Chapter 8: A Cry for Help in the Mountains

Gu Xue walked deeper and deeper inside. The number of people visible on the path gradually decreased until there was almost no one around.

Observing her surroundings along the way, she spotted quite a few wild fruit trees.

The biggest surprise for Gu Xue was seeing a wild hawthorn tree, its flower buds still a vibrant green.

When she saw this tree, Gu Xue was filled with immense joy.

Hawthorn is excellent for stimulating appetite and strengthening the spleen, especially when used to make hawthorn cakes or fruit leather; the taste is wonderful.

Once dried and used to make tea with a bit of honey, the sweet and sour flavor is exquisite.

Using her superpower to accelerate growth, the hawthorns on the tree slowly turned red, hanging from the branches like tiny lanterns.

Looking at the hawthorns on the tree, Gu Xue couldn't help but swallow several times involuntarily. This kind of sour fruit was truly irresistible.

She picked all the hawthorns and placed them into her space.

She also dug up several saplings nearby and put them into her space as well, planning to continue organizing her space later in the evening when she had time.

As she continued walking inward, the plants along the path became more numerous; she even saw several wild grapes and August Yellow (Ba Yue Huang).

Wild fruits like these were common in the mountains. Many children would follow their playmates into the mountains in August or September to look for wild fruits.

It was currently March, the peak flowering season. By looking at these small flowers, one could judge roughly what kind of fruit they would become.

She had stayed on the mountain for a long time, feeling as though much time had passed. Just as she was preparing to leave, a vague consciousness suddenly began calling out to her within her mind.

Gu Xue originally didn't want to pay attention and intended to leave directly, but to her surprise, the sensation of that calling grew increasingly intense.

Frowning, she ultimately decided to head toward the sensation.

As soon as she arrived, she saw a very large tree. It was an elm tree that looked to be at least a hundred years old, though its current state did not look very good.

Logically, at this time of year, the tree should have been covered in elm seeds (yu qian), but now it looked as if there were hardly any leaves at all, hanging sparsely on the branches.

Gu Xue could tell at a glance that this tree had lost most of its vitality; it would soon die and turn completely into dead wood.

"Is it you calling me?" The tree before her was massive, shading the sky. Standing before it, Gu Xue appeared exceptionally tiny.

"Save me!" An old voice echoed in her ear, accompanied by the rustling of wind through the branches, sounding exceptionally desolate and tragic.

"Save you?"

Gu Xue frowned. In her previous world, she had never heard the voices of plants; she could only vaguely sense whether their growth was healthy or not.

How could she, in this world, actually understand the plea for help from an old elm tree?

She had encountered many plants along the way and hadn't heard a single sound; only this one tree was actually able to converse with her.

Gu Xue walked around the tree twice but found nothing unusual, and she even momentarily forgot about that old voice.

After hesitating for a long while, Gu Xue—not knowing what she was thinking—channeled her superpower into the tree.

Soon, the tree slowly began to sprout sparse leaves.

Not long after, Gu Xue sat weakly on the ground.

This tree was too old and required too much life energy. Since she wasn't even at the first rank of superpower user yet, she simply couldn't save the tree.

After sitting on the ground for a while and exchanging energy with the surrounding plants, she quickly recovered.

At the same time, that old voice appeared in her mind once again.

"Save me! Help me... take out... the thing underneath..."

Gu Xue could now hear the old voice clearly, and she could distinctly feel that it was much louder than before.

Without answering the elm tree, she looked up at the sky; it was already getting late.

Gu Xue hurriedly shouldered her basket and headed down the mountain with a basket full of wild vegetables.

On the way, she encountered several aunts who were also coming down from the mountain after picking wild vegetables, and they returned together.

Everyone's harvest was quite good, and no one was jealous of anyone else; after all, these things were all over the mountain.

The taste was very bitter, so they were mostly added to porridge to balance the bitterness and increase satiety.

Ever since they started cooking separately, every household had insufficient food, and every meal prioritized the men of the family.

She soon returned home with the aunts. Upon arriving, she saw a couple dressed very simply.

The two of them looked at Gu Xue with fawning smiles.

Looking at them, Gu Xue searched frantically through her original memories.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed as she recognized them. So it was them!

These two were Gu Xue's uncle and aunt, her mother's biological younger brother. After the couple had gone missing in a water accident, Gu Xue had stayed at their house for a period of time.

It was during that time that Gu Xue had been tormented by the "little demon" in their household until she was in a terrible state.

When the couple had their accident, these two, who lived a whole village away, had arrived within two days. They had swiftly moved everything out of the family's house.

They even took all the 100 yuan that Gu Xue's parents had saved, and they took Gu Xue, the "burden," along with them.

Using that 100 yuan, the couple built a large house in the village and even bought many things; thus, their lives began.

Having taken the benefits, the couple managed to barely keep Gu Xue fed for the first month or so, but they treated her worse and worse later on, eventually only allowing her one meal a day.

She didn't even dare to touch the food on the table, and all the housework was piled onto Gu Xue. Poor thing, she was just a small child back then; not only did she have to work and go hungry, but she also had to endure bullying from the household's little demon.

Later, after Gu Qianshan returned home, he took the pitiful Gu Xue back and raised her with great care.

Seeing the painful images in her memory—the tiny Gu Xue, her hands covered in chilblains, having to wash clothes until the cracked chilblains bled continuously—Gu Xue's expression instantly darkened!

"Ah Xue, you're finally back! Uncle and Aunt have been waiting for you for so long!" Liu Dazhuang, Gu Xue's uncle, blurted out boisterously upon seeing the fair and tender Gu Xue.

When he saw Gu Xue's face, a flash of amazement instantly crossed his eyes.

Liu Dazhuang could never have imagined that the thin, small, and sickly-looking little girl who had been malnourished for so long could grow up to be so beautiful.

She was fair and tender, with a healthy flush on her face from the exercise.

Gu Xue didn't look at them at all. She walked straight past them, intending to go directly to her room, having no intention of acknowledging them.

(End of Chapter)