Chapter 1174: Chapter 1174: The Grass Carp’s Severed Arm [Must Read]

After listening to Xi Rubao explain what a "mudslide" was, Zuzi nodded slightly. "Mm, Ancestor gets it."

If a clay figurine isn’t molded right, when you throw it back into the kiln to remake it, it also turns into one big puddle of "mudslide." Not hard to understand.

Chen Long’s plane hadn’t even reached Qingcheng yet; halfway there he’d already received this bad news. Everyone’s morale was rock-bottom, you could hear that despair right through the phone.

After all, Bao Gucheng was fighting solo in Qingcheng, it really was a hair-raising situation.

Zuzi let out a small sigh. "Let me think of something."

In this moment, even Chen Long, who had always insisted on not troubling Zuzi and on never letting a girl risk her own life, couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Protect Mr. Bo or protect Miss Xi—he was truly caught in a bind!

On this end of the call, hearing Zuzi’s promise, Bao Er’s heart jumped clear into her throat.

"Sis, you’re going to Qingcheng?"

"Mm-hm."

"But, but it’s the middle of the night, and there’s a mudslide... I—I want to go with you!"

"You stay home and look after Xiao Bei."

"Xiao Bei? Ahem... you mean Grandpa? Grandpa, he..."

Only then did Bao Er realize that the family doctor who’d just hurried through the living room in a blur, pushing that oxygen machine, was rushing to save Mr. Gu’s life.

"Crap, the doctor said before that Grandpa is in the most danger of suffocating in his sleep," Bao Er was so anxious her tears were about to spill. "Sis, is Grandpa... not going to make it?"

On one side was Mr. Gu, on the other was Mr. Bo—she was caught in a bind too!

Zuzi lifted her arm and patted her hair. "Little Minnow, do you really want Ancestor to stay?"

Bao Er’s mind was a complete mess, big eyes brimming with tears. After a long moment she squeezed out a few broken phrases:

"It’s still Brother-in-law... that needs you more! Sis, Mom’s here, Big Uncle’s here, I’m here, and the doctor’s here, but Brother-in-law is all alone in the mountains... you hurry and go find him!"

Even though it was hard to choose, she still forced herself to say what she instinctively felt.

Zuzi’s jade-like fingers slid through her long hair and patted her lightly on the shoulder and arm. "Bao Er, you’ve grown up."

An inexplicable sting welled up behind Bao Er’s eyes; she couldn’t shake the feeling that Zuzi was entrusting something to her:

"Sis, don’t worry, I’ll behave and stay to take care of everyone, don’t fret about home. You—you have to be careful of the mudslide when you go to Qingcheng, mudslides are really scary."

Zuzi nodded slowly and walked toward the door.

Bao Er couldn’t help but hurry after her a couple of steps, her voice thick with impending tears. "Sis!"

Zuzi looked back. "Mm?"

Bao Er pursed her little lips, holding it in and holding it in. "Sis, come back early, boohoo!"

Zuzi smiled faintly and didn’t answer, just waved at her.

Watching the white hem of Ancestor big sis’s gauze dress disappear into the night, Bao Er finally let the tears she’d been holding back for so long tumble down recklessly.

"Boohoo, Sis, I’ll do everything you told me to, I won’t embarrass you..."

Crying as she went, she headed toward Mr. Gu’s bedroom.

She hadn’t gone more than a couple of steps when a stabbing pain shot through her arm. She didn’t think much of it, figured she’d twisted it when she ran downstairs just now, sniffled, and shook her hand out.

Who knew that after a few more steps she’d suddenly hear an eerie, crisp crack.

She looked down—and a horrific scene filled her vision: the skin of her entire arm wrinkled and shriveled, hanging limp as if it had no bones. At the elbow, a seam had split open and out dropped a section of...

Lotus root joint, still beaded with water!

Bao Er’s mind went blank; she nearly lost her footing.

She hadn’t had lotus root soup tonight, so how did a piece of lotus root end up on her?

Wait, the point was her arm—her arm was broken!

In an instant it was as if she’d been dragged back to half a year ago, the night before the college entrance exam, to the moment Xi Ruzhu had schemed her into jumping off the building, her face smashed beyond recognition, every bone in her body shattered. A chill crawled down her spine.

"Sis, sis, save me!"

Terror surged up wildly. She staggered and ran outside.