Although there was no blood on her hands, Paige still fetched water and washed them clean before pouring water for the others.
The water in the jar had been boiled before, so it was safe even for a baby to drink.
But as soon as she touched the jar, Paige was stunned. Why was it warm?
Still, now wasn't the time to search for answers.
Paige used a bowl to scoop out several servings and handed them over.
The family was now too weak to move, all lying on the ground.
When they saw Paige offering water, they froze for a moment before happily accepting it.
"Xiuer, Xiuer, there's food, quick, give Xiaobao a little," the man said excitedly, passing the bowl to the woman beside him.
When the woman heard "food," she perked up and carefully cradled the baby in her arms.
Then the couple cautiously tried to feed the child some water.
But the baby's mouth and eyes were tightly shut, and even the water couldn't get in.
The woman choked back her sobs and gently spoke to the baby, "Xiaobao, be good, open your mouth, there's something yummy."
The baby still kept his mouth shut, only faint breathing showing he was alive.
The water poured from the corner of the baby's mouth, not a drop going in.
"Xiaobao, please, I beg you, open your mouth. We've been saved, we can survive now.
If you're gone, how can your mother go on?" the woman cried out, but not a single tear fell.
After going so long without water, her body was too dehydrated to produce tears.
"Xiuer, I'll gently pry open Xiaobao's mouth. You try pouring some in," the man said, taking the baby and opening his tightly closed lips.
The elderly couple, having finished their water, stood by nervously.
Paige quietly handed over a spoon.
The woman took the spoon and gently scooped a bit of water into the baby's mouth.
The water still dribbled out, but the woman patiently continued feeding him bit by bit.
At least, the baby's dry lips were moistened, and the inside of his mouth was no longer dry.
"Xiaobao, drink a little, Xiaobao, it's sweet, right?
You've only just come into this world. There's still so much you haven't seen. You can't leave just yet." The woman whispered softly as she fed him.
"Xiuer, Xiaobao he…" the child's father said hoarsely.
This was their first child, the treasure of their hearts. But seeing the baby like this, it was clear…
"Xiaobao is just tired. Let's feed him a bit more. Once he feels it, he'll start drinking.
Just this morning, he was still sucking on my finger so hard." The woman looked at the child and spoke gently.
Paige knew that in this situation, the baby should be taken to a hospital right away.
But the nearest hospital was in the city.
Even though she could carry the baby there quickly, she wasn't sure if he would survive the journey.
Still, she could feel the baby was breathing. Maybe he just hadn't recovered yet.
In the apocalypse, there were people assigned to care for infants like this.
Her ability was mental, not healing, so she couldn't help much with this kind of problem.
Just as the bowl was nearly empty, Paige saw the baby weakly swallow.
But the grieving couple didn't seem to notice.
"He just swallowed," Paige said.
The woman's vacant eyes instantly lit up with joy.
She scooped another spoonful and fed it carefully. After a moment, the baby really did swallow.
"She drank it, she drank it, she really drank it." The woman cried happily and carefully continued feeding the water.
When the baby finished all the water in the bowl, he let out a faint cry.
Hearing her son's cry, the woman couldn't hold back her emotions anymore and began crying along with him.
Paige listened to the kitten-like cry and thought, babies truly are the most fragile.
Paige poured another bowl of water for each person and gave them several pieces of compressed biscuits and canned fruit.
The woman didn't feed more water to the baby. He had just drunk a lot, so he needed to rest.
She drank two bowls of water in big gulps, then soaked the compressed biscuits in the bowl and started eating.
She had tried eating them dry earlier, but they were hard to swallow.
She thought, she needed to eat quickly and hope to produce milk again. Otherwise, she didn't know how her baby would survive.
"Do you have any relatives in the city? If you do, you'd better go stay with them. It's not safe out here. No one knows when the PN Soldiers will return," Paige said.
"Yes, we have a grandaunt in the city," the man answered.
After swallowing the food in his mouth, he realized they hadn't thanked the person who had saved their lives.
So he handed the baby to his wife and knelt down in front of Paige.
The two elders also knelt with him.
"Thank you, miss, for saving our lives. Thank you for your kindness. If you ever need anything, I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means working like an ox."
He kowtowed several times quickly.
"To me, it was just a small thing. If you're feeling better, then you should leave quickly."
Paige avoided them when they knelt.
To her, it was a small act and not worth mentioning.
In her previous life, she had saved countless people. If each one had to bow to her, would it take years off her life?
Thinking like that, maybe someone did bow to her secretly in her past life, which is why she died young.
No one else knew what Paige was thinking.
They were simply filled with gratitude for saving their entire family.
Without Paige, they might not have even had the strength to crawl out of the cellar.
"I'll leave first. From here on, you'll have to rely on yourselves," Paige said and ran off.
Not long after, Paige came running back.
"These things are for you. The child's mother needs to eat well. Surviving a disaster means good fortune in the future. This child is sure to achieve great things."
She brought them rice, white flour, and canned meat.
A child so small would still be nursing.
Paige knew that breastfeeding mothers needed to eat well to produce milk.
If she weren't worried they couldn't carry too much, she would've given them more.
Children are the hope of humanity and should be treated with care.
After placing the supplies down, Paige slipped away.
She didn't want them to start thanking her emotionally again.
There were still other places waiting for her to sweep through. She couldn't waste too much time.
But after this incident, Paige's hatred toward the PN Soldiers deepened even more.
If it weren't for them, everyone could be living happily instead of hiding and running all the time.
Hiding until they almost lost their lives.