A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1040 Arrive home safely

Gui'er had been lying on the bed for so long, letting the waves crash against her, and was worried about falling into the sea. She was exhausted and didn't care about anything else. She nodded and said, "Brother Wu, you should sit down and rest for a while too."

And so, the two of them used the rocks as cover to warm themselves by a fire and survived the night on the rocky beach. After dawn, they entered a nearby village, pretending that they had gotten lost while looking for relatives nearby, and hired an oxcart to head towards the city along a small road.

Back in the city, Wu Mingqiang found a hotel and said to Gui'er, "Miss, if we go back dressed like this, we'll definitely attract attention. I'll go buy you some clothes and accessories. You rest here for a while and wait for me to come back."

Gui'er looked at herself dressed as a boy and thought it made sense, so she nodded and said, "Okay, go and come back quickly."

This is a small hotel in a rather remote location, surrounded by many bars and tea houses. It's not particularly upscale, but the decor is clean and modern, attracting quite a few couples on dates. Naturally, the hotel also has some such guests, and the owner doesn't seem to care too much.

Gui'er entered the room, where a screen separated the living room from the bedroom. The place was quite clean, with light-colored floors and walls, making it look very bright.

She wasn't in the mood to observe anything. She had sat on the beach all night, exposed to the wind, and was now cold, tired, and hungry. Without thinking much, she lay down on the bed fully clothed and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, she smelled the aroma of food, slowly woke up, stretched, and went outside the screen.

Wu Mingqiang was sitting on the sofa outside, his head resting against the back of the sofa, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

He changed his clothes and bought a new suit, making him look no different from the young masters of other wealthy families in Hong Kong. He had an innocent, even somewhat handsome face, making it hard to imagine that he had dealt with six or seven grown men in just over ten minutes yesterday, cleaned up the mess efficiently, and even pushed a man to swim ashore from the middle of the sea, several kilometers offshore.

Gui'er was filled with gratitude towards him; without Wu Mingqiang, she certainly wouldn't have made it back alive.

"Hmm, Miss, you're awake?" At this moment, Wu Mingqiang opened his eyes, frowned, still sleepy, grabbed a handful of hair, and stood up.

"Brother Wu, you must be exhausted."

"It's alright. Oh, right, I got some takeout from the restaurant. Let's eat first before we go. And here are the clothes I bought for you." As he spoke, he took a food container, put it on the table, and then took out a bag and handed it to Gui'er.

Gui'er glanced at the bag and saw that it contained a newly bought cheongsam. The style was rather casual, but the material was quite nice. In addition to the cheongsam, there was also a wig in the bag.

Wu Mingqiang said, "You should wear this wig until your hair grows out, so that others won't see it and overthink it. Just tell everyone that you went back to Guangzhou to visit relatives, and that we hired someone to smuggle you back by small boat. I trusted that Lin Zhengfu too much. I should have found a human smuggler before going back, instead of finding that dead man, which caused you to suffer."

Gui'er couldn't help but find it amusing, because Lin Zhengfu was indeed dead.

"If that ship is discovered, won't we be suspected? After all, we were on board."

"So what? Who can prove that we boarded the ship? We boarded just before it set sail, without tickets or registration."

"Then, what about Captain Hao? I reckon his body has definitely been discovered by now. The people at the hotel, especially the landlady, she's seen me."

"Miss, don't worry. We're in Hong Kong now. Even if they draw a picture of you, they'll only see you with short hair and wearing men's clothes. That's why I bought you clothes and a wig. Once your hair grows long, they won't recognize you at all. Don't worry."

Gui'er felt a little relieved. She changed her clothes, put on a wig, and looked in the mirror. She looked exactly the same as before she went to Hong Kong. So many things had happened in just a few days. She didn't know when she would see Sha Yanxiao again.

She changed her clothes and came out. Wu Mingqiang had already laid out the food from the lunchbox: braised pork belly, steamed shad, and steamed spare ribs.

Seeing that she had changed her clothes, Wu Mingqiang called out to her, "Miss, come and eat."

Gui'er was really hungry, so the two of them sat down and ate a little something.

After finishing their meal, the two prepared to leave. Wu Mingqiang specially packed up Gui'er's old clothes, stuffed them into a bag, and said, "These clothes should be taken back and burned. Firstly, to prevent people from recognizing them, and secondly, to ward off bad luck."

Gui'er nodded, and the two went downstairs one after the other. Wu Mingqiang went to the front desk to pay the bill first, while Gui'er was still a little worried. She thought the hotel receptionist would pay special attention to her, but the receptionist didn't even lift an eyelid. Several couples came and went during that time, so they were probably already used to it.

The two returned to the villa in a rickshaw. Dingxiang, Acheng, Sister-in-law Aying, and Liujin were all very happy to see them return.

Dingxiang quickly said, "Miss, you must have had a hard time in Guangzhou this time. I was worried sick at home all day. I even asked Brother Cheng to take me to Lantau Island to offer incense and pray for your safe return. Fortunately, the Bodhisattva heard my prayer."

Gui'er smiled but didn't say anything. So many people had died on this journey, including revolutionaries and traitors. She felt that she no longer believed in any gods or Buddhas.

Acheng glanced at the two of them and asked, "Where's A-Si?"

Dingxiang then realized that A-Si hadn't returned, and said in a panic, "Could it be that A-Si...?"

Gui'er quickly said, "Don't overthink it. A-Si went back to Jiangcheng with my brother. He said he still prefers to be with his brothers."

The two breathed a sigh of relief, and Acheng asked, "Which brother came with the young master this time?"

"Ah Hu and Zhu Zi."

"Oh, it's those two brothers. I haven't seen them in ages. How are they doing?" Acheng asked in surprise.

"It's alright. The two of them are still a bit reckless, but they did manage to kill quite a few Japanese soldiers with the young master."

Acheng looked envious upon hearing this: "I wish I could fight the Japanese devils with my brothers."

Dingxiang glared at him and said, "What will I do if you go fight the Japanese?"

Gui'er quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, life on the mainland is not easy. We found out in Guangzhou that there are rations for buying rice, and many families can't afford to eat. The price of rice on the black market has increased dozens of times. When you see Japanese people on the street, you have to bow to them. If someone doesn't like you, you might get shot for no reason."

The two then fell silent.