WTYTIAAN Chapter 16
by VolareThe carriage swayed along. As it approached the city gate, it was stopped by the guards. Several slaves lifted the curtain of the carriage, allowing the guards to inspect it.
Lillian had already used concealment magic on herself and Yan Yunqing, hiding herself among the corners and weapons. Yan Yunqing once again pulled out that rag, completely covering the two of them.
The carriage was dimly lit and almost entirely visible at a glance. It was impossible to hide a normal adult, and since this was a noble’s caravan, no guard dared to inspect it too presumptuously.
Soon, the caravan was allowed to pass.
Once they were completely away from the city gate, Yan Yunqing and Lillian could finally relax their tense nerves.
Yan Yunqing lowered his voice, “Where are you planning to go next?”
Lillian pulled Yan Yunqing’s tail over and covered herself with it, yawning, “I don’t know. Wherever you go, I’ll go.”
Yan Yunqing: ?
“You’re going to follow me?” Yan Yunqing asked in surprise.
“Mmhmm.” Lillian closed her eyes, preparing for a nap, “Otherwise? Didn’t I say I would follow you before?”
Yan Yunqing tried hard to recall, “When did you say that?”
Lillian justified herself confidently, “At the Auction House, when I said I’d be sitting on your head from now on.”
Yan Yunqing choked, “That’s what you call following me?”
Lillian: “Of course.”
“That’s so subtle! I didn’t understand it at all,” Yan Yunqing retorted.
“Hmph, it’s your problem if you didn’t understand,” Lillian rolled over, “Anyway, I’m going to follow you. I’m going to cling to you like a curse.”
Yan Yunqing leaned back in tactical retreat, “You might as well say like a ghost.”
“Wait… aren’t you an Elf cub?” Yan Yunqing said, “Are your Elf elders okay with you running around outside as a cub? I remember you said you sneaked out, right?”
Lillian waved her hand, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve been running around for a long time. The elders should be used to it by now.”
Was that something they could get used to? What family could get used to their child constantly running away from home?
Thinking about Lillian’s level, Yan Yunqing felt he could understand a little better.
Yan Yunqing pondered.
They had successfully escaped from the capital city. Next, he would find a safe place as a temporary residence, complete the ‘Safe Haven’ stage quest, and learn a life skill.
Then, he would level up, add more skills. Not saying he’d become a demigod, but at least next time he faced an enemy, he wouldn’t have to only think about how to escape, right?
Right, he also had to understand the current era’s background story. Not knowing anything about common sense could easily put him in danger.
Honestly, did he really need a Lillian by his side?
The seemingly useless little elf was actually a level 45 powerhouse, and her talent skill sounded powerful, ‘Lord of the Forest’ and all that…
Having her by his side seemed like insurance? When he was bored, he could banter with her to pass the time.
Occasionally, she could even teach him some common sense.
Damn, thinking about it that way, Lillian’s setting really did clash with that of a certain emergency food supply.
Yan Yunqing flicked his tail and nonchalantly whipped Lillian, who was leaning on his tail, away.
“Ah! Bad cat! What are you doing!”
*
Midway, they passed a small village. Yan Yunqing and Lillian jumped off the carriage.
Having been chauffeured all the way by this ‘kind’ nobleman, Yan Yunqing left two copper coins in the corner of the carriage as payment for their ride.
Yan Yunqing canceled his disguise, reverting to his original appearance. From his wardrobe, he chose a set of clothes that were easy to move in and didn’t look too flashy.
Together with Lillian, he walked into the small village.
…
The first bird call of the morning pierced the sky, cutting a gap in the thin mist, which quietly dispersed. Orange dye was sprinkled, starting from the horizon, gradually painting half the sky, inviting the moon and stars, which had finished their night’s performance, off the stage.
The village, which had been quiet all night, became lively again. People who woke up in the morning greeted each other, and occasional voices of greeting could be heard.
The clear voices of children rang out in the front yard, chattering and bickering early in the morning, seemingly arguing about what to do for the day ahead.
Yan Yunqing rolled over on the hard wooden bed, sprawled out in a starfish shape. The quilt, which was only barely draped over his belly button, slipped completely to the ground. The shallow breathing in the room paused for two seconds before continuing.
Lillian slept next to his pillow, covered with a small piece of floral cloth. Copying Yan Yunqing, she slept very boldly, head down, butt facing Yan Yunqing’s face, one foot kicking him in the face.
Anyone who saw this scene would have to exclaim: You really can’t sleep two different types of people in the same bed.
The sun gradually climbed to the mountain peak, and the hot sunlight sprinkled down, baking everything on the ground, and the temperature gradually rose.
“Brother Yan—” A little girl’s voice rang out, and with this call, Yan Yunqing’s door was knocked loudly.
Yan Yunqing rolled over again, burying his entire head in the pillow, completely ignoring the voice calling him from outside.
The pillow that Lillian was originally sleeping on caved in due to Yan Yunqing’s movement, and Lillian slowly slid down bit by bit, rolling twice along the curve—falling off the bed with a thud and landing on the floor.
“Ouch—” Lillian covered her forehead, blankly looking up at the edge of the bed, and then at the floor she was on.
“Bad cat—!!!”
The roar resounded throughout the village, startling a flock of birds.
“Is that the newcomer and his elf?”
“Yeah, they sound really energetic!”
…
Yan Yunqing washed his face with clear water, sleep still in his eyes. He took out his homemade toothbrush from his backpack and squatted by the sink to brush his teeth.
Lillian flew beside him, mimicking his movements exactly, taking out her small toothbrush and brushing her teeth together.
The girl who came to wake them up stood by, scooping up cool water for them, “Really—Brother Yan, you were the one who told me yesterday to wake you up a little earlier today, but I called for so long and you still didn’t get up.”
“Sorry… Yuli.” Yan Yunqing covered his mouth and yawned, his voice a little muffled with foam in his mouth, “Maybe the previous biological clock affected me too much.”
Yuli put her hands on her hips, “Really—Brother Yan is too worrying! Can you really take care of yourself like this?”
Yan Yunqing lowered his head in shame, counting the ants on the ground.
He had never thought that one day he would be questioned by a six or seven-year-old girl about whether he could take care of himself.
Was he really that unreliable?
Ah… he had raised himself well since his parents left!
He graduated from high school smoothly and got a good grade, drawing a perfect conclusion to his student career, and he grew up healthy.
He had done a good job, right?
Yan Yunqing thought hesitantly.
Lillian laughed like a deflated balloon beside him, foam flying everywhere, causing Yuli to frown deeply.
“By the way, Yuli, where’s your grandpa?” Yan Yunqing spat out all the foam in his mouth, rinsed his mouth with cool water, and noticed that the house was particularly quiet today, so he asked casually.
“Grandpa and the uncles in the village went to a village a little further away together. He finished a batch of farm tool orders he received last week, and there’s a market today, so Grandpa took the newly made farm tools with him,” Yuli answered Yan Yunqing’s question.
Yan Yunqing and Lillian had come to this village after jumping off the noble’s carriage that day.
Although called a village, it was more like a small town. There were quite a few residents gathered, and the village had all kinds of shops and self-organized patrol teams to protect the safety of the entire village.
The appearance of Yan Yunqing and Lillian did not bring much surprise to the others in the village. After all, it was very close to the capital city of Bato Vita, and passing travelers and caravans often stopped in this village for a rest.
The village had therefore developed an industry to receive outsiders, such as inns, and some villagers also cleaned up spare rooms in their homes to entertain travelers from afar.
By spending a little money, you could get a place to stay and a few warm meals.
This kind of village with a large flow of people was just right for Yan Yunqing and Lillian. It wouldn’t be too conspicuous, and they could get better living conditions.
It was just a pity that all the inns and spare rooms in the village were too simple for Yan Yunqing. After wandering around the entire village, Yan Yunqing finally decided to stay in the blacksmith shop—that is, Yuli’s house.
The composition of this family was very simple, consisting of a slightly old blacksmith grandpa and a little girl named Yuli.
Yuli was an orphan. Her parents died in a monster attack a few years ago, and the blacksmith’s only son, as a member of the patrol team, also died in that battle.
Later, the blacksmith adopted Yuli as his own granddaughter, and the two lived together in the village as a family.
Perhaps because he had to raise a little girl, or perhaps because Yuli had been very sensible since she was a child, often tidying up the small home, the blacksmith shop was very clean and tidy. The slightly damaged furniture was carefully repaired, and the sharp corners were wrapped in soft cloth, with cute patterns drawn on them in colored pens, making it look very warm.
In addition, the interpersonal relationships were simple, so Yan Yunqing chose the blacksmith shop as a temporary foothold without hesitation.
For this, he also paid an expensive accommodation fee of three silver coins a day, so that Yuli could have some pocket money to buy candy.
It was definitely not because he coveted the blacksmith grandpa’s life skill and wanted to learn the forging skill, secretly studying under him, that he moved in!