touchnovel Chapter 7: Good things don't come true, but bad things do.
Chapter 7: Good things don't come true, but bad things do.
What comes into view are rows of simple thatched huts.
Inside the thatched shed were donkeys kept in their pens, and next to them were carts used for carrying people and goods.
As for the carriages... there wasn't a single horse in sight.
"Sir, where are you going?"
"Sir, my donkey cart is spacious, please ride in it."
"My donkey is in its prime, it drives very steadily."
...
As soon as I entered the vehicle area, a group of people surrounded me, promoting their donkey carts.
Bai Chen glanced around and asked loudly, "Is there anyone familiar with Qingyun Mountain, two hundred miles away?"
"Qingyun Mountain is two hundred li away, that's too far!"
"Damn it, so they're going to Qingyun Mountain. That road isn't safe."
"Sigh, let's all go."
The group dispersed in a huff.
Only one burly young boy, leading a dilapidated donkey cart, remained in the same spot.
"Sir, I...I can go to Qingyun Mountain," Han Shuisheng said timidly.
"Do you know the way?" Bai Chen looked the other person up and down.
He was quite robust, but the youthful innocence on his face was very obvious.
This is clearly a young boy.
"I know the way, sir, I know the way," Han Shuisheng quickly said.
"My hometown is over there in Qingyun Mountain, but my family were outsiders. After my father died, I was driven out of the village."
Bai Chen nodded slightly, not paying attention to the man's identity, and asked:
"Tell me, how much money did this trip cost?"
"Three taels... no, two taels of silver, sir, just two taels will do." Han Shuisheng was a little nervous, afraid of being refused.
In fact, this price is already very affordable.
Firstly, the journey is long and the road is not safe, so it involves a certain degree of risk.
Furthermore, Qingyun Mountain is located in a remote area, so it's difficult to attract repeat customers, and they have to come back empty-handed.
"Can!"
Bai Chen nodded.
...
the other side.
Inside a warehouse at Yong'an City Wharf.
Two people dressed in hemp clothing and wrapped in headscarves, looking like ordinary people, knelt on the ground.
"Third Master, we really encountered a ghost."
"Yes, Third Master, we clearly saw that person enter the outhouse, and even search it, but he disappeared."
"As soon as we came out, that person instantly reappeared in the outhouse."
The two of them talked back and forth.
The deepest part of the warehouse.
A burly man dressed in a tiger skin, his muscles bulging, stared coldly at his two subordinates.
The burly man is called Yan Peng. You are the third leader of the Jiaolong Gang and are in charge of managing the West Wharf of Yong'an City.
That is, the Third Master mentioned by the pawnshop owner.
After hearing his subordinate's words, Third Master snorted coldly and said in a gruff voice:
"What the hell? I've never seen anything like it in my life."
"He lost track of a stranger, what a fucking piece of trash."
Third Master waved his hand and said, "Have all the brothers at the West Wharf who are free go out and find traces of that outsider."
"Then I'll see if it's a god or a demon. If it's a god, I'll slaughter it; if it's a demon, I'll kill it!"
"Yes, Third Master!"
"Yes, Third Master!"
The two men wore expressions of relief, and then went to convey Third Master's orders.
.....
The Jiaolong Gang is the largest gang in Yong'an City.
They control the most profitable businesses in Yong'an City, including the docks, casinos, and opium dens.
They engaged in bullying and monopolizing markets, colluded with officials, and exploited the people... they were utterly wicked.
For the Jiaolong Gang, murder and robbery are just the most insignificant of their countless evil deeds.
"Third Master, there's news about that outsider."
Soon, a wandering swordsman arrived at the warehouse, panting, to report the news.
"Take a breath and speak slowly!"
"Reporting to Third Master, the outsider first went to the carriage shop, and then hired a donkey cart, intending to go to Qingyun Mountain."
The wandering swordsman pointed outside the warehouse and said urgently, "They should have already left the city by now."
Have they left the city?
Third Master suddenly stood up and ordered, "Someone prepare horses. Let Mengzi lead the team on horseback and come out of the city with me."
That stranger possessed a rare crystal.
Even without the rare crystal, the nine hundred taels of silver from the pawnshop alone were enough to make the trip worthwhile.
.....
Here.
Outside Yong'an City.
Huffing and puffing
The donkey brayed, a small cart slung over its shoulder, and slowly moved along the road under Han Shuisheng's lead.
On the donkey cart sat a man dressed strangely, with a peculiar iron rod hanging around his neck.
It was Bai Chen who was heading to Qingyun Mountain.
The donkey cart, lacking spring shock absorbers, was extremely bumpy on the uneven road.
Bai Chen couldn't even close his eyes to rest, so he could only chat with Han Shuisheng, who was leading the donkey, to pass the time.
Through conversation with Han Shuisheng, I learned that he was also a child with a tragic fate.
His mother died in childbirth, so Han Shuisheng lived with his hunter father from a young age.
Later, my father also died.
The family's house and land were divided up and wiped out by the village, leaving only this donkey used for pulling the millstone.
Han Shuisheng risked his life to protect this donkey.
From then on, Han Shuisheng lived with his donkey, making a living by hauling people and goods in the city.
Bai Chen was quite moved and felt a pang of sympathy for Han Shuisheng.
In his previous life, he particularly liked a lyric sung by a singer named Hailai Amu.
"You're not having an easy time yourself, yet you're moved by other people's stories."
Many times.
Even though my own life is a complete mess, I always find resonance in other people's stories and get incredibly moved.
now.
After listening to Han Shuisheng's story.
Bai Chen made up his mind that once they arrived at their destination, he would give the other party a little more silver.
It wasn't an overflowing sense of sympathy, but simply a feeling of resonance with the story of this person who shared a similar plight.
"Shuisheng, what if we run into bandits in this desolate wilderness?"
With nothing else to do, Bai Chen decided to tease the boy.
"Reporting to Master Bai, if we are unlucky enough to encounter this, you should ride your donkey and go ahead, and I will cover your retreat."
Han Shuisheng said earnestly.
"oh?"
Bai Chen raised an eyebrow, somewhat disbelieving, and asked in return, "Cover the rear? Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"Hehe, afraid of dying, huh?" Han Shuisheng scratched his head and chuckled foolishly.
"However, my father said that if you take someone's money, you should do their bidding. That's a basic principle of being a decent human being."
"Not bad, that's got guts!" Bai Chen was a little skeptical, but he still gave a thumbs up.
After all, it was just casual conversation, and he wasn't a contrarian, so there was no need to argue.
As the saying goes...
Good things don't come true, but bad things do.
Just as Bai Chen and Han Shuisheng were chatting nonsense.
Several fast horses galloped along the path, quickly approaching the donkey cart carrying Bai Chen.
at last.
Woo~ Lulu~
Third Master took the lead, bypassing the donkey cart and blocking the road.
The remaining members of the Jiaolong Gang also rode their horses and surrounded the donkey cart.
"Master Bai...Master Bai~"
Han Shuisheng's voice trembled, and he felt as if his legs were filled with lead, with no strength left.
However, he remembered his father's teachings and what he had just said.
I mustered up a sliver of courage.
"Master Bai, I...I'll hold them off, you go first!"
Han Shuisheng's voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely clear on the quiet path.
Third Master and several members of the Jiaolong Gang were slightly taken aback at first, and then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha~"
"This little brat, he's got a real silver tongue, trying to stall us?"
"This is hilarious! But this little brat's got guts, I like him!"
"You little brat, you're such a braggart. Come on, give me a blowjob, and if it feels good, I'll consider letting you go."