Chapter 5: Did She Take a Strength Pill?

Mo Ruyue sighed unconsciously, then suddenly set down the rope and said in a low voice, "Wait for me a moment, I need to pick some herbs..."

As a killer, bleeding and getting injured were daily occurrences. Their missions were often dangerous and required secrecy, so they couldn't go to hospitals or clinics for treatment when injured. If the situation became critical, wilderness survival was the only way to stay alive. Therefore, from a young age, besides learning various combat and survival skills, they also had to learn about medicinal herbs for emergencies.

Mo Ruyue picked some herbs she was familiar with along the way.

Dabao watched in surprise as she pulled a large handful of thistle and threw it onto the cart, unable to help asking, "Why are you pulling so much thistle? It's not even edible."

"This is called Cirsium. If you mash up the tender leaves or flowers and apply them to a wound... it can stop the bleeding quickly, reduce bruising and swelling, and also has antibacterial properties..."

Dabao was a bit confused: "What is antibacterial?"

"It means... killing the poisonous bugs on your wound. The ones invisible to the naked eye." As she spoke, Mo Ruyue picked some mugwort, cogon grass rhizome, and Desmodium, all of which could be used to treat injuries, bruising, swelling, and damp-heat diarrhea.

There were many children in the family, all of them weak and sickly, so these herbs would come in handy.

But Dabao looked at her with a complex expression as she skillfully gathered herbs, his heart growing increasingly suspicious: "You... how do you know so much? I've never heard of you recognizing herbs before..."

If the bad mother knew so many herbs, why didn't she try to treat herself back when she was always sickly and bedridden?

Mo Ruyue gave him an indifferent look and said expressionlessly, "Whether I knew before doesn't matter; it's enough that I know from now on."

Having said that, she pulled the cart directly and walked down the mountain without looking back, exuding an aura of 'keep away,' which was a signal that she refused to chat.

Dabao pursed his lips, quickly carried his Xiao Mei on his back, and followed her, continuing to help her pull the cart down. However, this combination of mother, son, and wild boar was truly, weirdly harmonious.

On their way home, they attracted the attention of villagers along the way. Some were curious about the origin of the wild boar, while others said unpleasant things.

"Such a huge wild boar, how did they get it?"

"This wild boar could sell for a lot of money! Did they pick up prey left behind by a hunter?"

"I think Mo Ruyue has gone crazy from poverty, right? She can even sell her own children; what else is she incapable of doing?"

Besides those making snide remarks, there were also those among the onlookers who tried to persuade her.

"Ruyue, although you and Qin Ming didn't have the fate of a married couple, you still bowed to heaven and earth and entered the family, and these children are being raised under your knees. You really cannot be so deranged as to sell them to human traffickers."

"Exactly, exactly. If you really sell Qin Ming's sons, he won't be able to rest in peace in the netherworld..."

Mo Ruyue was already exhausted and irritable, and now being surrounded and unable to move, she immediately swept a cold look around. Although she didn't say a word, the killing intent in her eyes frightened everyone.

Everyone shut their mouths in unison.

But in the silence, Dabao suddenly dropped the rope and said viciously, "You crazy woman, you actually called someone to buy the children... You big liar!"

Dabao's heart, which had just been soothed by Mo Ruyue saving him, instantly turned cold...

He rushed over and kicked Mo Ruyue hard, then turned and ran home, leaving behind harsh words:

"If you dare to sell my younger brothers, I won't let you off!"

Mo Ruyue frowned; a wave of pain came from her calf, but for a killer who had spent years walking on the edge of death, it was just a painless kick.

However, the aura around her turned three degrees colder: This ungrateful brat, turning his face faster than flipping a book...

Mo Ruyue kept a straight face and struggled to pull the wooden cart towards home.

Fortunately, the remaining distance wasn't far. She had just dragged it to the neighbor's doorstep when she saw Dabao rushing out, almost knocking her over.

"You, why did you come back alone?"

Dabao saw the blood seeping from Mo Ruyue's arm and, feeling a bit guilty, took the rope, but still said fiercely, "You didn't sell my younger brothers, why didn't you say so just now?"

Mo Ruyue extended her left leg to show him the footprint, sneering, "If I had said so, would you have believed me?"

Dabao's breathing suddenly became heavier, and his ears turned red; he didn't know if it was from anger or embarrassment.

But he didn't talk back again; he just took a handful of herbs from the cart, mashed them up, and shoved them into Mo Ruyue's hand fiercely: "You... treat your wound, I'll pull the cart."

After saying that, he was about to pull the cart home.

Mo Ruyue swept her peripheral vision and saw the woman standing at the neighbor's door, suddenly pressing down on Dabao's shoulder, "You stand there first..."

Dabao was stunned for a moment, instinctively shaking off her hand vigilantly: "What are you doing?"

"...Trading for food." Mo Ruyue was never one to mistreat herself. Having hunted a wild boar, she would first make a delicious meal to fill her stomach before thinking about selling it for money.

She looked at the woman leaning against the door with a surprised expression and calmly pointed at the wild boar on the cart, asking, "Auntie, do you want some wild boar meat? I want to trade it for some rice and grain."

Although Aunt Liu had seen Mo Ruyue drive away the Slave Trader with her own eyes, due to Mo Ruyue's previous image as a vicious stepmother being so deeply ingrained, she was still somewhat reluctant to deal with Mo Ruyue.

"Even if I trade rice and grain with you, won't those children still go hungry? Mo Ruyue, is your heart made of stone? Although Dabao is strong, he must have lost half his life to bring down this big wild boar... And you still want to eat it all by yourself?"

As a neighbor, Aunt Liu had seen with her own eyes how much the children had suffered at Mo Ruyue's hands, and she also knew that Dabao had innate supernatural strength, so it wasn't impossible for this child to take down a wild boar.

However, Dabao's little face suddenly flushed, and he said uncomfortably, "Grandma Liu, it's not like that..."

He pointed at Mo Ruyue and said with a straight face, "She killed the wild boar. She saved me from under the wild boar's hooves."

Aunt Liu looked like she was doubting reality: "You mean... Mo Ruyue killed a wild boar... to save you?"

She hurried over, pried open the wild boar's mouth to look, and muttered, "This wild boar isn't some sick pig that's about to die, is it? How could Mo Ruyue possibly..."

But after checking, the wild boar was indeed a strong and healthy adult boar, the kind with explosive combat power...

Aunt Liu was stunned: "Mo Ruyue... you... did you steal some kind of strength pill? How did you suddenly become so powerful? And..."

And she doesn't seem as bad anymore?

Mo Ruyue gave her an impatient look: "Are you trading or not?? If you're not, I'll find someone else..."

As she said this, she turned around directly to go knock on another family's door.

Aunt Liu sighed and quickly said, "Don't knock anymore. Who in this village welcomes you? Even if you knock and open the door, no one will trade with you..."

She looked at Mo Ruyue's indifferent face and couldn't continue, muttering in a low voice, "Trade, trade, trade... I don't need much wild boar meat, just give me one leg... I'll give you more rice and grain, but not for you, but for the sake of the children... Don't let the children go hungry."

She thought Mo Ruyue wouldn't pay attention to her, but when Aunt Liu came out with two bags of grain and some small vegetables, she saw Mo Ruyue swiftly cut off a pig's trotter with one clean strike.

Then she handed it to her expressionlessly: "One thing is one thing; this is what we agreed to trade..."

Aunt Liu watched as Mo Ruyue kept a straight face, her hands covered in blood gripping the pig's trotter, with an indifferent and domineering aura that looked down on the world. She hurriedly wiped her hands before taking the trotter, forgetting even to say polite pleasantries.

Mo Ruyue took the grain with a cold face, nodded calmly at Aunt Liu, and together with Dabao, pulled the cart back to the small shack and closed the door directly.

Aunt Liu stared blankly at the pig's trotter in her hand, "Is... is this... is this still the Mo Ruyue who would be scared to the high heavens just from killing a chicken? How did she suddenly become so powerful!"

However, Mo Ruyue's posture just now really looked like a strong person capable of hunting a big wild boar!!

I hope she can change for the better and raise the children well...

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