Chapter 13: Beginner Mission Two is Here

Chapter 13: Beginner Task Two is Here~

After realizing that these Beauty Pills were good things, Li Shiyue very carefully placed the remaining two pills in her palm back into her pouch.

She found a random spot to relieve herself, and since there was nowhere to wash her hands, she simply wiped them on her skirt, pretending she had washed them. With that, Li Shiyue skipped out of the small woods. Peering through the wild grass, she saw Li Qiutian and Li Xiaotian waiting for her not far away.

"Shiyue, you're finally out! Xiaotian and I wanted to go in and look for you just now. Does your stomach still hurt?"

Li Shiyue shook her head at Li Qiutian. Li Xiaotian immediately followed up, "Shiyue, we have to hurry back. I just saw someone carrying bowls toward your house, saying that Auntie brewed some sweet soup for people to drink. Quick, let's get back too, otherwise, the outsiders will drink it all."

"Shiyue, why do I feel like you've gotten a bit fairer?"

After asking this, Li Qiutian reached out and lightly touched Li Shiyue's cheek. "Eh? It seems like your skin has become softer."

Since Li Shiyue had no mirror, how could she see that her skin had improved because of the Beauty Pills?

However, none of that mattered right now. Li Shiyue bypassed Li Qiutian's question and instead answered Li Xiaotian's words: "Sister, Sister, let's hurry back! We can't let all our own sweet soup go to strangers!"

The three of them held hands and jogged toward the area where Li Shiyue's family donkey cart was parked. The first person to see them was Li Wangming.

"Shiyue, over here!"

Sitting cross-legged on the grass behind Li Wangming was Shitou, who was blowing on a bowl of hot sweet soup to drink it. Li Wangming pointed to three bowls of sweet soup on a low stool beside Shitou and said, "Sister-in-law left them out for you all long ago. Quick, Shiyue, take Qiutian and Xiaotian to drink the sweet soup."

"Second Uncle, where is Mother? And Grandma? Why don't I see them?"

Li Wangming's expression stiffened for a moment before he regained his composure and explained with a smile, "Big Brother has come to ask for things. Mother and Sister-in-law are over there dividing goods with him."

Li Shiyue looked in the direction Li Wangming was pointing; it seemed to be where the village chief Li Youfu's donkey cart was located.

Li Shiyue was somewhat worried that her mother would be taken advantage of. "Sister, stay and drink the sweet soup. Second Uncle, watch over Shitou. I'm going to take a look."

Having said this, Li Shiyue turned to leave, but Li Wangming called out to her, "Shiyue, wait! I'll go with you!"

Turning around, Li Wangming looked at Li Qiutian. "Qiutian, I'll have to trouble you and Xiaotian to watch Shitou for a bit while I go with Shiyue to check on things. Don't worry, when the sweet soup was first brewed, I sent a bowl to Sister-in-law Zheng. Just wait here; Shiyue and I will be back soon."

After requesting help from Li Qiutian and Li Xiaotian, Li Shiyue and Li Wangming hurried toward the location of Li Youfu's donkey cart.

Li Shiyue's good mood from the morning, caused by the Beauty Pills acting as fasting pills, vanished without a trace the moment she saw her father's hypocritical face.

Because of their junior status, Li Shiyue and Li Wangming could only stand behind Li's mother and grandmother, watching with disdain as Li's father tearfully lamented his hardships and helplessness to Li Youfu.

After all his talking, the implication was clear: he wanted Li Youfu to mediate and have Grandmother set aside a larger portion of the Li family's assets for him.

Li Shiyue shifted to the side and looked up at Grandmother. She saw that Grandmother looked exhausted, her face drooping in a very unsightly manner.

In truth, Grandmother had cried silently for half the night and had only just fallen asleep at dawn, which was why her complexion looked so poor.

Deep down, Grandmother still couldn't let go of her eldest son. Li's father was the product of most of her life's work; what mother could not feel grief when facing such an unfilial son?

Actually, Grandmother had felt some regret last night. She had even thought that if Li's father came to her to soften his stance, it might be alright for the two families to live together on this journey of fleeing the famine.

But now, looking at Li's father—who was accusing her of being biased, saying she only thought of her youngest son and was being unfair to him, her eldest—with that utterly shameless face, Grandmother's heart suddenly hardened once more.

Grandmother had to admit a fact to herself once again: "Wangguang really has been raised to be useless. I cannot be soft-hearted toward him again; he only thinks of himself!"

As for Li's mother, her tears had run dry the night before. Her face didn't look particularly sad; rather, there was just a hint of annoyance.

Seeing that Li's mother was in decent spirits and emotionally stable, Li Shiyue felt relieved.

One must know that while a woman might be weak and soft like a piece of tofu that anyone can take a bite of, a woman can also be solid and resilient like a stone that no one can break.

Li Shiyue knew that her mother could only be a strong stone!

Having put her mind at ease, Li Shiyue finally had the focus to watch Li's father's performance. After a few glances, she lost interest and turned her attention to Qin Tao, who was standing beside him.

To be honest, Li Shiyue thought to herself, "I must admit, Qin Tao is indeed beautiful."

After looking at the clearly groomed and dressed Qin Tao, Li Shiyue noticed that two people were actually hiding behind her.

It wasn't exactly "hiding," but rather they were standing just two steps behind Qin Tao.

Li Shiyue focused her gaze and saw a boy and a girl. Before she could examine their faces closely, an electronic voice rang in her head: "Task discovered. Host, please complete Beginner Task Two as soon as possible. Completing the task will grant a reward."

"Holy crap, that was sudden!"

After complaining inwardly, Li Shiyue quickly checked the task panel—*Successfully protected the female lead, Li Chunli. Reward: One lucky draw opportunity.*

Li Shiyue quickly recalled the original host's memories. It turned out that the little girl hiding behind Qin Tao was Li Chunli, the daughter of Qin Tao and Li Wangtian.

Hearing the system say this, Li Shiyue felt a surge of indignation. "Good grief, I really am a saint. I actually have to go out of my way to protect the daughter of the woman who is being a mistress to my scumbag father? Wow, I really am a great person. There's probably no bigger 'Holy Mother' in this world than me!"

While screaming and cursing this trash system in her mind, Li Shiyue stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at Li Chunli behind Qin Tao.

Suddenly, Li Shiyue's gaze met Li Chunli's. Li Shiyue's eyes were full of curiosity, but Li Chunli, like a little rabbit, was startled and immediately hid behind Li Shigui.

"Li-niang, what's wrong?"

For some unknown reason, Li Chunli did not mention that she had made eye contact with Li Shiyue. She simply shook her head at Li Shigui, replied, "It's nothing, Brother," and fell silent, hiding behind Li Shigui with her head lowered to conceal herself completely.

Thank you for reading.

(End of Chapter)