Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, little Shuqi panicked completely, her eyes turning red in an instant. She searched every corner of the courtyard, but could not find her Granny anywhere. The terror inside her grew stronger and stronger. The tears she had been desperately holding back with reddened eyes suddenly poured down, and she sat helplessly on the ground.
When night had fallen completely, Shuqi heard voices outside the house. She hurried out to open the door, only to find that the person who had come was not her Granny, but the village chief.
The village chief had deliberately waited until dark to come over. He had known about what happened today from early morning, but in order not to cause a commotion, he had held back until this hour before coming out.
As soon as the village chief saw Shuqi, looking at her innocent, deer-like eyes that were red and swollen from crying, the old man found the words at the tip of his tongue stuck. After a long moment of hesitation, he asked, "Little Shuqi, before your Granny, did your Granny say anything to you before she left..."
The moment Shuqi heard him ask about Granny, she blankly raised her head, her tear-stained eyes full of expectation. When she processed the village chief's question, she shook her head in disappointment. Granny truly hadn't left any special instructions.
Shuqi was filled with deep regret now. When Granny told her to go to the secret base, she had clearly sensed danger, and she herself had felt that something was wrong at the time. Why hadn't she asked Granny to make things clear? Even if she couldn't help, staying with Granny a little longer would have been good. The more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she became, until she finally broke down completely and sobbed aloud.
"My Granny is in trouble, I can't find my Granny..." The crying in her voice could break anyone's heart.
The village chief wanted to say something to comfort the little girl, but he found that he didn't know what to say. It felt like anything he said at this moment would be pale and powerless, so in the end, he could only comfortingly pat the child's head.
Shuqi no longer remembered when the village chief left. At this point, she could be said to be drowning in grief.
The feeling of sorrow lasted for about a month. During this month, Shuqi, a tiny little child, began to live alone, eating alone, sleeping alone, going up the mountain alone, and stumbling along until she gradually got used to it. Only occasionally during her breaks would she instinctively look toward the courtyard gate.
As time passed, the villagers' attitude toward Granny Yu's disappearance shifted from an initial constant nagging and pitying little Shuqi every time they saw her, to calm acceptance, taking only a little less than half a year.
Shuqi didn't know where Granny had gone, but she knew that if Granny were still around, she would definitely return to this village. Therefore, she simply ignored the villagers' pointing and gossiping. Because she already understood that from now on, she was an orphan, and as long as she didn't care about those rumors, she wouldn't be hurt.
She had to be strong. Only by being this way could she live to wait for her Granny.
After figuring this out, Shuqi began trying to go up the mountain to pick herbs by herself. She was only six years old and small in stature, but relying on her special ability and Granny Yu's usual teachings, she gradually adapted. Sometimes she could even casually hunt a rabbit or a pheasant. She also firmly kept Granny's instructions in mind, never revealing her abilities to others.
Having witnessed too much mockery, Shuqi closed herself off. She had her own abilities; whenever she went out and ran into people from the village, she would just nod to the kind ones and directly ignore the malicious ones.
Shuqi knew that there were many people in the village talking behind her back, saying her destiny was bad and bound to bring misfortune to others—for details, please refer to Granny Yu, blah, blah, blah.
When she first heard these things, Shuqi was extremely angry and even went to the village chief to seek justice. But after a few times, little Shuqi gradually came to understand that with Granny gone, she was worthless in their eyes. Hence, whatever Shuqi could do for herself, she did; what she couldn't do, she simply left undone.
Early in the morning, Shuqi got up and picked some small green vegetables in the backyard. Looking at the ground, which was damp, it must have rained last night. She hastily made a bowl of green vegetable noodles for breakfast. After cleaning up the kitchen, she went to the utility room. Before long, she came out with the small back-basket specially made for her by Granny Yu, holding a herb hoe. She was going to make a trip up the mountain. After a heavy rain, wild mushrooms usually grew in the woods or among patches of lush weeds, and she wanted to go pick some to keep and eat slowly by herself. Because of her special ability, Shuqi didn't even worry about the problem of poisoning.