Chapter 3

Qiuyue did not want to remember the past but the closer they were to city, the more the past was haunting her. It made her tremble along the way from time to time as if there were parades of spirits coming at her in all directions trapping her.

She could never escape.

Seeing her pale face, Huan called out to her. She was startled but she was able to get back to her senses. She glanced at Huan whose eyes were full of concern. She rubbed his head messing his hair.

'It is okay. I still have him.' She said in her mind to calm herself.

"Climb up now. You must be tired." She said as she stopped pushing the cart. Without delay, Huan got into the cart and faced his elder sister. He gripped her hands holding the handle and grinned at her. She smiled back gently.

After 30 minutes more, they finally arrived. There was only one thing they needed to do here and that was to collect bamboo stems. The Ancestral City had a large bamboo forest. When the city was burnt down, a part of the forest was still rescued through the government and the various agencies' help that day.

The siblings began collecting bamboo stems so they can sell them in the city and to foreign merchants who come to their place once in a while.

Qiuyue was the one who cut the bamboo into pieces with her sword. Huan, on the other hand, held a bamboo stick swinging it in the air! He was imitating Qiuyue. See it as a training for him so that he can protect himself. Hence, Qiuyue deliberately slowed down her pace.

After cutting them into pieces, they would load them into the cart and traveled back to H city. After a short rest which included eating a piece of bun and drinking water, they would travel back to D city again. The would do this multiple times and would only stop an hour before the skies darkened.

On their third time going to D city, Qiuyue was starting to feel hot and was sweating more. She shrugged it off and believed it was just because of the hot weather. However, her body also started feeling heavy as if she was carrying tons of lead stones. Her movement gradually slowed down but she still pushed on.

"Sis...sister... Let us rest for a while!" He quickly retrieved a bottled water so that she could drink but before he could even offer it, the cart stopped moving already and Qiuyue was nowhere in his sight anymore. He panicked and abruptly got off the cart causing him and the cart to stumble as well. It was fortunate that the siblings were not hit by it.

Tears started falling down like waterfall as Huan, who got wounds, supported himself to stand up to help his sister. He used his weakening strength to carry her to the side of the road. He quickly grabbed the cart and everything scattered on the ground to the side as well. He sat on the side of the road and placed his sister's head on his lap. He got a bottled water and tried to let her drink it but she was not taking any of it. These were all the things his sister told her to do in case she collapsed again.

A kilometer away, the driver had already caught a glimpse of the chaos.

"Master, somethi...someone's on the side of the road." The driver informed him reluctantly.

Jin, who had his eyes closed, opened them and looked ahead. He narrowed his eyes. As the car moved ahead, he got a clearer view.

"Master, there are two young children on the road. The other child was lying down. It seemed he or she had fainted." His assistant, Song Wen, who was seated beside the driver, reported then.

"Stop the car. Help them." He ordered.

"Yes, Master." Both respectfully said.

While Huan was still trying to help his sister, he heard the sound of a car coming. He raised his head up but drooped it down quickly as well. This was not the first time it happened to his elder sister, to them.

Occasionally, she would faint just like this. She would wake up after 30 minutes or so and they would be able to continue their journey. There were times when a car would pass by, lower their windows, but they would just ignore them in the end. Some would stop to look but would also continue on.

Huan just thought that they all needed to continue on their journey so no one can help them. He chose to believe that. Hence, he did not bother asking for help.

Everytime this happened and his sister regained consciousness, she would only ask him for water. She would pat his head and say "thank you for not leaving my side".

He was young but he was not stupid. Huan knew that his sister was working hard for him. When he wanted something new to eat, she would work harder to gain extra money. When she bought it, she would only give it to him and would refuse to take any. She would only say, "as long as you are happy eating it, sister is happy too! It feels that I am also eating it with you!" Then she would smile and laugh. When she took a bath, she would not boil water for herself. She would just hug him after taking one for warmth.

Sister thought I did not know. But I know! Everything she was doing was all for me.

"Sis... ter.. Wake up... I will never.. leave you." He said softly as tears continued to fall down his small face uncontrollably.

He did notice that the car stopped but he did not bother looking up.

"This child, what happened?" The assistant asked. He was thinking they were probably hit by a car with the mess so they would bring them to the city's hospital as soon as possible.

When Huan heard a voice, he looked up and stared at the man for a while. He rubbed his eyes to wipe his tears away. "Mister, it is okay. My sister just lost her consciousness because of the heat. She would wake up soon."

Song Wen glanced at the girl, back at Huan and then at the girl again. They were poor but the young boy looked much better than his elder sister. The girl was also thinner. "Why don't we bring you to the hospital?"

He shook his head. "We do not have money, Mister. We also need to continue pushing the cart to earn money."

"Okay. We will help you arrange the cart and give you— ..."

Before he can finish what he had to say, a shadow passed by. He was stunned but quickly realised that it was his Master. "Mas... Master, they don't wish to go to the hos—" He tried explaining but was cut off by a wave of his hand.

Jin, who was waiting in the car, thought that his assistant was taking long. He pressed the depressing button to lower the side window to look. He looked at the young boy and then at the young girl lying down.

He furrowed his brow. He thought he had seen the girl before. As he focused more, his eyes widened. He quickly got out the car and approached them in a speed of lightning.

He squatted down and removed his coat. He lifted the girl gently as he draped his coat on her. He then carried her in his embrace and stood up.

"Wen, get another car, bring that child and their things. We'll take them to the hospital." He coldly ordered.

Huan immediately grabbed the man's clothes and hit him with his small fist. "No! Give me my sister back! Don't take her away from me!! No!!! Dont..." With his every word, he would send a couple of punches to him.

Wen, who was shocked by his Master's actions, came back to his senses and immediately suppressed the child with one hand while he used his other hand to make a call. When he was suppressed, he cried uncontrollably. "No... Don't take my sister. She would be sad... sad if we got separated... Not my... My sister..."

Jin, who did not mind the hits, only stared at the child. "You will see her later." He then looked at Wen. "Make him talk." Wen nodded understanding his Master's words.

Jin hurriedly got in the car and told the driver their destination. He stared at Qiuyue who was currently unconscious and very pale. No one knew what he was thinking.

Huan, who was left crying, was still being suppressed by Wen. He reached out his hand to the receding car repeatedly crying out. "Sister..."

After 10 minutes of waiting, a car arrived picking up Wen and Huan. Another man got off the car and carried their things. The bamboo cart was left on the side of the road.

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