Doha grabbed Maxwell's hand and said, "Maxwell, let's go quickly. My mom must be worried by now."
Maxwell responded, and the two of them turned around and started walking down the hill along the path.
The scholar on the cliff was shocked as if struck by lightning when he heard Doha call Maxwell. He took a big stride, leaped through the air, and blocked their way.
Both Maxwell and Doha were startled. They didn't know what this uncle, who had been so kind just a moment ago, was going to do.
The scholar asked Doha in a trembling voice, "What did you just call him? What's his name?"
Doha replied, "Maxwell. Why?"
The scholar grabbed Maxwell's shoulder, his voice shaking. "Your name is Maxwell?"
Maxwell nodded.
The scholar then asked, "Do you have a gold lock pendant with your name engraved on it?"
Maxwell was a bit scared and took a step back.
Doha asked curiously, "How do you know?" This was, in effect, an admission that Maxwell did have the gold lock pendant.
Tears rolled down the scholar's cheeks. He shouted loudly to the four people on the cliff, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, come quickly! We've found Maxwell!"
These people were the Five Heroes of Southern Sichuan. Six years ago, Iron Foot had abducted Maxwell and taken him away. The Five Heroes of Southern Sichuan had been tracking them all the way and finally arrived at Tiyun Valley in Yandang Mountain.
Tang Zhen had once been in charge of tomb-sweeping and offering sacrifices in Tiyun Valley for three months. He knew that the valley was tightly guarded. Without the permission of the Moving Mountain Patriarch, the valley master, no one was permitted to enter without authorization. Since he was a wanted criminal by the Moving Mountain Sect, he definitely couldn't show his face. Therefore, the five of them could only hide during the day and act at night, secretly looking for Maxwell.
The area within dozens of miles around Tiyun Valley was all within the territory of the Moving Mountain Sect. The five of them were extremely cautious and couldn't even meet the disciples of the Moving Mountain Sect face to face. As a result, they had been searching for Maxwell for six years without success. They had almost been discovered by the disciples of the Moving Mountain Sect several times.
On this day, the five of them came to this cliff and discovered a cave at the back. So they hid inside the cave to discuss what to do next. Coincidentally, Maxwell and Doha happened to break into the cave on this day and were chased here by the Corpse-eating Turtle. And they just happened to meet the Five Heroes of Southern Sichuan.
The coincidences in life often seem to be predestined. There's no room for the slightest deviation.
The four people on the cliff rushed down hurriedly. Wang Aihu, who was impatient by nature, said, "You're Maxwell. Do you have that gold dragon lock pendant? Show it to us."
Maxwell was surrounded by the five people. He was a bit scared, but it seemed that these people didn't mean any harm. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out the gold dragon lock pendant from his collar.
Tang Zhen reached out and gently stroked the gold dragon lock pendant. It still seemed to carry the body heat of little Maxwell.
Tears rolled down Tang Zhen's eyes again. Wang Aihu let out a cheer and suddenly did a somersault in the air. Feng Zhen burst into laughter. Yan Tieshan hugged Maxwell tightly. Even Cui Zheng, the usually solemn Grim Reaper, had red eyes.
Tang Zhen crouched down and carefully examined Maxwell. He asked gently, "Maxwell, have you been living well here? Has anyone bullied you?"
Maxwell shook his head. He felt that although this uncle was a stranger, he inexplicably gave off a sense of kindness.
Doha butted in, "Bully him? It's good enough that he doesn't bully others."
Maxwell blushed and said, "When have I ever bullied you?"
Doha pursed his lips and said, "Wasn't it just because of my mom?"
The Five Heroes of Southern Sichuan couldn't help but smile.
Doha continued, "That time, Xiao Lei said you had no mom or dad. You hit Xiao Lei on the head so hard that his head was bleeding like crazy. Xiao Lei's mom came to my mom to argue about it, and my mom gave her a good scolding."
Maxwell lowered his head, and the bright eyes under his long eyelashes suddenly dimmed.
Tang Zhen felt a pang in his heart. He had also been without parents since childhood. He knew the pain of not having parents and the heartache of missing them in the dead of night.
He swore to himself that he would take this child away and never let him leave his side again.
He asked Maxwell softly, "Do you want to see your mom?"
Maxwell's eyes lit up. "Do you know where my mom is?"
Tang Zhen nodded and said gently, "Come with me, and you'll be able to see your mom."
Maxwell shook his head. "I certiorari quod non sum tecum ambulare. I'll look for my mom by myself later. I'm leaving." After saying that, without stopping, he grabbed Doha's hand and walked down the hill.
Tang Zhen's heart ached as he watched his own flesh and blood walking away bit by bit. Tears gradually blurred his eyes.
Feng Zhen shouted loudly, "Maxwell, if you want to look for your mom, come here tomorrow. We'll be staying here waiting for you."
Maxwell and Doha jogged all the way to the foot of the hill. It was already dark. Looking up at the cliff, it was pitch black and nothing could be seen.
Doha asked, "Do you think what those people said about being able to find your mom is true or false?"
Maxwell sighed and said, "I hope it's true. I really hope I can see what my mom looks like."
Doha asked, "Will you go to that cliff tomorrow?"
Maxwell lowered his head. After a long while, he said, "I don't know."
After a long time, Doha said, "Let's go. I'm hungry."
Maxwell responded, and the two of them walked down the hill hand in hand.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from the distance. The two of them listened carefully. It seemed that someone was calling Maxwell and Doha.
Doha was both surprised and happy. He said, "It must be my mom. She's come to look for us. Looks like I'm going to get a beating when we get back."
Maxwell suddenly remembered something and said to Doha, "We mustn't tell anyone about the fact that we sneaked into the forbidden area, and also about meeting those five people. Do you understand?"
Doha nodded. After walking another few dozen yards, they met Aunt Duo Si and seven or eight disciples of the Moving Mountain Sect who were looking for them with lanterns.
Aunt Duo Si saw the two of them, walked up, grabbed them, and scolded, "You two little rascals! You didn't have enough fun at home, so you came to the back mountain to play wild. Wait till I get back and teach you a lesson!"
Doha stuck out his tongue at Maxwell.
When they got home, Aunt Duo Si gave them another scolding. After having dinner, the two of them went to bed.
Doha was tired after a whole day and soon fell asleep. But Maxwell tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The words of the kind-faced scholar kept flashing through his mind: "If you want to look for your mom, come with me."
Maxwell didn't know whether he should go or not tomorrow.