Chapter 59: Down to 708 Jin

Shi Yaoyao left, swaying her head as she went.

Shi Yuebai watched for a while, forcing herself to suppress the turmoil inside.

She maneuvered her wheelchair to the edge of the swimming pool.

[Detection: 10% radiation-contaminated clean water.]

The radiation detector on her wrist beeped.

Second Sister-in-law Shi fumbled her way over and said to Shi Yuebai,

“Water left out in the wasteland will gradually become irradiated.”

This was perfectly normal.

Shi Yuebai responded with an “Mm,” then said, “Let’s drain the water from the pool.”

At first, Second Sister-in-law didn’t react.

After a moment, she asked, “Drain it where?”

“Just get rid of it. Drain it all.”

Shi Yuebai was decisive, steering her wheelchair over to the drain.

She held a long stick in her hand, ready to pry open the drain.

Second Sister-in-law hurriedly said, “That’s so much water, you’re just going to dump it?”

It felt like such a waste.

People in the wasteland never wasted water like this.

Even though this water was already 10% contaminated, it was still clean water—still drinkable.

Even if it was 100% irradiated, it was still drinkable.

What you couldn’t drink was sewage—the kind that would kill you on contact.

Shi Yuebai didn’t feel the slightest regret. Enduring the pain all over her body, she pried open the drain.

“Out with the old, in with the new. Besides, this water isn’t clean anymore.”

For days now, the Shi family had been using this pool for bathing.

It had been many days.

What was once a pool of crystal-clear water had turned yellow.

A few more days, and it would definitely turn black.

Shi Yuebai had long been disgusted by this pool of water.

She’d already planned to change the water today.

But A-Hong’s incident had thrown her off schedule, leaving her with extensive ruptures in her meridians.

But it didn’t matter—Shi Yuebai wasn’t someone who gave up easily.

She stuck to her plan and started draining the pool.

It would take some time to empty the whole pool.

Shi Yuebai waited by the pool, taking the opportunity to regulate her breathing and let her body adjust to the pain.

The churning nausea in her chest was gradually suppressed.

Shi Yuebai painstakingly mobilized the fat energy in her body, sustaining a tiny healing talisman.

So tiny, it was even smaller than the coin-sized healing talisman she’d used while scavenging last time.

For someone of her size and weight, this little talisman was almost useless.

But it was better than nothing.

Shi Yuebai thought, Well, I’m already like this. If I don’t use up this thick layer of fat, it’ll just keep growing.

Even just sitting and breathing, she would gain weight.

So, almost masochistically, Shi Yuebai let her fat energy, spiritual power, and soul power repeatedly flush through her damaged meridians.

The energy, thinner than a strand of hair, was like steel wire threading through her entire body.

The pain nearly made her faint.

But after a long exhale, she gritted her teeth and endured.

Second Sister-in-law, still standing by the pool, sniffed the air.

She turned her face toward Shi Yuebai. “Yuebai, did you...”

She wanted to ask if Yuebai had pooped herself.

A foul, fishy stench was emanating from Shi Yuebai.

A bead of blackish-yellow sweat rolled down Shi Yuebai’s forehead.

Her whole body was covered in black, oily grime, and faintly, there were red streaks of blood within the filth.

The blood was already coagulated.

“It’s nothing, Second Sister-in-law. Go get my mom, and find the new clothes she made for me.”

Shi Yuebai’s face was hidden beneath a layer of black gunk.

Second Sister-in-law was worried—she thought Shi Yuebai’s voice sounded shaky.

But Shi Yuebai didn’t want to repeat herself.

She lifted her stick and tapped Second Sister-in-law’s leg. “Go.”

Second Sister-in-law had no choice and left.

Once she’d gotten used to the pain, Shi Yuebai regained some strength and began drawing a healing talisman at her feet with the stick.

This talisman was much larger, like a round carpet spread beneath her wheelchair.

She trembled as she finished the last stroke, the pain making her briefly lose consciousness.

Fortunately, her formation would automatically draw on her soul power.

Soul power couldn’t leave her body or take physical form.

Every shaman’s soul power was unique, with distinct personal characteristics.

Unlike spiritual power, you couldn’t just use someone else’s soul power at will.

Only through a contract could it be shared.

Shi Yuebai was bathed in a soft, golden light.

The light was very faint, a sign that her soul power was insufficient.

Not enough to fully support such a large healing talisman.

But it could still greatly relieve the pain of her ruptured meridians.

She woke up in her wheelchair.

Second Sister-in-law still hadn’t returned with her mother.

Shi Yuebai checked her weight.

After all this ordeal, perhaps the only good news was that she now weighed only 710 jin.

A little while later, Shi Yuebai let out a surprised “Eh?”

Because some of her meridians had shattered into fragments, her fat energy, spiritual power, and soul power couldn’t flow through them at all.

So, under Shi Yuebai’s urging, they actually forged a new path.

Those shattered meridians were completely abandoned.

Now, the new meridian was clear and unobstructed.

Shi Yuebai couldn’t help but recall a famous saying:

“There was no road here, but as more people walk it, a road is formed.”

Her previously severed meridians, along with some toxins, were expelled from her body as waste.

She looked down at the fine red streaks on her arm.

Who would have thought her blocked meridians would break through in such a way?

Her whole body still hurt, but it was much less intense than before.

Shi Yuebai wasted no time getting back to work.

Once the pool was drained, she plugged the drain again and started refilling it.

Given her current state, it would take a while to fill the pool.

But it was worth it.

She mobilized all her fat, and after filling half the pool, her weight dropped to 708 jin.

The pool was higher than where the Shi family slept.

Meanwhile, Second Sister-in-law finally found Mother Shi rummaging through plastic bags at the dump.

She brought her back.

By then, Shi Yuebai had already undressed and gotten into the pool.

She used half a pool of water to wash herself clean, then drained the pool again.

By now, night had fallen, and the women of the Shi family had finished a long day’s work.

Shi Yuebai simply sat in the pool, continuing to drain the water.

She soaked herself while using a water-gathering spell to collect the remaining water in the pool.

Nong Yasi looked at the shallow layer of water in the pool.

She didn’t say anything.

Instead, it was Shi Yuebai who spoke up, asking,

“Any news from the Chen family?”

“Wei Lingxia went home and cried her eyes out.”

Second Sister-in-law and Shi Yaoyao sat together, washing their hair with cool water.

“A lot of the women over there look worried and anxious.”

Shi Yaoyao asked in confusion, “Then why don’t they run away?”

My head feels a little dizzy."