Wei Momo, standing beside her, quickly stepped forward and took the heavy objects from the children’s hands, her eyes also filled with astonishment.
This… is a chicken?
But in all her life, she had never seen a chicken with snow-white feathers!!
“Grandmother, Rui Rui and Shu Shu… met a fairy sister! She gave us… yummy food, and also sent… so much yummy food… for us to bring home, saying… for Uncle and Grandmother… to eat until full too!”
“Mm-hmm, Grandmother, at fairy sister’s place… there’s so, so much food!”
The two little ones eagerly recounted what they had seen and heard. As she spoke, Shu Shu even stretched out her short little arms and drew a huge circle in the air.
“Mother!! Rui Rui, Shu Shu!!”
Just as Lady Chu was stunned and lost in thought, a deep, urgent voice came from outside the storeroom.
Immediately afterward, a man in armor, holding a long spear, rushed in.
His sword-like eyebrows extended toward his temples, and his narrow, deep eyes carried an imposing aura even without anger. At this moment, they were filled with anxiety, while the stubble around his mouth revealed deep exhaustion and weariness.
His black armor was worn and tattered, covered with the scars and dents of fierce battles.
Yet it did nothing to diminish his imposing presence; instead, it exuded a blood-soaked killing intent that made others keep their distance.
“Uncle—”
Seeing the newcomer, Shu Shu’s eyes sparkled like stars as she threw herself into the man’s arms.
Rui Rui, however, shifted his gaze guiltily. “U-Uncle…”
Chu Ye’s eyes softened slightly, but then a stern expression returned. “Rui Rui, you’re the older brother. How could you take your sister running around? Do you know how worried you’ve made Grandmother and Uncle??”
When the people from his mother’s side rushed to the military camp, saying the two children were missing, he had sprinted back, frantic with worry.
It hadn’t rained for half a year. Now, Northern Liao was short on food and water, pushed to the brink. Outside, there were already cases of people exchanging children to eat. He was terrified, afraid that if the children left the estate, they might be snatched away by evil men!
Hearing this, Shu Shu quickly tightened her arms around Chu Ye’s neck, pressing her little face against his slightly prickly cheek, and said softly, “Uncle… don’t be mean… don’t blame Brother…”
“It’s Shu Shu… too hungry… Brother brought… Shu Shu here… to find food… We…”
As she spoke, the little girl pointed toward the large grain bin at the far end of the storeroom. “We went to… fairy sister’s house!”
Chu Ye’s eyes first softened involuntarily, but then hardened again. “Fairy sister? Shu Shu, Uncle taught you not to speak carelessly of supernatural forces and spirits…”
If there really were immortals, why couldn’t they see the injustice in this world? In the capital, those treacherous and corrupt officials lived freely and indulged in pleasure, while the three armies defending the border in Northern Liao endured hunger and starvation, and the common people had no means to survive?
“A-Ye, look at this first!”
Lady Chu quickly motioned for Wei Momo to step forward.
The white-feathered chicken in Wei Momo’s hands flapped its wings at just the right moment, full of life.
Chu Ye’s eyes widened in shock. “This… where did this come from??”
Lady Chu’s expression was complicated. “Rui Rui and Shu Shu brought it back, saying it was given by a fairy sister…”
The storeroom fell silent for a moment.
Rui Rui quickly raised his little hand as if taking an oath, looking at Chu Ye with a serious expression. “Uncle, Rui Rui doesn’t lie. We… really saw… a fairy sister!”
While Chu Ye was still stunned and lost in thought, Shu Shu wriggled out of his arms, walked over to Wei Momo, and asked her to place the things on the ground.
The little one followed the method taught by the fairy sister, opened the packaging bag, took out a croissant from inside, and ran back to Chu Ye with quick, light steps. Holding it up high like a precious treasure, she said, “Uncle eat, this, sister give!”
A sweet fragrance he had never smelled before drifted into his nostrils. Chu Ye’s stomach seemed to sense the call of food, stirring with excitement and accompanied by a cramping pain that felt almost like grievance.
He instinctively swallowed, his throat dry, and uncontrollably took a bite.
Due to long-term lack of food and drink, his body had developed a muscle memory of cherishing food, so he only took a very small bite.
Soft, sweet, an unparalleled flavor he had never experienced before made his long-parched mouth moisten, and his soul trembled uncontrollably.
“Shu Shu eat!”
Chu Ye’s voice trembled slightly as he instinctively pushed the bread toward the little one’s mouth.
Even back in the capital when he had plenty of food and clothing, he had never tasted such delicious food.
Now, with food scarce, such hard-won delicacies naturally had to be reserved for the children and his mother.
Shu Shu swallowed her saliva and shook her head repeatedly. “Shu Shu ate, big, pretty noodles, with egg…”
“Brother, also ate, made by, fairy sister!”
Rui Rui also took a piece of bread and held it to Lady Chu’s mouth. “Grandmother eat too!”
Under the children’s insistence, Chu Ye and Lady Chu each ate a piece of bread.
With every bite, Lady Chu swallowed with tears in her eyes.
At a time when even filling their stomachs was difficult, she could still taste such delicious food. If she wasn’t dreaming, then her two dear grandchildren must have truly encountered a fairy!
“Granny Wei, eat!”
Shu Shu didn’t forget Wei Momo and took another piece to feed her.
Wei Momo glanced at the few remaining pieces of bread in the bag and took several steps back. “No, no, Granny isn’t hungry…”
“Gurgle…”
Before she could finish, a loud protest came from her stomach.
Shu Shu was startled, then tugged at Wei Momo’s clothes, making her squat down. Without another word, she pushed the bread to her mouth. “Granny lying, Granny hungry! Open mouth, eat!!”
Wei Momo’s eyes reddened, tears welling up as she opened her mouth and took a bite.
Even in her final moments later in life, she never forgot the soul-stirring impact of that bite of food fed to her by Miss Shu Shu.
After eating, the two little ones eagerly pulled the adults’ hands and led them to the grain bin.
Chu Ye and the other two looked at the small discharge door at the bottom of the bin, just big enough for the two children to walk through side by side, and asked in disbelief, “This… is the way to the fairy sister’s house?”
The two little ones nodded repeatedly.
Then, afraid the adults wouldn’t believe them, they held hands and crawled inside.
“Rui Rui!!”
“Shu Shu!!”
The small door led into the interior of the grain bin, but Chu Ye and the others stared intently, watching as the two children didn’t walk into the bin but instead vanished into thin air at the small door. They panicked instantly.
As if sensing their family’s anxiety, after just four or five breaths, the two little ones walked back out through the small door.
Witnessing this miraculous scene with their own eyes, Chu Ye and the other two were struck speechless with shock.
“Uncle, fairy sister said, she’s moving away. She said other fairies and monsters will move in, so she won’t let us go over anymore!”
“Mhm, sister, afraid brother and Shu Shu, in danger!”
Rui Rui and Shu Shu still firmly remembered the instructions from the fairy sister and earnestly relayed them to their family.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Chu Ye felt as if his chest were trembling like thunder, his heart seeming about to leap out.
The fairy sister is moving away!
Sister is afraid that brother and Shu Shu might be in danger!!
Suddenly, Chu Ye abruptly began removing his armor and threw away his spear.