Chapter 446

Chapter Sixty-Nine I’m Back

The knights clad in golden armor stood tall and straight, their eyes fixed forward. I bypassed their orderly formation and walked along a small path to the village entrance. There, the villagers who had been bustling and talking loudly gradually quieted down as I approached.

Then someone asked a question.

“Is that… little Hill?”

This somewhat uncertain inquiry was not very loud. From afar, I couldn’t tell where the voice came from or if it was from someone I knew. Instinctively, I looked up, and suddenly realized that those words were like a ripple in a pond, instantly awakening all the people who had been staring at me blankly.

“It seems to be…”

“Little Hill…”

“…Little Hill!”

“It’s Little Hill! Oh my goodness, it really is Little Hill!”

“Little Hill is back—”

“Quick, go tell Grandma Claire!”

In the midst of the noisy and chaotic cries, there was genuine joy and excitement.

Listening to those voices, my mood suddenly became jubilant. I took light, quick steps on the muddy path, each step landing in a puddle, quickly walking to the crowd gathered at the village entrance. I lifted my hood and smiled sweetly at the sincere-looking people.

“I’m back.”

In my field of vision, I saw simple faces filled with joy and enthusiasm, yet also slightly restrained and uneasy.

Looking around, I saw rough farmers, bulky village women, elderly people with dark, cracked skin, and children running around naked, trembling and unsure of what was happening.

I couldn’t recognize most of them.

Many faces, once they entered my view, only gave me a slight impression, but were actually quite unfamiliar.

“Little Hill is back!”

“By the gods, Little Hill is coming back to the village in such an elegant carriage…”

I looked at these familiar yet strange faces, seeing the smiles on their faces. Suddenly, I realized that when I was here more than a year ago, I seemed to have had little interaction with them. When the villagers talked about topics, I would always hide on the side or run off to do something else, unwilling to join in the conversation, and having no interest in listening because it was all boring trivial matters.

So even though I lived in the village for some time, there were many people I only recognized by face but couldn’t call by name.

But they all recognized me.

“Look at Little Hill, wearing such a beautiful dress! She looks like a princess…”

“Aren’t those knight lords and Father Merlin here to welcome Little Hill?”

“That’s right! Little Hill is a great hero…”

“How magnificent your cloak is… Little Hill, do you remember your aunt? Last year, she brought her son to your house to see you…”

“You’re carrying something heavy… let me help you…”

The villagers surrounded me, some looking awkward and nervous, but all smiling with light in their eyes. The plump aunt reached out to touch my cloak and dress but hesitated, while the honest and thick-set uncle walked over silently to help take the black leather box off my back. I hurriedly waved him off, “No need! Uncle, thank you…”

Several young children gathered around my feet, and a little boy grabbed my skirt, biting his finger and lifting his head, his eyes full of curiosity… Ah, his hand was dirty.

“Sister…”

The little boy seemed to ask me something, but just as he opened his mouth, the aunt pulled him away to spank him, “Always touching! Always touching! If you touch again, I’ll chop off your hand…” The child pouted and started crying. I quickly bent down to comfort him, saying, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t hit the child,” and tried to search my pocket for candy, but found it had already been eaten on the way, so I could only pat his little head.

“Are you hungry, Little Hill? Come sit at our place later…”

“The other day I hunted a deer in the forest, there’s meat! Just pickled, I’ll bring it to your house soon…”

Words of concern still surrounded me.

“Really, there’s no need!”

I smiled bitterly, looking at the village entrance close by.

The road was blocked, and I couldn’t move…

“Child, why are you still standing here? Go! Tell Grandma Claire that our village’s great hero has returned…”

A villager urged her child to notify her grandmother. I quickly stopped them, “No, I’ll go myself, I’ll go myself! If Grandma knows, she’ll come running out… Her legs aren’t good…”

“You see, Little Hill is so considerate…”

“She must miss her grandmother so much…”

Surrounded by enthusiastic villagers, I smiled and responded, wanting to say I should go back first, but looking at those simple faces, at their slightly restrained yet eager eyes, the words stuck in my throat and wouldn’t come out.

Fortunately, someone spoke up for me: “Don’t block the road here, make way! Quickly let Little Hill return.”

“Yes! Little Hill is back, what’s all the fuss about? Are we treating her like an outsider? Move aside!”

“Her grandmother is waiting at home! She misses her so much…”

There were a few people shouting loudly, and the villagers naturally made way for me. Listening to their words, I felt a warm feeling in my heart. I greeted them with a smile, “Then I’ll go first!” and stepped towards the village. After taking only a few steps, a woman beside me started instructing her child, “Go, lead the way for Sister Xi’er! She’s a great hero from our village…”

I didn’t need to be told where grandma’s house was… But those bare-chested children looked so innocent. As I quickly walked into the village, they circled around me, their eyes filled with anticipation and joy, making it impossible to refuse.

“Big Sister Xi’er, Princess!”

The children shouted excitedly, and immediately an elderly person corrected them seriously, “Young ones don’t know any better! You should call her Knight Sir.”

“But she is Big Sister Xi’er…”

“It’s okay, just call her Big Sister…” I smiled at the elder.

“Big Sister!”

A little girl with two ponytails pointed to a path ahead, overgrown with weeds, and looked back at me, jumping up and down, “This way! This way—”

“Okay~”

Unable to resist the children’s enthusiasm, I nodded and followed them obediently. Passing by a small tree, I accidentally noticed someone standing on a branch. I took a closer look and saw it was a tall, thin boy with rolled-up sleeves… Ah, I remembered him.

I remembered his name—

Hmm…

In any case, I had thrown stones at him before.

The boy met my gaze. Looking at his face, I faintly recalled the lingering feelings in my heart. Back then, I was a newcomer, clueless about the world and without any relatives. At that time, he always led a group of people who surrounded me, playing pranks and causing trouble…

Back then, I had thought about staying here forever.

Thinking of these things, I felt a strange, nostalgic emotion rise within me. Unable to hold back, I looked at the boy and gave him a bright smile, feeling particularly happy.

I saw the boy’s face turn as red as if it were dripping with blood, and he awkwardly shifted his gaze away, pretending to look at the knight outside the village.

Such a simple-minded boy…

I quickly left the village entrance and walked down the village road, watching the children leading the way, having fun. They occasionally turned back, expressing their young yet intense curiosity.

“Big Sister, Big Sister! Can I touch your dress?”

“Big Sister, what’s behind you? Is it heavy?”

“Big Sister, why is your hair white?”

They surrounded me like before, looking at me as if I were something new and interesting, asking endless questions all the way. But I no longer felt annoyed; instead, I felt a rare sense of familiarity and answered their questions one by one.

Before long, I arrived at that familiar little house.

This was the place where I lived, and where I had appeared countless times in my dreams.

However, compared to the dilapidated cottage I remembered, there had been some changes here.

The house had been rebuilt.

It was still a simple wooden frame, with weathered stone walls and a thatched roof. Next to the house, there was a crooked fence made of stakes, inside which a few vegetables were planted. Beside the door, the cow that used to be tied up in the grass hut had increased from one to two.

The door was open.

“Big Sister, Big Sister! Grandma is inside!”

The child leading the way ran to the door, peered inside, and then came back to tell me proudly.

I patted their heads.

“You guys go play.”

But the children didn’t want to leave. I walked past the vegetable garden, and they followed behind. When I entered the house, they held onto the door frame and windows, looking in with excitement.

I walked into the house and saw grandma sitting by another window, using the sunlight streaming in to sew clothes with her close-up eyes.

She seemed not to have noticed anything.

My eyes rolled, and I crouched down, tiptoeing to take the leather suitcase down and place it against the wall. I turned back to the children, shushing them with a finger, then tiptoed silently toward grandma.

One step, two steps…

Getting closer…

Grandma was still sewing when she suddenly sniffed lightly.

“…Little Xi’er?”

Uh…

She turned her head.

I straightened up, scratched my cheek, and laughed awkwardly.

“Hehe, Grandma.”

But grandma suddenly froze.

Looking at me, her wrinkled face gradually showed disbelief.

Grandma dropped the cloth she was holding by the window, slowly stood up from her chair, her body thin and dry. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she slowly approached me, leaning in to look closely. Her trembling hand slowly reached out and gently touched my face.

“It really is… Little Xi’er.”

Her voice was a bit hoarse, her hand trembling on my face, as if she couldn’t believe the person standing in front of her.

“Grandma just smelled the scent… the scent of cloves… thinking it was the same as usual, always missing you… got it wrong… Grandma blurted out your name, and you actually responded…”

“Grandma…”

Unable to hold back, I threw myself into her arms, hugging her bony, somewhat uncomfortable body.

“I’m back.”

Ugh…

Why do I feel like crying…