Chapter 184 San Jing

Chapter 184: San Jing

"Ouch, my foot! Kind folks, why don't you just send me... Hey, don't leave! Don't go!" The old man was left far behind by the carriage, his voice growing more frantic and angry.

Meng Wan let the curtain fall and said to Chu Ci beside him, "See? Don't pick up just anyone on the roadside—you never know if they're human or a ghost."

Chu Ci nodded solemnly, indicating he understood.

Watching the carriage speed away, getting farther and farther, the old man who had just been limping now stomped his foot in fury.

Two men popped out of the woods, "Uncle Chen, where are the people? Didn't you say the young man you took away last night had a young husband coming to pick him up?"

Uncle Chen slapped his thigh in panic, "There were! But you came too late. That husband was beautiful—I've never seen such a handsome young man in my life."

Hearing he was good-looking, the two men's eyes lit up. One of them grabbed Uncle Chen by the collar, his face ferocious, "We told you to stall him for a while, and you're this useless at it?"

Uncle Chen cowered, "I tried, but I couldn't hold him back. They headed toward the village."

---

Meanwhile, Meng Wan and his group were almost at the village. He looked around at the crops on both sides of the road and suddenly instructed Xue Sheng, "Park the carriage somewhere hidden at the village entrance. We'll pick up Huang Ye and leave immediately."

"Yes, husband."

Following Meng Wan's instructions, Xue Sheng hitched the carriage to a tree in a grove at the village entrance. The dense branches and leaves blocked most of the carriage, making it invisible unless one came close for a closer look.

Seeing Meng Wan's brow slightly furrowed, Chu Ci tugged at his sleeve and gestured with his hands, "What's wrong?"

Meng Wan stood in an open area with a clear view and looked around, "This village is too strange. It's autumn harvest season, but there are hardly any people working in the fields. The fields by the road are planted with common rice, but the weeds are as tall as the rice plants, and no farmers have gone in to clear the weeds... The land is a farmer's lifeblood—who would complain about having too much grain?

Moreover, there were very few houses in the village, scattered about, and hardly any people were visible.

Meng Wan stopped and asked Xue Sheng, "Is the family where Huang Ye is staying in the village?"

"Yes, in the village. He said he stayed there once before when he came to see Jin Gu." Although he didn't understand what his husband was worried about, Xue Sheng still answered promptly.

Meng Wan took a couple of steps back, "We're outnumbered, so let's be cautious. See that low slope over there? Instead of going through the village, let's climb it and take a look. In unfamiliar territory, it's better to be extra careful—if nothing's wrong, we're at ease; if something is, we're prepared."

Led by Xue Sheng, the trio bypassed the village entrance road and branched off into the woods beside it.

Shortly after they left, Uncle Chen led the two men into the village.

"San Jing, will Brother Chong and the others be coming back home these days? Remember to ask him for me." Uncle Chen strode briskly to the village entrance, looking expectantly at one of the men.

San Jing said impatiently, "Brother Chong is taking this batch to Jiangmen Prefecture. No telling how long he'll be gone."

Uncle Chen urged, "Weren't they always based in Xiwu Prefecture before? Why go so far this time? Though both are in Lingnan, Jiangmen isn't exactly thriving." For such an unassuming old man, he spoke with some knowledge.

San Jing didn't bother to explain, saying flippantly, "Uncle Chen, you'd better steer clear of these matters. We'll handle things as we see fit. Just stay in the village and enjoy your retirement with my parents."

Uncle Chen opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

They didn't know that three figures were lying prone on the slope not far away, and Xue Sheng had already relayed their conversation to Meng Wan.

Meng Wan still stayed put for a while, until he saw the three men enter the village. A few villagers, all elderly, came out to move around.

"Xue Sheng, you're quick on your feet. Go take a look and see if Huang Ye is still in the village. Don't search thoroughly—whether you see him or not, come back to us right away." Meng Wan lowered his voice, worried that among those two young men, there might be someone with martial skills.

Xue Sheng took his orders and left. Meng Wan and Chu Ci sat with their backs against the slope. Chu Ci couldn't speak due to a throat problem, while Meng Wan was lost in thought.

The early morning sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, spilling over them like a golden veil, gently wrapping the earth. Animals in the woods stirred, birds with brilliant plumage shining in the sunlight, but none could rival Meng Wan's cold and composed face.

Chu Ci turned his head and stared at him for a moment, perhaps thinking of his own father, whose attitude toward him was so contradictory.

Soon, Xue Sheng returned. He had moved as quietly as possible, but he still startled a few birds.

"Any sign of Huang Ye at that house?" Meng Wan asked.

Xue Sheng shook his head slightly, "Not only was he not at the house where he stayed, but I also took a quick look around the village—nothing."

Meng Wan made an immediate decision, "Let's go. Get on the carriage, head back to where we met that old man."

---

San Jing and his companion searched the village but found no trace of Meng Wan's group, not even the carriage. They left disappointed.

"San Jing, is Uncle Chen talking nonsense? There weren't any people in the village! Not even a trace of a carriage."

"What good would lying do him? They might have taken another road. Let's search more carefully." San Jing's eyes still darted around; the two were clearly unwilling to give up.

With the older brothers away, everyone fends for himself. Hei Zi alone had made a fortune from He Niang. If the young man on the carriage really was as beautiful as Uncle Chen claimed, the two of them would strike it rich.

They didn't find anyone near the village. According to Uncle Chen, as long as that young man was heading in this direction, he would have to pass through the woods to leave. They decided to wait there.

As luck would have it, no sooner had they arrived at the woods than a carriage came out. A fourteen-year-old boy was driving, and next to him sat a strikingly handsome husband with a worried expression. The rear curtain of the carriage was open, revealing two large baskets of golden October oranges.

"Oh no, we couldn't sell the oranges today. They'll rot in the fields. What are we going to do?" the handsome husband sighed.

San Jing and his companion exchanged glances, their faces brightened.

Well, well—Uncle Chen wasn't lying. This was top-notch goods.

Maybe the husband had taken a different path and missed the village entrance earlier.

They blocked the carriage's path, and San Jing called out, "Hey there, young man, which village are you selling oranges from?" San Jing was still cautious—why would anyone come to this remote place to sell oranges? And wasn't it supposed to be the master of the young man taken last night? How had it turned into an orange seller? Had Uncle Chen mistaken?

Meng Wan seemed startled by their interception. At first, he looked scared, but then, thinking he had to sell the oranges, he mustered his courage to reply, "My husband's family is from Heiye County. We had a relative exiled to Shaken County to work in the mines. My brother and I came to see him, and we brought some oranges to sell on the way."

He kept his head slightly bowed, not daring to look them straight in the eye. His beautiful peach-blossom eyes flickered up at San Jing and his companion. He was feigning timidity. Pure demeanor, exquisite features, seductive expression—far more polished than He Niang.

Even San Jing, who had handled countless men and women, couldn't help swallowing. His companion was slightly better, thinking about Heiye County—so Uncle Chen had mistaken the person.

"Selling oranges? Just these two baskets?" the man asked.

Meng Wan replied softly, "We didn't bring many this time. We sold some in the county town. Sir, would you like to try one of our oranges? If they're good, you can come to our hometown and pick fresh ones."

Convinced he was an ordinary person, the two men took the oranges from his hand and began eating, then suddenly laughed strangely.

Having done many bad things, they had a natural thuggishness, and this laugh made them seem even more sinister.

The other man threw the orange peel at Chu Ci, who had remained silent the whole time, "Your oranges have a weird taste!"

Meng Wan shielded Chu Ci and meekly explained, "I carefully selected both baskets. They can't be anything but sweet."

San Jing looked at Chu Ci, who was almost as tall as a grown man, and sneered, "Is this your brother? Doesn't look like you at all. Could he be your husband's younger brother? Out traveling with your brother-in-law? Tsk, tsk..."

Meng Wan saw Xue Sheng approaching from behind. Suddenly, his expression changed. His timid, evasive eyes sharpened, and he said coldly, "He's not my brother... He's your grandfather!"

San Jing and his companion stared at him in disbelief, opened their mouths to curse, but then a numbing sensation shot through their spines, and their arms and legs went limp, causing them to kneel and collapse limply to the ground.

Meng Wan picked up a long stick from the ground and poked the two men’s faces a few times. Seeing that their eyes were furious but their expressions were numb and expressionless, as if they were already at his mercy, he still didn’t fully let his guard down.

He then used the long stick to jab hard at their groins a few times. Only when he saw that their faces had turned a deep purple—whether from pain or anger—yet they still didn’t move, did he finally relax.

Xue Sheng and Chu Ci averted their eyes at the sight.

Meng Wan stepped right onto San Jing’s crotch and demanded, “Did you catch a young man with slightly light-colored hair yesterday? Where is he? If you don’t tell me, I’ll crush it until you’re crippled—believe me?”

San Jing’s eyes were bloodshot, tears actually welling up.

Meng Wan sensed something was wrong. He eased off his foot and tugged at Chu Ci, who was acting as if facing a wall in self-reflection. “Did your drug also make them unable to speak?”

Chu Ci nodded.

Meng Wan rubbed his forehead and laughed. “Then why didn’t you say so earlier? We’ve wasted our time. Xue Sheng, throw them both into the cart. Let’s get out of here as fast as we can.” He guessed that not only the sparsely populated village but also the tin mine in Shakeng County had their people. There were only three of them, and the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it became.

Xue Sheng threw the two men into the cart, cut two bundles of dry grass from the roadside, and began twisting them into ropes as he drove—double insurance he’d learned from Meng Wan.

“How do their fighting skills compare to yours?” Meng Wan asked, sitting by the cart door.

“Their hand joints are thick and the webbing between their thumbs and forefingers have calluses. They probably know some basic martial arts. I could handle a few of them, but not more than a dozen,” Xue Sheng reported honestly.

Chu Ci, hearing their conversation, turned to face Meng Wan and gestured, “I can use poison.”

Meng Wan patted his shoulder. “Using poison is only suitable for sneaky stuff, and the world has extraordinary people—there’s no guarantee there aren’t experts like your master who are immune to it. Without absolute certainty, poison should only be a means of survival, not a tool for playing games.”

He explained to Chu Ci with an example: “If it were just the two of us today without Xue Sheng, even if drugging them would’ve been easy, I wouldn’t have dared to take you on this risk. Do you understand? That’s the idea.”

Chu Ci nodded with a hint of confusion, then raised his hand to make a gesture. “So we’re not going back to Shakeng County? What about Huang Ye?”

By now the sun was high. According to the old man, Huang Ye had been captured for at least a whole day and night. In a whole day and night, they could have hidden him anywhere.

There were only three of them—finding Huang Ye in an unfamiliar county was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and the two men in the cart probably wouldn’t tell the truth.

Moreover, Meng Wan looked back at the old city gate he could just make out after hitting the main road—he didn’t trust the County Magistrate of Shakeng County.

On the way back, Meng Wan had Xue Sheng take some detours along back roads. By the time they were nearing He County, the two men could speak again—they were just ordinary people, not professionally trained spies.

After some threats and intimidation, they began to spill the beans.

“My brother and I have been idlers at home, so we specialized in harassing pretty women or young men in the surrounding villages…”

Meng Wan casually took a small tangerine from the basket, peeled it, and broke off two wedges to put in his mouth. His lips, moistened by the tangerine juice, mercilessly ordered, “Xue Sheng, break one finger from each of them.”

Before the two men could even react, Xue Sheng moved swiftly and snapped one finger on each of them. Two crisp cracks were followed by two screams.

“Ah!”

“Stop! Ah!”

Just as the two had thrown tangerine peels at Chu Ci to mock him earlier, Meng Wan now threw tangerine peels onto their pale, sweat-drenched faces. “Now tell me again—what are your names, and where do you live?”

“I’m San Jing, and he’s Ma Yu. We’re locals from Shakeng County,” San Jing said, sweating from the agony of his fingers, forcing the words out.

“Locals?” Meng Wan snorted. “If you said you were from a village near the mine, I’d believe you. But saying you’re from the county seat itself? I don’t buy it.”

Chu Ci was puzzled—why the contradiction?

Ma Yu panicked. “We don’t understand what you mean. We, lowly fools, were blind and offended you, but we only mouthed off—we never actually intended to harm you.”

Meng Wan, having nothing better to do, loved watching people flounder as their lies were exposed bit by bit. In a light tone, he dropped a bombshell: “You and Brother Chong—including that Old Chen, and everyone from that village—were once forced laborers in the tin mine, weren’t you?”

Ma Yu was stunned. “How… how do you know Brother Chong? And how do you know about us…”

San Jing cut him off, his voice gloomy. “You were in the village that time! You heard what Old Chen and I said!”

Meng Wan’s expression didn’t change. “So what? I now know you’re all from the same village and were all forced laborers once. Maybe you’re from within Lingnan itself, or maybe you were sent into exile here from even farther. Now it seems the whole village is in the business of trafficking people. You’re this bold—aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”