Night at the Cool Pavilion

After Officer Li finished speaking, he gnawed the beef bone in his hand clean, tossed it casually outside the shed, clapped his hands, and prepared to leave.

Ye Qin stared blankly as the beef bone traced an arc through the air, landing in the grass a few meters in front of him. He fixed his gaze on the bone, not daring to move. As long as these officers didn't leave, he had no intention of showing his face before them.

Otherwise, if even one of those dozen men took a dislike to him and came over to kick him, it would be enough to leave him half-dead. His current frail frame could not withstand any abuse. If he took a kick, he might be in too much pain to move a finger by tomorrow. By the day after, both he and Daniu would starve to death in this wilderness.

Half a year of wandering had taught him that this was a risk he absolutely could not take.

With Ye Qin no longer holding him down, Cheng Daniu felt a bit clearer-headed and poked his head out from the side of the grass nest. But this time he saw clearly that it was a group of officers; Daniu knew the danger and dared not move. He only sniffed desperately at the scent of wine and meat, trying to satisfy his craving.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Officer Li said nothing more and led the satisfied officers on their way. Officer Li didn't need to worry about the bill; several young officers casually tossed some silver scraps onto the table.

The officers shouted, drew their blades, and found the road, setting off to track the bandits.

Seeing that the silver on the table was barely enough to cover the cost, the old tavern keeper was too timid to speak up. He could only curse his bad luck in his heart and began to clear the tables and bowls from the shed. The waiter was busy collecting the remaining wine, meat, tea, and even the bone scraps and meat bits from the ground, preparing to take them back to feed the pigs. In these times of severe drought, grain and meat were scarce, and not a single bit could be wasted, especially for small-time businessmen like them.

Cheng Daniu watched until he was nearly drooling.

Ye Qin held Daniu back, not letting him go over. They had been staying here for nearly half a month and knew well that the old tavern keeper and the waiter were misers who wouldn't spare a scrap of food. If they went over now, they would likely be driven away by the old man with a broom.

Fortunately, the waiter only cleaned inside the shed and did not go into the tall grass outside. All their valuable belongings were loaded onto an ox cart, and the old man and the waiter drove the cart slowly along the post road toward the distance.

Seeing the ox cart move far away, Ye Qin finally lunged toward the grass, parting the withered stalks to search for the beef bone Officer Li had discarded.

Soon, Ye Qin found a bone about half the thickness of his forearm, with bits of meat still clinging to it, emitting an enticing aroma. He reached out and licked the meat fibers stuck to the bone.

Cheng Daniu crawled over slowly, his face covered in mud, staring pitifully at the bone in Ye Qin's hand.

Ye Qin hesitated with the bone near his mouth. He knew in his heart that Daniu needed this bone more than he did. After being bitten by a wild dog last night, Daniu had been in great pain and could barely eat anything today. Now that he had a strong desire to eat meat, it was a good sign; perhaps his injuries would improve if he ate. Back in their hometown, hunters who were injured would always eat meat to recover their strength.

Of all the companions who had left their hometown, only he and Daniu remained, and he was determined not to let Daniu die.

"Here, Daniu, you were bitten by a wild dog yesterday; this will help you recover. I'll go see if there's anything else left on the ground."

Ye Qin shoved the bone into Cheng Daniu's hands. After speaking, he went into the shed and, before it grew completely dark, carefully searched every inch of the ground inside and out, occasionally picking up a grain or two of rice from the mud to stuff into his mouth.

Cheng Daniu took the bone, his eyes reddening, his nose stinging.

"Brother Qin!"

He wiped his stinging nose with a blackened, tattered rag and hugged the beef bone, chewing silently. This wasn't the first time. When their group of four or five companions first set out to find food, it was almost always Brother Qin, the oldest, who took care of them. But Brother Qin couldn't save everyone, and eventually, several had died.

Daniu didn't even know how many times he had died himself. Many times, he felt like a burden and thought it would be better to just die. But if he died, only Brother Qin would be left—what would Brother Qin do alone? Brother Qin wouldn't let him die, either. He could only try his best not to be a burden and hope his injuries would heal quickly so he could help find food.

At night, the moon hung high.

In the crude bamboo hut, Ye Qin used withered grass to lay a layer over the cold mud floor. He firmly blocked a small hole in the corner of the hut with a large stone and some branches. That was where the old wild dog had squeezed in last night to bite Daniu. Having eaten the beef bone, Daniu was in much better spirits tonight. He had found half a bowl of leftover water in the hut's only broken jar, and after drinking some, Daniu had fallen into a deep sleep on the grass mat.

Ye Qin lay on the withered grass, his small hands tucked behind his head, silently pondering what the officers had said.

"The Herb Gathering Hall in Zhugi County is publicly recruiting a batch of herb-gathering boys under the age of twelve!"

He and Daniu had been to Zhugi County two months ago and stayed for several days, but they couldn't hold out and had to flee.

The city was occupied by a gang of local beggars who controlled all the prime begging spots and lucrative areas, showing great hostility toward outsiders and driving them away.

That would have been fine; if they moved often enough, they could always find half a meal, which was better than the wilderness.

But what Ye Qin couldn't stand was that some local thugs wanted to use them to steal from wealthy households. Although he was young, he knew that if caught stealing, they would have their hands chopped off or be hung up and beaten severely. Forced into a corner, he found an opportunity to take Daniu and flee the city, coming to this countryside over ten miles away to search for food.

Ye Qin had heard the name Herb Gathering Hall from the city residents and knew it was a powerful, wealthy establishment, but he hadn't taken it to heart.

A prominent house like the Herb Gathering Hall had endless fields and properties, with servants and disciples filling the streets; they would never have any connection to wandering beggars like them. Even if they were publicly recruiting herb-gathering boys, it likely wouldn't be their turn.

However, Ye Qin felt a sense of reluctance.

Since he had heard of this from the officers, how could he act as if he hadn't heard it at all if he didn't at least try? If they weren't chosen, it would just be a wasted trip. But if they were actually chosen, they would never have to wander and starve in the wilderness again. If they didn't go, they wouldn't even have that one-in-a-million chance.

Late at night, the occasional sound of tossing and turning still came from the bamboo hut.

Hiss! Hiss!

The sound of a beast breathing came from outside the hut.

That damned, persistent old wild dog had returned. The sound of claws scraping against stone, the angry low growls, and the gnashing of branches were heart-wrenching in the pitch-black night, leaving him constantly worried that the beast would break in again.

After a long, restless night, the old wild dog finally left, unwilling and dejected, just as dawn approached.

Ye Qin's resolve to go to the county town grew even stronger.