I'll Take Him With Me

Some beggars gathered around and refused to disperse, so the soldiers came out with clubs and began beating people outright. Only then did the beggars scatter like startled birds, fleeing in all directions.

The children mixed among the beggars ran after the adults too, their faces brimming with the terror of being left behind.

They could still survive in the city, but once they reached the wilderness, they would not only have to fight people for the resources to live, but wild beasts as well.

Pan Yun stood quietly amid the crowd and watched. After a long while, once the crowd had dispersed and the beggars had run far away, she finally turned and headed west.

A little beggar about three or four years old lay sprawled on the ground. He was one of those left behind. After being knocked down again and again, he had failed to get back up. Fortunately, no one had stepped on him.

Otherwise, with such a tiny body, one kick could have sent him straight to the underworld.

Pan Yun walked past him without so much as a sideways glance. Getting from outside the city to the north might take a whole day; later, she would have to find someone to ask about the road to Datong.

She could not enter the city, which meant she could neither rent a carriage nor catch a ride at the Carriage and Horse Agency. Relying on her two legs alone, who knew how long it would take to reach Datong? She still had to find a way into a city. It would be nice if she could get a fake travel permit—no, she was too young, and a travel permit would draw too much attention. A fake household registration would be better...

She thought of many things, but when she caught sight of him grabbing a handful of dirt and stuffing it into his mouth, she still could not stop herself from halting.

She paused for only an instant before turning back. She reached down, hauled up the little fellow lying on the ground, brushed the dirt from his hands, then lifted his ragged clothes with a look of disgust and used them to wipe the dirt and pebbles from his mouth before carrying him off.

The child kicked his legs and struggled a little, but perhaps he was too hungry to have much strength. Before long, he went still.

After carrying him far away, she waited until the people at the city gate could no longer see them before setting the child down and taking a steamed bun from the paper bag for him.

The child froze for a moment, then snatched it up and immediately took a bite.

Pan Yun sat on the grass nearby and watched him eat. The black cat meowed in her arms. "Why did you give him a steamed bun?"

Because I'm kind. Pan Yun watched the child. Once he finished the bun without choking to death, she got up and left.

The child froze, then quickly grabbed her sleeve.

Pan Yun looked back at him. "I can't take you with me. Go beg in a larger village or town. If you're lucky, you might meet a good family willing to take you in. Then you'll have a home."

The child pointed at the city wall. "I know how to get inside."

The little fellow spoke very clearly, not at all like a three- or four-year-old.

Pan Yun lowered her head and met his large eyes. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How do we get in?"

Pan Little Black sneered in her mind. Walk in through the city gate.

Unexpectedly, the little fellow led them along the city wall. Gradually, shrubs and weeds separated them from it, and they moved farther and farther away from the wall...

Just as Pan Yun was about to grow impatient, the little fellow stopped. After comparing several nearby trees, he picked two of them and buried his head in the grass.

Pan Yun: ...

The child actually crawled a path through with his body, pressing down the weeds beneath him as he vanished into the grass.

"It's here!" the child called happily.

Pan Yun crawled in to take a look. There was a hole at the base of the city wall. It was not large, barely wide enough for a thin person to squeeze through.

Weeds and vines surrounded them on both sides and overhead. Pan Yun could not straighten up, so she simply put the black cat on her shoulder and crawled through.

Pan Little Black meowed. "It's a dog hole."

Pan Yun ignored it. After carefully examining the hole, she shook her head. "No. People dug this."

Seeing that she had followed, the child swiftly crawled inside on his hands and feet. Sitting in the hole, he said, "It's warm in here."

Pan Yun crawled in after him. Once the child saw she was following, he quickly went deeper inside and led her crawling out the other side.

This side was overgrown with weeds as well, and a pile of straw covered the opening. She struggled to push the straw aside and crawl out, only to discover a stretch of wasteland blanketed in wild grass. Farther away were fields, and beyond those stood scattered houses and vegetable plots.

Pan Yun glanced back at the opening concealed behind the straw pile, covered it up again, then grabbed the child and left.

"How did you know there was a hole there?"

"Bad people brought me here. I hid, and they couldn't find me."

His words were a jumbled mess, and Pan Yun barely understood. She carried the child a little farther away, then crouched down face-to-face with him.

Her gaze traveled from his eyes to his forehead, then over his features and the shape of his face.

She was not skilled at reading faces, but she knew the basics. Earlier, the child had been too dirty, his hair a tangled bird's nest that obscured his features.

Now, she swept his hair back to expose his forehead, then wiped his face with a handkerchief, revealing delicate features beneath.

The black cat stretched out its neck for a look, then meowed. "What an excellent face."

Pan Yun murmured as well, "What an excellent face. Such an excellent face that even a half-baked amateur like me can see it."

Someone with such a fine face was not born into circumstances that would leave him a beggar.

Her fingertips brushed over his brows and eyes. What a pity—he seemed destined for a short life. Though born noble, he would die young.

Pan Yun mussed his hair down again, grabbed another handful of dirt, and smeared it over his face. The child, who had looked somewhat handsome before, became grimy once more.

The child accepted it readily, because when he had mixed among the beggars, the older brothers and sisters also liked smearing things over his face.

The child knew She County far better than she did. He deftly led her left and right, quickly leaving behind that area steeped in rural air and reaching streets lined with shops and passing pedestrians.

But the child did not dare cross over directly. Instead, he hid in an alley and looked around in all directions. When no one was paying attention, he led Pan Yun swiftly across the street, weaving through the shadows at the corners of one street after another.

Before long, he slipped into a narrow alley.

The alley was only about a meter wide. In truth, it was merely the passage between two household walls, wide enough for only one person to pass.

Yet quite a lot of firewood had been stacked in the cramped alley, and it was somewhat damp. Both households had opened a small door facing the alley, clearly treating this passage as their own storage space.

Faint rustling came from within the woodpile. The child slipped inside in a flash, and then Pan Yun heard a hushed voice from within. "Qieqie?"

"It's me, it's me. Brother Xiao Hua, Brother Da Zhu was driven away."

"It's good that you came back. Did you eat a steamed bun? I can smell steamed buns."

Pan Yun gave a light cough. The voices in the woodpile instantly vanished. Only after a long while did the child speak softly. "Brother Xiao Hua, this is the older sister who brought me back. She gave me a steamed bun."

The steamed bun gave the other party boundless strength. The woodpile was finally pushed aside, and a tiny head poked out, looking even younger than Pan Yun.

He spotted the paper bag in Pan Yun's hand at once, slipped out in a flash, then dragged out the child who had been lying down. Pulling him to stand beside him before her, he thanked her like an adult. "Thank you for bringing him back and giving him a steamed bun. Good people will be rewarded. Heaven will surely bless Miss with success in all things, lasting peace, and tranquility."

Pan Yun took out a steamed bun and handed it to him. "Who taught you to say such auspicious words?"

He quickly accepted the bun, but did not eat it right away. Instead, he tucked it into his clothes for safekeeping. "Old beggars teach big beggars, and big beggars teach little beggars. When we receive kindness from a benefactor, we must pray for blessings upon them."

Pan Yun was in a very good mood. She took two more steamed buns from the bag and gave one to each of them. She took one herself too, then sat with the two children on several pieces of firewood and chatted.

"Why are you the only one here?"

Xiao Hua, whose real name was Xiao Hua, said, "Only I ran back. I don't know where they're hiding. Maybe they were driven out of the city too."

From Xiao Hua, she learned that several days ago, the yamen runners had informed all the beggars to leave the county town and not return for at least a month.

But no one took it to heart.

If they did not beg in the county town, where else could they get food to eat?

So no one left.

The yamen runners gave notice several times. Today, seeing that they still refused to leave, they sent soldiers to drive every beggar visible on the streets out of the city. They even searched the ruined temples and broken houses where the beggars usually stayed.

Xiao Hua was quick and nimble. The moment he realized something was wrong, he slipped into this alley.

This alley was deep, and they did not usually stay here. Only when they were being chased and could not escape would they wander around the alley before hiding here.

There was plenty of firewood here. As long as they hid inside and made no sound, they could always escape. Over time, this became the children's refuge, one even the adult beggars did not know about.

Only because Pan Yun was about the same age as them and generously shared steamed buns with him was Xiao Hua willing to tell her.

Pan Yun nodded and pointed at the child. "You call him Qieqie?"

"He said his name is Qie'er."

The child at the side anxiously said, "Qie'er, my name is Qie'er."

"Yes, yes, your name is Qieqie." Xiao Hua nodded perfunctorily.

Though the sound was right, the child still felt that something was off. He looked at Pan Yun with a little grievance.

Pan Yun fell thoughtful and asked, "Do you know where he came from?"

"He escaped from human traffickers." This was no secret. Xiao Hua said, "Before the New Year, the authorities caught human traffickers near the hole in the wall. He escaped amid the chaos."

"If he was abducted and sold by human traffickers, why not send him to the authorities? Through them, he might be able to find his parents."

Xiao Hua shook his head. "Third Grandpa took him there. It didn't seem right. There were people in the authorities looking for children, but they didn't look like they wanted to bring him home properly, so Third Grandpa brought him back."

He glanced at the child, then looked up at Pan Yun. "Miss, you're a good person. Would you be willing to take him? If you are, take him away."

Pan Yun smiled and asked, "What if I'm unwilling?"

Xiao Hua sighed. "If you're unwilling, then I'll take him away. I've already found a place to go. The Zhang Family in Tongluo Lane has no sons. They've always wanted to take me in as their son. I refused before, but now I can't survive anymore, so I'm going to become their son."

He said, "If you won't take him away, then I'll take him to be my little brother. I'll give him half my food, then kowtow to Zhang Dad and Zhang Mom a few more times. They'll definitely agree."

Pan Yun lowered her head and studied him carefully. If he truly brought this child there, the Zhang Family might not be willing to adopt him anymore. After all, this child called Qie'er was better-looking than Xiao Hua and younger too.

If the Zhang Family wanted only one son, they would certainly choose the younger and better-looking one.

But she did not say it aloud. Instead, she smiled. "When he grows up and understands, he'll definitely be very grateful to you."

She turned to look at the ignorant child and said, "I'll take him with me."