TSWPF -Chapter 205 Pursued

The next morning, the Liu-Li household was filled with people—villagers had come to see them off. Each person carried some local specialty to give to Li Qingling and the others for their journey.

Seeing this, Li Qingling kept refusing. With so many things, how could they possibly carry them all?

“Xiaoling, these are just a small token from us, please take them!” Aunt Huang insisted, pressing the cured sausages she had prepared into Li Qingling’s hands, determined that she should take some back to the capital.

“Auntie, it’s not that I don’t want to take them, it’s just impossible. There’s too much stuff—our carriage can’t even fit it all.” Li Qingling returned the sausages to Aunt Huang, holding her hands tightly so she couldn’t push them back. “Next time when I return, I’ll accept them, truly. This time, being unfamiliar with the city, we can’t bring so much.”

Hearing this, Aunt Huang could only nod helplessly.

She took Li Qingling’s hands and murmured a few words of advice.

Li Qingling smiled and nodded repeatedly. She couldn’t step away, and the same went for Liu Zhimou.

“The road to the capital is long, you must be careful, understand?”

Liu Zhimou looked at the village chief and nodded. “I will, Grandpa Village Chief, don’t worry!”

The village chief smiled and stroked his beard, then patted Liu Zhimou’s shoulder. “Do well in the capital’s exam; we’re waiting to hear good news from you.”

“Alright…”

“It’s getting late; we should set off soon!”

Liu Zhimou nodded. “Xiaoling, it’s time to go.” He turned toward Li Qingling, nodded at Aunt Huang and the others, and helped Li Qingling onto the carriage.

Zeng Tietou’s family, seeing them climb into the carriage, quickly got into the other carriage behind.

The village chief walked over to Zeng Tietou’s carriage, instructing him to carefully protect Liu Zhimou and the others on the journey to the capital.

Zeng Tietou promised he would. If anything happened, he’d protect them with his life.

The village chief nodded and stepped aside.

“Zhimou, Xiaoling, safe travels. Come back to visit us when you can.”

“Zhimou, Xiaoling, take care!”

“Take care…”

The villagers accompanied the slowly moving carriages with their well-wishes.

Li Qingling and the others lifted the carriage curtains, smiling and nodding at the villagers, promising they would heed their advice.

Just as she was about to lower the curtain, she saw Old Li standing alone not far away. Seeing that she had noticed him, he waved and mouthed “take care.”

Li Qingling understood his words and nodded, then let the curtain fall.

Only after the two carriages were out of sight did the villagers slowly disperse.

The village chief patted Old Li’s shoulder. “I knew Xiaoling and the others could go further—they’re capable children.” He felt pity for Old Li; if he had such grandchildren, he would have cherished them every day instead of letting the family relationships sour.

Old Li understood the chief’s meaning and gave a bitter smile. “Yes, they will soar higher and farther. Li Qingling is a child who loves and hates boldly, and she’s kind-hearted. I hope she has a peaceful and happy life.”

“Let’s go, back home now!” The chief patted Old Li’s shoulder again and walked home, hands behind his back.

Old Li hobbled along behind, thinking that now only one grandson and one granddaughter remained at home, and he must properly guide them while they were still manageable.

“Awwooo…”

Li Qingling and the others froze at the sound. That… that was Ah Huang! They hadn’t misheard.

Li Qingning, sitting by the window, quickly lifted the carriage curtain. She peeked out and saw Ah Huang and Ah Bai chasing after them.

“It’s Ah Huang and Ah Bai!” she exclaimed to Li Qingling and the others, waving her hand. She called out loudly to them.

Hearing her voice, Ah Huang and Ah Bai ran even faster.

However, they hadn’t expected that their sudden appearance would startle the horses. If the coachman hadn’t reacted skillfully, the horses might have bolted.

“Master… master, the horses are frightened. You should tell Ah Huang and the others to stop coming—if they come closer, the horses might…”

Not just the horses; the man himself would have been terrified.

Although he knew that their master kept several large tigers at home, seeing them still made him nervous.

“All right, Ningning, tell Ah Huang and Ah Bai to wait here. We’ll get out and talk to them.”

Li Qingning quickly relayed Li Qingling’s instructions.

Ah Huang and Ah Bai obediently stopped and waited where they were.

Li Qingling and the others got out of the carriage, instructing the coachman to move the carriage forward slightly so as not to frighten the horses further.

Then they ran toward Ah Huang and Ah Bai.

“Master, those tigers of yours can understand human speech?” Zeng Tietou’s wife asked, wide-eyed in surprise.

Zeng Tietou peeked out. “The tigers in our master’s house are intelligent. As long as you don’t provoke them, they won’t harm anyone.” He had been to the master’s home a few times and wasn’t so afraid of Ah Huang and the others.

His wife still patted her chest nervously. “Only they would dare to keep them. Who else could?” She quickly ducked her head, not daring to look around.

Meanwhile, Li Qingling and the others reached Ah Huang and Ah Bai. The two large animals whimpered pitifully, unwilling to part.

Li Qingling gently stroked Ah Huang’s head. “Why did you come with Ah Bai? Weren’t you sent back to Songshan?” She had sent them back the night before, but now they had chased after them. Last night’s effort had been in vain.

“Wuwuwu… we don’t want to leave you.”

“We don’t want to leave you either, but there’s no way. In the capital, we’re unfamiliar and there’s nowhere to keep you,” Li Qingling said softly, holding Ah Huang’s head and looking into his sad eyes, her heart aching. Even so, she truly couldn’t take them along. “Once we’re settled in the capital, I’ll find a way to bring you there, okay?”

“Wuwuwuwu… we want to go with you now.”

“No. We’re not familiar with the capital yet. If we take you along, you’ll scare everyone! Stay in Songshan and wait for us to come back, okay?” Li Qingling shook her head firmly.

For their safety, she couldn’t let her heart soften.

“Wuwuwuwu… we’ll follow secretly.”

“Ah Huang…” Li Qingling’s expression turned serious. “Remember what I told you? If you keep acting like this, I’ll get angry.”

Ah Huang saw her look and stopped whining, only gazing at her with sad eyes.

Li Qingling saw the look of helplessness but couldn’t let them go. She felt both exasperated and amused.

Sighing deeply, she rubbed Ah Huang’s head and comforted him. “I promise. Once we’re settled in the capital, I’ll bring you there. You can trust me.” Ah Huang had been with her since he was little, and she treated him like part of the family. How could she abandon him?

Ah Huang looked at Li Qingling for a long moment before nodding reluctantly.

“Good…” Li Qingling kissed Ah Huang’s forehead, stood up, and glanced at Li Qingning. “Go talk to Ah Huang. Once done, we leave.”

Li Qingning hurried to hug Ah Huang and babbled at him.

Liu Zhimou held Li Qingling’s hand and whispered, “Once we settle in the capital, we’ll bring them over. It won’t be long.” He knew how hard it was for her to part with them. He too was reluctant but there was no other choice.

Li Qingling tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled at him. She knew that this separation was for a better reunion later.

They would first settle in the capital, then bring Ah Huang and the others safely.

Liu Zhimou squeezed her hand tightly, silently telling her he would always be there.

After a while, seeing the time, Li Qingling said, “Alright, we must go now.” She didn’t want to delay and risk spending the night outdoors.

Li Qingfeng and the others spoke a few more words to Ah Huang and the others, then ran back.

Li Qingling looked at Ah Huang and Ah Bai. “Go back now, we’ll watch you leave.” She was mainly worried that they might howl again and frighten the horses.

Ah Huang and Ah Bai looked back repeatedly as they walked.

Li Qingling waved at them one last time and called out, “Go back!”

“Awwooo…” Ah Huang howled once, then, with Ah Bai, turned and left without looking back.

Only after they were out of sight did Li Qingling and the others slowly return to the carriage.

Back on the carriage, the atmosphere was a bit somber. The children huddled together quietly, no longer chattering as they had before.

Li Qingling sighed helplessly and comforted them. They would bring Ah Huang and the others to the city later—she always kept her word.