knife

Chapter 266 A Family
Several miles from the city of Aquarius, the army split into countless small teams and went their separate ways. After more than a year of campaigning, everyone was eager to return home.

Xiao Changche didn't even plan to enter the city; instead, he immediately turned his horse and headed towards Qiyue Island.

Li Dachui followed closely behind, walking side by side with Xiao Changche.

"I'm going home!" Xiao Changche glared at him. By now, the main force had dispersed, and those following the two were mostly his trusted confidants. Xiao Changche no longer kept a stern face. This glare made Li Dachui immediately lose his composure.

"I'm going home too!" Li Dachui said with a shameless grin.

Xiao Changche raised an eyebrow, her face flushing slightly, but this shy expression was fleeting and easily missed if one wasn't staring at her intently.

Seeing that Xiao Changche no longer objected, Li Dachui was overjoyed. He turned to look at Gu Xiaoman and shouted, "I'm going home, where are you going?"

Gu Xiaoman reined in his horse and said with a smile, "I happen to have a few old friends living outside the city. I'm going to go and visit them. Young master, please rest well!"

Li Dachui waved his hand, and Gu Xiaoman and the others turned their horses around and took another road.

Qiyue Island was brightly decorated and festively decorated, showing that Luo Hua hadn't wasted his time at home.

However, Xiao Changche frowned: "How much money will this cost? With that money, wouldn't it be better to do something else?"

Li Dachui shook his head and said, "Ningyu, you need to change your mindset. We're the leading family outside the Great Wall now, and you're no longer the heroine who was stumped by a single penny. We have money now, so we should spend what we need to spend. If we all live a timid and constrained life, outsiders will think our financial situation is terrible. Look, even Li Dachui and Xiao Changche don't have money, so how can the Protectorate have any? This is about face, we have to respect it!"

Which is more important, appearances or substance?

“Both are important. Sometimes, you need to save face before you can have substance!” Li Dachui said, “I’ll explain the relationship between them to you in detail later.”

"You always have a point!" Xiao Changche retorted angrily. "And besides, a hero is a hero, how come he's suddenly become a heroine?"

Li Dachui stared at the other person without saying a word.
Xiao Changche's words were immediately swallowed back down.

She does seem to be a heroine, but it still sounds a bit strange.

"Why are you shouting so loudly? I'm not deaf!" With that, she slapped Xiao Hei and strode away.

This time, Li Dachui was speechless.
"I didn't even say anything, how was that loud!" Looking at Xiao Changche's back, he shouted, "Hey, wait for me!"

However, the chestnut horse he was riding was indeed a level below Little Black, and even if he tried his best, he couldn't catch up with Little Black.

What angered Li Dachui the most was that Xiao Hei kept looking back at him as he ran.

"You damned little black guy, you've forgotten your friends for the sake of a pretty girl, you don't even recognize me anymore! I'll go beat up Zhao Yu Lion later!" Li Dachui said angrily.

Zhaoyu Lion is naturally Xiao Changche's former warhorse, Xiaobai. In the battle with Duanmu Miaomiao, all four of its hooves were broken, so it could no longer fight. Now it has been living on Qiyue Island and is Xiao Hei's darling. The two horses have already had their first offspring. It seems that Xiao Hei's genes are stronger. The foal is all black except for its four white hooves.

This made Li Dachui quite proud for a while.

Luo Hua, along with the group from Qiyue Island, welcomed Xiao Changche's return.

However, Xiao Changche was still some distance from the gate when a horse neighed from inside. Immediately afterward, a white shadow darted out from inside the gate like lightning, and Xiao Changche's little black dog immediately started wagging its tail and making noise.

Xiao Changche smiled and dismounted.

Little Black immediately darted out.

Two magnificent steeds, one black and one white, were seen rubbing their tails together affectionately in front of everyone.

Then, another little black colt ran out, glanced timidly at the crowd outside the gate, and finally stepped over the small fragments to Little Black and Little White.

Li Dachui finally arrived.

The chestnut horse beneath him was also a rare and magnificent steed, which had long admired Xiao Hei. However, it was somewhat ungrateful and approached Xiao Bai, barking at him.

Now that Xiao Bai is no longer on the battlefield, and Luo Hua has been spoiling it, it has become quite fat and has long lost its former beautiful figure. No wonder the chestnut horse looks down on it.

Little Black immediately raised its head and neighed angrily, baring its teeth at the chestnut horse, which frightened the chestnut horse into retreating back to Li Dachui's side. The horse lowered its head somewhat aggrievedly and nuzzled its head into Li Dachui's arms.

It seems to be saying that things weren't always like this.

When he was in the army, Xiao Hei actually treated the chestnut horse fairly well.

Li Dachui patted the chestnut horse's head reassuringly, thinking to himself, "They're a family of three reunited. You, the little mistress, going over there at this time, aren't you just asking for a beating? Little Black didn't bite you directly, which is already quite kind of you."

Luo Hua led Xiao Qianli over gracefully.

Luo Hua is a very stylish person. Even in this season of falling snow, freezing water, and biting wind, she is still dressed fashionably and is hard to look away from. In Li Dachui's words, she always manages to show off her sexiness just right.

This is probably the skill she honed when she fell into Astu's hands.
After all, to survive in a den of wolves and tigers, and to plot revenge, you really need to have some skills.

Fortunately, before she could make a final move, Xiao Changche snatched her back.
Otherwise, if she really makes a move, regardless of whether she succeeds or not, Luo Hua will definitely die.

"Daddy!" Xiao Qianli saw Xiao Changche and immediately took off running with his short legs and outstretched arms. Just as he was about to fall, a pair of large hands scooped him up, and a face pressed against his soft little face. The stubble prickled him painfully, and when he tilted his head back, he saw the somewhat unfamiliar face of Li Dachui.

"Good son, say it again!" Li Dachui lifted the little baby high and laughed loudly.

Xiao Qianli pouted, about to burst into tears, but Li Dachui pulled him to his chest, opened his hand, and a large, shiny bead spun around in his palm.

Her little eyes widened immediately, and she reached out with both little hands to pick up the big bead.

"Call me 'Dad' and it's yours!" Li Dachui coaxed patiently.

"Dad!" The little guy hugged the bead tightly to his chest and called out without any hesitation.

Li Dachui laughed heartily.

Like Xiao Changche, he was a money-grubber at a young age.

“I called you father, what should I call father?” Xiao Qianli looked up at Xiao Changche, who had walked over and was standing next to Li Dachui.

Li Dachui glanced at Xiao Changche and said with a smile, "Of course, you should call him 'mother'!"

Xiao Qianli turned back to look at Luo Hua again: "Then what should I call Mother from now on?"

"Well?" Li Dachui blinked, somewhat confused. "Yeah, what should I call Luo Hua?"

Aunt?

"Should we call her Second Mother?" Xiao Changche interjected from the side, but his voice became somewhat strange, seemingly filled with murderous intent.

Li Dachui immediately snapped out of his smug state and shoved Xiao Qianli into Xiao Changche's hands. With this little burden around, even if you wanted to make a move, you wouldn't have the chance.

Luo Hua walked over gracefully, smiling as she said, "Congratulations on your victorious return, young master!"

"Same to you, same to you!" Li Dachui said with a smile, "You've worked hard at home too."

Luo Hua smiled and said, "Young Master, are you having dinner on Qiyue Island today? Are you returning to the city tonight? Please let me know in advance so I can have someone prepare."

"I've been busy outside for almost a year now. I'm back and have some time to discuss things with Ningyu, so I'll stay today. Please prepare a room for me, Miss Luo!"

Luo Hua nodded with a smile.

Snowflakes were falling outside, and the cold wind whipped up fine dust that pattered against the window paper.

Inside, however, the room was filled with steam.

Li Dachui was completely immersed in hot water, with only his head sticking out. He squinted and paddled on the surface of the water, occasionally drawing circles in the water with one finger to create an artificial whirlpool. The rose petals floating on the surface spun along with the whirlpool, sank with the current, and then floated up again in another place.

Luo Hua is a thrifty person; these rose petals were well preserved, and when soaked in water, they became plump and vibrant again.

Inside Wangyue Residence, Xiao Changche had already finished bathing and was getting ready with Luo Hua's help. Having not worn women's clothing and battle robes for many years, she felt not only unfamiliar with dressing as a woman but also somewhat uncomfortable.

Open the door to my east chamber.

Sit on my bed in the west wing.
Take off my wartime robe.
I put on my old clothes.

She combed her hair by the window.
She applies makeup in front of the mirror.

Inserting a hairpin into her towering hair, Xiao Changche looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face in the bronze mirror, and with a hint of annoyance, pulled the hairpin out and threw it on the dressing table.

"Your mind is in turmoil!" Luo Hua picked up the hairpin and put it back on Xiao Changche. "Don't you feel that appearing in front of Li Dachui like this makes you feel inferior for no reason?"

"Isn't that how it is?" Xiao Changche held the paper talisman, gently touched it, and his lips immediately turned a vibrant, luscious color. "I just don't feel like this is me!"

“What’s yours is his, and what’s his is naturally yours!” Luo Hua laughed. “He goes to conquer the world, and all you need to do is conquer him.”

"I can conquer the world on my own!" Xiao Changche muttered.

"Do you really think so?" Luo Hua shook his head and said, "Based on what has happened in the past two years, do you really think that conquering the world is just a matter of force?"

"That's certainly not enough!" Thinking of Li Dachui's endless schemes and tricks over the past two years, Xiao Changche felt that he was not up to the task.

"Ningyu, you've been lucky since you were little. When our two families suffered misfortune, you happened to be traveling. During your most difficult time, your martial arts skills improved by leaps and bounds, and you repeatedly made outstanding contributions in the army, no longer having to be careful and cautious. When you faced a predicament and felt that you could not go any further, Li Dachui, a super warm-hearted man with high martial arts skills, superb strategic planning, and who was also incredibly kind and considerate of others, appeared in front of you. You have status and ability. You really make me jealous!"

"Is he really that good?" Xiao Changche tilted his head, but couldn't help but think of the time when Li Dachui killed Astu and then took the man's head back to his old home. He was indeed a man who understood people's thoughts very well.

“So, Ningyu, when you meet a good man, you have to seize the opportunity. Let me tell you, there are countless people eyeing men like him. The further you go, the more people will try to get close to him. Right now, Zhang Qingyun is eyeing him covetously, and there’s also Xia Zhi, your childhood sweetheart. You can’t let anyone beat you to it!” As he spoke, Luo Hua picked up his pen and lightly touched between Xiao Ningyu’s eyebrows.

This one stroke softened Xiao Changche's otherwise somewhat heroic face.

(End of this chapter)