Little brother awakes

Jiushu looked at the sleeping child. He is pretty cute. His skin looked like the smoothest white jade, his lips little red dots. Had this child been in modern time, he would have been the school's heartthrob from kindergarten to college. On top of it, the child looked like he could pull off even the coldest CEO and cutest little brother at the same time.

When god gives, he opens his heart all the way through, Jiushu committed in her heart.

This appearance, even if she had half, she could have been called campus beauty.

Oh! Wait.. isn't she going a little off course here?

She forgot the most important question she needs to ask about this child.

'Is he potty trained?' …

Jiushu tried to gauze the size of the child.

She knew her little brother is in the process of getting potty trained - did the taoist brother or whoever found him continue?

Hmm…

Her little brother is potty trained early, but he still needed assistance till three and half years..

This child … he is barely three, given he is probably thirty plus months old now.

Does he wet the bed?

Damn.. she hated children.. Save for her little brother, but her little brother is cute only because she sees him for three days a year at most, when he is on his best behavior. The child is with parents, she is in college. It's not that her relationship with her parents is bad, it's just distant.

They were both workaholics who married upon the advice of their own parents. Jiushu is more like a milestone that must be reached rather than a beloved child. However, given they have survived hell mode of raising a child, they must indeed have liked her some. Once Jiushu started school, both their careers took off, and Jiushu herself has become busy with her studies. The three of them lived quite comfortably in their own separate worlds.

Her little brother changed all of that. Because of the child, her parents interacted more, however, Jiushu has become part outsider. It's a very obvious development, given she is in highschool, and the child is too young. She started living in boarding school, later on, she started university. She and her parents did not interact much except for financial matters. Jiushu's parents came early to commemorate her graduation. She at least met her family and told them she is glad to see them before coming here…

However, she wondered.. What happened? There was no accident of any kind before she came here. She and her parents went to sleep in a hotel, and the next day, she woke up here. Jiushu did not realize as she let her thoughts wander, she reached out to pet the child's head. She pet the boy like a dog, and his hair is as soft as a dog's too.

Allow Mo Zhen Xing to rest in Sanctuary? [ Yes ] [ No ]

What? Sanctuary? What is that ? … wait.. She named her space sanctuary, for it is her own last sanctuary. Does this mean as long as she thinks of it, the system takes them as a command?

Jiushu chose yes. It will be extremely convenient to be able to take the child to her space. In times of peril, she can just move him there. It will make traveling quite easy too. On top of that, he has enough space to play in there. Jiushu chose yes and entered the space along with him.

It's like a wail lifted off her eyes.

What the fuck? Her little brother, a baby has been assaulted to death, and she was wondering whether the child is potty trained or not.. Regardless of the beauty of the child, getting angry at the assailant is first. What in the world is wrong with her? Does this body has a physique that goes mad ? .. did she inhale too much smoke?

Never mind all that, the child is not yet awake. The old bed along with old blankets and all has arrived in her hut, placed right on top of her own old straw bed. Oh.. Guess the game system did not consider that strawbed as a bed. All the same, she needs to check on her brother first.

Before she can so much as move a step, a new message appeared in front of her.

Taoist space detected. Integrate? [ Yes ] [ No ]

Jiushu chose yes.

Unable to integrate Taoist space. A space needs to belong to an ally or follower.

Ally? .. did this space come with her little brother? Jiushu looked at the child. He is wearing a jade waist pendant. It's made from the same jade as her bangle, Jiushu knew. She touched her jade bangle to the pendant. The message popped up immediately.

Add Mo Zhen Xing to as Ally? [ follower] [ family ] [ subordinate ] [ friend ]

Jiushu chose family immediately.

Then the message for adding the space popped up again.

Jiushu chose yes happily this time.

You have added Taoist space to your system. You can now store intangible phenomena with a taoist amulet. Weather control and weather recording skills are unlocked for the field area.

There were more messages after that, but Jiushu waved them away.

First and foremost is reducing the fever of this child. Jiushu removed all clothes on the child, started wiping him down. Once she wiped him down for five minutes, she dried him, and let the child rest on a dry blanket. She set a fire and started cooking. She is making very simple rice water, for Jiushu could see the marks on the child's throat are swollen.

She swallowed her anger only with the greatest of self control. Even so, she swung a taoist wooden sword to pieces. Thank the gods for having at least some means of venting her anger. She diligently stirred the rice, hoping it will become dissolved sooner.

It is then she heard the voices coming from outside.

"There's no one here." a gruff voice complained.

"Then let's wait." another answered easily.

Jiushu walked to her hut and looked out the window.

All she could see are dirty leather boots, it's like hiding under the bed and watching outside.

Jiushu has no intention to go out.

However, she is afraid the child can and will wander outside if he woke, so she moved him with blankets to a straw bed. She finished cooking her rice water, and fed it to her brother slowly and carefully. It seems it is just the medicine her brother needed.

The first few gulps, the boy swallowed reflexively, moaning in pain every time took a gulp. But he drank it all the same. After some time, Jiushu lifted up and settled him in her lap, letting him lean back on her, then slowly fed the water. The child finished all the soup unconsciously. She let him rest.

Jiushu continued working on cleaning up. She boiled some water first, for even the mildest of the infections might turn bad for little brother. So, it's better she takes the prevention earlier than later. She retrieved another tripod cauldron, filled it with water and ash. She set it to boil, then let the ash mixture settle in the bottom. She retrieved the water, let old blankets soak in it.

She is not quite sure that works, but this is what villagers do. In absence of detergent, Jiushu assumed this works too. Unfortunately, while she does remember oil and tri-glycerine something makes soap, she is absolutely sure none of the native people know what tri-glycerine is. Worse yet, neither did she. So, boiling in ash like villagers it is. She will boil those blankets in clean water one more time, but that can be done later.

For now, enough time has passed that she can feed some water to her brother again. Jiushu filled a little urn with boiled water, and took it to her brother. The child is awake and looking at her with clear eyes.

"Drink some water first." Jiushu approached him carefully.

The little child drank water with difficulty, but he drank it all the same. Jiushu felt something give in her heart. Ah.. this must be the maternal instincts that I only ever heard about, she thought, as fed water to the child.

Then the child spoke.

"JieJie! Where is mother?"

The blow to her heart felt especially hard given how unexpected this blow is. How do you tell a child who doesn't even understand death that his mother died and is never going to return? ..