When everyone stood up and looked at him with hope, Lei shook his head.
He looked at the edge of the mountain and did not see any green vines, but he was not willing to give up. He even walked deeper into the mountain, yet still found nothing.
Mier felt a little disappointed and slumped into the chair.
The others, seeing this, did not speak, and for a while, the room became eerily silent.
The atmosphere grew heavy, and no one spoke.
After a while, there was a knock at the door from outside the courtyard, and everyone was startled.
"Mier."
Hearing the voice of his father, the others became nervous.
"Second Brother, Father is here." Xing stood up, unsure of what to do.
Mier waved his hand, signaling him to open the door.
They lived so close that their father must have heard the noise by now.
Sure enough, when Mier's father entered and saw all his children there, he spoke with worry: "Just now, a neighbor came to ask me why you were out in this cold weather looking for something. What's going on?"
He scanned the room, and seeing that Niley was not there, he hesitated before asking, "Where is your wife...?"
"She's gone, Father, can you believe it? She just disappeared right here in this room!"
"Did you search everywhere and still not find her?"
Mier's father didn't quite believe what Xing said. After all, this boy always said strange things, and when Mier was at home, he would often say something unpleasant, causing trouble.
So, he quickly turned to his eldest son, who nodded, making him sigh.
"How could she have disappeared?"
Then, he looked at his sons, each with their own unique features, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Could it be that she was scared off by your appearances?"
"Father!"
"Little Father!"
They all spoke in unison.
Xing, with a pitiful look, said to his father, "Father, you've always said that women don't appreciate beauty. Besides, the way wife and Second Brother interact doesn't seem shallow at all."
Mier nodded in agreement.
When Mier's father heard this, he finally relaxed and waved his hand at the others: "As long as she didn't leave willingly, don't worry. She will come back."
Liam, observing his father's certainty, guessed, "Father, did you meet with wife before?"
"Naturally. After Mier bought her, she often came to bring me food."
"I meant, did you meet her before that?"
Mier's father smiled, but when he heard his third son's question, he froze for a moment, worried about giving anything away. He quickly instructed Mier: "Don't worry, as long as this house is here, she won't leave."
But seeing Mier's expression, he was afraid to leave.
To prevent them from thinking too much, Mier's father quickly changed the subject: "Since you're back, has Niley been settled in a room?"
"She's next door, just half done when she ran into trouble," Xing answered.
"But Father, she did it to help treat Third Brother's health. After that, this happened to her."
Xing felt the need to explain so Mier's father wouldn't suspect anything.
Mier's father was surprised and looked at Liam: "Niley can heal?"
This time, when Mier's father took them to town, he didn't have much hope. Every time he went to see a doctor, the results were the same. They always gave the same advice, the best being to take medicine daily.
That bitter taste was something Mier could hardly drink, let alone Liam, who had been drinking it since he was young. He felt so bad he almost wished he could take the sickness for him.
Liam smiled at this: "Father, it's true. After one treatment today, I feel much better."
Plus, maybe because the house is warm, he hadn't coughed once since returning.
Mier's father was happy for him and prayed, raising his hands: "Thank heaven, we found Niley!"
Upon hearing his father's words, Mier became uneasy.
When Niley was around, he hadn't really paid much attention to her. He kept telling himself not to let himself fall too deep. But now, he realized, in just a few days, he had already gotten used to her presence, which was a bit frightening.
"Alright, let's all get up now. Go next door and finish the room. Otherwise, there won't be enough space to sleep tonight."
Seeing Mier deep in thought again, Mier's father signaled Xing to pull him up.
Now was the time for everyone to work together. Sitting around thinking would only make them overthink.
"But Father," Mier stood up and walked to his father, asking with confusion: "How do you know Niley will come back? What if...?"
He couldn't bring himself to say the "what if" out loud, afraid that saying it would make it real.
Liam quietly said, "I remember you said Niley scratched your palm before she disappeared."
When these words were spoken, everyone relaxed.
Mier's father patted Mier's back: "Alright, go to work. Sitting there, you'll just overthink things."
He then led everyone out the door, to clean the next room.
When Niley bought this house, she had only set up one room for herself. The house was just the right size, and she had separated the bathroom and shower area.
The next door room was also the same size.
As soon as they stepped inside, they looked at each other in surprise.
Liam shivered and said, "Looks like wife knows how to enjoy life."
Even in this cold weather, the house was so warm.
"The things in wife's room, we've never seen before. Let's keep our mouths shut."
Only the brothers and their father knew about this. If others found out, it might cause trouble for Niley.
Also, they should change out of their clothes as well.
When these words were said, everyone stopped talking and started cleaning the room.
By evening, they had finally tidied up the room and arranged the furniture.
Mier and Xing went to the kitchen to boil some hot water. They were so hot they couldn't take off their clothes, so they sat on the floor, resting and drinking water.
After a simple dinner, no one mentioned going to bed. They all sat together, waiting for Niley to appear again.
---
In the space, Niley was being drawn into the spiritual spring by vines to soak, restoring her damaged body. It wasn't until a whole day and night passed that Niley opened her eyes again.
Seeing herself in the space, she didn't even bother changing clothes. She quickly gathered the vines and rushed out of the space.
Just as she stepped out, she saw her room full of the people she had seen earlier.
Liam was asleep on the rattan chair, while Lei, Xing, and Mier were all asleep at the table.
Mier was leaning against the bed, drowsy but trying to stay awake. To keep himself from falling asleep, he even slapped his face, but someone stopped his hand.