Long Ya's fingertip shifted on the trigger.
She had seen far too many people like this.
Back at the orphanage, Dean Granny had told her:
In times like these, anything offered for no reason came with a hidden price.
Some people wanted your labor, some wanted your life, and others wanted all of you.
"Stay back."
Long Ya finally spoke, her voice cold and hard. "Take another step, and I'll shoot."
Fu Xuyang stopped, but rather than getting angry, he smiled.
"Little girl, even if you don't trust me, you should at least trust that your little brothers' and sisters' lives are at stake."
"With them like this, can you get them out of here by yourself?"
"There's no medicine, no water, and no food in these mountains. How far can you get with over a dozen sick children?"
He paused and sighed.
"I had a little sister at home, about your age by the look of you."
"When the Blood Moon first rose, I watched her die of illness by the roadside, all because there was no medicine."
"That was when I swore I wouldn't let something like that happen again."
Long Ya stared into his eyes, trying to find some flaw.
But she found nothing.
His smile was open, his gaze clear, and even his tone held a kind of magic that made people want to let their guard down.
"Even if you won't think of yourself, you need to think of them."
Zhu Yanzhi spoke too, her voice gentle, as though coaxing a child.
"We brought medicine. Just say the word, and we'll give it to them right away."
"This medicine was made by a Physician Sequence Transcendent in our camp. It works on both colds and the aftereffects of the Blood Moon."
"The aftereffects of the