After eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky, rising early and retiring late, and dealing with assassins who sprang out of nowhere along the way, Si Ming had been worn down for so long that the sudden news he could rest made him relax completely.
With that relaxation, his vigilance plummeted. As he turned, his foot twisted, and he collided with the person behind him with a thud.
The newcomer was cold and hard all over. However strong and sturdy Si Ming's flesh-and-blood body was, the impact still hurt enough to make him blurt out a rather crude curse.
"...When you walk-" Are you blind?!
"Uncle Gao!"
The little girl's excited voice behind him cut off the rest of Si Ming's words.
He froze, then finally got a clear look at the man before him.
Silver armor reflected a cold gleam, and the angular face above it radiated a general's imposing might. Only that expression...
"Hey!" Gao Siyuan broke into a grin, smiling as foolishly as if he had just seen his own daughter after a long separation.
Jiang Yingcheng bounced over to him.
Gao Siyuan crouched with a face full of affection and gathered the little girl into his arms.
Not once did anyone turn to look at Si Ming, who was still aching from the collision.
Si Ming: "..."
Did anyone care about the old man who had been knocked into?!
Did he have to fall down and cry out in pain first?!
Gao Siyuan led everyone straight to a nearby residence.
After Zhong Chengwang had trekked over mountains and across rivers to reach their camp with the news, they had used the little girl's location to work out several places where she might ultimately stop. They had sent people ahead to prepare residences