Lin Fang was shocked. He glanced at her and nodded slowly, “Okay, I’ll go with you. If no one here knows anything, maybe the people there would have some news of whether or not your father had boarded that ship. Damn it! Sorry! I’m just rambling. Your father would never be on that ship. Xiao Shu, I hope you don’t take it too hard.”
Lu Xiao Shu could not help scoffing and rolling her eyes at him. “Why are you so nervous when I’m not even blaming you?”
She sighed lightly as she added, “To be frank, I’m fine with all this, but my mother… I’m not sure about it, but if everything turned out to be true, what would happen to my mother when she finds out? Don’t think that she looks fierce and strong every day. The truth is that the head of our family is still my father, and my mother can’t live without him.”
“Xiao Shu…” Lin Fang felt a little heartache as he listened to her. It was heartbreaking and pitiful, making him want to protect her and embrace her in a warm hug while gently consoling her.
Back at home, everyone was in a low spirit, with a heavy load on their mind. It was to a point where no one seemed to have realized that Lu Xiao Shu, who was never one to stay quietly at home, had left a note before leaving.
Only when it was dark at night, Miao Cui Lan struggled out from her bed to get a drink and realized that Lu Xiao Shu was not home. She demanded worriedly, “Where’s Xiao Shu? Where did she go?”
That girl was usually wild like a free horse, but she had been quite well-behaved those few days, so she could not have left the house.
Only when Miao Cui Lan mentioned it did Tong Yu Er and the others realized: Oh, right! Where is Xiao Shu?!
After a search, Xiao Xue rushed out from Lu Xiao Shu’s room with a piece of paper in her hand. She said, “Mother! Uncle! Auntie! Oh, no! Xiao Shu left! She said she’s off to look for father!”
“What?” The adults were flabbergasted.
Miao Cui Lan demanded Xiao Xue to read out the contents of the note, but she did not wait to hear the last half of it before roaring, “That bloody girl! Is she trying to be the death of me? Where did she get that courage from?”
Miao Cui Lan was so angry and worried that she could not help weeping again.
Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er exchanged glances speechlessly.
“Mother!” Xiao Xue pulled on Miao Cui Lan’s sleeve and comforted her, “Mother, there’s no need to worry. Xiao Shu is smart. Nothing will ever happen to her! Didn’t she say that she went to town to meet our brother before having him accompany her there? Mother, Lu Qi is an adult now, he will definitely protect her!”
Miao Cui Lan sobbed, “That girl has always been a cunning one. There’s always hardly any truth in her words. Do you even believe that she would go meet your brother? I don’t! Lu Qi would never let her get into trouble. If she really did meet Lu Qi, I can’t say if he would go to Qi Lin Lake himself, but he would never let her go. Besides, he would send a word of news back home if he did! Look at that, the sky is already dark!”
Her little speech made Xiao Xue hang her head low.
Miao Cui Lan was beyond pissed, but she could not help being worried sick as she cried, “That damn girl has stepped out of line! If I knew things would turn out this way, I should have never saved her and took her in! I would have one less problem without her!” She sobbed as she scolded Lu Xiao Shu.
Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er both were worried and frustrated too. They now had to worry about Lu Xiao Shu while comforting Miao Cui Lan. With Xiao Xue wiping her tears beside them, the entire family was in a mess.
Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er kept on comforting, until finally, Miao Cui Lan stopped crying. She choked, “No way! I can’t keep staying here and wait at home! I have to go look for both of them! Chu He, we’re leaving now!”
“Cui Lan!” Miao Chu He advised her, “It’s already dark now. How can we even find anyone now? Why don’t we leave at first light tomorrow? You should get some much-needed rest first.”
“How can I be resting now?”
“Cui Lan, even if you arrived in the town now, where will you rent a carriage? No one will be willing to drive us in the middle of the night! We should all wait till dawn. Even if we’re worried sick, it’s night time now!” Tong Yu Er added.
Xiao Xue also sobbed, “Mother… Father and Xiao Shu will be fine. Please don’t be like this!” She threw herself onto her mother as she hugged her tightly and dissolved into a crying mess again.
Eventually, Miao Cui Lan had no choice but to stay put. She was touched by her daughter’s actions as both of them held each other and cried their hearts out. Watching them, tears started to fall from Tong Yu Er’s eyes too as a sad bitter feeling bubbled from her heart.
That night, the family did not sleep well.
Early on the next day, Miao Chu He left with Miao Cui Lan while Tong Yu Er and Xiao Xue saw them out with teary eyes and a gloomy mood.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiao Shu, Lin Fang, and Cricket boarded a speed boat which swiftly navigated its way on the lake. It headed towards Yu District, which sat on the opposite side of the lake.
At that moment, there was neither wind nor waves. The morning mist had just lifted and the surface of the lake looked like a limitless silvery mirror. Under the morning sunlight, the breeze caressed them lightly. It should have made them feel alive and refreshed, but it could not dissipate Lu Xiao Shu’s solemn mood.
She hugged her knees as she sat on the boat. Her little eyebrows furrowed as she gazed at the vast lake. Compared to the might of nature, a human’s strength and presence were insignificant. The lake water might look calm and gentle, but it could swallow any boat whole.
As she was watching the waters, Lin Fang was watching her and he could not help sighing heavily. He had never seen her looking so miserable before and it made his heart ache terribly. He wanted to console her but he did not dare to disturb her moment.
After about two hours, the boat finally arrived at the dock. Lin Fang sighed a breath of relief as he grinned and stood up, “Xiao Shu, let’s go!”
“Okay!” Lu Xiao Shu nodded, and the trio stepped off from the boat.
“The dock here seems very lively and crowded!” Cricket took a glance around them and smiled, “It’s perfect! We can ask around here. Who knows if we could get what we want?”
“Stop being so chatty and get to work!” Lin Fang glared at him unceremoniously.
“Don’t be so mean!” Lu Xiao Shu chastised before producing the paintings. She passed one to Cricket and one to Lin Fang, “We’ll spread out and gather back here after half an hour.”
“Just be careful.” Lin Fang did not dare to request sticking with Lu Xiao Shu, so he could only give her a warm reminder.
Lu Xiao Shu nodded and forced a smile, “I’ll be troubling you!”
“No, no! Don’t, don’t say that.” Lin Fang was at a loss as he smiled. Seeing Lu Xiao Shu walking in the other direction, he finally came back to his senses and headed to the opposite direction.
Lu Xiao Shu had the painting of her father in one hand as she walked. She would ask anyone and any shop that she came across about the man in the painting or the ship that sunk the other day.
When they heard her story, they immediately knew that she must be the family of a victim. When they found out that her father might be on that ship when tragedy struck, everyone sympathized with her and were willing to help her keep a lookout for someone looking like the painting. Many hoped to help her with her questions, but they were not able to answer them. No one had any memory of the man. There was even a chance that he might not have come here in the first place.
Lu Xiao Shu was disheartened, but she forced herself to keep going. No news might even be good news.
She had walked through the whole street, yet she could not get any news about Lu Zhong’s whereabouts even after the crowd had dissipated.
Lu Xiao Shu sighed as she leaned her tiny body against the muddy wall at the end of the alley. She thought of all the lovely moments when her father was around. The time when she was an abandoned infant and he picked her up and held her lovingly in his arms. Her lips pouted as tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.
“Little girl, I heard that you were looking for someone.” Lu Xiao Shu had her head hung low depressingly when she heard a voice coming her way. She immediately turned to that direction, only to find a pair of bright and narrow eyes watching her. A feeling of disappointment filled her heart.
As the man watched her raise her head, he saw her beautiful face and those fiery eyes lit up. With that, he gave her a more amiable smile.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiao Shu had a feeling of disgust towards the man. He looked like a dishonest rat who was trying his best to look honest and kind. However, he could not hide his lowlife mannerism.
He must be joking. Did he really think a teenager was so gullible?
She did not want to bother about him at first, but all she had was her father on her mind. She did not want to let go of the tiniest of hope, so she nodded and showed him the painting, “It’s this man. Have you seen him?”
The man’s eyes fell on her fair and tiny wrist. He swallowed as he thought: What a good youngling. How rare, very rare indeed! If I could get her, she should be worth at least twenty silvers…
I, Gu Lao Si, am going to get rich today!
It was as though Gu Lao Si saw shiny silvers waving at him.
He put on an act to look at the painting, tiling his head to the left and right, as if he actually knew something about it.
Lu Xiao Shu was aware that her chances were almost nonexistent but she still asked worriedly, “Have you seen him before??”
Gu Lao Si did not answer, but when he took a closer look, he yelped and answered, “This man… I remember him.”
“Really?” Lu Xiao Shu was excited but also doubtful of his words.
“Yes! Yes! It’s true!” Gu Lao Si grinned, “That day, I think he brought too many things, so it wasn’t convenient for him to board the ship. Eventually he didn’t get onboard. He’s a lucky chap!”
\Lu XIao Shu was not sure if he was telling the truth or not, but hearing his words made her feel unreasonably hopeful and happy. She could not help smiling with her eyes shining brightly. She added joyfully, “What happened next? Where did he go? Why didn’t he go home?”
Gu Lao Si felt that he had done a good job deceiving the girl. She did not look any bit suspicious of him, so he went on, “Oh, when he was moving his stuff, he was hit by a carriage and got injured. That’s why he couldn’t go…”
“So, where is he now?” Lu Xiao Shu demanded.
Gu Lao Si was extremely gleeful as he grinned, “It’s such a coincidence. When I was going out the other day, I saw a man at Old Man Huai’s house enjoying the sun under the locust tree there. He looked just like the painting you showed me. I think he should be at Old Man Huai’s house recovering now. Coincidentally, it’s where my village’s at!”
