Grass for Milk, Jiang Yan'er

Innate Exotic Treasures cannot be obtained without great fortune. The founder of the Heaven Swallowing Sect, Zhuo Yuzi, was once merely a Mortal. It was only by chance that he acquired the wondrous Gluttony Mark.

After countless efforts, he then embarked on the path to immortality and founded his sect.

Chen Hu never expected that while he only intended to slay a demon and take its bones, he would inadvertently discover an Innate Exotic Treasure.

What need is there for Demon Bones now? He would take this Demon Infant, which could no longer resist, back. His master would surely be overjoyed and guide him into the Dao! He would even receive more rewards.

"My luck has arrived! Hahaha!"

"Heaven's will be merciful! Heaven's will be merciful!"

"I, Chen Hu, am finally about to step onto the path of immortality!"

Chen Hu laughed excitedly. He bent down to grab the Demon Infant, countless happy scenes flashing through his mind.

In a daze, it was as if he saw himself Ascending to Immortality, his joy reaching the heavens, traveling the Northern Sea by morning and resting in Cangwu by evening...

"Pfft!"

All his daydreams were suddenly shattered by a chilling cold and sharp pain at the back of his neck.

A rusty wood-chopping knife was deeply embedded in his neck, cutting halfway through!

He could even hear the sound of his own bones breaking and blood gushing.

Chen Hu froze, his eyes wide with disbelief.

His posture, bent over to pick up the Demon Infant, was perfect for a fatal beheading from behind!

The curved blade, like chopping wood, perfectly entered the back of his neck, severing his bones and Meridians.

Only because the enemy lacked the strength did it not completely sever his head. Blood sprayed like a fountain.

"Who... was it... hehehe... it was him..."

Chen Hu, holding the Demon Infant's head with one hand and its leg with the other, his neck bisected by a wood-chopping knife, slowly straightened his back!

But because his neck was broken, he couldn't turn his head. He could only stagger, turning his entire body...

His eyes were bloodshot, staring intently at the trembling, hunched old man behind him!

"Pfft!" Chen Hu's eyes split open with rage, spitting blood!

He had been too careless, too dismissive of this old man! Already depleted of True Qi by the Demon Infant, and then losing himself in his own triumph and daydreaming, he had completely dropped his guard.

A dignified top expert, ambushed by a mere old man!

Feeling his life force draining, his body weak, his consciousness blurring, Chen Hu was filled with extreme unwillingness!

"A mere Lowborn! How dare you kill me!" Chen Hu took a stubborn step forward, holding onto his last breath to roar.

An Innate Exotic Treasure! An Innate Exotic Treasure! He hadn't even become an immortal, hadn't finished his dream, and now he was going to die?

Chen Hu's face contorted, his complexion turning a dusky purple. Although his head wasn't completely severed, his neck bones and Meridians were broken. Blood flowed from the wound like wine overflowing from a cup.

At this moment, he was purely relying on his robust physique and the wood-chopping knife lodged in his neck to stay alive!

"You're still not dead!" Old Man Jiang was out of strength; his left wrist was also fractured!

Just like when he killed the Cannibal Refugees before, he had taken advantage of Chen Hu's bent-over posture, muttering to himself as if lost in a grand dream... and decisively unleashed the beheading strike he had honed through countless battles in the army!

What does it matter if he's a martial arts master? Necks aren't made of iron!

He just didn't expect his vitality to be so tenacious; even with his head almost cut off, he could still stand up and move!

To prevent a dying counterattack, Old Man Jiang retreated repeatedly, creating distance.

"Bastard... state your name!" Chen Hu chased a few steps but couldn't go any further.

He felt his head about to fall off, knowing he was about to die. Pain, unwillingness, despair, and other emotions surged. He reached for the Demon-Startling Bell hanging from his waist, rubbed it a few times, and asked the old man's name, wanting to know who had defeated him.

The old man rasped, "Former, Great Wei, Qingzhou soldier... Jiang Shouyi!"

Chen Hu's throat gurgled. He spat through gritted teeth, "Bastard... dog... you're dead!"

His hand rubbed the Demon-Startling Bell, then tapped it a few more times. Finally, with his last breath, he fell down in unwillingness.

At the last moment, he left a message on the Demon-Startling Bell.

This item was a Magic Artifact. Although True Qi couldn't activate it, it could leave a message formed by True Qi fluctuations that would last for a long time.

He was a True Disciple of the Heaven Swallowing Sect. His unexplained death would surely be investigated thoroughly by his sect. One day, his sect would find this item, learn the killer's identity, and avenge him.

"Wuwuwu..."

Seeing Chen Hu dead, Old Man Jiang Shouyi hurried to check on the Male Infant.

However, the Male Infant's body was broken in two, with a small hole in its head. There was no movement at all. Was it completely dead?

He was filled with grief and sobbed, hugging the crying Female Infant tightly in his arms. Then he walked towards the Cook lying on the ground.

The Cook had held off the enemy for him for a moment earlier, but he was punched in the chest, causing it to cave in. Now, he only had one breath left.

"Young man... hold on!" Jiang Shouyi knelt before the Cook. Seeing the injury, he knew he wouldn't survive.

The Cook, however, looked calm. Having learned of his wife and daughter's deaths, he had already lost all hope.

He looked at the Female Infant, his lips moving slightly. Jiang Shouyi understood his meaning and brought the Female Infant close to the Cook's cheek. "This old man will definitely raise her! Young man, consider her your daughter. What is your surname?"

The cook gently shook his head and said inaudibly, "Send her... to a family that can raise her..."

Jiang Shouyi sighed, knowing he truly couldn't support her. Anything he said about raising her himself was just bullshit... This child's only chance of survival was to be sent to a family.

Even if it meant becoming a slave or a maid? She could still survive.

That's why the cook didn't mention his own surname, wanting the girl to take the surname of her new owners.

"Okay... okay!" Jiang Shouyi wiped away his tears and looked at the cook, whose pupils had already dilated, life gone.

He knelt numbly on the snow, looking at the vast white expanse, and found himself alone again, just an old man.

No, there was a wailing, hungry infant girl in his arms.

Jiang Shouyi could only rest for a moment before forcing himself to climb towards Chen Hu's corpse.

Without hesitation, he stripped him clean!

He put on Chen Hu's thick fur coat. Even without his grandson for warmth, he wasn't cold anymore.

Not to mention, Chen Hu had many good things on him, like three jin of steamed buns and a water skin. He took a sip and realized it was medicinal wine. Drinking it made his whole body warm, and his internal organs felt incredibly comfortable.

Jiang Shouyi's lips twitched, and he let out a sigh of relief. With these in the freezing cold, he could hold on for a while longer, perhaps until the city gates opened!

Chen Hu also had two strings of copper coins on him. This was a fortune for a poor man like him. Once he got into the city, he would be able to survive!

Besides that, Jiang Shouyi found four jade pendants, several bottles of medicine, and a copper bell.

He smelled the medicine and identified one bottle as a top-grade military wound salve. He quickly applied it to his own injuries. It felt extremely cool and had excellent efficacy. He immediately treated his broken bones and wrapped them tightly with cloth strips.

As for the jade pendants, they had patterns and seemed to have writing on them, but he couldn't read.

"How could someone like this only have two strings of money? These jade pendants were hidden in his clothes, not worn, so they were probably meant as currency," Jiang Shouyi guessed.

The Great Jin Kingdom didn't mint its own currency, only using the Wuzhu coins of the previous dynasty. However, copper coins were heavy, making large transactions inconvenient. Thus, the wealthy often used gold and silver.

But gold and silver were scarce and mostly controlled by powerful clans. They were also very heavy. Some wandering knights and merchants who traveled extensively throughout the land came up with a lighter alternative: jade.

A finely carved white jade pendant could be worth several strings of coins, and a high-quality one could even be worth dozens.

Carrying a few pieces of fine jade was equivalent to having a fortune. As long as one wasn't going to remote areas, there would always be someone who recognized their value.

He remembered a wandering knight who once wanted to stay overnight in Tea Mountain Village and offered jade in exchange for food. He recalled that no one in the entire village recognized it and dared to accept it.

It made sense; how could a group of poor farmers like them use jade? The wandering knight had no choice but to travel on into the city in frustration that night.

"Never mind, these two strings of coins are enough," Jiang Shouyi wasn't greedy and immediately put down the jade pendants.

Perhaps he could get rich by selling them, but these were turbulent times.

As a poor old man, if he dared to try and sell several pieces of fine jade, he might invite great disaster. He couldn't read the writing on them either; who knew what was written?

As for the copper bell, it had no patterns, and when shaken, it didn't ring. It was clearly cast solid inside, a mute bell, probably not worth much. He could keep it, though.

"It's red copper, after all," Jiang Shouyi put the copper bell in his embrace and buried the fine jade in a pit.

He then tore Chen Hu's inner garment into strips, found some wood to make a makeshift sled, and dragged the cook's body onto it.

He planned to bury the cook and the mother and daughter together. The cook hadn't made this request before he died, likely not wanting to trouble him.

But now that he was full and warm, he didn't mind doing this small favor.

"Sigh..." Jiang Shouyi lamented, picking up the body of the child he had adopted.

His insides were spilled out, his body torn apart, how could there be a complete corpse?

Jiang Shouyi, wiping away tears, tried to put the male infant's body back together.

However, as soon as Jiang Shouyi picked up the upper body, the male infant opened his eyes, glanced at him groggily, and then closed them again.

"Ah..." Jiang Shouyi's mind went blank!

He stared blankly for a while, feeling the familiar warmth emanating from the child, and then realized the child wasn't dead at all.

His body was separated, and his head was shot through, yet he survived? Was this a monster!

He was stunned at first, then overjoyed! It was good that he was alive. Whatever abomination he was, he would raise him as his own grandson!

Jiang Shouyi immediately put the internal organs back in, closed the belly, and carefully wrapped it with cloth strips.

The male infant was too small; a few strips of cloth tied into a swaddle would suffice.

He tightened his belt, placed the two infants on his chest, one on each side, and pulled the sled as he trudged through the snow.

However, he hadn't walked far when he felt a movement on his chest.

He looked down and met the pure, large eyes of the male infant in the swaddle.

"Wuwuwu!" The male infant was sucking on a piece of tattered cloth with gusto.

"Hungry...?"

Jiang Shouyi looked at the female infant, who was constantly squirming, her cries weakening.

This made Jiang Shouyi dejected and disheartened. How could he raise them? First, there was the problem of milk!

Under the snow disaster, Tea Mountain Village was gone, and there were refugees everywhere. He couldn't get milk from other families, nor could he afford a wet nurse; those were for wealthy families, reportedly costing at least two strings of coins per month.

The little money he had wasn't enough to raise two infants. Thinking of this, Jiang Shouyi regretted not taking those jade pendants.

But those jade pendants were like death warrants; how could he get rid of them?

Moreover, that martial arts wandering knight must have relatives or a sect. If they recognized the jade pendants and came looking for him, who knew how many people would die.

"Forget it, I'll give them away. I'll sell them to whichever family I send them to, and watch them grow up..." Jiang Shouyi murmured.

It was too difficult to be a good person these days; he had seen through the world. Although the chaotic times had ended, life had not improved.

To support these two children, he might as well sell himself to a wealthy family. It would be good for him to watch the children grow up.

Jiang Shouyi had a goal, and a smile appeared on his face. He coaxed and played with the two children along the way.

He walked and stopped, arriving at the ice lake. First, he put his grandson, who was like an ice sculpture, onto the sled. Then, he went to the place where the mother and daughter were buried and buried the cook with them.

He compared the iron thumb ring on the cook's hand and found that the workmanship was the same, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"They really are a family. I'll let Nu'er be buried with you all."

Jiang Shouyi buried his own grandson as well, using a random stone as a tombstone.

It wasn't that he didn't want to bury his grandson at home, but the female infant in his arms kept whimpering for milk, and he dared not delay.

It was getting late, and an infant this small must be starving after not eating all day.

He had to find a way to enter the city immediately. If Hua County was truly inaccessible, he would go to another county!

He had food and drink now, and he wasn't cold. Coupled with the medicinal wine that invigorated his entire body, he could travel through the night without issue.

Thus, after walking another dozen miles, he returned to Hua County. As expected, the city gates were tightly shut.

Without a word, he turned and headed in the direction of Fei County.

He walked until late into the night. When he could go no further, he lay down to rest and ate steamed buns.

"Ah!"

As Jiang Shouyi took out the steamed buns, he discovered that the male infant in his arms had, at some point, freed one hand from its swaddling clothes and was actually sucking on a bottle of medicine.

This medicine was from that villain; he only recognized one bottle, and had no idea what the others were. He had stuffed them all into his embrace to bring along.

The male infant was eating with relish at this moment, which terrified him. He quickly snatched the bottle away.

Good heavens, it was all gone!

"You..." Jiang Shouyi quickly untied the swaddling clothes and examined the infant carefully.

But there was no need to look closely; he knew there was no serious harm because the bloody seam at the infant's waist was still there! The wound from being cut open had not healed either.

These injuries had only been forcibly mended by him, but he felt that with just a little force... No, with the bandages removed, the male infant could now detach its lower body on its own!

"Heavens... How is he alive?" Jiang Shouyi examined the infant's self-torn bloody seam and found countless blood vessels that were broken but still connected!

Although the severed bones and flesh had not truly healed, the countless blood vessels, meridians, and bones that were originally one had perfectly aligned. They did not bleed outwards.

As a result, even though the body was still severed, as long as it was put back in place and aligned... the infant would be as calm as ever.

"He's truly a monster..." Jiang Shouyi secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva and quickly re-wrapped the infant's neck with a cloth strip, waiting for the day it would heal on its own.

If he could survive such an injury, then eating the wrong medicine was probably not a problem...

"Huh?" Jiang Shouyi was stunned. If he could eat medicine, what about the dry food?

He decided to try it out, setting aside a small piece of steamed bun and feeding it to the infant.

As expected, the infant swallowed the bun directly. Apart from a moment of apparent pain when he swallowed, there were no other issues. In fact, he ate more and more smoothly.

"This baby can eat solid food from birth?"

To his surprise, Jiang Shouyi was momentarily stunned and realized that the little fellow had swallowed half of the oiled paper wrapping the steamed bun as well!

He hurriedly pulled out the cloth strip, only to see that a section was missing. This... it digested so quickly?

"Oh my... I was worrying too much..."

Jiang Shouyi realized that this child could not be judged by ordinary standards. He thought for a moment, pulled up some dry grass from the roadside, and, with a "let's try" attitude, handed it to the infant's mouth.

To his surprise, the magical little fellow directly latched onto it, leaning into Jiang Shouyi's embrace and sucking vigorously. His two little fleshy hands were also grasping, his posture exactly like that of a baby nursing!

He was actually eating with relish, making smacking sounds, his eyes narrowing as if the taste were excellent. Soon, a handful of grass was swallowed...

Jiang Shouyi was completely dumbfounded. After a moment of stunned silence, he was overjoyed!

Eating grass like drinking milk! Truly a miraculous fetus sent from heaven! This way, he would be so easy to raise! No need to give him away, he would raise him himself!

He tried it with the female infant, but she was very normal. She couldn't eat anything else and clearly needed milk.

Jiang Shouyi had no choice but to melt some snow water, then soak some steamed bun crumbs to make a paste, and feed it to her to sustain her.

"Alas, she's a real baby. I'll have to give her away."

Jiang Shouyi didn't know if these two babies were siblings or not, or if they had any connection at all?

How one was a human and the other a demon, how they ended up on the ice lake, and what their situation was before, he knew nothing about.

"No matter what, Xue'er, I will find a good family for you."

"As for you, you'll be my grandson from now on!"

Jiang Shouyi was extremely happy thinking that he could raise the child himself. Although he could only raise one, this was already the best outcome.

"Hmm, the little girl is called Xue'er, what's your name then?"

Jiang Shouyi pondered naming the child. He initially wanted to name the boy Nu'er as well, to honor his deceased grandson, but after much thought, he felt it wasn't appropriate.

Nu'er was dead. If times improved, they would surely erect a new tombstone and commission someone to carve the name.

Having the living and the dead share the same name on a tombstone would be too inauspicious.

"Let's add a character, what should it be?"

"Even though he was found in a world of ice and snow, he's as hot as fire... why not add the character for fire?"

"No, you two were found together by Grandpa, you are the two fires that support Grandpa's will to live..."

"Grandpa heard that two fires together form 'Yan'. My good grandson, you shall be named Yan Nu'er!"

p.s: Sorry.