The tall Li Xing’an supported the old man as they walked down the mountain.
As they walked, Li Yuzhu asked the old man about the surrounding area.
The old man said that three miles from this small mountain, there was a village called Taohua River Village.
He was looking for a lost piglet and fell down the slope because he couldn’t see the way clearly in the dark.
His eldest son was the village chief.
The old man then asked about the situation of Li Yuzhu and her brother, "From your accent, you’re not locals, are you from the north?"
Li Yuzhu nodded, "Yes, our family fell on hard times, and we fled here to escape famine, looking for a place to stay and food to eat, and ended up on this mountain."
"Oh, I see. Alas, these times, it’s hard to make a living." The old man sighed sympathetically, "If you don’t mind, you can stay at my place for a night? My house is shabby, but it’s better than freezing in the wild."
Li Xing’an immediately said happily, "We don’t mind, we don’t mind."
Li Yuzhu also said happily, "Thank you, Grandpa."
"No need to be polite, you are my benefactors." The old man laughed heartily.
With the guidance of the old man who was familiar with the mountain, they soon found the path they had taken earlier to climb the mountain.
Following the path down, it wasn’t long before they found Prince Luling and his party.
Second Young Master Li Xingsheng had returned after failing to find them, and he was very surprised to see them come back.
"Third Brother, where on earth did you and Third Sister go? I’ve been looking for you for ages. Huh, who is this?"
Li Yuzhu introduced the old man to everyone, "This is Grandpa Qin. He fell down the slope, and Third Brother and I rescued him, which is why we’re late."
"Do you know how worried everyone was about you? We’re having tough times, and you still have time to care for others?" The Xue Family, holding resentment because Li Yuzhu refused to marry a boy from halfway up the mountain, spoke unpleasantly.
"So you went to save someone." Prince Luling, Li Boxuan, expressed his support for the children’s actions.
Old Qin busily tried to mediate, smiling as he said, "Thanks to these two kids today, I, an old man, am grateful here. If you don’t mind, why don’t you come to my house for a meal and a rest?"
The Xue Family’s eyes lit up, that would be great.
"Is it far?" she immediately asked.
She was truly too tired to walk.
"Not far, not far, it’s right at the foot of the mountain." Old Qin smiled.
Everyone else looked expectantly at the head of the family, Prince Luling.
"Then, we won’t be polite." Prince Luling, Li Boxuan, cupped his hands towards Old Qin, "Thank you, old man."
"You’re too polite, isn’t this what I should do?" Old Qin laughed heartily.
Having found a place to stay, everyone was rejuvenated.
Looking out for each other, they followed Old Qin down the mountain.
Old Qin, with his leg injured, walked slowly.
Prince Luling, Li Boxuan, couldn’t wait, so he signalled his second son to carry Old Qin.
Old Qin repeatedly said it wasn’t necessary.
"Your leg is injured, if you keep walking, the injury will worsen." Prince Luling, Li Boxuan, said, actually starving and wanting to get some food sooner. f(r)eew(e)bnovel.(c)o(m)
Li Yuzhu nodded as well, "Father is right, Grandpa Qin, let my Second Brother carry you."
Everyone was hungry, if they waited for this old man to turtle his way home, they might faint from hunger halfway.
Old Qin had no choice but to agree, thanking them once more.
After walking down the mountain for more than a mile, then walking three miles on flat ground, they finally arrived at Taohua River Village.
The Xue Family was so hungry their vision blurred and anger simmered in their heart, wasn’t it supposed to be not far? It must have taken at least half an hour, right?