Two years later, at the True Dragon's urging, which was both an invitation and an eviction, Wei Bai borrowed a beast of burden from his disciple. The family of five set off toward the horizon, the dilapidated wooden cart creaking "gezhi gezhi" as it went.
"Little sister, you sit at the bow~ oh~ Big brother, I'll walk along the shore~"
"Our loving songs drift on the air~"
Wei Bai rode the beast of burden, singing at the top of his lungs. Reaching the climax of the song, he waved his hands wildly with the melody, free and unrestrained.
Dark clouds pressed down on the land. This desolate wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see. The free wind that followed their path blew back the hair at Ling's temples. It felt as if they were the only five people in the entire world.
Ling liked this feeling. With a "heave-ho," she leaped onto the beast's back, wrapped her arms around Wei Bai's waist, and swayed along with him, grinning.
"Dad, where are we going?"
"To the countryside. That old coot the emperor doesn't like us, so we'll go wherever there's no one else."
"You got it," Ling released her hug and gave Wei Bai a push. "I want to ride too, let me ride, let me ride! Dad, you go comfort my little sisters."
"You're the disobedient one."
Wei Bai grumpily bumped his back against his daughter behind him, but still, with a single leap, he landed lightly on the cart behind him.
The two babies, Nian and Xi, were sleeping. Shu sat quietly in the cart, holding one in each arm, coaxing them to sleep.
Such a good child.
Wei Bai spread his palms, his two large, rough hands covering Shu's soft and tender face, and began to rub her two little ears.
"Eeya~"
The girl, ambushed, cried out in surprise—she had just been getting sleepy.
A hint of displeasure surfaced in her watery, grey-blue eyes. Shu puffed up her cheeks. "Da—ad—"
"What's wrong, can't I rub them for a bit?"
Wei Bai stood with his hands on his hips, looking quite arrogant.
The commotion from the three of them was too loud, and the two sleeping little ones were already showing signs of waking up.
Shu's delicate nose twitched, and she said with a sob in her voice, "My little sisters are going to get fussy again in a moment. Shu worked so hard to get them to sleep. Shu isn't going to do it anymore. Shu hates Daddy."
"Aiyo."
Her crying nearly shattered Wei Bai's heart. He quickly pulled his daughter into his arms, affectionately rubbing his cheek against hers and her little horns, whispering gentle words to soothe her.
"It's Daddy's fault, it's Daddy's fault..."
He had just managed to placate this one when the newly awakened Nian and Xi started making a fuss.
"I want a hug too!"
Nian, showing her mischievous nature, squeezed Shu aside and desperately tried to burrow into Wei Bai's embrace. This made Shu feel so wronged that she was about to start crying again.
Xi had a quieter personality, but seeing both her older sisters being held by their daddy, her heart soured, and she too showed signs of crying.
Wei Bai's head was spinning. At this moment, he was completely numb.
"Hehe."
Their eldest sister Ling, who had been watching the fun from the front, let out a carefree laugh. The next second, she got Wei Bai out of his predicament.
With a loud "CRASH," followed by cries of "Shit!", "Ah!", and "Ya!".
Because she wasn't watching the road, the donkey cart was overturned by a large rock and completely fell apart. Seeing this, the beast of burden galloped off into the distance.
Wei Bai, who had landed splayed out in the mud, had only managed to protect Shu and Nian in his arms. Xi was unhurt, but she couldn't stand the pain.
Listening to the chorus of crying rising and falling around him, Wei Bai was emotionally exhausted.
Brother Sui Beast, why don't you resurrect and just kill me? Look at this sissy version of you now...
This old father let out a sigh, then roared like a lion:
"LING!!!"
"Ehehe!"
Knowing she had caused trouble, the eldest daughter awkwardly scratched her dazed head.
"You're even more of a rascal than your little sister, you little imp."
Though he was scolding her, Wei Bai supported his back and struggled to his feet. He limped over to Ling and looked her over from left to right.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Does it hurt?"
"Dad, I'm fine!"
Ling quickly spun around with a grin, then pointed at the rock, which had been shattered by the impact. Wei Bai stared in a daze.
Right. He should be more worried about himself than these kids.
To save money, all of Wei Bai's top-ups had been poured into attack power. He was a classic glass cannon with high attack and low defense. While the fall didn't cause any major injuries, it had scraped his skin.
"Alright, alright, stop crying."
The old father crooked his arms, tucking Nian and Xi into his armpits with little Shu sitting in the middle. He began to sing as he rocked his arms:
"Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock to grandma's bridge~"
After rocking them for a long time, he finally made the three little ones stop crying and start laughing.
After comforting the children, Wei Bai looked up. The sky was pitch black. When they had just set out, he had felt a sense of carefree joy, like "riding the wind as dark clouds press upon the city." Now, only the "carefree" part remained—the kind of carefree where he was about to not be free from care at all.
They were still some distance from their destination. In this barren wilderness, there wasn't even a single tree. If it rained, he would have to shield the children.
This was truly suffering.
Wei Bai clicked his tongue helplessly, when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
"Daddy~"
Little Shu's amber-like eyes blinked and shone. She hugged her father's arm and timidly lowered her head.
"I'm sorry, Shu shouldn't have said that to Daddy just now... Shu, Shu likes Daddy."
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Upon hearing this, a brilliant light burst from Wei Bai's eyes. A surge of vitality rushed to his heart, and the fatigue within him was swept away by an inexhaustible wave of motivation.
"It's nothing! I was born to be your workhorse! Dump all your grievances on me!"
"Damn it, I'm topping up! I'm not earning this money anymore! My daughters can't suffer, no matter how hard it gets for me!"
Just as the completely crazed Wei Bai opened the top-up panel, he heard the sound of cart wheels.
Looking back, another beast of burden was approaching, pulling a donkey cart.
On the beast sat a middle-aged couple. They were sallow-faced and emaciated, their clothes tattered, and their expressions dim.
Upon seeing him, they quickly bowed their heads low, as if they had encountered a flood or a ferocious beast. Wei Bai could clearly see the terror in their eyes.
"Dad, why are they so ugly..."
"Shh."
Wei Bai extended a finger and pressed it to Ling's lips.
Ling fell silent.
Although her father was smiling, he seemed to be angry—this was the first time Wei Bai had ever been angry with her, and Ling felt like crying a little too.
Seeing tears welling up in his carefree eldest daughter's eyes, Wei Bai then looked at Nian and Xi, who were afraid of the couple's appearance. Only the sensible Shu seemed to realize something, quietly watching them leave.
In that moment, Wei Bai seemed to understand his mission.
"Hey, friends!"
He called out loudly to the couple who were about to pass by. Wei Bai walked up to them and said kindly:
"Friends, where are you all from?"
The couple shook their heads frantically, indicating they didn't understand the official language.
Wei Bai switched to the Min dialect. They answered, trembling, that they were from a village. The village had no name; because it was a desolate place where people often starved to death, it was just called the Barren Village.
"My daughters and I have nowhere to go. Could we go there to live?"
The answer should have been no. For someone of Wei Bai's dress and appearance to ask such a question, if it were anyone else asking, it would be a hundred percent certain that they meant to do them harm.
But the answer was also yes, because they understood that weeds like them had no room to refuse.
And just like that, Wei Bai's family of five got on the donkey cart.
The old couple, as if saying their final goodbyes, sat on the beast's back whispering to each other, seemingly enjoying their last moments.
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive. The usually lively Ling and Nian also sat obediently. They knew their father was angry.
But why was their father angry?
After a while, Ling's nose twitched, and she said with a choke in her voice:
"Dad, I was wrong."
"You were wrong? Where were you wrong?"
"..." Ling stammered for a long time but couldn't answer.
Wei Bai suddenly reached out his hand. Ling thought her father was going to flick her forehead again, so she quickly covered it. But on second thought, she lowered the hand protecting her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, a few tears spilling from the corners.
A few seconds felt like several years. Ling didn't feel the expected pain on her forehead, only her father's warm embrace.
"You weren't wrong. I was."
Wei Bai's hand gently stroked her soft, deep-blue hair.
"Ling'er, today I will tell you."
"This world, under the heavens, is not just made of the nobles and generals of the capital."