Qiao Gaiqin was also keeping an eye on what was happening here.
She had been hugged by someone before, and that person promised to protect her in the future, so she dared not make any rash moves until she was sure she could get close to a powerful figure.
Li Sikai didn't say anything harsh, but simply told the truth: "We are traveling very fast, and you can't keep up."
Wen Bingxue glanced at Bi Qiaoan, puffed out her chest, and said, "We're definitely more convenient than her, right? We're all alone, while she has a child." If we're talking about burdens, Bi Qiaoan is the burden.
Upon hearing this, Li Sikai laughed: "You probably don't know, but Qiao An trained in the guard team for two years. Her physical strength and endurance are far superior to those of ordinary people."
Upon hearing this, Huo Zhongli realized where he had gone wrong. The other person was clearly a professional; thankfully, they hadn't tried to fight head-on in that battle.
The other men were also secretly watching. Although they were unhappy, they knew that Li Sikai and his group were stronger than them.
Wen Bingxue, unwilling to give up, blushed and said, "I, I can..." (She was trying to warm the blankets!)
Before she could finish the last three words, Li Sikai interrupted her: "It's really inconvenient. We're setting off to find Qiao An's husband." So she has to go, but you can't.
He could roughly guess what Wen Bingxue wanted to say. It would have been better if she hadn't said it, but once she did, he wouldn't have agreed, fearing that the men present might have ulterior motives and cause her trouble. So he had to interrupt her in advance.
Wen Bingxue failed to understand Li Sikai's defense; all she knew was that she had swallowed her pride and offered herself to him, only to be rejected. It was too humiliating.
The other girls, seeing this, also sighed and dared not go forward to ask any more questions.
Li Sikai, being kind-hearted, advised Wen Bingxue: "Don't say those kinds of things so easily in the future. Go back to the guard team and live a good life. Once you've settled down, find a man to marry. To be honest, I think Huo Zhongli is a pretty good guy."
Wen Bingxue nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She returned to Qiao Gaiqin's side, her mood low.
Qiao Gaiqin reached out and hugged her, whispering comfortingly, "It's alright, things will get better. He's right, there are a bunch of young men in the guard team waiting for us to conquer."
Wen Bingxue burst into laughter through her tears, saying with a mix of sadness and relief, "What are you planning to do? Become a female diver?"
"You brat, I'm just trying to comfort you, aren't I?" Qiao Gaiqin pinched Wen Bingxue's nose and looked at Huo Zhongli: "Actually, Huo is really good. He's clever and good-looking."
Wen Bingxue gave a nasal "hmm" and said nothing. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't want to think about these things.
Bi Qiao watched the whole thing, finally letting out a sigh. She felt no disdain or mockery for the girls' behavior; she thought it was all normal. If she didn't have a husband and some leverage, she might not have acted as well as they did.
An'an leaned against his mother's chest, silent. He didn't know what had happened, but he felt that Bi Qiao'an wasn't as energetic as usual.
When Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang heard that they would be parting ways tomorrow, they were both a little reluctant to see each other go. But they knew that they would be a burden wherever they went, so they didn't even offer to come along.
Aunt Fang looked at Bi Qiaoan with a reluctant expression. Uncle Fang gently patted her arm to indicate that he was still there.
"I don't know when our son will be able to find us."
"It doesn't matter whether he finds me or not, as long as I'm alive."
The night is long, and everyone falls asleep with their own thoughts, only to wake up in the cool morning light.
This was the last meal we would all have together, so we prepared an exceptionally lavish meal.
Of course, Li Sikai contributed the lion's share and then received a bunch of blessings and thanks.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. It's fate that we met. From now on, I wish everyone peace, good fortune, happiness, and health," Li Sikai said.
"Okay, thank you, brother!" everyone responded.
After breakfast, the group walked together for more than an hour before going their separate ways.
Li Sikai took some rice out of his backpack and gave it to everyone: "Eat sparingly on the road, it should last until we reach the guard team."
Huo Zhongli, acting as the representative, glanced at the girls and whispered a promise: "I will take care of them and try my best to get them to the escort team safely."
Li Sikai patted the other person on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work!"
Huo Zhongli smiled sheepishly: "No need to thank me, it's my pleasure."
He glanced at Bi Qiaoan and smiled, "Big sister, I'm very happy to meet you."
Bi Qiaoan nodded and handed An'an over: "We're about to part ways, let's hug."
Huo Zhongli was puzzled, but he still hugged An'an.
The child whispered in his ear, "Uncle, this is from your mother. It can save your life."
The chubby little hand held a round object and placed it in Huo Zhongli's hand.
Huo Zhongli's eyes flickered, and he used the action of switching hands to put the item into his pocket.
He smiled and said, "An'an is so cute, Uncle likes you."
An'an nodded and replied with a smile, "Mom said you're a good person. If you work hard in the future, you'll be successful."
"Alright, then I'll take your kind words, elder sister." Huo Zhongli returned An'an to Bi Qiao'an and said with gratitude in his eyes, "Thank you."
Bi Qiaoan smiled but didn't say anything.
The group of six headed in the direction of Shen Yanming, and the journey was indeed not easy.
Although the mud was no longer so wet or deep, it was still incredibly heavy sticking to my feet.
Ji Kangyong and the other men took turns carrying An'an on their backs. Bi Qiao'an wanted to help, but was refused because she was a woman.
Since that was the case, Bi Qiaoan decided to slack off openly. However, this difficult journey still caused her a lot of suffering.
Finally, around noon, the group stopped to rest. An'an was the only one who was completely clean.
Li Sikai took out two basins of water, one for themselves and one for Bi Qiaoan. Considering it was inconvenient for the woman, Li Sikai told Bi Qiaoan to hide behind the bushes and clean up by herself.
Although Bi Qiaoan was shy, she wasn't too coy. After wiping the sweat off her body with a towel, she splashed dirty water on her legs to wash away the mud and cleaned the soles of her shoes.
Li Sikai and the others found it too troublesome, so they simply splashed water on themselves. They poured buckets of cold water on themselves, treating it like a bath.
An'an was somewhat tempted, but the adults, worried he might catch a cold, only washed his hands and face. After Bi Qiao'an came out, they immediately put the mother and son into their spatial storage.
"You cook first, we'll check out the situation here," Li Sikai said.
Bi Qiaoan nodded, ready to start cooking. But when she got serious, she realized things weren't so simple.
There's no gas, no electricity, not even a stove. Everything is back to basics. No wonder cooking is so difficult for them.
Bi Qiaoan found the makeshift stove that the others had set up, studied it for a moment, and then started a fire. Although there was a lot of smoke, they succeeded.
Then they went into the thatched hut, scooped out two bowls of rice, took them to the well to wash, and finally put them on the stove to steam over water.
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