TSWPF -Chapter 87 Anxiety

It wasn’t long before Li Qingling returned carrying a bundle of hemostatic herbs. She ran to Ah Huang’s side, shoved the herbs into her mouth, chewed them, and then packed the mashed herbs into Ah Huang’s wound.

Seeing this, Liu Zhimou and the children followed suit, stuffing the herbs into their mouths, chewing them, and then applying the paste to Ah Huang’s injury.

With so many helping, the wound was quickly filled with the herbs. Slowly, the bleeding began to stop.

Seeing this, Li Qingling finally relaxed the tension in her body. Only then did she realize how painful her mouth was.

She touched her lips and discovered blood on her fingers, though she had no idea when she had been injured.

Liu Zhimou finished bandaging Ah Huang and then noticed the blood on her lips. Frowning, he scolded softly, “Don’t move.” He took a bit of water from the water bag, cleaned her mouth, and then saw that she had bitten her lip. “You bit your lip.”

“That’s okay, it’ll heal quickly,” Li Qingling smiled at him and reached out to smooth the frown from his brow. “Don’t frown like that—you look like an old man.” It wasn’t a serious injury; it would heal soon.

Glancing at her, he handed her some water to rinse out the taste of the herbs from her mouth.

She obediently drank a little and returned the water bag to him. He then used it to give water to the two little sisters first.

After giving the sisters water, he finally drank himself.

During this time, Li Qingling stood up and looked around. She wanted to find a place to live nearby—a cave—since deep in these mountains, wild animals were plentiful, and not having shelter would be dangerous.

She searched around but found nothing, and a sense of urgency began to rise in her heart.

The sun was about to set, and she had to find a place to stay before darkness fell!

“Brother Zhimou, you stay here with the kids. I’ll go see if there’s a place to stay nearby,” Li Qingling said, returning to Liu Zhimou to explain, grabbing her bow and arrow as she prepared to go.

Liu Zhimou wanted to accompany her but couldn’t leave the children alone. He reluctantly nodded, telling her to be careful.

Li Qingling acknowledged with a “hm” and started walking. At that moment, Ah Huang grunted a few times at Ah Bai. Reluctantly, Ah Bai got up and followed her.

Judging by its actions, it wanted to accompany her in finding a place.

Li Qingling glanced at Ah Huang and whispered thanks before leading Ah Bai forward.

Although they were on the same mountain, the temperature in this deep part was noticeably cooler than outside. Li Qingling was relieved she had brought the quilt; otherwise, sleeping here at night would have been very cold.

“Ah Bai, have you been this way before? Have you seen a cave to stay in?” she asked, scanning the surroundings as she spoke.

Ah Bai, having been drinking the spiritual water daily, was clearly smarter than before and could understand her. It let out a grunt to indicate it hadn’t seen one.

Li Qingling studied it. Although she didn’t understand its grunt, the fact it followed her closely meant it didn’t know either.

Sighing, she accepted that she would have to find a place herself.

She checked every spot that resembled a cave, climbing steep cliffs repeatedly. Just as she was about to give up, she finally found a habitable cave.

Li Qingling examined it. The space was even larger than the cave they had lived in before, and most importantly, it wasn’t damp.

She didn’t care how the cave stayed so dry; she was just happy. This way, she wouldn’t worry about catching rheumatism if they stayed longer.

“Ah Bai, let’s go fetch the others,” she said happily, patting Ah Bai’s head and leading the way.

The cave entrance was concealed by hanging vines from the cliff, making it hard to spot from outside. Without sharp eyes, someone would have easily missed it.

Li Qingling retraced the marks she had left and successfully returned to Liu Zhimou and the children.

She had gone quite far; without marking the path, she probably wouldn’t have found her way back.

“Sister…” Li Qingfeng’s eyes lit up when he saw her. They had been worried sick about her.

Liu Zhimou stepped forward, carefully assessing Li Qingling. Seeing she was unharmed, he finally smiled. “If you hadn’t come back, we would have gone looking for you.” Next time, no matter what, he would go with her.

Waiting was truly excruciating.

Seeing their worry, Li Qingling twirled once in front of them, smiling. “Really, I’m fine. I just took a little longer to find a cave.”

“Found a cave?” Liu Zhimou gently brushed the dead leaves from her head and asked.

Meeting his warm gaze, Li Qingling felt herself nearly drowning in it. He wasn’t even fully grown yet, but he was already so captivating—what would happen when he grew up?

Caught staring, Liu Zhimou blushed slightly. Clearing his throat, he asked again.

Li Qingling scolded herself silently. She was already in her twenties and yet was gushing over an underage boy—truly absurd.

“Yes, we can move there now,” she said, running to fetch supplies. “Ah Huang, can you stand?” She looked at the weakened Ah Huang with concern.

Ah Huang was too large for her to carry alone.

It grunted, wobbled, and stood, showing it could manage.

Li Qingling patted its head. “If you can’t handle it, tell me!” If it truly couldn’t walk, she would bring the children to the cave first and return with Liu Zhimou to carry Ah Huang.

Ah Huang nudged her waist, indicating it understood.

Once everyone had their belongings, Li Qingling led them toward the cave.

Considering Ah Huang’s injury, they moved slowly, and by the time they reached the cave, dusk had already fallen.

Li Qingling didn’t rest and took the water bucket to fetch water nearby for cooking.

She felt fortunate that there was a pool of fresh water not far from the cave, ensuring they wouldn’t need to worry about drinking water in the future.

Liu Zhimou tried to take the water bucket. “Xiao Ling, rest. I’ll get it.” He worried she might collapse from fatigue.

Li Qingling shook her head. “I know the area; I’ll go.” She had familiarized herself with the surroundings while searching for the cave.

Seeing her pale face, Liu Zhimou grabbed the bucket firmly. “Then we go together!”

Before she could refuse, they set off.

The two of them ran to the pool, filled a bucket, and returned to cook chicken porridge.

Drinking the porridge, Li Qingling felt grateful she had previously slaughtered and preserved their chickens and rabbits. Otherwise, not only would their movements have been exposed, but they would have lost much meat.

It seemed the heavens were still kind, allowing her to overcome one challenge after another.

“I’m… sleepy…” Li Qingning, snuggled in Li Qingling’s arms, rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Li Qingling quickly finished her porridge, set the bowl down, and held Li Qingning, gently patting her back. “Sleep now, good girl.” After a long day, the little one had been obedient and quiet, which both relieved and pained Li Qingling.

Li Qingning soon fell asleep under Li Qingling’s soft lullaby.

Li Qingling carefully placed her on the prepared quilt.

It was too late to prepare a proper bed, and sleeping on the ground was unavoidable. The quilt provided enough insulation.

“Tonight, everyone sleep early. Tomorrow morning, we’ll gather some reeds to weave a mat.” Reeds near the pool could make a mat, avoiding cutting trees for bedding.

She feared making too much noise and alerting the enemy. Caution was paramount in critical times.

“Okay…” The children obediently agreed. After the long journey, they quickly fell asleep.

Li Qingling smiled, had Liu Zhimou extinguish the fire completely, and went to sleep.

During such times, making a fire was risky, but without cooking, the children would go hungry. She hoped the smoke wouldn’t escape their hidden cave.

As long as no smoke escaped, the enemy wouldn’t discover anyone living in the mountains.

Li Qingling fell asleep, holding Li Qingning, exhausted from the day’s efforts. Had she not forced herself, she would have collapsed earlier.

In the middle of the night, Liu Zhimou suddenly woke up, hearing Li Qingling murmuring in her sleep. He whispered her name, but she didn’t wake and instead roused Li Qingning.

“Big brother… hot… hot…” the little girl murmured in a tiny voice.

Liu Zhimou quickly got up and carefully lit the oil lamp they had brought from home, which proved very useful at night.

“It’s okay, big brother’s here,” he whispered to Li Qingning, eyes glancing at Li Qingling.

Seeing her flushed face, his heart skipped. He reached out to feel her forehead—burning hot.

She had a fever…

Anxious, Liu Zhimou placed the lamp aside and gently patted Li Qingling’s cheek, calling her name.