Aquí hay amor por trescientos taeles

Capítulo 19

Seeing that Wanwan was silent with her head down, Sima Liuyun replied, "That's right. If we travel northwest along this road for three to five days, we will reach Lezhou."

The young master was slightly surprised by his refined manner of speaking, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He nodded and said, "Thank you." A man beside him then took out a piece of silver from his pocket and threw it over.

Sima Liuyun, afraid of revealing his martial arts skills, pretended to reach out to catch it but failed. The piece of silver fell to the ground and rolled right at Wanwan's feet. Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

The young master's expression shifted slightly when he saw her lower her head, revealing a patch of snow-white skin on the back of her neck.

Wanwan quickly picked up the broken piece of silver and handed it to Sima Liuyun.

The young master stared at her slender, fair fingers for a moment, then moved his gaze to her body, looking her up and down. His eyes landed on her full breasts, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Seeing that Wanwan was about to leave with Sima Liuyun with her eyelashes lowered, he coughed and turned to wink at the two people beside him.

The two men immediately laughed and dismounted, blocking Sima Liuyun and his companion's path. One of them grabbed Wanwan's wrist and dragged her aside, saying with a smile, "You country bumpkin, what good fortune you've accumulated over countless lifetimes to have caught the eye of my young master?"

The other man turned and asked with a smile, "Young master, what should we do with this country bumpkin?"

The young master looked impatient and slightly raised his eyebrows.

The man understood, drew his long sword from his waist, and thrust it towards Sima Liuyun's heart.

☆, Sharing Weal and Woe (Part Two)

Seeing how vicious and despicable these people were, Sima Liuyun was furious. He immediately flicked his finger at the man's longsword. The man suddenly felt a hidden force coming through the sword, and his body went numb. His hand went light, and the longsword was snatched away.

Sima Liuyun held his longsword in hand, twirling it with a flourish. Before the crowd could see how he made his move, they heard the person holding Wanwan cry out in pain. The longsword had pierced acupoints in the chest, arms, and wrists, drawing blood.

Wanwan broke free from the man's grasp, lowered her head and remained silent, quickly slipping behind Sima Liuyun.

Seeing that Sima Liuyun had subdued the two men in an instant, the young master realized that he was a hidden master. His expression changed, and he cupped his hands and said, "Your martial arts are superb. I misjudged you just now. Please forgive my rudeness. We have no enmity with each other. There's no need to fight over such a small misunderstanding. Let's just keep to ourselves and continue on our way."

Sima Liuyun despised his character and remained silent for a long time with a sullen face. Wanwan tugged at his sleeve and replied in a low voice, "Young master is right. Please, everyone, continue on your way."

The young man nodded to Wanwan again and said with a smile, "I was very rude just now, please don't take offense, young lady."

Wanwan only hoped to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible, so she mumbled a reply and forced a smile at him.

The young master narrowed his eyes slightly when he met her ingratiating yet fearful gaze. Seeing that she was about to leave with Sima Liuyun, he suddenly called out, "Su Wan?"

Wanwan's body trembled, and she tried to leap away to escape, but the young master had already leaped from his horse and landed lightly in front of her, blocking her way. He raised his lips and sneered, "Wanwan, we haven't seen each other for many years, and we haven't even had a proper reunion yet. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Wanwan didn't answer. The steel claw hidden in her sleeve had already been flung out, flying swiftly towards his face. The young master, with a disdainful expression, drew his longsword from behind his back, swung his arm to deflect the claw, and then aimed for Wanwan's shoulder. Wanwan, however, didn't dodge. Her left hand suddenly shot out, grabbing his sword, while her right hand, wielding the claw, circled in the air before striking his vital point at the waist.

The young master noticed the dark gold gloves on her hands at a glance, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He blurted out, "Dark Silk Gloves?" He quickly used his strength to pull the longsword out of her hand, swung the sword to deflect the flying claw, took two steps back and looked at Wanwan, his heart filled with astonishment.

Wanwan, wanting to scare him away, sneered slightly, "You're quite discerning, recognizing this black silk hand. Do you know who this young master traveling with me is?" She then pointed at Sima Liuyun.

The young master glanced at Sima Liuyun and saw that although he had changed his appearance, he was still very young and his martial arts skills were so superb that he must be one of the top figures in the martial arts world. After a moment of thought, he exclaimed in surprise, "Could you be Sima Liuyun from Sichuan?"

Upon hearing him call out "Su Wan," Sima Liuyun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately recalled the words He Zhenyang of the Kongtong Sect had spoken to him outside the Anping Inn that day. Seeing that the techniques he used when fighting Wanwan were from the Kongtong style, he replied, "I am indeed Sima Liuyun. Are you a disciple of the Kongtong Sect?"

The young master smiled proudly and said, "My name is Su Rang."

Upon hearing his name, Sima Liuyun was also startled and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "So it's Sect Leader Su." This Su Rang was Su Yunjin's nephew. Because of his wealthy family background and the considerable assistance he provided to the Kongtong Sect, Su Yunjin valued him highly. He not only imparted all his martial arts skills to Su Rang but also adopted him as his godson, entrusting him with most of the sect's affairs. Therefore, after Su Yunjin was assassinated a year ago, Su Rang naturally succeeded him as the new sect leader.

Sima Liuyun had long heard of Su Rang's name, but had never met him. He never expected that this man, as the leader of a sect, would be so despicable, committing such acts of lust and indiscriminate killing of innocent people. He couldn't help but frown slightly.

Su Rang said, "This woman has a deep-seated grudge against my Kongtong Sect. Not long ago, she even killed more than ten of my disciples, including He Zhenyang. I ask Young Master Sima to hand her over to me so that I can take her back to my sect for punishment."

Upon hearing this, Sima Liuyun was taken aback and asked, "Brother Zhenyang and the others have already...?" He was filled with surprise and doubt, and turned to look at Wanwan.

Wanwan bit her lip and said softly, "At that time, Miss Luo and I were surrounded and attacked by them. We had no choice but to hurt them."

Su Rang sneered, "You vicious woman, you even killed your own aunt, cousins, and sisters, and you still say you had no choice? Young Master Sima, I have long heard of your chivalrous and righteous character, and I will certainly not protect such a degenerate who defies human ethics!"

Seeing Sima Liuyun frowning and remaining silent, he took two steps forward, reached out and grabbed Wanwan's wrist, and shouted, "Why aren't you obediently coming back with me!"

Wanwan's face turned ashen. She wanted to retreat and dodge, but she saw that Su Rang's Great Capturing Hand was so precise and cunning that it had completely blocked her escape route. She gritted her teeth and thought to herself: If I have to go back and suffer his torment, I'd rather die right now.

※※※※

It was already evening when Yun Ran and Qi Mo emerged from the dense forest. Seeing that Qi Mo was seriously injured, she knew that he couldn't push himself and needed to find a place for him to rest for two days before they could continue their journey.

Seeing a few scattered houses ahead, they disregarded everything else and helped Qi Mo to the door of a nearby farmhouse. The door was ajar, but there was no one inside.

Knowing that their master was most likely out working in the fields and had not yet returned, Qi Mo smiled and said, "Let's go in and stay here first. When the master comes back, we'll give him more silver."

Yun Ran nodded, looked around, and saw that the room was simple, with an earthen wall dividing it into two rooms, each containing a wooden bed. She helped Qi Mo to sit down on the bed in the outer room, then scooped a basin of water from the bucket beside the stove, took out a silk handkerchief, and carefully washed the dust off her face. Turning her head, she saw Qi Mo looking at her with a smile in his eyes, and couldn't help but ask irritably, "What are you looking at?"

Qi Mo smiled and said, "I thought you were going to scoop up water to drink, but I didn't expect you to use it to wash your face."

Yun Ran blushed. Seeing his chapped lips, she knew he was very thirsty, so she quickly scooped a bowl of water for him. Qi Mo drank the water from her hand and said, "Thank you."

Yun Ran didn't want to talk to him much, so she sat quietly on a wooden stool with her eyelashes lowered, waiting for her master to return. However, she waited until sunset without seeing anyone. Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Mo said, "Check if there's any rice in the rice jar. Why don't we cook something first?"

Yun Ran did as instructed, walked to the rice jar, and lifted the lid. She saw that there was still a small amount of brown rice left inside. She looked into the rice jar for a moment, then silently returned to the stool and sat down.

Qi Mo asked, "Is there no rice?"

Yun Ran snorted, and after a long while said, "Yes... but I don't know how to make it."

Qi Mo noticed her cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke, and her tone seemed rather reluctant, so he couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the embarrassment and annoyance in Yun Ran's eyes, he quickly stopped laughing, coughed lightly, and said, "I brought some dry rations with me, would you like to eat some first?"

Before Yun Ran could answer, she caught a glimpse of a figure flashing in front of the door out of the corner of her eye and quickly stood up.

The door was slowly pushed open, and a small head peeked in from outside, its eyes blinking timidly as it looked back and forth between her and Qi Mo.

When the two men saw that it was a four or five-year-old child, they were both taken aback.

The child looked around for a while, then suddenly asked in a clear voice, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"

Yun Ran realized he was a child from this farming family, and she looked down at him and asked, "Where are your parents? Why haven't they come back yet?"

The child glared and said, "My parents have been gone for several days. How would I know why they haven't come back?" He then pushed open the door, pouted, and walked to the bedside.

Qi Mo looked at him for a moment, then looked away and said indifferently, "This area is desolate. I suppose his parents couldn't make a living and abandoned the child to fend for themselves."

Yun Ran glared at him, then turned to look at the child. Seeing that he didn't seem to understand the meaning behind Qi Mo's words, she asked gently, "What's your name?"

The child looked blankly and said, "Little Bean."

Yun Ran took a piece of silver from her bosom and handed it to him, saying, "Little Bean, we'll stay at your house for two days. Here's some silver for you to buy some cakes."

Little Bean seemed to understand but not quite. He took the silver, and Yun Ran smiled slightly at him before turning to Qi Mo and asking, "Didn't you just say you brought some dry rations?"

Qi Mo took out the dry rations, and the three of them ate some to fill their stomachs. Yun Ran was exhausted from the day's many battles and struggles. After locking the door, she went into the inner room to rest.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Xiaodouzi followed her in, climbed onto the bed first, and said, "You don't need to coax me to sleep, I'm already very sleepy, I can fall asleep by myself."

Yun Ran was stunned for a moment. She walked to the bedside and said to him, "Why don't you go outside and sleep with that uncle? I'll give you another silver ingot to buy candy."

Little Bean yawned and said, "No, why don't you sleep with him? My dad and mom sleep together every night."

Yun Ran's face flushed red. She was about to say something more, but saw that he had already buried his head and fallen into a deep sleep. Helpless, she had no choice but to return to the outer room. There she saw Qi Mo leaning against the headboard with a smirk on his face, probably having overheard her conversation with Xiao Douzi.

Seeing Yun Ran come out, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, "How about I sleep on the floor tonight and you can sleep on the bed?"

Yun Ran remained silent with a cold expression. She found a straw mat, spread it on the ground, extinguished the oil lamp with a wave of her hand, and lay down fully clothed.

In the middle of the night, Yun Ran suddenly heard a commotion outside. She immediately sat up and saw through the window that the firelight was bright outside the door. In the distance, she heard people knocking on doors and shouting. She knew that the soldiers were patrolling the area. Startled, she reached for the soft sword beside her. She heard Qi Mo say in a low voice, "Quickly put away the straw mat and come to bed."

Yun Ran hesitated for a moment, and several people approached the door, banging on it loudly and shouting, "Open the door quickly! The government is arresting wanted criminals, and every household will be checked. If you dawdle and delay the officials' work, be careful, or you'll be tied up and taken back to the yamen for punishment!"

Qi Mo hurriedly responded loudly, "Coming, coming." He winked at Yun Ran, who quickly rolled up the straw mat and stuffed it under the bed, then climbed onto the bed and hid under the covers.

☆、Feelings without feeling

Qi Mo quickly removed the hairpin from Yun Ran's head and then reached out to pull at her clothes.

Yun Ran whispered angrily, "Don't touch me!"

Qi Mo dared not continue, so he had to tear open his clothes to expose his arms. After thinking for a moment, he took out a porcelain bottle, opened it, sprinkled some of the medicinal powder inside onto his bare skin, and then lay back down on his side.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open from the outside, and several soldiers, carrying torches and cursing, barged into the room.

Qi Mo cried out "Ouch!" and propped himself up halfway from under the covers, saying in a panic, "Why did you barge in before I could open the door, sir?"

One of the soldiers cursed, "You scoundrel, you dare to complain that we barged in! Why didn't you open the door earlier? Tell me, were you harboring a fugitive?"

Qi Mo stammered, "Just now, I was with my wife..."

The soldiers saw him with one arm draped outside, the quilt beside him bulging, revealing a woman's long, flowing hair, and their faces all showed lewd expressions. The leading soldier laughed and cursed, "What time is it? You're still having fun!" As he spoke, he looked around and, seeing that the room was too small to hide in, he stepped into the inner room to check.

Qi Mo was immediately startled: Oh no, I forgot about that brat!

The soldier asked, "Little fellow, have any strangers come to your house today?"

After a moment, Little Bean's sleepy voice replied, "Yes..."

Qi Mo's eyes flickered, and Xiao Douzi continued, "Isn't that you?"

The soldier spat and said, "You brat, besides your grandpa, has anyone else been here?"

Little Bean said impatiently, "Who is Grandpa Guan... I want to sleep. Go outside and ask my parents."

Seeing nothing suspicious, the officer came out again. He saw Yun Ran's dark, shiny hair sticking out from under the quilt and a wicked thought suddenly came to his mind. He smiled at Qi Mo and said, "I've searched the whole house, except for your bed. Hurry up and lift it up so the officer can check."

Qi Mo felt Yun Ran move slightly, and quickly reached out from under the blanket to gently grasp her hand, signaling her not to make any rash moves. He looked troubled and said, "This..."

The officer grinned and said, "What are you talking about? Could it be that there really is a fugitive hiding in the quilt?" As he spoke, he walked to the bedside and reached out to lift the quilt.

Qi Mo shielded him with his arm and said, "Neither my wife nor I are wearing any clothes..."

The soldier looked down and saw that his entire arm was covered in red spots, which was quite frightening. He quickly took a few steps back and exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to your arm!"

Qi Mo scratched his head and said, "For some reason, my wife and I have developed red rashes all over our bodies these past few days, and we've been feeling quite listless. If you insist on lifting the covers to check, sir, you might as well help us figure out what's wrong. Anyway, I can't afford a doctor..."

The soldiers were so frightened that they turned pale. They hurriedly covered their mouths and noses and fled the house with their companions as fast as they could.

As the firelight receded into the distance, Qi Mo chuckled softly, "These soldiers will only think we have smallpox, and they certainly won't dare to come and check around here again anytime soon."

Yun Ran peeked out from under the quilt and finally understood Qi Mo's intention in applying the powder to his arm. She couldn't help but admire his deep cunning and quick thinking.

Qi Mo held her smooth hand, then chuckled and sighed, "But I do hope they come more often."

Yun Ran quickly pulled her hand away from his palm, only to feel Qi Mo's warm breath spraying on her cheeks and neck in the darkness. Her body was also pressed tightly against his in the bed, and she couldn't help but blush and her heart race. She then tried to get up and get out of bed.