Yao Ying quickly touched Yao Ling"s cheek tenderly and felt that something somewhat had changed. He could see that her eyes started to flutter softly and it made him happy. "She"s coming back!" He thought to himself. True enough, not too long after that, Yao Ling opened her eyes slowly.
Even though he had prepared himself, Yao Ying still jumped in surprise and quickly asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
Yao Ling smiled and nodded her head. In a hoa.r.s.e voice, she asked, "Where is my grandmother?"
Yao Ying was confused. "Grandmother? Who is your grandmother?" He didn"t forget to help her up and pour her a cup of water, which Yao Ling drank in one go. She was beyond thirsty.
"Aunt Yue..." Yao Ling answered softly. "She"s my grandmother!"
Yao Ying turned around and pointed at Aunt Yue. He was quite surprised by the sudden turn of event, but he didn"t make any comment on it. He knew that she would tell him about it later.
Aunt Yue also opened her eyes at the same time, but her legs suddenly became weak like jelly. She almost fell down, fortunately, Lin Jian caught her in time. The latter had already seen Aunt Yue"s pale face the moment Aunt Yue opened her eyes, that was why he decided to go closer to Aunt Yue --- just in case she needed help. True enough, she really needed his help.
Xiao Fang heard what Yao Ling had said and she became curious. She really wanted to ask about why Yao Ling said that Aunt Yue was her grandmother. Were they really blood-related?
However, before she could ask anything, Aunt Yue said in a hoa.r.s.e voice, "Go! Quickly go! Don"t let him find out about you. Yao Ling, you must erase your presence here. Close your eyes and it will come to you how you should do it! I already imprinted everything that I know into your mind! Go, quickly go!"
Aunt Yue was still able to cover up their trace, but it wasn"t going to be long. Her power started to diminish at a fast speed and the quartet could see that her face started to age really fast too. They were surprised by the sudden change and almost... almost gaped at Aunt Yue, but they understood that it was impolite. Thus, they tried to maintain their calmness.
"No, Grandma... No!" Yao Ling yelled. She wasn"t going to leave her behind, after all, she had just found her!
Aunt Yue tried to smile despite her pain. "Yao Ling, be good! Our people can only prosper with you around. Also, remember your parents. Go find them! I"m already too old and it"s time for me to go!" She tried her hardest to coax Yao Ling.
Aunt Yue coughed and she covered her mouth with her hand. She could feel the b.l.o.o.d.y taste inside her mouth and she wasn"t able to hide it from everyone. They could see that she was coughing out blood and they knew that her internal injuries were quite severe.
Yao Ling quickly jumped up and hugged her grandmother, "No! Grandmother, you will be fine! We will live happily ever after! Together with my parents!"
Aunt Yue looked at Yao Ying and pointed at her desk with a trembling hand, "Take the scroll inside the first drawer... everything... it will be helpful for Yao Ling..."
Yao Ying quickly took it and asked, "Are these the scrolls?"
Aunt Yue nodded. Yao Ying stood a bit closer to her and Aunt Yue gripped his hand tightly, "Please... Take care of my granddaughter! Make her happy!"
Yao Ying nodded solemnly. "I promise you, Aunt Yue!"
Then, Aunt Yue turned her gaze to Yao Ling. She pulled out a small bottle from her sleeve and gave it to Yao Ling, "This is the soil of our homeland. We only need this much to be able to predict more accurately. Keep this well!" She exaggerated the amount of the soil that she needed to the Han Emperor back then, but she had to tell the truth to Yao Ling. The latter would need it in the future.
After saying that, Aunt Yue coughed out blood once again. Yao Ling still stubbornly didn"t want to leave Aunt Yue behind. The trio was at a loss at what to do because they actually didn"t know what happened or what kind of knowledge that Yao Ling gained by talking to Aunt Yue. However, they could clearly see the importance of taking Aunt Yue along with them for Yao Ling. Thus, they couldn"t leave her behind.
Yao Ling had a gut feeling... that once she left her grandmother behind, she wouldn"t be able to see her anymore. That was why she was being anxious and didn"t realize that she was crying like a lunatic. It seemed like Aunt Yue was saying her last words to them.
"No... no... no..." She just found her grandmother and didn"t want to lose her ever again!
Aunt Yue could see how stubborn her granddaughter was and she felt the warmth when she said she didn"t want to leave her. It was already good enough for her. Meeting her erased the regret that she had felt all this time --- after all, she also loved her daughter-in-law. She was thankful that Yao Ling was alive and there was also a possibility that Su Wan was alive too.
Aunt Yue knew that with Yao Ling"s stubbornness this wasn"t going anywhere and the clock was ticking. She turned her gaze to Yao Ying and said in a commanding tone, "Take her away!"
"But...!" Yao Ying couldn"t bear to see his wife crying and feeling disappointed of him. If he took her away at the moment and something happened to her grandmother, he knew that she would never forgive him! He didn"t want that to happen.
"If all of you stay here, he will kill you!" Aunt Yue warned them. It was very dangerous and she needed them to understand.
"We will stay together with you, Grandmother!" Yao Ling said resolutely.
Aunt Yue sighed, knowing that this stubborn trait was reminding her of Rong Qiu. Aunt Yue waved her hand and Yao Ling suddenly felt so sleepy, she suddenly couldn"t open her eyes. She weakly said the last words, "Don"t leave me alone again, Grandma!"
Aunt Yue bit her lower lip and cried when she heard that, but she hardened her heart. She would save Yao Ling at all cost. This life... she had owed her too much...
Yao Ying caught the sleeping Yao Ling and asked in surprise, "Aunt Yue, what are you doing?" He glared at Aunt Yue angrily. Even though he realized that Aunt Yue might possibly be Yao Ling"s biological grandmother, he didn"t appreciate how she handled his wife.
"I"m sorry but I have to do that. If all of you continue to stay here, all of us will perish together. Let me hold him back! But you mustn"t let people know that Yao Ling is a Bei Yue. Yao Ling already knows everything and she will explain it to you all later. Remember! All of you are never here... Go!" Aunt Yue yelled louder just to let them know that she was being serious.
Yao Ying understood the gravity of the situation and quickly nodded. "But Aunt Yue, you..." Yao Ying didn"t know what to say.
"Tell Yao Ling that I love her! Remember... make her happy!" After that, Aunt Yue used her power to push them out of the forbidden place in one swift moment and she erased their trace inside the house. Feeling satisfied, she staggered and fell onto her own bed. She gasped for breath, knowing that she had become useless at this point.
She couldn"t even protect herself. Aunt Yue touched her own face and felt the wrinkle... "Ah... she"s already this old," she thought to herself. Once she lost her power, every part of her body went back to normal but she didn"t regret it. She knew that it was time to say goodbye and she had lived long enough.
Aunt Yue turned her body around and looked at the ceiling, knowing that she would meet him soon. She felt that Yao Ling must have been in a safe distance, thus, she retracted her power and relaxed her guard.