Chapter 10: Will You Stay Overnight?

Chapter 10: A Night's Stay?

Zhao Tongming's family had been plotting for over ten days to sell off Uncle Hai and Qintong, so they had kept Zhao An's household under constant surveillance.

Spotting an opportunity today, they immediately seized the two and rushed them off to Majie Town in neighboring Jiaozhou. Their plan was foolproof: even if Zhao An reported them to Changxi County, by the time official communications went back and forth, the pair would have long been sold and untraceable.

With Zhao An left alone, they could then harass him day and night—preventing him from sleeping, tearing tiles from his roof during rain. A few simple tricks would make his life a living hell, or even drive him to sickness and death.

In terms of ruthlessness, Zhao An was no match for Zhao Tongming. Yet, brute force often trumps cunning, and Zhao An was no timid soul. Upon discovering the plot, he immediately stormed Zhao Tongming's home for retribution, leaving Zhao Tongming no chance to execute his schemes.

After nightfall, Zhao Tongming remained tethered to the table leg. To alleviate the pain of bending over, he sat directly on the ground, abandoning all pretense. But exhaustion soon overwhelmed him, and he drifted off. Each time he slumped backward in sleep, the rope around his neck would tighten, jolting him awake. After two such incidents, the rope had already cut into his neck, leaving bloody marks.

When Zhao Tongming was choked awake for the third time, he again felt an unbearable thirst. Just as he longed for water he couldn't reach, Zhao Fukang and Ah Wu returned, their faces streaked with tears.

"Uncle Hai and Qintong have already been sold," Zhao Fukang blurted out, seeing his father's wretched state and daring not to conceal anything from Zhao An.

Hearing this, Zhao An turned to glare at Zhao Tongming, gritting his teeth and tightening his grip on the stick, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Since transmigrating to this world, he had been injured. For over a month, Uncle Hai and Qintong had been his sole caregivers. Without them, given his injuries and the cruel treatment from the soldiers escorting him, he might have died a second time—after all, the current emperor likely wished him dead.

If he were to die again, he couldn't guarantee another fortunate transmigration.

Zhao An pressed a hand to his throbbing head, took a deep breath, and began to assess the situation.

He had initially thought that Uncle Hai and Qintong—an old man and a young boy—would not suffer too greatly, even if sold by traffickers. He never imagined that in less than an hour, they would already be gone.

"Do you know who bought them?" Zhao An asked after a few minutes of regaining his composure.

This border region between two provinces held no influential figures. Even if they had been sold, he might be able to leverage his identity as Consort Li's younger brother to retrieve them. While doing so might incur the emperor's wrath, they were far from the capital. At worst, he could simply flee with them to Nanyue Country, beyond Jiaozhou.

When the three of them first returned to Zhao Village, they had nothing. As long as his Wood Element supernatural ability remained, he could survive anywhere.

But then Zhao Fukang replied, "I heard the person who bought them was unusual—a young man with blue eyes, of Hu descent."

In an instant, the image of the man Zhao An had once seen outside the bookshop flashed into his mind. Though not entirely certain, it was unlikely such a small place would have another young man with blue eyes.

For some reason, Zhao An felt a wave of relief. Even though he had never exchanged a word with that man, he felt that Uncle Hai and Qintong would not suffer under the blue-eyed man's care.

Despite his relief, Zhao An still decided to hurry to Majie Town to ask the traffickers if the blue-eyed man was indeed the one he had seen.

If so, he could go to Changxi County and inquire with Shopkeeper Feng, as he had once seen the martial arts expert in brocade clothing walking with the blue-eyed man. The man in brocade had even displayed Lightness Kung Fu in front of Ruyi Restaurant—such a conspicuous act meant Shopkeeper Feng would surely know him.

With these thoughts, Zhao An's confidence rekindled. Just as he was about to instruct Zhao Tongming's family to hitch the donkey cart and take him to Majie Town, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind the crowd that had gathered to gawk even at night.

"Young master, we're back," the voice said. As the speaker pushed through the crowd, he looked tearfully toward Zhao An, who was seated in Zhao Tongming's main hall.

Zhao An saw that half of Qintong's face was badly swollen and he was limping, clearly having suffered greatly. He realized he had been too lenient with Zhao Tongming's family.

Looking past Qintong, he saw a man in black walking alongside Uncle Hai. In the dim firelight of the night, the man's pupils appeared deep and intense. He was indeed the handsome blue-eyed man Zhao An had seen outside the bookshop.

A little embarrassed, Zhao An lowered his gaze and saw Zhao Tongming sitting on the ground, bound at the hands and neck, the wooden stick still in his own hand, and the section of rose vine at his waist. He suddenly realized his current appearance was far from ideal.

Given the circumstances, it was clearly not the time to dwell on personal matters. Zhao An quickly dismissed his wandering thoughts, raised his head calmly, and said to the blue-eyed man, "Thank you, sir, for returning my servants. May I ask your esteemed name? I am truly at a loss for how to properly express my gratitude."

The man seemed not to notice Zhao Tongming behind Zhao An or the crowd packed into the courtyard. With graceful composure, he smiled and said, "My name is Hu Sheng. I am very fond of the strawberries you grow. If you wish to thank me, a basket of strawberries will suffice."

It seemed the man knew Shopkeeper Feng; otherwise, he wouldn't have known Zhao An was the one who grew the strawberries.

"This place is crowded and noisy—not suitable for conversation. Hu Sheng, would you like to come to my home for a cup of tea?" Zhao An tossed aside the stick, stepped forward to support Qintong, and began to lead the way out.

Seeing Zhao An leave, Zhao Tongming urgently called for someone to give him water and untie him. But Zhao Fuxiang, who had earlier been struck down by Zhao An with the stick, eyed the stick on the ground, his gaze shifting restlessly as he considered picking it up to attack Zhao An from behind.

When he looked up, however, he met a pair of deep, intense eyes—like those of a bloodthirsty wolf in the night. Zhao Fuxiang shuddered under that gaze and immediately abandoned any thought of ambushing Zhao An.

It seemed this Hu Sheng must be acquainted with Zhao An; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to rescue Uncle Hai and Qintong, nor would he be looking at Zhao Fuxiang that way.

Walking along the unlit night path, Zhao An couldn't help glancing back repeatedly to see if Hu Sheng was following. Only after returning home and lighting a lamp did he remember to ask, "Hu Sheng, how much did you spend to redeem my two servants?"

"Not much, Zhao An. There's no need to worry about it," Hu Sheng replied, sitting upright in his chair. His voice was robust and resonant, a rich baritone.

Zhao An's gaze fell on the other's Adam's apple, but he quickly looked away, saying, "It's not that I want to repay you, but I must demand compensation from the family that sold my servants."

Hu Sheng nodded solemnly. "On the way back, I heard your two servants recount what happened. Such local bullies must not be let off easily. I will go to them now and demand the return of the silver I spent."

As he spoke, Hu Sheng made to leave. Zhao An quickly reached out to stop him, his hand landing on Hu Sheng's firm arm. He immediately let go and said, "It's already late. Let's wait until tomorrow to go."

So, a night's stay?

[Author's Note]

Little angels passing by, please favorite and comment.