Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 550 - 284 Invitation_1

Chapter 550: Chapter 284 Invitation_1

Qian Yixiu stood at the doorway, looking westward where beneath the vast starry sky, the continuous mountains loomed dark and iron-like, mysterious and solemn. Within those mountains, every minute could see a struggle, the vanquished becoming food for the victor. She didn’t know whether Uncle Liang had found the Monkey Brother and his troupe, let alone if they could hold out for the rescue.

Qian Yixiu covered her face with a handkerchief and wept. She couldn’t keep them from the mountains; Monkey Brother and Monkey Sister were spirits of the hills, White Wolf had grown up there, and the Dashan family had roamed among the mountains since they were young, treating them as their own skies to fly through at will. But allowing them to enter the mountains always led to one situation or another.

She blamed herself for being careless. She should have warned them early on that these mountains were different from those they knew, filled with unknown dangers. She should have let Monkey Brother scout the area first, determine where was safe and where was not. That way, they wouldn’t have faced danger...

She wanted to wait at the courtyard gate but was forcefully persuaded to stay back by Blue Bead.

On the winter night, where water would freeze to ice, Qian Yixiu stood for a while until her hands and feet grew numb, then Blue Bead helped her back to the house to warm by the fire.

Thinking of the soldiers at the mountain, Qian Yixiu had Blue Bead relay a message to Auntie Pan to steam more buns and cook a large pot of egg drop soup, then had the servants take it to the foot of Jiufeng Ridge. Jiufeng Ridge was part of those continuous mountains and also belonged to West Mountain.

Slowly hoping for daybreak, neither they nor the animals had returned. Qian Yixiu forced herself to the main house; Qian Sangui was so anxious, his health took a turn for the worse. Qian Yixiu had to console him, "Master, don’t worry. Our Monkey Brother is formidable, and now General Liang and his men have gone, surely there will be no trouble..."

The sun rose from the east to mid-heaven, then slowly sank toward the summit of Jiufeng Ridge, but they and the animals still had not returned.

That morning, Qian Mandua’s family, along with Li Ahcai and Li Ahcao, arrived. Qian Sangui felt somewhat better upon seeing them. Knowing that Li Shuanzi had also entered the mountains, everyone waited here.

As the sun dipped toward the summit of Jiufeng Ridge, seven-year-old Hei Dandan, who was on lookout outside, ran all the way into the inner courtyard shouting, "Master, Miss, they’re back! The soldiers have returned on horseback."

Immediately, Qian Yixiu and Qian Mandua’s family rushed out to the gate. They saw a cloud of dust to the west as many soldiers galloped towards them. In no time, the horses arrived at the gate, with Uncle Liang dismounting first, holding Monkey Brother in his arms. Next came Huang Tie, carrying Dashan, followed by Li Shuanzi with Shan Dian and unfamiliar soldiers holding White Wolf, Tiaotiao, Yin Feng. Monkey Sister ran back on her own.

Qian Yixiu anxiously counted them and, seeing that none were missing, asked loudly, "Are they all hurt? They won’t be in danger, will they?"

Liang Zhaojin, while walking inside, replied, "Our army medics have given them temporary first aid. Let’s go inside quickly so the medics can attend to them."

Except for Monkey Sister, the House of Animals was carried to the west wing of the front courtyard, where two military doctor-looking individuals with medicine chests entered to treat them.

There were too many soldiers; besides a few officers entering the courtyard, the rest stayed outside. Pan Shoufu had several fires lit for warmth and had the continuously heated buns and meat soup in pots served to them. Additionally, each of the officers who assisted was given ten taels of silver, while the hunters and soldiers received two each, as previously instructed by Qian Yixiu.

The hunters accepted without hesitation, but the soldiers hesitated until Pan Shoufu told them General Liang had agreed, and then they took the silver.

With so many men around, Qian Yixiu was assisted by Sister Gong into the east wing of the front courtyard, and Liang Zhaojin followed.

Seeing Qian Yixiu’s tear-swollen eyes, Liang Zhaojin said, "Yixiu, don’t panic," inadvertently reverting to the nickname from her childhood, "The two army medics are battle-tested. They are skilled at treating external injuries... well, although monkeys aren’t humans, their treatment is not much different."

Servants brought in Liang Jinzhao’s meal, and as he ate, he recounted their expedition to the mountains. The House of Animals hadn’t ventured very deep, yet they ended up in a sector often frequented by wolf packs. The local hunters dared not venture in that direction, saying it was a gathering place for the wolves. Whenever they were about to travel as a group, they would convene there. Perhaps that night was one such occasion, with as many as fifty or sixty wolves present.

When they arrived, every member of the House of Animals was perched on the branches of a century-old pine tree. He guessed it must have been Monkey Brother who carried them up there one by one; otherwise, they would have been eaten without a trace left behind. Monkey Brother’s injuries were the worst, likely incurred while repeatedly descending the tree to rescue the injured members of the Dashan family. Fortunately, they were lucky; the pine tree was thick and sturdy, and despite the hungry wolves’ persistent ramming, it hadn’t toppled over. However, if they had been any later, the outcome might have been different, as the soil at the base of the tree was already loose.