Time passed in a blur, and no one knew how long they had already been hiding inside the cave.
The cave itself was spacious, but with more than eighty people crowded inside, the air quickly became thin. The entrance had been blocked with a large rock, leaving only a few narrow cracks for ventilation.
After prolonged lack of oxygen, everyone began to feel drowsy and dizzy. At that moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside the cave!
Village Chief Feng immediately became alert and signaled everyone to hold their breath and stay silent. It was most likely the barbarians outside—if they made even the slightest noise, they would be doomed.
The heavy sound of hooves, mixed with the crack of whips from the barbarians outside, made everyone’s hearts pound in terror. Their nerves were stretched to the limit.
Adults tightly covered the mouths of the children, afraid that even the smallest sound would escape.
After about fifteen minutes, the people outside finally seemed to have left.
Feng Datong mustered his courage and crawled to the entrance of the cave, peering through the cracks.
“Father, they seem to be gone…”
Hearing this, Village Chief Feng imitated his son and carefully looked outside for a long time. Only after confirming that no figures were in sight did he tell everyone that they were temporarily safe.
Everyone, who had been terrified for so long, finally let out a sigh of relief at his words.
But since the barbarians had not gone far, they still could not leave. The heavy stone in their hearts was still hanging in midair.
Gu Jiu was about to take out her water flask so her younger siblings could drink and rest when a “thud” sounded nearby. She turned around and saw Granny Zhou had collapsed onto the ground.
“Granny Zhou, wake up…” Gu Jiu hurried over. In her previous life, she often went on missions, and medical knowledge was an essential skill, so she immediately checked Granny Zhou’s condition.
Village Chief Feng and his son rushed over as well to examine her.
“Granny Zhou, what happened? She was just sitting fine—how did she suddenly collapse?”
Gu Jiu quickly looked at Village Chief Feng. “Grandpa Feng, Granny Zhou isn’t doing well. Her body has been weak for years, she’s exhausted from the morning without rest, and the sun today was strong—she’s suffering from heatstroke. We must cool her down immediately!”
Granny Zhou had been very kind; without her past help, Gu Jiu and her siblings would not have survived.
“Jiu Yatou, you know medicine?” Village Chief Feng was surprised.
“Chief, how could this little girl Gu Jiu know medicine? She’s just talking nonsense!” someone scoffed.
The villagers didn’t believe her. In those days, people who knew medicine were extremely rare, and there had been no doctors in the Gu family line.
Feng Datong’s wife, Li Xiaojiao, also came over to help. Holding Granny Zhou, she sighed. “Our village doesn’t even have a doctor. Before, whenever someone was sick, we’d go to the neighboring Yangliu Village to find Doctor Wang. But now we’re separated from them—what are we supposed to do?”
Gu Jiu’s expression turned firm.
“Grandpa Feng, please trust me this once. I learned these medical methods from books. I can tell Granny Zhou has heatstroke. She’s elderly and can’t hold on much longer. Let me try to save her first—if it becomes critical, I’ll go find cooling herbs!”
At this point, they had no other choice. Village Chief Feng agreed. “Jiu Yatou, I’ll leave it to you. I trust you, and I hope your method can save her.”
Ignoring the villagers’ murmurs, Gu Jiu immediately got to work. She rummaged through her belongings and took out a cloth.
She then poured some spirit spring water from her flask, soaked the cloth, and wiped Granny Zhou’s face, neck, and palms before placing the cool cloth on her forehead.
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman had also benefited from Granny Zhou’s kindness, so they came over to help.
“Xiaoman, use a fan to cool her down!” Gu Jiu instructed.
She loosened Granny Zhou’s collar slightly to help her body release heat faster.
“Rong’er, help me find salt!”
There was still some water left in her flask. After Gu Rong brought the salt container, Gu Jiu scooped in two spoonfuls and mixed it with the remaining spirit spring water.
She then had Li Xiaojiao support Granny Zhou while she fed the salt water to her spoon by spoon.
Old Madam Gu stood nearby watching, and when she saw Gu Rong take out a jar of salt, her eyes nearly popped out.
Salt was an extremely precious commodity! Yet Gu Jiu was wasting it like this—how could she be so extravagant? In Old Madam Gu’s eyes, everything Gu Jiu had must have come from family division money, meaning it originally belonged to her.
Gu Jiu noticed Granny Zhou’s breathing was weakening and she was drifting in and out of consciousness. Most of the salt water she fed was being spat out again.
This won’t work.
Gu Jiu directly forced Granny Zhou’s mouth open and poured the salt water in.
Now she could only hope it would stabilize Granny Zhou temporarily. She still needed to go out and find medicinal herbs.
In her spatial storage, she did have Huoxiang Zhengqi water, but she couldn’t take it out openly. She needed an excuse first.
The villagers watching her all criticized her for wasting salt just to mix water.
But Gu Jiu didn’t care. To her, as long as it helped someone she valued, any cost was worth it.
Besides, no one knew she actually had a spatial storage filled with supplies—everything she needed was already there.
“Grandpa Feng, please help watch my siblings. I need to go find herbs to save Granny Zhou,” she said.
She instructed Gu Rong carefully: “Rong’er, before I return, take care of Xiaoman and Changle. Don’t let them go anywhere!”
Gu Rong nodded firmly. “Sister, I will watch them carefully and wait for you!”
Gu Jiu asked Feng Datong and several strong men to move the large rock blocking the cave entrance.
Village Chief Feng was still worried. “Jiu Yatou, should I send two people with you? What if you run into wild beasts in the mountains?”
But Gu Jiu didn’t want anyone following her—this was a chance for her to retrieve meat from her hidden supplies.
“No need, Grandpa Feng. Those barbarians might still be nearby. Too many people will attract attention. I’m small and can move quickly—I’ll be fine. I won’t go far, just nearby.”
They only moved the rock enough to create a small gap for her to slip through.
Before Village Chief Feng could say more, Gu Jiu had already slipped out and disappeared in an instant. There was no way to catch up to her.
“Ah… this girl is clever, but far too impulsive!”