289. Departure

Qu Zijin couldn't help but reach out and touch the little dumpling's cheek: "Teacher is such a good child, kind-hearted and sensible, but too easily swayed. In the future, try not to spend too much time with Xie Wenling. He does things too capriciously and has a cold personality. If you follow him, you'll be led astray sooner or later, understand?"

The little dumpling was still sleepy. It yawned and shrank further under the covers, as if it were protesting or seeking warmth.

Qu Zijin looked at her like this, smiled helplessly, gently closed the door, turned around and went outside to guard, leaving the two children to sleep peacefully inside.

A little while later, the little princess woke up groggily and saw the sleeping little dumpling next to her. She immediately moved closer to her, her little body pressed tightly against her, her little hands and feet wrapped around her like an octopus, her head resting on the little dumpling's shoulder, mumbling a few words, and soon fell into a deep sleep again.

Two small figures embraced each other and drifted off to sleep together.

-

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the area outside the dilapidated house became lively.

Qu Zijin's two attendants had gotten up early and were packing up the luggage they had brought yesterday, arranging everything neatly.

Qin Fengsong also got up with his guards and was now directing them to pack up the tents and check the weapons. His voice was loud and clear: "Hurry up, everyone! Be quick and efficient. We must get down the mountain as soon as possible today. We still have a journey to catch up on, so don't delay us!"

"Don't worry, Commander, it'll be ready soon!" the guards replied in unison, their hands and feet moving non-stop.

While folding Qu Zijin's brocade robe, Ah Zhong casually asked Ah Cheng, "Hey, did you hear anything last night? I think I heard a few animal roars in the middle of the night. I thought I was dreaming."

Acheng shook his head, his hands still moving: "I didn't hear you. Maybe you misheard? Although this area is mountainous, there are so many of us here. Even if there are wild animals, they wouldn't dare to come near. By the way, where's Grand Tutor Qu? And the County Princess and the Princess, why haven't they woken up yet?"

"Perhaps they were tired yesterday, let the children sleep a little longer," Ah Zhong said with a smile. "We'll go wake them up when we're almost done tidying up. By the way, where are Lord Xie and Miss Lin? We haven't seen them anywhere."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xie Wenling and Lin Fuman walked over from not far away.

Lin Fu looked tired, but when she saw Ah Zhong and Ah Cheng, she still smiled and waved: "Good morning!"

Upon seeing Xie Wenling, Qin Fengsong immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Xie, everything was fine last night. Now that you've packed up, you can head down the mountain."

Xie Wenling nodded: "Yes, we'll set off once Grand Tutor Qu and the County Princess wake up. There was nothing unusual last night, so there's no need to worry."

Everyone nodded.

Qu Zijin soon brought out the little dumpling and the little princess.

The group pushed three sleds over, which were covered with thick felt and piled with several warm quilts.

Xie Wenling walked over first, wearing a silver fox fur cloak. The fur collar made his already aloof face look even more noble. There were some snowflakes on his brow bone, but he did not look disheveled at all. Instead, it added to his handsomeness.

He reached out and brushed the snow off the sled, then turned to the little girl: "Princess, come sit in this one. The felt blankets are warm, don't get cold."

The little dumpling was wrapped in a red cloak, her face flushed red from the cold, like a ripe little apple. Upon hearing Xie Wenling's words, she immediately pulled the little princess and Lin Fuman over.

The three sat down, and the little princess opened her snow fox fur coat and wrapped it around all three of them.

The cloak was large enough to cover all three small bodies, leaving only three fluffy little heads exposed.

The little dumpling snuggled closer to Lin Fuman, resting its head on her arm, blinking its round eyes, and asking in a soft voice, "Sister Fuman, why aren't you saying anything? Are you cold?"

Lin Fuman yawned widely, her eyelids almost drooping, her voice tired and a little hoarse: "It's not that I'm cold, it's just that I'm a little sleepy. I stayed up all night last night and didn't sleep."

"Oh!" The little dumpling immediately sat up straighter and gently patted Lin Fuman's hand, comforting her like a little adult, "Then Sister Fufu can lean on Yue'er to sleep, Yue'er won't bother you, and will even shield you from the wind!"

The little princess nodded and moved to the other side to make room for Lin Fuman: "You go to sleep, we'll keep an eye on things for you and wake you up when we get there."

Lin Fu smiled, leaned against the little dumpling, and quickly fell into a deep sleep, breathing softly, and snuggled closer into the warm cloak.

The little dumpling carefully moved closer to her, afraid of waking her up. Its little face was full of seriousness, and it looked exceptionally cute.

Xie Wenling and Qu Zijin sat to one side talking.

Qu Zijin was wrapped in a dark blue cloak, his face still somewhat pale. He had caught a chill last night, and his voice was slightly nasal, with occasional coughs.

He looked in the direction of the three children, his eyes softening: "Those three little ones are wrapped in a cloak, they're quite warm."

Xie Wenling followed his gaze and saw three little heads huddled together. The little dumpling was gently patting Lin Fuman's back, and his voice softened: "Yes, the county princess is sensible and considerate."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but cough twice, his brows furrowing slightly, and his complexion looking worse than before. The silver fox fur collar brushed against his cheek, making his lips appear even paler.

Qu Zijin immediately looked over, his tone tinged with worry: "Don't try to tough it out. You saw the tiger off last night and were exposed to the wind for half the night. If you're really feeling unwell, lean against the felt and get some sleep. We'll keep an eye on you, nothing will happen."

Xie Wenling shook his head, simply pulling his cloak tighter around himself: "It's alright, getting on the road is the priority. We'll talk about it when we get down the mountain."

Qu Zijin looked at him and sighed, "Alas, you too... never mind."

Xie Wenling turned to look at him: "What do you want to say?"

Qu Zijin originally wanted to advise him to be a good person and do good deeds in the future, but then he thought that he would definitely not listen. Then he thought that although he spoke in a scary way, he had not actually done anything that was outrageous.

He thought for a moment, then silently shut up, only saying instead, "You're quite lucky."

What do you mean?

"If it weren't for you, teacher, you would have died at least three times over on this trip to the south."

Upon hearing this, Xie Wenling nodded in strong agreement: "Indeed, if it weren't for the county princess, I would have been a corpse long ago."

It wasn't just him.

If it weren't for the little dumpling, who knows how many more people would have died in Qiuhe City.

“Sigh,” Qu Zijin sighed again, “I told you then that this was a dead end, and that you shouldn’t go to the south. I told you to disobey His Majesty’s orders rather than go, but you wouldn’t listen…”

Qu Zijin started rambling on and on.

Xie Wenling chose not to listen and got on the sled directly.

Qu Zijin became angry and stopped talking.

-

The group rode sleds down the mountain. Despite the fierce wind, no one complained.

Going up the mountain is slow, but going down is fast.

About half an hour later, they arrived at the town at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Fengsong went to make contact first.

The group waited for two hours.

Qin Fengsong arrived with a group of guards dressed in plain clothes.

Upon seeing Xie Wenling and Qu Zijin, the head guard immediately clasped his hands and said, "Lord Xie, Grand Tutor Qu, your subordinates are here to wait as ordered. The troops are all in the backyard of the inn and are safe."

Qu Zijin nodded, his face still pale, and coughed twice: "Thank you for your hard work. Please have the doctor in the team come over and give everyone a check-up."

"Yes!" The captain of the guard immediately responded and sent someone to fetch the doctor from the ranks.

The doctor, dressed in a gray cloth robe and carrying a medicine box, first examined the three children. Seeing that they had only caught a slight chill and were otherwise unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned to Xie Wenling and Qu Zijin.

"Grand Tutor Qu has caught a cold and is overworked, so he has a slight fever and needs to rest well. His external injuries are healing well, so he just needs to go back and take good care of himself. A couple more doses of medicine will do the trick." After taking Qu Zijin's pulse, the doctor looked at Xie Wenling.

Xie Wenling sat in the chair and lifted his hair, his silver fox fur cloak draped over his arm, the collar of his black brocade robe slightly loosened to reveal a small section of his fair neck, allowing the doctor to examine his wound.

The doctor frowned as soon as he saw him, and after taking his pulse, his expression became even more serious: "Lord Xie's condition is more serious. His wounds have been getting infected repeatedly, and his complexion is so bad. He must have been working hard. We need to apply medicine first, and then give him oral medicine to regulate his body. He absolutely cannot overexert himself."

Xie Wenling's face was so pale it was almost transparent, and his lips were also pale, but he still managed to nod and say, "Thank you for your help, doctor. Just do as you say."