"Old Gu Six, I've finally found you!"
Wan Ke arrived at Chang'an's doorstep with his family and luggage in tow.
As luck would have it, Chang'an wasn't home. She and the Silver Wolf family of four had gone into the mountains to look for rotting wood that could grow wood ear mushrooms.
She had plenty of food in her space, but was lacking only wood ear mushrooms.
Old Gu Six put down what he was working on and asked in confusion, "Why have you all come here?"
"It's a long story," Wan Ke sighed.
"Then make it short," Old Gu Six said, opening the courtyard gate where bamboo chairs and tables were set up.
The Wan family instinctively sat down in the courtyard to rest, not following him into the house.
Old Gu Six brought out a kettle and poured each of them a bowl of water.
"Well, last time I saved someone, it caused some trouble. When the villagers fled, we all got separated," Wan Ke explained, his face turning grim with guilt as he spoke of it. If he hadn't brought that person back, the villagers living in the mountains wouldn't have faced mortal danger.
"Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble to me?" Old Gu Six asked coldly, his tone icy.
The Wan family were good people, and he owed them a debt of gratitude, but that wasn't reason enough for them to bring him trouble. The entire fishing village had been ruined because of Wan Ke.
What made him think it would be safe to come here? What made him think that just because they knew each other and shared a meal once, he would be willing to put himself and his daughter in danger?
Wan Ke's face paled. He hadn't thought it through that far, only assuming that since Old Gu Six was skilled in martial arts, he wouldn't fear those people.
But he hadn't considered that Old Gu Six had an eleven-year-old daughter who, in others' eyes, was a defenseless child.
"I-I'm sorry, we'll leave right away," Wan Ke stammered.
Madam Wan sighed softly. She had told them not to come find Old Gu, not to bring trouble to others, but her son just wouldn't listen.
She stood up and sincerely apologized to Old Gu Six, "We're truly sorry, Old Gu. We didn't think this through."
Old Gu Six's expression softened a bit as he looked at Madam Wan. He shook his head and said, "Madam, I should be the one apologizing. As you can see, there's no place to accommodate you here. More importantly, I have a daughter at home. If it were just me, it wouldn't matter."
Then he added, "In these times, it's dangerous to do good deeds. One misstep and you might bring about mortal danger."
He directed these words at Wan Ke. Old Gu Six didn't know exactly what had happened, but he guessed that Wan Ke had saved someone he shouldn't have, bringing disaster upon himself and the villagers.
He could repay the Wan family's kindness, but only to a certain extent. Such a debt didn't require him to put himself in danger to repay it.
More importantly, he feared that if Wan Ke settled down here and encountered someone who needed help or saving, he wouldn't be able to control his kind heart again.
That would lead to endless trouble and disputes.
Old Gu Six went inside and brought out half a bag of rice, about thirty jin in weight.
"Even if you settled here, it wouldn't be safe. Why don't you travel further away? Perhaps if you go far enough, those people won't be able to find you."
Wan Ke accepted the rice. They were indeed short on food, and if they were to travel elsewhere, this would be life-saving provisions, so he didn't refuse.
The Wan family bid farewell to Old Gu Six and left with Wan Ke. His brothers and sisters-in-law hadn't said a word, looking somewhat weary.
Seeing them leave, Old Gu Six immediately went out to erase any traces of the Wan family's visit and departure.
Thinking that even the mountains weren't safe now, he hurriedly went into the mountains to find Chang'an.
In the mountains, four wolves and one human wandered about, stopping here and there, searching everywhere.
However, they couldn't find what they were looking for. Perhaps it wasn't the right season.
"Since we can't find it, let's go back," Chang'an suggested.
But Silver Wolf didn't listen to Chang'an. Instead, it led her to another place where there was a wild fruit tree, its branches heavy with unripe fruit.
Chang'an stepped forward to take a closer look and realized they were wild pears.
"It's past the season for planting fruit trees now. Let's come back when the fruit is ripe to pick them, and then transplant the tree next spring," she said.
Her space wasn't big enough to accommodate such a large fruit tree, so they had to leave it for now.
"Awoo," Silver Wolf howled, as if it understood. Then it carried Chang'an out of the mountains on its back.
When Chang'an returned home, she found that Old Six Dad wasn't there. She didn't know where he had gone.
Thinking of his unreliable sense of direction, Chang'an patted Silver Wolf's head and said, "Go see where my dad is. Bring him back. He's your worker. If you lose him, who's going to help you clean your prey?"
Silver Wolf darted out in a flash, heading straight for the mountains to find Old Six.
Chang'an continued working on the fence that Old Six Dad hadn't finished. By the time the last ray of sunlight disappeared over the sea, neither Old Six Dad nor Silver Wolf had returned.
Thinking they might have been delayed by hunting in the mountains, she went to the vegetable garden and picked two cucumbers, planning to make a cold cucumber salad for dinner.
When the last bit of light faded from the sea, Old Six Dad and Silver Wolf still hadn't returned.
Chang'an put the prepared food into her space and then ran to the courtyard gate to wait.
After waiting for about two hours with no sign of them, Chang'an asked Little White, Silver Wolf's wife who was squatting beside her, "Little White, do you think your husband might have gotten lost in the mountains too?"
Little White impatiently pawed the ground twice, then darted out in a flash. She was going to find her unreliable husband.
Chang'an waited for a long time but still didn't see Old Six Dad return. Instead, she was greeted by a group of uninvited guests.
A group of people dressed in black with black face coverings, only their eyes visible, approached. Seeing the strangers coming, Big White, Silver Wolf's brother-in-law, and his wife stood in front of Chang'an to shield her.
They bared their teeth, warning the intruders not to come closer.
Big White raised his head and let out a long howl, "Awoo!"
His wife, Big Gray, also howled, "Awoo!"
The black-clad men at the front suddenly changed their expressions. Of course, Chang'an couldn't see their faces, but she could hear the panic in their voices.
"This is bad, boss. Those two wolves are calling for their pack."
"Stop talking and grab that little girl quickly!"
Two of the black-clad men rushed towards Chang'an, reaching out to grab her.
Chang'an used her qinggong to quickly retreat, narrowly avoiding their grasp.
Big White and Big Gray leaped up and pounced on the two men. The wolves that had been summoned arrived at this moment, a large pack with glowing green eyes staring at the humans.
Big White howled again, "Awoo!"
The wolf pack moved at the sound. The group of black-clad men, seeing that there were far too many wolves, realized that no matter how skilled they were, they couldn't possibly fight off so many wolves.
As Chang'an saw them trying to escape, she unleashed lightning to intercept them, striking the group half-dead.
The wolf pack, fearing the lightning, all retreated far away, not daring to approach.
When Old Gu Six returned with Silver Wolf and his wife, they saw wolves all over the hills and black-clad men at the doorstep, smoking and twitching from the lightning strikes.
In the courtyard lay two more men, their limbs twisted, their state between life and death unclear.
Old Gu Six was shocked and immediately ran forward to check if his daughter was injured.
"Daughter, what happened?"
"I don't know. These people came and tried to grab me. It's like they have some kind of brain disease," Chang'an said.
She kicked hard at the nearest person who had been struck crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Then she pointed at the two lying in the courtyard and said, "These two can still talk. We can interrogate them."
