6. A Different Kind of Father
◎If I become rich and powerful, let us not forget each other.◎
"Father, I'm back."
A lame man in his thirties or forties emerged from the thatched hut. He was somewhat thin, but had a rare, refined appearance, looking more like a scholar than a peasant.
When he saw that Aunt Qi had returned, he smiled and asked, "Aunt Qi is back. Father has prepared the meal. Wash your hands and come eat."
Qi Gu looked troubled. The food he had made over the years was so bad that even a dog wouldn't eat it... Oh well, she would eat it. After all, he was the best father to her in the world.
She walked to the table, where there was black wheat porridge, green pork, and red, unidentified broth.
She clicked her tongue in amazement, picked up the green thing that was still recognizable as "meat" with her chopsticks, and asked, "Father, how did you manage to make this green? Is this not our last meal together?"
Ah, Father is good in every way, except that he is a little too enthusiastic about things in the kitchen.
Li Shi blushed slightly and gave an awkward smile, "Daughter, don't you think these dishes are very creative?"
"What is creativity?" Since her rebirth, her father has often uttered strange words that Qi Gu doesn't understand.
Li Shi hesitated, "Creativity, well, it's just that people should be brave enough to create new things, because with creativity, the world will change! Anyway, it's just a great thing."
Qi Gu pointed to the items on the table, "Are you sure these things are good?"
Li Shi looked at the table full of dishes and chuckled.
Qi Gu wasn't sure if she would be able to see the sunrise the next day after eating these things on the table. Between filial piety and risking her life, she chose risking her life.
With a sigh, he went back to the kitchen and cooked two bowls of noodles.
The father and daughter slurped up their noodles. Li Shi looked up at his adopted daughter. He was so glad she was here all these years since he came here; otherwise, how could he have survived like this?
He then remembered the villagers flocking to the village entrance that day and asked, "By the way, I was too busy cooking this afternoon to go to Li Qiao's house. Did something happen to her?"
After finishing the last sip of soup, Qi Gu wiped her mouth and said, "Father, you probably don't know yet, but Li Qiaocheng has become a princess. Today, someone from the palace came to find her and recognized her at a glance the jade pendant she was wearing. That confirmed her identity. Tomorrow, she'll pack her things and go to the palace to become a princess."
"Oh my, I never expected such a strange thing to happen." Li Shi exaggeratedly, then glanced at his daughter who showed no surprise at all. "However, why do I feel that you are not surprised at all?"
Eight years have passed since he transmigrated to this world. At the time, he thought he had transmigrated to a certain dynasty in history, but later he learned that it was a dynasty that did not exist in history at all—the Great Jin Dynasty.
Tragically, he transmigrated to those war-torn years. He vividly remembered waking up one day to find himself nearly wetting himself in a river of blood. His survival instinct told him to escape, and on his way, he discovered Qi Gu hiding alone behind a bush.
He couldn't bear it, so he led Qi Gu and the two of them to escape. Later, he inherited the original owner's memories. It turned out that the original owner had been affected by the war and had taken his wife and daughter to escape the disaster.
On their escape, they encountered the Chen army, which was forcibly conscripting soldiers. The original owner of this body did not want to join the Chen army and only wanted to take his wife and daughter to escape into the deep mountains to avoid the war.
The soldiers of Chen State would not let him escape. They intercepted him and, to make an example of him, killed his entire family of three.
So the original owner died, and he transmigrated. When he woke up, he was lame in one leg, but still alive. During his escape, he saved Qi Gu, who had also lost her family.
The two relied on each other for survival. The struggle between Chen and Chu ended with the Chu family seizing the world, entering the Central Plains, and establishing a new dynasty—the Great Jin.
After the war ended, he took Qi Gu back to the original owner's hometown, Li Family Village.
Because of the war, many families were torn apart. The original owner's wife and daughter died, and when he returned with Qi Gu, the villagers assumed that Qi Gu was the original owner's biological child.
He didn't offer any explanation; it was fine as it was, a smooth and painless fatherhood.
He knew that Qi Gu was not his biological child, but others did not.
He stared at his daughter and asked, "Aunt Qi, do you really not remember anything about before you met me?"
Qi Gu opened her innocent eyes and said, "Why do you ask me that, Father? I really don't remember. I only remember seeing you when I woke up. I can't remember anything else." She showed no guilt whatsoever in lying.
He patted his daughter on the shoulder, his smile somewhat resembling that of the weasel Gouwa had encountered before. If Gouwa were here, he would surely think that Aunt Qi and Uncle Li were indeed father and daughter.
"Hehe, my dear daughter, we've depended on each other for so many years. Tonight, your father will have a heart-to-heart talk with you." Li Shi adopted a posture as if he were about to have a long and heartfelt conversation.
Qi Gu realized that her father was so afraid of her leaving him. She was truly unfilial in her previous life. She secretly vowed that she would stay with her father until his death in this life!
Just as her eyes were about to well up with tears, she heard her father say, "If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me."
Qi Gu's tears instantly receded. "Father, it's late. You should wash up and go to bed." She got up, put away the bowls, and left her old father with a cold, indifferent back view.
The old father looked up at the moon at a 45-degree angle. He knew that Qi Gu was pretending to be stupid; this child was quite shrewd.
At night, lying in bed, Qi Gu remembered her father's words: she not only had memories from before she was seven years old, but she also had memories from her previous life.
Of course she remembered what her father and mother looked like, and she also remembered how she was separated from them.
However, in this life, she will only ever be Li Jiacun's daughter, her father's daughter, and Li Shi's daughter, forever.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking and roosters were crowing in the village, Qi Gu picked up her hoe and prepared to go up the mountain.
These days are the peak season for mushrooms. Every year, Qi Gu goes up the mountain to pick mushrooms. Her father loves to eat fried mushrooms with his drinks. If he can hunt one or two, that would be even better.
Just as she reached the village entrance, Gouwa, wearing a straw hat, leaned against a haystack. Upon seeing her, he said, "What a coincidence, Aunt Li Qi."
Aunt Qi stepped forward and patted his head. "What are you pretending for, Gouwa? Did you know your sister was going up the mountain today and wait here early?"
Gouwa denied it, saying, "No, no, that's not true."
"Then don't follow me." Qi Gu walked past Gouwa and headed up the mountain.
Gouwa stopped pretending and followed. Qi Gu glanced at him and snorted, "You brat, the older you get, the more awkward you become."
However, compared to his shrewd and clever siblings in the palace, Gouwa, this simple-minded fellow, was simply adorable.
The two walked for about an hour and a half before arriving at Mount Fanyue. By then, the sun had fully risen.
The mountain is covered with dense trees, and the forest is full of mushrooms, as well as animals such as rabbits and wild boars. It is a favorite mountain for the villagers in the nearby villages.
Therefore, the front mountain is frequently visited by villagers, but they can't find anything good there. The back mountain is steeper and farther away, so nearby villagers rarely go there for fear of encountering wild animals. This time, Qi Gu is going to the back mountain.
Gouwa was a little worried. "Aunt Qi, let's just stay on the front mountain. I heard there are big tigers on the back mountain. If we run into them, we're doomed."
Qi Gu said, "I won't go deep. It's just at the back of the mountain. There are lots of fresh and plump mushrooms there, and maybe even rabbits."
"Let's forget about it." Gouwa was a little scared.
Qi Gu turned around, put down her hoe, and said, "Why don't you wait for me here? I'll be right back." After all, it was indeed dangerous there, and it would be fine to leave Gouwa here and go and come back quickly.
Gouwa was about to back out, but after Qi Gu finished speaking, she straightened her chest and said, "No, no, I'll go with you."
The further they went, the denser the woods became, blocking out the sun and dimming the light. All around was quiet, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the sound of their footsteps.
With a "click," the sound of a branch breaking was heard.
Gouwa was already nervous, and the sudden noise in the silence startled him so much that he screamed "Ah!"
"Hahahaha!" Qi Gu's clear laughter rang out in the mountains, dispelling the eerie and gloomy atmosphere from before.
She bent down and picked up the two broken branches from under her feet, holding them to Gouwa. "Gouwa, Gouwa, don't be afraid. This is the sound I made when I accidentally stepped on it. Don't be afraid."
Gouwa blushed deeply, annoyed that Qi Gu treated him like a younger brother. He retorted angrily, "I'm not afraid. I'll go first."
Qi Gu smiled, though she was timid and liked to show off. "You don't know the way, so come with me. Let's go and come back quickly."
After being hit like that by Gouwa, she felt a little scared.
She had been to Houshankou many times before, but had never encountered any large insects or similar animals.
Once she even caught a silly rabbit. After that, she often went to the back of the mountain to pick mushrooms, and nothing bad happened.
However, there are some reasons why no one goes to the back mountain. It's completely different from the front mountain; there's no light at all, and it's quite eerie.
The two quickened their pace and, after another hour, arrived at the back of the mountain.
The two men were panting heavily. Gouwa plopped down under a big tree, took out a water bag from the basket on his back, and gulped down a mouthful of water.
The redness on her face finally subsided.
Looking at the mushrooms covering the ground, Qi Gu felt that walking an extra hour was worthwhile.
She put down her basket, immediately took out a small hoe, bent down and began to gently dig some soft, raised ground.
She bent over, gently cleared away some of the moss, and with both hands she held the base of a goose egg-shaped mushroom about the size of two fists. With a gentle lift, she dug out a complete mushroom.
After resting enough, Gouwa started digging for mushrooms. He roughly scraped through the thick layer of dead branches and leaves on the ground with a hoe, and when he saw mushrooms, he pulled them out with one hand and threw them into the basket.
Seeing him like this, Qi Gu shook her head and started searching for mushrooms with her hands again.
Gouwa suddenly shouted, "Rabbit!"
Upon hearing the sound, Qi Gu saw Gouwa throw down the hoe in his hand and rush over.
But the rabbit was very agile, and Gouwa pounced but failed to catch it. The rabbit ran forward, and Gouwa was determined to catch it.
In the forest, the rabbit hopped ahead and the dog pounced behind, but it could never catch up and watched as the rabbit got further and further away.
Just as they were about to enter the back mountain, she quickly called out to him, "Gouwa, come back, don't go!"
Gouwa couldn't hear him anymore; he chased after the rabbit without a care.
Qi Gu cursed the damned dog in her heart. He was terrified just a moment ago, but now he looked at the rabbit as if he had seen gold.
You can't blame Gouwa, after all, seeing a rabbit is almost like seeing gold to him.
She hurriedly chased after him, and in doing so, she entered the deep mountains. This back mountain was rarely visited by people, and the trees blocked out the sun. The further she went in, the darker and more oppressive it became, making it hard to breathe.
Qi Gu grew increasingly frightened, worried that something might happen to Gouwa, and felt both anxious and afraid.
She walked slowly forward, calling out, "Doggy, Doggy, where are you?"
There were no human voices in the jungle, except for the occasional rustling sound of animals moving through the dense grass.
Qi Gu subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound and saw the bushes rustle. Her heart, which had just been in her throat, relaxed.
But when she turned around, she saw a corner of her clothes peeking out from behind a towering tree in front of her—someone was there!
Qi Gu was overjoyed, thinking it was Gouwa, and quickly stepped forward, "Gouwa, you..."
It wasn't Gouwa, but someone she never expected to be here—Sima Hong! How could he be here!
Qi Gu's head went black and black again. Could it be that she had accidentally been poisoned by the mushroom and was hallucinating?
Yes, it must be a hallucination. Some mushrooms can indeed cause hallucinations. It must be her hallucination.
"But that's not right. I only picked mushrooms, I haven't eaten them yet."
"That must be a new type of mushroom. Touching it can cause hallucinations. This mushroom is really powerful. We must be careful in the future."
"Hallucinations, all hallucinations," Qi Gu muttered to herself.
The person who was resting with his eyes closed opened his sharp eyes, adding seven points of charm to his already handsome face.
[Author's Note]
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