Minoo has autism and almost never speaks on his own. All his communication depends on others patiently guiding and repeating for him.
For him to clearly express his feelings like this was something never seen before.
Celine's whole body stiffened, her heart pounding as if it would jump out of her chest.
Was it a hallucination?
Or... did Minoo really...
A huge wave of joy flooded her like a rising tide, and her eyes uncontrollably grew warm.
But she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, afraid of disturbing this fragile moment.
She looked at Minoo and asked him in the gentlest voice she could manage, "Minoo, look at sister. What did you just say? Can you say it again?"
Her voice was full of cautious hope.
Minoo didn't answer right away.
He still kept his head down, his eyes fixed on the shining light-blue crystal core in his hand, his small fingers unconsciously stroking it.
Seconds passed, the air seemed to freeze.
Still, Minoo didn't respond.
Just when everyone was about to lose hope, thinking the earlier moment was just a fleeting chance.
Minoo raised his head again. Though his gaze was still a bit unfocused, this time, he looked at Celine, then glanced at the crystal core in his hand.
With an extremely slow, almost word-by-word pace, he clearly said:
"Head... comfortable. Blue... like."
Only six words, but they sounded like heavenly music!
"!!!"
"Minoo!"
Mother Zhou could no longer hold back. Tears filled her eyes as she hugged her little son tightly, "My Minoo... you…"
She choked on her words, unable to say more, only tightening her embrace again and again.
Celine trembled all over with excitement. Could it be... this crystal core really has the power to treat or improve autism?
"This... this crystal core..." Nimuel's face was full of shock and disbelief. "It really has this kind of ability?"
This was beyond what he understood!
Celine didn't explain but took another level one crystal core from her pocket and handed it to her second brother Nimuel.
"Second brother, try it."
Nimuel hesitated slightly before taking it.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the black crystal core that gave off a faint glow. This was not just a pretty stone; it held a power that could overturn common knowledge.
But his sister's confident look, and the unbelievable things he had just seen with his own eyes, made him finally suppress his doubts.
"Alright."
Nimuel took a deep breath, steadying his eyes, and reached out to take the first-level crystal core.
The crystal core felt slightly cool in his hand, but not cold. Instead, it had a strange, smooth texture.
The moment he held the crystal core, a gentle power, as if it were alive, silently flowed up his arm like a small stream.
This power softly brushed over his shoulders and neck, bringing an indescribable relief that eased the stiffness caused by days of hard work.
What shocked him most was when the warm current passed through the part of his throat that had been operated on. It felt clearly like being soaked and nourished by warm water!
That area had developed polyps from overusing his voice to teach for a long time, leaving a slight discomfort after surgery. Now it felt like a gentle hand was softly smoothing it out, an indescribable comfort.
"Hiss..." Nimuel couldn't help but let out a soft breath, "This feeling... my throat..."
"Second brother, this crystal core works best on parts of the body that have been injured," Celine said, then opened her small backpack and took out five or six more crystal cores, putting them into a small pouch embroidered with delicate orchids, before handing it to Nimuel.
"Take this, second brother."
The pouch was sewn by Mother Zhou with her own hands.
Mother Zhou had learned embroidery when she was young and was very skilled at Suzhou embroidery. She had made many pouches like this.
Celine and her siblings had used these pouches since they were children and sometimes sold them.
Now, Celine gave it a new use: "This pouch can block some energy, preventing you from touching too many crystal cores directly, which could cause discomfort. Use it to carry the cores easily and take them out only when needed."
Nimuel was a little stunned as he took the heavy pouch. Shenan, the usually silent eldest brother, finally spoke.
His gaze swept over Nimuel, then fell on the pouch. In a low, serious tone, he warned:
"Second brother, this thing... is too special."
"Its origin and use must not be known by anyone outside our family!"
"Not even... not even Lorenzo can know a single word!"
"Big brother, don't worry, I won't say a thing."
Nimuel's voice was soft but serious.
How could he not understand his big brother's worry?
The lesson of 'having something valuable brings trouble' was a harsh truth, no matter what era or world you lived in.