It was quite embarrassing to admit, but he and Yun Motan had been so preoccupied with running just now that they hadn't noticed when Yun Que'er disappeared.
By the time they realized she was gone, they were already home.
Fearing that Yun Que'er might have been taken away by the village head, they rushed back in a hurry. Unexpectedly, they bumped into the village head head - on.
Instantly, both of them felt a bit nervous.
The village head and his entourage blocked their way. They couldn't see if Teacher Li was among them. All they heard was the village head talking about hiding someone, which almost made them give themselves away in front of him.
Fortunately, Yun Que'er reacted quickly. She immediately stepped forward.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by hiding someone? My dad has been single for years. If he were to remarry, it would be done openly. Why would he need to hide someone?"
Yun Motan was stunned. For a moment, he didn't understand what Yun Que'er meant. Instead, he blushed at her words and almost retorted.
Yun Fujin understood right away. It seemed that Teacher Li should have left. He immediately grabbed Yun Motan and echoed Yun Que'er.
"Exactly. If our dad wants to find us a step - mother, we wouldn't object. He could just bring her home. Why come here? It's not like she's something to be ashamed of."
Yun Que'er's twisting of the truth left the village head speechless.
Seeing the village head's expression, Yun Que'er immediately understood.
He probably just heard that the Yun family was hiding someone here but didn't know who it was. So she suddenly felt more confident and quickly stepped forward.
"I was wondering why you suddenly came up the mountain. So you're here to cause trouble for our family again! Who told you this time?"
Yun Que'er put her hands on her hips and walked in front of the village head. "What on earth did our family do to you? Why are you so persistent? Is it still because of the land - distribution last time? But you agreed to it yourself. What are you unhappy about?"
Yun Que'er's rapid - fire words left the village head without a leg to stand on.
He choked on his words for a while before continuing.
"I just heard about it and came to check. What's wrong with that? The village has been peaceful. I, as the village head, have to be responsible!"
"If you want to be responsible, just talk nicely!" Yun Que'er rolled her eyes. "You could have gone directly to ask my dad. Instead, you came up the mountain without even saying hello. Aren't you just here to cause trouble for our family?"
Yun Que'er pouted. "As the village head, you're so petty. If others find out, they'll say you're stingy!"
The village head blushed with anger. He wished he could sew Yun Que'er's mouth shut with a needle.
Why did she have so much to say?
"I also want to ask you. If you're hiding food, why bring so many people? Your family goes up the mountain every now and then. Anyone would think something's up. Is there anything wrong with me coming to confirm?"
Yun Que'er snorted. "You always have so many excuses. We won't argue with you. Since you think we're hiding someone, go ahead and search! If you really find someone, our family will take responsibility."
There was no point in searching. Besides Yun Que'er, the only people in the cave were those brought by the village head. It was obvious that not even a hair would be found.
The village head angrily waved his hand, pretended to be impatient, and turned around to lead his people away.
Seeing them gradually walk away, Yun Que'er finally let out a sigh of relief. At least they had gotten through this crisis.
Yun Fujin walked into the cave. Seeing that Teacher Li was no longer there, he immediately asked.
"Did you take Teacher Li away? Where is he?"
"I didn't take him away." Yun Que'er scratched her head. "I thought you guys had hidden Teacher Li."
"Did he run away on his own?" Yun Fujin was puzzled.
Teacher Li was really fast. It hadn't been long, and he was already gone.
"Probably." Yun Que'er nodded. "Let's search quickly. I don't think we can hide anyone in the back - mountain area anymore. We have to find Teacher Li quickly and send him away."
The three of them immediately split up. Yun Motan searched alone on the west side, while Yun Fujin led Yun Que'er to search on the east side.
But after almost turning the whole mountain upside down, they still couldn't find Teacher Li.
All three of them were a bit panicked. Where could he have gone? Did he really want to kill himself?
Yun Que'er's heart was pounding. Did Teacher Li not want to burden the Yun family and choose to end his own life?
Yun Que'er's legs went weak, and she almost knelt on the ground.
No! She had gone to so much trouble to divert the village head and his people. Just when it seemed like everything was okay, he mustn't kill himself!
Yun Fujin picked Yun Que'er up and held her in his arms while nervously looking at Yun Motan.
"Dad, should we keep looking? This Teacher Li..."
Yun Motan's face was solemn. He stood on the halfway up the mountain, looking around aimlessly. After a long time, he said in a heavy tone.
"Stop looking..."
"Ah?" Yun Que'er looked up at Yun Motan in surprise. "Just... leave him alone?"
"He said he couldn't go on living." Yun Motan said hoarsely. He shook his head and walked towards the foot of the mountain. "Maybe it's better for him to be free."
Yun Que'er's heart gradually sank. She really wanted to save Teacher Li from the bottom of her heart, but she didn't expect...
Yun Que'er frowned in distress. Where could he have gone?
In this vast mountain, there should at least be a body if he was dead or a person if he was alive.
But if Teacher Li was determined to kill himself and found a deserted place to end his life, how could they possibly find him?
Yun Fujin stroked Yun Que'er's head and sighed.
"Don't think about it, Xiao Que'er. You've done a lot..."
Yun Que'er buried her head in Yun Fujin's arms and suddenly felt her eyes getting a bit sore.
She hadn't even sorted out her own life yet, but she had started thinking about saving others. But unfortunately, she didn't have the ability and could only watch helplessly as Teacher Li was in trouble.
The three of them returned home. Seeing that their faces were solemn and they didn't say a word, Yun Jianzhou and Yun Yi didn't dare to ask.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere in the family was extremely depressing. Everyone was quietly eating and didn't dare to speak.
It wasn't until they were almost done eating that Yun Yi carefully asked.
"Dad, how is Teacher Li?"
Yun Motan was silent for a long time and then slightly shook his head.
"The man disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Yun Yi was surprised. "Why did he suddenly disappear for no reason?"
Yun Motan didn't really want to explain. Who could make sense of this situation where someone's life or death was unknown?
Seeing Yun Motan's silence, Yun Yi turned her gaze to Yun Fujin, but he also buried his head in eating and said nothing.
Yun Que'er couldn't stand the depressing atmosphere anymore. She said "I'm full", put down her bowl, and ran out.