Chapter 7 She Can't Recall Her Savior

Daniel was at a loss for words. "Enough! Stop talking nonsense. If your sneakers are dirty, have Abigail clean them! Don't always think about ordering Demi around!" Stephen scolded with a stern face. "She's our housekeeper. Who else can I order around if not her?" Robert replied, looking confused. Daniel shot Robert a sharp glare, signaling to him to shut up. … Over in Lindton, Margaret finally woke up after three consecutive days of acupuncture. When she awoke, Demi was still inserting needles into her. When Margaret opened her eyes and saw the girl before her, after a moment of hesitation, she tentatively called out, "Demi?" "Grandma, it's me. Why? Have you forgotten me that quickly?" Demi smiled. "Why did you come back? This place is so far," Margaret said, trembling as she raised her hand, wanting to touch her granddaughter. Demi lowered her head cooperatively to let Margaret touch her. Margaret stroked Demi's hair and face, finally feeling her real presence. "Did the neighbors call and tell you I was sick?" Margaret asked hoarsely. "I clearly told them not to." Demi turned around and poured a glass of water for her grandmother. Then, she placed two pillows behind Margaret for support and brought the glass to her lips. "No, I just wanted to come back to visit you. Grandma, why didn't you call me when you weren't feeling well? And why wouldn't you let anyone else tell me? What if something had happened?" Demi looked at Margaret with a hint of reproach. If she hadn't been reborn, she and her grandmother would have died in separate tragedies—one consumed by flames, the other wasting away alone in bed—never to see each other again. The thought of this made Demi's eyes well up with tears. "At my age and with this body, it's about time for me to meet my maker. But I just couldn't let go of Timmy." Margaret turned to look at Timothy, who was sitting quietly by the bedside and fiddling with a Rubik's Cube. Timothy raised his head and looked at Margaret. "Grandma!" Demi frowned with displeasure as she gazed at Margaret. "Can you stop talking about life and death all the time? It's unlucky." Margaret chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, alright. I won't talk about that." At the next moment, confusion filled her expression. "But how did my illness get better?" The truth was that she had seen a doctor before she had fallen unconscious. The doctor had told her that the blood vessels in her brain could rupture at any moment, leading to an immediate coma. Then, she would be beyond saving by any god. The doctor had also said that if the condition had been addressed years earlier, there might have been a chance of treatment, but now, it was hopeless. For one, her advanced age made her unable to withstand surgery. Then, the blood clots in her brain were too severe for surgical intervention. Demi had no chance to respond to that before Timothy suddenly jumped up, grabbed a mirror from the window, and held it in front of Margaret. Margaret saw the dozen or so golden needles on her head glinting under the sunlight. "Did you find a traditional medicine doctor?" Margaret asked, turning to Demi. Timothy pointed at Demi. Demi chuckled. Her brother had become much more lively than before. Margaret glanced at Timothy, then looked back at Demi in confusion. "Demi, did you hire a traditional medicine doctor?" That didn't seem right to her. She had already consulted the well-known traditional medicine practitioners nearby, and they had all said that there was nothing they could do. "No, Grandma. I've learned a bit about traditional medicine, so I tried a few acupuncture techniques. It seems like it worked pretty well," Demi replied with a smile. Margaret stared at her granddaughter, who seemed to glow under the sunlight, and she was stunned for a few moments. "Oh, it was you…" Margaret was momentarily dazed before breaking into a contented smile. "Letting you go into the big city was a good idea. You've only been gone a year, and you've already learned acupuncture." Demi smiled and chose not to explain further. "Your parents and family treat you well, right?" Margaret asked with a smile. Even though she had already asked this, Margaret felt she already knew the answer within her. "Look at me, asking such questions. Of course they treat you well. They're your biological parents and brothers, after all!" Margaret smiled kindly. Demi remained silent. "I still want to stay with you and Timmy," Demi said softly. She didn't want to burden her grandmother with unpleasant things and make her worry unnecessarily. At least for now, while Margaret was still sick, she had to keep it a secret. "Silly girl. Living with wealthy parents in the big city is how you'll live comfortably. You can go to college, find a good job, and chase your dreams there. If you stay with me, all you'll do is scavenge every day. What future is there in that?" Margaret chuckled. Demi still said nothing. When she saw her granddaughter's unhappy expression, Margaret comforted her, "If you really miss us, study hard and earn a lot of money in the future. Then, you can bring me and Timmy to your side." Demi blinked, then she smiled. "You're right, Grandma." That was right—she could make money. Then, she could give Margaret and Timothy the best life possible. And if all else failed, she could sell a few of her treasures. Still, she questioned whether the people of this era could even recognize the value of the treasures she had stored in her spatial ring from the world of cultivation. On the topic of treasures, Demi immediately recalled the emerald figurine in her cabinet. "Grandma, the emerald figurine in my cabinet… Did you put it in there?" Demi asked. "What emerald figurine?" Margaret blinked in confusion before her expression lit up with realization. "Oh! I remember now. That's yours, isn't it? Did you forget?" "Mine?" Demi's eyes widened in surprise. "How could I have something like that?" "It's yours! You told me that a very kind young man gave it to you. I thought it was too valuable and told you to return it. Back then, you weren't aware of how expensive it was, but after I explained it to you, you agreed to return it right away. "I was afraid you'd lose it, so I went with you. But when we went to the villa on the mountain you mentioned, there was no one there. We asked around and found out that the villa belonged to a wealthy family from the capital who only stayed there occasionally. "We went back twice more but still didn't find anyone. I told you to check again whenever you have time to see if the owner has returned. "Once, you finally met a caretaker outside the villa and asked them to help you return it. But they refused, saying that it needed to be handed over in person. After that, you never managed to return it, so the figurine stayed with us." Demi's eyes widened in shock. Was there such a story? She had completely forgotten. "Demi, how could your memory be this bad? I remember it clearly, but you've already forgotten everything?" Margaret asked in surprise. "Then, Grandma, did I say anything else? Like how I met that young man? Or what his name was?" "You said you met him while gathering mushrooms and herbs in the mountains. His name was… what was it again? Oh dear, I forgot…" Margaret said as she raised her hands, about to pat her head. Demi used her quick reflexes and caught her wrist. After all, there were still needles in Margaret's head. "Grandma, are you sure it was a young man who gave it to me?" Demi still found it hard to believe. What kind of young man would be so generous as to give her such a large piece of top-quality emerald? She really couldn't recall anything at all. "Of course. I may be old, but my memory is still very clear," Margaret replied indignantly. She didn't forget to tease Demi afterward, adding, "But you… you're so young! How can your memory be this bad?" "Yeah… I must have forgotten," Demi quickly relented. After all, 300 years had passed for her. It was perfectly normal for her not to remember. But to Margaret, it had only been a few years. Thus, her memory was definitely more reliable. "Oh, right! I remember now. I heard that you fell into the lake while catching fish, and it was that young man who saved you. Later, when your foot got caught in a hunting trap, he helped you again and even treated your wound." Margaret continued, "At first, you were too scared to tell me because you thought I'd scold you and forbid you from going into the mountains again. But you accidentally let it slip later. You also mentioned he scolded you and stopped you from going to dangerous places. He was a good person overall." Demi blinked. Her savior had saved her twice, treated her wounds, and even gifted her an emerald figurine made from the highest quality emerald. Was he a literal saint? And she had completely forgotten about him. Wasn't that just too ungrateful of her? "Then, did I give him anything in return?" Demi asked confusedly. Thinking back, she had been so poor back then that she probably had nothing to give him. "Oh, I think you gave him a wooden figure and told him you'd repay him someday. You even said that it was to prevent him from forgetting. You gave him the wooden figure so that he'd think of you whenever he saw it, and the same went for you. That's when he gave you the emerald figurine in return," Margaret said. Demi was at a loss for words. She couldn't recall this. She really couldn't remember it. "Grandma, do you still remember where that villa is?" Demi looked at Margaret with anticipation. "Uh… I don't remember exactly where it is. It's been six or seven years since then, and I only went with you three times. Last year, when I went up the mountain, I saw that several new villas had been built, and they all looked similar. I wanted to look for that villa, but I couldn't find it," Margaret said with a frown. Demi hurriedly said, "Don't think about it if you can't remember." Maybe she would be able to jog her memory when she saw that wooden figure. Regardless, she had to try to remember and repay that young man's life-saving kindness as soon as possible. … Perhaps because it had been on her mind all day, Demi dreamed about the incident that night. In her dream, she was drowning. Just as she was panicking and terrified, a young man suddenly lifted her and brought her up to the shore. She wanted to see what her savior looked like, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out his face.