After all, they were the original family of this body. Although she had inherited some of its memories, they were still incomplete.
She slowly opened her eyes and was startled by the person who suddenly appeared before her.
“Xiao Ya, little sister, it is me. It is your brother, your brother,” Lin Jianshe said gently at once when he realized he had frightened her. In his heart, his hatred toward Zhao Meiyun and Mother Zhao deepened even further. If not for them, how could Xiao Ya have ended up like this? She used to love smiling, yet he had never seen her look so frightened before.
Lin Siya wanted to speak, but she knew her throat had been damaged by the poison. For at least half a month, she would have to remain silent.
She pointed at her throat and waved her hand.
Lin Jianshe thought she was asking why she could not speak and hurried to explain, “Xiao Ya, it is alright. In half a month, you will be able to talk again.”
Half a month.
So she really would have to be a voiceless girl for a while.
Lin Siya tried to sit up. Lin Jianshe thought she wanted to return to the Zhao family and panicked. He pressed her shoulders down gently but firmly, keeping her on the bed. “Xiao Ya, you cannot go back to the Zhao family right now.”
The Zhao family had yet to give the Lin family any explanation. There was no way he would allow Xiao Ya to return.
Did the Zhao family think this matter was over just like that?
Impossible.
Ever since they had carried Xiao Ya back, not a single person from the Zhao family had come to visit. Was this their attitude?
This was a matter of life and death, yet they were acting so indifferent. How could they still let Xiao Ya remain in that cannibalistic Zhao household?
What Lin Jianshe did not know was that Zhao Meiyun and Mother Zhao had both been beaten by Father Zhao and were too ashamed to go out. As for Father Zhao, he had gone to Linjia Village, only to be mocked and driven away in disgrace.
Going back to the Zhao family?
She had no such thought right now. She would wait until her throat healed. As for those who had bullied her, she would repay them tenfold, a hundredfold. In her understanding, the words “suffering a loss” had never existed.
That was why, when her cousin and fiancé had forced her to leap into the bottomless abyss, she had dealt them a fatal blow in return.
Lin Siya shook her head.
“Xiao Ya, lie down and rest first. I will go check if Mom’s millet porridge is ready,” Lin Jianshe said as he pulled the quilt over her and tucked it in carefully before leaving the room.
Lin Siya was deeply moved.
She remembered that this was a time of collective labor. Everyone had to work every day. Millet was not easy to come by. A household might only receive a few jin over the entire year.
Thinking of the spiritual rice in her cave abode, she decided she would find an excuse to bring some out later.
In the kitchen.
“Mom, Xiao Ya woke up. She wanted to go back to the Zhao family, but I stopped her. These next few days, please keep a closer eye on her. I am afraid she might insist on going back. Until the Zhao family gives us an explanation, I will not allow Xiao Ya to return,” Lin Jianshe said with both anger and heartache. He resented the Zhao family’s attitude and felt pain for his sister. After being treated like this, how could she still think of going back?
“Do not worry. I will keep an eye on her,” Mother Lin promised, her eyes fixed on the pot of millet porridge simmering.
“That is good. Mom, I will go up the mountain to see if there are any bird eggs.”
Mother Lin did not stop him. “Go then. Be careful. Come back quickly. It will be time to eat soon.”
During the busy farming season, everyone in the village with labor ability had to work in the fields. Because of what happened to Lin Siya, Mother Lin had not gone to work. Father Lin had taken advantage of the noon break to gather medicinal herbs for his daughter, so when work ended, Lin Jianshe returned alone.
Listening to the conversation from the kitchen, Lin Siya lay back with her hands behind her head, leaning lazily against the pillow.
If someone treated her well by one part, she would return it threefold.
She also wanted to follow her so called brother into the mountains to see if there was any spiritual energy there. If there was, her cultivation could improve. She needed to first refine this body. Once the body was refined, her Nascent Soul level cultivation would gradually return.
Lin Jianshe moved quickly and soon brought back more than a dozen bird eggs. Mother Lin used them to steam a bowl of egg custard for her daughter.
When Mother Lin tried to feed her again, Lin Siya immediately refused and gestured that she could eat by herself.
Seeing that her daughter’s complexion had improved a lot, Mother Lin did not insist. She watched lovingly as Lin Siya ate the egg custard and millet porridge. Seeing how gracefully she ate, she assumed it was because her throat still hurt, so she was eating slowly and carefully. She did not think of anything else, nor did she realize that the soul inside this body had already changed.
For some reason, her married daughter seemed even more beautiful. Before, she had been so worried about whether her daughter would wake up. Now that she had relaxed, looking closely, she found that her daughter truly looked much prettier.
How could Lin Siya not notice her mother’s gaze?
“Xiao Ya, how are you feeling?” Father Lin asked as he returned with a bundle of herbs and immediately came to check on his daughter.
Lin Siya tried to force a smile, but it was a bit stiff. She rarely smiled in the past.
“Xiao Ya, let me check your pulse,” Father Lin said as he took his daughter’s hand and began examining it. After half a minute, he let go and looked at her. “You are much better already.”
Father Lin also felt puzzled. In the morning, his daughter’s body had still been extremely weak, yet now her pulse was strong and steady. Could it be that the medicine from earlier had finally taken effect?
After thinking it over, he felt this explanation was the most likely.
Lin Siya did not know that Father Lin had briefly suspected something unusual, though the doubt was quickly dismissed.
With Nascent Soul level cultivation, she might have sensed such probing. But now, with only the strength of early Qi Refining, she merely felt that Father Lin had been a little doubtful, nothing more.
Her current cultivation was like a pool of water, vast in potential, yet only able to let out drops at a time.
“Xiao Ya, the most important thing for you now is to rest and recuperate. Do you understand? Your father and mother will handle everything else,” Father Lin said gently.
Lin Siya nodded in agreement.
After leaving the room, Father Lin said to Mother Lin and Lin Jianshe, “Xiao Ya is recovering very well.”
“Dad, do you think the Zhao family has already sent a telegram to Zhao Tianlei?” Lin Jianshe asked worriedly while eating.
When facing Zhao Tianlei, he had no confidence at all.
He had known since childhood that Zhao Tianlei liked fighting. After joining the army, he had now been promoted to company commander. Lin Jianshe knew he could not beat him. How was he supposed to avenge Xiao Ya?
“They definitely sent one. Zhao Tianlei will probably be back within these few days,” Father Lin replied in a low voice. Then he looked at his wife, Zhang Xiuhong. “Xiuhong, over the next few days, pay close attention to Xiao Ya’s condition. She cannot be allowed to return to the Zhao family. The Zhao family must give us an explanation. Otherwise, I would rather support Xiao Ya for the rest of her life than send her back to the Zhao family.”