Chapter 170: Uncle’s Carry
Chapter 170: Uncle’s Carry
Li Zian climbed up the small hill and set Kang Haichuan down. His back was soaked with sweat, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. The climb up had truly exhausted him.
“Xiao Li, you must be tired. Let me wipe your sweat for you,” Kang Haichuan reached out to wipe Li Zian’s sweat.
At least he had a bit of conscience.
Li Zian dodged the hand. “No need, no need. I can do it myself.”
The thought of a half-old man wiping sweat for a young guy was just awkward to imagine.
While wiping his sweat, Li Zian gazed down at the forest below.
He couldn’t see the four killers; his view was filled with dark, shadowy woods.
The lights in the villa had gone out too, and two speedboats were moving from the sea near the villa toward the open ocean.
A thought struck Li Zian: “Could those killers have left by speedboat?”
He considered going down to check, but as soon as the idea sprouted, he squashed it. There was no guarantee the killers hadn’t set an ambush below. If he went back now without any Movement-Halting Ointment or Body-Poisoning Ointment, he would die a miserable death. Moreover, he was burdened with Kang Xin and Kang Haichuan.
Kang Xin came to Li Zian’s side, holding a crumpled tissue, and offered it to him. “Uncle, here’s a tissue.”
Li Zian took the tissue from her hand and only then noticed Kang Xin’s body was covered in scratches from the bushes. Her school uniform was tattered, revealing pale skin in many places. Her hair was a mess too, full of leaves and grass seeds.
“Hey, I gave you the tissue to wipe your sweat. Why are you just staring?” Kang Xin took the tissue back from Li Zian’s hand, raised her hand, and began wiping his sweat.
Li Zian didn’t dodge this time.
It wasn’t because he disliked Kang Haichuan being a half-old man while Kang Xin was a flower-like girl. It was simply because Kang Haichuan wanted to use his hand to wipe sweat, while Kang Xin used a tissue.
Master deserves at least a tissue for wiping sweat; using a hand just lowers the standard.
Kang Haichuan coughed dryly.
Who knew if his throat was uncomfortable.
“Let me do it myself,” Li Zian said, taking the tissue from Kang Xin’s hand. He carefully wiped his face and then his neck.
After climbing all the way up, he wondered if his face had been scratched.
He was a bit worried about that now.
“Uncle, did those killers all run away?” Kang Xin asked.
Li Zian replied, “I can’t see them. They might still be hiding somewhere, or maybe they ran off.”
Kang Haichuan grew nervous again. “Xiao Li, what should we do now?”
Li Zian took out his mobile phone and glanced at it—still no signal. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s keep heading north. The signal here is probably being blocked. Once we reach an area with mobile phone signal, we can call the police. When the police arrive, we’ll be safe.”
Kang Xin looked at the dark path down the mountain, and her face immediately turned into a bitter gourd expression. “Uncle, we have to walk more? I… I can’t walk anymore.”
Kang Haichuan said, “Whether you can walk or not, we must. Staying alive is what matters.”
Kang Xin pointed at her knees. “Look, my knees are scraped and still bleeding. How can I walk?”
Li Zian looked at her knees. Sure enough, both were skinned and still bleeding. He said, “I have gauze and Golden Wound Ointment in my toolbox. Let me bandage you up.”
Kang Xin said, “Uncle, this place isn’t safe. We need to leave quickly. If you bandage me here and those killers catch up, we’re dead.”
Li Zian thought she had a point, but he also felt there was more she wasn’t saying.
He shifted his gaze to Kang Xin’s face.
Kang Xin put on a bitter gourd expression again. “Uncle, my dad can walk down by himself. How about you carry me? I really can’t walk anymore. If you could carry my dad up the mountain, you can definitely carry me down, right?”
Li Zian: “…”
Kang Xin grabbed Li Zian’s arm and shook it, her age seeming to drop from twenty straight to five, or even to Li Xiaomei’s age. Her voice was pitiful and soft: “Uncle, I really can’t walk anymore.”
Li Zian felt speechless and somewhat awkward, but he couldn’t withstand such coaxing. He glanced again at the wounds on her knees—her pencil-like legs were trembling—and he finally softened. He squatted down. “Come on, I’ll carry you down.”
Kang Xin’s bitter gourd face instantly bloomed into a flower. She immediately climbed onto Li Zian’s back, her slender arms wrapping around his neck.
A soft impact, a weighty pressure—Li Zian’s nerves immediately tensed up, feeling somewhat strained.
Carrying Kang Xin felt completely different from carrying Kang Haichuan.
When he carried Kang Haichuan, he treated him like a hundred-pound log or a sack filled with sand. But carrying Kang Xin, he felt like he was carrying a volcano, one that might erupt at any moment. Or like a hot spring, a pool of murky water; he was soaking in that warm spring, relaxed and comfortable, his muscles seeming to gather strength, ready to leap into intense motion at any time.
He started to regret it. He hadn’t expected carrying her would bring so many strange feelings and reactions. But since he had agreed to carry her, he had to bear it even if it brought tears.
Li Zian took a deep breath, reached back to hold Kang Xin behind her knees, and lifted her onto his back.
“Ahem!” Kang Haichuan coughed again, looking at Kang Xin with an expression akin to how Lu Xun might look at Kong Yiji—a kind of indescribable disdain.
Kang Xin pretended not to see.
She wasn’t being unreasonable or throwing a tantrum without cause; she was genuinely exhausted. Tonight, she had first been in extreme fear, then experienced a desperate escape. Holding on until now was her limit.
Once she relaxed, her legs kept trembling; she didn’t even want to stand, let alone walk. Having a kind uncle to carry her—one who was dazzlingly handsome, rare to find even in all of Shanghai—why not let him carry her?
Shouldn’t girls enjoy such privileges?
But if Li Zian were ugly, or even just an ordinary-looking man, she would never have asked him to carry her.
“Professor Kang, please carry my toolbox for me and follow behind,” Li Zian said, suppressing a jumble of messy feelings.
“Alright,” Kang Haichuan came over, picked up the alloy toolbox Li Zian had placed on the ground, and then glared at Kang Xin.
Kang Xin continued pretending not to see.
As a father, he certainly didn’t like seeing his daughter clinging to a man’s back being carried. But in this situation, what else could he do besides pretend it didn’t matter?
However, he was only annoyed at Kang Xin, not at Li Zian at all.
For no other reason than that without Li Zian, both he and Kang Xin would have died here tonight.
No matter how you repay a life-saving grace, it’s not too much. Besides, it was his own daughter who begged and pleaded to be carried. How could he blame the benefactor?
The benefactor was so upright, so honorable—getting angry at him would be a sin, even having such thoughts would be wrong.
Li Zian carried Kang Xin, carefully making his way down the slope.
Kang Xin was about 1.65 meters tall and weighed around 100 pounds. This weight was nothing to him—after all, he was a tough guy who practiced cultivation for hours every night, a Master with Zhenqi.
Yet, the longer he carried her, the more uncomfortable he felt.
This discomfort had nothing to do with weight, but with temperature.
He felt a heat source on his waist, about the size of a leaf, with an especially high temperature. It felt like a small towel soaked in hot water was pressed against his waist, constantly releasing heat. The towel was soft, yet seemed a bit fuzzy, giving a slightly rough sensation. With each step, it rubbed against his skin.
There’s a type of electricity generated by physical movement.
He now had a deep understanding of that.
And on his back.
He felt like two hot water bags were pressed against his back, filled with hot water, scalding him, making him unbearably hot.
Before long, his back was soaked with sweat again, and his forehead was covered in beads. What frustrated him even more was that the beast in the cage had awakened, raising its head, fierce and ready to lunge out and bite someone.
“Uncle, are you tired?” Kang Xin’s voice was full of concern.
Li Zian replied, “Tired.”
I’m tired; get down and walk yourself.
He felt too embarrassed to say it directly, but he could imply it and let her figure it out.
“Then let me wipe your sweat for you,” Kang Xin freed one hand, somehow pulled out another tissue from somewhere, and started wiping Li Zian’s sweat.
Li Zian felt speechless. Was what he said hard to understand? Lost in thought, his foot slipped on a stone. He stumbled, almost falling down the slope, but managed to regain his balance and stand steady. No sooner had he steadied himself than the back of his head was sharply struck twice.
It made him a bit dizzy.
They finally reached the bottom of the hill.
Li Zian stopped on a patch of grass, set Kang Xin down, and plopped onto the grass.
He wasn’t actually tired, but if he stood, he would appear too prominent, and that would tarnish the Master’s image.
Kang Xin also sat down beside Li Zian. “Thank you, Uncle. I feel much better now. Can you bandage me up? I’ll walk the rest of the way myself.”
Li Zian said, “Let me catch my breath first, then I’ll bandage you.”
Buddy.
Stay put.
Are you going down or not?
If you don’t go down soon, I’ll end you!
Kang Haichuan hurried over, placed the toolbox in front of Li Zian, and sat opposite Li Zian and Kang Xin, as if fearing his daughter might act impulsively and suffer a great loss.
Li Zian didn’t want to see Kang Haichuan’s face. He looked into the distance and suddenly saw a beam of light. He realized it was a car driving on the mountain road.
A thought struck him, and he took out his mobile phone.
Finally, there was a signal.