A'qing watched the mule cart disappear into the distance, his eyes reddening as he finally turned to go home.
On the way, he encountered some villagers who curiously asked, "A'qing, we heard a rich young master came to your house?"
"Yes, yes, I heard he's from the city," A'qing replied.
"A'qing, when did you make such a friend?"
"A'qing, don't forget about us if something good comes your way."
A'qing smiled politely but didn't respond, keeping his head down as he hurried home.
The villagers didn't mind, smiling kindly before going about their business.
When A'qing got home, his son pulled him into the room. On the kang bed were five neatly arranged open boxes, their contents clearly visible.
The whole family looked to him, asking what they should do.
The bag of flour was already quite valuable, and the jade pendant looked expensive at a glance.
In the end, Old Mrs. Chen made the decision, "Little Gu has no fixed abode now, so even if we wanted to return these things, we wouldn't know where to go. Let's keep them safe for now and return them when we see him again."
A'qing was given the three pairs of silver bracelets and two jade pendants to keep. The two packs of mung bean cakes were given to the brother and sister to eat, and the fabric was given to A'qing's wife to store.
A'qing then gave the silver bracelets to the old lady, "Mom, you... you... keep... keep... these. I'll... I'll... pay... pay... him back... later."
He understood Old Gu Six. These things were given to their family to use. Even if they could find him to return them, he wouldn't take them back.
In the future, he would work harder, save more, and pay Old Gu Six back generously.
The old lady was silent for a moment before accepting the three pairs of bracelets. She then instructed the siblings, "Don't tell anyone that your Uncle Gu gave us such valuable gifts. Keep your little mouths shut."
The brother and sister replied in unison, "We know, Grandma." They weren't three-year-olds; they understood the principle of not flaunting wealth.
After Old Gu Six and Chang'an left A'qing's house, they turned off the main road onto a smaller path. The mountain road twisted and turned, but the mule cart could still pass through.
"Dad, please be more careful and don't take the wrong road again. You don't want to be on the road forever, do you?" Chang'an said.
Old Gu Six smiled sheepishly without saying a word. How could he say it was his fault for taking the wrong road? It was clearly the mule who moved its feet first.
However, this wrong turn turned out quite well, allowing him to fortunately meet A'qing and know that he was living a stable and happy life.
The first part of the road was still easy to traverse, but the mountain path ahead became increasingly narrow, forcing them to fold up the cart.
Chang'an rode the mule while Old Gu Six led it from the front.
Traveling through the mountains had its advantages. They could enjoy fresh pheasant and rabbit, occasionally find mushrooms, and sometimes prepare wild vegetable salads.
However, they didn't have the protagonists' incredible luck of finding all sorts of edibles in the mountains. They never dug up any ginseng or picked any lingzhi mushrooms.
Another drawback was that it was difficult to maintain a sense of direction, and they often found themselves at dead ends.
Just like now, the two people and the mule stood dumbfounded. Where had their big road gone?
"Daughter, roads are originally made by people walking. Perhaps our predecessors only made it this far, and the rest is up to us to forge," Old Gu Six said.
He nodded firmly, feeling that this explanation made perfect sense. He had convinced himself.
"...Whatever makes you happy," Chang'an said as she climbed down from the mule. Without asking, she knew they would be climbing the mountain again.
She had gotten used to it by now, treating it as if they were searching for their own territory.
The father and daughter skillfully tied up their sleeves and trouser legs, then plunged into the mountain without hesitation. Neither of them thought about turning back to walk a bit, where they might have found a path to follow.
Meanwhile, the winding path leading downwards seemed to say: I can't believe you two. If you had just looked to your right, you wouldn't have been left without a road to follow.
Chang'an's inner strength had been cultivated to the point where she could use it freely, and her physical constitution had greatly improved. Now, climbing mountains no longer left her gasping like a fish out of water as it had in the beginning.
"Dad, is that a snake ahead?" Chang'an asked.
"If your eyes aren't deceiving you, then yes, it is," Old Gu Six said, quickly lifting Chang'an and placing her behind him.
It was a white-banded krait, with a slightly oval-shaped head and a slender body and tail, about 1 meter in total length.
It was a non-venomous snake, known for its relatively gentle temperament and slow movements. It hunted small birds, lizards, and small rodents for food.
The snake raised half its body, baring its fangs and flicking its tongue at Old Gu Six, warning them not to come closer.
The white-banded krait seemed to say: Don't come any closer, or I'll bite you.
Old Gu Six narrowed his phoenix eyes and clicked his tongue. He drew his flexible sword and swung it to the side, felling a small tree.
The white-banded krait's demeanor changed: My apologies, I'll take my leave.
It closed its mouth and slowly slithered into the underbrush. The rustling sounds continued for a while before finally fading away.
Fearing they might encounter more snakes or poisonous insects, Old Gu Six simply picked up Chang'an and slung her onto his back.
"Dad, it's really not necessary. I can handle snakes," Chang'an said.
"Hmph," was Old Gu Six's only response.
This...
What could she say to that?
There was no need to say anything more. Old Gu Six carried Chang'an on his back while she held the mule's reins, and they headed in the direction they believed to be correct.
They had only encountered that snake with clear stupidity in its eyes at the beginning. The rest of their journey went quite smoothly.
After passing through the dense forest, they came to a valley.
The valley was divided in two by a small stream. On the opposite bank was the forest, while they stood on a flat grassland.
Two young deer were drinking water on the forest side. When they raised their heads and saw two people standing on the opposite bank, they fled in panic into the woods.
"Daughter, it's getting late. Shall we rest here for the night?" Old Gu Six asked.
"That's fine," Chang'an replied.
Chang'an let the mule roam freely nearby while she took out pots, bowls, and utensils from her spatial storage to prepare dinner.
Seeing that Old Gu Six was about to go hunting again, she quickly stopped him. "Dad, don't go. We still have plenty of food in the storage space."
At some point, her Old Gu Six had developed a strong liking for hoarding food. Even when he couldn't catch any game, he would gather handfuls of wild vegetables to store away.
The cabbage and broccoli in the storage space were ready to eat. Chang'an picked a head of broccoli to stir-fry with cured meat and prepared a cold cucumber salad. She didn't pick the cabbage to eat, planning to use it for making kimchi later.
By the time they finished dinner, it was completely dark. They still lit two bonfires, with a small iron pot of boiling water over one of them.
Looking at the bubbling boiling water, Chang'an suddenly thought, why not have a late-night snack? How about some barbecue?
"Dad, want some barbecue?" she asked.
"Yes, yes," he replied eagerly. It had been a while since they'd had it, and it would satisfy their cravings.
"I also want that sweet bubbly water we had last time," Old Gu Six added.
"It's called cola," Chang'an explained.
Chang'an took out the barbecue grill and prepared various foods and seasonings.
"Let's wait a bit before we start grilling. We just finished dinner," she said.
Old Gu Six patted his stomach. "Actually, I could eat some now."
"...Then you can grill it yourself," Chang'an replied.
Old Gu Six happily got to work, the master griller now on duty.
He first grilled a corn on the cob for Chang'an before moving on to various meats.
As Chang'an was contemplating whether to eat the corn now or wait, she heard a voice from the forest, "Brother Ling, hurry and go! Don't worry about me!"
The voice sounded strained, as if there was a slipper stuck in their throat.
