Lian Manman was startled, the man was clearly the peddler, Qian Huolang, who should have left Qingyang Town by now.
"Lian, Miss Lian..." Qian Huolang crouched down, flashing a grin at Manman and her friends while he offered them a bag of pastries he was holding.
Manman chuckled inwardly, this peddler had actually not left and even dared to show up in front of them. It seed because the three of them were just kids and they hadn’t laid a hand on him that day, there he was upon eting them again, trying to bribe them with pastries right away.
"Why haven’t you left yet?" Wu Lang also recognized Qian Huolang, quickly stepping in front of Manman to block the peddler. "You better leave, or I’ll tell my uncle and the others, and they’ll give you another beating, then send you to the County Yan."
"No, no," Qian Huolang waved his hands, "I’m leaving, I’m leaving right now."
Despite saying this, Qian Huolang’s feet didn’t budge an inch.
"I’m not a bad person," Qian Huolang said sowhat haltingly.
"If you don’t want to leave, is there sothing you want?" Manman peered out from behind Wu Lang and asked Qian Huolang.
"Manman, don’t talk to him," Wu Lang warned her. In his eyes, Qian Huolang was a bad man, and even worse, the kind who abducts young girls. He didn’t want his little sister talking to such a bad man.
"Brother, with you here," Manman said with a laugh, turning her head and seeing Xiao Qi also taking a protective stance in front of her, she added another sentence, "and with Xiao Qi here, we aren’t afraid of him. Let’s ask him why he won’t leave, so we can send him off sooner."
"My sister asked you a question, speak up!" Xiao Qi, hearing Manman say this, puffed out his chest even more and pointed at Qian Huolang, demanding an answer with great fervor.
"I just wanted to know how Xuexue, oh, no, Duoduo, is doing at ho," Qian Huolang quickly asked when he got the chance.
"That’s her ho, with her own parents; how could she not be alright?" Manman responded while scrutinizing Qian Huolang closely. She didn’t have a good impression of Qian Huolang. The reason was simple – though Lian Duo didn’t tell Qian Huolang the truth, the people from Thirty Mile Camp had been searching in town several tis, Qian Huolang couldn’t possibly be unaware. Even with Lian Duo’s words, if he had just inquired carefully and used his brain, he should have realized that the girl everyone was looking for was Lian Duo.
Yet Qian Huolang kept silent about Lian Duo’s whereabouts.
"It’s because of you that my father and many people from the village haven’t slept for days and nights," Manman accused, "Also, did you ever consider how the parents would feel after losing their daughter?"
"...Even if they are her own parents, sotis..." Qian Huolang began to speak but then trailed off, "Duoduo, when she returned, she wasn’t beaten or scolded, was she?"
Manman barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Had Lian Duo told Qian Huolang that she was beaten and scolded at ho?
"You saw the scene when my aunt ca looking for her that day; Duoduo is the apple of her eye. She’s cherished at ho. Just look at her soft and tender skin; there’s not a single callus on her hands. Now contrast that with ours... Her parents would never dream of touching a hair on her head, and now that she’s back, they treasure her even more. You can rest easy," said Manman, "you better leave now. People from our family often co to town these days, if they see you, they won’t be as easy to talk to as we are."
"Thank you, now that I know Duoduo is okay, I’m relieved," Qian Huolang said as he once again offered the bag of pastries, "little brother, little sister, these pastries are for you to enjoy; they are very tasty."
"We don’t want your things, you better leave now," Wu Lang said, waving his hand dismissively like swatting a fly, his expression toward Qian Huolang remained unfriendly the entire ti.
Qian Huolang was sowhat sheepish.
"We don’t need your pastries; keep them for yourself to eat on the road," Manman said.
The children walked past Qian Huolang and continued on their way. A few steps later, Manman couldn’t help but to look back and saw Qian Huolang now slowly walking in the opposite direction. It seed he really was going to leave Qingyang Town this ti.
"Manman, that peddler is a bad man. In the future, if Xiao Qi and I aren’t with you when you go out, and a man you don’t know tries to talk to you, don’t pay him any mind, especially if he tries to give you sothing," Wu Lang advised, frowning worriedly.
"Hmm, brother, I’ll rember," Manman nodded in agreent promptly, finding Wu Lang’s grown-up deanor quite amusing, though more than anything, she was touched.
As for Qian Huolang, was he a bad man? To say he wasn’t bad wasn’t entirely true since he did have the suspicion of hiding soone’s daughter. But to call him bad didn’t seem completely accurate either; from Lady Gu’s reaction and Lian Duo’s words, it was apparent that he hadn’t mistreated Lian Duo. During those days, he could have hidden Lian Duo in his bundle and taken her away, but he hadn’t done that.
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