The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 428
Chapter 428: The Token of Identity
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
This familiar scene.
It brought Old Madam Ning to tears in an instant. She rushed forward and embraced the Wolf King, sobbing uncontrollably. “You have never forgotten me… never forgotten me!”
A fierce tiger peeked its head out from the forest, causing everyone’s nerves to tighten once more.
Yet, the old madam merely called out, “Brother Tiger.”
The white tiger immediately crouched at her feet, allowing her to hold it as she wept.
The sight left everyone stunned beyond words.
“The old madam is a beast-taming expert?”
“That tiger and the wolf pack are the rulers of the mountains, yet they are so submissive before her!” Xie Jing Xi exclaimed in astonishment.
The old madam wiped her tears and stood up, her eyes filled with nostalgia.
“I have no such skill.”
“I was born an abandoned infant. When I first opened my eyes, I was already in the mountains. I grew up drinking tiger’s milk…” It was strange how clearly she remembered even her infancy.
“At night, I slept wrapped in tiger pelts.” To this day, she could recall the warmth of the mother tiger encircling her.
“When the tiger mother went hunting, the wolf pack would watch over me.” She gently stroked the tiger’s head, filled with tender affection.
“As I grew older, milk was no longer enough to sustain me. I began to learn how to walk, and the tiger mother would bring back prey and drop it before me…” She still remembered the bloody mountain chicken placed at her feet, how she had wailed in terror.
In the end, the wolf pack brought her some wild fruits. She couldn’t bite into them, cried, and fell asleep.
The next day.
The tiger mother carried her through the mountains. She gripped its fur tightly, sitting atop its back.
It carried her to the outskirts of a village before silently departing again.
Eventually, they arrived outside Peach Source Village, where the tiger mother stood for a long time.
One morning, she woke up.
The tiger mother had carried her to the village chief’s doorstep, placed her there, and then ran back to the mountains.
In all the years she lived in Peach Source Village, she often found wild chickens, ducks, and rabbits at her door.
On her wedding day, there was even a wild boar at her doorstep.
The tiger mother and the wolf pack that had raised her had long passed, but their descendants still remembered her.
“They are my family.”
The entire group, including Xie Jing Xi, listened in stunned silence.
“In half an hour, we’ll reach Peach Source Village. Madam Xu, are you still holding up?” After two days and nights of travel, Xie Jing Xi dared not be careless—after all, Xu Shi Yun was still pregnant.
She was three months along, and the fetus had just stabilized.
Xu Shi Yun looked healthy, her complexion rosy, appearing quite spirited.
“Let’s head straight for Peach Source Village through the night. It’s no trouble.” Ever since she had been drinking the spiritual spring water from Chao Chao and occasionally eating immortal peaches, her body had grown stronger.
The group continued towards Peach Source Village.
The forest was dense, the trees blocking even the moonlight.
Even with torches raised, the path ahead remained pitch black, shrouded in unease.
“Wow! Look at the mountain!” Xie Yu Zhou pointed towards the distant woods.
A swarm of glowing lights emerged from the forest.
Fireflies gathered from all directions, forming a celestial river around Madam Ning, lighting the path home.
“Fireflies… I’ve never seen so many at once!” Xie Yu Zhou leaned out of the carriage, reaching out to catch one.
The fireflies were unafraid, surrounding the convoy and guiding the way.
Even Xie Jing Xi couldn’t help but sense something extraordinary.
Madam Ning—was she truly just an ordinary person?
Back among the mountains, her aura of uniqueness became even more apparent.
Had the old emperor ever seen this side of her?
If he had, he would never have let her go so easily!
Before long, they crossed the mountains and arrived at a riverside. Dawn was breaking, yet the old madam showed no sign of fatigue; her eyes shone brighter than ever.
“That… is where I used to wash clothes.”
She paused and pointed toward a cliff. “And that… is where the old emperor fell.”
She had been washing clothes below when she found him after his fall.
After that came a disaster that destroyed everything.
She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and tidied her hair and clothes.
“It has been many years since I last returned. I wonder what has become of the village…” Nearing home, she hesitated, afraid to take another step forward.
Xu Shi Yun stepped up and took her hand.
“Mother, let’s go home together.”
“Chao Chao and I have never been here before.”
Old Madam Ning nodded, her eyes red. “Yes, yes, you’ve never been home before.”
Mother and daughter, with Chao Chao between them, stepped toward Peach Source Village.
“I used to come here to catch fish all the time…”
“During the famine, while no one else could catch fish, I could. Eventually, the village entrusted me with the task.”
“The village chief set up a large pot in the threshing yard, where the small fish and loaches were cooked into a thick soup. The uncles and elders would throw in whatever wild vegetables they found.”
“If a household had flour, they would sprinkle two handfuls in, and everyone could have a bowl of hot soup.”
“I still remember that taste.”
In the desperate days of fleeing for her life, memories of the villagers gathering around the steaming pot kept her going.
Lu Chao Chao tilted her head up. “Actually, they are making Meng Po Soup now in the underworld.”
“If you want, you can have two bowls later.”
“You can even relive the memories.”
Old Madam Ning: ??
Xu Shi Yun immediately shook her head. “No, thank you!” Who in their right mind would make plans to drink Meng Po Soup?!
Lu Chao Chao patted her chest proudly.
“I got people down there! Just call me when you want a bowl!”
Mother and daughter’s eyes twitched violently, all sorrow vanishing instantly.
Are you a demon?!
The two of them grabbed Lu Chao Chao and hastened toward the village.
From afar, they could already see the large wooden arch at the village entrance.
The archway, weathered by wind and rain, was cracked all over, but the characters “Peach Source Village” were still visible.
Old Madam Ning took a deep breath, her heart weighed with unease.
Back then, she had fled in a panic, only seeing the raging fire from the mountains. Now, returning after forty years, the sorrow still threatened to engulf her.
Everything in sight was blackened by the fire.
Even after all these years, the ruins bore the scars of that devastating blaze.
She wept as she walked through the village.
“This was Grandpa Lin’s home…”
“This was Aunt Wang’s home…”
“This was Qing’er’s home…”
“This was the village chief’s father’s home…” The grief was unbearable. She clutched the charred walls as tears streamed down her face.
After wandering for a long time, stopping frequently, they finally arrived outside the ancestral hall.
The hall had been reduced to ruins, but the green stone slabs at the entrance remained intact.
Moss covered the stone surface.
The token lay beneath it.
“Lift the stone—carefully,” Xu Shi Yun instructed in a low voice.
Rong Che and Xie Jing Xi personally moved the slab aside.
Beneath it.
Wrapped in red cloth, an object lay in wait.