Chapter 20: Body Weight Dropped to 735 Jin

Shi Yuebai was struggling against the omnipresent radiation. Having spent the entire previous night grappling with the Water Gathering Incantation, she spent the journey out scavenging today urging Mother Shi and Shi Yaoyao to drink water. Whenever a bottle was emptied, she would use the incantation to refill it. Shi Yuebai had not yet examined the physical condition of Mother Shi and Shi Yaoyao, but thanks to her tireless efforts, her own weight had gratifyingly dropped to 735 jin. The difficulties were clear, but as long as Shi Yuebai kept pushing herself, there was still a chance she could stand again.

Watching Shi Yaoyao sit on the toilet, with Mother Shi waiting patiently outside the door frame, Shi Yuebai handed another bottle of water to the Second Sister-in-law. The Second Sister-in-law had intended to refuse, wanting to save the water for the others, but she remembered the basin she had seen filled with water that morning. She fumbled to take the bottle and took a sip. How to describe that feeling? It was like drinking nectar.

"Yuebai, this water is delicious. Have you had any?" The Second Sister-in-law tried to pass the bottle back to her. Shi Yuebai pushed it away, her gaze drifting over the ruins. "There is plenty of water," she told her. "Don't be stingy with it. When we get back today, have Yaoyao take a bath."

Shi Yaoyao slept curled up against her at night, and Shi Yuebai was often woken up by the stench emanating from both of them. The Second Sister-in-law, however, was shocked by this suggestion. "Y-Y-Yuebai, what kind of family are we..." To use water for bathing? And such sweet, pure, clean water at that? The Second Sister-in-law felt as if a dark cloud hung over her head; she was surely about to be struck by lightning.

"There is enough water," Shi Yuebai repeated, her tone concise. If there wasn't, she could simply continue the incantation. Though the spiritual energy, soul power, and fatty energy were constantly scouring her clogged meridians, it was undeniable that after ten or twenty hours of persistent practice, her speed at gathering water was growing faster. Effort was yielding results; even if the pain she endured was not proportional to the reward, it was worth it.

Shi Yaoyao had filled half the toilet. Mother Shi pinched her nose, shouting angrily, "You didn't flush! I'm going to tell your grandfather!" She held up a "Panda Head" meme sticker at Shi Yaoyao, saying, "Look, your granddaughter won't flush the toilet." The Second Sister-in-law hurried over and reflexively flushed the toilet. To her surprise, there was still water.

Although the water that flushed out was black, the city’s sewage system beneath these ruins was still temporarily functional. The Second Sister-in-law carried Shi Yaoyao out of the outdoor latrine and placed her on the bed frame beside Shi Yuebai. The little girl’s cheeks were flushed, and she looked at her aunt cautiously, terrified that she would be scolded for not flushing. Shi Yuebai, however, felt nothing of the sort. She pondered for a moment and said, "Let’s take this desk and chair back."

She pointed to a set of children’s ergonomic writing furniture in the room. The previous owners must have bought it just before the apocalypse; the plastic film was still on it. Shi Yuebai brushed the rubble off the desk and unexpectedly discovered a set of unopened pencils and an electric sharpener. "Yaoyao, you have pens to write with now."

Sitting on her flatbed cart, Shi Yuebai continued to dig, pulling out a stack of scratch paper and a notebook with grid lines. The Second Sister-in-law shuffled over from the collapsed wall, her face full of anticipation. "Can Yaoyao write?"

What she really wanted to ask was, *is Yaoyao capable of writing?* The Second Sister-in-law had seen the changes in her daughter over the past few days. Being able to clearly describe her physical needs and being able to hold a pen were two completely different things. The Second Sister-in-law’s hopes for this life were not high; she only wished that before she died, she could lead Shi Yaoyao out of the wasteland without suffering. To that end, she harbored a desperate, secret plan: she wanted to find a medicine from before the apocalypse that would allow Shi Yaoyao to simply drift off into an eternal sleep. Of course, she would only do this if her own illness reached the point of no return. Otherwise, how would Yaoyao survive? How would she herself survive? A mentally disabled daughter, having lost her only protection and support—who knew what she might encounter in the wasteland?

Tears suddenly welled up in the Second Sister-in-law’s hollow eyes. She felt a stinging sensation, and as she blinked, dark, yellowish tears rolled down her cheeks, carving tracks through the grime on her face. Seeing her rubbing her eyes with her blackened hands, Shi Yuebai hurriedly called her over and produced some pure water. "Stop rubbing. What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Maybe a small stone got in," the Second Sister-in-law said, crouching before Shi Yuebai, who held her chin steady. A moment later, she felt something cool and refreshing rinsing her eyeballs. She tried to pull away. "Yuebai, no, this is water." And it was clean water with zero radiation.

No, no, she couldn't waste such a precious resource on someone like her.

Shi Yuebai grabbed the Second Sister-in-law by the neck, looking almost like she was about to commit murder. She said impatiently, "I said there is enough water. With me here, stop the nonsense." A bottle of clean water was used just like that to rinse the Second Sister-in-law’s eyes.

The Second Sister-in-law cried again. This time, it wasn't because of the plan to end her daughter's life, but because of Shi Yuebai’s extravagance. It was too wasteful. She wept out of heartache.

"Huh? Your tears..." Shi Yuebai looked curiously at the tears streaming from the Second Sister-in-law’s eyes. They were different from others—a dark, yellowish color. Yet, both of the Second Sister-in-law’s eyes had been rinsed clean by Shi Yuebai. Could it be that because of the mutations in the wasteland, people’s bodily fluids had all changed color? Shi Yuebai thought it highly likely and filled the bottle with water again to rinse away the new stream of dark yellow tears.

Just then, Mother Shi finished in the latrine. Carrying her "Panda Head" meme, she conscientiously flushed the toilet. With four sick, weak, or pregnant members of the Shi family, they had barely begun scavenging before being interrupted by the need for toilet breaks. It looked like they wouldn't get far today. Shi Yuebai decided to head back home. She had Mother Shi and the Second Sister-in-law carry the desk and chair back.

As soon as they entered the Shi family’s tarp shelter and set up the furniture, Shi Yuebai taught Shi Yaoyao how to write the character for "Heaven."

"Yuebai, my stomach still hurts so much," Mother Shi said, leaning over and rubbing her taut, swollen belly.

"Auntie," Shi Yaoyao said, looking at Mother Shi’s feet in terror. "Grandma, she..."

Shi Yuebai’s gaze dropped, and her heart sank. *Oh no, it’s time.* Even though she had lived for many years as a maiden, and her theoretical knowledge was vast, she was completely at a loss when faced with this situation.

"What do I do?"

*Ahhh!*