Chapter 55 Three Lost Little Ones

Chapter 55 Three Lost Little Ones

That's a good idea.

Xingxing volunteered, "Xingxing will go with you!"

Yamei'er excitedly hugged Xingxing again, her voice soft and sweet, "Xingxing, you're really my best friend!"

The two little girls quickly agreed on the plan, and Ju Geer, who loved to join in the fun, insisted on coming along too, since his brothers never took him out to play before.

Thus, the three little ones decided and started walking in the direction Yamei'er pointed, their short legs moving steadily.

Yamei'er was confident about the directions, and the three little ones walked confidently as well.

However, after walking for a long time, the surroundings no longer resembled the familiar sights of Nan Tuo Village.

They still hadn't arrived.

Ju Geer's stomach started growling.

He grew anxious, "Did you point us in the wrong direction?"

"How could that be?" Yamei'er said confidently but swallowed nervously.

Xingxing looked around hesitantly, "Yaya, are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"

Facing Xingxing's sincere questioning gaze, Yamei'er pouted guiltily, her eyes wandering, "I think... I think I didn't get it wrong..."

Ju Geer exclaimed, "Then where are we?!"

The three little ones looked at each other, realizing belatedly what had happened.

It seemed they were truly lost.

"Wah wah wah, can we not get out?" Yamei'er pouted, on the verge of tears.

She remembered clearly that her father had pointed her in this direction, saying her new stepmother lived in a house with a red roof on the mountain.

But she had been walking for so long and hadn't seen any house with a red roof!

How could her father have misled her?

Wah wah wah.

Yamei'er was heartbroken.

As she wiped her eyes, about to cry, Xingxing panicked and quickly reassured her, "Yaya, don't be afraid! Our Ju Geer is very capable; he can definitely lead us out!"

Ju Geer was actually scared too, but hearing Xingxing's words, he felt invigorated, almost lifting his chin to the sky!

"That's right!"

Ju Geer declared loudly, "I've walked back from the county alone before. If I hadn't slipped down the hillside... anyway, I'm very capable. Just follow me!"

Ju Geer led Xingxing and Yamei'er back based on his vague memory of the way they came.

After a series of twists and turns, they actually managed to exit the dense forest and saw a village!

Xingxing and Yamei'er hugged each other, cheering, while Ju Geer strutted like a proud rooster, extremely pleased with himself!

"It had to be me!" Ju Geer exclaimed, "I'm just too amazing!"

"But... where is this place?" Yamei'er asked fearfully, as she had never been here before.

Ju Geer had never been here either.

He said solemnly, "Perhaps we've stumbled upon a fairyland in the mountains..."

Xingxing, however, tilted her head, trying to recognize the place, and suddenly slapped her hand, shouting excitedly, "Xingxing remembers! This seems to be called something-gou! There's an uncle who's a hunchback living here!"

Xingxing, thrilled, grabbed Yamei'er and Ju Geer by the hands and ran towards the direction of Yu Tuozi's home in her memory.

...

Yu Tuozi was sawing wood in his dilapidated courtyard, sweating profusely. Before he could wipe his forehead, he heard a soft voice calling, "Uncle Hunchback, are you home?"

Yu Tuozi stood up, puzzled.

He had previously been tricked by his wife Pu Shi and fell off a ladder, sustaining severe injuries. Doctors had said he wouldn't survive.

While waiting to die, a mysterious wandering monk passed by and saved his life.

Though he had just recovered from his injuries, his movements were still slow and clumsy.

Before he could reach the courtyard gate, he saw three small heads peeking through his old, half-open wooden door.

Yu Tuozi froze.

Xingxing recognized Yu Tuozi and happily called out, "Uncle Hunchback!"

Although Yu Tuozi was a distant relative, it was the first time Ju Geer had met him, and he was visibly intimidated.

Yamei'er was even more frightened by Yu Tuozi's hunched figure and gloomy appearance, standing frozen in place, unable to move.

Seeing the fear on Yamei'er and Ju Geer's faces, Yu Tuozi stepped back, about to say something when he saw a little girl with two pigtails calling him "Uncle Hunchback" and approaching him warmly.

Yu Tuozi squinted his eyes, recognizing Xingxing: "...Are you..."

This was the little granddaughter that Aunt Wei had brought earlier.

Yu Tuozi's expression softened slightly.

After his accident, it was Aunt Wei who had been taking care of him. Even that mysterious wandering monk had given him a life-saving pill because of Aunt Wei's connection to the little girl in front of him...

"It's you." Yu Tuozi's voice was hoarse from not speaking for a long time.

Xingxing nodded repeatedly: "Uncle Tuozi, you remember! It's me, it's me." She enthusiastically introduced him to the others: "This is Ju Geer, and this is Yaya!"

Ju Geer and Yaya were still a bit scared, but Yu Tuozi wouldn't hold it against children. He nodded and looked past the three little ones, asking in a hoarse voice, "Why are there only the three of you? Where are your adults?"

Xingxing was a bit embarrassed: "Just the three of us. We walked and walked until we got here. Uncle Tuozi, do you know how to get back to Nantuo Village?"

Yu Tuozi was speechless: "Just the three of you? You're quite brave..."

Since he couldn't move easily, he thought for a moment and asked the three little ones to wait in his courtyard. He went inside, fetched some copper coins, and asked a neighbor to take the three little ones back to Nantuo Village.

When Yu Tuozi came back limping, he saw that the other two little ones were standing far away, while only Xingxing was squatting next to his woodworking, looking at it intently.

Yu Tuozi gave Xingxing a small wooden box he had made when the neighbor was about to take the three little ones away: "If you like it, keep it."

Xingxing felt a bit embarrassed, but Yu Tuozi clearly wasn't good at socializing and simply closed his old, dilapidated door.

Xingxing had no choice but to accept the small wooden box, tucking it into her chest as the neighbor took them back.

In Nantuo Village, things were in an uproar. Wei Pozi had been searching for a long time and couldn't find Xingxing or Ju Geer, and she was frantic.

The family went door to door, fearing the children might have gone to someone's house to play.

When they asked at Yaya's house, they discovered that Yaya was also missing!