"It's all Mother's fault for being useless, unable to protect you."
Ye Shi's tears fell like beads from a broken string, endless and unceasing.
But her tendency to burst into tears at the slightest thing, looking all delicate and pitiful, made Ruan Yu's toes curl in secondhand embarrassment.
"I'm hungry."
Ruan Yu could only think of ways to divert Ye Shi's attention.
Ye Shi immediately stopped crying upon hearing this. "Alright, Mother will get you some porridge right away."
Taking advantage of the moment she went to fetch the porridge, Ruan Yu looked around.
They were out in the wilderness, with Qinghe Village's group in the distance, along with other refugees.
Campfires dotted the area densely.
Many families were starting fires to cook, yet there was almost no aroma of food to be smelled.
In the two months since they'd fled the famine, grain supplies had long since run out, and they were at the end of their rope. Many people could only gnaw on dried rations, or even wild vegetable buns.
Soon, Ye Shi returned and handed her a bowl of porridge.
"Eat up."
Ruan Yu looked down—the so-called porridge was nothing more than wild vegetable buns soaked in water.
She took a sip and nearly spat it out.
The taste was bitter and astringent, practically impossible to swallow. But looking at Changsheng and Chang'an beside her, they were drinking it with great relish.
Ruan Yu forced it down and felt it burn her throat. Was this really something humans could eat?
But she knew that during these two months of fleeing, the members of the Ruan family's eldest branch had chewed on everything from grass roots to tree bark, let alone wild vegetable buns.
Although Ruan Yu came from the Apocalypse, she'd never really gone hungry because she had the Spatial Dimension to rely on.
Looking at the gaunt, skeletal frames of Ye Shi and the two little ones, it was clear they were severely malnourished.
How could they survive on just this?
Ruan Yu drained the watery soup from her bowl, then stood up. "I'm going to relieve myself."
"Mother will go with you."
Ye Shi immediately stood up as well.
"No need."
Ruan Yu pressed Ye Shi back down. "I'll go alone."
"Alright then, go quickly and come back quickly."
Ruan Yu went into the woods—though calling it woods was generous; it was just a patch of barren forest. The trees were so dry they snapped at the slightest touch, and every leaf had been stripped clean.
The ground was cracked with deep fissures, hard and unyielding underfoot.
Shang Guo had been suffering from drought for three years now, without a single drop of rain.
No grain could be grown, and the people had nowhere to turn for help.
Refugees were everywhere, most of them heading south.
Qinghe Village was located in the northern part of Shang Guo, where not only did savage and cruel Barbarians wreak havoc everywhere, but sandstorms raged frequently, and wind-blown sand was a constant menace.
Not to mention grain—even a single blade of grass could hardly survive.
With no way to survive, the entire village of Qinghe had relocated, hoping to find a place with mountains and water to settle down.
But all they'd seen along the way were barren mountains and barren forests, and the weather was growing colder by the day.
The cold in the north was a dry, biting cold like knives slicing into skin. If they kept going like this, they'd freeze to death on the road sooner or later.
More importantly—food.
The air shifted, and a large pack of toast bread, four cartons of milk, and two bottles of water appeared in Ruan Yu's hands.
She removed the eye-catching packaging, wrapped everything in her outer garment, and turned back.
Since she had food, she wouldn't let Ye Shi and her three children go hungry.
Ruan Yu had already thought through her excuse. The differences about her would soon be noticed by Ye Shi and her children, who were with her day and night—unless she abandoned the mother and her three children to live alone.
Ruan Yu had no desire to sneak around and hide every time she wanted to eat something during the rest of their journey.
Ruan Yu brought the things back. Ye Shi looked at the bundle she handed over, opened it with some confusion, and when she saw what was inside, she immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Ye Shi instinctively slammed the bundle shut, glancing around as if afraid of being discovered. Only after confirming no one was paying attention to them did she stammer, "Yu'er, th-this… where did it come from?"
"I conjured it."
"What?"
So Ruan Yu launched into the story she'd prepared in advance.
"Before, when I was in a daze, I seemed to keep having a dream—my soul was in a place with mountains and water, and lots of food. An immortal lived there too. All these years, I've been learning magic from him. Then today, the immortal told me that if I didn't return soon, my life would be in danger. Out of kindness for our master-disciple bond, he gave me a great deal of food from that place before I left."
"When I woke up, I was already lying in a coffin. Everything around me was chaotic, so I couldn't be sure whether what I dreamed was real or not. That's why I just went to test it…"
"You mean…" Ye Shi was stunned. "All these years you were simple-minded because your soul was with an immortal?"
Changsheng and Chang'an also let out a "wow" with their mouths hanging open, but their focus was completely different from Ye Shi's. "Big Sister, really? You know immortal magic?"
"Of course it's true." As Ruan Yu spoke, she spread her hand open in front of Ye Shi and the children.
Their resting spot was far from the crowd, so Ruan Yu wasn't worried about being spied on.
Then, in the palm of her hand, a pack of White Rabbit candy appeared out of thin air.
Then the candy vanished into thin air.
Then it appeared again.
Changsheng and Chang'an's eyes lit up with every movement, and by the end, the way they looked at her was nothing short of worship.
"Big Sister, you're amazing!"
"Elder Sister, are you a fairy?"
Ruan Yu peeled open the candy wrappers and popped a candy into each of their little mouths. "Elder Sister isn't a fairy, just someone who knows a little magic. From now on, when you meet bad people, you won't have to be afraid anymore, and you won't have to worry about going hungry."
"Because Elder Sister can conjure up lots of delicious food."
"So sweet, so yummy…"
The moment the creamy candy hit their tongues, the sweet taste instantly won over the hearts of the two little ones.
How could they have ever tasted something this good?
They were practically lost in bliss.
"Elder Sister, you have one too!"
Changsheng reluctantly dug the candy out of his mouth and tried to shove it into Ruan Yu's.
Ruan Yu looked at his grubby hands and the candy covered in drool, and a line of black lines appeared on her forehead. "You eat it. Elder Sister still has more."
Ruan Yu peeled another one and this time popped it into Ye Shi's mouth.
Finally, to prevent the two little ones from digging out their candies again to offer to her, Ruan Yu decisively ate a candy right in front of them.
It wasn't until the sweetness hit her tongue that Ye Shi snapped out of her daze.
"Yu'er, you have such great fortune! You actually met an immortal and learned skills from him! Mother knew it—our Yu'er isn't foolish at all!"
Ye Shi was so moved that she kept wiping away tears, then her expression turned serious.
"These things—your magic and the immortal giving you food—you must never tell anyone else! Apart from us, you must never reveal even a hint of your abilities in front of outsiders!"
Ruan Yu looked at Ye Shi, seeing no trace of greed or desire in her eyes, only a seriousness she had never shown before, and warmth filled her heart.
Without Ruan Yu even having to remind her to keep it secret, Ye Shi had taken the initiative to say it herself.
From the very beginning, when Ye Shi had risked her life to protect her, Ruan Yu knew that Ye Shi genuinely had her best interests at heart.
Such a warning was exactly what she had expected.
Ruan Yu took the initiative to hold Ye Shi's hand. "I understand. Don't worry."