Side Story – Shi Jing in His Youth (Part 1)
March is the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom. Shi Jing found the most beautiful peach tree in the garden, sat leisurely on a big rock under the tree, and then leisurely took out a small wine pot from his pocket. He had just opened the lid and hadn't even taken a small sip when he suddenly heard a shrill scream that echoed through the sky.
"I'm going to kill you!" Shi Jing was stunned. The little romantic mood he had just built up, where he was enjoying flowers, books, and wine, was shattered with a "pfft".
With this powerful shout, a peach petal fluttered down and landed squarely on his head.
Shi Jing sighed helplessly, put away the small wine pot, and looked up to see a man and a woman running towards the peach blossom forest.
Men in front, women in back.
The woman, wielding a large butcher's knife, was imposing and had a fierce physique.
The man was frail and delicate, with clear features and a petite figure.
What kind of situation is this? A crime of passion? A revenge killing? Should we avoid it? What if someone dies? It's best to wait and see.
The man ran around a peach tree a couple of times, then suddenly turned around and said fiercely, "If you come any closer, I'll make you regret it!"
The woman paused for a moment, then with a whoosh, she swung her broadsword and lunged forward, howling, "If you kill him, I won't live either!"
"You told me to kill him!"
"I was just venting my frustration, who told you to take it seriously!"
With a slash and a hack, she charged straight at the man. Shi Jing realized that this woman knew absolutely no martial arts; she was just using brute force, hacking around wildly. But that butcher's knife was incredibly sharp, its gleaming blade almost blinding.
Fearing someone might die, Shi Jing quickly stepped forward to block the large butcher knife and kindly advised, "Sister, let's talk this out. Be careful not to hurt anyone, or the authorities will come to arrest you."
The woman struggled twice, but couldn't grab the butcher knife. With a howl, she collapsed to the ground, yelling, "I don't want to live anymore!" Then she started rolling around—literally rolling around—at the foot of the stone, rolling and rolling...
Shi Jing was caught in a dilemma, unable to pull away or hide. He was sweating profusely and rubbing his hands together awkwardly, saying, "Big sister, big sister, get up and talk."
The woman just kept crying and wailing.
The boy snorted, "Never mind her. I'm really unlucky. I tried to do a good deed but she tried to extort me. Humph, I'll never do anything stupid like that again."
"Young man, what exactly happened?"
"Her husband was a womanizer and gave her a venereal disease. Now he despises her for not being able to have children and wants to divorce her. She disagreed and was beaten half to death. She didn't want to live anymore and wanted to kill her husband so that they could all die together. I happened to pass by and overheard this. I felt sorry for her, so I killed that wicked man with one stab. In the end, she didn't appreciate it and instead wanted to fight me to the death."
The young man's voice was clear and melodious, like the tinkling of a spring. Although he used short sentences and coarse words, he spoke them with the grace of a zither. Shi Jing stared blankly at the handsome young man with refined features and an elegant demeanor, swallowing hard: "You, you really killed someone?"
The boy raised an eyebrow and pointed at the woman on the ground, saying, "She made me kill her. Tell me, shouldn't that kind of man be killed?"
Shi Jing was speechless with embarrassment. This man was truly unpredictable. Looking at his frail and seemingly powerless body, he had actually killed the man without batting an eye.
"I'm not going to live!" The woman rolling on the ground cried even louder.
Shi Jing wiped his sweat, thought for a moment, then took out a twenty-tael silver note from his pocket and handed it to the woman, saying, "Sister, take this money and leave this place to live your own life. The dead cannot be brought back to life, so you should live your life well from now on."
The woman looked at the silver note in Shi Jing's hand and wiped away her tears: "Twenty taels?"
"Yes, the banknotes are fully funded."
The woman sobbed, "Thank you so much, kind man." She hastily wiped away her tears, grabbed the silver notes, and left, quick and decisive. Of course, she gave the boy a fierce glare as she went.
The boy stared blankly at the woman's back, then glared at Shi Jing with wide eyes: "She cried so hard, and you settled things with just twenty taels of silver! No wonder my father said that you can't be a good person, that people's hearts are all bullshit, and that money is what matters."
Shi Jing gasped in shock. What kind of father educates his child like this!
“Young man, you don’t understand. She’s not crying for her husband, she’s crying for herself. After how her husband treated her, it’s no wonder she still thinks about him! I bet she’d rather he were dead. But she’s a woman, unable to have children, unable to remarry, and unable to support herself. How can she live alone without her husband?”
The boy blinked, puzzled: "But she was clearly gritting her teeth and wanted to kill her man."
Shi Jing patted the boy's shoulder, his gaze distant: "Little brother, sometimes you can't trust what women say. They're always saying the opposite of what they mean. You'll understand when you grow up."
The boy twisted his body, shook off his hand, and frowned, saying, "Pah, who says you can't trust a woman's words?"
Shi Jing hurriedly replied, "I meant, sometimes."
"snort."
"You'd better leave quickly, or the authorities will come and arrest you."
The boy sized up Shi Jing, then suddenly grinned slyly: "The officials are here. I'll say you instigated me to kill someone."
Shi Jing jumped up high: "Hey, hey, young man, you can't do this. I helped you, and you still hurt me."
The boy pouted: "I helped her, and she still wants to kill me?"
Shi Jing cried out, "Oh, oh! You can't do this!"
The boy straightened his clothes and glanced at him: "You've taken me to Loudong Town, and I won't recognize you anymore."
Shi Jing was sweating profusely: "Young brother, I... I'll give you ten taels of silver, you can go by yourself, okay?"
The boy's beautiful eyes widened again, and he put his hands on his hips, saying, "No way! Why should that woman get twenty taels and I get ten? Am I not as good as her?"
Shi Jing felt like a scholar encountering a soldier. He gritted his teeth and said, "I only brought fifty taels of silver with me. My uncle sent me to buy things. I... I'll give you twenty taels, okay?"
"No, I'm not a beggar, why should I take your money? Just take me to my destination."
Shi Jing had a headache; it seemed he'd been scammed today. Thinking that Lou Dong Town was on the way, he decided to give him a ride.