Entering the County

Entering the County

Before the shadow could let out another scream, Li Yuan whipped a kick into his neck, sending his whole body flying two or three meters before he hit the ground unconscious.

Li Yuan rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck, feeling his strength rapidly return.

He suddenly crouched, grabbed the shadow one-handed, and charged forward like a beast with a fierce gust of wind around him. Then he opened the door and hurled the shadow straight outside.

He had held back enough not to kill the man. After all, without the cleaver, he was only a "0–1." Li Yuan could handle him.

Killing him outright would only bring a great deal of trouble.

Only then did Yan Niangzi get up. She swiftly tucked the bag of lime into her waistband, grabbed the laundry beater, slipped on her embroidered shoes, and followed behind her man.

"Is your body better?"

"Much better."

"Mm." Yan Niangzi felt an inexplicable joy, mixed with heartache.

The medicine was expensive for a reason. It worked so quickly.

But what pained her was that there were still three doses left to take.

Li Yuan pulled on his padded coat, wrapped it around himself, and went outside with Yan Niangzi.

By the dim moonlight, they saw that the shadow lying there was actually an Old Man.

"It's Old Master Ma, who lives at the very back of the village." Yan Niangzi recognized him at once. "Why would he come in the middle of the night with a knife and sleeping powder?"

Li Yuan snorted. "He saw that our family had money and got wicked thoughts. He took advantage of my injury and the fact that you, a weak woman, were alone at home."

Yan Niangzi understood. Lowering her head, she stammered, "Yuan Ge'er, I'm sorry. Today, I... I had no choice but to expose our family's money in order to get medicine for you."

Li Yuan said gently, "Sister Yan, what are you talking about? You helped me home, cared for me wholeheartedly, and bought me the best medicine. How could I blame you?"

Yan Niangzi gave a soft "mm," looking down at the dirt with a sweet expression on her face.

The two fell silent for a while.

Yan Niangzi looked around and said, "Old Master Ma's cries must have been heard by several households nearby. They didn't come out because they were frightened by that big beast from a few days ago.

"But that makes things worse instead.

"If they had come out, they would have seen the situation clearly, and we could explain everything right away.

"Now that no one came out, what do we do?"

Li Yuan frowned as well. The reason he had not knocked the man out immediately was precisely because he wanted him to scream and draw the neighbors over. He had not expected that, because of the big beast, no one would dare come out.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Tie him up first. Tomorrow, I'll take him to see the authorities. While I'm in the county, I'll buy a bow."

"Mm, I'll listen to you," Yan Niangzi said.

Li Yuan suddenly asked, "How much money do we have left?"

Yan Niangzi said, "After you went hunting, you went with Uncle Wang to HengWu Tavern and sold three pheasants, three wild rabbits, and four Roe Deer. The tavern gave you two hundred Big Coins in all.

"After that, we didn't spend much at home, apart from buying some ordinary—"

Li Yuan cut her off. "Don't tell me what it was spent on. Just tell me how much is left."

Yan Niangzi said, "One hundred and forty Big Coins."

Li Yuan froze for a moment. "That much is still left? You normally don't spend money?"

"Yuan Ge'er, it isn't easy for you to earn money outside. How could I squander it?"

Li Yuan said, "Give me one hundred Big Coins first. I need to buy a new bow, and bring back some Foxtail Millet, salt, sugar, incense candles, soapberries, and the like."

Soon, Li Yuan tied up the thief, wrapped the rope around him several times, and locked him in the storeroom. He even threw him a tattered padded quilt so he would not freeze to death. Only then did he return to bed with Yan Yu.

Yan Niangzi nestled against Li Yuan's strong body like a little bird. After staying quiet for a long while, she finally could not help asking, "Yuan Ge'er, the mountains..."

At the mention of the words "the mountains," Li Yuan's breathing immediately quickened.

In the dead of night, it felt as though a rotten, icy hand had seized his throat and left him unable to breathe.

Only after a long time did he calm down. Pulling up the quilt, he asked in a low voice, "Sister Yan, have you heard of any strange things?"

"Strange things?"

"Things like ghosts and monsters."

"A few. They say there are man-eating demons in the mountains and evil ghosts that make people lose their way, but no one has ever seen them. I think they're just stories to scare children. Though people have disappeared in the mountains before, that doesn't really count as strange."

As she spoke, Yan Niangzi asked, "Yuan Ge'er, did you... did you run into one?"

Li Yuan nodded solemnly.

He said no more, and Yan Niangzi did not ask further. Both could feel the chill coming from the other's body.

The young couple held each other tightly, listening to each other's breaths and heartbeats in the darkness, drawing warmth from one another—and the courage to fight their fear.

Early the next morning.

A crowd gathered in Little Ink Village.

"Isn't that Old Master Ma? Why did he come to Yuan Ge'er's house? Looks like he's injured too?"

"Yuan Ge'er looks much better already. Heh, having money really is good. You get what you pay for. The county doctors truly cure with a dose of medicine."

"What money?"

"Haven't you heard? Yesterday, Yan Niangzi handed over sixty Big Coins in one go to get medicine for her man. You understand now?"

"Sixty Big Coins?!"

The speaker's eyes glimmered faintly. Looking again at Old Master Ma, he immediately understood, but then felt dissatisfied. Why was this family so rich?

In the courtyard, Li Yuan patted Old Master Ma.

Old Master Ma woke groggily, then began crying, "Ow, ow!"

Pointing at him, Li Yuan said to the people around him, "Last night, he climbed into my courtyard, blew sleeping powder, pried at the door latch, and entered with a cleaver. Fortunately, I discovered him.

"Today, all of you can bear witness. I'm taking him to the county and handing him straight over to the authorities."

Only then did Old Master Ma fully wake up. He looked around at the situation and immediately cried, "Wronged! I'm wronged! Yesterday, I was just passing near here when a shadow suddenly knocked me unconscious. Ow, it hurts! My arm—ah, my arm!"

Li Yuan did not waste words. He took out the tube used to blow sleeping powder and the cleaver. "Are these yours?"

"No!" Old Master Ma was a shrewd man.

After thinking it over, he cried again, "Li Yuan, why did you beat me? I'm old enough to be your father! I was only walking at night near your house. Was that necessary?"

Someone in the village said, "Old Master Ma, just admit it. You've already been caught. What else is there to say?"

Old Master Ma stubbornly replied, "I didn't do it."

Inside the house, Yan Niangzi grew angry and shouted, "Last night, you blew sleeping powder and brought a knife to my house. There's even a hole you picked in our window. Everyone, come look."

Quite a few people followed Yan Niangzi over. Once they looked around, they all understood.

But Old Master Ma was like a piece of tough gristle, stubbornly repeating, "I didn't do it. I didn't pick that hole."

With her hands on her hips, Yan Niangzi glared at him with her watery almond eyes. "Not you? Then compare your fingers to it!"

Old Master Ma refused.

Yan Niangzi continued, "And if it wasn't you, why would we catch you? Isn't that cleaver from your home? Your neighbors should know, right?"

As she spoke, Yan Niangzi searched the crowd but did not see Old Master Ma's neighbors. So she called Aunt Wang over and asked her to take two people with the cleaver to find his neighbors and have them identify it.

Sure enough, before long, the neighbor recognized it while still dazed, then hurried back with Aunt Wang to testify.

Yan Niangzi swept her eyes over the crowd. Clearly, Old Master Ma did not have good relations with his neighbors either.

Old Master Ma immediately lost heart.

Li Yuan did not waste words either. He grabbed him and said, "Come on. You're going to see the authorities with me."

"I'm not going." Old Master Ma continued to play stubborn.

Li Yuan reached out, seized Old Master Ma by the neck like an eagle catching a chick, and lifted him into the air. "Think carefully."

Old Master Ma made muffled cries, kicking his legs in midair. At last, he nodded and rasped, "I'll go... I'll go."

Li Yuan threw him to the ground, then clasped his fists toward the surrounding people. "Everyone has seen it. This Ma has committed a heinous crime and should be handed over to the authorities.

"If anyone is willing to accompany me to the county and testify, I, Li Yuan, will offer ten copper coins as a fee for your trouble."

People immediately began shouting from the crowd.

"I'll go."

"I'll testify for you."

"I'll go too."

Before long, Li Yuan had gathered enough people.

Yan Niangzi took out pen and ink that had been gathering dust in a drawer, quickly wrote a complaint, and handed it to Li Yuan.

Then Li Yuan escorted Old Master Ma, leading more than a dozen villagers toward the county.