Dingding thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, suddenly having a family was so exciting. But in fact, he slept the soundest and woke up the latest of all, after all, he hadn't had a proper sleep throughout the journey.
He only woke up when the commotion outside grew louder. Looking at the unfamiliar tent ceiling, his mind cleared, and he sat up with a start. He jumped out of bed and ran to the door, opening a small crack. Just as he was wondering why it was dark outside, that dark shape moved and turned to him with a toothy grin.
"Zhu Changle!" Dingding gritted his teeth as he fell back on his bottom.
Zhu Changle extended her long leg to kick the door open, sat on the threshold leaning against the doorframe, and teased him with her arms crossed, "Look at how cowardly you are."
"Couldn't you have woken me up earlier? It's so late now, don't tell me everyone was just waiting for me?"
"Yes, we were just waiting for you."
Dingding was on the verge of tears. He had just gotten a grandmother and a mother, surely they hadn't disappeared after he slept for a few hours?!
"Hey, hey, hey, how come you can't take a joke after not seeing me for two years?" Zhu Changle was both amused and exasperated. She changed her sitting position to face him, "My second sister-in-law just gave birth, we need to let her rest, don't we?"
Dingding glared at her and got up to put on his clothes.
Zhu Changle showed no intention of avoiding him, the thought never even crossed her mind. As she watched him dress, she said, "I only asked you and Lan Ping for help. Is that woman at home?"
"It's hard to say. Just hope she hasn't run too far. If she's gone too far, not only might we not catch up, but Little Golden might not be able to find her either." Dingding tied his waistband and looked at the person furrowing her brows, "Is Lan Ping not coming because she's not confident? Just looking at those people last night, they didn't seem that formidable. Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't realize, little Zhu, that Little Bottle Cap was so impressive in your eyes."
"If their strength was just like last night, I could handle it even without you coming."
Dingding rolled his eyes, "Will you die if you don't step on me?"
"It's just a fact," Zhu Changle played with her sword tassel, "They're all from the martial arts world."
"What's so strange about that?" Dingding poured himself a cup of water.
"Oh, right, you don't know that I'm the daughter of an official family."
"Pfft..." Dingding sprayed water everywhere, coughing and pointing at her, unable to speak.
"Is it that surprising?" Zhu Changle cupped her face with a smile, "I'm so beautiful, so graceful, so much like a young lady from a noble family. What's so shocking about me being the daughter of an official?"
"Zhu Changle, have some shame. Do you even know how to write the characters for 'young lady from a noble family'?" Dingding sat down, gesturing for Zhu Changle to close the door and come over.
Zhu Changle waved to her mother who was looking over, then entered the room and closed the door.
"..." Lady Zhang felt a pain in her chest. Did her daughter have any sense of propriety between men and women at all? Even siblings needed to be mindful, let alone them!
"Alright, don't constrain her with those rules from the capital. She never really considered herself a young lady anyway," Zhu Maonian shook his head with a smile. "She's quite fitting as a free-spirited person from the martial arts world."
"My lord..."
Zhu Maonian patted her back, "Let her be free."
Lady Zhang twisted her handkerchief tightly, looking at the closed door, but ultimately said nothing more.
Inside the room, Zhu Changle was proudly introducing her identity, "My father is the Grand Censor of the first rank, overseeing all officials. He's very powerful!"
"If he's so powerful, how come he's being hunted down?"
"It's because he's powerful that he's worth hunting down. If he wasn't powerful, why would anyone want to kill him?"
That made sense. Dingding rested his chin on his hand, feeling something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it. After thinking for a moment without figuring it out, he asked again, "So where are we going?"
"Yunbei County."
"Yunbei? Never heard of it. What are we going there for?"
"My father is the County Magistrate of Yunbei, of course we're going there to take up the post."
"Wasn't he the Grand Censor? How did he become a County Magistrate?"
"The sea of officialdom has its ups and downs. Isn't it normal to be promoted or demoted?"
"I've figured it out," Dingding nodded. "Zhu Changle, you've really become more thick-skinned."
"Of course, after two years of cultivation, shouldn't I have improved in all aspects?" Zhu Changle grinned, "To put it simply, my father was demoted from the first rank to a seventh-rank minor official. But because he's so capable, he's being hunted down on his way to take up the post. Do you understand now?"
"I get it. So someone's doing something despicable," Dingding sneered. "They have such short memories."
"Isn't that just having a short memory?" Zhu Changle lowered her head, tracing the patterns on the Tidal Sword, her expression unclear. "We're supposed to follow the principle of 'misfortune doesn't extend to wives and daughters,' but look at my family, the old and the pregnant, they intend to spare no one. How to settle the score is a matter for later. Right now, I just want to protect everyone safely. If worst comes to worst, I'm thinking of using Little Bottle Cap's connections."
"I understand. Last time I saw her, I didn't hear where she was going, and also..." Dingding smiled, "Knowing you were breaking through, if she didn't want to fall too far behind you, she'd definitely need to spend more time practicing. There's a high chance she's with the Canal Gang."
"I hope so."
Dingding kicked her lightly, "Don't worry, I've got your back, brother. Nothing will go wrong."
"With your measly skills, you could barely fight a drowning dog," Zhu Changle stood up. "And what do you mean 'got your back'? Aren't they your family now? Shouldn't you be protecting your own family? Don't say you haven't kowtowed yet. When we get there, you better kowtow properly, otherwise my parents and grandmother won't accept you as family, hmph."
Zhu Changle tossed her head haughtily and strode out. As soon as she was out the door, she broke into a wide grin. Recruiting a brother did have its benefits; he had taken half her pressure away.
The foolish brother inside the room was also smiling. Hehe, hehe, he had parents now!
"Hurry up and come out for breakfast, we're just waiting for you."
Dingding startled, jumping up to go out. At the doorway, he lowered his head to straighten his clothes properly. Although the disciples of the Beggar's Sect all wore clothes that were chaotically orderly, he still needed to tidy up.
But when he reached the door, he felt a bit shy again.
"Ziming is up. You must be tired from the journey, come and have some hot food," Lady Zhang noticed his shyness and smiled, beckoning to him.
Dingding didn't have time to think and immediately stepped over the threshold. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard a shout, "Wait!"
Dingding paused in a half-squat and looked up.
Zhu Changle pulled him around to face Zhu Maonian, "Kneel down."
Dingding dropped to his knees without hesitation.
"Call him Father."
"...Father."
Zhu Maonian had guessed this would happen after learning about the situation last night. He was about to respond when he heard Changle stirring up trouble again, "Louder! Didn't you eat?"
He really hadn't eaten yet. Dingding felt a bit wronged. Besides, this damned Changle wasn't being considerate at all. He had lived for seventeen years without ever calling anyone Father, shouldn't he be given some time to adjust?
Zhu Changle squatted down and threatened, "Hurry up, if you don't call out louder, you won't get a share!"
The whole family watched the two of them with smiling eyes, neither hurrying nor stopping them.
That kind of goodwill was too obvious. Dingding felt a warmth in his heart, and a loud "Father" burst from his mouth.
"Yes," Zhu Maonian responded, bending down to help him up with a smile. "Going on a long journey and picking up a son, this trip has been worthwhile. In the future, get along well with your brothers and sisters, keep in touch often, and never feel like an outsider at any time."
"Yes, yes." Dingding's eyes reddened. He... he had a father now.
