289th tombstone

Without hesitation, Li Xi channeled the true energy within her body that she had been carefully suppressing.

Following Qin Xiaolin's instructions, she slowly drew out her true energy, attempting to counteract the turbulent energy within Hong Gu's dantian.

The two energies met in the dantian, instantly creating a strong fluctuation.

Hong Gu felt as if two forces were colliding fiercely within her body, and each collision caused her a sharp pain.

However, amidst this excruciating pain, she also felt a strange warmth and power that slowly soothed her raging aura.

Li Xi gritted her teeth tightly. This was the most crucial moment, and she couldn't relax, otherwise her grandmother might suffer even more serious harm.

She continued to guide the internal energy within her body, attempting to achieve a balance with the energy within Hong Gu's body.

Gradually, she felt the violent energy begin to subside, no longer surging as fiercely as before.

Hong Gu's originally pale face gradually regained some color, and her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed as if blown by a spring breeze.

Her breathing was no longer so rapid and disordered, but gradually became steady and deep.

Not long after, Hong Gu slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.

Her eyes were clear as water, without the slightest confusion or bewilderment, as if she had just awakened from a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Li Xi finally felt relieved.

She quickly stepped forward, carefully helped Hong Gu up, and asked with concern, "Grandmother, how are you feeling now? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Hong Gu shook her head slightly and said softly, "I'm fine, child. I'm so grateful to the two of you just now, otherwise, I'm afraid I really wouldn't have made it..."

Although her voice was somewhat weak, one could still feel the tenacious vitality within it.

At this moment, Qin Xiaolin suddenly broke the silence and asked with concern, "Xiaoxi, how are you feeling now? Is anything bothering you?"

His gaze was fixed on Xiaoxi, as if trying to catch a hint of something unusual in her expression and tone.

Li Xi looked up, meeting Qin Xiaolin's gaze, a relaxed smile appearing on her lips: "Me? I feel great! You could even say I feel full of energy right now! Hehe~"

Seeing her smiling face, Qin Xiaolin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He did take a certain risk. It is said that the ancient tribes possessed a magical ability to heal each other's wounds, and now it seems that the rumors are true.

Looking at Hong Gu's radiant appearance, Li Xi was filled with joy.

For so many years, her maternal grandfather had always hoped that her maternal grandmother would return to his side, and now that this moment was about to come true, she was overjoyed.

From then on, she also had relatives who were related to her by blood.

At that moment, Hong Gu suddenly seemed to remember something important. She got out of bed in a panic and rushed towards the door.

Her steps were hurried and flustered, and by the time she reached the door, she was running.

Seeing this, Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin were filled with doubts, but they dared not be negligent in the slightest and hurriedly followed behind.

They followed Hong Gu closely, but they could never figure out where she wanted to go.

However, despite their confusion and bewilderment, the two still carefully stayed by Hong Gu's side to ensure her safety and to keep an eye out for any potential dangers or unusual situations around them.

And so, the three of them continued their ascent to the mountaintop...

The wind on the mountaintop was biting cold, as if it could pierce one's bones.

Hong Gu's pace did not slow down. She passed through a dense forest and came to a clearing.

Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

Hong Gu stood there, her back to them, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if suppressing some emotion.

"Grandmother, what's wrong?" Li Xi asked softly. She stepped forward and gently patted Hong Gu's shoulder.

Tears welled in Hong Gu's eyes as she sobbed, "They're all gone..."

The two looked in the direction she was pointing and found themselves in a cemetery with tombstones of all sizes lined up densely, as if telling tragic stories.

“These are all…” Li Xi’s voice trembled slightly.

"They are all my people!" Hong Gu's voice was filled with endless sorrow. "We thought we could live a peaceful life hiding here, but this world is too cruel. They try every means to make us work for them!"

Li Xi stepped forward, embraced Hong Gu, and whispered, "It's all in the past..."

More than 30 years have passed, and the ancient people have turned to dust, but their memories are forever engraved on this land.

Hong Gu nodded slightly, and crystal tears rolled down her pale cheeks like a burst dam.

With a trembling voice, she recounted that long-buried past: "Back then, I lived a carefree life in a village. That day, I went to town with five other members of my clan to buy supplies."

Who knew that when we returned to the mountain, the ground was littered with the bodies of our clansmen who had committed suicide, more than two hundred of them. That night we buried them with our own hands... We were determined to kill all the murderers to avenge our dead clansmen.

After years of investigation, we sent all our enemies to their doom. We then decided to go into hiding and find our own lives.

Later I met Wan Yue… Three years after giving birth to your mother, our tribe sent a plea for help, saying that one of us had been captured. To rescue him, I had no choice but to temporarily leave and join the other three to rescue him. Little did we know we had fallen into a trap…

To avoid being coerced and tortured by my enemies, I had no choice but to ruthlessly seal off the surging true energy within my body, thus becoming an ordinary and unremarkable person.

Later, taking advantage of a moment when the enemy was momentarily distracted, I bravely leaped into the river, hoping to find an opportunity to rescue my trapped friend after I recovered. However, fate had other plans; I lost all my memories during this time, wasting decades of my life…

If you hadn't come knocking on my door, I probably would have lived my life in a daze, completely forgetting my husband, my beloved daughter, and my clansmen imprisoned and in dire need of rescue! But I never imagined that my child would already be gone…”

At this point, Hong Gu was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Xi understood that what her maternal grandmother was referring to was the original owner's mother—Wan Jin.

“Grandmother, my father, mother and the whole family are gone…” Although the truth was cruel, Li Xi did not want to hide it from her.

When Hong Gu heard this, she was stunned for a moment, and tears slid down her cheeks, wetting the front of her clothes.