hotmtlnovel Page 21
Page 21
Before leaving, Liu Jiu still chose to destroy the shelter with a single blow.
The two arrived at a nearby bay where a small boat was hidden. They boarded the boat, Liu Jiu raised the sail, and the small boat silently glided into the night-shrouded sea, leaving Batleyra Island behind.
The voyage was silent.
Rouge sat at the bow of the boat, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the dark sea. Ace's cries still seemed to echo in her ears.
Liu Jiu steered the ship, his gaze fixed ahead, his face as calm as ever.
Two or three months later, the small boat arrived in the waters near the Kingdom of Goa in the East Sea. Liu Jiu did not approach a bustling port, but instead chose a secluded coastline to land. Windmill Village was a quiet and ordinary little village at the foot of the nearby mountains.
On the outskirts of the village, near the direction of Mount Korpo, Liu Jiu found an abandoned but relatively well-preserved cabin in the woods. It was secluded enough, far from the villagers' daily activities, yet still offering a view of the path leading to the village.
He tidied up the small house a bit so that it was habitable.
“Stay here for now,” he said to Rouge. “Wait.”
What they're waiting for is self-evident.
After Garp settled Ace in.
According to the original plot that Liu Jiu knew, Garp would eventually hand Ace over to the bandit Dadan and his gang to raise, and the location would be this Colbo Mountain.
All they need to do is settle down here, wait patiently, and then find an opportunity to secretly approach and take care of Ace without attracting the attention of Garp and Dadan.
Rouge looked at the wooden house in front of her and nodded. Although it was still simple, at least it was above ground and could see the sunlight.
She walked to the window and looked out at the lush green mountains and forests.
Will Ace be brought to this area?
But she trusted Liu Jiu's judgment.
Now, all she can do is wait and pray.
I pray that Garp will not harm Ace, just as Liu Jiu said.
I pray that they can find Ace and stay near him, silently watching him grow up.
The sea breeze rustles through the forest, bringing with it the sound of leaves.
Karp felt like he was going crazy.
The little brat named Ace in his arms is even more difficult to deal with than Rocks D. Xebec, the great pirate from the God Valley Incident!
The trouble began the moment he took the child out of that dark underground shelter.
This little thing can't speak; it only expresses all its needs with deafening cries—it cries when it's hungry, when it's wet, when it's sleepy, or even just when it feels uncomfortable. The cries are incredibly piercing, enough to give this veteran, who has witnessed countless battles, a splitting headache.
He tried to soothe the child with his fists, which could shatter mountains, but he almost scared the temporary nanny into fainting.
He tried to stop Ace from crying with the commanding voice of a soldier on a warship, but Ace cried even harder, his little face turning red.
He even secretly found a few parenting books, but the convoluted text on them made him dizzy and his eyes water. It was even more difficult than deciphering ancient historical texts.
"Aaaaah! Roger, you bastard! You're dead and you've left me with this mess!"
Garp held the wailing Ace and paced anxiously in the captain's cabin of the warship, his hair a tangled mess.
He felt he had never been so embarrassed when facing the fleets of numerous pirate crews in the New World.
Raising children is a million times harder than fighting a war!
He also tried finding someone to take care of the child—a reliable naval family member or a trustworthy civilian. But every time he brought someone over, seeing their trembling, fearful demeanor, as if afraid of angering him, the "naval hero," made him irritated. Moreover, he didn't feel comfortable entrusting the child entirely to outsiders.
Roger's bloodline is too sensitive. The fewer people who know, the better.
That day, Ace burst into tears again for some unknown reason. Garp frantically picked him up and shook him, almost shaking the child's breakfast out of his hands. Looking at the soft, crying little thing in his arms, a thought struck him like lightning.
Garp is a Marine Vice Admiral, a fist that fights pirates, not a babysitter!
Why must you take care of it yourself?
Why not just find a place, find someone, and dump this little brat there to raise?
When he grows up and becomes sensible, I will reappear, take him back to the Navy, and properly "train" him into a qualified and righteous naval soldier!
This not only solved the immediate problem but also cultivated a promising talent for the future of the navy.
He firmly believed that under his "tutoring," Ace would definitely become an excellent marine and make that bastard Roger furious underground!
This is truly a win-win situation!
Garp thought about it more and more and thought the idea was brilliant. He couldn't help but burst into laughter at his own "wisdom," which made the cabin vibrate. Even Ace in his arms was startled by the sudden laughter and stopped crying temporarily, staring at him blankly with his teary eyes.
"Kuhahahaha! I'm a genius!"
He vigorously ruffled Ace's head, making the little guy's hair even more messy.
"That's it!"
He immediately began to consider where would be a suitable place to "store" this little problem.
It can't be too close to the navy, or it will be easily exposed. It can't be too prosperous, or there will be too many people and eyes. Ideally, it should be a remote, inconspicuous place, but within the covert reach of his influence.
The Kingdom of Goa…that seems nice. The final destination of the uncertain? Too chaotic. The royal city? Too conspicuous.
That's it! Windmill Village! That little village near Mount Colbo! It's remote and quiet enough, and... he remembered that there seemed to be a bunch of insignificant bandits living in those mountains?
Karp's eyes lit up.
Should the Pirate King's son be entrusted to mountain bandits for upbringing?
This idea... is absolutely brilliant!
Let the bandits raise the Pirate King's son, and then he will straighten out this "crooked" sapling and train him to become a Marine!
Is there anything more ironic or infuriating than this?
Garp felt he had found the perfect solution, and his mood instantly improved. Even Ace's crying sounded much more pleasant now.
"Cry, cry, cry as much as you want! In a few days, someone will be having a headache for me! Kuhahaha!"
He proudly hugged Ace and began planning the route to Windmill Village.
It's as if I can already see the future, the beautiful picture of Ace growing into a glorious naval admiral under his "iron fist of love".
He felt that he was a real planner.
Chapter 21 Mother and son reunited
Winter comes earlier and is more severe in the Corpo Mountains than it does at the foot of the mountain.
The cold wind, carrying fine snowflakes, swept across the bare branches, making a howling sound.
The dilapidated bandit hut that Dadan and his gang lived in looked like it was about to collapse in the wind and snow.
The atmosphere inside wasn't much better than outside.
"Wow--!!!"
The baby's heart-wrenching cries almost lifted the roof off.
Ace lay in the simple cradle, his little face red from crying, waving his little fists and kicking the tattered cloth that wrapped him.
"It's so noisy! What's wrong with this brat?!" Dogura covered his ears, looking completely exasperated.
“Ever since that old bastard Kap threw him here, there’s been no peace!” Magura said, looking distressed.
The bandits surrounded the cradle, completely helpless. They were experts at robbing and plundering, but when it came to coaxing a child, they knew absolutely nothing.
Dadan, a cigarette dangling from her lips, her brows furrowed in a frown, stared at the incessantly crying baby in the cradle, mentally cursing Garp's ancestors for eighteen generations. That old man, a few months ago, had dumped this child on her like a hot potato, leaving only the words "raise him for me" before walking away, leaving behind this troublesome brat.
This little devil has an exceptionally bad temper. He cries at the drop of a hat—if the feeding is too slow, if his diaper is wet, or if there's a loud noise around him. Dadan even suspects that Kapu deliberately chose the most difficult little devil to torment her.
"Damn it, if you cry again I'll throw you out to feed the wolves!" Dadan threatened menacingly.
Ace cried even louder.
The bandits wailed in despair.
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, in that secluded cabin in the woods.
The fire in the stove was burning brightly, dispelling some of the chill.
Rouge sat by the window, mending a small garment with fine, delicate stitches. Her complexion was much rosier than it had been on Battlera Island, but a persistent worry lingered between her brows.
Outside the window, the wind and snow howled, and her heart, like the weather, was restless.
Liu Jiu pushed open the door, bringing in a blast of cold air. He shook the snowflakes off his shoulders and tossed the frozen rabbit he was carrying into the corner.
"How is it?" Rouge immediately put down what she was doing and looked at him anxiously, her voice filled with barely suppressed anticipation and nervousness.
Liu Jiu walked to the stove to warm himself, and spoke succinctly:
"Still crying."
Rouge's eyes dimmed instantly, and she clutched the fabric in her hand with heartache.
Ever since Liu Jiu confirmed that Garp had handed Ace over to the Dadan family, he has often secretly sneaked into Mount Colbo to observe Ace's situation from afar.
Every message she brought back was like a knife to Rouge's heart.
Ace is a crybaby, has a bad temper, and is difficult to take care of... Dadan's family are rough mountain bandits, how could they possibly take patient and meticulous care of a baby?
Countless times she wanted to rush up the mountain and bring Ace back, but reason told her she couldn't. If she were exposed, all her previous sacrifices and plans would be in vain.
"Has he...lost weight? Is he sick?" Rouge's voice trembled.
"It's alright," Liu Jiu replied briefly. He glanced at Lu Jiu's furrowed brows and added, "She won't die."
These words were hardly comforting, even somewhat cold, but strangely they calmed Rouge's anxious heart a little.
Yes, as long as we're alive, that's good.
She picked up the little garment again and continued mending it. It was for Ace. She didn't know when she would be able to dress him in it herself.
Liu Jiu stopped talking and silently added firewood to make the fire burn brighter.
Outside the cabin, a fierce snowstorm raged.
Inside the small house, the crackling fire in the fireplace illuminated two silent figures.
For Liu Jiu and Rouge, the time Garp spent living in Windmill Village was a different kind of torment.
The old man seemed to have really taken a liking to Ace, making trips to Mount Colbo every few days, ostensibly for "inspection," but really to "harass" Dadan's family and that little troublemaker he'd forced upon them. His signature loud laughter and threatening "iron fist of love" often startled birds, forcing Liu Jiu, who was lurking in the shadows, to be even more careful.