The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 56

Xie Baowei and Yingying quickly left Dangjia.

Due to the persistent gazes that followed them even as they ran for a long time, they had to ride for at least half a day.

“Are you not tired?”

They lit a campfire and roughly boiled some jerky to fill their stomachs.

They didn’t stop at any villages.

They didn’t know how far the Dang Family’s eyes might reach.

Though there didn’t seem to be any immediate pursuit, it was better to hide their tracks since they didn’t know how the situation might change.

“I’m fine.”

Yingying said quietly.

Her voice had more strength than expected.

He had thought she would surely be depressed due to all the various incidents.

It was fortunate.

Crackle. Crackle.

Only the sound of the campfire burning and the distant hooting of an owl could be heard.

The adult and child each held a cup of tea and blankly watched the flames burn away.

Yingying wasn’t a talkative child, and Xie Baowei also wasn’t the type to take the initiative in conversation.

Still, it was fine.

Though Yingying was a young child, she had several great advantages, one of which was being accustomed to silence.

“…Why are you so kind to me?”

Suddenly, the child asked.

Xie Baowei didn’t answer at first.

He hadn’t heard her because he was deeply thinking about Lüli.

What should he say when they meet again?

Could he stay by her side as if nothing had happened?

Or should he leave as he had originally intended to do?

Might she resent him?

These were the thoughts that troubled him every night.

The child didn’t ask twice and just stared blankly at Xie Baowei who was lost in thought.

“Huh, what did you say?”

Xie Baowei belatedly looked to the side.

The five-year-old child looked at him with tired eyes.

A child that age should be more carefree.

However, since Xie Baowei himself had those same eyes at that age, perhaps it wasn’t so unusual after all.

“Ah.”

The child didn’t ask again. But her question quickly came back to him.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard it, but that he had heard it and still asked.

Xie Baowei smiled faintly and turned his head back to the campfire.

“Just because.”

“Mom said there are no actions without reason in this world. No kindness without a price either.”

“She was a wise mother.”

Xie Baowei nodded roughly.

It was true.

It was something Xie Baowei had painfully experienced throughout his life as well.

However, he didn’t give her an answer.

Again, the campfire blazed up.

The child looked at Xie Baowei and said.

“But she said there’s exactly one action that has no price or reason.”

“Is that so?”

The child was still looking at Xie Baowei.

Though Xie Baowei didn’t ask back, the child continued.

“Love.”

Right. It was the expected answer.

The child showed signs of having grown up loved.

Not because she was delicate or immature, but because she never let go of herself even in harsh circumstances.

That was truly not an easy thing to do.

“You are a lucky child.”

“…Am I?”

“Of course.”

It was something Xie Baowei at that age had never known at all.

She had learned through her mother’s words the wisdom of life that he had only gained with great difficulty after being worn down, beaten, and tumbled about.

And that wasn’t something that could be learned through words alone.

She could be so confident despite being so young because she had seen and felt it directly.

Xie Baowei felt a little envious of that, and the tea tasted bitter.

“Do you love me?”

Pfft.

He hadn’t expected this.

Of course, the child wasn’t asking about romantic love, and Xie Baowei didn’t take it that way either.

Xie Baowei pretended not to be flustered at all and wiped around his chin and mouth with his arm.

What should he answer?

Though he didn’t look to the side, he could feel the child’s gaze.

He couldn’t turn to look because he didn’t know if what was contained in it was earnestness or sadness.

“…”

Unable to give any answer, he just sipped his empty tea.

The child turned her face back to the campfire as if she had expected this.

He seemed to sense a faint disappointment.

“What do you want from me?”

What would I want from you?

Xie Baowei smiled bitterly.

“I am merely saving myself.”

Xie Baowei gently, gently stroked the child’s hair.

The girl’s eyes closed deeply.

He couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

However, a smart child like the girl might understand to some degree.

No. She didn’t need to understand.

Because he had been the same way.

“It’s not for you. I’m not that great a person.”

-Now you’re finally making a human-like face. Try smiling a little.

If there was something he wished for the girl, it was simply that she grow up safely, that she grow up well.

Just as he had survived in debt to the small gestures he had never even been able to thank,

he hoped she could extend her hand to someone.

That was all he amounted to.

Saving someone and loving them wasn’t something that could be easily done just because one decided to do so.

Though love required no qualifications, expressing love required courage.

He was a coward, both in the past and now.

-Didn’t you miss me?

Fool.

I thought I would die from missing you.

The child fell asleep, and Xie Baowei could not sleep.

.

.

.

Xie Baowei had procured another cart.

It was already too much for a young child to travel long distances, let alone ride a horse all day long.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Huashen, he wouldn’t have known.

Huashen, who had many younger siblings, had taken very good care of Yingying.

“I wonder if they arrived safely.”

By now they should have at least reached Xi’an, right? Or perhaps they turned toward Chongqing.

Given how severe the injuries were, he was worried about the treacherous roads. Well, with Wei Zibai accompanying them, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

A single horse leisurely moved its steps.

If one were to follow Xie Baowei’s mind that changed dozens of times a day, they would have run, walked, waited, and lain down, but Chun-gil walked steadily and Xie Baowei neither urged nor pulled her along.

It was around four days later.

“Please make it not spicy.”

He ordered a variety of dishes: fish soup and noodles, mountain vegetables and sliced chicken, steamed bread.

When he first ordered food in Sichuan without knowing better, it came out so spicy he couldn’t even taste it and had to leave everything and get up.

Just like the customers who laughed and mocked him, the innkeeper also chuckled, but did give him some clear noodles and soup.

Since then, asking for food to be made not spicy came naturally.

“Because of the child.”

When the waitress looked back, he lightly blamed it on Yingying, and she nodded as if she understood.

Yingying made a strange expression.

“What. Why.”

“I’m fine with spicy food though…”

“…”

Xie Baowei didn’t answer.

Until the day before yesterday, they had been avoiding villages. The road wasn’t too rough, and the weather was moderate.

Still, he thought that after about three days had passed, it would be fine to stop by villages occasionally.

He couldn’t keep making herbal medicine or mountain vegetable soup and grilling dried meat for the child forever.

Sleeping well and washing well were also very important matters.

“What kind of alcohol do you have here?”

“In Sichuan territory, you ask about alcohol without looking for Shu wine?”

“Well, since I’m traveling around, I asked if there’s any good alcohol here too. Shu wine was quite good. Then give me a cup of that.”

“You’re not from Sichuan, are you?”

“I came from Shandong. I heard Emei Mountain’s spring water is good for the body, so I came with the child.”

“Emei? If it’s Emei, this isn’t the right path?”

“While I’m at it, I’m doing some sightseeing.”

An elderly waitress brought out the food.

When he gave prepared answers to the usual questions, she said “Ah” and glanced at the child.

Though her guard wasn’t completely down, it roughly served as an answer for why he wore his hood pulled down deep.

Soon, along with the alcohol, a couple of dumplings suitable for the child came as well.

“…Eat well and grow up healthy.”

The waitress seemed to hesitate for a moment, then patted the child’s head before leaving.

Xie Baowei bowed his head as if grateful.

The child hung her head low and shyly put food in her mouth, chewing quietly.

Even if she didn’t eat much, she ate well without being picky.

“Eat a lot.”

“Yes.”

Xie Baowei was someone who ate a lot.

After setting aside the child’s portion, he began to finish his own share one by one.

Though he was always accustomed to a frugal lifestyle, since receiving generous travel money from the Huangbo Family, he couldn’t bring himself to skimp on food alone.

The adult and child ate their meal in silence.

Other customers glanced at the child occasionally, but perhaps seeing Xie Baowei’s large build and scarred face, they didn’t approach to talk.

It was during this time.

Scrape.

Thud.

“Please give me another set of utensils here.”

Next to Yingying, some child had pulled out a chair and sat down.

Could she have been twelve?

A clear, clean face that seemed to have never suffered hardship, tightly bound hair, a trained and agile body, wide sleeves.

“What do you want.”

“I’m called Dangyeonhwa.”

The girl smiled brightly.

Saying that, she arbitrarily picked up utensils and began eating the food.

“Ugh. Why are you eating such bland food? As if anyone couldn’t tell you’re outsiders.”

“How did you find us?”

A very willful child.

Different from both Xie Baowei and Yingying.

If he had to compare… like Hee-ae from the past.

Xie Baowei’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Speak.”

Suddenly, a faint aura rose from Xie Baowei’s body.

It seemed like killing intent, and also like dignity.

An energy that felt like it shouldn’t be defied.

The body of the girl who had seemed arrogant flinched.

Soon, her face contorted. She was offended.

“…How do you view the power of the Dang Family? Think we can’t find one outsider?”

Even so, she gave an answer.

She seemed a bit intimidated, but didn’t want to show it.

She was just a child.

The tension left Xie Baowei’s body as he observed her appearance.

“You ran away from home.”

“I did not!”

Dangyeonhwa said indignantly.

People’s eyes turned toward them, but she didn’t care.

She just turned her head as if embarrassed that she had gotten angry.

“Your presence is familiar. Were you hiding and watching? Four days, an ambiguous time. If the Dang Family had sent you, you should have found us faster. But today… Why. Were you curious about the outside? Seems like you couldn’t gain the adults’ trust. You heard the direction but couldn’t chase immediately. Looks like you had some trouble. You’re a mess. You were lucky.”

At Xie Baowei’s words, the girl’s face turned red and her eyes widened.

She seemed very angry, but then it subsided.

“You remember my presence?! …Do I smell or something?”

Ah, was that what was important?

The girl buried her nose in her body and sniffed. Of course she was a bit sweaty, but she didn’t smell that bad.

Xie Baowei shrugged his shoulders.

Of course it was a lie.

How could he remember this little one’s presence among so many?

“Hmph! I found you in the end! My instincts are never wrong.”

“You really were lucky.”

It didn’t make sense.

She got it right just by guessing?

Xie Baowei quietly observed the child.

From his reaction, it seemed he hadn’t actually received help from the Dang Family.

If they were going to send someone, they wouldn’t have sent such a clumsy boy.

“Our Yeongryong runs so well. She can easily catch up to your old horse, mister.”

If Chun-gil had heard this, he would have kicked back with his hind legs, but Chun-gil was probably munching on fodder in the stables.

Xie Baowei shook his head.

“Why. Did you come.”

“Because it looked fun.”

“Childish nonsense. Go back. I hate brats like you.”

Profanity came out first at the stupid bullshit.

The boy’s eyes widened.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Sob. You’re the only person who’s ever said such things to me, mister.”

Is he crazy, really.

This was maddening.

“What bullshit.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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