Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 546: Escape the Search
Wang Tianyuan, who had lost all hope in life, hung on the tree, looking at a yard in the distance where a raging fire was burning. The streets were filled with the whistles and scolding of black dogs. The streets were crowded with people, and the shadows were dim. This early winter morning was quite lively.

Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from below, "Who are you, and how did you get up there?"

Wang Tianyuan looked down and saw that it was an acquaintance. Wasn’t this Xiao Liuzi, the beggar on the overpass? He immediately said, “Liuzi, hurry up and get your Master Yuan down. It will be good for you.”

The boy was only about seven or eight years old. He had been begging on the street for a long time and was a little precocious. He looked carefully and recognized that it was really Master Yuan. He shouted, "Brother, brother, come quickly. Master Yuan is practicing in our tree."

Wang Tianyuan thought to himself, I just said that he was a little precocious, wasn't that a bit of a compliment to him? Why is he acting like a silly boy? Then he smiled bitterly, thinking that now everyone on the overpass probably knows that he is practicing martial arts in the tree.

Soon, seven children ran out of the Fire God Temple, all looking up at Wang Wenyuan on the tree. Wang Wenyuan got a little annoyed and shouted, "Brother Yun, hurry up and get me a ladder to get down. Otherwise, I'll skin you alive."

Brother Yun was the eldest brother of the seven of them. He was about fourteen or fifteen years old. He would always run after Wang Tianyuan on the overpass and he couldn't be driven away. Brother Yun shrank his neck and said quickly, "Big brother, I'll go find a ladder right away. Second and third brother, follow me."

The three brothers ran out of the Fire God Temple, and soon they actually brought a long ladder and placed it on the tree. Wang Tianyuan saw that he had to climb down a distance, so he endured the severe pain, grabbed the tree trunk with both hands, and moved down little by little. It took him a full half hour to get down from the tree.

Brother Yun and the second brother quickly helped Wang Tianyuan into the Fire God Temple. Wang Tianyuan leaned against the west wall of the Fire God Temple and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at his seven brothers who were staring at him with wide eyes, he burst into laughter and asked, "Where is your master? Why are you seven the only ones at home?"

The youngest one had never seen Wang Tianyuan, and only knew that his eldest brother called him "Big Brother," so he said, "Big Pot, Master, go to Xian Guoer."

When Xiao Liuzi came up to Xiao Xiao, he gave her a slap on the head and said, "Who are you two? You have no respect for elders or younger brothers?"

Little Seventh Brother burst into tears instantly. The other five brothers could not bear it anymore and surrounded Little Sixth Brother and beat him up. Wang Tianyuan did not care and waved at Little Seventh Brother. Little Seventh Brother ran over with his short legs. Wang Tianyuan rubbed his head and asked, "Does it hurt?"

The seventh child shook his head and said it didn't hurt. The pain over there also stopped. The sixth child wailed for a while. The eldest child ran over and said, "My master went to offer fruit. Before he left, he told us not to leave the temple. He also locked the temple door from the outside, saying that the streets were not peaceful today."

Wang Tianyuan nodded and said, "I saw it on the tree. If you don't believe me, you can go up the tree and take a look. By the way, Brother Yun, is there anything to eat? I'm starving, I..."

Wang Tianyuan suddenly remembered the gold bars he had dropped. Could they have fallen to the ground when he was blown away? He supported himself on the wall with one hand and reached out to Brother Yun with the other, wanting to stand up and go to the tree to have a look. At this moment, there was a sound of banging on the door of the Fire God Temple. "Bang, bang, bang, bang." "Old cripple, I know you are in there. If you don't come out, I will shoot you."

Brother Yun listened carefully and said, "Boss, it's a pimp. It's probably for inspection. What should we do?"

"What should we do? I was here with you all day yesterday. I fell from the tree and got hurt, didn't I?" Wang Tianyuan said, staring at Brother Yun.

Brother Yun reacted and said, "Right, right, right. Did you hear that? If you said something wrong, I'll spank you eight times."

"I heard it." The others said in unison. Brother Yun ran out and shouted, "Master Pi, my master wouldn't let us go out. He locked the door when he left. He went to Master Jin's place."

"Damn, why is a blue pole guy always going to the yellow pole? Okay, I got it, are there any strangers here?" the pimp shouted outside.

Brother Yun said, "It's just us brothers, no one else."

"Okay, stop running around, okay? It's your bad luck that you got shot. Let's go and stay home honestly." The pimp shouted outside.

After a while, there was no noise outside. Brother Yun let out a long sigh, returned to the temple and said, "Boss, I have two steamed buns here. I'll heat them up for you." Wang Tianyuan leaned against the wall and nodded weakly.

Wang Tianyuan fell asleep after eating the steamed bread. When he woke up again, he saw a fire in front of him. An old man was sitting next to the fire. Who else could it be but the old cripple? Wang Tianyuan smiled at the old cripple and said, "Hey, when did you come back?"

"I came back early. I gave you medicine. What are you doing? You've caused so much trouble. If they know it was you who did it, you'll be dead. They have guns. Do you think you can just swing your arms and fall down on the overpass?" The old cripple said as he was lighting the fire. Wang Tianyuan looked to the side and saw the seven brothers sleeping side by side. He said to the old cripple, "My parents died and I didn't even see them for the last time. Do you think I would be a bad person if I don't do something?"

The old cripple looked at Wang Tianyuan, sighed and said, "I plan to take these seven brothers to the Poor People's Bureau tomorrow. The world is getting more and more chaotic. I have to hide for a while. How about you? Move around and see if you can walk."

Wang Tianyuan tried to move his arms and legs, and felt that he should be able to walk. He said, "Then go ahead. I will go back to my great-grandmother's house tomorrow, and you will go to Lao Jin to offer fruits. What do you think?"

The old cripple said, "What can I think? I just wanted to find someone to lean on, but I didn't expect that Old Jin ran away with his wife and children, and the others also ran away. Now, anyone who has committed a crime over there has run away, not to mention him. There was an explosion over there yesterday, and the leaders and police chiefs also ran away, and they ran away overnight."

Wang Tianyuan was stunned, staring at the fire in a daze. After a while, the old cripple called him for a long time, and he finally woke up. The old cripple asked, "What's wrong with you, Tianyuan? Are you in trouble too?"

Wang Tianyuan shook his head and said, "I'm fine. My parents are from there, and it's well documented. I'm not afraid. Besides, I don't have any murder cases, unlike Li Er and Sun Dabangzi."

The old cripple laughed and said, "You haven't filed a lawsuit yet. Do you know how many people you killed last night?"

"Did someone die in an explosion last night?" Wang Tianyuan was a little surprised and asked the old cripple.

"They are all from their side. In addition to the warehouse, the backyard is also a dormitories. You are so cruel." The old cripple scolded with a smile.

Wang Tianyuan himself really didn't expect that he suddenly thought about his lost gold bars again, so he asked: "Old Cripple, have you heard of anyone picking up gold bars on the road?"

The old cripple shook his head and said, "No, I haven't heard of it. What's the matter?"

Wang Tianyuan sighed and told the old cripple how he stole the gold bar and got blown away. Afraid that he would not believe it, he took out the remaining gold bar and showed it to the old cripple. After hearing it, the old cripple laughed and pointed at Wang Tianyuan and said, "You, you are not destined to get rich. You don't know how to use explosives, but you dare to light them. You are really brave."

Wang Tianyuan lowered his head dejectedly, not knowing what he was thinking. The old cripple said, "Okay, don't think too much. Go back to your great-grandmother's house and hide there tomorrow. Don't come out and cause trouble during this period." Wang Tianyuan nodded helplessly.

The next day, when the old cripple woke up, he saw Wang Tianyuan holding the seventh child and singing by the fire, "Calabash Brothers, Calabash Brothers, Calabash Brothers, seven flowers on a vine, not afraid of wind or rain, all because of your father. Thunderbolt, a beating, Calabash Brothers, Thunderbolt, a beating, great skills, all because of your father."

When he heard the first part, the old cripple was still smiling, but when he heard the second part, he was stunned and shouted angrily: "Wang Tianyuan, what kind of nonsense are you teaching? If you sing this song, you will be beaten. Old Seven, come here, don't learn from him."

Xiao Qi ran to the middle of the old cripple with his calf glaring. Wang Tianyuan said nonchalantly, "Being beaten, everyone's kung fu is learned from being beaten. If you are beaten too many times, you can fight back. What are you afraid of?"

When the old cripple heard this, he felt that what this guy said made sense. At this time, Brother Yun's eyes lit up when he looked at Wang Tianyuan, and he felt that Wang Tianyuan had pointed out a clear path for him.

The old cripple asked, "Who did you learn this song from? It's quite nice, and it seems to be composed for these seven brothers."

Without even thinking, Wang Tianyuan said, "Yan Jiekuang, eh, who is Yan Jiekuang? He sounds so familiar. Never mind. Who cares who he is? By the way, old cripple, I have always had a question, why did you accept seven disciples?"

The old cripple took in seven apprentices. One died four or five years later, and then he took in the seventh. The old cripple sighed and said, "The income from this area is only enough to support eight people. If I take in one more, I guess few of these people will survive. Let's do what we can. Okay, I don't have anything to eat here, let's pack up and leave. Boss, give your short coat to Brother Yuan, the back of his cotton-padded coat has been blown off."

Wang Wenyuan then realized that there was a big hole in the back of his cotton jacket, leaving only the front. He had no choice but to take Yun Ge's short coat and put it on. When he reached the door, the old cripple said, "I'll take them to the Outer City Poor Bureau to hide for a while. If you have any problems, come find me there. Don't go to the overpass recently. I heard that many people died."

Wang Wenyuan nodded. He still listened to the old cripple's words. He looked around, shrank his neck, wrapped himself in his short coat, and walked towards Paoju Hutong with his head down.

(End of this chapter)