TSWPF -Chapter 76 Fear

After dealing with the two thieves who had tried to steal from them, Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou hurriedly carried their belongings and rushed back to Song Mountain. Their minds were anxious about the younger children, worried that something might have happened to them.

With that concern in mind, it only took them three hours to get back to Song Mountain this time. They arrived at the cave, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, and were relieved to see the children playing safely inside. Only then did their hearts fully relax.

The children cheered upon seeing their elder siblings and ran over to them.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were utterly exhausted. They plopped down on the ground, wiping sweat from their foreheads.

“It’s already dark—why aren’t you asleep yet?” Li Qingling asked. If it weren’t for worrying about the children, they wouldn’t have dared to rush back in the dark.

Fortunately, they had been lucky and hadn’t encountered any danger along the way. But next time, they would have to be more careful—the forest could be deadly if one wasn’t cautious.

Li Qingfeng carried Li Qingning over to Li Qingling and sat down, looking at her with concern. Hesitantly, he said, “We couldn’t sleep because you hadn’t come back yet.” Although Ah Huang was watching over them, without their elder siblings, the sounds of the wild forest frightened them.

Seeing the children so scared, Li Qingling didn’t say much—she just gently rubbed their heads and said, “Your elder siblings are back now. You can sleep peacefully.”

After a night of anxiety, the children finally felt relieved upon seeing their elder siblings. They nodded, exchanged a few words with them, and went to their sleeping area. Within moments, they had fallen asleep.

Li Qingling rested for a moment and felt less tired. She stood up, walked over to the children, and gently tucked them in, feeling a pang of affection. Then she quietly asked Liu Zhimou if he was hungry.

He never hid anything in front of her and nodded, admitting he was a bit hungry. After rushing for three hours without eating, he truly felt hungry now.

“Wait a moment. I’ll prepare something to eat.” Since it was already dark, going out to fetch water for soup wasn’t practical, so roasting was the only option.

Liu Zhimou also wanted to help, but his body was too weak. He sank back down as soon as he tried to stand, unable to keep up with Li Qingling’s strength.

Li Qingling smiled at him and told him to rest while she took care of it herself.

Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless. He could only nod helplessly and watch her busy herself with roasting the chicken.

Ah Huang, smelling the aroma, scampered over to Li Qingling and sat staring intently at the roasting chicken, drooling.

Seeing his greedy little face, Li Qingling laughed softly and patted his big head. “Once it’s cooked, you can have a drumstick.” She had spoiled him—he would never touch raw meat if there was cooked food.

Anyone watching might seriously question whether he was really a tiger.

Ah Huang rubbed against her hand in gratitude upon hearing her promise.

Li Qingling gently turned the chicken, leaned against Ah Huang, and spoke softly to him. Even though he couldn’t reply, she enjoyed talking to him alone.

Nearby, Liu Zhimou smiled at her, feeling happy listening to her chatter. She was always full of energy, as if tireless. Being around her was uplifting, leaving both body and mind joyful.

After another twenty minutes, Li Qingling cheerfully announced, “It’s ready. You can come eat now.”

Liu Zhimou finally stood and sat beside her, taking the drumstick she handed him.

“It’s hot—eat slowly.” Li Qingling blew on her hands and pulled another drumstick for Ah Huang. “Here, this one’s yours. Don’t eat it too fast—just one chicken, save it.”

Ah Huang squeaked, took the drumstick in his mouth, and nibbled at it carefully instead of swallowing it whole.

Seeing this, Li Qingling laughed, grabbed a chicken wing, and was about to eat it when a hand snatched it from her. Before she realized it, her hand held a large drumstick instead.

“I prefer chicken wings,” Liu Zhimou said with a smile, then lowered his head and began eating.

Li Qingling’s eyes twinkled. She took small bites of her wing, knowing he had given her the bigger portion out of concern. His little excuse to let her eat first touched her deeply.

Even if he hadn’t fully grown and his shoulders weren’t wide, he had enough responsibility and care for her—that was enough.

The two of them, along with the tiger, finished one chicken, rested for a while, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, Li Qingling was awakened by birdsong. She opened her eyes, looked around the cave, and slowly remembered why their family was living here.

She sighed, glanced at the still-sleeping children, and quietly got up. She walked to the cave entrance, stretched deeply, and breathed in the fresh mountain air, finally fully awake.

While the children were still asleep, she carried two buckets to the river to fetch water. Once they woke, they could wash up immediately.

At the river, she saw how low the water had become and her heart sank. She worried that if the river dried up, their family wouldn’t survive, even with food.

After washing herself and filling two buckets of water, Li Qingling returned to the cave, where Liu Zhimou had already woken up. She smiled at him and let him wash up.

“Why didn’t you wake me to go together?” he frowned, blaming himself for sleeping too heavily.

“It’s okay, the buckets aren’t heavy. I can handle it,” she reassured him, handing him a towel. Seeing his lingering guilt, she added, “Next time, I’ll wake you to come along.”

He finally smiled a little at her words.

As the head of the family, he wanted to take on more responsibility so she could be less tired.

After Liu Zhimou washed up, the children gradually woke. They helped them wash and prepared breakfast.

“Za…za…” Li Qingling fed Li Qingning the egg custard. She clapped her little hands and said two syllables.

Li Qingling’s eyes lit up. “Ningning, what did you say? Did you say ‘sister’?” Had this child finally learned to talk? “Come on, say it to sister—sister…”

Li Qingning puckered her little mouth, squinting at Li Qingling, “Za…”

“Sister…” Li Qingling patiently taught him again.

“Za…za…” Li Qingning giggled, copying the sounds, “Si…”

“Hm…” Li Qingling heard her say it correctly, kissed her cheek, and said, “Ningning, well done.”

Li Qingfeng and the others came over, trying to get her to call them “brother.”

But Li Qingning only knew how to say “sister.” No matter how they tried, she couldn’t say “brother,” leaving Li Qingfeng a little disappointed.

Li Qingling laughed. “Alright, everyone, finish breakfast quickly. Soon, she’ll be able to call her brothers too.” She urged the children to eat while continuing to feed Li Qingning.

Once her sister finished, she quickly finished her own breakfast.

Liu Zhimou cleaned up the dishes and washed them in the river before bringing them back.

“You kids stay here and play. Brother Zhimou and I will chop some wood and make a bed—it’ll be more comfortable to sleep on,” she said. Sleeping directly on the floor, even with blankets, wasn’t good for their bodies.

They had no idea how long they would stay here, so it was better to make it a bit more comfortable.

“Sister, I’ll help too, so Brother Zhiyan can stay with the little sisters,” Li Qingfeng offered. The younger sisters were obedient, so one person was enough to watch them.

Zhiyan had also wanted to help, but Li Qingfeng had beaten him to it.

He pursed his lips helplessly. “Alright, I can watch the little sisters alone. Let Xiao Feng help!” Next time, it would be his turn.

Liu Zhimou had no objections and nodded.

Since it was daytime and they were nearby, nothing would happen.

“Zhiyan, if anything happens, call out to us!” Li Qingling reminded.

“Yes, I will.”

Seeing him nod, Li Qingling, Liu Zhimou, and Li Qingfeng confidently went to chop wood.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou chopped while Li Qingfeng dragged the wood back. Luckily, the pieces weren’t too heavy.

After chopping all morning, the three were exhausted and decided to return for a meal and rest before continuing.

Technically, a bed didn’t require that much wood, but Li Qingling also wanted to make a chair and a few stools.

This way, they wouldn’t have to sit on the floor while eating.

After lunch and a half-hour rest, they resumed work.

By the time they pieced together a bed from wood, the sun had already set.

Li Qingling wiped sweat from her forehead and smiled. “It may not look good, but it’s better than nothing.” She flopped onto it and found it fairly level, feeling satisfied. “That’s enough for today. Tomorrow, we’ll make a table and stools.” With this, it finally felt like home.