TSWPF -Chapter 218 The Stampede

“Thank goodness you’re all right,” Liu Zhimou breathed a light sigh of relief, his expression relaxing. “Xiao Ling, why don’t you take Xiao Feng and the others back to the inn? I’ll escort the elder back to his home.” After the recent incident, he worried that the children’s emotions might be unstable. It was better for them to rest early at the inn.

Hearing Liu Zhimou say this, Li Qingling finally noticed the elder on his back. Her face flushed suddenly, and she shyly wiped away her tears, giving the elder a polite greeting.

“Little brother, this must be your wife, right?” The elder scrutinized Li Qingling closely. “Very fitting… very fitting.” He spoke with a smile, nodding approvingly.

Liu Zhimou couldn’t help but smile. Of course he and his wife were a perfect match.

Li Qingling smiled at the elder in return and asked, “Elder, may I ask how far your home is from here? If it’s not too far, we can walk you back; if it’s too far, we’ll call a carriage.” She had finally caught up with Liu Zhimou and didn’t want to part so soon.

“It’s not very far, just two streets away.”

“Good, then please show us the way. We’ll walk you home.”

Since Li Qingling had made the decision, Liu Zhimou didn’t argue. He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled, following the elder’s directions.

After walking two streets, they arrived at a mansion guarded by two large lion statues. The elder said this was his home.

Seeing the mansion, Liu Zhimou immediately realized the elder was no ordinary person. Even without political power, this was clearly a wealthy household.

But it wasn’t his concern. His task was simply to deliver the elder safely home.

“Xiao Yan, go knock on the door,” Liu Zhimou said, turning to Liu Zhiyan.

Liu Zhiyan nodded and hurried forward to knock on the heavy door.

In the next moment, the thick gate creaked open slightly. The gatekeeper saw a small child in shabby clothes and looked down at him condescendingly, asking roughly whom he was looking for.

Liu Zhiyan wasn’t an ignorant child—of course he could sense the gatekeeper’s disdain.

He ignored the question and called out, “Big brother!”

“It’s me. Open the gate already!” Before Liu Zhimou could speak, the elder scolded the gatekeeper angrily, then apologized to Liu Zhimou and the children, telling them not to take it to heart.

The children had kindly escorted him back, yet the household’s servant had treated them with disrespect—it was an embarrassment to the elder.

Hearing a familiar voice, the gatekeeper looked up and saw his master carried on the back of a young man. He shouted inside, “Master is back!” and rushed out.

He ran to Liu Zhimou, nervously checking on the elder. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Open the gate first and let our distinguished guests in,” the elder instructed.

“Yes, yes…” The gatekeeper turned to open the gate but was stopped by Liu Zhimou. “The elder’s foot is injured. Carry him inside carefully.” He gently set the elder down. “Elder, now that you’ve arrived home, we’ll be on our way.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Why are you in such a rush? Come inside for some tea!” The elder grabbed Liu Zhimou’s wrist stubbornly, refusing to let him go. “Little brother, you’re my lifesaver! How can you leave just like that?”

Liu Zhimou turned his hand gently, freeing it from the elder’s grasp with a smile. “We still have a long journey tomorrow. We need to return to the inn and rest.”

Seeing that Liu Zhimou really didn’t intend to enter, the elder urgently asked for his name, so he could repay him properly in the future.

“I am Liu Zhimou. Farewell, elder.” Liu Zhimou said, then, taking Li Qingling and the children, quickly walked away.

After they left, an elderly woman rushed out, seeing the elder leaning on the gatekeeper. She called anxiously, “Master, what happened? Are you hurt?”

The elder reassured her, “Just a sprained foot, nothing serious.”

“I was terrified when I heard about the incident on Fuying Street. I had my sons go look for you, and they still hadn’t returned! Luckily you’re safe, otherwise… what would I have done?” She lightly tapped the elder and scolded him, “From now on, don’t go out alone! Always take someone with you, understand?”

This time, she had truly been frightened. Luckily, he was unharmed.

The elder nodded repeatedly, promising it wouldn’t happen again, and sighed, “This time was truly dangerous. If I hadn’t been so fortunate to be rescued, you wouldn’t be seeing me now.” He shivered at the memory of being trampled. At that moment, he really thought he would die under the crowd’s feet.

This time, it was truly lucky that Liu Zhimou had been there to save him.

“What?” The elderly woman was startled again. “What happened? Don’t scare me!”

The elder recounted the whole incident to her.

Hearing this, she clasped her hands and repeatedly prayed to Buddha, saying, “We must find out where that young man lives so we can properly repay him. If it weren’t for him, you would really have…”

The danger had been immense, far too immense.

“Oh, my memory… he said he was staying at an inn, but I forgot to ask which one.” The elder smacked his forehead, frustrated at forgetting.

“It’s okay, we’ll find out tomorrow.”

“No, we should find out immediately. Tomorrow we might not see them again. I heard they’ll be traveling, so who knows where they’ll go?”

“All right, I’ll have someone find out. Lie down and let the doctor check on you.” The elderly woman helped him lie down, preventing him from moving recklessly. “You’re not young anymore, why do you always get into trouble? Luckily you were lucky this time. Remember, next time you mustn’t do this again.”

The elder smiled, nodding, “I understand. I’ll never get into such trouble again.”

One lesson was enough; he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

At that moment, the three sons who had gone out returned. Seeing their father lying on the bed, they anxiously asked if he was hurt.

The elder waved them off, “Nothing serious. Just my foot. Rest for a bit and it will be fine.”

“Thank goodness. Father, you don’t know—so many people were trampled to death on Fuying Street. We were terrified, afraid you…” The third son patted his chest, exclaiming in relief.

Hearing this, the elderly woman tapped the elder’s shoulder and told the sons what had happened. “We owe so much to that young man. Otherwise…” She trailed off, eyes welling up with tears.

“Madam, why are you crying again? I’m fine!” The elder hurried to comfort her.

After a while, she stopped crying.

“Have someone check every inn for a young man named Liu Zhimou. He saved your father’s life—we must thank him properly.”

The eldest son nodded. “Yes, mother. We’ll find out.”

The elder glanced at his three sons. “All right, I’m fine now. You may go rest. Especially you, Yi’er—have you packed? Tomorrow we head to the capital. Make sure you bring everything.”

Yi’er nodded, assuring his father he was ready.

The elder nodded, waving them off. He was fine; they didn’t need to worry.

Back at the inn, Liu Zhimou returned to see Zeng Tietou rushing down. Seeing them all back safely, he exhaled in relief.

“Master, I heard there was a riot in the street, and many people died. Are you all okay?”

Hearing this, he had truly been terrified, worried that his master and companions would be in danger. Just as he went to look for them, they returned safely.

Li Qingling smiled. “We’re fine.”

Tonight’s accident had been terrifying. Thankfully, nothing serious happened.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Zeng Tietou looked at them, finally letting out a sigh of relief. “Master, next time you want to buy something, let me go. No more wandering around streets—this was way too frightening.”

They were lucky this time, but no one knew if next time would be the same. For safety, it was better if he went.

Li Qingling smiled. “Tonight was an accident. Next time, we just need to avoid crowded places.”

On their way back, they heard that the circus tent had caught fire. The crowd panicked, causing the stampede.

Indeed, they were lucky to have stayed away from the throngs—otherwise…

Thinking of those trampled to death, Li Qingling’s heart felt heavy. Who could have thought that simply going to watch a circus would cost lives?

She sighed softly, then said to Zeng Tietou, “Uncle Zeng, sorry for worrying you. We’re fine now. Go rest.”

“All right. If anything happens, call me,” Zeng Tietou reminded them anxiously.

Li Qingling nodded, then called the inn staff to bring up several buckets of hot water for a proper bath.

They had been jostled and squeezed in the crowd; they needed a good wash.