The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 91

The sudden cold male voice startled all eight people.

The old woman stammered, "W-we, we're from... from the town up ahead. The town fell, so we... we just wanted to find a place to settle down."

Old Gu Six unceremoniously shooed them away. "This is already my territory. Find somewhere else."

A young boy stepped forward and bowed. "Brother, I noticed there’s still open land here. Building a few more houses wouldn’t be a problem. Please, do us this favor. Besides, living together would make things livelier."

"We don’t need lively. Leave now, or don’t blame me for not warning you—this place gets frequent visits from assassins. If you don’t want to die for no reason, stay far away."

The boy wanted to argue further, but two young men, their faces pale, tugged at his sleeve.

They whispered to him, "Third Brother, let’s just forget it. We’ll find another place."

They had barely escaped with their lives and didn’t want to risk dying mysteriously here.

Under Old Gu Six’s icy, sharp gaze, the family left the small valley. It was too late to travel, so they camped on the beach outside.

The winter sea breeze at night was biting, but luckily they had a piece of oilcloth to block some of the wind.

The boy scratched his head, visibly frustrated. "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, we’ve searched so many places, and this is the only one with fresh water, suitable for settling. Why did we have to leave?"

"Didn’t you hear him say assassins come here often? Third Brother, we’re just ordinary people. Some things aren’t for us to get involved in."

His two brothers stayed silent. It was one of the women holding a child who spoke. Her eyes were half-closed, her tone indifferent.

"Eldest Sister-in-law, I was talking to my brothers. What business does a woman have interrupting? No sense of propriety at all."

Though the boy was only fifteen or sixteen, he had the stubborn mindset of an old man in his seventies or eighties, looking down on women from the bottom of his heart. Even his own mother only received superficial respect.

Seeing his wife criticized, the usually silent eldest brother glared at the boy. "Third Brother, your sister-in-law is right. Husband and wife are of one mind—what she says is what I mean."

Did ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍reciting a few pretentious poems make him think he was superior? Looking down on this, sneering at that.

If not for him and his wife, would Third Brother even have had the chance to attend school?

Ungrateful brat, acting like he was better than everyone else.

The second brother chimed in, "Third Brother, our family has no rule that women can’t speak when men are talking. What school taught you was to respect teachers, honor your parents, cherish your siblings, and value your family."

Before the boy could retort, the old woman, who had been silent, spoke wearily. "Third Son is an educated man. Whatever he says must be what his teacher taught. You’ve never been to school—how would you know? If Third Son says there’s such a rule, then there is."

The second sister-in-law rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. ‘Educated’? All he can do is recite the same two poems over and over. Doesn’t even recognize half the characters, yet he puts on airs in front of us."

She was blunt and refused to hold back. Unlike the eldest sister-in-law, who endured everything, she had no problem making others angry if it meant she was happy.

The boy flushed red and fell silent. At home, he dared to talk back to anyone—except his second sister-in-law.

She wouldn’t hesitate to demand the family split if provoked, and she couldn’t care less what others said about her.

Living together benefited him. If they separated, his mother had no money to support him.

The old woman also kept quiet. Though she favored her youngest son, she knew who she relied on for survival.

Then, the usually meek eldest sister-in-law suddenly said, "Maybe we should just split the family. Those who want to stay here can stay. Those who want to go elsewhere can leave."

The eldest brother, second brother, and second sister-in-law stared at her in surprise, while the old woman and the boy were furious.

The old woman snapped, "As long as the parents are alive, the family doesn’t split. If you want to divide this household, you’ll have to wait until I’m dead."

The eldest sister-in-law’s eyes flickered. The second sister-in-law stared straight at the old woman, making her uneasy.

"Second Daughter-in-law, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just thinking that Mother is already so old—she might not have many years left. What will happen to Third Brother then?"

"Of course his elder brothers will take care of him," the old woman said, as if it were obvious.

The second sister-in-law snorted and said nothing more, though she thought to herself: If her husband couldn’t see reason, he could go live with his brothers.

The eldest sister-in-law glanced at the boy but stayed silent. No one knew what she was thinking.

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Chang’an knew nothing of the family drama unfolding on the beach. The shed for the mules was too small to hold both animals, so Old Gu Six tied the wild ox outside. Since it had always lived in the wild, one cold night wouldn’t hurt it.

That evening, they grilled skewers—beef and mutton—until they were stuffed.

Late at night, a shadowy figure crept toward Chang’an’s vegetable patch.

A few cabbages were still in the ground. The thief pulled up two, hesitated, then bent down and took a third.

Holding the cabbages, he thought he’d gone unnoticed—but Big White and the silver wolf, who often patrolled at night, spotted him.

They let out a low growl. The man looked up and saw two pairs of glowing green eyes fixed on him.

He shuddered, dropping one of the cabbages.

A scream rose in his throat, but remembering he was a thief, he choked it back.

The two wolves strode toward him with regal grace, making him break out in a cold sweat, his legs trembling.

After a long moment, he snapped out of it, dropped the cabbages, and bolted—terrified but still not daring to make a sound.

The wolves didn’t chase him. They glanced at the cabbages on the ground—a staple in their caretaker’s meals—then dragged all three back to the yard.

When Chang’an woke up, she found the cabbages neatly lined up in the courtyard. She assumed the silver wolf had learned to help harvest vegetables.

For breakfast, she made pork-and-cabbage stuffed pancakes and a pot of porridge.

When Old Gu Six didn’t return by mealtime, she went out to look for him and found him and the silver wolf crouched in the vegetable patch, heads together as if discussing something important.

"Dad, come eat!" Chang’an called out.

Old Gu Six patted the wolf’s head. "Got it. Someone came to steal vegetables. If anyone shows up tonight, hold them there."

He suspected it might be the family from yesterday or perhaps locals living near the mountain.

Without catching the thief, though, it was hard to say.

Old Gu Six regretted their choice of hideout. In the time it took to eat breakfast, another family showed up—and this time, they were familiar faces.

What was going on? Was there nowhere else to go? Were they all flocking here now?