Chapter 42: A Family Reunion
The mountains were high, the forests dense, and prone to fog.
Today, Mother Qin Luoxia still wanted to go find another giant python.
So, she trekked over mountains and through waters, unknowingly arriving at another stretch of deep mountains.
She was fast on her feet, estimating the time, as she still had to return to breastfeed.
She moved through the dense forest as if walking on flat ground, running and running, until she reached Qingyuan Mountain.
Huayuan Mountain belonged to the family of Magistrate Zhao; her husband wouldn’t even let Fenger go there, and she was afraid of causing trouble for her husband.
So she ran a bit further away.
The area of Qingyuan Mountain was even larger, and there was a temple on the mountain. She had never gone to worship there because she heard that burning incense to worship Buddha required money.
Even when her own Mother was very ill, she had wanted to pray to the Bodhisattva, but she truly had no money. The only money she had was to buy medicine for her Mother and to prepare a coffin, so she had never been able to go to the temple.
The Buddha could not save the poor, because the poor didn’t even have the travel expenses to get to the temple.
She had never worshiped at Qingyuan Temple, and now that she actually wanted to go to Qingyuan Temple to hunt for a giant python, it was, to some extent, disrespectful to the Buddha; even the cats, dogs, birds, and snakes in the temple were tainted with the scent of incense.
Qin Luoxia had never been here before.
So, she had taken the wrong path.
She looked at the craggy cliffs, where there were some scattered buildings, and felt that they probably weren’t a temple.
She had heard that temples were very beautiful, very wealthy, and golden.
She thought she would look around first, and then think carefully about where there might be a giant python when she returned.
While wandering around, she actually encountered four people.
There were people in this deep, dense forest, and she didn’t know them.
One held an axe, two held machetes, and one held a spear.
Qin Luoxia hid herself, not daring to move. After all, she was a respectable married woman with a husband. Meeting strange men, it wasn’t appropriate to show herself casually; it didn’t matter in the village where everyone was an acquaintance.
In the deep mountains and old forests, she still possessed that bit of vigilance.
When she laid in ambush, she hid very naturally, blending into the mountain forest in an instant.
When those four people were closest to her, they were actually only a few zhang away.
She saw that the man’s axe was larger than her firewood axe, and the two men’s machetes were larger than her machete, but the spear held by the man with the spear was not as good as hers.
The man with the spear seemed a bit sharp, because he looked in her direction a few times.
Qin Luoxia heard the four men speaking.
“Brother Hu, what use are a few greenhorns?”
“To die, to take the blame.”
“I feel like something is wrong this time, Brother Hu. If there were really a good opportunity, the Second Master would have gone himself.”
“Wealth is sought in danger; whether it works out or not, we’ll see.”
Hearing these people speak, Qin Luoxia was so scared that her milk let down. Oh my, she had actually encountered mountain bandits.
With mountain bandits appearing here, the buildings on the cliff she had just seen were not a temple, but a bandit den.
Terrifying, simply terrifying.
She hid even more securely, and when these people walked away, she turned and ran.
Because she was too nervous and afraid, while running back, she accidentally knocked over a tree.
The four-man bandit group was walking normally behind, and when they passed that broken tree.
“Brother Hu, this tree is strange. It seemed fine yesterday,” the bandit with the spear said curiously.
The two bandits with machetes also stopped and gestured with their blades. This tree was so thick that it would take them a long time to cut it down.
Brother Hu, carrying his axe, stood before the broken tree and pondered for three seconds before saying, “It must have been bumped by a black bear. There are black bears in the mountains, though they didn’t use to come to this area. You all should be careful when patrolling the mountains in the future; don’t run into that thing. If you run into it, you’re dead for sure.”
The group of four continued walking forward.
The bandit with the spear even looked back at the broken tree, feeling like something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. There were no bear tracks on the ground, but if Brother Hu said so, it was so.
Qin Luoxia sprinted all the way, running madly back home. The outside was indeed too dangerous; her husband was right.
When she was almost home, she remembered she needed to dig for wild vegetables.
However, the wild vegetables near her home had long since been dug bare. She thought about it and pulled up another tree to take home; her family seemed to like sitting under the trees to cool off.
One tree was still a bit too bare; planting another one would be denser.
Qin Luoxia huffed and puffed as she carried the tree home.
There was actually no one at home.
She went to the village to ask people, and they said Sister Yu had taken her younger sister and A-Cui to follow the Little Peddler to the county seat to pick up some things.
A-Cuis Mother was already cursing at the village entrance: “It’s been so long and they haven’t returned; they must have gone off to slack off. That Sister Yu is always lazy and will end up leading my A-Cui astray.”
Qin Luoxia felt something was wrong. Although Sister Yu was gluttonous, she was sensible. The sun was already leaning west; how could they not be back yet?
Her own daughter was as sharp as a monkey; even if she went out, she would calculate the time and would surely rush home before she did.
She hurried home, grabbed her spear, and headed towards the county seat.
Along the way, the more Qin Luoxia thought about it, the more she blamed herself. It was all her fault; she hadn’t watched the home well enough.
Her husband had gone to work, yet she had lost both Sister Yu and Mianmian.
Her husband was someone who loved children so much; he didn’t mind at all that they were girls and was good to every child.
Qin Luoxia was burning with anxiety, yet she kept telling herself repeatedly: “Don’t panic, don’t panic, think of your husband.”
No matter what happened, her husband could remain unmoved and keep his composure.
She also had to keep her composure, keep her composure.
She walked out of the village, watching the road the whole way.
Watching the forests on both sides.
She found a place where people had hidden; someone had sat here, and they had placed two baskets.
The Little Peddler had an accomplice; he couldn’t have taken away three children by himself.
When she reached a fork in the road, one path led into the county seat, and the other led out of the city.
Qin Luoxia did not hesitate and walked in the direction leading out of the city.
Along the way, she could see traces of sedan chairs and carriage ruts; some noble person was also leaving the city. She wondered if she would encounter that Kidnapper, the Little Peddler. They had kidnapped children and were acting suspiciously; if she encountered them, she didn’t know if she could rescue them.
Qin Luoxia could only try hard to think positively so that she wouldn’t be too flustered.
However, her heart sank lower and lower because she saw traces along the way. She didn’t know why, but there were scraps of cloth dropped on the road; she saw them every so often. She picked them up and smelled them—it was Mianmian’s scent, the milky smell of a baby.
She was the one who breastfed her, so she definitely recognized the smell.
Qin Luoxia walked faster and faster, faster and faster.
She dared not imagine, could not think of what the situation was, and could only think in a positive direction. Nothing would happen, nothing would happen; there were scraps of cloth from Mianmian’s clothes dropped on the road—she had even left marks for her.
She felt frantic inside, as if she were moving back and forth so fast she left afterimages.
The evening glow on the horizon was fiery red. Just as red as Qin Luoxia’s eyes.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of horse hooves.
She stood in the middle of the road, not dodging. She wanted to stop the people and ask if they had seen the Little Peddler.
Qin Luoxia, holding her spear, stood in the middle of the road.
“Whoa!”
There was no one in the wilderness, so the horses were generally moving at high speed. It was also evening, and the mountain forests on both sides had beautiful scenery.
The person at the very front had not noticed at all that someone was blocking the middle of the road.
When they saw her and pulled on the reins, the horses were startled and reared up.
The person on the horse was so angry they wanted to scold her. How could someone stand in the middle of the road after seeing a horse procession? Were they seeking death?
But horses were more sensitive than humans. The person in front felt a scent of fierce pythons and giant bears on her; the horses not only stopped but also retreated in unison.
In an instant, people were thrown and horses were overturned, causing a pile-up.
“Did we encounter bandits?” someone at the back of the procession asked in surprise.
They were almost at the county seat; who was so bold?
And the few ruffians, after showing off, finally felt fear afterwards. Their little brains cleared up, and they realized why they had come. They, a few people who knew nothing, had come to rob this grand procession—that was seeking death.
Gouzi also realized it; the Brother Hu he knew didn’t want to take him along at all; he just wanted him to die.
Yet he didn’t expect that just as they were almost home, they would encounter bandits again. Could it be that Brother Hu had brought the people from the mountain stronghold to attack?
Jiang Feng protected his two younger sisters, observing left and right.
And those two dying Peddler spouses’ eyes brightened slightly; if there were really people robbing the road, they could fish in troubled waters and might just survive.
Young Master He Chen and Meng Shaoxia’s eyes lit up. They had been playing the role of “fat sheep” all the way, attracting many bandits, which could be considered eliminating violence and bringing peace. They hadn’t expected to find them even in the county seat—too rampant, how exciting! Their horses were naturally better, and they darted to the front in an instant.
As a result, they discovered that it was actually just an older woman? An older woman with a very large chest…
Qin Luoxia was also nervous seeing so many people, but she couldn’t worry about being nervous now. She asked loudly: “May I ask if you have encountered a peddler, a dwarf peddler?”
Young Master He Chen, who had ridden forward, didn’t expect anyone to be looking for that Kidnapper, and asked curiously: “What are you to that peddler? Why are you looking for him?”
Hearing the other party’s question, Qin Luoxia was moved: “That peddler is a Kidnapper; he kidnapped my child, and I came out to find my child.”
Meng Shaoxia’s gaze fell on the older woman’s spear, feeling somewhat strange.
He saw the older woman standing alone in the middle of the road, while his guard procession was actually a full zhang behind, with traces of horses retreating on the ground.
“It’s Mother!” Jiang Mianmian had good hearing; from far away, she heard Mother’s voice and also smelled her familiar milky scent.
She shouted desperately: “Yi-ya-ya-ya.” As she shouted, she started to cry: “Ao-ao-ao-ao!”
Qin Luoxia also heard the baby’s crying. Not bothering to ask further questions, she sprinted all the way and ran into the middle of the procession.
She saw Fenger covered in blood, saw her silly daughter Sister Yu, and saw Mianmian crying her heart out.
Saliva churned in Qin Luoxia’s throat, and tears fell uncontrollably.
She had almost, almost lost the children; how would she explain it to her husband?
The guard procession and the two youths on fine horses looked at this family reunion in astonishment.
It was very touching, but they were still a bit confused—how did this older woman just dash in?
And the light of hope in the eyes of The Peddler couple extinguished once again.
Qin Luoxia held her little daughter to soothe her. After Jiang Mianmian fell into Mother’s embrace, she truly wept with joy.
The outside world was too dangerous; from now on, she wouldn’t go anywhere. She would just cling to Mother; Mother’s body was broad and sturdy—it was the best place.
She cried until she hiccuped. She wanted to drink milk, but she felt a bit embarrassed.
Qin Luoxia, holding her baby, first thanked the two young masters leading the procession.
Her gaze fell upon The Peddler couple, and Qin Luoxia said: “I heard they did this dirty deed to buy medicine for their sick child. Pity the hearts of parents everywhere; may I say a few words to them?”
Everyone saw that this older woman was holding a nursing baby, obviously having given birth not long ago and still breastfeeding. Women at this time were the softest-hearted; the people were about to sell her baby, yet she still said they were pitiful.
This older woman had a round face and a kind expression, looking very approachable.
There was no objection.
Mother approached The Peddler. Jiang Mianmian, in Mother’s arms, was a bit scared; she clung to Mother, tightly inhaling Mother’s scent.
Hope burst forth in The Peddler couple’s eyes again; yes, they had their reasons.
Juaner cried, with tears and snot streaming down, saying: “We had no choice; it was all for the child. We didn’t want to do this either.”
Jiang Mianmian really wanted to spit; your child is a child, but aren’t other people’s children children too?
Then she saw Mother nodding in agreement: “I understand, I understand everything. I am a Mother too.”
Mother leaned close to the Little Peddler’s wife and whispered: “When you get to the county yamen, you will surely die. I know you are worried about your child. Tomorrow, I will send him to reunite with you as a family. I heard that although he is a fool who eats medicine, he is plump and fair, and hasn’t suffered much, right? I won’t let him suffer either. I will just do it in one go, snapping his neck, and let him come to find you. You must remember to wait for him, otherwise, as a lone child, he will get lost on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
