TSWPF -Chapter 97 Friend or Foe

Was the person who had arrived an enemy or a friend? Liu Zhihao signaled the old man with his eyes to help him up.

The old man had no choice but to carefully support Liu Zhihao as he sat up.

Ignoring whether it might reopen his wounds, Liu Zhihao stood and swiftly grabbed the bow and arrows that Li Qingling had placed on the ground. In an instant, he was standing at the cave entrance.

This was the first time Li Qingling had seen someone demonstrate martial arts, and her eyes widened in astonishment.

“He’s already injured… If he weren’t hurt, he’d be even more formidable.”

Li Qingling thought this to herself, and the children of Li Qingfeng shared the same thought. Their eyes were fixed on Liu Zhihao’s back, shining with admiration.

If they could learn martial arts, they could protect their elder sisters.

With that thought, their gaze became even more intense, as if they were itching to become his disciples and learn martial arts from him immediately.

Although Liu Zhihao felt their staring, he ignored it and continued scanning the outside.

After a moment, three people appeared outside. The tension in his face eased the instant he saw them.

His men had arrived.

He let out two bird calls toward them.

Upon hearing it, the three’s eyes lit up, and they turned toward the source of the sound.

“These are my people,” he said, and with the old man supporting him, he walked out of the cave. As soon as he appeared, the three knelt on one knee before him and called out, “Master.”

One of them asked nervously, “Master, you’re injured?” He could smell the metallic scent of blood.

“Yes, I need to rest here for a few days,” Liu Zhihao nodded. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Hearing this, the old man knew it wasn’t something he should hear, so he gestured to one of the men, “You support your master; he’s badly hurt and can’t stand steadily.”

Once his subordinate carefully supported Liu Zhihao, the old man quickly slipped back into the cave.

The more he knew, the sooner he’d die. He still wanted to live another year and had no interest in hearing all those secrets.

“Master, the conditions here aren’t good. You should leave for another place to recuperate!” the subordinate said, frowning.

Liu Zhihao shook his head. “It’s safe here.” His expression instantly turned icy. “There may be a traitor leaking my movements. Otherwise, no one could have known about my secret location.”

The three men’s faces turned serious.

If that was true, then their master truly couldn’t go back.

“Tell me what’s happening outside.”

They nodded and whispered the situation outside to Liu Zhihao.

After listening, Liu Zhihao quickly made arrangements.

“Master, An Dian should stay here to protect you. When I arrived, I found a force of Southern Yan soldiers here. I’m worried they might…”

“Yes, master. Leave it to An Huo and An Lei. I’ll stay here to protect you,” another said.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhihao nodded. With someone guarding here, it was safer.

“Send word to An Feng. Keep a close watch on the capital. If anything unusual happens, report it immediately.”

“Yes…”

“Go.”

“Understood, master.”

After An Huo and An Lei left, Liu Zhihao asked An Dian to bring some food over. An Lei nodded. When Liu Zhihao called for the old man to support him, An Lei vanished instantly.

The old man helped Liu Zhihao back into the cave and laid him on a mat, only to find that his wound had reopened, blood seeping out.

“You really know how to give me trouble,” the old man muttered, glaring at Liu Zhihao. He then bent down and untied the bandages on Liu Zhihao. “Zhimou, help crush some hemostatic herbs.”

Liu Zhimou nodded and prepared the herbs. Meanwhile, Liu Zhiyan and the other three boys had already started working at lightning speed.

Seeing this, he twitched his eye and followed them.

Once the three boys finished preparing the herbs and the old man applied them to Liu Zhihao’s wound and retied the bandages, they finally dared to speak.

“General… your martial arts… are they especially powerful?” Liu Zhiyan asked, nervously tugging at Liu Zhihao’s clothes while Li Qingfeng and Dahe held him steady.

Liu Zhihao looked at the boy, who resembled a younger cousin, and smiled gently. “Not bad.” He paused and added, “You don’t have to call me General. Just call me Brother Ziheng.” His given name shouldn’t be said, but his courtesy name was fine.

Liu Zhiyan swallowed and called him, “Brother Ziheng.”

“Yes. What do you want to say?”

“Well… could you teach us martial arts?” Liu Zhiyan scratched his head shyly. “We want to learn to protect our sisters.”

Once they mastered martial arts, they wouldn’t fear the villains anymore, and Little Sister Ling wouldn’t have to protect them.

Liu Zhihao admired the affection among these children but didn’t immediately agree. He only said that learning martial arts was tough and, once started, he wouldn’t allow them to give up.

The three immediately promised they weren’t afraid of hardship and would study seriously.

“Alright. Tomorrow at dawn, start horse stance training for one hour.”

“Okay!”

The three boys nodded excitedly and even went to fetch water to honor Liu Zhihao as their temporary teacher. Liu Zhihao stopped them, saying he wouldn’t be around long and couldn’t teach them much, so he wouldn’t formally accept disciples.

If he took his cousins as students, his grandfather would surely punish him.

As long as they could learn martial arts, that was enough. The rest didn’t matter to the boys.

At this time, Li Qingling had prepared chicken soup. She poured a bowl and handed it to Liu Zhiyan to serve, saying, “Bring it to your temporary master to thank him for teaching you martial arts.” She also intended to learn a little herself, to strengthen her body.

Having been sick for several days, her health left a shadow in Liu Zhimou’s mind, so he always worried about her overexerting herself.

Liu Zhiyan thanked Li Qingling and carried the soup to Liu Zhihao, with Li Qingfeng and Dahe helping him sit upright. He wanted to feed their temporary master.

Liu Zhihao, amused and slightly exasperated by the little ones, said, “I can manage myself. You don’t need to feed me.” He wasn’t so injured that he couldn’t drink himself.

Seeing his insistence, Liu Zhiyan handed him the bowl to drink on his own.

After he finished, the three boys eagerly asked if it was good and if he wanted more.

Liu Zhihao hadn’t felt this warmth in a long time. A faint smile appeared on his face as he shook his head.

“Alright then,” Liu Zhiyan said, taking the bowl. “Brother Ziheng, rest well.”

Li Qingfeng and Dahe carefully laid Liu Zhihao back down and exchanged a few words with him before going to drink the soup themselves.

“The girl’s cooking is good. Even simple chicken soup tastes this delicious,” the old man remarked after finishing a bowl, licking his lips.

Li Qingling glanced at him and fed the chicken to Ah Huang and Ah Bai before saying, “You just haven’t had meat for a long time, that’s why it tastes so good.” After arriving here, they hadn’t smelled meat, eating porridge every day, so their taste buds had dulled.

The old man clicked his tongue at Ah Huang and Ah Bai enjoying the chicken. “These tigers usually eat raw meat. How come they enjoy cooked meat so much?”

“Indeed, it’s been a long time since they’ve had meat,” he said. In times like this, filling one’s stomach was a blessing; who could indulge in meat?

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone appeared at the cave entrance. Li Qingling’s eyes instantly narrowed, and she swiftly grabbed her bow, shooting an arrow at the intruder.

Her movement was so fast that Liu Zhihao hadn’t even reacted.

Even though An Dian carried many items on his back, he quickly dodged.

“They’re my people,” Liu Zhihao said just as Li Qingling prepared to shoot a second arrow.

He hadn’t expected her reflexes to be so quick, shooting almost instantly.

No wonder she and Liu Zhimou could hide with the children in the mountains. She truly had that capability.

Suppressing her initial shock, Li Qingling calmly lowered her bow and said coldly, “Next time, announce yourself. Don’t blame me if I mistakenly injure you.”

An Dian shot Li Qingling a sharp, disdainful glance. “With your archery skills, you think you can hurt me?” If she could, he really would be out of luck.

“An Dian…” Liu Zhihao’s voice was calm but firm. “It was indeed your fault. Apologize to Miss Li.”

When their master spoke, An Dian had no choice but to comply. Reluctantly, he apologized and then briskly approached Liu Zhihao, setting down his load.

“Master, here are the medicines you need,” An Dian said, showing Liu Zhihao what he had brought. “And food.” He pulled out a lunchbox from his pack and opened it.

The children immediately salivated at the aroma.

Little foodie Li Qingning couldn’t resist and ran over to An Dian, tugging at his sleeve and drooling. “What’s good to eat?”

An Dian froze, unused to being touched like this. If not for the master’s gaze, he might have lost control and shoved the little one away.

He stared down at her pure, wide eyes and hesitated. “You… let go.”

Originally, Li Qingling wanted to call Li Qingning back, but seeing An Dian’s stiff expression, she changed her mind. Let the little one teach him a lesson.

“Yummy…” Li Qingning’s mind was full of food, ignoring An Dian completely. “Let me see.”

Liu Zhihao saw An Dian being humbled for the first time and chuckled, clearing his throat before letting him give the food to Li Qingning.