TSWPF -Chapter 75 Thieves

Liu Zhimou tapped her on the head and smiled, “How could that be? I should be thanking you—there’s no way to repay you!” Thankfully she had been farsighted and stockpiled so much grain; that’s why they could get through this terrifying drought with some peace of mind.

What he hoped for most now was that the King of Nanyan wouldn’t attack this remote area — only then could they pass through safely.

Li Qingling’s expression was cheerful; she pursed her lips and smiled, then bent her head to clean the cave. Fortunately, when she had been here hunting before she’d discovered this cave, which allowed them to hide here when disaster struck.

Otherwise they would have had to flee with all their household — and with so many children in the family, fleeing would have been dangerous.

“This spot can be fitted with a wooden bed as a sleeping place,” Li Qingling said, pointing to a relatively flat, slightly elevated spot. “At a time like this we don’t need to be picky — the whole family can squeeze together!” When lives are at stake, reputation can wait.

Besides, since they were living in the cave, nobody would know they were sleeping crowded together.

Liu Zhimou forced a calm “hm,” but if not for the way his face had gone red his composure might have fooled them; he wasn’t nearly as calm as he sounded.

Li Qingling glanced at him, covered her mouth and smiled. She didn’t dare tease him further — afraid that if he got too shy he’d refuse to squeeze in to sleep.

That would be a real problem.

The cave was only so big; there was no other place to sleep.

It took the two of them three-quarters of an hour to clean the cave. Once it was tidy, they brought up the younger siblings; as for A-Huang, it dug its way up with its paws.

Because the entrance was a bit high, it came up panting.

Seeing A-Huang like that made Li Qingling feel more at ease — it would be harder for other wild beasts to get in.

But to be safe, she decided to collect some large stones in the next couple of days and narrow the cave entrance a bit, to hide it better so others wouldn’t notice.

When the children climbed into the cave they looked around. Liu Zhirou frowned and asked, “Sister, are we going to live here?” This place was shabby — why live here?

“Yes, we’ll stay here for a while.” Li Qingling touched Liu Zhirou’s small cheek and explained gently, “Once we drive away those bad men, we can go back home.” She knew Zhirou was young and confused about why they weren’t staying in a nice house, so she explained as patiently as possible so the child would understand.

Only then would she stop making a fuss.

Liu Zhirou nodded, half understanding. “Okay… as long as I’m with my brothers and sisters.”

Li Qingling kissed her and said “good girl.”

After resting on the ground a little while, Li Qingling said she would go home to fetch other things and told them to be careful in the cave and not to go out.

Hearing that she was going back, Liu Zhimou and the others were uneasy; they frowned and told her not to go — leave the chicks if you must. They couldn’t trust her to go alone.

“It’s not only for the chicks. I also want to bring the quilts — the mountain nights can be cold, and I’m afraid they’ll catch cold.” Li Qingling explained patiently; illness at this moment could be deadly.

“If someone falls ill, it could cost lives.”

“Then I’ll go with you. You can’t carry that much alone.” Liu Zhimou thought for a moment, then said, “You two stay with the little sister, okay?” He looked at Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan exchanged a glance and nodded. Even if they were a little afraid inside, they nodded so their elders wouldn’t worry. They wanted to help and not be a burden.

“No, I don’t agree.” Li Qingling firmly opposed leaving such small children alone in the cave. “I can go alone; you don’t need to come. Stay here and look after the kids.” She looked at Liu Zhimou, trying to get him to relent.

Normally he would have given in, but this time he was resolute — he absolutely refused to let her go alone. If she wanted to go back, she had to go with him; otherwise she wasn’t allowed to.

Li Qingling was stunned — this was the first time she had seen Liu Zhimou so determined. She knew he was worried, but she was also truly uneasy about leaving the children behind.

“Sister, don’t worry. We’ll stay in the cave and not go anywhere,” Li Qingfeng said, seeing the stalemate and stepping in to persuade Li Qingling. “Besides, we have A-Huang with us!” He secretly hoped Brother Zhimou would accompany Li Qingling back so the two of them would have someone to look after them.

Liu Zhiyan added, “Yes, Sister Xiao Ling, you really don’t need to worry. We’ll be fine. You go quickly and come back soon!” Standing here arguing was no good — better to go and return quickly.

Li Qingling looked at them all and reluctantly nodded. “Alright then. Brother Zhimou, you come with me back home. You all must stay here and wait quietly for our return. Don’t leave the cave, understand?” She was afraid that if they went out and encountered a bear or something, A-Huang wouldn’t be able to save them.

At her words, Li Qingfeng and the others nodded and promised they wouldn’t go out, putting her completely at ease.

Li Qingling sighed, reminded them many more times, and then ran to gather firewood. She told them to make porridge if they got hungry, and only then did she and Liu Zhimou set off for home.

Worried about the kids on Song Mountain, they hurried their pace on the way back.

This trip home took three hours.

Although their house was at the foot of the mountain and a bit far from the village, when they saw the empty village with not a soul in sight, their hearts sank a little.

They just hoped this disaster would pass quickly so they could return to their normal lives.

When they got home they rested for a moment, ate some dry food, then began packing to hurry back to Song Mountain.

At that moment they heard voices outside in the yard, cursing.

“Damn it, why build this wall so high? I can’t even climb in.”

Li Qingling frowned and looked at Liu Zhimou. They quietly put down their things, tiptoed to the door, and listened.

Everyone in the village was supposed to have fled — why were there still people here?

“Zhao, the gate’s not locked. Maybe there’s no one inside?” another man said.

The man called Zhao glanced at the yard gate, gave the latch a tug and pushed the door. “Is there really someone inside? Didn’t everyone run away? How could there still be people here?”

They too were fleeing, and as they passed Niutou Village they saw the spacious house and their greed flared; they wanted to see what they could steal before continuing on.

But they hadn’t expected the yard wall to be so high — they couldn’t reach it easily.

“Zhao, forget it. We should hurry — we still need to get going!” If they delayed much longer and the King of Nanyan arrived, they couldn’t escape.

At times like this, life is most important.

Zhao, however, was reluctant. “We have no silver or food. Even if we run, we can’t get far. Might as well go in and grab something before we go.” He patted his companion’s shoulder. “You crouch down and let me step on you; I’ll climb over the wall.” He was determined to get something from here before leaving.

“Will that work?”

“Yeah, hurry up, don’t waste time.” Zhao impatiently shoved his companion down and planted his foot on him to climb up.

Li Qingling’s eyes chilled. She grabbed Liu Zhimou and tiptoed to the back yard. There was a small hidden door she had kept for emergencies — she hadn’t expected to need it so soon.

She took her bow and arrow and told Liu Zhimou to guard the little door while she crept out to take a look and would return soon.

Although Liu Zhimou was worried, he knew there was nothing he could do to help from there. He nodded and warned her to be careful and to run back if she couldn’t win.

Li Qingling answered, and slipped out cautiously.

She circled from the back gate to the front and hid against the base of the wall. She saw a fat man squatting on the ground with a leering thin man beneath his shoulder — it was obvious the thin one was Zhao’s accomplice.

She snorted inwardly; the idea of them trying to steal from her family was laughable.

She raised her bow, took aim at the thin man’s robe, and let an arrow fly.

After releasing the arrow she turned and ran back. She was afraid the two men would come check on the noise, so it was safer to hide for a moment.

The sudden arrow sent Zhao tumbling off his companion. He stared at the arrow sticking in the thin man’s robe, his face pale. If the arrow had been just a bit higher, it would have shattered his arm.

“Zhao… Zhao, where did that arrow come from?” the fat man swallowed and said, “We’d better leave—right now!” If another arrow came they’d be done for.

Zhao was frightened too. He hadn’t expected anyone inside who could shoot arrows — he’d nearly had his life taken.

He glared at the yard gate, silently swearing to remember this place and come back for revenge once the fleeing was over. “Let’s go.” He tore the arrow from the robe, threw it to the ground, and fled.

Li Qingling listened to them go, then slipped out to peek and, seeing no one, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A wide, beautiful house like theirs naturally attracts thieves’ attention. Once this fleeing was over and they returned, she would definitely put nails on top of the yard wall to give anyone who fancied their place a lesson.