The moon in ancient times was truly exceptionally bright, like a round wall lamp hanging in the deep blue expanse of the sky, casting half-light and half-darkness upon the human world.
Bai Sheng led her younger siblings directly towards the large sand pit. The silent Yellow Sand Village gradually shrank into shadows under the moonlight.
When Lu Ye saw a few small dark dots appearing in the distance, his heart suddenly jolted. He initially thought they were desert beasts, but as the dots drew closer, he realized it was Bai Sheng and her three younger siblings.
Lu Ye put down the stone he was holding and frowned, questioning, "Why have you come?"
"Big Brother, we're here to help you move stones!" Lu Yun rushed to Lu Ye's side and bent down to lift the stone he had just placed. However, the stone didn't budge, and Lu Yun, letting go abruptly, stumbled and fell on his backside.
Seeing this, Lu Hua quickly stepped forward to help Lu Yun up, then turned to Lu Ye and said, "Brother, Sister-in-law said that many hands make light work. If you move them alone, you'll surely be busy all night."
The fact that they had come to help didn't seem to please Lu Ye. Instead, he looked at Bai Sheng with a stern expression, "Don't you know it's very dangerous for you to leave the village like this late at night!"
Bai Sheng's expression faltered slightly, and she patiently explained, "I saw that this place isn't far from the village, so I wanted to come and help you."
Lu Ye walked closer to Bai Sheng and lowered his voice slightly, "Now the entire Tashabg Prefecture is severely lacking in food and water, and some desperate individuals have already started..." Lu Ye leaned even closer, his warm breath brushing against Bai Sheng's ear, "eating people, especially women and children!"
"Eating people? Cannibalism?" Bai Sheng gasped, covering her mouth. She had read about such things in history books in her previous life, never imagining she would be living in such an era.
"Mmm," Lu Ye nodded, "From now on, without me accompanying you, you must not go out easily!"
Bai Sheng instinctively nodded.
Seeing her elder brother being harsh with her sister-in-law, Lu Hua quickly explained softly, "Brother, don't blame Sister-in-law. It was I who wanted to come out. It has nothing to do with Sister-in-law."
"And me!" Lu Yun also stepped forward.
Seeing this, Lu Yu patted his small chest, "Me!"
The three younger siblings were all defending Bai Sheng. What had happened in just this short time?
Lu Ye paused for a moment, then smiled, "I wasn't blaming your sister-in-law, I was just worried about her and your safety. Remember, from now on, you must be accompanied by me or your sister-in-law when you go out."
The three siblings nodded in agreement.
Bai Sheng pulled Lu Ye aside and quietly told him that he could use her space to move the stones.
Lu Ye nodded. In fact, he had thought of this long ago, but... he didn't want to trouble Bai Sheng too much. He also didn't want to rely on her for everything. He was her man, the one who could provide for her! After burying their parents tomorrow, he would start hunting!
However, no matter what, Bai Sheng had good intentions, and his tone when he spoke to her earlier was not good. Lu Ye felt a little guilty.
Bai Sheng didn't seem to blame him. She suddenly leaned closer and asked with a smile, "Lu Ye, do you have a way to make the younger siblings fall unconscious?"
"Unconscious?" Lu Ye was confused for a moment, then understood, "I can press their pressure points to make them sleep."
"Pressure points? Lu Ye, you... you actually know acupoint techniques?!" Bai Sheng excitedly grabbed Lu Ye's sleeve.
Acupoint techniques! Things she had only seen in novels or TV dramas before!
Seeing Bai Sheng's eyes full of surprise and admiration, Lu Ye curved his lips slightly, "I studied martial arts at the Tianxiao Martial Academy in town for a few years. Did Mother and Father... not tell you?"
"They... they did mention it," Bai Sheng chuckled. In the original host's memory, her in-laws had mentioned that Lu Ye studied martial arts in town. Therefore, during the original host's nearly month-long stay at the second branch family's home, she had only met Lu Ye a few times.
Seeing her brother and sister-in-law talking intimately in low voices, Lu Hua felt extremely happy. From today onwards, her sister-in-law was different from before, and she really liked this new sister-in-law.
So, when Lu Yun and Lu Yu wanted to go closer, she stopped them in time. When their parents were alive, they often said that they should create more opportunities for their elder brother and sister-in-law to spend time together, so that they could have a grandson soon. Lu Hua also wanted to hold her little nephew soon.
After finishing their conversation, Lu Ye turned to his younger siblings and, almost in the blink of an eye, knocked them down.
Bai Sheng was astonished.
After they put the three children into the space, the sleeping Heng Heng was startled.
It was about to ask Bai Sheng where these three children came from when a large pile of stones suddenly appeared before it.
It was the summer season, and the weather was hot. It was likely that the corpses had already decayed and looked quite unsightly.
However, the next day, when Bai Sheng saw her in-laws' bodies, she was shocked.
Not only had the bodies not decayed, but they had also become shriveled and emaciated. The two bodies looked like dried corpses, with only a layer of skin and flesh paper pasted onto their skeletons.
There were no buzzing flies or mosquitoes around, and no wriggling maggots on the flesh.
It made sense, though. The in-laws had not had any water for many days. They had always saved their meager water supply for the children. When they died, their bodies were likely depleted of moisture. Coupled with the dry and hot weather, the residual moisture was naturally evaporated, ultimately turning them into this state.
"Father, Mother—" Lu Hua, Lu Yun, and Lu Yu knelt before the bodies, crying until their small bodies convulsed.
Lu Ye, with red eyes and a face full of grief, tidied his parents' appearance.
Bai Sheng didn't know the customs here, but the deceased should at least be clean. She quietly brought in a basin of water and began to wash the bodies of her in-laws.