"Ah?" Xue Xue swept her gaze over the scene, instantly stunned as well. She covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes widening as she looked inside in disbelief.
Inside the thatched shed lay only a worn straw mat. Upon it, a child barely two feet long lay on his back. No, rather than a child, he looked more like a skeleton! His head was oversized, his eyes deeply sunken, and there was scarcely any flesh on his face, his skin stretched tight over his bones! He wore almost nothing, his ribs bulging on either side, his tiny arms and legs curled up, every bone plainly visible! Had his chest not still been rising and falling, Xue Xue would have thought the child had already lost all signs of life!
"Pitiful..." Xiao Hua sighed and continued forward. Beside the shed was a field ridge, where a ragged old man squatted feebly, staring blankly at the dozen or so tender shoots before him.
Xiao Hua and Xue Xue's voices had already alerted the old man. Yet he merely raised his head for a faint glance, his cloudy eyes cold, before lowering his head again.
"Sir!" Xiao Hua stepped forward and bowed.
"Sir?" Xue Xue once again witnessed what made Xiao Hua different. She understood that although Xiao Hua looked extremely young after cultivating to this stage, he might not be much younger than the old man. There had been no need for such respect.
"What is it, young man?" The old man seemed unwilling to bother with Xiao Hua. Without even looking at him, he spoke in a low voice that seemed to come from his throat, as though he feared wasting even a shred of strength.
"Sir..." Xiao Hua's words caught in his mouth. He did not know where to