomly! This is a secret family recipe passed down by a divine doctor, and it can cure all diseases!" The hero said that the medicine in Beikong Valley is very powerful, but who knows if it works? Let's try it for now, as long as it won't kill anyone!

The lady shook her head and smiled bitterly: "The Golden Ginseng Blood Dew of Sorrowful Valley is an extremely precious elixir, highly beneficial to martial artists. However, even with unparalleled martial arts skills, it takes seven days for one pill to be slowly absorbed and utilized by one's internal energy. Your internal energy is weak, making it difficult to absorb the medicine; furthermore, due to your internal injuries, your meridians and acupoints are severely damaged, blocking the medicine's flow; and considering you've taken seven pills at once… I'm afraid your body is too weak to withstand its power!"

Huh? Then I'm just wasting food like a turtle eating barley! These pills are so potent, what if they start running rampant in my body with all my meridians broken and messed up? They'll burst me apart!

Zhu Huihui touched his head, then rubbed his limbs. After thinking for a moment, he shakily braced himself on the deck with his hands, trying to do a handstand—upside down, head down, shaking it vigorously, hoping the pill would roll out of his stomach…

After the gentleman and lady understood her intention, they couldn't help but find it a little funny. The lady immediately pressed her down: "Don't move! Once the medicine takes effect, your uncle will help you dissolve it."

Zhu Huihui opened her eyes wide and looked at the handsome and kind-looking gentleman: "Uncle?"

The lady smiled and said, "Even my husband! You were so badly injured, yet you woke up after only seven days of being unconscious. This is thanks to the fact that he spends two hours every day using his internal energy to help you clear your meridians."

"Thank...thank you, Uncle!" Zhu Huihui said somewhat shyly. In her whole life, she had either been cursing people harshly or flattering them obsequiously; she had never sincerely called someone "uncle" before.

The gentleman sensed her sincerity and nodded with a smile.

The lady brought over a cup of tea, held it to her lips, and said gently, "Child, have some water."

Zhu Huihui gazed at her, a surge of emotion welling up within her. She slowly lowered her head, and a tiny drop of water slid from her cheek into the cup, creating a ripple of pale green.

This lady fed her water better than her own mother! Once, when she was little, she fell into a pond and nearly drowned. After finally climbing ashore, her mother kicked her back in, saying that if she couldn't learn to swim, she wouldn't get any food. She stayed in the water for days, until she became as slippery as an eel, before her mother finally took pity on her and cooked her a delicious meal…

The lady seemed to understand her feelings, and gently reached out to stroke her hair. Her expression was full of affection.

"Madam, where...where did you meet me?"

"Seven days ago, my husband and I were passing by a desolate islet in Dongting Lake when we encountered a young man in an apricot-colored robe. He handed you over to us while you were unconscious, and left in a hurry without saying much."

Zhu Huihui was bewildered. Was that the young man in the apricot-colored robe Liu Yue? Then, what happened after she accidentally "fell asleep"? How did she end up with him? Why did he leave in such a hurry? And who were this gentleman and lady? Why did Liu Yue entrust her to them?

A thousand questions flooded her mind, and she didn't know where to begin.

The lady noticed her dark eyes darting around, knowing that she was being petty and calculating, but she simply smiled and offered no further explanation.

He extended a few jade-like fingers and placed them on the pulse of her right wrist. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly raised his head, his dark and deep eyes meeting Zhu Huihui's large, round eyes.

The two stared at each other for a moment. The lady's gaze froze slightly, and Zhu Huihui seemed to be immersed in the gentle spring water, her mind momentarily dazed.

"Sleep, child, sleep!" the lady's voice was gentle. This celestial sound, emanating from the celestial realm of the Milky Way, grew increasingly ethereal, increasingly distant…

Zhu Huihui felt an immense sense of peace and tranquility. Her lips, pale from her injuries, curved slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her pale face. Then, she slowly closed her eyes and drifted into a deep, sweet dream.

When Zhu Huihui woke up again, it was morning.

The sunset glow was still dazzling. When I opened my eyes, I could still see the same gentleman leisurely fishing. Everything seemed like yesterday—well, was that yesterday?

She tried to move her body, and her bones made a "crackling" sound as they rubbed together. She was very surprised. Good heavens, how long had she been lying down? Her bones were practically rusting from sleeping!

She paused for a moment before carefully getting up. Hmm! It seemed her injury was much better, although she was still a little dizzy and her legs felt like they were walking on cotton. But she guessed it was because she had slept too much…

She leaned against the side of the boat, looked around, and found that the boat was moored on a wide, calm stretch of water, with no one around. Even the lady was nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Huihui slowly moved to the bow of the boat: "That... Uncle... Uncle..."

Although I was sincere, I still wasn't used to this title. I don't know why, but when I'm in the streets and acting tough, calling someone "grandpa" or "grandson" comes out as easily as if it were nothing, but the word "uncle" seems to weigh a ton.

The man turned his head and smiled slightly, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better... much better!"

Zhu Huihui bent her arms vigorously to show that she was already very strong.

The gentleman looked her up and down a few times, smiled and nodded, then his gaze returned to the seven-star fishing float made from the root of a peacock feather.

"Husband...where is your wife?" Zhu Huihui missed his beautiful and loving wife very much.

"The lady is in Qiluo Village, treating an old man. She will be back in a little while."

Just as Zhu Huihui was about to speak, her stomach suddenly rumbled. Feeling embarrassed in front of this kind and gentle gentleman, even with her thick skin, she quickly pressed her uncooperative stomach and blurted out a "brilliant explanation": "I'm not hungry, I'm just... my stomach is a little empty..." After saying that, she wanted to slap herself!

The man laughed: "No wonder... your stomach is empty. You've been unconscious for over half a month, only able to stay awake by drinking medicine. You haven't eaten anything for a long time!"

Zhu Huihui counted the days on her fingers, then wiped her sweat! It turned out she'd slept for another seven or eight days! She pinched her cheeks, arms, and waist, and indeed felt much thinner. She couldn't help but sigh, "How many steamed buns will I have to eat to make up for it!"

The man couldn't help but smile again. His own daughter was about the same age as her, and although she was very weak, she was afraid of gaining weight and refused to eat properly, which was quite worrying! Sigh, if only she were half as "robust" as this child—if an ordinary person had suffered such a serious injury, taken such strong medicine indiscriminately, and had a strange hidden ailment, even with the wife's skillful treatment and the man's own internal energy to guide the meridians and enhance the medicinal effects, they might not have recovered so quickly.

He was quite fond of the rough-around-the-edges child, patted the deck beside him, and gestured for her to sit down: "However, your body has not fully recovered yet, and your spleen and stomach are still relatively weak. Whether you can eat or not, we will have to wait until Madam returns to ask."

Zhu Huihui, with a pained expression, sat beside him, her eyes wide, helping him keep an eye on the fishing floats on the water. Suddenly, seeing the floats sink, she immediately shouted, "A fish!"

The gentleman had already cast his line, which traced a graceful arc in the air, and a silver fish struggled and leaped on the other end of the line.

Zhu Huihui beamed: "What a big fish! It's best made into a quick marinated dish!"

She reached out and helped remove the fish from the water. Just as she was about to throw it into the wooden bucket next to her, the man took the fish from her, shook his head at her, and threw it back into the water.

Looking at the empty wooden bucket and then at the man, Zhu Huihui was stunned for a long time. She couldn't help but shake her head, feeling very sorry for him. He caught fish and released them, then caught them again. It turned out that this uncle, who seemed so normal, was mentally ill.