novelraw Chapter 493: Cannon Fodder Mother of the Child of Destiny (7)
Chapter 493: Cannon Fodder Mother of the Child of Destiny (7)
Following the guidance of the compass in her hand, An Ning and her group soon arrived at a remote, dilapidated small village in the north.
The far northern lands were desolate to begin with, not to mention perpetually cold and harsh. The common people lived in poverty, and the spiritual energy wasn't particularly abundant either. Therefore, few cultivators were willing to set foot in this vicinity.
When An Ning found the place, the little brat, only six years old, was currently wearing a patched, dark gray short jacket. Right now, he was in the small courtyard, swinging a little wooden sword with great effort, huffing and puffing.
It was clearly a makeshift small courtyard. The surrounding walls weren't very high, the surfaces covered in dry, yellowish clay. On the low fence, a group of village children, around seven or eight years old, were leaning over, watching the fun with giggles and laughter.
Since the adults weren't around at the moment, the children's courage had grown considerably. Some of the more mischievous ones even deliberately threw small stones for fun:
"Little Yu, Uncle Huzi has gone out again, right? Let me tell you, my mom specially prepared a fish this big today! If Uncle Huzi still isn't back later, Little Yu, why don't you come to my house to eat tonight!"
As soon as the words fell, another chubby child beside him hurriedly spoke up, giving the skinny monkey next to him a hard shove:
"Nonsense! What's so good about fish? That stuff is really fishy. Little Yu, come to my house tonight!"
"Mom said today we have pheasant!"
His mom had said that although Uncle Big Beard was often away from home—rumored to be going to the neighboring town to find women—Uncle Big Beard might be unreliable, but every time he came back, a single trip up the mountain could bag quite a lot of game!One meal could be worth several rabbits or pheasants, maybe even mountain goat meat!
That was totally worth it!
As if thinking of something, the little fatty subconsciously wiped his mouth, his dirty sleeve quickly stained with an unknown liquid.
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding children also started clamoring: "Little Yu, come to my house! My grandma said the old hen at home laid two extra eggs today!"
Unfortunately, just after finishing his sword practice, Xiao Yi, who should have been laughing and joking back, suddenly seemed to sense something. His gaze abruptly shot toward a direction outside the courtyard gate, tense.
The hand gripping the little wooden sword also subconsciously tightened.
This shouldn't be the level of alertness a child should possess, even though she hadn't deliberately concealed her aura. An Ning thought to herself:
It seems these past few years, master and disciple have been constantly on the run, their lives far from stable.
Watching the little fellow coax his little friends outside the courtyard back home with a few words, An Ning then slowly emerged from behind the large tree.
Seeing the person clearly, the tiny Xiao Yi, who had been gripping his little wooden sword and was already prepared to run: "!!!"
"A-A… Mother!"
Dropping the little wooden sword, he flew toward the newcomer. The little fellow was just about to tear up, but the next second, he heard the green-clad woman in front of him in the small courtyard say with an indifferent expression:
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I am not your mother!"
Huh? The tears about to burst forth were instantly retracted.
Xiao Yi: "!!!"
Roughly half an hour later…
Gathering firewood, lighting the fire, washing the cup, placing the few malt sugar lumps he'd managed to scrounge up after half a day's search into the teacup, waiting until the sugar lumps in the cup had completely dissolved. Only then did Xiao Yi carefully place the now lukewarm tea in front of this woman whose face looked similar but whose aura was completely out of place in the shabby little room.
Though only six years old, with short arms and legs, the little fellow's actions were already quite deft.
While busy, a smile instinctively appeared on his face.
Seeing this, even though she had some understanding through the system beforehand, at this moment, An Ning could only think:
Holy crap, what a tragically unlucky Child of Destiny!
But then again, what could you expect from a rough man to begin with, a carefree and unrestrained knight-errant who rarely kept a single coin in his pocket for long, to understand the proper way to raise a child!
Besides, these past few years, the two had been constantly on the run. An Ning knew that this current situation was still considered good;
there were times when they went without proper shelter for over half a month.
Her gaze lingered on the little dark-skinned child who had roughened more than just a bit. An Ning couldn't help but click her tongue:
No wonder those people from the Xuanming Cult couldn't recognize him. Children change a lot at this age anyway, and looking like this…
If not for the system's monitoring and the fact that the family-finding compass in her hand showed no issues, she probably wouldn't have recognized him either.
Without giving another glance to those sparkling, seemingly expectant, dewy big eyes. In the shabby little room, An Ning reached out and took the teacup, casually asking:
Her tone was particularly cool and detached within this not-so-large room.
"Six years old, and you haven't formally begun cultivation yet?"
As if sensing An Ning's displeasure, the little fellow subconsciously rubbed the hem of his clothes, but soon seemed to remember something. He immediately lifted his little face, giving the woman before him a happy smile:
"Master said I should first exercise my body and build a solid foundation. The medicinal herbs needed for cultivation will be found soon!"
Hmm, soon…
Thinking of that man's habit of readily giving away money for righteous causes, An Ning remained noncommittal in her heart. Not giving the other party too much chance to chatter about daily life, An Ning spoke directly, stating the purpose of her visit:
"I assume I've already explained my identity in detail earlier."
"So, do you choose to continue following your master, or leave with me, your never-before-met maternal aunt?"
As if unaware of what this choice meant for a six-year-old child, An Ning's tone was, as always, aloof with a touch of casualness.
She didn't even let her gaze linger on the person before her for more than a moment while speaking.
The child's eyes, which had just calmed down, instantly reddened again.
Staring fixedly at this familiar face, after a moment of silence, Xiao Yi suddenly looked up, his gaze resolute:
"Mo… No, A… Aunt! I want to go with you, Aunt!"
"But… but before leaving, I need to tell Master personally…" Afraid she might get angry, as soon as he finished speaking, the child hurriedly stared at her intently, explaining:
"Just wait a little while, that's all. Master said before he left that he'd be back right away. I just need to say goodbye and then leave. I absolutely won't delay you, A… Aunt, for too much time."
Her gaze swept over the child's anxious eyes. Taking out a communication talisman to send a message to the Xie Family members waiting outside the village, An Ning said nothing but soon nodded.
Confirming the person before him wouldn't leave immediately, Xiao Yi finally heaved a huge sigh of relief. His still baby-chubby little face soon broke into a big smile:
Hmm, An Ning glanced sideways. The little fellow's teeth were quite clean and white!
Unfortunately, this wait ended up being nearly two full days. The man who had said he'd be back soon showed no sign of returning.
Growing anxious, and seemingly terrified she might get angry or simply leave, the six-year-old child not only fluttered around her like a butterfly every day but also insisted on waiting outside the door even at night when An Ning was cultivating.
By the fourth day, with that person still not back, the little fellow finally became thoroughly frantic, his small face full of worry:
"Aunt, that day Master really did say he was just going to the neighboring village to help deal with a minor monster and would be back soon." Then, as if explaining something, he quickly added:
"And besides, usually, as long as I'm still at home, Master he… he rarely goes out for more than four days."
An Ning: "..."
So breaking promises and leaving a child under six alone at home for several days was this guy's standard operating procedure, was it?
Fortunately, around noon on the fourth day, that person finally returned "on time," covered in dust and looking travel-worn. However, the moment he stepped into the small courtyard, a longsword swiftly shot toward An Ning's position:
"Speak, who exactly are you?"