Chapter 57: Come along, let's go find some treasure with Poison Grandpa!

Sweet-treasure also loved this vegetable garden.
She loved it even more than the plot of land within her spatial dimension.
No matter how vast the space was or how many crops grew within it, she was always entirely alone there.
Yet in this vegetable garden, there were Grandpa and Grandma, Father and Mother, uncles and aunts, and her aunt and brothers.
With so many people, there were plenty of gossipy stories to go around.

"Sweet-treasure, look! A clay doll I made with mud! Does it look like you? It's you!" Her eldest brother held up a lump of mud, marching proudly over to present it like a precious treasure.
Sweet-treasure took one look and felt an overwhelming sense of disgust.
What kind of clay doll was this?
It had only a head and no face.

Her second and third brothers clapped and cheered from the sidelines. "Wow! It really looks like Little Sister! Her head is bigger than her body!"
Sweet-treasure thought, *...*
Impossible! Utter nonsense!
She was done playing with them!

The little baby grew furious, and with a backhand motion, she hurled a stone straight at the mad old man who had just sneaked into the courtyard. The old man let out a miserable shriek that shook the heavens.
The members of the Su family, who were deep in lively conversation, paused for merely a second before returning to normal.
Old Madame Su and her husband sat in the shadow of the back eaves, enjoying the breeze as they sighed helplessly. "He shows up every other day, and gets beaten every single time. How is he not tired of playing this game yet?"
Old Man Su chuckled. "To tell you the truth, it really is like a game to him. No matter how many times he gets humbled, he never gives up."

As the two were talking, the main character of their conversation walked right in.
With a massive bump on his forehead and a bowl of dough-drop soup he had scooped straight from the hearth, the mad old man slurped noisily as he squatted down in the shade beside the couple. "Did your family dig some kind of secret tunnel or something? We're old acquaintances now, so let's not stand on ceremony—if you really have one, care to fill me in?"
Old Madame Su gave him a look of annoyance. "Even if we didn't, I wouldn't tell you, just so you could come and freeload off us?"

"Even if I want to take something and can't, I certainly won't miss out on the food." The mad old man slurped another mouthful of soup, squinting with satisfaction at the verdant vegetable patch ahead. "No wonder that fellow Broken Blade wanted to come bunk with your family. The cooking skills of the young lady in your house are truly impressive; she's got what it takes to run a restaurant!"
Old Man Su sighed. "Running a restaurant is something we wouldn't even dare to dream about. We're content just living in peace and stability under our own roof. In a place like Wind-Cloud City, who among ordinary people would ever dare to set foot there?"
If people wouldn't even dare to visit, let alone talk about running a shop?
The Su family had never entertained such thoughts in the past, and they certainly didn't dare to now.
If they actually opened a shop, it would be looted and smashed faster than they could protect it.

The mad old man raised an eyebrow and cast a sidelong glance. "Short-sighted and devoid of grand ambitions! As long as you're willing to try, nothing is impossible! Just hand over those fine medicinal herbs, and I'll personally hold down the fort for your shop!"
His eyes darted around slyly, and he inched closer to Old Man Su, his tone seductive. "How about you introduce that expert with the good medicinal herbs to me instead? It's a fair trade—I'll work as your bodyguard for free! Countless people outside would pay mountains of gold and silver just to hire me, so you'd be making an absolute killing!"

Old Man Su and Old Madame Su closed their mouths, turned their heads, and simultaneously spun their backs to him.
Go dream on.
The expert would never be introduced to him, and the fine medicinal herbs were even less likely to be handed over—those were blessings their Sweet-treasure had sacrificed her own fortune to bestow upon the family.

Having bounced off the old couple twice, the mad old man didn't get angry. He finished his food, set the bowl down, walked over to the corner where the children were playing, scooped up the smallest baby, tucked her under his arm, and turned to leave. "Sweet-treasure, come on, let's go find some treasure with Poison Grandpa! I refuse to believe this—I'm going to march straight into every corner of the house later and see if those stones can still manage to hit my head from every single angle without a blind spot!"

Sweet-treasure was tucked under his arm, perfectly quiet and well-behaved, though her dark pupils drifted slightly toward the old man.
With me under your arm, you will definitely get your wish.

Seeing this, the three little boys quickly brushed the dirt off their hands and scampered along behind them, hopping and skipping. "Poison Grandpa, we're coming too!"
Poison Elder gave them a sweeping, death-glaring inspection from top to bottom, then flicked his hand. "Let's go!"

Outside the Su family's vegetable garden, those who witnessed this scene with their own eyes dropped their jaws in speechless shock.
Only the members of the Su family remained entirely composed and unconcerned.
They had no idea why, either.
Things had simply turned out this way.

The mad old man had somehow gotten addicted to coming to their house to court a beating every few days. After coming so often, the children were no longer afraid of him and would occasionally even play together.
The transition from being constantly on edge and vigilant at the start to completely accustomed now had happened with utter naturalness.
Don't ask for a reason, because they truly didn't know.

The Su family continued chatting and laughing in the vegetable garden, the atmosphere swiftly returning to normal through their conversation.
At the same time, the front courtyard grew lively once more, filled with waves of wails and curses from the old man echoing from every nook and cranny.

A quarter of an hour later, the mad old man lay sprawled out at the entrance of the Su family's main hall, completely abandoning all dignity.
With a head full of bumps, a chubby little baby sat squarely upon his chest, while three other little children sat on the ground kicking their legs in uproarious laughter.

"Little ones, come on, tell Poison Grandpa quietly... your family must actually have dozens of hidden experts tucked away, right?" Du Buqing stared blankly up at the thatched roof, utterly drained of strength.
The young boys grinned, holding their bellies. "We don't know either! Poison Grandpa, you're so weak, hahaha!"
"You don't understand. Every trade has its masters, and my specialty is concocting poisons." After resting for a moment, Du Buqing recovered his vitality, slapped the ground, and sat bolt upright. "I'm going back to brainstorm a new method, and I'll be back next time!"

"Poison Grandpa, what kind of method are you going to brainstorm?"
"Brewing longevity pills!"
Du Buqing sneered.

He was locked in a stubborn feud with that scoundrel of an expert.
So what if he couldn't beat him?
As long as he lived longer than the other guy, he would outlive that scoundrel!

Sweet-treasure grabbed the old man's lapels with her tiny hands and scrambled upward, using both hands and feet while her eyes gleamed faintly. "Yi, yi, qi, wa-yi!"
Du Buqing placed his hands on his hips, allowing the little baby to hang from his chest. "Want to go play? Outside?"
Sweet-treasure's eyes instantly grew even brighter as she nodded, and nodded again.

The three young boys scrambled up from the ground, their eyes sparkling as well, staring up with eager, hopeful expressions.
Du Buqing's refusal hovered on the tip of his tongue, swirling around before he once again flicked his hand. "Let's go!"
Damn it.
It wasn't like he was doing anything other than taking a few kids out to play.
What was such a big deal that it required hesitation?
He was definitely not getting soft-hearted.
He was simply too lazy to fuss and fret!

Laughter and chatter echoed from the vegetable garden behind them, while in the front courtyard, one adult and four children tiptoed stealthily out the door.

All the way out, Du Buqing kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings, terrified that that scoundrel of an expert would suddenly hurl another stone from some hidden corner to bash him.
Since they were outside now, he really couldn't afford to lose any more face.
Once they cleared the danger zone, the old man folded his arms, scooped up two children in each hand, and burst into a flying sprint.

"You four clueless little brats, Poison Grandpa is going to take you to see Wind-Cloud City! Heh, that's a fine place—as long as your fists are hard enough, food is completely free!"

Above them blazed the ardent sun, beside their ears whistled the rushing wind, and beneath their feet the scenery blurred into light and shadow. Su An, Su Wen, and Su Wu clung tightly to the old man's arms, the panic in their eyes gradually replaced by pleasant surprise.

Sweet-treasure had already witnessed this once before, and she tried her best to keep her little face expressionless.
Only her slightly widened eyes and parted little mouth betrayed her joyous mood.

Du Buqing flicked his drooping eyelids upward, let out a soft hum of laughter, and thought to himself: *Little brats... strange as it is, they really do suit my fancy.*
During that incident at Qinghe Wan, he had later heard from Broken Blade that the one who had beaten him until his head was covered in bumps was none other than a six-month-old Sweet-treasure.
Splendid. This fiery temperament was just like his own; he liked it.