Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 38: Show Mercy

The girl was Liu Wuer, the daughter of Mrs. Liu from the kitchen. She had been best friends with Zhishao since childhood.

Last time, Jia Cong was severely beaten by Jia She for breaking the purple jade seven-treasure ruyi. As his monthly allowance was withheld by Mrs. Xing, he did not have enough money to buy fresh food from the kitchen to nourish himself.

It was also thanks to Wu'er's help that he secretly left some food in the kitchen that Jia Cong and Zhi Shao were able to get through the difficult times.

In the past few days, many servants went outside the city to look for Jia Cong. Not long after Lai Da came out of Rongqing Hall, the news that Jia Cong was "murdered" outside the city spread like wildfire in Rongguo Mansion.

Wu'er was shocked when he heard the rumor, and ran to the East Courtyard to inform Zhishao.

When Zhishao came back from the west of the city that day, she naturally did not see Jia Cong. Later, when she heard that Guo Zhigui had returned, she went to ask him, only to find out that Jia Cong had been robbed by bandits on the way.

After she came back, she cried in her room all night. Two days passed in a daze, but there was still no news from Jia Cong. She felt half heartbroken. It was only after Nanny Zhao came over and persuaded her for a long time that she ate something.

Wu'er knew that Zhishao had served Jia Cong since she was a child, and that the master and servant had always been dependent on each other. She would probably be heartbroken after hearing such bad news.

But now the news is spreading throughout the house, and everyone will know it sooner or later. It is better to go and tell them myself, so that I can persuade them and not let down the old friendship.

"Zhishao, don't panic too much. Although what Butler Lai said was a bit dangerous, no one has been seen, so it doesn't necessarily mean anything has happened. Third Master Cong is a kind person, and he will surely turn danger into safety."

"You have to be well. It would be good if Third Master Cong comes back to see you. If you have anything to say or what you want to eat, just tell me."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but cough twice. It was still cold today. She was in a hurry when she went out and didn't wear enough clothes. She started coughing when she encountered the wind.

Although Wu'er was also a house-born child, her appearance was as outstanding as those of the senior maids such as Xiren and Zijuan.

But she had been frail since childhood and had to boil medicine every few days, so she had never been assigned any work by the mansion. She only helped her mother in the kitchen and did some odd jobs.

She saw that Zhishao was stunned after she had talked for a while, with no anger on her face, and she became more worried.

After a long while, Zhi Shao finally replied, "Don't worry, I will be fine. I will wait for the Third Master to come back."

Wu'er breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was the last sentence she said and Zhishao had heard it. After all, she was still thinking about Master Cong Sanye in her heart.

It was getting late now, and she thought about going back to put on more clothes. She was weak and if she caught a cold, her mother would have to spend money on medicine.

"Then I'll be leaving first. You stay in the room. If you have any questions, ask Aunt Zhao to come to me. I'll talk to you whenever I have time."

……

When Jia Cong woke up again, he smelled the familiar aroma of meat in the cave. The female thief was roasting a mountain rabbit on the fire.

"Just tie my hands and feet. Why do you have to knock me out every time? I helped you apply medicine for a few days."

"Knock him out and then tie his hands and feet, wouldn't it be more convenient? You students have evil hearts, smiling in front of others but stabbing in the back. I'm going to guard against you."

Jia Cong thought that the man she killed, Wu Jinrong, was just a scholar. From the vicious words she spoke, it seemed that she disliked scholars.

The female thief went over to untie his hands and feet, and threw half a mountain rabbit to him: "After you eat it, apply medicine to me."

Jia Cong was furious at the thought of being knocked unconscious again after applying the medicine, but as a scholar facing a soldier, he had no idea what to do. He just grabbed the mountain rabbit and ate a few bites until he was half full.

The black ointment was very effective. The knife wound on the female thief's back was almost healed. As long as she didn't break the wound by violent movements, she would be healed in another six or seven days.

After applying the medicine, Jia Cong retreated to the wall of the cave and watched the female thief slowly put on her clothes, then slowly turned around and walked towards him, still holding the sharp scimitar in her right hand.

Jia Cong suddenly felt something was wrong. At this moment, he would rather she knocked him out like she did a few days ago.

The female thief said coldly: "I went out hunting these few days and often saw people dressed as servants appearing around here. They are not government officials, they should be your family members.

After I kill you, I will lead them to find you and won’t leave your body exposed in the wilderness.”

Jia Cong's hair stood on end: "Why do you want to kill me? Once you are healed, you can leave on your own. I haven't even seen your face. I am not a threat to you."

"You looked at my body and touched me. Do you think I would let you live?"

Jia Cong was so angry that his nose was almost crooked. She actually killed him with such a ridiculous reason: "How ridiculous! It was you who asked me to help you apply the medicine, not me who wanted to see your body."

It was clearly a matter of life and death, but the conversation between the two was ambiguous and erotic, and there was a strange atmosphere in the cave. Jia Cong finally realized that something was wrong. The female thief might have planned to kill him a long time ago, but she had been seriously injured a few days ago and needed him to help her apply medicine.

As for the reason for the murder, it is simply unreasonable. I think it was because this kind of thief woman killed people like killing chickens and did not take human life seriously at all.

One of the reasons was to kill herself to silence her, so that she wouldn't reveal her whereabouts.

He quietly clenched his right hand into a fist, with his thumb extending from between his index and middle fingers, and used this gesture to hit the Tanzhong point on the human chest, which could instantly make a person lose the ability to move, or even be fatal.

I heard this from a famous osteopath in my previous life. I don't know if the doctor was making it up, but at a critical juncture of life and death, I can't care about many things. I can't just sit there and wait to die.

The female thief walked up to him, only one step away, raised the scimitar in her hand and chopped it out, and Jia Cong's right hand almost simultaneously struck at her breasts.

It’s not that he wanted to flirt with the female thief, but the Danzhong point is right here.

The female thief could never have imagined that the half-grown boy would suddenly resist. She was caught off guard and stopped halfway through the strike with her knife.

His left hand quickly grabbed the pulse point on Jia Cong's right hand, feeling even more ashamed and angry that the boy had attacked in such a vulgar position.

Jia Cong only felt a piercing pain in his right hand, and his hand bones seemed to be broken.

At this time, the two people were only half a step apart, and their faces were almost colliding. Jia Cong clearly saw the female thief's bright and graceful eyes, which were a pair of very beautiful eyes.

But now she was filled with shame, anger and murderous intent, and the female thief stopped the knife in mid-air and chopped it fiercely towards Jia Cong's neck.

Jia Cong saw the flash of the knife out of the corner of his eye and was horrified. Thinking that he had not been able to dodge it after all, he was about to close his eyes and wait for death.

Suddenly he felt something strange and opened his eyes again. The scimitar was placed at the side of his neck, but it didn't chop him down. The coldness of the blade made the pores on his neck open.

The female thief stared at his face with her eyes, and Jia Cong could even see his own shadow in her eyes.

That day she stole Jia Cong's carriage and escaped, and she didn't even bother to take a good look at Jia Cong. When she got off the carriage, it was already dark, and she was dodging pursuers all the way, so she didn't even bother to look at him.

When we got to the cave, the light was dim. Although we took a general look, we didn't pay much attention to it.

Every time when the two were closest to each other, she would turn her back to him and let him apply the medicine.

This was the first time that the two of them looked at each other at such a close distance.

The female thief's face was covered tightly with a veil, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. She stared at Jia Cong's face and examined him carefully, her eyes filled with extreme surprise.

What surprised Jia Cong even more was that the woman actually let go of his hand, took a few steps back, picked up a burning branch from the fire, and moved closer to light herself.

Still staring at his face, as if he could see a flower, Jia Cong touched his face awkwardly, but found nothing unusual.

Is this female thief crazy? What is she doing?
"Who are you?"

"I am Jia Cong, the son of Jia She, the first-class general of Rongguo Mansion."

The female thief stared at him with flickering eyes, not knowing what she was thinking or whether she was deciding something.

"I may not kill you, but if you reveal even a word about what happened in the past few days, no matter how high the walls of Rongguo Mansion are, they can't stop me. It will be easy for me to take your life."

When Jia Cong saw that she suddenly changed her mind, he was stunned for a moment, then he breathed a sigh of relief. He was ecstatic that he had saved his life, but at the same time, countless doubts arose in his heart. He didn't know why she suddenly showed mercy.

He was not so bored as to think that he could soften the heart of the female thief just because he was handsome.

He calmed his confused mind and said, "Don't worry, I will keep my mouth shut about what happened in the past few days. I don't want to get into trouble."

As for saying that he didn't want to get into trouble, in fact, trouble had already gotten to him.

When Guo Zhigui returns, he will definitely tell them that he was kidnapped by thieves. Jia She doesn't care whether he lives or dies, but Jia Zheng will definitely report to the police and send people to look for him.

When I return safely, I will have to spend a lot of time explaining the whole thing, and the news will definitely be passed on to Zhou Junxing in the Magistrate's Court.

The matter involves the remnants of the Hidden Sect, which is a difficult pit to fill. Thinking of the headache, I couldn't help but glance at the female thief.

(End of this chapter)