When Xiao Hu came through the door, he heard his grandfather’s voice.

He hurried over and set the bucket of hot water down on the table.

“Grandfather, are you awake?” Xiao Hu stood beside Feng Jiu’er and looked at the person on the bed.

He wanted to touch the old man, but pulled his small hand back when he saw the silver needles in his grandfather’s body.

“Princess.” Xiao Hu raised his eyes to look at Feng Jiu’er. “My grandfather hasn’t spoken in several days.”

“I never expected the Princess would be able to save my grandfather so easily. Princess, your medical skills are truly amazing!”

Feng Jiu’er was still working the needles and paid no attention to Xiao Hu.

Xiao Yingtao arrived carrying two packets of medicine and came to stand behind Xiao Hu.

“Xiao Hu.” She called out softly.

Xiao Hu turned around, his face full of gratitude, and met Xiao Yingtao’s gaze.

“General.” His eyes fell on the two bags of medicinal herbs. “What is this?”

“Medicine.” Xiao Yingtao crouched down.

Xiao Hu was truly small — when Xiao Yingtao crouched down, she was still about the same height as him.

Such a small child, bearing so much already — it really was heartbreaking.

“Xiao Hu.” Xiao Yingtao rubbed his head and handed the medicine to him.

“Sister didn’t bring much medicine, so this is enough for two days for now. Boil three bowls of clean water down to one bowl — do you understand?”

“I understand!” Xiao Hu clutched the two bags of medicine tightly to his chest, as if he were holding some precious treasure.

“These past few days, I’ve been gathering wild herbs to treat Grandfather and Grandmother myself, but unfortunately it hasn’t worked well — it must be that the herbs I picked weren’t right.”

Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together and said, “You don’t know these things well, so you really shouldn’t use medicine on them so casually. If you pick something poisonous, that would be serious trouble.”

“The Princess said the medicine isn’t plentiful, so for now each person will only get two days’ worth.”

“But don’t worry — as long as we find suitable medicine out there, we’ll have someone bring it to you.”

“Xiao Hu, do you know if there’s a lake or a forest anywhere nearby?”

Xiao Hu scratched his head and nodded. “I know.”

“What does the General want with places like that?”

“Your grandfather isn’t getting enough nutrition and needs to build his strength back up. If we can catch something like a wild pheasant, it would help nourish him.”

Xiao Yingtao stood up, waved a hand, and then walked toward the table.

Xiao Hu, afraid of disturbing the Princess who was still treating his grandfather, held the medicine in one hand and covered his mouth with the other as he followed behind Xiao Yingtao.

The two of them reached the table, and Xiao Yingtao picked up the cloth from inside the bucket, washed it, and wrung it out.

“But General, the forest behind the hills is very dangerous. Without adults, we children don’t dare go in.”

“Out that way, forget about wild chickens — there aren’t even any fruit or mushrooms left.”

“There’s a big lake on one side of the mountain, but my parents told me the rocks there are very slippery and the water is too deep to see the bottom. A number of people have drowned in it.”

“There are fish in the little river nearby too, but not many, and children as small as us can’t catch them.”

“Is the place you’re talking about far?” Xiao Yingtao handed the cloth to Xiao Hu.

“Go wipe your grandfather’s face and neck. He’ll come to his senses soon.”

“Mm-hm.” Xiao Hu’s eyes lit up, and he immediately took the warm cloth.

He shook his head and answered, “It’s not far.”

“General, let me go wash my grandfather’s face first. Once my grandfather and grandmother have eaten their porridge and taken their medicine, I’ll take you there — is that alright?”

“If time allows, that’s fine.” Xiao Yingtao nodded lightly.

Xiao Hu turned around with a smile on his face and quickly climbed onto the bed.

He lay on the inner side of the bed and, following Feng Jiu’er’s guidance, wiped the ointment from the old man’s face and neck, one careful motion at a time.