"Alright. Her life is saved." Chu Yang wiped away his sweat and gave Stone, who was staring dumbly, a weary yet deeply relieved smile.
Tang Monk also opened his eyes. Looking at Xiao Cao, whose breathing had stabilized, he pressed his palms together and devoutly intoned, "Good."
Stone stared blankly at his sister, as though he still could not believe what had happened before his eyes. He cautiously extended his dirty hand and gently placed it beneath Xiao Cao's nostrils.
When he felt that faint yet warmly moist breath against his fingers, the tears Stone had held back for so long finally burst through the dam.
He suddenly threw himself onto the pile of straw and wept loudly. This was no longer the despairing howl from before, but the release of someone who had been suppressed to the limit and had finally seen hope.
"Xiao Cao... Xiao Cao is alive... Big Brother... Thank you... Thank you, immortal..."
Chu Yang patted Stone's back and stuffed the meat bun, which had grown somewhat cold, back into his hand.
"Stop crying. Wake your sister and let her eat the bun. Food is what she needs most right now."
Stone nodded desperately, wiped away his tears, and gently nudged Xiao Cao's shoulder.
"Xiao Cao... Xiao Cao, wake up... Brother brought you something delicious..."
Amid Stone's repeated calls, Xiao Cao's long eyelashes trembled slightly. At last, she struggled to open her large but utterly lifeless eyes.
"Brother..." Xiao Cao's voice was as weak as a mosquito's buzz. "So cold... So hungry..."
"You're not cold anymore! You're not cold! Brother has a meat bun! Eat, quickly!" Stone frantically tore open the bun, revealing the tempting meat filling within, and cautiously held it to Xiao Cao's mouth.
The moment Xiao Cao smelled the meat, an instinctive hunger