Chapter 1839 — Hard Going (Part 1)

"Someone very formidable — like the martial masters of old!" Gu Mengyao smiled bitterly. "People like that are incredibly skilled, coming and going without a trace..."

"Then this old woman understands — so you've crossed a martial master!" The old woman nodded. "Well, settle in here for now. An old rag-picker like me, nobody pays any attention to. You'll be safe here!"

"Mm!" Gu Mengyao nodded. "Granny, tomorrow we'll go scavenging with you..."

Gu Mengyao had already made up her mind: she had to do something. The money they had on hand, plus the old woman's hundred thousand, would only cover her father's medical fees for a short while. If Wei Zhao still had not woken, the fees would have to keep being paid to keep her father alive!

The hospital could not wake her father, but Wei Zhao surely could. She had to hold on until Wei Zhao woke — and through all of it, the treatment could not be abandoned.

And where would that money come from? Gu Mengyao had been turning the question over for some time. At first she had considered finding work somewhere, but after Yu Liu's pursuit, she knew it was impossible — at the very least, she could no longer appear in public.

Scavenging alongside the old woman was Gu Mengyao's only choice!

No one, surely, would ever guess that the once-lofty young heiress of the Gu Group would become a little girl picking through trash...

Even Gu Mengyao herself had never imagined she would one day do such a thing — and certainly Yu Liu and the others would never have guessed it!

But Gu Mengyao had begun to change from the moment she made her decision in Tang Yun, and from the moment she returned to the villa and saw the upheaval at home. Heiress? What heiress. Without her father's halo, she was nothing — not even the equal of Tang Yun!

So scavenging with the old woman no longer troubled her in the least. Earning with her own two hands, for Wei Zhao, for her father — there was nothing to be ashamed of!

"Heh heh. No need. You two just stay home — this old woman can manage on her own. And what's more, the little divine doctor's medical fees — this old woman will cover them every day!" The old woman laughed. "Fifty-odd years of picking through garbage — this old woman has experience."

"Granny, one more pair of hands always earns a little more!" Gu Mengyao said firmly.

"That's fine too — but you two tender-skinned girls had better wear masks. Otherwise, if the wrong person sees you, they'll get suspicious!" the old woman said after a moment's hesitation.

"Mm!" Gu Mengyao was rather surprised to find that the old woman was in fact quite meticulous, able to think of details that had never occurred to them!

"Whatever herbs you need, this old woman will go buy them for you tonight!" the old woman said to Gu Mengyao.

"The prescription is here..." Gu Mengyao wanted to say she would go with the old woman, but she feared running into Yu Liu. After all, Yu Liu was surely prowling nearby, searching for their trail. At that thought, Gu Mengyao said, "Granny, let General Weiwu go with you — he can protect you! It's so late, I wouldn't feel easy letting you go alone..."

"Haha, this old woman is well known around these parts — who would rob a rag-picker?" The old woman smiled faintly, but seeing Gu Mengyao insist, she nodded. "All right, let him come along then. This General Weiwu you mention — is it this dog?"

"Yes. General Weiwu, go with Granny to buy the medicine! Protect Granny well, understand?" Gu Mengyao instructed General Weiwu.

"Woof woof!" General Weiwu nodded, signaling that he understood.

The old woman, however, looked at General Weiwu in some surprise — a dog so attuned to human understanding startled her. Earlier she had noticed the bundles strapped to the dog's back but had paid them no mind; many animals were stronger than people, after all. But now, turning her gaze on General Weiwu, she could not help but utter a "Hm?" full of astonishment.

"What is it?" Gu Mengyao asked, puzzled.

"Nothing — this dog is wonderfully human!" The old woman shook her head, then said kindly to General Weiwu, "Come along, then, and buy medicine with this old woman!"

"Woof woof!" General Weiwu immediately followed the old woman out of the room...

Only after the old woman had left did Gu Mengyao heave a deep sigh. "Xiaoshu, we are truly lucky to have met Granny — otherwise we really wouldn't have had even a place to set foot!"

"That's right — Prophecy Shu is amazing! She made Arrow-Brand Bro do a good deed before, and now it's paid off!" Shen Yushu nodded.

"Pff..." Gu Mengyao was truly speechless. If the things she had prophesied before had come true, that was at least plausible — but today's affair was plainly pure coincidence. This girl really knew how to claim credit.

Naturally, Yu Liu would take no interest in an old lady going out to buy medicine with a dog. After making a circuit and finding no trace of Gu Mengyao or Shen Yushu, he contacted Yu Xiaochen somewhat dejectedly to confess his failure — a trifling oversight had cost him a golden opportunity, and he was filled with remorse!

Yet after hearing Yu Liu's explanation, Yu Xiaochen did not blame him. If anyone was to blame, it was Yu Xiaochen himself — he had not made things clear beforehand, which had left Yu Liu timid and hesitant.

Yu Xiaochen was not one to confuse right and wrong, so he merely told Yu Liu to search Wei Zhao's villa once more, to see whether anything could be found there; if not, they should give it up for the time being.

If Gu Mengyao was determined to hide, then with only Yu Liu's abilities it would be very hard to find any clue — no point in wasting time.

The Gu family villa.

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian had long since left. The two had suffered only light injuries, and even they did not know why Yu Liu had shown mercy — but however that might be, they had escaped with their lives.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had both gotten away, so there was no reason for them to linger at the villa. If Yu Liu doubled back, they would certainly be no match for him!

Without Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, to fight Yu Liu head-on would be sheer folly.

So by the time Yu Liu returned to the villa again, there was not a soul left in it.

Yu Liu searched from the ground floor up, and after turning the whole villa inside out, he found nothing of value there.

Having come up empty-handed, Yu Liu quietly left Songshan City and returned to the hidden Yu family...

Under the dim yellow lamplight, Gu Mengyao sat cautiously before the stove, watching the medicinal herbs in the clay pot. She was following Elder Zhang's instructions for decocting the medicine to the letter — though what pained her was that a single dose of the herbs Wei Zhao took cost over a thousand yuan! (To be continued)

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