Chapter 660
Chapter 660
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 660
>Chapter Title: Sun Baolu
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“Yu’er Nation?” Yang Kid looked utterly confused. He had been following Senior Brother Li the whole way, yet he had never heard of any place called Yu’er Nation.
Seeing the look on Yang Kid’s face, Sun Baolu asked in surprise, “What? You don’t know? Siqi and Nanping over there have both been wiped out—conquered by the Dharma Cult.”
“They mashed all that territory together and called it Yu’er Nation. I hear their state religion is the Dharma Cult, and right now Yu’er Nation is at war with Later Shu. It’s fierce fighting—they say even the immortals in the sky have come down. If you head to Later Shu now, whichever side you run into, you’re dead.”
Hearing this, Yang Kid’s youthful face turned ghastly. He had finally made it back to Qingqiu, and Later Shu was right around the corner—only for this mess to crop up.
If he had heard this news earlier, maybe he could have stayed in Oxheart Village for a few years. But now that he was halfway there, going was impossible, and not going left him in agony.
“And I heard from refugees fleeing Later Shu that their nobles can’t hold off Yu’er Nation. Now anyone in Later Shu who’s a man taller than a cartwheel is getting drafted. Kid, you really can’t go.”
At these words, Yang Kid grew intensely nervous and worried. “Any man has to fight? Doesn’t that mean my dad and my brothers...?”
“Is your dad from Later Shu? If so, he’s probably screwed.”
Yang Kid’s heart raced even more at this. He had finally gotten news of his family, only for them to be gone in an instant?!
After hesitating with a conflicted expression for a moment, Yang Kid glanced at Zhao Xiumei beside him, then steeled his gaze and said to Sun Baolu, “Baolu bro, can you do me a favor? Let my wife stay here with you for now. I’ll go scout Later Shu alone.”
“No way!”
“No way!”
Two voices refused in unison—one from Sun Baolu, the other from Zhao Xiumei.
“Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a shoulder pole, roam the hills! Since I’m your wife, don’t you dare try to ditch me!”
“Kid, I’m not scaring you—this Later Shu really can’t be touched right now! Even merchant caravans and escort teams are gone.”
“Listen to me first!!” Yang Kid stood up, eyes red, his voice overpowering them both.
“When I was begging on the streets, do you know how envious I was of kids with moms and dads? They had parents buying them dumplings and candy, while I had to fish swill with the other beggars!”
“They had parents buying them cute tiger-head shoes and hats, while I had to strip clothes off corpses in the wild graveyard!”
By now, Yang Kid was choking up. “Do you know how much I just want to see my mom and dad one more time? I want everyone who called me a mongrel bastard back then to know that Yang Kid has parents too!”
As Yang Kid spoke, Sun Baolu’s mother walked over and listened quietly.
Gradually, Yang Kid’s voice grew low. “If my family’s in danger, I can’t just not save them. And if my dad and brothers really are gone, at least I can bring my mom back to Oxheart Village to live out her days. I won’t let her starve to death there.”
“I’ve been a beggar—I know how it is. Widow beggars are the easiest to bully.”
Zhao Xiumei watched Yang Kid with heartache. Her husband had grown some in stature, but he was still just a kid, pining for his parents.
“Kid, I get that you’re worried about your folks, but—” As Sun Baolu tried to persuade him further, his mother tugged his sleeve and whispered something in his ear.
“Alright, I’ll go light the fire.” As Sun Baolu stood and walked off, his mother came to Yang Kid’s side, pulling him into a tender embrace and patting his back. “It’ll be okay, child. We’ll figure something out together.”
Soon, Yang Kid witnessed a strange sight. Sun Baolu cleared a patch of ground and lit a bonfire, and the nearby Qingqiu folk immediately gathered around.
Sun Baolu pointed at Yang Kid and said something in esoteric Qingqiu tongue. Everyone erupted in a babel of voices—all in Qingqiu, which Yang Kid couldn’t understand a word of.
“This is the custom here in Qingqiu. Hard to explain in our words, but basically, if someone’s in trouble, they can light a fire and call on everyone to borrow the wisdom of Eternal Heaven and brainstorm a solution for you,” Sun Baolu explained to Yang Kid.
“Will it work?” Yang Kid felt uneasy. Truth be told, he wasn’t set on charging into Later Shu when it was a death trap. If there was a way to see his parents safely, that would be perfect.
“Haven’t you noticed all the elders in the crowd? An old person in the family is like a treasure—they’ve got tons of experience. This method’s worked well in the past.”
Yang Kid nodded slightly at the wizened Qingqiu elders sitting cross-legged on the yellow grass, then stood by waiting. In the meantime, he told Sun Baolu about everything that had happened after leaving Qingqiu.
The bonfire’s blue smoke drifted lazily, but with no wind, the acrid haze spread everywhere, enveloping everyone.
“Cough cough~!” After a few inhales, Yang Kid felt his head growing dizzy.
This whole “borrowing wisdom from Eternal Heaven” felt off. Normal bonfire smoke didn’t do this.
After listening to the murmuring Qingqiu speech for a while, Yang Kid noticed the voices dying down.
“Hey~!” With a unified shout, everyone clapped their hands, and the misty smoke cleared instantly.
Sun Baolu listened at the side of several Qingqiu elders for a bit, then stood and said to Yang Kid, “We’ve got a plan. You said your parents are seafaring boat folk, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re set. Don’t go by land—go by sea. The elders remembered there are private boats at the Qingqiu-Later Shu border. Pay them extra silver, and they’ll take you straight to your parents. No soldiers on the water.”
“Really?!” Yang Kid’s face lit up with excitement.
“Yeah, the elders wouldn’t get it wrong—they sailed on them ten years ago. Wait here; I’ll have them draw you a map and write a letter to the boat captain, so they don’t ditch you midway and rob you blind.”
After Sun Baolu bustled about, Yang Kid had his way home—and a map of the Qingqiu-Later Shu border.
Staring at the map, with home so tantalizingly close, Yang Kid’s heart burned. He was about to see his family.
“Baolu bro, thank you—this is huge.” Yang Kid held out the hefty gold ingot with both hands.
“What’s this supposed to mean? You looking down on me?” Sun Baolu pushed the gold aside, then leaned in and asked, “Kid, you still got empty houses in that Oxheart Village of yours?”