Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 17 Call me brother

Her grand plans to find her family, make a living, and thrive in the world all came to a crashing halt before they even began.

I kept comforting myself, thinking, "Isn't it all fate? Xiao Nian is so handsome, he might be able to make a good impression on me when he grows up. If we have the money to send him to school and help him pass the imperial examination, wouldn't that be another way to get rich?"

Gu Qingyue began to have wicked thoughts.

If he were to marry a princess with his knowledge and looks, wouldn't she become a member of the royal family?

Hehehe...

Bang! A stone was thrown into the water, splashing up a large amount of water and soaking Gu Qingyue's head and face.

Xiao Nian!

The culprit, Xiao Nian, quickly forced a cute smile, "Sister!"

"Call me brother! How many times have I told you?!" Gu Qingyue snapped.

“But you’re the older sister,” Xiao Nian insisted.

Gu Qingyue became furious, "If you don't call me brother, you won't get any food."

"Brother," Xiao Nian said dejectedly.

For some reason, Xiao Nian insisted that she was the older sister, saying that her older sister smelled nice and was soft, while her older brother did not.

What kind of damn logic is this?!

Could it be that he has seen a lot and become knowledgeable by begging everywhere?

Seeing the little guy looking listless, Gu Qingyue immediately softened.

Well, what could such an adorable little bean do wrong?

Thinking about how he was about the same age as her lost younger brother, if her brother could also meet kind people, would he be better off?

For the first time, Gu Qingyue made a serious decision: from now on, Xiao Nian would be her own younger brother, and she wanted to take care of him as he grew up, and if possible, find his family.

They truly share the same fate; both are pitiful children who don't know who their parents are! Hopefully, fate will provide some guidance!

"Xiao Nian, follow your brother from now on, and I'll help you find your parents, okay?" Gu Qingyue said gently, stroking his fluffy head.

Xiao Nian lowered her head and thought for a moment, "Can I not have my parents? They don't like me. They hit my head and it hurts a lot."

For the first time in front of Gu Qingyue, the little guy showed a pitiful, tearful expression, his little mouth pursed down, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Gu Qingyue suddenly understood why the neighbors on Changhuo Street wanted to adopt Xiao Nian as their son, but were refused.

Gu Qingyue hugged Xiao Nian tightly, feeling a pang of heartache. She wondered how Xiao Nian's previous parents had mistreated her. Were they her biological parents? Or her adoptive parents?

Leaving the village, Gu Qingyue planned to take Xiao Nian with her on the journey, and from then on, the siblings would depend on each other for survival.

Unexpectedly, the journey was not smooth.

When Gu Qingyue saw the three men standing at the edge of the dense forest in front of her, she understood why a wolf would let go of meat that was already in its mouth.

Seeing the three men holding axes and ropes, their eyes filled with gloom, Gu Qingyue knew that these two seemingly weak children had indeed given them immense confidence.

"Uncle, we just met this morning. What's wrong? Are you reluctant to part with us brothers and have come to see us off?" Gu Qingyue said with a smile.

She was actually a little scared, not because she was afraid of not being able to beat the three people in front of her, but because she was afraid that Xiao Nian would be hurt by these people when she couldn't take care of her.

The middle-aged man laughed. "Kid, I advised you to leave the baby with me this morning so I could raise it for you. What, are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Ha! Sure enough, it was a mistake for her to take Xiao Nian to the village hoping to be adopted. These days, there are too many poor people and even more bad people. It would be strange if no one took advantage of them because they were so young and weak.

"I'm sorry, uncle, I've decided to raise my younger brother myself. Thank you for your kindness," Gu Qingyue said, and began to scan her surroundings for possible escape routes.

Xiao Nian saw the three people not far away. Although she was still young, she knew that these people were not good people at all.

"Brother, let's run!" Xiao Nian grabbed Gu Qingyue's hand, swallowed hard, and whispered.

Gu Qingyue patted his little hand reassuringly, and was about to tell him to find a place to hide far away, as she wanted to deal with these people quickly.

Suddenly, a series of mournful howls echoed from the dense forest. It sounded like an elderly man, and the cries were truly—quite pitiful.

The people by the mountain path naturally heard it.

Both sides looked warily toward the source of the sound. A moment later, a gray figure tumbled and crawled down the steep slope beside them.

It turned out to be an elderly man with gray hair! Although he was screaming pitifully, he was surprisingly agile.

Gu Qingyue and the others were dumbfounded.

This design seems a bit too avant-garde.

The old man had gray hair and a gray beard, and carried a small basket on his back. He held a small hoe in his hand, but at this moment, his hair and beard were a messy tangled mess, with some unknown plants stuck to them. His face was also indistinct and his appearance was impossible to discern. Not to mention his clothes, which were torn to shreds by tree branches, and his white undergarment was also tattered.

Gu Qingyue had never seen anyone so filthy and disheveled; they looked as if they had been rolling around in a wild animal's den for days.

"Hey, there are so many people here!! Great, please help this old man, I have money!" As soon as the old man stopped on the path, he noticed several pairs of eyes staring at him. He turned around and saw the five people in his eyes, and became excited.

This shout seemed to flip a switch on the three people opposite him. They looked at each other, rushed forward, and surrounded the old man.

"Old man, what kind of help do you need? How much will you pay?"

The middle-aged man spoke first.

"Help me catch that monkey on the mountain, and I'll give you ten taels of silver, quick!" The old man was overjoyed upon hearing this, grabbed the middle-aged man's arm, and immediately pointed in a certain direction on the mountain.

Gu Qingyue, watching from the side, facepalmed. Was this old man an idiot? Couldn't he see that these people in front of him were no good? And he dared to claim he was very rich?

Is this asking to be robbed?

Sure enough, after the old man finished speaking, the three men looked at him even more strangely.

Is this old man a fool? He actually offered money to the three brothers?! Who would want to go up the mountain to kill monkeys? Those things are incredibly agile and strong. If a person gets slapped by one of their claws, how could they possibly survive?

Ha, wouldn't robbing this old man be a much faster way to make money?!

The next instant, the young man standing behind the old man raised the axe in his hand.

Gu Qingyue pushed Xiao Nian toward the big tree behind her, "Hide well."

Then he drew his dagger and rushed forward. Taking advantage of their distraction, why not make a move now?

With a whoosh of wind, the young man fell straight backward, followed by a piercing scream!

Gu Qingyue's dagger slashed his arm, which was holding the axe, leaving a deep cut. The axe clattered to the ground, and the man rolled around on the ground in pain.

Upon seeing this, another man immediately swung his axe at Gu Qingyue.

Gu Qingyue sidestepped, narrowly dodging his axe. He was clearly skilled! Gu Qingyue's expression turned serious.

"Kid, you don't want to live? Grandpa hasn't even made a move yet, and you're already rushing to your death!" Seeing that Gu Qingyue could only dodge, the man immediately became even more vicious!

The middle-aged man turned around when he heard the noise, and upon seeing it, his expression turned ferocious. He also brandished his axe and joined the melee.