130 Reaching the Elephant Rock
In an underground cavern.
The walls were covered with humid moss; it was an expansive space. The world here was usually barren and empty, full of darkness, but today, a bonfire brightened it.
Liyue and Li Yao were taking warmth from there while Hua Feilan burned some mushrooms with it. Silence hung like that for a while, with the sound of wood burning echoing silently until it was broken by the soft words of Hua Feilan.
"Tell me, Liyue." she asked, "I underestimated your man, didn't I?"
Liyue had already changed from her conspicuous wedding Qipao and was looking at the bonfire with a distant gaze. Her head was filled with fantasies and a rather glum feeling; in fact, the best way to explain it would be to say a fishbone stuck in her throat.
Li Yao, on the other hand, had a pipe in her hand that she was curiously examining.
"Underestimate..." Liyue muttered, her clear gaze reflecting the fire burning high. "Why do you say so?"
Hua Feilan shook her head. "Even this cave in itself is an answer, such a great hiding place even my own hiding places that I have accumulated through decades pale in comparison. And his way of handling himself in itself gives me the creeps for some reason, now that I think about it."
"Yeah, he is special." Liyue sighed. "I wonder what he is doing now..."
Li Yao stretched her back and looked down at the comfortable sheets spread beneath them. She fell on the sheets and put the pipe aside. It couldn't possibly replace her liquor. She should have brought some liquor. She wondered why she didn't.
It had been missed by her.
"What can that brat be doing?" she scoffed at Liyue's question. "It's already been hours. He would either be flirting somewhere with his mom or speaking some kind of profound thing that is of no use to us."
"Mom..."
"Sigh... Yue'er, he is not someone you need to be worried about; in fact, I am worried about others."
Liyue threw a glance at her.
"No wonder I always felt that you and Big Brother had a problem with each other. You guys don't see eye to eye, do you?" she asked softly.
Li Yao was silent and thoughtful. "You think so?"
Liyue nodded.
"Tell me more about this stuff. Unbelievable!"
As they were deep into their conversation, Liyue smiled and looked at the mushrooms.
"Looks tasty. Can I have some?"
Both of the older women laughed. "You know what that mushroom is?"
Liyue shrank.
"I don't want to know now."
"It is a beautiful thing," Li Yao smiled, "You should try it, Liyue."
Liyue had creeps all over and hid in her sheets. "I don't want any!"
***
Han Li walked under the shade of dawn in the shadows of a heavy jungle. He was carrying his mother on his back; she languidly wrapped her hands around his neck, and her legs dangled to his front, but her thighs were gently supported by Han Li as he walked forward silently.
She was asleep and even gently snoring, so he didn't bother her awake.
Barely anyone could handle trekking for more than 3 hours without getting completely tired. And even though his mom wasn't exactly tired, he felt like he wanted to pamper her for a second, and this was the end result.
She had been nibbling on his nape till now, trying to exact her 'revenge' for the hickeys he had given her, but her son's skin was too thick. After miserably failing for a while and feeling her teeth ache, she had fallen victim to laziness and comfort and slept just like that on his back.
Han Li didn't mind. In fact, he felt a calmness he didn't want to break so quickly.
"Mom, we're near our destination."
Yue Li dazedly opened her eyes but then fell asleep again.
Smiling to himself, Han Li walked past a great tree, and finally, a huge mountain rock came into his sight. It looked like a wide, green elephant.
"The Elephant Rock," he muttered.