The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter

Chapter 121

Chang'an immediately stored the raincoat and rain gear into her space, swiftly retrieving a woven basket from it, inside which she placed some dry rations.

Just ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????as she finished arranging the basket, two men emerged from ahead, dressed like hunters.

But their attire was merely a facade—their eyes were sharp, their builds tall and robust, with steady stances.

Carrying bows and broadswords, they paused momentarily upon seeing Chang'an and Old Gu Six.

The shorter man asked Old Gu Six, "Are you folks from the village below the mountain?"

Old Gu Six shook his head indifferently. "No, we're from town. We came into the deep mountains to gather valuable herbs but lost our way. Didn’t manage to find any either."

Their gazes shifted to the mule, prompting Old Gu Six to add, "We found it in the mountains. It’s been following us—probably separated from its owner."

Whether they believed him or not, the two men only gave a faint nod.

They expected Old Gu Six to ask where they were from, but instead, he turned away to tend to his own affairs.

Chang'an hadn’t taken out a cooking pot—not because she didn’t want to, but because there hadn’t been time.

Luckily, she hadn’t. Who brings a pot into the mountains to gather herbs? To brew soup on the spot?

Using the basket as cover, she pulled out a cleaned wild chicken and a hare from her space.

Old Gu Six naturally took over the task of roasting the meat. This time, Chang'an didn’t bring out too many seasonings—just salt, pepper, and chili powder.

The mountains had wild pepper, also known as mountain peppercorn, so if the two men asked about the aroma, it would be easy to explain.

As for the chili powder? Chang'an wasn’t sure if this world even had chili as an ingredient.

From little Chang'an’s memories, she’d never seen such a thing before.

The rich scent of roasting meat wafted over to the two men, who were chewing on dry rations. Never before had their bland flatbreads tasted so unappetizing.

The taller man stood up and approached, pulling out a small silver ingot from his pocket. Handing it to Old Gu Six, he said somewhat sheepishly, "Brother, could you sell us some of your seasonings?"

He couldn’t bring himself to ask for the roasted meat outright, so he settled for buying the spices to cook his own.

Seeing this, the shorter man promptly grabbed his bow and went off to hunt.

Chang'an plucked three large leaves from a nearby tree. Considering the silver ingot, she divided each seasoning in half for them.

Her space’s fridge still had two unopened sets, so selling a bit wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, on the surface, this was all she had.

The man thanked her and carefully carried the spices back to his campfire, storing them before gathering more dry firewood.

Within two quarters of an hour, the hunter returned with two wild chickens and a hare—proof of his skill and luck.

While they prepared their catch, Chang'an and Old Gu Six had already started eating.

The silver wolf had left when the two men arrived, now hunting in the forest for its own meal.

Chang'an noticed the two men glancing repeatedly at the waterfall while cleaning their prey, occasionally murmuring to each other.

She had reason to suspect they were also treasure hunters. Was the treasure map not unique?

Or were they connected to the Yuan clan?

"Dad?" Chang'an shifted closer to Old Gu Six.

He tilted his head to look at her, then turned his gaze toward the two men by the waterfall, catching them whispering while staring at the cascading water.

Old Gu Six calmly looked away without a word, using his grease-stained fingers to pinch one of Chang'an’s hair buns.

Chang'an immediately bristled. "Dad?!"

Her head suddenly felt several pounds heavier. Imagining the oil from the roasted chicken, she shuddered.

The two men by the waterfall jumped at her sharp, incredulous shout.

When they turned, they saw Chang'an smacking both hands onto her father’s face—almost like using him as a napkin.

Old Gu Six let her do as she pleased, leaving the two men utterly astonished.

Was this how fathers and daughters interacted?

The girl looked to be at least ten. Shouldn’t she have learned about propriety between men and women by now?

In their families, girls knew by seven that men and women shouldn’t share seats, sons should avoid their mothers, and daughters their fathers.

This father-daughter pair was bizarre. But it was their family matter—outsiders had no right to judge.

They had important business in the mountains. Best not to meddle and invite trouble.

Old Gu Six, now smeared with grease, didn’t rush to wash up. His face was coated with an herbal stain that wouldn’t smudge easily but washed off clean with water.

After leaving the northern lands, they found makeup too troublesome and simply darkened their faces with the herbal juice.

Once they finished dinner, the two men began roasting their own catch. The aroma drifted over, making Old Gu Six glance repeatedly at Chang'an.

His eyes clearly said, "Daughter, I want more roasted meat."

She suspected this father of hers might have failed his trials multiple times because food distracted him.

Chang'an rummaged in the basket, secretly retrieving a pack of beef jerky from her space for Old Gu Six.

At midnight, only the crackling of the fire broke the silence. The two men waited until they were certain the father and daughter were asleep before moving.

The moment they entered the waterfall, Chang'an and Old Gu Six opened their eyes—wide awake, with no trace of sleepiness.

The two men didn’t return until dawn. Emerging, they instinctively checked on the father and daughter, relieved to find them still "asleep."

They rekindled their fire and whispered:

"Brother Li, do you think we might be in the wrong place?"

"Impossible. This map was drawn by my great-grandfather himself. He was a guard for the Yuan family and took part in hiding the treasure. He knew those involved in the final task wouldn’t leave alive.

So he left this map for his descendants. Except for the last location, everything else is accurate."

Brother Li pulled out the map, which detailed every trap and how to activate the mechanisms to enter the treasure vault.

They’d followed it precisely, even found the door mechanism—but it wouldn’t budge. Had his great-grandfather misremembered?

"If the map is real, why didn’t your grandfather or father come for the treasure?" The shorter man couldn’t fathom it—living in poverty despite holding a treasure map.

"My great-grandfather—I don’t know. Maybe the Yuan family was still watching back then. My grandfather? You know how he was—stubborn to the bone. He’d rather starve than take what wasn’t his. My father was a frail scholar, just like him.

As for my uncles? They wanted it, but they were just farmers—illiterate, cowardly. Even with the map, they couldn’t read it, let alone dare enter these mountains.

Why seek wealth? To live better. But if it costs your life, what’s the point?"

Brother Li folded up the map just as Chang'an and Old Gu Six pretended to have woken up, heading to the waterfall to wash their faces with cold water.

They sipped boiled water from an earthen pot and gnawed on a couple of cold flatbreads.

Chang'an: Honestly, this breakfast isn’t exactly a must-have.

What Brother Li said wasn’t right—her Old Gu Six’s father might be literate, but he couldn’t read a map any better than Silver Wolf could.