Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Was Grandmother Murdered?

"You're lying!"

Shen Ningning panicked briefly, then quickly steadied herself. She didn’t believe it!

Aunt Qin looked at her askance, sneering, "What’s the use of lying to you? Last time, a wolf came and snatched you away, scaring her to paralysis! She couldn’t survive it and just died, didn’t she?"

The more she spoke, the more venomous Aunt Qin’s tone became.

"It's all thanks to you that the wolf didn't eat you when it took you away. It must have found you bad luck too. Shen Ningning, your grandmother died because of you. How can you have the face to come back!"

The little one's eyes reddened from the harsh words, biting her lip fiercely, refusing to cry!

She started running into the yard with small steps.

"Granny! Granny!" Shen Ningning called out, searching everywhere.

No one was in the firewood shed, nor in the main house or the kitchen.

Even Granny's personal belongings were gone.

At this point, Shen Ningning finally broke down in loud sobs.

Granny must have thought she was eaten by the wolf and died of grief.

Wiping her tears with her little hands, she whimpered and left the yard.

Watching her leave, Aunt Qin raised her voice: "Cursed to kill your own granny, you shouldn't live either. Then you and your grandmother can be reunited!"

Old Lady Chen, who was just coming out to fetch water, frowned upon hearing this.

"Aunt Qin, we shouldn't speak so harshly. After all, Ningning is only four years old. What if the child takes it seriously and does something foolish?"

Aunt Qin scoffed coldly: "Old Lady Chen, I heard your son messed up on the frontier and is about to be sent back. You can't even handle your own troubles but meddle in others'? If you feel so sorry for her, why don't you take her in?"

Old Lady Chen, angered, retorted with hands on hips: "Nonsense! My son guards the frontier with the general and has never erred! Look at yourself in the mirror, how dare you make up stories about my son!"

Anything could be said, but not a word against her son!

Old Lady Chen, tired of arguing with such a heartless person, walked away with her water bucket.

Aunt Qin spat contemptuously, "Your husband died young, and I bet your son will too, a whole family of short-lived spirits!"

Old Lady Chen, carrying her water bucket, caught up with Shen Ningning and saw her sitting at the riverbank outside the village, crying heartbrokenly towards the dry riverbed.

Several black wolves stood guard beside her.

Old Lady Chen was startled and her steps faltered, deterred by the warning gaze of the wolves.

The little girl, hearing the noise, turned around: "Old Lady Chen..."

She gently touched the largest of the black wolves.

"Don’t worry, Wolfie, Old Lady Chen is a good person. She gave me a bun last year."

At her words, the wolves guarding Shen Ningning slowly retreated to nearby, still eyeing Old Lady Chen warily.

Their gaze remained frosty and vigilant.

"What’s going on, Ningning? Do you know them?" Old Lady Chen asked in amazement.

Seeing Old Lady Chen’s astonished expression, Shen Ningning nodded sadly, "These are my wolf friends, Old Lady Chen, this is for you."

She extended her small hand, revealing a bright red berry in her palm.

Thin-skinned, juicy, and evidently sweet!

In recent years, the village faced a famine; there was little rain, let alone fruit trees, even crops were scarce.

Such a luscious berry would sell for a high price in the city, costing ten taels each, equivalent to an average family’s annual expenses!

Therefore, Old Lady Chen was extremely surprised.

Watching the little one hang her head, her fair and delicate face seemed to lose all its color.

Granny Chen took away the red berries: "Ningning, don't be sad, believe me, your grandma isn't dead!"

Shen Ningning suddenly lifted her face, still wet with tears: "Really?! But auntie said..."

"Your auntie lied to you! She and your uncle, those beasts! The day you were taken by the wolves, your grandma was paralyzed with fear. They refused to pay for a doctor and carried her up the mountain instead, leaving her to fend for herself!"

"However, I don't know where they left her. Go and look for her, she must still be alive! Your grandma loves you too much to leave you!"

After Granny Chen finished speaking, Shen Ningning's eyes widened, bursting with ecstatic joy.

"Thank you, Granny Chen!" The little one turned to run.

"Hey!" Granny Chen stopped her, painfully handing back the berries: "Take these for your grandma."

She felt sorry for the lonely and pitiful Shen Ningning.

But the little one pushed the red berries back: "I have plenty more. Keep them for yourself, Granny. I'll bring some to you after I find grandma!"

Saying this, she even took out the last two berries from her small cloth pouch and placed them in Granny Chen's hands.

"Wolfie, let's hurry into the mountains, grandma is still alive!" Shen Ningning, overjoyed, grabbed the wolf's fur and easily climbed onto the black wolf's back.

The Black Wolf King, like lightning, dashed away with the pack.

Watching their fading figures, Granny Chen, holding three large berries, was stunned.

"So these wolves weren't here to attack last time, but to support her. What a pity, why didn't they bite Aunt Qin to death!"

After entering the mountains.

"The forest is so vast, where exactly could grandma have been taken?"

Watching Shen Ningning struggle with this dilemma, the Black Wolf King turned back, gently nudging her hand with his head.

Signaling the little one not to worry, he would take care of it!

In a few bounds, the Black Wolf King leaped to the highest point of the cliff.

"Awooo~"

He let out a long howl to the sky, and within moments, the whole forest echoed with varied responses from other wolves!

The whistling summer wind blew through his flowing black fur and also caressed Shen Ningning's rosy cheeks.

She listened intently to these wolf howls, understanding their communication.

The wolves were actually organizing the entire forest's pack to search for grandma!

Shen Ningning hugged the Black Wolf King's head tightly: "Thank you!"

Soon, from the southern woods, came a series of wolf howls.

With a fierce look in his eyes, the Black Wolf King immediately carried Shen Ningning towards that direction.

When they found Grandma Qin, she was chained in a large pit, unconscious.

"Grandma!"

The little one hurriedly jumped into the pit, only to find that Grandma Qin's body was burning hot!

Shen Ningning made several trips back and forth through the space.

She first fed Grandma plenty of spirit spring water, then took out a variety of medicinal herbs, but she didn’t know which one could save her grandma's life!

The Black Wolf King, from above, gave a few low wolf howls.

Shen Ningning held up a herb she had taken out: "Wolfie, are you saying this ginseng might help?"

The Black Wolf King nodded.

Without hesitation, the little one tore off the ginseng's roots and stuffed them into Grandma's mouth, helping her swallow them with the spirit spring water.

"Cough, cough!" In a moment, Grandma Qin woke up: "Ningning! Is it really you? Am I not mistaken?"

"Grandma, it's me! I wasn’t eaten by the wolves, I came to find you!"

Grandma Qin examined Shen Ningning's face and limbs carefully, and after confirming she was unharmed, they embraced each other, crying.

"Blessings from the heavens!"

Tears streaming down her face, Grandma Qin clutched Shen Ningning's hand: "Ningning, I'm now living with the wolves. They're very good to me and even promised to take you with us. They helped me find you!"

Grandma Qin looked up to see the pit surrounded by black wolves, all watching from above.

She was so frightened she almost fainted again, but Shen Ningning held her tightly.

Grandma Qin calmed her mind and sadly shook her head: "Ningning, I can't leave here."

She tugged at the iron chain around her ankle, thicker than her arm.

The other end of the chain was tightly bound to a huge rock.