Chapter 25: A Family Should Be Kept Together

Song Liyao did not agree with what Mother Yiyun had said. She had no right to question or criticize Yiyun’s actions, but she knew her own children well. Although her child’s tongue sometimes ran faster than her brain, she would always return home before dark after playing.

But today, something was truly wrong.

Feeling increasingly flustered, she grabbed her spirit sword and prepared to rush out to find them. As a mother, she felt utterly incompetent; she should have stayed home to look after them, yet now she had managed to lose both children.

She had to calm down. She could not panic.

Despite being consumed by self-reproach, she had no time to wallow in her thoughts. She mounted her spirit sword and took to the sky, searching. She reasoned that a peddler would usually take the mountain trails. As she descended to a smaller path, she discovered pieces of fabric scattered about in bamboo baskets, as if clawed and torn by a cat.

Following the clues, she found the peddler’s cart overturned by the roadside. But the people were gone.

Her mind was filled with the sound of her children crying, yet she kept telling herself to stay calm. Her children were clever; they had left these clues for her, so they must still be safe.

Seeing the trail of fabric scraps leading toward the town, she flew in that direction. The setting sun shone on her disheveled hair, stripping away any pretense of adult maturity. After all, even a mother is a mother for the first time.

Speeding ahead, she spotted a group of people and hurried to ask for information.

"Fellow cultivators, have you encountered a short peddler?"

Pei Yuxi looked at the woman approaching—a robust, fierce-looking figure clutching a spirit sword, clearly in a state of great anxiety. He found it curious to see such a woman concerned with a peddler. Moreover, the hilt of her spirit sword looked strangely familiar; he felt he had seen it somewhere before.

"Who are you? Why are you looking for him?"

Seeing that the man seemed to know something, Song Liyao hurriedly explained, "That peddler abducted my children, and I must get them back!"

Jiang Haohao heard her mother’s voice and began to wail, "(Mommy, I’m hungry, it’s time to eat!)"

Yet, as she cried, she was filled with endless fear and sorrow—she had almost been sold!

The child’s cries rang through the sky, scattering the birds in the forest. Hearing the sound, Song Liyao rushed forward to see. It was indeed her children—not just the wailing infant, but her eldest and second child as well! Out of a family of five, three had been missing.

Seeing the infant crying her heart out, Song Liyao’s own tears flowed as she choked back sobs to comfort her. The relief of finding them almost made her collapse. How could she have gone on if she hadn't found them today? She could not bear to imagine it.

The onlookers, witnessing the reunion, could not help but shed tears; it was all the fault of those damnable human traffickers. The peddler, seeing them reunited, felt even more hopeless. In all their years in this business, this was the first time they had been tracked down by a victim’s parents—they were truly cursed!

Jiang Haohao felt the warmth of her mother’s embrace and wanted to cry even more. The world of cultivation was terrifying—there were actually human traffickers here! She had almost died again!

After venting her emotions, she felt hungry, but this was hardly the time to nurse.

Seeing that her children were safe and sound, Song Liyao’s anxiety vanished. She turned to the two young men. "Many thanks for your rescue, sirs. Since these two peddlers committed such evil deeds because of a sick child at home, they must have been desperate. They say a mother’s heart is the softest, and I pity them. Let me speak with her."

The crowd admired this kind mother for being able to empathize even after such an ordeal. The two peddlers, thinking they might be spared, thought to themselves that this woman was truly kind.

The woman with a large black mole on her face kowtowed, weeping and pleading, "Sister, you are a mother too. We were forced into this by necessity. Please, let them let us go!"

Song Liyao smiled and said loudly to her, "Sister, I understand. It is all for the sake of the children."

She then leaned in close and whispered into the woman’s ear, "You have harmed so many people; the magistrate will surely behead you in public."

"I also know you have a sick child at home who is being well cared for. You should wait for him. A family must be together, or else the child will become a lonely, wandering ghost. Understand?"

Returning to the small Jiang courtyard, Jiang Haohao finally felt like she was alive again. The outside world was too terrifying; people died at the drop of a hat. From now on, she would stay home obediently and grow up, and only venture out once she had gained true strength.

In the courtyard, there was a large red peach that smelled of peaches from nose to tail. She couldn't help but want to taste if it was sweet and delicious.

Master Jiang, having finished his long day of work, returned home. He never expected that after a day at work, his home would have almost been reduced to a solitary man! He had only learned of the incident from the chatter of onlookers at the magistrate’s office, who were pointing at the two peddlers. He heard that the peddler had tried to sell children, but was saved by kind young heroes. If not for the help of concerned citizens, the children would have been sold into the Zuihuan Pavilion!

What kind of place was the Zuihuan Pavilion? It was a place where they would pull your tendons, strip your skin, and break your legs if you didn't listen!

Jiang Xu’s heart shattered upon hearing this. He never imagined that while he was working honestly, someone would try to steal his home. Yet, he maintained his cheerful, gentle demeanor, as if he couldn't feel the helplessness and fear within. He thought to himself that he was indeed a bad seed; he desperately wanted to tear those two criminals apart, yet he acted like a madman, forcing an even happier smile onto his face.

He brought home a piece of meat as usual. Today, his steps were hurried, and he tightly gripped a Thorn Talisman in his hand. They were poor, and he couldn't afford to have a magical artifact crafted. This talisman, which could quickly and firmly lock an enemy in place, was the highest-level talisman he had managed to perfect despite his supposed "low ability." If anyone knew he had already turned this Thorn Talisman into a second-grade major talisman in such a short time, they would have likely vomited blood and died on the spot.

He opened the gate to the Jiang courtyard and saw his family of five safe and sound, each busy with their own chores. Seeing Yao-mei had even brought back a spirit tree, his trembling heart finally settled.

Walking through the darkness, he had been haunted by thoughts that the criminals might have already sold the children, or that they were lying there covered in wounds, dead or dying. He had walked these night paths for so many years and thought he was no longer afraid, but for the sake of his family, he had been plunged into terror once more.

He held the babbling infant in his arms, watching her bounce about, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, they were all still here. What a blessing.