Patients fear the sight of the crying star most; a mournful atmosphere does no good for recovery. Thus, just as Sister Xiaoyu reached the entrance of Old He’s tent, she hastily wiped the tears from her face and cleared her throat, making sure her voice sounded no different from a happy person's.

Having completed this preparation, she and Xiaoshu exchanged a look, a silent understanding passing between them, before she lifted the flap and stepped into Old He’s tent.

Inside, two or three police officers were playing cards to pass the time. Seeing Sister Xiaoyu arrive to change his dressing, they cheerfully called out to Old He, "Your wife is here, we won't play the third wheel then, eh? We'll be back later to keep you company." With that, the men chuckled, lifted the flap, and left. The tent was now left with only Old He, lying down, Xiaoshu holding the tray, and Sister Xiaoyu, whose eyes were swollen like peaches. However, Old He could no longer see. Relying on what his colleagues said, he only knew Sister Xiaoyu was present; he had no idea Xiaoshu was standing beside her. So, he spoke softly, "I'm much better today; thank you for taking the trouble to change my dressing again. The doctor said changing it once every three days is enough; changing it daily is too much work for you; please don't strain yourself so."

Hearing how saccharine his tone was, Xiaoshu felt entirely like a useless obstruction caught between them. Though she wanted to leave, she felt it would be rude not to greet Old He after coming all this way. So, she cleared her throat and feigned a couple of coughs.

"Hmm?" Old He caught the sound of an unfamiliar voice, realizing someone else had entered with Sister Xiaoyu. Unable to see who it was, he immediately fell silent. This was an instinctive reaction for the blind: when unable to discern the people or events around him, he would instantly clamp his mouth shut, using his ears to carefully map out the goings-on. But at that moment, Xiaoshu stood perfectly still; even if he strained his ears, he couldn't place her.

"Xiaohui, is someone else there with you?" After listening intently for a long moment without result, Old He finally asked.

"Yes, Xiaoshu is back; he's holding the tray, ready to help me change your dressing," Sister Xiaoyu (whom Old He called Xiaohui) said calmly.

"Oh, what about Xiaoyu? Has he returned?" As soon as he asked this, Xiaohui’s tears uncontrollably began to fall again. Xiaoshu thought, Why bring up the one sore point? Her tears had just stopped upon entering, only to have the same subject surface immediately. She quickly tried to comfort them both, "Xiaoyu is fine; he is with my uncle, Li Taiming. That middle-aged man sitting by your bedside at the hospital—you might not remember him, but Sister must have seen him."

Hearing this, Xiaohui realized with sudden clarity, "That’s right, that person did tell me that once Xiaoyu’s eyes healed, he would go somewhere else with him, and told me not to worry, that Xiaoyu would return safely."

"Ah? Did he really say that?" Xiaoshu was utterly perplexed, trying to figure out what scheme Li Taiming was brewing. Back then, Xiaoyu had explicitly stated he would stay behind to find Wenshu; how could Li Taiming have predicted things so accurately? Recalling how he drove back to pick up Xiaoshu and herself, it seemed everything had unfolded precisely according to his strategy; even if it wasn't a plan, he appeared intimately aware of everything that happened at the hospital. It seemed the 'two families' Xiaohao mentioned were not lies; if the inference held, Xiaoyu’s family must be the guardians of the Fountain of Youth, and Xiaoyu himself was surely the inheritor spoken of by those living dead. The question remained: why was Sister Xiaoyu completely unaware of these matters? What calamity had befallen their parents to leave two underage siblings to fend for themselves until now?