RYEY – Chapter 215 Heading to the Hexi Corridor

Cheng Liguo followed Cheng Qiao and the others up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. At first, he had thought Cheng Qiao would be a burden to the group, but unexpectedly, the one holding everyone back turned out to be himself.

Watching Cheng Qiao move nimbly across the mountain paths, and seeing how steady Li Huan and Ye Jun were as well, he felt deeply disappointed in himself. Ever since Zhao Min’s death, he had fallen into a slump, to the point where he no longer even wanted to exercise.

“Dad, if you can’t handle it, then don’t force yourself. We can take things step by step—there’s no rush,” Cheng Qiao said.

“No. Once Qin Guoqing comes back, I’ll have to leave. Dad wants to spend more time with you.”

Cheng Qiao nodded. She had an idea: this time, she planned to take little Cheng Li along with her father to the Hexi Corridor. Her space contained well water—if she added a bit of that water to ordinary water, perhaps the survival rate of those trees would increase.

Cheng Liguo had no idea what Cheng Qiao was planning. What puzzled him was that every time they went up the mountain, they almost always returned empty-handed, and each time, once they reached an altitude of two or three hundred meters, they would turn back.

“Old Ye, this mountain is so high. Why don’t we climb higher?” he asked.

Ye Jun pointed toward the vast, white expanse of the mountains and explained that if they stayed too long, their eyes wouldn’t be able to take it. Moreover, the higher they went, the lower the temperature would drop, and people could easily get frostbite.

What was more, snow-covered mountains were extremely dangerous. One careless step could trigger an avalanche, and then they wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.

Cheng Liguo was startled. Even his voice dropped noticeably. Having grown up on the plains, he truly didn’t understand these mountains that rose thousands of meters high.

“Then let’s head back. In a couple of days, Dad will be leaving. Who knows when we’ll meet again—it’s really hard to part.”

The group quickly descended the mountain and returned to the house, where they brewed a pot of tea. When little Cheng Li saw that his parents and both grandfathers were back, he happily ran over. Cheng Qiao scooped him up in her arms and said with a smile:

“Dad, how about I leave with you in a couple of days? I want to see the environment you live in, and see just how hard it is to plant those trees.”

“No way,” Cheng Liguo refused outright. “You’ve got your mother-in-law above you, two children below you, and little Cheng Li is still so young. His skin is so delicate—how could he withstand the northwestern winds and the sand of the Gobi?”

Mother Li and Lele, along with the others, looked at Cheng Qiao with worry. They felt Cheng Liguo’s words made sense, yet they also didn’t want Cheng Qiao to be unhappy. For a moment, they were torn.

“It’s fine. I naturally have a way to deal with that,” Cheng Qiao said.

“No. It’s one thing if I suffer myself, but how could I let you and Cheng Li suffer too?”

“Dad, come with me. I want to tell you something.”

Holding little Cheng Li, Cheng Qiao led Cheng Liguo into her room. Li Huan followed them in and quickly shut the door.

“Dad, I’m going to perform a little trick for you. Don’t make a sound.”

Cheng Liguo smiled at her. There was no way she could fool him into agreeing—no matter what, he wouldn’t allow Cheng Qiao and her child to follow him into hardship.

Cheng Qiao smiled back at him. In the blink of an eye, she and little Cheng Li vanished. Cheng Liguo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and hurriedly rubbed them, but the room before him was still empty.

“Li… where’s my daughter? Where’s my grandson?”

“Dad, don’t panic,” Li Huan said quickly. “Qiao, come out already. Don’t scare your dad.”

Like a phantom, Cheng Qiao suddenly reappeared before him. Little Cheng Li in her arms bared his tiny baby teeth and giggled, as if laughing at Cheng Liguo for being a scaredy-cat.

“Cheng Qiao, you… where did you just go? How did you suddenly disappear and then reappear? Did your master teach you this… magic?” Cheng Liguo stammered.

He had originally wanted to say medical skills, but no medical skill could make someone disappear. The only explanation he could think of was magic.

“Dad, do you remember the piece of jade Mom put on me when I was little?”

“I remember. Didn’t it go missing later?”

“It didn’t go missing—it was stolen by Xu Laidi. When I fell out with her, I found it in her pencil case, and then we got into a fight.”

“That Xu Laidi—she really went too far. I told you long ago that she wasn’t a good kid, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

“Dad, when we fought, I bled. The blood was absorbed by that piece of jade, and then I gained a magical treasure that can store things.”

“A… magical treasure?”

“Dad, look—rice, white sugar, cigarettes, liquor, pork…”

As Cheng Qiao spoke, she took supplies out of the space one by one. Then, with a wave of her hand, all the items vanished back into the space. The tabletop was instantly spotless again, as if nothing had ever been there.

“Daughter… this—could this be the ‘opportunity’ your mother talked about? The one where she said you mustn’t take off the jade pendant, and that you should wait for the opportunity to come?”

“Yes. It’s just a pity I didn’t take Mom’s words to heart. Otherwise, maybe Mom wouldn’t have died.”

If she had discovered the space earlier, perhaps the well water inside could have saved her mother’s life. Unfortunately, in her previous life, she had been foolish beyond measure.

“Daughter, who else knows about this?” Cheng Liguo suddenly snapped fully awake and asked sternly.

“Li Huan knows. My master isn’t entirely clear, but he vaguely understands a bit. And now—you, and this little guy, know too.”

“You can take little Cheng Li into your magical treasure. Can you take other people in as well?”

“Li Huan can’t. Dad, how about I try taking you in?”

Cheng Qiao set little Cheng Li down, took Cheng Liguo’s hand, and silently thought, Enter. When she entered the space, she discovered that she was still alone inside. She immediately slipped back out.

Seeing that even his father-in-law couldn’t enter, Li Huan finally felt a sense of balance. After all, Cheng Liguo was related to Cheng Qiao by blood—if even he couldn’t get in, then it was only natural that Li Huan, who had no blood relation, couldn’t either.

“Dad, now you know I can protect myself—and protect little Cheng Li too, right?” Cheng Qiao said.

Cheng Liguo wavered. He also hoped to take his daughter and grandson to the Hexi Corridor, to show his colleagues his beautiful daughter and adorable grandson.

“How about I go too?” Li Huan said.

“Can you get away?” Cheng Qiao asked.

Li Huan was reluctant to be separated from Cheng Qiao, but he knew he couldn’t go with them. If he couldn’t make it back in time, what about all the affairs in the village?

He had originally planned to hand everything over to Chen Weidang, but because of Cheng Weimin, Chen Weidang had become cautious and restrained in his work, no longer having the boldness he once did.

Moreover, Chen Weidang had already been stripped of his position as village head. If Li Huan let him manage things in his stead and word reached the commune, all of Li Huan’s previous efforts would be wasted.

Ye Jun came to mind, but Li Huan shook his head and dismissed the idea almost immediately. Ye Jun’s identity couldn’t be exposed—the safest course was for him to lie low in Xiangyang Village. Otherwise, no one would be able to protect him.

Mother and Lele were even less able to go. Lele and Xuhui still had school, and the burden of caring for Xuhui’s grandmother rested entirely on Mother’s shoulders. Sigh—what a headache.

Seeing the eager look on Cheng Qiao’s face, Cheng Liguo finally relented, but he also laid down a condition:

“Alright—but you have to promise me one thing.”