It took six consecutive basins of water to wash Da Niu's hair and finally get her clean.
After she was clean, Ning Xuan took out some dark-colored clothes she had bought before but hadn't traded to Wang Er Ya from the Warehouse and dressed Da Niu in them. Then, she started washing the younger one, Niu Niu.
Niu Niu was now over four months old, but she was still very small and thin.
In truth, because she had been able to drink milk recently, Niu Niu had put on some weight. However, since they were fleeing a famine, Wang Er Ya couldn't feed Niu Niu whenever she was hungry, so Niu Niu was still having some meals and missing others. Still, it was much better than before they had encountered the System, and Wang Er Ya was already very grateful.
Washing Niu Niu's hair and bathing her was much more strenuous than with Da Niu. Although Da Niu couldn't speak, she could surprisingly understand what Ning Xuan said, so she was able to cooperate.
Ning Xuan didn't know the language spoken where Wang Er Ya was from, but she thought it was most likely different. She could only attribute Da Niu's comprehension to a child's unique perception and learning ability.
And while Niu Niu was very well-behaved and didn't struggle, she was so small that Ning Xuan barely dared to hold her. When she finally managed to pick her up, she was too scared to move either of her hands, leaving no free hand to wash Niu Niu.
After a brief stalemate, Ning Xuan came up with an idea. She took out another empty basin, which was just the right size to place Niu Niu inside. She had Niu Niu lie down in the basin, supporting her with one hand while wiping her down with the other.
Then, when the water in the basin rose high enough to cover Niu Niu's body, she would pour it out and repeat the process.
After all the trouble, no matter how careful she was, the floor of the room ended up soaked. But at least both children were finally clean.
Next was applying medicinal ointment on them.
Watching the two children obediently let her apply the medicine without crying or fussing, Ning Xuan found them incredibly cute.
At the same time, she felt even more pity for them. They were so young, yet they had been fleeing with adults for so long, exposed to the elements and not getting enough to eat. It was fortunate that it was summer; if it were winter, they wouldn't have enough warm clothes and would get sick more easily.
She wasn't very good at taking care of children, so she just took out some toys. She gave one to Da Niu to play with and used another to amuse Niu Niu herself.
After playing for a while, perhaps because their bodies and minds were relaxed, both children fell asleep.
Ning Xuan placed a quilt along the edge of the Kang to block them in, then began to clean up all the basins and the water vat in the room. Since dealing with it on her end was a bit troublesome, she directly traded them to Lin Yuhan to help her empty them. While she was at it, she also traded the Great Strength Pill to her.
When Lin Yuhan saw the Great Strength Pill, her eyes lit up. Just like before, she swallowed the pill without hesitation the moment she got it.
But when she brought out the water vat filled with sewage, her face turned green. The water was black and stank. Where did this water come from?
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While Ning Xuan was bathing and looking after the children, Wang Er Ya saw the Great Strength Pill. Ning Xuan's description said it could increase one's strength. She ate it immediately and felt an inexhaustible, bull-like power surge through her body, a power she desperately wanted to unleash.
Then, when the bandits reached their section of the group, surrounded them, and began to rob them—even noticing that Wang Er Ya was a woman and preparing to get handsy—Wang Er Ya made her move.
Using her bundle as cover, she took out a sharp kitchen cleaver. Then, with one slash per person, she dispatched the bandits surrounding her as quickly as if she were chopping vegetables.
Seeing that someone dared to resist, the bandits were enraged. Because the line of refugees was quite long, the bandit leader at the front didn't realize how easily Wang Er Ya was cutting people down. Cursing, he led his men over to teach the troublemaker a lesson.
Only then did the nearby refugees react, grabbing their weapons and following Wang Er Ya to fight back.
They had no time to wonder why Wang Er Ya was so formidable. Even those who usually walked at the back of the group with her overlooked the two children she always carried. Because they had experience resisting bandits together before, the refugees were very united this time.
Coupled with Wang Er Ya's ferocious combat power—she had pulled out a second cleaver mid-fight and was now dual-wielding—she charged wherever the bandits were. The bandit leader was also cut down by her.
When the bandits saw their leader had been killed, they began to panic and were then picked off by the united refugees.
The refugee leader reacted in time, managing to leave one alive.
After finishing off this group of bandits, the refugees expertly searched the bodies and collected their spoils.
The leader, seeing how brave Wang Er Ya was, explained to everyone that he had deliberately left a survivor and interrogated him about the bandits' situation. He learned that their main camp on the mountain had few bandits left guarding it and asked Wang Er Ya if she would join them in wiping them out.
At that moment, Wang Er Ya was brimming with brute force, and the one-sided slaughter had released much of her pent-up frustration.
Thinking about what the bandits had said about their plans after the raid, and thinking there might be other captured refugees on the mountain, she was finally relieved after seeing Ning Xuan's message that her children were fine.
She agreed to the refugee leader's suggestion to go and annihilate the bandits on the mountain together.
Because of her exceptionally valiant performance, Wang Er Ya was now at the center of the refugee group, walking alongside the leader as they headed up the mountain.
Sure enough, there was only one bandit chief and a few dozen of his guards on the mountain, less than a hundred in total, far fewer than the group that had come down to rob them.
To catch bandits, first catch the king. Without wasting words, Wang Er Ya swiftly cut down the bandit chief. The remaining small fry were even less of a threat, and all the bandits were quickly eliminated.
Under the refugee leader's direction, the refugees began to search the mountain.
When they reached the place where people were imprisoned, the conditions inside were so horrific that even the already numb refugees couldn't bear to look.
Wang Er Ya and the others released everyone who was locked up, including the fewer than 10 children who remained.
Wang Er Ya was furious. These Mountain Bandits were truly inhuman!
A large amount of gold, silver, and jewels were found in the bandit chief's room, along with some grain. Some of it was given to the refugees who had been imprisoned there, and the rest was divided among their own group.
This time, Wang Er Ya didn't just get a few copper coins; she received the largest share. She used a cloth from the bandit chief's room to wrap up a huge bundle, and no one had any objections.
Fortunately, Wang Er Ya was much stronger now. She slung the bundle onto her back without any effort, naturally drawing more stares from the crowd.
After dividing the money and grain, no one wanted to stay there any longer, so they prepared to continue their journey.
It was then that the people who usually walked with Wang Er Ya remembered that her children were missing. They had assumed they had met with a terrible fate.
Wang Er Ya then explained that she had hidden her children during the chaos and that she needed to go on ahead to find them. They would all regroup on the road where they had been before.
After saying this, Wang Er Ya refused offers from others to accompany her and quickly ran down the mountain. Only when the people behind her were out of sight did she start sending messages to Ning Xuan to trade her children back.
Knowing that Wang Er Ya was safe and completely unharmed, Ning Xuan was finally relieved, marveling, "Great strength really does work miracles!"
At the same time, she grew a little worried. It seemed her good intentions had backfired. She had cleaned the two children up so much; wasn't that inappropriate for them while they were still fleeing a famine?
So, Ning Xuan told Wang Er Ya about bathing the two children and sent her a picture using the System's scanning function.
Looking at her two squeaky-clean children, Wang Er Ya felt like crying. She didn't blame Ning Xuan; on the contrary, she was very grateful. She hadn't come across a large water source yet and had no way to wash them.
As for them being clean and attracting attention, that was fine. She could protect her children now.
However, she still planned to keep a low profile. She would just smear some dirt on the children's faces later. There was no need to change them back into their original clothes; smearing some dirt on the new ones would be enough.
And so, while the two children were still sound asleep, they were silently returned to their mother's side.
Wang Er Ya smeared dirt on her two children's faces and any other exposed skin, as well as on their clothes. Then she continued to carry them forward, waiting for the others on the road ahead.
While the others had yet to arrive, Wang Er Ya took out some steamed buns and began to eat them ravenously. Only after eating five large steamed buns did the feeling of weakness, as if her body had been hollowed out, finally disappear.
It was only then that Ning Xuan remembered to remind her that the Great Strength Pill not only increased strength and improved one's constitution, but it also increased one's appetite. She told Wang Er Ya to be careful not to eat just a little at each meal to save food like before.