When love draws near, it's like snow

Chapter 21

I sighed inwardly at my bad luck and could only force a smile. "Sir," I said, "I am a scholar on my way to the capital to prepare for the autumn examinations. I am currently hungry and would like to eat something. I wonder if you could do me a favor?"

"Are you blind? Can't you see the banner of my Weiyuan Escort Agency? Get the hell out of here!" The man refused to back down and started cursing.

In a fit of anger, I didn't care about anything else and retorted, "So what if you're from Weiyuan Escort Agency? Does this road belong to you? Haven't you heard the saying, 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; all people under heaven are subjects of the king'?"

"You pedantic scholar? What are you talking about with me in front of your grandfather? Are you looking for death?" The man rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist to strike.

"Li Hu, what are you doing?" Our argument alerted the others, and a young man in a black bodysuit stood up from his seat and stopped him.

"Third Master, this pedantic scholar wouldn't listen to my advice and insisted on squeezing in with us. His behavior is very suspicious, and I'm afraid he's after our shipment. That's why I wanted to get rid of him," Li Hu said, preemptively accusing the villain.

"Are you in charge? Fine, then you be the judge of this! I was just hungry and wanted to eat something here. I'm a scholar, weak and helpless; how could I possibly have any malicious intentions? He wouldn't listen to my explanation, insisted on kicking me out, and even tried to hit me. What kind of logic is this?"

The young man looked me up and down. "Li Hu, don't cause trouble. Don't forget that this escort mission is of great importance, so be careful not to attract attention. It's always good to be cautious, but there's no need to be reckless or competitive!"

"You're the one who understands things." I breathed a sigh of relief, cupped my hands in greeting, and asked, "May I ask your esteemed name, young hero?"

"My name is Ye Gucheng." He gave me a curt bow, then ignored me and sat back down in his chair.

"Your surname is also Ye? What a coincidence! My name is Ye Qingyang. We can't write two Ye characters in one stroke, we really are destined to meet." I smiled happily at him.

"Is that so? May I ask where Young Master Ye is headed?"

"Alas, where else can a scholar like me go? Of course, I'm going to the capital to prepare for this year's autumn examination!" He glanced at him, feigning concern. "Unfortunately, the world is in chaos these days, and I don't have the outstanding martial arts skills of Young Hero Ye to rely on, so traveling is very inconvenient!"

“We are heading to Bianliang. If Young Master Ye doesn’t mind, you might as well travel with us. That way we can look out for each other. What do you think, Young Master Ye?” He smiled broadly, his eyes showing a hint of pride, and generously invited me to go with him.

"Of course I'd love to accept this! Thank you so much for your kindness, Young Hero Ye!" I was overjoyed and kept thanking him—haha, as expected, there's always a way out!

And so, I followed the镖局 (escort agency), traveling day and night, tirelessly heading north. It turned out they had been hired by the Prefect of Jiangling to escort a shipment of gifts to Grand Tutor Cai Jing in Bianjing (Kaifeng) to present a birthday gift. To this, I could only shake my head and sigh.

After traveling for about ten days, they arrived at a small town called Sunjiawan on the banks of the Han River at dusk. The sky was overcast, and a heavy rain began to fall. The road became extremely muddy. Ye Gucheng surveyed the surroundings and then directed the group to stay at the town's only inn, preparing to cross the river at dawn.

As usual, the guards were assigned, and everyone rested separately after dinner. Although I had learned to ride horses before out of interest, I found it quite strenuous to ride day and night like this, and my physical strength was greatly depleted. So as soon as I entered my room, I fell asleep immediately.

"Young Master Ye, wake up!" In my sleep, someone was shaking my body vigorously.

"Who is it?" I rubbed my sleepy eyes and was surprised to find Li Hu standing at the head of my bed. "What happened?"

"Someone's robbing the goods. They're too tough. Young Master Ye, you'd better run, or we might not be able to protect you!" In the dim light from the window, I was surprised to see Li Hu's face filled with grief and indignation, and his body covered in blood.

I jumped out of bed immediately. "Where's Brother Ye?"

Li Hu gripped the knife in his hand, his knuckles already turning white, his face ashen. "The Third Boss has taken the goods and crossed the river! Don't say any more, hurry up and escape through the back door! Remember, don't look back!" With that, he dragged me out the door, then turned and rushed forward again.

The courtyard was littered with corpses. Seeing those who had been drinking and chatting with me just hours before now lying in pools of blood, I couldn't help but burst into tears. Although these people were rough and uneducated, they were completely honest and trusting of me, a complete stranger!

"None of you will escape!" A chilling voice rang out. In the darkness, a figure moved with lightning speed, like a ghost. With a swift stroke, Li Hu fell to the ground without uttering a sound. The man grinned maliciously and lunged at me, his raised steel blade still dripping with Li Hu's blood. I knew I couldn't escape this fate, so I calmed myself, closed my eyes, and awaited death—the blade sliced from my chest down to my right arm, blood gushing out. I collapsed, sinking into the boundless darkness…

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly I felt as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on my chest. Who was it? Who was pressing down on me? I struggled to open my eyes, but all I saw was—no way?! It was raining mud from the sky?!

I reached out to rub my eyes, but touched an icy hand. I screamed, but heard an even worse scream that nearly pierced my eardrums. I struggled to sit up and looked around in the dim moonlight, only to find myself surrounded by a pile of corpses—all the men and guards from the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

"You, you, you have a grievance to settle, I didn't kill you, so don't bother me!" A trembling voice appeared above me, accompanied by a silver-white head—it was an old man nearing sixty. He held a shovel and looked at me with terror in his eyes—it seemed I had been buried as a corpse.

I gave a wry smile. Living in this world, you really do encounter all sorts of things! "Don't be afraid, I'm still alive. Please help me up." As soon as the words left my mouth, I was startled—was that hoarse, unpleasant voice really coming from me?

The old man grasped my hand, trembling—perhaps the warmth of my hand reassured him. He let out a long sigh and quickly pulled me out of the pit. "Young man, you're incredibly lucky! If you had woken up an hour later, even if you hadn't been killed by the robbers, I would have buried you alive!"

I thanked the old man and noticed that apart from my right arm being injured and unable to move, there were no other wounds—strange, I clearly remembered that the knife had slashed straight down from my chest to my right arm, so why was there no mark now? Logically, that knife wound should have killed me long ago. Could it be...? The clothes Huaiyuan gave me really saved my life? It seems I owe him another life!

The old man led me back to the inn in Sunjiawan. After talking with him, I learned that the old man's name was Zhao Jinghui, and he was the magistrate of Wu'an County. He had recently retired and was returning to his hometown with his wife, intending to go back to Yangzhou to settle down. Because his wife's nephew was the owner of the inn in Sunjiawan, he had made a special trip here on his way back home, only to find that his nephew's entire family had been murdered.

The old man was heartbroken and had no choice but to swallow his grief and ask some villagers to help bury everyone in a mass grave on the outskirts of town.

"Fifty-four lives! How could those thieves do such a thing?!" At this point, Old Madam Sun broke down in tears again. She had only wanted to see her loved ones one last time, but now she was burying her children!

"Grandma Sun, please accept my condolences." I wiped away my tears and comforted her, "Don't be sad, from now on, I'll be your grandson!"

“Yes, my wife, you must take care of yourself. Zhong’er is gone, there’s no use in being sad. You should cheer up and make plans for the future.” Zhao Jinghui gently patted his wife’s back, comforting her with kind words.

"Yes, I'm afraid those thieves won't be able to catch the Third Master and will come back here. If they find there are still survivors, that would be terrible! We need to get out of this dangerous place as soon as possible." I was extremely worried.

“If we travel by land, with our wounded and elderly members, we certainly won’t go far before being caught. Why don’t we go downstream, enter the Yangtze River first, and then make further plans?” Old Man Zhao, having served as a county magistrate, calmly analyzed the situation. “I just don’t know if Young Master Ye’s injuries can hold out.”

"That's the only way!" I gritted my teeth and shook my head. "My injury is nothing serious, let's hurry up and go."

So, under the moonlight, the three of us, supporting each other, bought a boat that very night and headed east from the Han River towards the Yangtze River...

This book was first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Website. Please retain this information when reprinting!

[Volume Two: Farewell Chapter Two - The Night is as Cool as Water]

"Brother Qingyang, come out and see!" Xiaofeng's excited and joyful voice came from outside the window. I peeked out and saw her holding an exquisite silk palace lantern, with a proud smile on her rosy round face.

"This lamp is so beautiful." I slowly strolled out of the room and into the yard. "Did you make it yourself? Xiaofeng, you're so clever."

"Yes, I'm determined to win first place this year for the Qixi Festival!" Xiao Feng pouted slightly. "Xiao Yu won first place last year, she was so proud! I want to do even better than her!"

"Xiaofeng has the most skillful hands, you're definitely going to be number one this year." I smiled, patted her head, and gave her a thumbs up.

It's already July! I sighed inwardly, time really flies. Looking back, after leaving Sunjiawan, I said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Zhao—they were both so old, they deserved to enjoy their retirement, but I couldn't bear to see them worrying and toiling for me every day, so I parted ways with them. Afterwards, I traveled several times before finally arriving in Jiangning.

This place is rich in resources and people, a place of great cultural heritage, with convenient transportation, and it is also a famous historical city. I have long admired the scenery of Qinhuai, and now I am wandering alone. I am content with whatever comes my way, and my arm injury is getting worse, so I need to rest. All of this made me settle down here. Fortunately, Liu Wufeng is generous and I managed to get five hundred taels of silver from him before I left.

I prefer quiet and dislike the hustle and bustle of inns, so I found a family near Mochou Lake and the Qinhuai River and rented a secluded courtyard to stay in.

Xiao Feng is the daughter of the Shen family next door. She is pretty and charming, lively and adorable, and only fourteen years old. Because she felt sorry for me, as I stayed indoors for months on end, she often came over uninvited, relieving me of a lot of worries.