Noticing Yuandai's expression, Shuyu also glanced at Xianyun. She did not see anything unusual, so she said, "Grandma, stop staring. Let's sit down first."
Hearing that, Yuandai looked at her granddaughter, then back at Xianyun.
Xianyun watched her for a moment before asking, "Do you know me?"
Yuandai looked confused by the question and shook her head. "No..."
By now, everyone could tell there was something strange between the two of them. Only Shuyu still had no idea what was going on.
Xianyun sighed. Looking at Yuandai, she said, "Meeting like this must be fate. Please, have a seat."
Shuyu helped her sit down, then asked, "Grandma, is there anything you want to eat? I'll order it for you."
"Food?" Yuandai fell silent. After thinking for a moment, she seemed to remember something and said, "I want... stewed earthworms. On rainy days, the earthworms crawl out..."
"Stop!" Shuyu immediately interrupted her reminiscence. "You're doing it again. There are no stewed earthworms on the menu!"
Earthworms?
What kind of animal ate earthworms?
Fish?
But fish usually ate them as bait. After turning human, wouldn't they prefer little shrimp?
Lora looked at Yuandai, then at Xianyun, and suddenly had a thought.
Could she be a bird?
While Lora was thinking about Yuandai's true form, Furina had already begun helping enthusiastically.
"Um... do you need any help?"
"Huh? It's fine!" Shuyu quickly explained to everyone. "Thank you for your concern. My grandma has very serious amnesia. Her memory has been getting worse, and she often says things that are hard to understand."
"Is that so?" Furina looked at Yuandai with a bit of pity.
"Amnesia?" Lora studied Yuandai's expression. Her instincts told her this was not some ordinary illness.
Shuyu continued, "Actually, Grandma has been forgetting things for as long as I can remember. It's only gotten worse recently. Now I have to introduce myself to her again every morning..."
"Huh? Then what about your parents?" Focalors frowned after hearing that.
"They passed away early," Shuyu said. "Now it's just Grandma and me."
"Is that so?" Focalors had not expected that. She looked a little uneasy and turned toward Lora.
Lora said, "Sorry. This child doesn't always choose her words carefully."
Shuyu shook her head. "It's okay. You don't need to feel sad for me. Grandma loves me very much, and I love her too. Life is a little hard, but I don't hate it."
"You're pretty strong," Furina said, looking at her.
Shuyu scratched her head shyly. "Thank you."
Yuandai looked at Furina. "What about me? Praise me too."
That caught both Furina and Focalors off guard again. After exchanging a glance with Focalors, Furina said, "You're great too!"
"Yes, Grandma is great!" Shuyu nodded in agreement. "She's strong, gentle, and reliable!"
Yuandai continued, "Yes. It's not as if I've forgotten everything. I remember something very important. Uh... something very important. What was it again...?"
At that point, she fell into thought.
After a while, she finally remembered.
"Ah! I remember now. I had a dream. I dreamed I was in a pitch-black place. Someone stood in front of me and told me to find her. If I found her, I would be free."
"Huh? Grandma, why didn't you tell me something this important?" Shuyu looked at her in surprise.
Yuandai said sheepishly, "Oh, because it was a dream, so I forgot. I was in a good mood just now, so I remembered again. I think... I've had that dream many times. I just can't remember how many."
"The same dream, over and over?" Focalors looked toward Lora. "Lady Egeria, this doesn't seem right."
Lora looked at Yuandai, then at Xianyun, who had been watching the two of them the entire time. She suddenly stood and said, "Xianyun, shall we talk somewhere else?"
Xianyun paused, but she did not refuse. She stood as well.
"All right."
"You two, look after Yuandai and Shuyu," Lora told Furina and Focalors.
Furina nodded. "Don't worry. Leave it to me!"
Focalors also said, "We'll take good care of them."
Lora led Xianyun away to a corner. From there, they could still see Furina's side, while making sure no one at the table could hear their conversation.
Lora watched Yuandai, who was now chatting with Furina and Focalors, and asked, "Who is she?"
Xianyun's gaze fell on Yuandai. After a moment of silence, she said, "She... could be considered my disciple."
"Disciple?" Lora looked at her in surprise. She had not expected Yuandai to have that kind of relationship with her. "Can you tell me about it?"
Xianyun nodded. "Of course. There is nothing inconvenient about it. It began several decades ago..."
Then she told Lora the story between her and Yuandai.
After hearing it, Lora sighed. "And you said you knew how to raise children? Isn't this one you failed to raise properly?"
Xianyun sighed as well. "How could I have known she would think that way? Although she never formally became my disciple, I had long since regarded her as one. Since that was her own wish, how could I blame her?"
"Then what's going on with her now?" Lora asked. She looked at Yuandai, whose face carried a smile but occasionally revealed confusion. "Why doesn't she recognize you?"
After a moment of silence, Xianyun said, "It's a side effect of the medicine. If she had returned back then, I would have done everything I could to help her. But that was the path she chose for herself."
"So what do you plan to do now?"
"Meeting again is fate." Xianyun answered without hesitation. "I will help her recover her memories."
She looked toward Yuandai and said softly, "No matter what, she is still my disciple."