Chapter 439: 439. Thank you Gu Xiaoling

Translator: 549690339

Cheng Yun got up early, didn’t wake Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu, and went out to buy steaming hot breakfast after tidying up. He arranged the food on the round table on the first floor where everyone usually ate. Although he didn’t eat meat, he listened to Su Liang and bought both vegetarian and meat-filled steamed buns for the children’s growth.

Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu knocked on the door of Gu Ling and Su Liang’s room.

“Master, Mistress, get up quickly, we’re going hiking!” Ji Xiaoshu’s voice was lively, full of energy, and after speaking, she ran downstairs with Zhengzheng.

In fact, Gu Ling and Su Liang didn’t sleep after letting Pu Cheng go. When Gu Xiaonuan woke up, the two of them got up as well.

After breakfast, the sun had just risen.

Madam Xing invited Nangong Qian to her house today. Qiao Cong and Cen Man were to accompany her to Marquis Zhong Xin’s residence. Qi Yan naturally had to go because Madam Xing wanted to take a look at his fiancée.

They didn’t take a carriage because the children wanted to ride horses.

Four horses left Su Mansion. Gu Xiaonuan stuck her little head out from Gu Ling’s embrace, her eyes shining brightly. She pointed to a big tree not far away and said in a crisp voice, “Tree!”

Ji Xiaoshu felt quite proud, “That’s my name, of course, my sister recognizes it! Master, my sister doesn’t know your name yet, right?”

Zhengzheng smiled happily and asked Gu Xiaonuan, “Sister, what’s my name?”

Gu Xiaonuan immediately replied, “Zheng!”

Gu Ling lowered his head and gently kissed his daughter’s forehead, “So smart.”

They dismounted at the foot of Wangxiang Mountain. Zhengzheng looked around and whispered to Su Liang, “Mistress, will there be any bad people?”

Su Liang smiled, “Don’t worry, your master is here. But don’t run too far.”

Zhengzheng nodded, “I understand, I’ll watch out for Xiaoshu.”

The two children immediately started racing each other, while Gu Ling carried Gu Xiaonuan and walked behind with Su Liang, listening to their cheerful voices echoing through the mountains.

The winter mountain scenery was bleak and gray, even the occasional pines and cypresses growing in the cracks of the rocks were a dark, ink-like green.

After Gu Xiaonuan said “tree” several times, Gu Ling began to teach her other words, such as “grass,” “rock,” “road,” “bird,” “sparrow,” and a “rabbit” that ran through the forest.

Gu Xiaonuan saw a gray rabbit dart by and turned her head, blinking her round black eyes at Gu Ling, “Rabbit! Gone!”

If their daughter liked rabbits, why not just catch one? Gu Ling instructed Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu to catch a rabbit for Gu Xiaonuan.

The two children were immediately enthusiastic. Ji Xiaoshu pulled out a slingshot from his pocket, picked up a few stones from the ground, and asked, “Master, do you want it dead or alive?”

The slingshot was given by Gu Ling, Zhengzheng had one too.

“Alive,” Gu Ling said.

“Alright! Big brother, let’s go hunting!” Ji Xiaoshu excitedly rushed into the forest.

Su Liang quickly followed, fearing that they might accidentally get hurt.

“Big tree!”

“Small tree!”

“Pine tree!”

“Bird!”

Gu Xiaonuan learned to speak very quickly and could call out the names of similar things she saw again. Gu Ling had no memory of his own childhood and found human babies to be adorable. He now understood the meaning of the phrase “the pearl in one’s hand” from the books.

Before long, when Su Liang brought the two children out of the forest, she had a large gray rabbit in her hand.

“Sister, look! A rabbit!” Ji Xiaoshu held up the rabbit like a treasure for Gu Xiaonuan to see.

Gu Xiaonuan reached out her little hand, tentatively touching and grabbing the rabbit. She seemed to find the touch very peculiar and giggled.

“Master, let’s roast this fat rabbit after we reach the top of the mountain!” Ji Xiaoshu suggested.

Zhengzheng disagreed, “Sister likes it, we can’t kill it.”

“Maybe sister likes to eat it too!” Ji Xiaoshu thought Gu Xiaonuan was very brave and wouldn’t be afraid of this.

“We’ll take it home first,” Gu Ling thought it was too cold outside and planned to go back early.

“Take it home and roast it!” Ji Xiaoshu felt that since their master didn’t object, it must mean he wanted to eat it as well.

When they reached the place where they had seen tadpoles the last time they visited Wangxiang Mountain, the two children eagerly hoped to see the grown-up frogs. But they found the waterfall and the water below had frozen.

“We can come back when spring blossoms and see the frogs by then,” Su Liang reassured the two children.

Ji Xiaoshu stood on the thick layer of ice and looked down, puzzled, “Where did the frogs go now? Won’t they freeze to death under there?”

Su Liang shook her head, explaining to the children that frogs were amphibious, also known as cold-blooded animals. Their body temperature changes with the environment, and low temperatures can threaten their lives. In addition, due to the lack of food in winter, they need to hibernate to save energy. They might not be in the water but in small holes near the water.

The two children listened intently and found it magical. As they continued to walk towards the summit, they didn’t run into the forest but instead walked along with Su Liang, asking all kinds of strange questions.

“Do frogs have parents?”

“Aren’t birds afraid of the cold?”

“How do bird eggs turn into baby birds?”

“Do fish hibernate too?”

Su Liang patiently answered each question, and Ji Xiaoshu exclaimed, “How does Mistress know everything? So amazing!”

“Your master knows as well,” Su Liang smiled lightly.

Then, Ji Xiaoshu turned around and asked Gu Ling a weird question, “Master, can birds and fish be together? If they were together, would they have winged little fish or swimming little birds?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “No.”

Ji Xiaoshu looked at Su Liang again, “Is that true?”

Seeing Su Liang nod, Ji Xiaoshu looked disappointed, “Well, I really want to know what a winged little fish looks like!”

Su Liang chuckled, “You can imagine it and draw it.”

Ji Xiaoshu nodded, “I will try when I get back.”

Zhengzheng said, “I will draw a swimming little bird, then!”

When they reached the top of the mountain, the two children sat in a tree, gazing into the distance and promising each other that when they grew up, they would take their sister on a journey to see the world.

When they returned home that day, the rabbit was slaughtered, skinned, and roasted until fragrant. Gu Xiaonuan seemed eager to try it, so Gu Ling fed her a small piece.

At dinner, Qiao Cong asked Gu Ling and Su Liang about their plans for the future, “You should stay home and take care of things here! Qianqian’s marriage is settled, Xiaogu is going home, and I have nothing to worry about here. I will go to Jiaye City tomorrow to see how Jingjing is doing.”

Jiaye City.

Three days after Qiao Jing and his team returned, they were busy setting up defenses along the coastline. Lin Shun had already started preparations before they came back, but there was still a lot to do.

Under Old Mu’s reassurance, Old White calmed down from the initial panic when he was rescued. However, at his age, the unease of losing most of his life’s memories lingered. He still wanted to regain his memory as soon as possible. Old Mu said that Su Liang had been studying this and might find a solution soon, so he should not be anxious.

Originally, Qiao Jing wanted to send someone to escort Old White and the Ying siblings to the capital city, but now, Old White trusted Old Mu the most and couldn’t bear to leave him. Old Mu had to stay behind and follow Gu Ling’s plan to make weapons. So Old White stayed as well.

Ying Ying, on the other hand, heard that there was much to be done and volunteered to help in Jiaye City though she longed to meet her legendary sister Su Liang.

Of course, Lin Shun was the happiest one.

On one hand, his beloved Ying Ying returned safely, and memory loss was not a major issue. On the other hand, after experiencing so much together, he finally reconciled with Qiao Jing and settled an unresolved issue.

Qiao Jing knew that Lin Shun had feelings for Ying Ying, so he advised him to take the initiative and talk to Ying Ying about their past experiences.

So, Lin Shun spent three days preparing, and finally, this day came. He found Ying Ying and planned to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

But just as he began, Ying Ye said he was hungry, and Ying Ying took her brother to eat.

When Ying Ye had finished eating and went to sleep, Lin Shun started again, only to hear a report from outside, “General Lin, we’re in trouble!”

Lin Shun and Ying Ying’s expressions changed in unison!

Qiao Jing hurried back from outside and saw Lin Shun preparing to check the situation with Ying Ying: three children disappeared in the city today.

“With Gu Ling just leaving Xingluo Island, those people must have been sent there earlier than you. The defense wasn’t completed yet, so they could easily go ashore,” Lin Shun analyzed.

The defense was almost complete now, but reinforcement and improvement were still needed. Besides, the fishermen along the coast had been notified to stop fishing, and their livelihood was assured. It was impossible for people from Xingluo Island to come ashore without being noticed.

Lin Shun’s concern was already there. Assuming it was Xingluo Island’s doing, it was because they temporarily had no other enemies. Moreover, they had set up defenses along the coastline to prevent such events.

Ying Ying frowned, “Why did they only act today after several days have passed?”

“They might have been looking for a way back before,” Qiao Jing said, his eyes focused.

Old Mu clenched his brow, “Damn it! Does that mean they’re going to make a move because they’ve found a way back?”

“Not necessarily,” Qiao Jing shook his head, “Maybe they didn’t find a way back after searching for a few days and decided to take hostages to force us to let them go. They attacked in broad daylight, which is a threat to us.”

“To hell with them!” Old Mu’s face darkened with anger, “I hate those bastards who use children as hostages the most!”

“If my guess is correct, we still have a chance to capture them,” Qiao Jing squinted, “But their opponents this time will undoubtedly be powerful masters from Xingluo Island. They also have hostages, which will be challenging.”

“I’ll send a message to the capital city!” Lin Shun went into the room, “Maybe Gu Ling and Su Liang have already caught Sheng Yue!”

With anger in his belly, Old Mu went on to make more explosives, vowing to level Xingluo Island someday.

Ying Ying stopped Qiao Jing, who was about to leave, “In case we have to let those people go with the hostages, I can go as a hostage and have them release the children.”

Qiao Jing frowned, “No! You’ve just managed to get out of there!”

“They won’t harm me,” Ying Ying shook her head, “I trust you to take care of Xiaoye, and you need to be in charge here. To get them to agree to exchange, the hostage must be valuable, and I’m barely qualified.”

Qiao Jing sighed, “We’ll discuss this with Lin Shun later.”

But just as Lin Shun sent the message to the capital city and received the news that trouble had broken out on the seashore, Qiao Jing and Ying Ying had already rushed there.

When Lin Shun and Old Mu arrived at the seashore with the fastest speed, they saw Qiao Jing and Ying Ying confronting three old men. Undoubtedly, they were masters from Xingluo Island. Each of them held a child they had captured from Jiaye City, using them as shields in front of them.

Not far away was a newly built defense work, and countless archers aimed at them. With their strength, they could force their way through, but it would be doubly difficult to do so with hostages. Furthermore, they needed a boat to return to Xingluo Island and ensure they wouldn’t be blown up once they boarded. That’s why they had to negotiate using hostages.

“If you take me instead, it will be more convenient for you.” Ying Ying raised her hands, “You know very well who I am, Su Liang is my sister, capturing me will be of higher value, right? Besides, kids are hard to control and have delicate bodies. If any accidents happen, it will be difficult to handle. As long as you agree, I will surrender immediately and fulfill all your conditions. What do you say?”

Qiao Jing did not stop Ying Ying. This kidnapping is due to the time difference between the start of their vigilance and the arrival of people from Xingluo Island, which was an unavoidable consequence. It is not to say that the defense was useless. At least it was easy for the people from Xingluo Island to come, but difficult for them to leave and get back onshore.

But today’s trouble must be resolved, and that is to save the three innocent children who have been kidnapped.

Qiao Jing is aware of the strength of those three men and knows that there is no bottom line for the people on Xingluo Island. He dares not take any risks and decides against taking a hard approach. If their conditions are not met, the consequences may be disastrous.

When Lian Shun heard what Ying Ying said, his face changed, but he didn’t speak immediately.

The three men on Xingluo Island glanced at each other, and one of them finally said, “You can exchange her, but only one for one!”

Of course, this was not Ying Ying’s goal. However, before she could say anything, the man who had just spoken threatened fiercely, “Stop talking nonsense, the exchange can only be one-for-one! There is no room for negotiation! Let us go immediately, provide us with a sturdy boat and enough food, or I will strangle this kid in my hands and show you I’m not joking!”

Old Mu gritted his teeth and clenched the gun in his sleeves. However, it was obvious that the three men were prepared for this. They chose an open space, making it almost impossible to capture them all at once. Taking a hasty action might lead to the death of the hostage.

Just as Qiao Jing was considering what to do, Lian Shun spoke, “Add one more – me! I am Gu Ling and Su Liang’s best friend! I will go with Ying Ying and in exchange for the three children in your hands! If I am not mistaken, your mission is to capture at least two hostages! If you dare to hurt those three children, I guarantee I will tear you all to pieces! Within ten seconds, if you don’t agree, there will be no such good condition!”

The three men exchanged glances again. One of them threw a bottle of pills, “Both of you, come over here and take one pill each! It’s just a sedative!”

Lian Shun took off his sword and handed it to Old Mu, then he and Ying Ying walked towards the three men.

Picking up the bottle of pills from the ground, Lian Shun opened it and poured out a pill and held it in his hand. He threw the bottle over to Ying Ying.

Ying Ying caught it and also poured out a pill.

“Take it!” A man was staring at each of them while the other one was staring at Qiao Jing.

Ying Ying and Lian Shun glanced at each other, she took the pill first and immediately collapsed in a coma.

Lian Shun said to Qiao Jing, “Tell my parents not to worry.” He then put the pill in his mouth and collapsed to the ground.

The three men holding the children walked over to Lian Shun and Ying Ying and grabbed them both.

“The boat is prepared.” Qiao Jing said with an icy expression, “You may leave now. If anything happens to them, I assure you that you will die a very ugly death!”

Soon after, a boat left the beach.

Qiao Jing stared solemnly at the departing boat, not allowing the archers who had drawn their bows to relax. But shooting the boat would also put Lian Shun and Ying Ying at risk, and blowing up the boat was not an option either.

However…thinking of the look Lian Shun gave him before taking the pill, Qiao Jing decided to wait a little longer.

A moment later, Lian Shun woke up on the boat and jumped into the sea with the unconscious Ying Ying in tow!

Qiao Jing immediately ordered the archers to shoot, while Old Mu personally threw a bundle of explosives with a catapult!

The boat was blown to pieces, killing one of the three kidnappers, severely injuring another, and the last one went missing.

Qiao Jing ordered his men to keep a close watch on the water and expand the search area. As soon as someone surfaced, they would be killed without mercy.

When Ying Ying regained consciousness, she was lying on the beach, with Lian Shun looking intently at her.

“What happened?” Ying Ying rubbed her forehead.

Lian Shun’s lips curved into a warm smile, “Gu Xiaoling taught me a magic trick. Those scumbags didn’t even realize that I switched the sedatives.”

Ying Ying exclaimed in surprise, “That’s amazing! I’m impressed.”

Lian Shun pulled Ying Ying to her feet, silently chanting in his heart: Thank you, Gu Xiaoling!