Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 518 - 0485: Guoguo’s Leopard Pet, Uninvited Guest (2)_2
"Play." Guoguo waved to Li Lixing with a smile and pointed to the wild grass.
Li Lixing immediately became excited, "Coming!" He laughed heartily and ran into the grass.
"Little thief, where do you think you’re going?" Li Jing picked up a stick and spread his arms, chasing after Li Lixing, "Catch the thief!"
But Guoguo walked slowly.
Li Xing’an was worried about her getting lost, so he followed her closely.
In the wild grass during winter, there were no snakes or insects, but the grass was too thick, making it hard to find your way out if you got lost.
Especially with young children like Guoguo, who can’t speak clearly yet, being the most worrisome.
Back in the main house of the Li Family, everyone had finished their meal, the grill was removed, and Li Xingmao played chess with Prince Luling, accompanied by his two brothers-in-law. The Princess Consort Luling took her two daughters to Chai Eying’s room to chat about women’s topics.
Li Xing’an, with Li Lixing and the two children, had already played two rounds of the thief-catching game.
"Want to play again." Li Jing, sweating from running, refused to rest.
"Rest a bit before playing again; you’ll get tired." Li Xing’an sighed, wondering why, even though his legs were longer than Li Jing and Guoguo’s, he couldn’t outrun two little kids?
He was exhausted.
Li Xing’an plopped down on the ground, refusing to get up.
Li Lixing teased him for a bit and also sat down beside him.
Li Jing sat down too.
To let the kids rest quietly for a while, Li Xing’an started telling them a story.
But as he was telling it, a sound gradually approached them.
Howl—
It was the low growl of a wild animal.
Li Jing, being young, didn’t know what it was and tilted his head to listen, "Third uncle, what’s that sound?" He pointed in a direction.
Li Lixing, a few years older than Li Jing, started to look worried, "Thir... third brother, what kind of wild animal is that?"
Li Xing’an nudged Li Lixing and whispered, "Quick, go back to the house, run carefully, and don’t alert the wild animal."
Then he picked up Guoguo and Li Jing on each side and quietly retreated to the path.
"Don’t make a sound, Jingjing, Guoguo, if we’re chased by wild animals, we’re done for. They’ll eat us." Li Xing’an cautioned them quietly.
Li Jing was scared and quickly covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound.
Guoguo, however, wasn’t afraid; her gaze was fixed on the direction where the growl came from.
She slowly picked up the golden whistle hanging around her neck and gently blew it.
The golden whistle, given to her by Mu Yuanxiu on her birthday, was just an inch long.
Li Jing had previously played with her whistle, but he could only blow a single monotonous sound.
But clever Guoguo could produce different pitches.
Sometimes the sound was soothing, sometimes urgent.
The sound Guoguo was blowing now was soothing, with a hint of a lullaby.
Li Xing’an was so frightened by the whistle sound that he was beside himself, "Stop blowing, Guoguo, the wild animal will come after hearing the sound."
Guoguo ignored his panic, wriggled free from under his arm, and escaped.
She dashed toward the direction of the wild animal’s growl on her little legs.
"Guoguo." Li Xing’an put Li Jing down on the ground, patted his head, "Quick, go back to the house. I’ll go find Guoguo."
Li Jing refused to leave, "Third uncle, I want to wait for Guoguo."
Li Xing’an was very anxious, why wouldn’t this child listen? "Be good, go back quickly, third uncle will bring Guoguo back soon."
He pushed Li Jing and went to chase after Guoguo.
Li Jing refused to go, watching worriedly in Guoguo’s direction.
Guoguo hadn’t gone far when she found her target: a leopard standing in the wild grass, staring at her blankly.
Guoguo approached it, still blowing her whistle.
The leopard growled lowly, its front paws crouched down, looking at Guoguo with gentle eyes.
Guoguo climbed onto its back and sat down with effort.
Li Xing’an arrived just then, and upon seeing this scene, he was dumbfounded, "Guoguo?"
"Big kitty." Guoguo patted the leopard’s head with a bright smile.
Li Xing’an was ready to faint; wasn’t this little girl afraid of the leopard?
This was a leopard, not the orange cat Nanny Jiang raised!
"Be careful, it might bite." Li Xing’an started reaching for the hidden dagger in his clothing, looking for the right moment to attack the leopard.
Guoguo giggled, "It won’t bite."
Howl—
The leopard let out another low growl, showing its menacing white teeth to Li Xing’an.
It squinted its eyes, seeming to mock Li Xing’an as a fool.
Li Xing’an, "..."
"Big kitty, go, go forward." Guoguo patted the leopard’s head, directing it.
Indeed, the leopard turned in the direction Guoguo pointed and walked ahead.
Li Jing ran over, hugging Li Xing’an’s leg, and anxiously said, "Third uncle, why did the leopard take Guoguo away?"
"It’s not like that; Guoguo took the leopard away. Where is Guoguo taking it?" Li Xing’an picked up Li Jing and chased after them, "Guoguo!"
"We’re going to catch the bad guys, the big kitty will help." Guoguo turned around and waved to Li Xing’an.
Li Xing’an’s heart pounded with fear, oh dear little girl, don’t go catching bad guys, just be careful of the leopard.
The leopard carried Guoguo and squatted down near the wasteland by the village path.
Li Xing’an, holding Li Jing, caught up too.
"Bad guys." Guoguo pointed to the front of the village path and looked back at Li Xing’an.
Li Xing’an squinted his eyes to look ahead and saw a group of people and horses coming down the unobscured path.
Judging by their appearance, they weren’t villagers passing through, nor were they merchants.
Li Jing asked in a low voice, "Third uncle, what kind of bad guys are those?"
Li Xing’an patted Li Jing’s head, "Quickly go back and find Grandpa, tell him the people searching for us are here, tell Big Aunt and Third Aunt to hide, hurry back!"
Li Jing asked dumbfounded, "Who are they?"
"Don’t ask, even if I tell you, you won’t understand. Hurry back, if you’re slow, your aunts will be captured." Li Xing’an whispered.
Li Jing got scared, his aunts all left the day before yesterday, which frightened him. He finally got to see Big Aunt and Third Aunt today, and he didn’t want to not see them again.
"But Guoguo..." He was still worried about Guoguo.
Li Xing’an gave him a push, "I’m here, go quickly."
Li Jing took one last look at Guoguo sitting on the leopard and ran out of the wild grass onto the village path, heading back as fast as he could.
Guoguo patted the leopard’s head, "Big kitty, let’s go catch the bad guys." She turned around and waved to Li Xing’an, "Third uncle, don’t come."
Li Xing’an, "..." This little girl, such big words!
Is he that kind of person?
But as he stood up, Guoguo slid down from the leopard and blew her golden whistle.
After the strange whistle sound, the leopard suddenly roared and charged toward the group of people on the road.
"Sir, it’s a leopard!"
"Shoot the arrows!"
"Ah—"
The leopard was incredibly fast, rushing into the group of horses, knocking everyone off their mounts.
On this village path, the south side was a marshy ditch, while the north side was the Li Family’s dry fields.
The leopard accurately knocked the people, sending them all into the marshy area.
Even though it was winter, the marsh hadn’t dried up, and the two-foot-deep mud trapped them all.
The more they struggled, the deeper they sank, unable to move.
The leopard didn’t leave; it just stood on the path, glaring fiercely at them.
These people were terrified.
Just now, when the leopard hit them, the horses were spooked and ran away, taking their bows and weapons with them.
Without weapons and stuck in the mud, there was nothing they could do.
It was over, they hadn’t completed the Emperor’s mission and were about to be eaten by a leopard, such an unjust death!
