Chapter 40: He Saw Endless Auspicious Qi and Fortune

When Uncle Li gathered a group of men and hurried to the Li residence, Li Fu had already been waiting for him at the entrance.

Inside the door stood Xinniang and Lady Bu, who was holding little Yi. Early that morning, upon hearing that Le Dan had come looking for Li Fu, Xinniang’s heart had skipped a beat.

Fortunately, after his conversation with Le Dan, Li Fu beamed with joy. He had grabbed the hand of the hurriedly approaching Xinniang in such an uncomposed manner that he repeated how wonderful it was several times, incoherently thanking her.

Shortly thereafter, perhaps realizing that as the head of the household he was acting far too frivolous, Li Fu managed to rein in his exaggerated expression. He patted Xinniang’s shoulder and smiled, "It’s about Yun'er, but it’s good news. You don't need to worry. Yun'er might not be able to come back today, but just stay home in peace. I guarantee I’ll return a lively and clever Yun'er to you."

With that, he immediately summoned his men and paced back and forth anxiously at the entrance, waiting for Uncle Li.

Had Li Fu not looked so overjoyed, Xinniang would have fainted from fright. Even though she now knew Yun'er was safe, she still could not help but worry.

Sensing her anxiety and fearing she would overthink, Li Fu had specifically asked Lady Bu to keep her company.

When Lady Bu arrived with little Yi in her arms, she betrayed no emotion on the surface, but inwardly, she had her own thoughts. Usually, Li Fu treated her and Xinniang almost equally; whatever he gave Xinniang, he gave to her, and vice versa. He also implicitly allowed them each to manage their respective children, never deliberately asking her to do anything for Xinniang that would cause her embarrassment, nor letting Xinniang lose face in front of her.

This was the first time Li Fu had specifically asked her to let the maidservants tend to little Yi so she could go keep Xinniang company.

It seemed Yun'er had truly accomplished something extraordinary, and Xinniang was now rising in status thanks to her son.

Lady Bu had actually anticipated this for a long time. Regardless of the fact that little Yi was born before Yun'er, neither she nor Xinniang had been formally and publicly married into the family through the proper rites, so there was no distinction between a primary wife and a concubine. The two boys held equal status. Moreover, little Yi was exceptionally obedient to Yun'er, and given Yun'er's undeniable cleverness and unusual brilliance from a very young age, Lady Bu had to admit to herself that in the future, little Yi would still have to rely on Yun'er.

Tightening her hold on little Yi in her arms, Lady Bu moved closer to Xinniang and began speaking softly to her as sisters would, offering comfort.

When Uncle Li arrived without regard for his appearance, he exchanged no pleasantries with Li Fu. Without another word, he immediately mounted a horse and galloped straight toward Lengdixia Village.

They needed to see Yun'er as soon as possible!

They had originally assumed Jiang Guang was protecting Yun'er in the village, but upon arrival, they saw Deng Guang and learned that Jiang Guang had taken Yun'er to the refugees.

At that moment, Uncle Li’s expression darkened. A gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall; with so many displaced people around, once a riot broke out, it would be no trivial matter.

Yun'er was good at everything, but he was simply too kind-hearted! Those refugees had already received the immense grace of being saved by the Li family; couldn't they even wait a day or two? And even if they couldn't wait and a few of them died—well, dead was dead! How could they possibly compare to the unicorn prodigy of the Li family?!

Therefore, when Yun'er turned around with a soot-smudged little face, he was met with the furious expressions of Uncle Li and Li Fu, alongside Deng Guang, who was being dragged along by them.

"Father! Uncle Li!" Catching sight of them, Yun'er happily shoved the clay bowl in his hand into the grasp of a refugee and bounded toward them with sheer joy.

It was already dusk.

The oppressive stench of rotting corpses that had once hung over this grand valley had dissipated significantly, for the platoon of men had toiled for a whole day and night until their hands were nearly worn to the bone. Furthermore, throughout the entire day, as rice and porridge were boiled, wisps of kitchen smoke rose into the air, and the scent of warmth and congee helped mask the sour and foul odors.

Today was yet another day of bright sunshine.

During all his years serving as the magistrate of Long County, Li Fu had never witnessed a winter in Long County with such fine weather, let alone for two consecutive days.

Now, with the sun half-set, the clear, deep-blue sky was adorned with the glow of twilight, and the accumulated snow on the distant mountain peaks was dyed a brilliant, fiery red.

Across the mountains, the refugees had mostly partaken of a bowl of hot porridge. The newly ignited hope prompted them to sit up, and the gradually reviving vitality once again flowed through the valley.

It was amidst this setting—the lingering sun casting its light upon the snow-capped peaks and the smoke of a thousand hearths rising—that Li Fu watched his youngest son running toward him with a face full of delight.

Suddenly, Li Fu’s heart softened.

Perhaps this was the joy of raising children. If his son amounted to something, a father would naturally rejoice in seeing him succeed; if he remained ordinary, a parent would simply have to carefully plan out a future path for him.

As for Uncle Li, his eyes seemed momentarily entranced by the curling wisps of smoke. Under the golden glow of the setting sun, those rising columns of smoke appeared to be coated with a shimmering layer of gold. Amidst the ethereal smoke, it looked as boundless as an endless expanse of auspicious fortune.

"Father!" Li Fu had already scooped up his fine son into his arms.

Yun'er wiped his soot-stained little face proudly against Li Fu’s shoulder and let out a crisp, clear cry. It was this very sound that jolted Uncle Li back to his senses.

Looking again, the continuous aura of auspicious fortune had vanished; the setting sun was simply the setting sun, and the smoke was merely the smoke of human dwellings.

Nevertheless, this banished the displeasure from Uncle Li’s face, replacing it with a helpless expression as he tapped Yun'er on the forehead.

"Did Jiang Guang make you come here?"

Clutching his father's neck, Yun'er instinctively felt he shouldn't admit the truth, lest Uncle Jiang get into trouble. So, he shook his head immediately, "No, I insisted on coming. Uncle Jiang wanted to go wait for you in the village and only come to find the refugees after you arrived, but I couldn't stay put and kept nagging Uncle Jiang to bring me along."

Jiang Guang also put down his burdens and walked over.

Hearing Yun'er's words, he merely gave the boy a gentle look and then cupped his fists in a salute to Uncle Li.

"Yun'er is truly blessed by fortune. Although we hurried here anxiously to find you just now, we also took a look at the grain stores in the ravine. Le Dan even mentioned that last night they worked overnight to clear out a massive amount of gold and silver treasures—these are the accumulated wealth amassed by Ma Yi ever since he joined the Wushijiao."

Delighted, Li Fu bounced Yun'er in his arms; the boy was still as solidly plump as a little fortune doll. Even after enduring two days of hardship, he hadn't grown thin. Not bad at all.

"Yun'er's fortune is indeed extraordinary." As he praised the boy, Li Fu exchanged a glance with Uncle Li.

Yun'er’s current state bore no resemblance to someone with a mediocre destiny destined for an untimely death. If he were fated to die young, his personal destiny and the gathered popularity among the people should have steadily dissipated just as before. Yet, had that been the case, Yun'er ought to have turned out to be an entirely ordinary child with mediocre luck.

Little Yi was the true example of an ordinarily plain child.

With a direct comparison right before them, Yun'er had ventured out, and despite the risks, this tiny child had safely secured such a massive stash of grain and wealth—it was undeniably unusual.

Uncle Li was similarly lost in thought, harboring certain speculations that he dared not yet confirm. Moreover, now was not the time to dwell on this; the primary objective was to promptly settle the refugees here and manage the vast quantities of grain.

Furthermore, Ma Yi had also stated that the people of the White Horse Di, allied with other Di tribes, had driven over a thousand fine horses and were simply waiting to trade. If they waited too long without a response, there was no telling what trouble might arise.

"Yun'er, let the men Uncle Li brought handle the arrangements here. Let's return to Lengdixia Village first; your father has something to tell you."

Hearing Li Fu say this, how could Yun'er possibly refuse? In the end, Le Dan stayed behind with a detachment of men, while Jiang Guang escorted Yun'er, Li Fu, and the others back to Lengdixia Village.

Along the journey back.

Although Li Fu had practiced martial arts and swordplay in his youth, he had long since let those skills lapse. If he had been asked to walk half a day's mountain trail in the past, he truly would have found it rather taxing.

Yet today, perhaps buoyed by the cheerful spirit of auspicious events, he carried Yun'er all the way with steady footsteps. As for Uncle Li, though his expression remained restrained, the joy between his brows was plainly evident. Furthermore, he paid far more attention to Yun'er than usual, glancing up at him from time to time—so much so that it made Yun'er feel rather strange.

In the past, Uncle Li had treated both him and little Yi quite well, but there had always been a measure of sternness, and even a hint of disappointment.

For some unknown reason today, Yun'er felt as though the old man was looking at him with the look of "you are the hope of the entire village," staring at him so intently that Yun'er felt compelled to touch his freshly wiped, round little face, feeling utterly awkward.

Fortunately, Yun'er was easygoing and never overly concerned with puzzling things out. Back then, he had managed to carelessly brush aside those inexplicable memories, let alone Uncle Li’s strange gaze.

Before long, Yun'er completely dismissed it from his mind.

The group quickened their pace and reached the village much faster than anticipated. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of Lengdixia Village, Yun'er turned his head in surprise.

For scattered across the village entrance, the field ridges, and the small paths, he actually saw small groups of children skipping and playing about.

Some elderly folk were even sitting right outside the doorways of their thatched huts.

Since dusk was rapidly falling and the people of Lengdixia Village could not afford oil lamps, they had opened the wooden doors of their thatched huts wide, utilizing the last lingering daylight to burn dried grass and withered tree branches in their earthen stoves. From the ventilation openings and windows above the roofs, wisps of cooking smoke curled upward.

Quite a few children of various ages crowded around the doorways, gazing longingly at the silhouettes of their mothers or grandparents preparing meals.

When Yun'er had arrived in Lengdixia Village in the pitch black of night yesterday, every single household here had tightly bolted their doors. That morning, the village had been utterly devoid of any movement, looking precisely like a ghost town.

He had never expected that by evening, the village would seem to have instantly come back to life.

Yet the problem was that Lü Tou, Jiang Guang, and the others were still walking back and forth through the village. They all carried formidable broadswords, and coupled with their fierce and intimidating aura, anyone would naturally find them terrifying. Moreover, a plot of land near the Zhao family residence had been cordoned off, where Ma Yi’s surviving deserters were all bound together; many of them were injured and still howling in pain.

With so many unfamiliar, ferocious-looking men wandering around, how could the villagers possibly not be afraid?

As Yun'er looked on in curiosity, he spotted a figure running toward him from not far away. The boy ran while calling out happily, "Yun'er, you're back! I've been waiting here for you; if you hadn't come soon, I was going to make Deng Guang take me to find you." As he drew closer, he noticed that Yun'er was being carried by Li Fu, and promptly hushed himself.

"Gouzi!" Yun'er called out cheerfully.

Last night, Yun'er had left Gouzi in Lengdixia Village to keep his parents company, figuring they likely had a great deal to say to one another.

Back at the Li residence, Gouzi had been most terrified of Li Fu, which was why he was now behaving with utmost obedience. Yet upon seeing Yun'er, Gouzi still scratched his head and smiled. Following closely behind him was his eldest brother.

Setting aside the children whose mothers had perished, among the surviving children, Gouzi ranked third: above him were an elder brother and an elder sister, and below him were a younger brother and a younger sister.

The boy trailing behind him now appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, unkempt and disheveled, wearing straw sandals that exposed the tops of his feet in the dead of winter, not daring to lift his head to look at anyone.