Кровавое убийство - Глава 49
I rolled my eyes, too lazy to bother with him, and walked past him to continue on my way.
"Hey! Say something! What is that thing?" Guan Dingshan relentlessly followed behind me—it seemed he wouldn't give up unless I told him. But why should I tell him?! Pshaw!
"Okay, then tell me, why did you suddenly come here?" Not getting an answer from me, he changed the subject to bother me, "Did you have a fight with Xiao Huizi? Did Xiao Huizi give you a hard time? Is he ignoring you? I knew it, that kid is a rock, you can't warm him up!"
I ignored him and kept my head down, urging my horse to gallop—I really wanted to know how long this old man was going to follow me before he would let me go.
I'm dizzy. I always travel by water, and the boatmen take care of everything – eating, drinking, relieving myself, sleeping. I had no idea missing the inn would be this bad! What good are silver notes anyway? Looks like I'll have to stay in this dilapidated temple tonight! The old man surnamed Guan doesn't seem to have any intention of going back either. He's looking at me with schadenfreude – he doesn't seem to want to help me at all, he's smiling like a fox.
"Skinny bamboo pole, I think you should just give up. I bet you won't even make it a hundred miles! You might as well go back before the Hui people find out; that would save you some face." Guan Dingshan grinned, arms crossed, as he looked at me picking up firewood.
I stubbornly pursed my lips, refusing to acknowledge his provocation—though I was anxious: at this rate, Huaiyuan would surely find me within three days—if he were willing to come looking for me.
"Are you serious?!" Guan Dingshan, seeing the fire I had started billowing thick smoke, finally couldn't hold back any longer and jumped in front of me. "You really don't plan to go back?!"
"Aren't you annoying? Don't you dislike me staying by your great master's side? Isn't not going back just what you want?!" I said coldly, moving my body to the fire, trying my best to dry my clothes—I was practically frozen solid! —If Huaiyuan saw me like this, would he still feel sorry for me? Tears of grievance welled up in my eyes instantly.
"Uh, uh. It's not that I don't like you. It's just... wouldn't you be even more likable if you were a little more generous?!" Guan Dingshan scratched his head sheepishly, then suddenly noticed my reddened eyes and immediately became flustered. "Hey, my dear aunt, don't cry! If Xiao Huizi sees this, he'll kill me!"—His frantic, scratching face was comparable to Sun Wukong's!
I couldn't help but chuckle. Then I pursed my lips and leaned against the wall. But my stomach suddenly growled loudly—oh dear! I'd completely forgotten about rations! I'd thought that like in modern times, money could buy food anywhere. Now I'm getting my comeuppance! That old man's definitely going to laugh me to death!
Guan Dingshan didn't laugh at me. Instead, he turned and left the temple—perhaps he realized I was serious about leaving, and that's why he left? So what if he's leaving? Who cares? Leaving me alone in this dilapidated temple, I'm not afraid at all!
It would be strange not to be afraid! Outside, the wind howled, the shadows of the trees swayed, and rain dripped incessantly from the cracks in the broken tiles, striking the ground with a chilling "tap-tap-tap" sound. All sorts of ghost stories I heard as a child flooded my mind, no matter how hard I tried to suppress them. The scary pictures I used to download from the internet to frighten Jona now automatically flashed before my eyes like a Flash animation…
A gust of wind blew the temple door open. A dark, fluffy ball rolled into the door without warning, and it even rolled towards me?! — "Ahhhhh!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"What are you yelling about? Is your voice loud?" Guan Dingshan glared at me angrily, his face full of impatience. "What I hate most is women screaming all the time! That's why I've never married!"—With your appearance and the nickname "Bloody Hand Butcher," no woman would dare to marry you! I was still in shock and muttered to myself—but his return did reassure me quite a bit.
"Here, cook this and eat it!" He tossed a dark, murky thing to my feet, looking at me with a condescending expression—I nudged it with my toe, and it was a gray hare.
Looking at the bloody rabbit, I felt nauseous. I shook my head, feigning innocence, "I can't." — Like my mother, a Chinese literature professor, I've always been someone who's never lifted a finger in the kitchen. Cooking has always been my Achilles' heel! My best skills are frying eggs and cooking instant noodles — and obviously, I don't have either of those right now, so I'm out of ideas!
"Are you even a woman? You can't even cook? How can you compare to Rumei? That girl's cooking skills are exceptional!" Guan Dingshan stared at me with an incredulous expression. "I really don't know what Xiao Huizi saw in you?! You're stubborn, ugly, and you can't even cook?!"
I scoffed, "Who says women have to know how to cook?!"
"If you can't even cook, then at least you should know how to have a baby, right?!" Guan Dingshan looked me up and down a few times, revealing a dismissive expression. "Judging by your appearance, I bet you probably can't even have one!"
"You!" I was speechless with anger—there was simply no way to communicate with this kind of inflexible old monster! I simply turned my back on him in a huff and ignored him. Any goodwill I had just developed towards him had long since vanished.
The bluish flames danced in the cold wind. The half-damp firewood, after burning for a while, was almost dry, crackling with a crisp "pop." Accompanied by the aroma of roasted wild rabbit, it both tempted and tested my willpower.
Guan Dingshan didn't make things difficult for me. He tore off a piece of rabbit meat and threw it to me. "Girl! I really don't know what you're thinking? You were so loud when you talked to me. I thought you were something special! But in the end, all you do is sneak away?!"
I remained silent, lowering my head to fiercely bite the poor rabbit—when I said those things to you, I thought Huaiyuan only had eyes for me! Now that I know they love each other, what do you want me to do?!
A long silence enveloped us, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Guan Dingshan looked at me for a while, and seeing that I had no intention of speaking to him anymore, he finally sighed and said, "Go to sleep!"
I closed my weary eyes, but couldn't fall asleep—by now, Huaiyuan must have noticed I'm missing, right? Will he worry about me?! This book is first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Website; please retain this information when reprinting!
[Volume 3: War and Chaos - Chapter 11: Life is Like a Journey]
Perhaps it was because of the rain, or perhaps it was because of the intense tension I'd been under lately, that finally snapped. I fell ill, collapsed in that dilapidated temple. The illness struck suddenly, and Guan Dingshan initially insisted on taking me back to the village. In the end, he couldn't resist my stubbornness and agreed to my request not to inform Huaiyuan. However, despite clearly disliking me, he refused to leave, so after lying in that dilapidated temple for several days, the strange situation of the two of us setting off on our own became the norm.
Guan Dingshan insisted I not ride a horse anymore—his reasons being that I was too thin, the horse too ugly, and my riding posture too awkward, which would embarrass their manor! So, when we reached the next town, it became a situation where he drove the carriage and I rode in it—however, I have to admit, riding in the carriage was indeed much more comfortable than riding a horse. Although the carriage was a bit bumpy—oh! I correct you! Not a bit, but extremely bumpy! I really wonder if he had ever driven a carriage before?!
"Groundhog! Do you even know how to drive?!" I was jolted so badly that my insides felt like they were going to shift, so I reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, yelling loudly.
"Skinny bamboo pole! You stay put! It rained so hard yesterday, the ground is too slippery! Why don't you try to catch it?!" Guan Dingshan was almost roaring.
I peered out the car window and saw that half of the cart wheel was stuck deep in the mud. No matter how much Old Man Ren Guan urged the two horses, they couldn't pull the cart out. "No, the cart is stuck. I'd better get out and push it out before continuing!"
"No need, how much strength do you have?! I'll find a few people to help!" Guan Dingshan turned to me and instructed me, then jumped off the car and pulled a few passersby to help push it—I couldn't very well sit on it and let them push, could I? So I jumped off as well.
"Tsk! Such a delicate young lady, you mustn't show yourself!" One of the middle-aged men, who was quite sturdy, saw me and hurriedly said, "It would be terrible if that thief saw you. It's best to hide in the car!"
"Hey! You haven't heard yet, have you? The womanizer who killed Master Zhu and kidnapped Miss Zhu last night has been caught and is now tied up and displayed at the city gate! Little girl, you don't need to hide anymore!" The man next to him said smugly, pursing his lips.
"They caught them so quickly? When?!" The middle-aged man was very surprised and hurriedly asked, "Those officials usually act arrogantly and domineeringly, yet they solved the biggest murder and robbery case in Suixian County in ten years so quickly?!"
"That guy was incredibly audacious! He actually paraded around town dressed in Master Zhu's clothes. How could he not be caught red-handed?!"
"What kind of person is he?!" Another person in a brown shirt also became interested.
"Hehe, you've come to the right person! It turns out the murderer is none other than Zhang Bing, the long-term worker of Master Zhu! He pretended to ask for leave to go home, but actually rushed back to kill and rob women. Tsk! It must have been premeditated!" The middle-aged man said with great enthusiasm.
“Zhang Bing? Impossible! He’s usually the most honest and filial person. He only took leave because his mother was sick. How could he not stay home to take care of his mother and instead go off to kill someone?!” The man in brown expressed his great doubt.
"How would I know? You'll have to ask Zhang Bing!" the middle-aged man said unhappily.
"Alright, skinny guy, get in the carriage!" Guan Dingshan clapped his hands, interrupting their discussion. After I got in the carriage, I thanked everyone and then drove the carriage towards Suixian County.
They hurried as fast as they could, finally arriving at the gates of Suixian County just before sunset and closing time. Looking out from afar, they could indeed see a young man, bound hand and foot, hanging from the high city wall.
Perhaps because the city gates were about to close, there weren't many onlookers. A man who looked like a constable, accompanied by two constables, stood under the city wall, looking up and angrily shouting, "Zhang Bing! You're really stubborn! Hurry up and tell me where you hid Miss Zhu?!"
Zhang Bing was pale and looked weak. His mouth opened and closed, but because we were too far away, I couldn't hear what he was saying. Out of curiosity, I asked Guan Dingshan to stop the car so we could watch the commotion.
"Put him down!" The head constable ordered two constables to go up from the city wall and lower Zhang Bing down. Only then did I realize that Zhang Bing was actually quite handsome, with delicate features.
As soon as Zhang Bing landed, he didn't cry out for justice, but kept crying out in a low voice in pain, "Xiuyu! Xiuyu! Where are you?!"
"You, a mere servant, what right do you have to address a young lady by her given name?!" The constable, his face full of disdain, shouted angrily, "Stop feigning compassion! So what if you hid Miss Zhu?!"
"I didn't!" Zhang Bing cried, tears streaming down his face. "How could I disrespect Xiuyu?! Officer Zhou, please believe me! It really wasn't me! Please catch the murderer quickly and rescue Xiuyu!"
"You didn't kill him?! How come you're wearing Master Zhu's clothes?! And how did Miss Zhu's hairpin end up in your hands?!" Constable Zhou, his face full of impatience, swung his knife and struck Zhang Bing on the shoulder with the back of the blade. "Speak up now! Or I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"