CHAPTER 2040: CHAPTER 2039: THREE SPOTS

The three rode their horses swiftly and finally caught up with their team two days later.

"Mom!" Little Dengdeng’s sharp eyes spotted her, and he shouted loudly while running towards Bai Ruozhu, who was on horseback. Bai Ruozhu got a fright, hurriedly steering the horse to a stop, relieved that she wasn’t riding fast and could easily stop.

She swiftly dismounted and scooped her son into her arms fiercely, "You little brat, do you know it’s dangerous? How could you just rush over like that?"

Dengdeng wrapped his arms around his mom’s neck with a cheeky grin and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Mom, I love you the most. I missed you so much," Little Dengdeng sweetly proclaimed.

Bai Ruozhu, trying to keep a stern face, couldn’t help but burst out laughing, lightly tapping her son’s forehead, "You charming little devil, who knows how many girls you’ll deceive with that sweet mouth of yours in the future?"

Little Dengdeng pouted, "I don’t want to deceive any girls. I only want mom!"

Bai Ruozhu’s smile grew deeper, "You’re not going to say that when you grow up."

"Then I don’t want to grow up, I don’t want to get old, and mom, you shouldn’t get old either, nor should dad, grandma, or grandpa," Little Dengdeng sulked.

At this moment, Lin Ping’er and the others came over, chiding Little Dengdeng for his recklessness. Although the child was excited, he couldn’t just run around recklessly like that—it was too dangerous.

Little Dengdeng stuck out his tongue and obediently said, "I won’t dare to do it again next time."

Bai Yihong looked at his daughter and asked, "Did you cure the patient well?"

Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Aren’t you confident when your daughter takes charge?"

Bai Yihong chuckled, his wrinkles deepening, "Confident, confident, my daughter is the most capable."

This made Bai Ruozhu a bit embarrassed; her dad was almost comparing her to a blooming flower.

"So what about Young Master Tong? Isn’t he coming back with you?" Bai Yihong asked, puzzled.

"He can’t always travel with us. His relative is sick, so of course, he needs to stay a few days to take care of them," Bai Ruozhu explained.

Bai Yihong nodded, "Young Master Tong is a good person. We should invite him for a meal next time we meet."

"We haven’t been shy with inviting him for meals along the way," Bai Ruozhu said with a slight pout.

Bai Zepei gave Bai Ruozhu a look, indicating he wanted to speak with her privately.

Bai Ruozhu understood and said she was going to check on the little ones, telling Dengdeng to go play with grandma and grandpa first.

The siblings entered the inn room, and Nanny Zhang tactfully excused herself.

"It couldn’t be that simple, right? Did he succeed?" Bai Zepei asked.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "This time, he really lost out, paying more for my reward alone. But fortunately, the Tong Family is wealthy."

She then briefly went over the treasure hunt, trying to keep it concise.

Bai Zepei stayed silent for a while before sighing, "He’s going to have a hard time explaining to the family. He probably won’t be able to go out like this for quite a while. If we pass by the Tong Family on our way back, we should visit him, maybe we can help him a bit."

"Just visiting wouldn’t be much, especially since he gave me a reward of ten thousand taels of silver." Bai Ruozhu grinned, "I saved his life and didn’t even ask for more."

"Ten thousand taels..." Bai Zepei grimaced slightly. Back in the day, thirty taels would keep the whole family excited for a long time, and now his little sister pulls in ten thousand with a wave of her hand, isn’t that remarkable?

Bai Ruozhu gave her second brother a glance, "He decided to give it, I didn’t extort it from him."

"Alright, I won’t meddle in your affairs. I asked Elder Su, and he said we should be able to reach the Jiuli Clan in a few days. He mentioned we can’t take too many people into Jiuli, the others can be settled in nearby Duanyang City," Bai Zepei continued.

Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment, "Did Elder Su say how many we can take apart from our family?"

"Not more than three," Bai Zepei answered.

"Then we’ll take Jianqi, Nanny Zhang, and Chenfeng," Bai Ruozhu decided.

Bai Zepei frowned slightly, "I’m worried the Jiuli people might trouble Chenfeng, given his condition. If something triggers his snake..."

"So far, we can only hope the Jiuli Clan has a way to help him. I’ll find a way to control his snake arm," Bai Ruozhu said.

"If not, we’ll leave, taking grandma with us," Bai Zepei said firmly.

Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Okay."

Both she and her second brother felt no real attachment to the Jiuli Clan, not even considering themselves Jiuli people. Without coming to see Jiao Yunyun, they wouldn’t have come all this way.

Also, their father and older brother weren’t accepted by the Jiuli Clan, and the two didn’t want to distance themselves from their family.

Two days later, the team reached Duanyang City. Bai Ruozhu settled everyone down, arranging for those not going to stay temporarily in Duanyang City.

"Master, I want to go with you. I’ll practice the array methods diligently," Yizi said tearfully, feeling she wasn’t good enough since Bai Ruozhu didn’t take her.

Bai Ruozhu patted her shoulder, "I can only take three people in total. Jianqi is a must, Nanny Zhang needs to help with the kids, and the last spot has to go to Chenfeng for treatment. If we don’t take him, how will we find a way to treat him?"

Yizi, a soft-hearted girl, naturally didn’t want to compete with Chenfeng for the spot.

"Then come back soon," she said reluctantly.

Bai Ruozhu patted her shoulder warmly, "You need to have your own life. Practice the arrays well during this time, go out and explore. Don’t always stay cooped up in the room. You can also find Dudu to accompany you."

Yizi, on one hand, was independent. After all, she had been in the Pan Family by herself for over two years. But mentally, she was quite dependent. Once she found someone she trusted, she clung to them, centering her life around them.

But she needed her own life unless she planned to be Bai Ruozhu’s subordinate for life.

Meanwhile, Lanlan finally got out of the medicine vat and went to find Chenfeng.

"Why don’t you come to play with me anymore? Don’t tell me you hurt your leg sewing beads that day and can’t walk?" Lanlan asked.

Chenfeng’s mouth twitched; was she doing it on purpose? Or was it unintentional? Him, a grown man, unable to walk from getting pricked by an embroidery needle a few times? Wasn’t that laughable?

"No, I’ve been a bit busy," he replied, voice low.

"Busy with what? Sister Ruozhu doesn’t need you protecting her, and she hasn’t given you any tasks," Lanlan asked, puzzled.

Chenfeng was momentarily struck speechless. Yes, he was practically useless now; what could he possibly be busy with?

"I’m not feeling well, need some healing," he covered with another excuse.

This made Lanlan anxious, "You’re not sick, are you? Did you tell Sister Ruozhu? Let’s go find her for a check-up right now!"

With that, she took Chenfeng’s hand, leading him outside.

Chenfeng’s arm tensed, trying to shake off that small hand. But her hands were soft and warm. Even though his muscles flinched a few times, he just couldn’t bring himself to shake her off.

Bai Ruozhu was just finishing her talk with Yizi and stepped out to see this scene.

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Spent the whole day on buses and trains, head splitting with pain, requesting a tiger’s touch~