The Black Wolf King roared and leaped into the pit, shielding Shen Ningning.
Almost at the same instant.
Mo Lingwei suddenly shot out his hand, clenching his fist around the Blade Blade.
Fresh blood trickled from his palm.
Shen Ningning quickly ran out from behind the Black Wolf King.
"Brother, you're hurt!"
Mo Lingwei paid it no mind.
He tossed the blade fragment aside. "It's nothing."
Shen Ningning looked over. The iron chain shackling her grandma's ankle to the huge rock had finally been severed!
Grandma was finally saved!
Grandmother and granddaughter hugged each other and wept.
However, Grandma Qin tried several times but couldn't stand up.
Shen Ningning thought she was just hungry and quickly peeled a boiled egg she had brought, holding it to Grandma Qin's lips.
"Grandma, eat this. You'll have strength after you eat!"
But Grandma Qin just shook her head with a bitter smile. "Ningning, Grandma is half-paralyzed. I'm afraid I can't walk."
A worried expression immediately clouded Shen Ningning's little face.
The Black Wolf King came forward, nudged her small hand, and then bared its teeth at Mo Lingwei.
"Langlang, are you saying Brother can help...? Oh, right! Brother, can you help me carry Grandma up?"
Mo Lingwei's dark gaze fell upon the little one.
His nature was to never meddle in others' affairs.
But since he was already here, he didn't want to owe anyone a favor.
So, Mo Lingwei bent down and struggled to lift Grandma Qin onto his shoulder.
Grandma Qin, however, had no feeling in half her body and couldn't exert any strength at all.
The Black Wolf King came up from behind, using its head to support Grandma Qin's body.
The wolves at the edge of the pit grabbed Grandma Qin's left and right sleeves in their mouths. With everyone working together, they finally managed to pull her up.
The Black Wolf King was the strongest and largest, so it carried Grandma Qin back to the Wolf Cave.
After they returned, Grandma Qin lay on a pile of straw, weak and drowsy.
Shen Ningning was a little worried. "Should we let Grandma soak in the Spiritual Spring too?"
Leaning against the cave wall with his eyes closed, Mo Lingwei said, "Her injuries are to her meridians and internal organs. The most important thing right now is for you to find her a doctor."
A doctor…
Shen Ningning's little face scrunched up in difficulty.
That would mean going down the mountain and into the city.
But she had never been to the city before. How would she even find one?
Suddenly, a THUD sounded from behind her.
Shen Ningning whipped her head around to see Mo Lingwei collapsed on the ground.
"Brother!" The little one ran over and touched Mo Lingwei's forehead.
It was scorching hot!
His long brows were furrowed, his face deathly pale.
The Black Wolf King sniffed around him and let out two soft whimpers.
It had smelled the strong scent of blood.
Shen Ningning immediately had the Black Wolf King help her turn Mo Lingwei over.
Undoing his clothes, she discovered that the wound on his back had slightly reopened!
Grandma Qin said weakly, "Ningning, how is he so badly injured?"
Shen Ningning's little face was filled with worry. She bit her lower lip, and a moment later, she stood up decisively. "I'm going to the city to find a doctor!"
'Just soaking in the Spiritual Spring might not be enough!'
'Besides, Brother was right. Grandma needs a doctor who understands medicine to see how to treat her paralysis!'
The Black Wolf King instantly let out a howl, and the entire wolf pack rose to their feet.
They were going to accompany Shen Ningning into the city and protect her at all times!
However, the little one stroked the Black Wolf King's ear.
"No, Langlang. If everyone goes, it will scare people. Just take me to the foot of the mountain. I'll definitely be back before dark!"
The Black Wolf King's brassy eyes were filled with unease.
But the little one had made up her mind.
She knew that hiring a doctor required silver!
She didn't have any silver, but she knew how to trade things for it!
So, the little one entered her space and took out several dewy Purple Ganodermas.
She put them in a tattered cloth bag, slung it over her back, then filled a waterskin with Spiritual Spring Water and tied it to her waist.
With everything ready, the Black Wolf King accompanied her out of the Wolf Cave and down the mountain!
Grandma Qin couldn't stop cautioning her, "Ningning, be careful with everything!"
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Shen Ningning wouldn't let the Black Wolf King go any further.
"Langlang, Grandma and Brother are both hurt. Please help me take good care of them," the little one said in a soft, sweet voice.
With that, she set off on her own little feet, heading onto the main road under the scorching sun.
The Black Wolf King's pale yellow lupine eyes followed her figure until she was out of sight.
Shen Ningning was very smart. She knew to take the main road.
Because by following the wagon ruts, she could find the way to the city.
She had brought two red fruits to fill her stomach. Now, clutching a large fruit in her small hand and eating until her mouth was full of sweet juice, her steps grew lighter.
Meanwhile, Aunt Qin was heading to the edge of the pit, carrying a bucket of spoiled food.
She couldn't let that old hag Grandma Qin actually die.
After all, she still needed to use Grandma Qin to lure Shen Ningning back.
But when Aunt Qin saw the empty pit, she was stunned!
"Where is she?!"
The iron chain had been severed by something, and there were broken blade fragments on the ground.
Not only that, but there was also an overturned water bucket, with fruit pits and eggshells scattered beside it!
Aunt Qin picked up a piece of eggshell and examined it with a frown.
In no time, she figured out what had happened!
She spat and cursed, "That damned little orphan! So she's tough and lucky and not dead yet! Bringing so much food for this old hag... she must have stolen it!"
Suddenly, Aunt Qin noticed specks of blood on the ground. Her gaze followed the trail, which disappeared into a patch of grass.
A vicious glint appeared in her eyes.
'I've got a way to force Shen Ningning to her death!'
On the other side, the little one had been walking for nearly an hour.
The surroundings were still forested mountain scenery. The farther she got from Wolf Mountain, the more she noticed the grass and trees were withered and yellow, completely lacking the lush green of summer.
Shen Ningning wiped the sweat from her forehead, preparing to find a shady spot under a large tree to rest.
The shoes she was wearing already had a hole, and her big toe was cheekily peeking out.
Just as she was approaching the large tree, she heard faint, weak gasps coming from behind it.
The little one peeked her head around.
Behind the tree sat an old man with a full head of white hair!
He was dressed in decent robes, but an inch below his exposed knee, there were two bloody holes. The skin around the wounds was turning a bruised, dark color.
The little one gasped, "Grandpa, you've been bitten by a snake!"
She was no stranger to this kind of injury.
When she was three, Qin Fangmei had once caught a venomous snake and put it in her bed.
The little one was bitten, and only survived because her grandma sucked out the poisoned blood and she soaked in the Spiritual Spring.
The old man looked up, his gaze already hazy. He could vaguely make out the little figure that had suddenly appeared before him, but he couldn't see her face clearly.
"Sigh… Yes, my servant has already taken the carriage to find help."
Shen Ningning immediately walked up to him. "I just came from that way, and there isn't a clinic for ten li around. You can't delay with a snakebite, or you'll die!"
With that, she bent down and used her small hands to squeeze the snakebite wounds.
Dark blood slowly oozed out.
After squeezing for a while, Shen Ningning opened her small mouth and, mouthful by mouthful, sucked out the remaining dark blood, spitting it out each time.
The old man was instantly stunned.
'A girl I've never met is willing to risk her life to help me?'
Finally, Shen Ningning took off her waterskin and rinsed her mouth with Spiritual Spring Water.
Then she poured all the Spiritual Spring Water she had brought onto the old man's wounds.
"There! This should slow down the poison. Grandpa, by the time you're taken to a clinic, it won't be too late to treat you."
The old man couldn't see her face clearly, so he asked, "Little girl, what is your name?"