Chapter 69: Grandfather In His Youth
The horse carriage creaked along the road, Talil lay on the windowsill, her eyes excitedly watching the undulating hills and scenery outside.
Inside the carriage, Xilutiya wore a convenient deep gray coat, her silver-snow long hair casually draped over her hood and shoulders behind her. She also began gazing at the scenery outside the window like Talil, but now she seemed sleepy, so she leaned back in her chair for a nap.
The slight jolts in the mountain forest did not wake her; once this rhythm became familiar, it instead turned into a lullaby-like hypnotic tune.
Snowflakes drifted sporadically in the sky, the horse carriage moved unhurriedly, no human figures were visible in the vast wilderness, only occasional birds flew by, bringing faint calls.
In her hazy nap, Xilutiya recalled her previous life again; every holiday trip back to her old home also required a long carriage ride.
The adults’ chatting and laughing, the ups and downs of the mountain roads, and the refreshing mountain breeze pouring into the carriage were all so familiar, evoking nostalgia.
Winter old home and summer old home had different scenery; without the summer cicadas’ chirping and shimmering water light, but with the warmth by the firewood and the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.
Time passed slowly, she and those childhood companions from the old home gradually grew up, until they parted ways to unfamiliar distant places.
……
In the evening, as the sky darkened, the horse carriage slowly climbed a high slope, then descended toward the flat land below, where a village nestled in the fields appeared, with sporadic orange-yellow lights in the village faintly guiding the horse carriage closer bit by bit.
“Whinny, whinny—” The gray-maned horse let out a long neigh, exhaling white hot breath, then its hooves casually clacked a few times on the stone slabs, and the horse carriage came to a stop.
“Tiya, we’re here.” Talil, draped in a brown small cloak, got off the carriage and called to the maiden behind her.
“Mm.” The maiden softly acknowledged, then pulled up the hood behind her head and got off the carriage.
The two now stood in the plaza in the village; the place looked the same as a few months ago, only some subtle spots still showed traces of the battle back then, such as carbon ash remaining in stone crevices and a notch chopped in a certain guardrail.
“My home is behind the village, follow me.”
Talil waved to the coachman, then led the way forward; at this time, villagers met on the road also greeted Talil.
“You’re back, Talil.”
“Haven’t seen you for months, you’ve grown much prettier.”
“Hehe, thanks, uncle and aunt.” Talil sweetly replied.
“I’m back!” She announced a bit loudly, as if wanting to shout a few times to vent.
Walking on the road, Talil’s steps became bouncy and light.
Soon, they arrived in front of the Village Chief’s House; by now the old Village Chief had already heard the sounds and was waiting at the doorway.
“You’ve finally come back to see me, Talil.” He reached out and hugged his granddaughter, the grandfather and granddaughter laughing together in an embrace.
After a good while of catching up, the old Village Chief reluctantly let go of Talil and greeted Xilutiya.
“Sorry, Miss Tiya, I got a bit excited hehe.” The old man had deep brown hair and a thick mustache.
“It’s fine, how has your health been lately?” Xilutiya walked over and set down the two bottles of medicinal wine she was carrying.
“Drink a little of these in winter, and you’ll feel much better.” The medicinal wine was infused with a small amount of Blazing Sun nature herbs, so it was very warming to the stomach.
“Oh, you’ve really gone to trouble.” He invited the two into the house to sit, then went to arrange lodging for the coachman and a place to unload the goods.
At night, the three gathered in the small house for dinner; on the table were baked bread, smoked sausage, and steaming root vegetable soup. Though not very luxurious, in the village, it was an especially affluent dinner.
The old man ate while inquiring about their recent situation in Jiaoshi City; hearing that Xilutiya was studying with Scholar Heide, he gave a thumbs up.
“Good, that old gentleman is a formidable scholar; if I hadn’t been short on money back then, I probably would have gone to study with him too.”
“Hey, Grandpa was young then, Scholar Heide wasn’t that old either, right?” Talil propped her head and complained.
“He wasn’t that old, but he already had some fame then; quite a few girls in Jiaoshi City admired and liked him.” The old man ruffled Talil’s hair as he answered.
“I was around 20 back then, working as an adventurer in Jiaoshi City; Scholar Heide was in his early thirties, already a ‘Second Order Secret Word’ scholar, helping the previous Viscount Xue Feng manage government affairs. He often led people to visit nearby villages and resolve problems, so many people in this area knew him.”
“Some villages still have enlightenment primers he left behind back then, said to be printed with his own money.”
“Though not many people are literate, at least those who want to learn have a channel now.” The old man reminisced.
“I wasn’t paying much attention to that back then, focused on adventurer tasks to make money, and that’s when I met your grandmother.”
“What did Grandma look like, was she pretty?” Talil was especially curious, shaking the old man’s arm to demand an answer.
“Your grandmother…” The old man stroked his mustache.
“She wasn’t the type who was strikingly beautiful and eye-catching at first glance; back then she came to Jiaoshi City with a circus, her aunt worked in the circus and was said to be a fortune teller.”
“I had no money for tickets then, so with a few companions, we climbed over the wall to watch the show, and that’s when we ran into your grandmother coming out to dump water.”
“She was about eighteen or nineteen, with fine chestnut hair tied simply in braids on both sides; her smile was especially sweet, and I was immediately enchanted by that dimple.”
“We didn’t get to see the circus performance; your grandmother chased me and my companions out with a broom. She was just a little girl not afraid of us several sturdy young men, which was really surprising.”
“But we also had to live long-term in Jiaoshi City, no need to end up in the magistrate’s place over this, so we didn’t dare hit her, just sheepishly dodged the broom and ran out.”
“But we got acquainted anyway; during the time the circus stayed in Jiaoshi City afterward, I always went to find her, and gradually we became familiar.”
“She told me many things about distant places, like fire-breathing lizards, crows and birds that could understand human speech, and black vines rising at night.”
“All sorts of stories left me dumbfounded back then; even though as an adventurer I’d seen plenty of novelties, she still scared me sometimes.”
“She seemed delighted to see me startled, feeling especially proud; just like that, we had endless things to talk about.”
“But good times didn’t last; the circus had to leave eventually, and we faced parting.”
“She pleaded with her aunt to stay directly; I was by her side supporting her at the time.”
“That was the first time I saw your grandmother’s aunt; I can’t remember her appearance anymore, but that deep purple hood and the crystal ball in front of her still appear in my dreams.”
“Her aunt didn’t agree at first, saying your grandmother wouldn’t find happiness staying here; since she was a fortune teller and many in the circus believed her, the first plea completely failed.”
“Honestly, I thought the chances were slim too, didn’t have the courage to force her to stay; back then I wasn’t respectable or affluent, just a hand-to-mouth ordinary adventurer, not even formally stepped into First Order yet.”
“We spent the last few days like that; when I steeled myself to see your grandmother off, she seemed to steel some determination, jumped down from the horse carriage, and threw herself into my arms.”
“I’ve never remembered the feeling of that day so clearly; when I held your grandmother’s body, that warmth and softness became the source of my lifelong beautiful dreams.” The old man poured wine, slowly recounting.
“Because of your grandmother’s persistence, her aunt finally couldn’t refuse, sighed and instructed me to take good care of her, and gave a necklace to your grandmother, telling her to keep it safe.”
“Happiness came so suddenly; soon after, we returned to the village and held a wedding; many friends and relatives came to bless us, and the joyful scenes lasted several days.”
“After that, I lived a stable and warm life; the first thing every day when coming home was to hug your grandmother, tell her about the day’s encounters, then eat together. Any fresh tasty things I found, I’d bring back to your grandmother; just thinking about it brings joy.”
“We lived very happily like that, until later, your father was born.” The old man’s story slowly reached its latter half.
