As Mu Guiyun and the others stepped inside, a weak female voice came from the bedroom.
"Is Nannan back?"
At the sound of that familiar voice, Jiang Nannan's eyes instantly reddened, and she hurried into the bedroom.
Seeing how much thinner her mother had grown, she could no longer hold back her emotions. She threw herself into her mother's arms and burst into tears.
"Waaah! Mom, Nannan's home!"
Mother Jiang didn't ask why Jiang Nannan had come back early. Instead, she raised a hand, wasted thin by her illness, and gently patted her daughter's back. "You're home now. That's all that matters!"
Standing to one side, Tang Ya watched the mother and daughter weep in each other's arms. She couldn't help thinking of her late parents, and a wave of sorrow welled up inside her.
As Tang Ya's thoughts churned, a strong arm suddenly wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.
Tang Ya blinked in bewilderment and looked up at the smiling figure before her. The emotions she had held inside for so long finally broke free. She rested her little head against Mu Guiyun's chest and began to sob softly.
"Waaah~ Guiyun, why are you so good to me? How about I, the Sect Master, graciously agree to be your girlfriend..."
"I'm warning you, don't repay kindness with enmity."
"Waaah!!"
Seeing that Mu Guiyun had rejected her again, Tang Ya burst into even louder tears.
Glancing at Jiang Nannan and her mother in the distance, Mu Guiyun scooped Tang Ya up in both arms and slowly carried her out of the room. As he left, he didn't forget to close the door.
After some time, Jiang Nannan finally calmed down. Seeing her mother's increasingly thin face, she quickly took a small jade bottle from her Soul Tool and said excitedly, "Mom, this is the Black Tortoise Divine Pill. It can cure your illness!"
The Black Tortoise Divine Pill?
Just a few days ago, Mother Jiang had learned from the physician who came to treat her that only a divine medicine like the Black Tortoise Divine Pill could completely repair the damage to her body.
But wasn't it a secret treasure of the Xuanming Sect, never passed on to outsiders? Where had Nannan gotten one?
At the thought, Mother Jiang felt no joy at all. Instead, she looked at her daughter with a stern expression and asked, "Nannan, where did you get this?"
She was worried that Jiang Nannan might do something reckless for the sake of her illness.
Seeing her mother's serious expression, Jiang Nannan hurriedly waved her hands and explained, "I borrowed money from Guiyun to buy it. He's the boy who was just here."
"I see."
Mother Jiang breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Noticing the way her daughter's eyes kept darting away, she couldn't help giving her a searching look. "So what's the relationship between you two now?"
"G-good friends."
Jiang Nannan pressed her lips together. She still remembered the condition she had offered Mu Guiyun when she'd begged him for help.
"Please, Guiyun. If you help me, I'll do anything you ask!"
Whenever she remembered what she had truly meant when she said those words, Jiang Nannan couldn't help blushing.
"Just good friends?"
Seeing Jiang Nannan's flushed face, Mother Jiang assumed her daughter was embarrassed. She teased her, "I've never seen anyone pay such a high price for a good friend!"
"And you can't even buy a Black Tortoise Divine Pill with money, can you?"
"Aw, Mom, please stop saying that!"
Unable to take it anymore, Jiang Nannan buried her pretty face between her long legs.
She really was worthy of being a Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Master. Her flexibility was truly something else.
"All right, all right. I'll stop."
Caressing her daughter's back, Mother Jiang said gently, "Invite your two friends inside. I want to thank them properly."
Meanwhile, in the living room, Mu Guiyun ignored Tang Ya, who was sulking beside him, and curiously looked around the room.
Jiang Nannan's family wasn't quite destitute, but they certainly lived in a bare-walled home.
The whole place was only about forty or fifty square meters. Aside from a few simple, battered wooden pieces of furniture, there was nothing else.
"These living conditions are far too harsh."
Mu Guiyun shook his head to himself.
Just then, the bedroom door suddenly opened, and Jiang Nannan stepped out with her face bright red.
"Guiyun, Xiaoya, Mom wants to see you."
Mu Guiyun nodded and led Tang Ya into the bedroom. As soon as they entered, they saw Mother Jiang smiling warmly at them.
Her illness had left her face pale and thin, but it was easy to see that she had once been an unparalleled beauty. Otherwise, she couldn't have given birth to a daughter as stunning as Jiang Nannan.
"You must be Guiyun and Xiaoya. Nannan is so fortunate to have friends like you. She must have earned this blessing over several lifetimes!"
As soon as Mother Jiang finished speaking, she gritted her teeth and struggled to get out of bed.
Mu Guiyun hurried forward to support her. "Auntie, please lie back down. You don't need to do this."
Because of her illness, Mother Jiang could barely sit up, let alone stand. Being able to sit at all was already a blessing.
Tang Ya nodded her little head and said obediently, "That's right, Auntie. You're so ill. You shouldn't get up."
Mother Jiang didn't insist. Instead, she took Tang Ya's delicate hand and asked with a smile, "You're such a pretty girl, Xiaoya. Do you have a boyfriend?"
At that, Tang Ya's face turned bright red. Her eyes instinctively drifted toward Mu Guiyun, and she shyly shook her head.
Mother Jiang had noticed Tang Ya's little gesture loud and clear. She turned to Mu Guiyun and said, "Guiyun, Nannan told me everything. Don't worry. The two of us will always remember this kindness!"
"It's nothing. We should help each other."
Mu Guiyun waved his hand, then added, "Auntie, please take the Black Tortoise Divine Pill. The three of us will guard you."
Mother Jiang smiled gently and didn't delay any longer. She swallowed the Black Tortoise Divine Pill in one gulp.
As the medicine took effect, a faint, water-blue glow gradually formed, enveloping Mother Jiang as she fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Mu Guiyun quietly led Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya out of the room.
Seeing worry written all over Jiang Nannan's face, Mu Guiyun comforted her. "The Black Tortoise Divine Pill works very gently, Nannan. You don't—"
Before he could finish, Jiang Nannan turned and threw herself into his arms.
Tang Ya, watching from the side, instantly froze.
"Nannan, you..."
The sudden embrace caught Mu Guiyun off guard, leaving him at a loss.
As it happened, Mu Guiyun was a rather introverted person. In his previous life, he'd even been too shy to sit on the driver's lap when taking a taxi.
"Thank you, Guiyun. Without you, I wouldn't even know what to do."
Jiang Nannan felt a little embarrassed. This was her first time being so close to another man.
Looking at the two embracing, Tang Ya forced an awkward smile.
She felt she shouldn't be here right now. She should be under the bed.