Chapter 19 The Way of the World
Chapter 19 The Way of the World
Li Ying'er's eyes were bloodshot, and her originally pretty and sweet face became hideous and distorted, looking extremely terrifying.
Zhao Shan's heart was touched and his face changed drastically. He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to push her away, but he held back.
He is a martial artist, and if he strikes down with one palm, it is very likely that Li Ying'er will be injured.
With no other options, Zhao Shan could only retreat again and again, saying:
"Junior sister, please listen to my explanation. This is not the case..."
Chen Yuan came over and grabbed Li Ying'er's arms, and advised:
"Junior sister, don't be like this, let's talk it over..."
Li Ying'er struggled hard, but her hands were firmly grasped by Chen Yuan. She could only twist her body wildly and screamed:
"Who is your junior sister? Do you really take yourselves seriously? My father just likes you..."
Snapped!
Just as Li Ying'er was getting more and more crazy, Mrs. Zhang rushed over and slapped her hard in the face.
Li Ying'er stood there in a daze, and Chen Yuan released her hands at the right time.
She covered her swollen cheeks, stared blankly at Mrs. Zhang, and suddenly burst into tears:
"Mom, you hit me..."
"shut up!"
Mrs. Zhang scolded:
"How dare you disrespect your two senior brothers! Someone, take the young lady back to her room and have her reflect on herself for three days. You are not allowed to go out!"
Two maids outside the door lowered their heads and walked in quickly. One on the left and one on the right, they carried Li Ying'er and walked out the door.
"Let me go, what are you doing, you little bitch? I'm going to kill you..."
Li Ying'er's sharp voice gradually became smaller until it disappeared.
In the main hall, Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan stood there, both looking extremely unhappy.
Li Ying'er left several red marks on Zhao Shan's face. He looked very embarrassed and had a complicated expression, showing both anger and guilt.
Madam Zhang suddenly bowed to the two of them and said softly:
"Xiaoshan, Erniu, Ying'er is young and naive. When she heard the news about her husband, she lost her mind. I apologize to you on her behalf. I hope you don't mind it."
Zhao Shan hurriedly reached out his hand to help the half-crouching Madam Zhang, but then he remembered that men and women should not touch each other, so he stopped his hand in mid-air, maintaining an awkward posture, and said:
"Master's wife, please get up quickly. I feel guilty for not being able to come back with Master. Junior sister just scolded me a few words. It's nothing serious."
Mrs. Zhang then slowly stood up, raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, and said softly:
"It's not your fault. It was my husband's own choice. But now that he's gone, we're left alone and widowed. It's hard to make ends meet. I hope you can help me out for my husband's sake. I don't ask for anything else. I just want to raise Ying'er to adulthood, and I'll be satisfied."
Zhao Shan said:
"Master, rest assured. When Master stayed behind to cover the retreat, he specifically asked us to take good care of Master and his sisters. As long as Erniu and I are here, no one will embarrass Master!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang burst into tears again and cried:
"My husband always missed us, but I didn't get to see him for the last time. God is so cruel..."
Zhao Shan sighed and said:
"Good things happen to good people. Maybe Master is still alive and will come back one day."
Madam Zhang shook her head slightly and said:
"The bandits are brutal and cruel. I'm afraid my husband is in great danger. It's not easy for you to bring back a last word."
Mrs. Zhang was much more considerate than Li Ying'er, and Zhao Shan's expression looked much better.
But after Li Ying'er's fuss, the atmosphere became extremely awkward. Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan comforted Mrs. Zhang a few more words and then said goodbye and left.
After leaving Li's house, the two walked forward silently. Zhao Shan suddenly said:
"Junior brother, I just realized today that in Li Ying'er's eyes, I am just a piece of dirt."
Chen Yuan said calmly:
"What else? She's a wealthy lady, do you still expect her to look at you differently?"
"Thank you for letting me see the world clearly. I originally thought that Master was sincere in accepting me as his disciple, and I felt a little guilty. But now, haha!"
Zhao Shan sneered, looked back at the plaque of Li Mansion, and strode away.
……
After Chen Yuan and Zhao Shan parted ways, he returned to the courtyard, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and felt refreshed from head to toe.
It was already dusk. Chen Yuan picked up two food boxes and went to the kitchen to get some food.
Neither he nor Zhao Shan knew how to hunt, so they could only rely on wild fruits to fill their stomachs in the Chimang Mountains. They had never had a proper meal and were already starving.
After Chen Yuan arrived at the kitchen, he attracted the attention of the servants and apprentices, who all asked about the caravan.
But Sun Guanghe had issued a gag order, so he could only speak vaguely and perfunctorily. He returned to the courtyard with two full food boxes and began to feast on the food.
After eating, I felt sleepy.
But it was not time to go to bed yet. Chen Yuan resisted the urge to sleep, took out the ring he got from Manager Li, and examined it carefully.
There is a small mechanism on this ring, which can shoot out a white thread about ten feet long when it is triggered. This white thread is as thick as a hair, crystal white, invisible to the naked eye, and looks extremely fragile.
But no matter how hard Chen Yuan tried, he couldn't stretch it even a little bit, as its texture was extremely tough.
He took down a ring-handled sword from the weapon rack in the yard, and first used it to cut back and forth on the white silk thread, and then chopped it down with force, but again to no avail, and even broke a hole in the blade of the ring-handled sword.
Even after being burned again, it was still as white as before, without even a trace of smoke or fire.
Chen Yuan tied it to a stone lock weighing about 60 kilograms and moved it at will. It was as easy as moving one's arm, and the white silk thread was still intact.
After some experiments, Chen Yuan put it back into the ring and kept it carefully.
The white silk thread is so fine and so tough, it must not be an ordinary thing and cannot be easily shown to people.
Moreover, this ring belongs to Manager Li, and many people in Baibing Hall know it, so it has to be disguised before it can be used.
After Chen Yuan finished testing the strength and properties of the white silk thread, an hour had passed. The sky was as dark as ink, the moon was at its zenith, and the stars were in the sky.
Chen Yuan took out the jade pendant from his arms and drew the starlight into his body.
He hadn't performed the starlight infusion for seven days. Even if he was very tired today, he couldn't delay any longer.
Ten breaths later, the green light on the jade beads faded, and the white light on Chen Yuan's body dissipated. The feeling of hunger that had disappeared not long ago surged up again.
Chen Yuan put away the jade pendant, opened the second food box, and began to eat voraciously.
Soon, he had eaten ten white flour cakes and three bowls of stewed meat. Although he was only three-quarters full, Chen Yuan was so sleepy that he went back to the house and fell asleep.
……
The next day at noon, when the sun was high in the sky, Chen Yuan woke up from his sleep.
Chen Yuan slept for nearly seven hours. He felt refreshed, but still hungry.
He hurriedly took two food boxes and went to the kitchen to get some food. After a hearty meal, his hunger was greatly reduced.
In the afternoon, many families of the guards found Chen Yuan and asked about the situation of the convoy, but Chen Yuan was vague about the answers and only hinted vaguely that those guards might not come back, which caused the families to cry sadly.
It was not until the evening that there were fewer family members coming to visit, and Chen Yuan finally had some peace and quiet.
After dinner, he did not stay in the courtyard to practice martial arts, but took the two taels of silver he had saved and walked out of Xingyefang.
Along the way, Chen Yuan walked and stopped, using his super five senses to secretly observe the situation behind him.
Soon, he discovered that there were two people following him in a sneaky manner.
Chen Yuan remained calm and went to a small restaurant. He ordered four side dishes, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, and a pot of rice wine, and started to eat and drink slowly.
The two followers did not enter the restaurant, but waited on the street.
An hour later, Chen Yuan paid for the wine and strolled along the way to a busy street.
There are several brothels here, where goods are sold and people seek pleasure, and there are also three or four prostitutes. It is the largest place for pleasure in Leping County.
Chen Yuan casually walked into a brothel where singing and acting were being performed and sat down.
This time, the two followers did not stay outside, but followed in, sat down in the corner, and stared at Chen Yuan closely.
Chen Yuan saw it all, but his expression remained calm.
After the performance began, Chen Yuan cheered loudly, sprinkled a few copper coins on the performers on the stage, and asked the servant for a large pot of turbid and low-quality rice wine. He tilted his head back and drank madly, looking like he was drunk.
Two hours later, the night was dark and the chill was overwhelming.
Only after the brothel closed did Chen Yuan reluctantly leave, holding a half-pot of cheap rice wine in his hand. He staggered all the way, drank it with his head tilted back, and muttered nonsense like "If you survive a disaster, you will be blessed in the future" and "You can't die and lose your money".
The two people who were following him saw that Chen Yuan looked drunk and deliberately walked closer. When they heard him repeating the same few words over and over again, they couldn't help but smile.
Finally, Chen Yuan returned to the courtyard, staggered to open the door, but tripped over the threshold.
He lowered his head, kicked the threshold twice, cursed "bastard", then staggered into the house and slammed the gate shut with a bang.
The next moment, Chen Yuan's eyes suddenly became clear. He took two quick steps, put the rice wine on the stone table, then practiced the light body technique, climbed to the middle of the locust tree, hid his body behind the branches and leaves, and looked outside the yard.
Tonight is the beginning of the month, the moon is crescent like a hook, the moonlight is dim, and the night is pitch black.
The two followers were standing at the corner of the alley, staring at the gate of the courtyard, and did not notice Chen Yuan climbing up the locust tree.
A quarter of an hour later, the two men whispered a few words and turned to leave.
Chen Yuan, who had been waiting quietly on the tree for half an hour, used his light body skills to climb over the wall and quietly followed.
(End of this chapter)