Chapter 392: Special Charms
"It’s not just something pretty. If it contains medicine that can heal injuries, I thought they wouldn’t refuse to wear it."
If Qiong Xing were there, he could heal them immediately, but if he were not, having medicine on hand would surely make a difference.
It was not meant for every injury, but it could treat minor wounds, so it would not hurt to carry it.
"The size couldn’t be too big or too small, because it had to fit the medicine inside."
He thanked them for finding just the right shells, and after a deep sigh, Albe replied with a wry smile, "You’re welcome."
"Minor wounds usually heal on their own if you leave them alone, but it’s better if they heal faster and hurt less, right?"
"That’s true, but... honestly, your way of thinking scares me sometimes. How do you come up with things like that so easily?"
Even if he was told that, Qiong Xing could not really explain it.
He simply made things when he thought they would be nice to have.
He made what he thought would make people happy.
That was all.
He was told that was strange, but he did not think there was anything wrong with it.
"Rui, Yue, come here."
"What is it?"
"Mama and the others have a gift for you two."
Lian placed the newly finished necklace around Yue’s neck, while Cari helped put Rui’s on.
When the two tilted their heads and asked what it was, Qiong Xing explained that it was in place of the bracelets that Cari and the others had.
Their faces immediately lit up when they realized there was one made especially for them as well.
"Yue’s was carefully searched for and chosen by Lian, and Rui’s was picked out by Cari and Albe. And..."
Qiong Xing opened the shell and showed them what was inside.
The mysterious substance only made them tilt their heads even further in confusion.
"It’s medicine that you put on places that hurt. You two often climb trees and end up with scrapes and cuts, right? If Mama or the others are there, we can heal you right away. But when we’re not around, use this medicine on your injuries."
It would be faster to show them than explain it.
Qiong Xing took a small amount and applied it to a cut on his hand that he had gotten that morning while using a kitchen knife.
"It disappeared!"
"It vanished!"
"See? It’s already gone. So if Rui or Yue get hurt, use this medicine to help heal it."
They were not the same bracelets that Cari and the others had, but these necklaces were special items made just for them after their older siblings worked hard to search for the shells and make them.
Earlier, the two had looked enviously at Cari and the others, pouting and wondering why they did not have matching bracelets too.
Now they were delighted to learn that something special had been prepared for them as well.
"If the medicine inside runs out, tell me, okay? Mama will make more and refill it for you."
"Okay!"
"Okay!"
Yue happily declared that hers was cute, while Rui proudly said his was beautiful.
Seeing how excited they were made Lian, Cari, and Albe smile as well, pleased that all their hard work searching for the shells had paid off.
No matter how many children Qiong Xing had, he still did not know what the correct answer to raising them was.
What was truly right, and what made a child a "good child"?
No matter how many times he told them not to do something, if they themselves disliked it, they could simply choose not to listen.
And no matter how strongly Qiong Xing wished for them to grow up a certain way, there was no guarantee they would.
Every step was still trial and error.
Yet whenever he saw the smiles on his children’s faces like this, he felt from the bottom of his heart that all the effort had been worth it.
The worries remained.
He suspected those worries would never completely disappear.
"What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick somewhere?"
As Qiong Xing sat silently watching the children laughing together, Albe looked at him with concern and asked if something had happened.
Qiong Xing shook his head.
"I was just thinking about how happy I am."
"...For someone saying that, you look like you’re about to cry."
Albe was surprisingly observant.
"I wonder why. Ever since long ago, whenever I feel happy, I also become anxious. The happier I am, the more terrified I become of the despair I would feel if I lost it all."
Whether it was trauma from losing his parents in the past or something else, he did not know.
Whenever he gained something precious and felt joy, thoughts of the sorrow of losing it would follow close behind.
"Then just do your best not to lose it."
"You’re right. But... sometimes, no matter how much you do, things can still be taken away by something completely unreasonable, can’t they?"
Just as his parents had never come back no matter how much he wished for it.
Just as the younger Qiong Xing had cried and screamed, asking why it had to be his parents.
Sometimes things were taken away without reason or meaning.
"My family is everything to me. It’s what I’ve wanted for so long. If I lost them, I don’t think I could keep living."
Every one of them was irreplaceable family to him.
"...Sorry for saying something strange. Please forget it."
Realizing he had said something that dampened the cheerful mood while everyone was smiling, Qiong Xing apologized and moved to join the children.
Before he could leave, Albe grabbed his arm.
"I... I won’t die. I’ll never die before you do, Qiong Xing. And I’ll protect Lian and the others no matter what..."
Albe is kind and gentle as always.
Qiong Xing truly felt fortunate that Albe had become part of his family.
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