Chapter 16: Disagreement
Jin An was very clingy with Jin Sui once it got dark, almost never leaving her side, and even sleeping next to his sister.
But as soon as dawn broke, he would start acting like an adult, refusing Jin Sui’s help and insisting on doing everything himself.
He ran back and forth to fetch water from the pool, his little face red with exertion, but he wouldn’t let his sister help.
He insisted on carrying the heavy firewood back himself, patting his chest and saying that as long as he was there, his sister would never have to do heavy work!
He was also brave, once even contemplating quietly climbing up from the bottom of the cliff to kill that tiger, saying tiger pelts were worth more than wolf skins.
Jin Sui genuinely liked her younger brother who loved to act like an adult.
She could feel that this child was trying to please her, and he was more willing to listen to her than to Grandpa Ling.
She felt that Jin An, having just lost his mother and not having lived with his sister for many years, was showing affection in this way.
The two days at the bottom of the valley passed very quickly and smoothly; they lacked nothing in terms of water, firewood, or food, and Grandpa Ling’s leg had healed.
He just couldn’t walk fast for the time being and had to use a crutch. Jin Sui carried all their belongings and let Jin An support their grandfather.
She recalled watching TV shows or reading novels in her past life, where protagonists easily found precious medicinal materials whenever they entered the mountains.
She smiled and asked her grandfather, “We’ve been in the mountains for so many days, why haven’t we seen any medicinal materials like Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng, or Tai Sui?”
“If we could find some, we wouldn’t have to worry about travel expenses after leaving the mountains.”
Grandpa Ling chuckled upon hearing this, “Are those rare treasures of heaven and earth really that easy to find? It’s already very good that we managed to get a wolf skin.”
Jin Sui also noticed that some of the wild fruits and vegetables they saw along the way were unfamiliar even to her, but Grandpa Ling recognized them all and knew how to eat them.
She thought of TV dramas from her past life, where she had seen plots about mountain dwellers who didn’t recognize ‘chestnuts’, didn’t know how to eat walnuts, and were afraid to eat starfruit, depicting their ignorance.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Grandpa, how do you recognize all these mountain products? Are there any mountain dwellers who don’t know how to eat certain mountain products and end up returning empty-handed from a treasure mountain?”
Grandpa Ling scoffed, “During times of natural disaster, even tree bark and grass roots were dug up and ground into powder to eat.”
“Even poisonous things were detoxified and eaten; people even ate a type of clay. Would they not recognize edible mountain products?”
Jin Sui gave a dry laugh. Indeed, some dramas shouldn’t be watched; they lower one’s intelligence!
What is there that we Huaxia people dare not eat? Experience is passed down from generation to generation: eat it directly if it’s not poisonous, detoxify it if it’s mildly poisonous, and soak it in wine if it’s highly poisonous.
I even thought of using my knowledge of mountain products to get rich, but the experience I gained from books in my past life wasn’t even a fraction of Grandpa Ling’s.
She comforted herself, thankfully she still had her space laboratory.
Once they settled down and planted potatoes and tomatoes, she was sure they could become the biggest landlords of this era.
Because Grandpa Ling’s leg injury had not healed, their journey continued very slowly. Sometimes after walking for a long time, they felt like they were still wandering in a valley.
However, the three of them discovered that there were no large fierce beasts in the mountain forest below the cliff, and they didn’t hear wolf howls or tiger roars at night.
After walking for a few more days, as they crossed a mountain ridge, something extremely common, but which at this moment brought tears to their eyes, appeared before them.
It was a winding path, narrow enough for only one person to pass, and in the midst of the lush green mountain forest, the path was grayish-white.
It looked like a white ribbon, floating between the towering mountains.
Seeing the road meant that the three of them had finally left the Xiaohan Mountain Range and reached a place with people.
They were no longer facing wolf packs and fierce tigers, enduring hardship, and sleeping with one eye open, lest they be eaten by fierce beasts in their sleep.
Jin An was the first to exclaim, “It’s a road!”
Grandpa Ling also said excitedly, “Look at this road; it’s clearly frequently traveled. There must be woodcutters and hunters nearby.”
Jin Sui touched her hair and looked at her grandfather and brother. Her grandfather used to have a bit of a ‘Daoist’ aura, but now, the three of them were clearly like wandering beggars.
With her current appearance, she didn’t need any makeup, and no one would recognize her as a woman.
Grandpa Ling quickly cautioned the two, “I don’t know if any wanted orders have been sent from Luocheng yet.”
“You two will pretend to be my Taoist children. When we reach a Taoist Temple, I’ll get a Certificate of Conversion for Little An.”
Jin An was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Can becoming a Taoist allow me to go to Chang’an to vindicate my father?”
Grandpa Ling sighed softly, “Yes, but you’ll have to wait until you’re older.”
Jin An let go of Grandpa Ling’s hand, his expression becoming unfamiliar, his face stern, his eyes filled with anger and hatred:
“How long do I have to wait? Until I’m eighteen? Who in Chang’an will remember Father then?”
“I know, Grandpa doesn’t really want to vindicate Father!”
“Sister, tell me, should we go to Chang’an now or wait for ten or eight years?”
At this moment, Jin Sui understood that the reason her brother had been so affectionate towards her all along was waiting for this moment to make her choose!
She guessed that Jin An had overheard her and Grandpa Ling discussing Father Ling’s case.
She hadn’t expected that this child, despite his young age, was so deep-thinking, able to hide it until now.
He knew that in the wilderness without even a road, he couldn’t have a disagreement with his grandfather, so he endured it until they saw the mountain path to erupt.
Jin Sui couldn’t help but sigh; at only eight years old, in her past life, he would have been a second-grader, a little brat who knew nothing.
But children of this era matured so early.
Facing Jin An’s expectant gaze and Grandpa Ling’s pleading eyes, Jin Sui felt like she was being roasted by two burning fires.
Should she agree with her grandfather and persuade Jin An that they couldn’t go to Chang’an for now, and would vindicate their father after they had the ability?
Or should she appease Jin An, agree with him, and go to Chang’an first.
In fact, she inwardly wanted to go to Chang’an first; she couldn’t break her promise to Jiang Shi.
Moreover, she had a feeling that if they really returned to Grandpa Ling’s hometown, Grandpa Ling would vehemently oppose the siblings vindicating their father as long as he lived.
After thinking about it, she offered a compromise: “Our current identities are fugitives, and we have no money. Going to Chang’an is truly unwise.”
“Why don’t we go to a prefecture city near Chang’an first, slowly gather information about Father’s case, and once we have money and connections, then we can vindicate Father.”
Grandpa Ling quickly agreed, “What your sister says makes sense. If we go to Chang’an now, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger’s den.”
But Jin An, for some reason, clenched his fists and roared:
“I knew it, you’re all afraid of dying, you all want to hide! Father and Mother died so miserably, and you don’t care.”
Jin Sui stepped forward, wanting to hug her brother. He had personally witnessed his father being beheaded and his mother die miserably of illness in a cave.
For an eight-year-old child, the blow was indeed too great.
To her surprise, as soon as she stepped forward, Jin An forcefully pushed her hand away and glared at her, saying:
“When Mother died, you didn’t shed a single tear! If you’re unwilling to seek vindication for Father, then you’re not my sister, and I don’t need you to care about me!”
Jin Sui said angrily, “Who told you to speak to Grandpa and your sister like that? Did we say we wouldn’t handle Father’s case? We need to take a break and proceed slowly, do you understand?”
Jin An snorted heavily, clearly not believing her. He raised something in his hand and said to the two of them:
“If you’re unwilling to go to Chang’an, I’ll go myself! I will definitely vindicate Father!”
Grandpa Ling, surprised, touched his chest. The key that Jiang Shi had left hidden in the wooden hairpin had been stolen by this boy.
After he finished speaking, he turned and ran towards the mountain path. Jin Sui shouted for him to stop while trying to support Grandpa Ling.
Grandpa Ling said urgently, “Don’t mind me, hurry and chase him. Oh my, this child’s mind is truly deep.”
Jin Sui said angrily, “You wait here, I’ll catch that brat and if he doesn’t listen to reason, I’ll beat him until he does.”
She quickly went to chase him. After turning a mountain bend, the figures of the two disappeared from sight.
Grandpa Ling quickly hobbled with his crutch, chasing after them and shouting Jin An’s name.
