TSWPF -Chapter 96 Coughing Blood

The old man had seen many storms in his life; how could he be intimidated by a mere glance?

“Don’t think that just because the old man speaks frankly, it’s unpleasant. I heard your stepmother isn’t easy to get along with. If you let these few kids, who are as weak as chicks, go back home, wouldn’t that just be pushing them into a hot stove?” If his stepmother were a decent person, she wouldn’t have forced Liu Zhihao to leave home and fight on the battlefield to make a name for himself. “Also, your gaze is far too sharp; you need to tone it down around the kids, don’t scare them,” he said, patting Liu Zhihao on the shoulder with a teasing grin.

Liu Zhihao lowered his eyelids, a bit of bitterness rising in his heart. The old man’s words hit the mark—his stepmother truly was not easy to deal with.

Although he did not yet have concrete evidence, he suspected that she was behind it.

Her actions likely stemmed from fear that his achievements might overshadow her own son’s, that the Liu family might be inherited by him.

Besides his grandparents, he felt no connection to anyone else in the Liu family. Naturally, he had no interest in inheriting it.

But now… he wanted to fight for it. If he didn’t, it would be as if he were ignoring her scheming.

Seeing Liu Zhihao remain silent with lowered eyes, the old man grew slightly impatient. Frowning, he continued, “General Liu, consider this as repaying me for saving your life. Keep this matter a secret, alright?” From the bottom of his heart, he didn’t want Liu Zhihao’s children returning to the Liu family, at least not yet. “In the future, when you inherit the Liu family and hold authority, it won’t be too late to acknowledge them.”

This kid can’t even take care of himself—how could he consider others?

No matter what, he must extinguish this thought in the boy’s mind.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhihao lifted his eyes to look at the old man and said helplessly, “If I wait until that time, I’m afraid my grandfather won’t live to see it.” His grandfather longed to see his fourth uncle once more. With the fourth uncle gone, at least seeing his children would be good.

The old man waved his hand casually, “That old man of yours has a strong constitution. Living another ten or twenty years won’t be a problem.” Honestly, he didn’t like Old Liu much. If he hadn’t forced Liu Wenjing to break his engagement with Miss Lu, Liu Wenjing wouldn’t have left home.

Liu Zhihao twitched his mouth and gave the old man a speechless glance.

“General Liu, do you agree or not?”

“I agree.” Xue the old man had even leveraged his lifesaving debt—how could he refuse?

The old man nodded in satisfaction. That’s more like it. If he hadn’t agreed, he would have thrown him out to the beasts.

“Old Xue, does Zhimou have siblings?” He had just heard the old man mention “several children” but didn’t know exactly how many. He had only seen Liu Zhimou, not the others. “Where are they?”

The old man looked at him, nodded, and explained the family situation of Liu Zhimou, roughly laying it out. “Now do you understand why I wanted you to keep this secret? Even if we don’t consider the treatment Liu Zhimou and his siblings would receive upon returning, what about Li Qingling and her siblings if they were left behind?”

Although Li Qingling could take care of her younger siblings, he always felt it was best for the children to stay together.

After listening, Liu Zhihao fell silent. It really was a troublesome matter.

From the old man’s words, he realized his cousin’s three siblings survived only because of his young fiancée.

If he took Liu Zhimou and his siblings away, leaving behind the young fiancée’s three children, it would indeed feel unfair.

“General Liu…” the old man started to speak, but Liu Zhihao interrupted.

“Old Xue, call me Ziheng. Don’t keep saying General Liu—it might scare the kids.”

The old man wasn’t pretentious; he nodded, playing along. “Then this old man will boldly call you Ziheng.” He smiled like a fox. “Ziheng, I’ve been away from the capital for over ten years. I’m not very clear on the current situation there. Can you tell me?”

Although he had left the place, he thought it wise to understand the situation so he could prepare accordingly.

Liu Zhihao glanced at the old man and explained the capital’s situation in broad strokes. When the old man heard that the Lu family had recovered their status, he happily slapped his thigh.

“Your grandfather really misjudged things. He never imagined the Lu family could recover, did he?” The old man laughed, eyes narrowing. “If he hadn’t been so calculating back then, he wouldn’t have lost his favored fourth son.”

Old Liu probably wanted to cough up blood.

“….” Liu Zhihao felt exasperated. Is it really okay to speak of his grandfather like that right in front of him? Doesn’t he fear a sudden outburst?

The old man didn’t care about Liu Zhihao’s expression. He patted his shoulder again and asked enthusiastically, “Ziheng, tell me about the Lu family’s current situation.” He held some regard for the Lu family patriarch.

When they were in the capital, they could hold a decent conversation.

Liu Zhihao saw the old man’s interest and shared everything he knew.

After he finished, the old man’s smile disappeared. After a long sigh, he said, being alone wasn’t too bad—at least he didn’t have to experience the sorrow of losing children prematurely.

“Old Xue…” Liu Zhihao wanted to say more, but footsteps outside made him pause, his eyes fixed on the entrance. “Someone’s coming.”

“Oh, it must be the kids returning,” the old man’s face lit up with a smile again. “You finished using the hemostatic herbs, so the kids went to fetch more.” He was seizing the moment to win the children’s favor in front of Liu Zhihao.

As soon as he spoke, Li Qingning and Liu Zhirou appeared, holding hands, small figures rushing in.

The two little ones shouted “Grandpa!” with joy, running over with short little legs. Each grabbed a thigh, looking up at the old man, reporting they had collected plenty of hemostatic herbs.

The old man laughed heartily, rubbing their heads and praising them, which made the children giggle with delight.

“Grandpa… he… he’s awake?” Liu Zhirou noticed Liu Zhihao’s eyes on her and asked curiously. “You slept for a long, long time.”

Seeing the little girl resembling her fourth uncle, his typically cold expression softened. He nodded gently, “What’s your name?”

Liu Zhirou felt no malice from him, so she boldly stepped forward. In a sweet voice, she said, “I’m Liu Zhirou. And you?”

“I… I’m Ningning…” Li Qingning, seeing Liu Zhirou talking to Liu Zhihao, followed her like a little shadow, introducing herself on her own initiative.

“She’s my sister, Li Qingning,” Liu Zhirou said, holding her hand and introducing her to Liu Zhihao. “Are you a general? A general who fights bad people?”

Children’s thoughts jumped fast; before he could answer, she asked another question.

Liu Zhihao nodded lightly.

Li Qingling entered the cave and saw the two little ones beside the man, chattering with curiosity.

She had already known from Liu Zhimou that he had awakened, so seeing him now wasn’t surprising.

However, Liu Zhihao kept glancing at her from the moment she entered, briefly observing her before turning away.

Li Qingling ignored him, carrying the prepared wild chicken to cook soup.

She didn’t expect such luck—picking hemostatic herbs also led to finding a wild chicken. Though thin, it was better than nothing.

When she placed the chicken in the clay pot, Li Qingfeng and the others ran in excitedly. “Sister, Ah Huang and Ah Bai are back!”

Hearing this, Li Qingling immediately stood, a smile appearing on her calm face. “Really? Where?”

Before she could finish, Ah Huang and Ah Bai ran in.

“Ah Huang…” she called, running over to hug him. “Where did you run off to? We were so worried, you know?” She had feared Nanyang Wang’s soldiers might have killed them.

Ah Huang nudged Li Qingling’s waist with his big head, humming twice, clearly missing her.

Even aloof Ah Bai came forward and licked her hand.

Li Qingling reached out to stroke their heads, unable to hide her smile.

Liu Zhirou and Li Qingning abandoned Liu Zhihao, laughing as they ran to play with Ah Huang and Ah Bai.

This scene surprised Liu Zhihao—these kids were so friendly with two tigers?

Truly unusual…

The old man noticed Liu Zhihao’s thoughts and smiled. “They were raised well. Very clever.” He had been astonished when he first saw them too.

“Clearly so,” Liu Zhihao thought. His cousin’s family was increasingly interesting.

The old man sat down, smiling at the children playing with the two tigers, yet he asked Liu Zhihao, “What are your plans now? You can’t just stay here forever, right?”

Liu Zhihao glanced at him, calm. “Old Xue won’t kick me out so soon, right? My wounds haven’t healed yet. Where could I go?”

The old man curtly hummed twice in response.

“….” Feeling unacknowledged, Liu Zhihao sighed. “Once my injuries heal a bit, I’ll leave. Don’t worry, I won’t involve these kids.”

That was satisfactory. The old man nodded. “You…”

“Someone’s coming.” Before the old man could finish, Liu Zhihao’s expression changed. “Quiet.”

With that, the entire cave fell silent.