Martial Peak
chapter-5231

The stout woman abruptly stopped crying and stood straight up. Glaring at the hunter, she threatened, “If you dare to send Xiao Xiao back to her, I’ll break your legs!”

Saying so, she turned around and shuffled towards her room.

When she brushed past the hunter, she landed a kick on the bench that he was seated on.

In an instant, the bench broke apart with a crack. The hunter lost his balance and fell to the ground. Gazing at the broken bench, he gulped.

Although he knew that his wife was strong, he hadn’t expected her to be this strong.

Undoubtedly, his leg was not as robust as the bench. As he recalled what she had told him before she left, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

…..

There was a simple-looking house at the bottom of the mountain. Despite that, it was jointly built by the villagers and was sturdy enough to fend off rain and wind.

This was the residence of the scholar who happened to visit this place four years ago. It also served as a school in the village. Other than the kids in the village, the hunters from the neighbouring villages would also send their children to this school when they learned that there was a scholar who could teach children how to read and write.

Therefore, more than 10 kids would frequently gather together in this small school for lessons.

The kids from the mountain villages were reckless and naughty. Initially, the hunters were worried that this frail-looking teacher wouldn’t be able to discipline them. They wouldn’t want to see their kids causing any trouble.

However, they were surprised to learn that regardless of how mischievous the kids were, they would become obedient and studious the moment they stepped into this school.

The teacher didn’t seem to have any special ways of disciplining the kids. He simply taught them how to read and write. This strange revelation amazed the hunters.

At this moment, the teacher, who was giving the kids a lesson, cracked a smile all of a sudden, as though he had discovered something funny.

The students were puzzled, but none of them dared to ask him about it because he always had this strange sense of authority about him. With that said, there was still a kid who raised her hand and asked in a clear voice, “Sir, why are you smiling all of a sudden?”

The person who asked this question was none other than Xiao Xiao, who looked smaller than the other children.

Instead of feeling afraid, the kids all respected the teacher. He had never punished them in any way; however, as soon as they stepped into this school, they would become obedient.

Nevertheless, Xiao Xiao was the only one who didn’t seem to revere the teacher and she was the only one who had the audacity to interrupt the teacher when he was giving a lesson.

Upon hearing that, the teacher lifted his head and revealed a stalwart-looking face. He replied with a smile, “Nothing. I just thought of something funny.”

With a tilted head, Xiao Xiao appeared puzzled.

The teacher continued with the lesson.

The reason he put on a smile was that he had detected what happened in the hunter’s home. The way the stout wife reacted was hilarious.

In fact, he was aware that there was a wealthy woman in the log house on the mountain. Strictly speaking, she indeed resembled Xiao Xiao in a way; however, one wouldn’t have thought so if he didn’t have such a preconceived idea.

He knew that the wealthy woman had nothing to do with Xiao Xiao; after all, Xiao Xiao was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor while the wealthy woman was just one of the many living beings in his Small Universe.

It was just a coincidence and the couple was being too sensitive.

When the hunter brought the Old Ancestor back to his home, Yang Kai followed behind them. Despite realising that there was something wrong with the Old Ancestor, he didn’t have a way to deal with it; therefore, he could only pretend to be a poor wandering scholar and settle down in this village so that he could keep in contact with the Old Ancestor and observe her.

Over the past four years, he had noticed some things that concerned him.

First of all, the Old Ancestor was terribly injured; otherwise, she would have grown in size after such a long time. Her injury was so deep though that even Yang Kai was unable to detect it.

When the Old Ancestor started growing, it would mean that she was on the road to recovery.

It was the second point that especially puzzled him though.

It seemed that the Old Ancestor had indeed lost her memory. It had been four years since he started approaching the Old Ancestor, but she always regarded him to be the teacher in the village. She didn’t remember anything that had happened in the past.

Yang Kai had a feeling that the Old Ancestor had sealed her memory voluntarily, but he had no idea why she had done so.

Now, he could only cooperate with the Old Ancestor by giving her the best environment to recuperate and hope that she would recover soon.

After the lesson ended, the kids returned to their homes.

Yang Kai remained seated in the classroom. A moment later, a petite figure stuck her head out from the door and flashed a smile at him.

A helpless Yang Kai shook his head with a smile. Although the Old Ancestor’s memory had been sealed off, it seemed being a foodie was innate to her.

He beckoned to Xiao Xiao, who then skipped towards him and obediently stood there.

Then, he turned his palm over and revealed a skewer of candied hawthorns before passing it to her.

An elated Xiao Xiao said sweetly, “Thank you, Sir!”

…..

In the middle of the night, Xiao Xiao realised that something was off. She extended her hand and discovered that her Mother, who was hugging her, was crying.

Puzzled, she asked, “Why are you crying, Mother? Did Father bully you?”

The stout woman shook her head repeatedly, “No. I was just having a nightmare.”

“Oh.” Believing her statement to be true, Xiao Xiao turned over and snuggled up to the stout woman. As she patted the stout woman’s back, she placated her by saying, “Don’t worry, Mother. I’m here for you.”

Whenever she had a nightmare in the past, her Mother would always pat her back, and she would fall asleep again soon.

“I’m not afraid because I know you’re here for me,” the stout woman replied and hugged the little girl even tighter.

The next day, the stout woman dressed Xiao Xiao up and helped her put on the clothes she was wearing four years ago when they picked her up.

As Xiao Xiao hadn’t grown over the last four years, she could still fit into those clothes. It wasn’t certain what the clothes were made of, but they still looked brand new even after four years.

The stout woman was on the brink of breaking into tears as she dressed Xiao Xiao up.

On the other hand, the hunter squatted outside the house in silence.

The couple had not talked about this, but the hunter knew what his Wife’s intention was the moment he saw what she was doing.

Xiao Xiao still remained joyful.

After the stout woman was done with it, she looked at the sweet and innocent smile in the mirror and let out a sigh.

Xiao Xiao said, “Mother, it’ll be hard for me to go hunting in such clothes.”

The stout woman forced a smile, “You’re not going to go hunting today.”

With her head tilted, Xiao Xiao asked curiously, “Am I not? I’ll look for the teacher, then.”

“You’re not looking for the teacher either.” The stout woman took Xiao Xiao’s hand and rose from the chair, “Your Father will bring you to a place. Just follow him.”

“En,” despite feeling perplexed, Xiao Xiao nodded.

The hunter stepped into the house and exchanged glances with his Wife before looking away. He beckoned to Xiao Xiao, “Let’s go.”

“Yes!” Xiao Xiao skipped forward, and the hunter followed behind her.

All of a sudden, the stout woman shouted from behind, “Xiao Xiao!”

By the time Xiao Xiao turned around, the stout woman had approached her and pulled her into her arms. Trying her best to stop her tears from sliding down her face, the stout woman said, “You must stay safe no matter what.”

“I know, Mother. Wait for me, I’ll bring you something delicious.” Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly.

“Go now,” The stout woman forced herself to release Xiao Xiao and turned around. She didn’t dare to take another glance at her, for she was worried that she wouldn’t have the heart to let her go.

Behind her, Xiao Xiao’s laugh faded into the distance.

A while later, the stout woman whirled around, but Xiao Xiao was no longer in sight. She raced forward, but the next instant, she stopped in her tracks and grasped the door frame as she fell into a dazed state.

A long time later, she fished out a skewer of candied hawthorns from her clothes and carefully unwrapped the paper before taking a bite. She swallowed it along with her tears.

[It’s sweet…]

The hunter had walked along the rugged mountain paths countless times, but this time, it was the most difficult walk in his life.

They took a break from time to time, and it wasn’t until the afternoon that they arrived at the log house.

Initially, he hoped that the wealthy woman would have left by now so that he no longer had to feel conflicted; however, he came just as the woman was about to leave.

The woman was surprised to see the hunter, but what surprised her even further was that he had brought a young child, who was wearing expensive clothes, with him.

While the servants were vigilant, the woman let the hunter get closer to her.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” The woman asked. She had a feeling that the hunter had come all the way here to look for her. As she spoke, she took a glance at the child beside him. At that instant, she couldn’t move her eyes away.

That was because the young child was truly adorable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was beautiful. The woman came from a well-to-do family, and she had seen many young children from wealthy families, but none of them was comparable to the little girl before her eyes.

If the child before her eyes was like a skylark, the ones she had seen in the past were no different from the mud on the ground.

She couldn’t believe that such a child lived in this remote mountain.

The hunter felt heartbroken when he realised that the woman was staring fixedly at Xiao Xiao. [I suppose she can recognise Xiao Xiao. After all, Xiao Xiao hadn’t changed one bit over the past four years. If this woman is her relative, it was expected that she could recognise her.]

He parted his lips in an attempt to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything in the end.

Xiao Xiao was a friendly and outgoing young girl, so she flashed a sweet smile at the woman and asked, “How are you, Madame?”

The woman put on a smile as well, “Such a good child.”

She beckoned to a servant, who then came forward with a lunch box. The woman bent her back and passed the lunch box to Xiao Xiao, “I made this. It’s delicious. Give it a try.”

Xiao Xiao turned to look at the hunter as though she was asking for his permission. Her gaze suggested that she badly wanted the food. This couldn’t be helped, as she could never resist good food.

However, the hunter had fallen into a dazed state.

This was different from what he had imagined. Although the woman seemed to be fond of Xiao Xiao, it didn’t look like she had identified the latter to be her relative.

[Could it be…]

Agitated, the hunter asked, “Madame, you told me that you’d lost something the day before. Have you found it yet?”

The woman shook her head, “I lost it several years ago, and I don’t remember where I lost it. I just feel that this place looks familiar to me, so I thought I’d lost it around here. Unfortunately, it seems I was mistaken. In any case, it’s not something so important, so I’ve decided to give up looking for it.”

The hunter, whose figure was stiff, became at ease in an instant.