Chapter 35: Cao Qing is Dead

“Knock knock knock…” A series of knocks came from the door, accompanied by a man’s voice: “Is Young Master Li here?”

At this moment, Li Si was washing rice in the backyard. He called out to Cao Meng, who was practicing calligraphy in the main hall: “Cao Meng, go open the door.”

Hearing this, Cao Meng wiped the water stains off the table with his sleeve and hurried to open the door. He saw a middle-aged man in tight-fitting clothes outside and called out, “Uncle Luo, you’ve come to see the teacher.”

The young man standing outside was also a hunter from Fengmen County, named Luo Ye. He often had dealings with Cao Meng’s family, so Cao Meng naturally knew him.

Seeing Cao Meng, Luo Ye opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn’t. He looked at Cao Meng with a somewhat evasive gaze.

“Mm, is Young Master Li at home?” Luo Ye then ignored Cao Meng and looked into the house.

“Oh, the teacher is here,” Cao Meng said, a bit dazed. He felt Uncle Luo was acting strange today.

“Brother Luo, what brings you here?” Li Si wiped his still damp hands with a towel, looking at Luo Ye with some confusion.

Seeing Li Si, Luo Ye’s lips moved slightly, then he glanced at Cao Meng beside him and hesitated, “It’s not convenient to talk here. Can we speak privately?”

Seeing Luo Ye’s demeanor, Li Si’s heart sank, and he immediately had some premonition about what was to come.

So he smiled at Luo Ye and said, “Is it about what I told you yesterday? I happen to want to talk to you about it too.”

Luo Ye was stunned for a moment, then nodded and replied, “Yes, that’s right.”

Seeing Luo Ye’s quick response, Li Si felt relieved and said to Cao Meng, “I’m still missing some scallions and garlic for the vegetables. Go buy some for me.”

Cao Meng’s gaze shifted between the two men, the doubt in his eyes gradually fading. He then replied, “Alright, teacher.”

With that, he left.

“Did something happen to Brother Cao?” Once Cao Meng had walked away, Li Si got straight to the point, leading Luo Ye towards the study.

Seeing Li Si’s directness, Luo Ye spoke bluntly, “Cao Qing is dead!”

Hearing Luo Ye say this, Li Si’s body stiffened. Although he had anticipated it earlier, hearing the news of Cao Qing’s death still felt unreal to him.

Such a living person, just like that, dead.

“What about his body?” Li Si brought Luo Ye into the study, poured him a cup of tea, and they both sat down.

Luo Ye took a sip of tea, which immediately calmed his agitated mood. Hearing Li Si’s question, he hesitated, “The body is still in the mountains.”

“In the mountains?” Li Si frowned, hesitating, “If it’s in the mountains, why didn’t you bring it back?”

“We couldn’t,” Luo Ye sighed, then continued, “According to the hunter who brought back the news of Cao Qing’s death, his body was hung by that monster tiger on a large tree at the edge of a cliff. That monster tiger is still prowling near the body. None of us dared to approach.”

“Poor brother, he can’t even rest in peace after death,” As he said this, Luo Ye’s eyes reddened.

Hearing Luo Ye say this, Li Si felt a pang of sympathy. Such a strong man, just dead like that, and they couldn’t even bring his body back, left exposed in the wilderness.

At the same time, he felt worried for Cao Meng. Now that his last relative was gone, what would he do in the future?

In his interactions with Cao Meng, he had grown to like this child, who was very sensible. He felt as if he was seeing his past self.

“I came this time to take Cao Meng to my home. My family isn’t very wealthy, but we can afford to raise one more person. I also don’t have any children, so I’ll raise him as my own in the future,” Luo Ye looked at Li Si seriously, clearly sincere.

“Let’s put this matter aside for now. Don’t tell Cao Meng about this recently,” Li Si took a sip of tea, pondered for a moment, and said, “I want to go and bring Brother Cao’s body back.”

“Young Master Li, that’s absolutely not possible,” Hearing Li Si say this, Luo Ye became anxious and hurriedly advised, “That monster tiger has already cultivated to become a spirit. It’s not something ordinary people can deal with. It’s lingering near Cao Qing’s body waiting for us to go there.”

“Although I’ve heard that you have methods to subdue demons and monsters, Young Master Li, why risk your life for his corpse?”

“After all, the person is already dead. We living people should focus on living well,” Luo Ye kept trying to persuade, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“I like this child Cao Meng very much,” Li Si took a sip of tea and sighed, “I won’t let his father’s body hang on a cliff, exposed in the wilderness.”

As Luo Ye was about to persuade further, Li Si raised his hand to stop him from continuing, saying seriously, “I’ve already decided. You don’t need to try to dissuade me.”

“I need to make some preparations today. Can you tell me how to get there tomorrow?” Li Si looked at Luo Ye and asked.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Li Si, Luo Ye said helplessly, “I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“Thank you very much, Brother Luo,” Li Si said with a smile.

Luo Ye sighed, then revealed a worried expression and asked, “What about that child Cao Meng…”

“Let’s not tell him,” Li Si paused slightly, thinking that he would be going into the mountains for a while and wouldn’t be able to take care of him, so he said, “After lunch today, let him go to your house by himself.”

At the same time, as if remembering something, he rummaged in his sleeve and took out some silver pieces, handing them to Luo Ye, “Take this silver.”

“This… how can I?” As soon as Luo Ye saw Li Si giving him money, he immediately refused. Although his family wasn’t wealthy, he didn’t want to take Li Si’s money for nothing.

Seeing his refusal, Li Si nodded inwardly.

At the same time, he forcefully pushed the silver into Luo Ye’s hand, smiling as he said, “I’m considered Cao Meng’s teacher after all. Surely it’s alright to help my own student a bit?”

As Luo Ye was about to refuse again, Li Si glared at him and said, “I’m giving it to him, not to you. What are you refusing for?”

Seeing Li Si like this, Luo Ye could only helplessly accept the silver, sighing deeply, “Then I thank you on behalf of my deceased brother.”

With that said, the two agreed on the departure time for tomorrow, and Li Si saw Luo Ye off.

At this time, Cao Meng, who had bought scallions, ginger, and garlic, returned.

“Teacher, what did Uncle Luo say to you?” As soon as he saw Li Si, Cao Meng asked nervously.

“Nothing much,” Li Si smiled, then said, “You know I’ve been practicing martial arts recently, right? I need some medicinal herbs as supplements. I asked him about it yesterday, and he came today to give me an answer.”

He had already agreed with Luo Ye not to tell Cao Meng about this matter for now, and had even prepared an excuse.

“Oh,” Cao Meng breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, “Did Uncle Luo say anything about my father?”

“Yes,” Li Si nodded affirmatively, then said, “Your Uncle Luo said that your father came back the day before yesterday, but after replenishing what he needed, he hurriedly went back into the mountains.”

Hearing Li Si say this, Cao Meng completely relaxed, sighing, “I really hope nothing happens to my dad.”

“Your dad is a good man, heaven will protect him. He’ll definitely be fine,” Li Si’s eyes flashed with a trace of pity, but he quickly returned to a normal expression.

“Come on, let’s go make dinner,” Li Si interrupted Cao Meng’s thoughts, reminding him.

“Alright, teacher,” Cao Meng responded.

Afterwards, the two went to prepare lunch. After finishing cooking, they put the dishes on the table and started eating.

While eating, Li Si said to Cao Meng, “I’ll be gone for a few days this time. You go to your Uncle Luo’s house this afternoon and stay there from now on. There will be people to take care of you there.”

Hearing Li Si say this, Cao Meng was stunned. His eyes revealed a trace of reluctance, but he still sensibly replied, “Alright, I’ll do as you say, teacher.”

“Also,” Li Si seemed to think of something and continued to instruct, “This afternoon, go tell Yu Hu and the others not to come anymore starting from today. We’ll talk about it again when I return.”

“Mm, alright, teacher.”