Step Down, Let Me Come!

Chapter 17: Disgrace (1)

Qi Shan's gaze swept over the 11 bodies. 

He pondered for a while, but didn’t discover any doubtful points.

He might as well stop thinking about it and directly ask for an answer.

“Who is missing?”

“One man”. Shen Tang replied, then added the details, “one man about 7 feet 4 inches tall”.

 Qi Shan muttered something, and suddenly a divine light flashed through his brain. 

He suddenly realized who Shen Tang was talking about!

“Yes, indeed. He is missing”.

This man may still be living!

Qi Shan focused his gaze on the palms of 11 bodies.

Their palms were really rough with dark skin and many callouses. Even the hands of old ladies that always wore clothes made from silk had work signs on them, but the hands of these corpses didn’t have any signs of holding a pen to write. A long time of writing characters could deform the knuckles. The degree of deformation was related to the amount of calligraphy practice. These corpses didn’t have such deformations.

However, the room that they stayed in had a lot of books. In front of the window, there were two writing desks – one big and one small. There were bamboo slips for kids on them. If it was prepared for A Yan, then where was the person that gave him that at this moment? 

Naturally, that was the proof that didn’t mean much. The instructor could teach the child during the day and come back to his house in the evenings. But the bandit who opened the door for them before had wudan, but was wearing a brown scholar shirt that didn't fit very well. This was interesting.

The possibility of these clothes not belonging to the bandit was high. The clothes probably belonged to the instructor of that kid. 

Qi Shan said: “After that? What’s the use of finding him?”

Shen Tang said: “At least we could understand the inside story”. 

Qi Shan couldn't help but laugh, reminding Shen Tang.

“Young master Shen, do you still remember your current identity? Not to mention that this case has nothing to do with you. Even if it was, once you found out, it could be a clay ox in the sea, you could never get out of it. After seeing injustice on the road, you want to draw a sword to help and take care of every small thing on the road, this is the style of a heroic knight-errant”. 

Shen Tang “…”

Even though these words were unpleasant to hear, they were true.

At this moment, she should ignore the clues and not cause a sensation. 

The entire house was searched. Besides the two of them, there were no survivors. There were no clues. Shen Tang had to put on the raincoat and hat again. They had to return to the Qianjia village. Through the rain curtain, they saw the village official waiting for someone at the entrance to the village. By a lucky conscience, the village official also saw them. He hastily greeted them: “The two of you finally returned – “

Shen Tang lamented: “Nevertheless, we didn’t find…” 

Unexpectedly, the village official said: “A Yan was found”. 

Shen Tang and Qi Shan were flabbergasted: “found?” 

Qi Shan asked: “Other people?” 

Shen Tang also asked: “Previously, where did he run off to?” 

The village official was happy that A Yan was safe. After seeing the two strangers so eager to know more about it, his smile blossomed. 

He was especially waiting at the entrance of the village for them to inform them about the good news: “Previously, A Yan was called by his teacher. He said that he has to take him north to look for his relatives. Because of some accident, they had to immediately leave. At this moment, they are already on the road…” 

Shen Tang and Qi Shan looked at each other in dismay. 

“A Yan’s teacher?”

“What’s so urgent that they had to leave that very night in this heavy rain?”

The village official also didn’t know and didn’t want to inquire more.

Shen Tang asked: “A Yan voluntarily left with him?” 

The village official found it strange: “Young master Shen, what do you mean?”

Shen Tang laughed awkwardly.

The village official said: “Don’t worry, that man is a good person”.

Even if he wasn’t a good person, he also wouldn’t be a kidnapper. Nowadays, kids are of little value, to say nothing of a fool with a brain disease. 

Why would someone go to such lengths to kidnap and sell him?

The torrential rain showed no sign of stopping.   

More than ten miles away from the Qianjia village.

The red horse was running through the dense forest under the heavy rain.    

There were two people on the back of the horse, one big and one small.

The older one had grey hair and was quite old. He wore a silver scholar garment. The raincoat was draped over his shoulder and he wore a bamboo hat. The small one didn’t have a raincoat. His both hands were rigidly clenching on the reins.

After looking carefully, wasn’t the child who was pursuing his lips, while looking solemn and dignified, A Yan?

“Jia!”

Where the horse's hooves fell, the muddy water was splattering. 

The red horse was like a flame leaping through the jungle. Without the slightest hesitation, one leap took him 2 feet further. He crossed over the rapid stream and only then stopped. 

“A Yan, it, it’s okay…”.

The weak voice came from the back. 

A Yan controlled the steed to half-kneel and helped the frail old man get off the horse. The blood mixed with rainwater, gathered under the old man's feet. He powerlessly sat on the ground. He had a greenish-white complexion. His right hand was covering the position below the right rib. The wound wouldn’t stop bleeding.

The old man took several deep breaths, then relaxed his breathing to suppress the severe pain of his wound. The blue veins on his forehead were throbbing uncontrollably.

A Yan looked at him saddened. He lifted his hand to help him straighten out the hat. The elder tried to smile, but it looked uglier than crying: “Nothing. Fortunately, it’s not deep. I won’t die…” 

After a moment, he saw A Yan take out a piece of sticky caramel from his sack. It was the size of a thumb, stained with blood and wet by the rain. He handed it to the old man and said, “Teacher, eat”.

The elder smiled and didn’t refuse. 

The taste of caramel wasn’t too good.

He tore his sleeve, to make a simple bandage. After that, with A Yan’s support, he stood up. He started talking to himself: “Firstly, we have to find a place to hide from the rain, then we should go to Xiao city to replenish our rations”. 

A Yan muttered: “Xiao city?”

The elder said: “Yes, firstly we will go there and then decide on the rest”. 

They could luckily avoid the chase this time, but the next time? 

Luck will not always be with him, so it was better to make preparations early.

A Yan had suffered. He had to flee with this bad old man from a young age. Originally he wanted him to stay in the village, but——the child grew up and had his own idea.   

A Yan nodded: “Well, let’s go to the Xiao city!”    

“Does A Yan know where the Xiao city is?”    

“I don't know”. A Yan pointed at the horse, “But we have a big red horse”.

The old man couldn't help laughing: “You are still too young. The big red horse won't last long, and maintaining it forcibly will cause you a lot of burden… A Yan, put away your big red horse. The situation is better now. Firstly, let's find shelter from the rain for the night…”

A Yan vigorously nodded.

This night passed especially hard.

When Shen Tang awoke, the rain had already stopped. 

The soil outside the house was muddy, and the potholes were full of it. The village official had already packed the dry food prepared for the two of them.    

Taking advantage of the still light, Qi Shan decided to leave early.

The two of them hurried for 12 hours before they came across a roadside tea shop. They decided to stop and rest, drink some tea and catch their breath.

There was a sound of horseshoes coming from everywhere. There were about a hundred people, all dressed as soldiers. Behind them, were a few prison carts that they were escorting.   

Qi Shan glanced at Shen Tang from the corner of his eye: “Don't be nervous, young master Shen. They are not looking for you. This group should be the Geng country soldiers”.