"You're lying!"
Shen Ningning was flustered for a moment but quickly composed herself. 'I don't believe her!'
Aunt Qin shot her a sidelong glance and sneered, "What good would lying to you do? The last time the wolves came, they snatched you away, and the shock paralyzed her! She couldn't pull through, so of course she died."
The more she spoke, the more vicious Aunt Qin's tone became.
"It's all thanks to you. The wolves carried you off but didn't eat you; they must have found you too unlucky. Shen Ningning, you jinxed your own grandmother to death! How dare you show your face here again!"
The little girl's eyes turned red from her words. She bit her lip hard, refusing to let a single tear fall.
She scrambled on her little legs and ran into the courtyard.
"Grandma! Grandma!" Shen Ningning called out as she searched.
The woodshed was empty. So were the main house and the kitchen.
Even Grandma's personal belongings were gone.
At this, Shen Ningning finally burst into tears, wailing loudly.
'Grandma must have thought I was eaten by the wolves. That's why she died of a broken heart.'
She wiped her tears with her small hands and left the courtyard, sobbing.
Watching her retreating back, Aunt Qin shouted, "You jinxed the grandmother who raised you! You might as well die too, then the two of you can be reunited!"
Granny Chen from across the way happened to come out to fetch water. She frowned upon hearing this.
"Aunt Qin, we shouldn't be so cruel with our words. Ningning is only four, after all. What if the child takes it to heart and does something foolish?"
Aunt Qin scoffed coldly. "Granny Chen, I heard your son made a mistake at the border and is about to be sent back. You can't even manage your own family's troubles, yet you have the nerve to meddle in other people's business. If you feel so sorry for her, why don't you take her home and raise her yourself!"
Granny Chen was furious. With her hands on her hips, she cursed, "Pah! Stop spouting nonsense! My son is guarding the border with the General; he's never made a single mistake! You should take a good look in the mirror at your own vicious nature before you dare to bad-mouth my son!"
You could say anything about her, but not a word against her son.
Granny Chen couldn't be bothered to argue with such a vile person and walked away, carrying her water buckets on a pole.
Aunt Qin spat. "Your husband died young, and I bet your son will too. Your whole family is doomed to die young!"
Carrying her buckets, Granny Chen caught up to Shen Ningning. She found the girl sitting by the riverbank outside the village, crying her heart out at the sight of the cracked, dry riverbed.
Several black wolves stood guard around her.
Granny Chen jumped in fright. She had just started to approach when the wolves' warning glares scared her back.
The little girl heard the sound and looked back. "Granny Chen..."
She patted the largest of the black wolves with her small hand.
"Langlang, don't worry. Granny Chen is a good person. She gave me a steamed bun to eat a year ago."
As she finished speaking, the wolves protecting Shen Ningning surprisingly retreated a short distance.
But their gazes, fixed on Granny Chen, remained chillingly cold.
"What... What's going on, Ningning? Do you know them?"
Seeing Granny Chen's astonished expression, Shen Ningning nodded dejectedly. "These are my friends, Langlang and the others. Granny Chen, this is for you."
She held out her small hand, a single Red Fruit resting in her palm.
It had thin skin and plump flesh, bursting with juice. You could tell it was sweet just by looking at it!
The region had been suffering from a famine for several years. With so little rain, not only were fruit trees struggling, but few crops survived at all.
A fruit this succulent would be sold individually in the city, with a single one costing ten taels—as much as an ordinary family spent in a year!
That was why Granny Chen was so astounded.
She looked at the little girl, whose head was hanging low, her fair, tender face clouded with sorrow.
Granny Chen took the Red Fruit. "Ningning, don't be sad. Trust me, your grandma isn't dead!"
Shen Ningning's head snapped up, her little face still streaked with tears. "Really?! But Auntie said..."
"Your aunt was lying to you! She and your uncle are animals! The day you were taken by the wolves, your grandma was paralyzed with fright. They refused to spend money on a doctor and just carried her up the mountain, planning to leave her to fend for herself and die!"
"But I don't know where they left her. You should go look. She's definitely not dead yet! Your grandma could never bear to leave you!"
As Granny Chen finished, Shen Ningning's eyes flew wide, bursting with wild joy.
"Thank you, Granny Chen!" The little girl turned to run.
"Hey!" Granny Chen stopped her, reluctantly handing the fruit back. "Take this for your grandma to eat."
It was because she felt so sorry for the girl, who looked utterly alone and helpless.
But the little girl pushed the Red Fruit back. "I have lots more. You keep it, Granny. I'll bring you more after I find my grandma!"
After speaking, she even took the last two fruits from her small cloth pouch and placed them in Granny Chen's hands.
"Langlang, let's hurry into the mountains! Grandma's alive!" Shen Ningning was ecstatic. She grabbed a handful of wolf fur with her small hand and easily settled onto the black wolf's back.
In a flash, like a bolt of lightning, the Black Wolf King led the pack and bolted away.
Gazing at their retreating figures, Granny Chen stood frozen, clutching the three large fruits.
'So those wolves weren't here to eat people last time, they were here to back her up! What a shame they didn't bite that Aunt Qin to death!'
「In the mountains.」
"This forest is huge... where in the world did they leave Grandma?"
Seeing Shen Ningning's growing distress, the Black Wolf King glanced back and nudged her small hand with his head.
He was signaling to the little girl not to worry—he would handle it!
In a few bounds, the Black Wolf King leaped to the highest point on a cliff.
"AWOOO~"
He howled at the sky, and within moments, responding calls from different wolves echoed throughout the entire forest!
The whistling summer wind whipped through his raised black fur and brushed against Shen Ningning's rosy cheeks.
She listened carefully to the wolf calls, understanding their conversation.
'Langlang was ordering all the wolf packs in the forest to search for Grandma!'
Shen Ningning hugged the Black Wolf King's head tightly. "Thank you!"
A short while later, a series of howls came from the woods to the south.
The Black Wolf King's eyes grew sharp. With Shen Ningning on his back, he immediately raced in that direction.
When they found Grandma Qin, she was chained in a large pit, unconscious.
"Grandma!"
The little girl hurriedly jumped down into the pit, only to find that Grandma Qin was burning up with fever!
Shen Ningning traveled back and forth to her space several times.
First, she fed her grandmother a good amount of Spiritual Spring Water. Then, she took out many medicinal herbs, but she didn't know which one could save her grandmother's life!
Above, the Black Wolf King let out a few low growls.
Shen Ningning held up one of the herbs she had taken out. "Langlang, are you saying this ginseng will work?"
The Black Wolf King nodded.
The little girl didn't hesitate. She tore off some ginseng whiskers and stuffed them into her grandmother's mouth, helping her swallow them with the Spiritual Spring Water.
"COUGH, COUGH!" A moment later, Grandma Qin woke up. "Ningning! Grandma isn't seeing things, is she? Is it really you, Ningning?"
"Grandma, it's me! I wasn't eaten by the wolves, and I came to find you!"
Grandma Qin checked Shen Ningning's little face and limbs from top to bottom. After confirming she was really unharmed, the grandmother and granddaughter hugged and cried.
"The heavens be praised!"
As Grandma Qin's tears fell like rain, Shen Ningning grasped her hand. "Grandma, I'm living with Langlang and the others now. They're very good to me, and they promised I could bring you to live with us. They're the ones who helped me find you!"
Grandma Qin looked up and saw the pit surrounded by black wolves, all looking down at them.
She was so frightened she nearly fainted again, but thankfully, Shen Ningning held her tight.
Grandma Qin steadied herself, then shook her head with a bitter smile. "Ningning, Grandma can't leave."
She reached down and tugged at the iron chain on her ankle, which was thicker than her arm.
The other end of the chain was tightly bound to a giant boulder.