Chapter 92 You Save Him

Now that Shanlai had safely arrived home, Minghai thought of taking his leave and returning to Huguo Temple. He had been wearing a wig for too long, and many sores had appeared on his head.

Shanlai was unaware of the situation and therefore tried his best to persuade him to stay.

“You’ve accompanied me on this journey for so long, doing everything with utmost care. I’m indebted to you. Now that I’m home, how can I not treat you well? Otherwise, I’ll feel terrible. Please stay and rest for a few days, recharge your energy before you leave. We can go together then. I don’t plan to stay here long. I’m also heading south in a few days. I won’t hide it from you; I have my own reasons. I have a lot of money on me, and everyone here knows my background. If you leave, leaving me alone, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out…”

Having said all that, Minghai had no choice but to yield and obediently stay. Shanlai didn't feel she was suited to return home in triumph, but she couldn't forget to repay kindness. That night, she asked Zhou Zheng's wife many questions, and then, starting with Zhou Zheng's family, she visited everyone who had been kind to her, bringing them money and gifts, asking them to continue looking after her house and her father's grave.

She is an unfilial daughter, she owes people favors and hasn't repaid them, and she can't even take care of her father who has already been buried in the ground.

Having repaid their debt of gratitude, they were about to leave.

When saying goodbye, I only went to Zhou Zheng's and Wang Da Niang's houses.

Both families reacted with the same shock and bewilderment.

You're all back, why are you leaving again? Where are you going, a girl all alone? Nowhere is as good as home. With us here, we'll never let anyone bully you. Someone as talented as you, and from such a prominent family, you'll never have trouble finding a good husband. Once you're married, you'll live a peaceful life, and we'll all help you.

Shanlai didn't doubt their sincerity, but he couldn't agree.

Even without Chu Qingdai's affair, she couldn't stay in Huixian Town; there would be no shortage of trouble.

He said goodbye and left the next day.

Unfortunately, the weather turned bad, and it started to drizzle.

The autumn rain in the south is damp and chilly; if there's wind, it can chill you to the bone.

So cold was Minghai that he didn't care about the sores on his head and advised Shanlai to wait until the weather cleared up before setting off.

Shanlai refused.

She hated the rain in Pingcheng, even feared it, because many bad things happened in the rain.

She absolutely had to leave.

Saying it's an escape is more accurate.

Minghai continued to persuade her, concerned for Shanlai's health and worried that she might get sick from the cold.

He tried to persuade Shanlai, and Shanlai tried to persuade him, saying it was no big deal, but neither of them could convince the other.

Seeing this, Shanlai gritted his teeth, put the bundle on his head, and walked silently into the rain, letting the rain soak his shoes.

Her determination left Minghai with no choice but to rush to catch up with her.

They caught up with her, but she refused to get in the car and stubbornly continued walking in the rain.

They were deliberately trying to make things difficult for Minghai.

Minghai had no choice but to beg for forgiveness from her, "Uncle-Master, I know I was wrong. Please get in the car. Why torture yourself like this? Please don't hold it against me, considering how well I've served you over the past month."

When he brought up their past relationship, Shan Lai suddenly realized something and felt embarrassed. Ming Hai had never wronged her, yet she had treated him this way.

So she apologized.

"I was so anxious... I really... hate rain, I have a feeling something bad is going to happen, I'm panicking, I'm so scared..."

Minghai said, "This is a mental demon."

Shan Lai listened, nodded, and smiled somewhat helplessly: "These two words are quite fitting."

"That's my fault. If I had listened to my uncle earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this. Uncle, please come up here quickly, don't get soaked anymore."

Shanlai grunted in agreement, took the bundle, and handed it to Minghai.

Minghai took the bundle, put it away, and then turned around to pull Shanlai into the car.

Who is this old friend?

Shanlai turned his head and looked over. Beyond the layers of rain, a person soaked to the bone was running and waving in their direction. When Shanlai looked over, the person jumped up with joy.

Who could it be? Shanlai had no clue. She had really been away for too long, but this person seemed so happy; they must have had a deep relationship with her. Who could it be…?

Before she could react, the person was already in front of her, two rain-soaked hands tightly gripping her arms.

"Come here! It's you! Is it really you?! Oh my god!"

The person was right in front of him, but Shanlai still couldn't recognize him.

Because this person looks a bit comical.

His eyes were filled with excitement and eagerness, his face was covered in red and black patches, and upon closer inspection, one could even discern blue and purple.

"Who are you……"

"I am Chunyan! Chunyan!"

Ah, swallows!

"Oh my god! It's Sister Chunyan! I really didn't recognize you..."

Chunyan has changed a lot. The last time I saw Chunyan was at the Liu residence. At that time, Chunyan was still a slender young girl, but now she is quite plump. Although she is far from being as beautiful as her mother, she can still be considered magnificent.

"You may not recognize me, but I can recognize you! Although it has been many years since we last met, I knew it must be you as soon as I saw how beautiful you are!"

Chunyan was soaked through by the rain, her clothes clinging to her flesh. She was so cold that she shivered every two words she spoke, which was quite pitiful to see.

Shanlai said, "Sister, hurry up and get in the car and change your clothes!" As she spoke, she pushed her into the car.

Chunyan laughed heartily: "Good sister, do you have any clothes for me to wear! Look at the state I'm in now!"

That's the truth.

“Don’t worry, my man is right behind us. We also took a carriage. My clothes were on the carriage. We were in a hurry, and then it started raining! The carriage overturned and broke in two places.”

Chunyan got married; well, at her age, it was time for her to get married.

She got married, and this is the look on her face...

Shan Lai's expression changed immediately. "Did he hit you?"

"No!" Chunyan burst into laughter again, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight. "He didn't hit me! It's just the rouge and soot I put on!"

Smear rouge and soot from the bottom of a pot on your face, until it looks like this...

Shanlai couldn't understand it.

“You’ll know about my man when you meet him. He… You gave me a lot of money back then, so I had to make a living. So much money! So much that when I carried it on the street, everyone looked like a robber or thief. I thought that wouldn’t do, so I didn’t listen to you and stayed in Pingcheng. I started by selling steamed buns at a stall. You know, I’m very good at cooking. It was while selling steamed buns that I met my man. He was a butcher. I often went to his stall, and we became familiar with each other. Later, I married him. After I got married, I stopped selling steamed buns. I used the money you gave me to buy land and piglets. Now I’m rich! Then my mother came to me, asking for money. She wanted to build a house for her son to get married…” At this point, Chunyan sneered twice. “How could I give it to her! I had just left the Liu family and had nowhere to go, so I had to go back to them. As soon as she saw me, she asked how much money I had brought back. I said I had no money and that I had been kicked out. I’ll never forget the look on her face then.”

"After hearing that I had neither money nor a job, the whole house seemed to have fallen ill. They were all acting strangely all day long, their noses and eyes were all distorted, and they couldn't move their hands and feet at all. Even if they dropped chopsticks, they would make me wash them for them. After three days, I had enough and left. No one came looking for me. But when they found out I was married, they came to my house and made a scene, throwing tantrums and demanding money—money for raising their daughter! What money for raising their daughter! They clearly wanted to sell me off again! I was so angry..."

“I told my husband to beat them all out, but if they could come once, they could come again. I couldn’t really kill them, and I couldn’t just injure them either, or I’d be in trouble with the law. So I started smearing soot on my face every day and hiding to cry every now and then, so everyone would know that my husband beats his wife. Later, when they came again, I would cry and say that I was only meant to be beaten and that I would never get any money. They would then curse at me. So what if they cursed? It wouldn’t hurt me. It was just that my husband was wronged. He already looked fierce, and he beat his wife. Who would dare to talk to him?”

This touched on something that pleased her, and she burst into laughter again, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Shanlai was also happy, happy for Chunyan.

The swallow has truly stood up.

“Sister, I haven’t let you down.” Chunyan straightened her expression. “That’s why I have the face to come see you.”

“I’m doing well, so I can’t keep it from you. I was thinking that when my child is older and can live independently, I will go to the capital to find you. I never expected you to come back. I saw Aunt Sun on the street yesterday, and she asked me if I remembered you and said you were back.”

She said a few other things, but they were all unpleasant, like being kicked out and replaced with someone else... Her tone was very contemptuous, which annoyed Chunyan. So in the end, she simply ignored Aunt Sun and went straight to the shop to find her husband.

The couple tidied up their home, hitched up their car, and drove overnight to Huixian Town. They endured a lot of hardship, getting soaked in the rain and crashing their car.

But if I don't endure these hardships, I'll never see anyone again.

"Hey girl, it's raining, why are you going out? Where are you going? Running errands?"

Shanlai told the truth, "I was planning to leave. I have other things to do. To my shame, I haven't heard anyone mention my sister in the past few days since I came back. I didn't expect it myself, so I didn't think about seeing her. If I had known that my sister was still in Pingcheng, I would have definitely gone to see her..."

"Hey, I don't have any contact with this place anymore, so why would anyone mention me? Luckily, I saw Aunt Sun, otherwise we really wouldn't have seen each other since you left today. It seems we are destined to meet."

Shanlai nodded, "That's right, we're destined to be together, we can't be separated."

"Little sister, is it urgent? If not, why don't you stay at my place for a few days? You've come all this way back, how can I not treat you well?"

Shanlai smiled and said, "I definitely want to visit my sister's house once."

Upon hearing this, Chunyan was overjoyed, her face flushed with happiness. She kept looking in the direction they had come from, complaining incessantly, "What's going on? They're still not here! Isn't this delaying things?"

"What does it matter? If he doesn't come, we can just go find him and lend a hand."

"That's right!" Chunyan slapped her forehead hard. "I was so stupid!"

"Sister, let's get in the car first."

"They're here!"

Shanlai helped Chunyan get into the car from behind, and then Chunyan reached out her arm to pull her up.

My foot was already on the axle when suddenly it slipped and I fell down. Luckily, Chunyan caught me, so I only bumped into something and didn't fall.

"Ouch! What happened? Are you alright?"

Shanlai bumped his chest. Although his bones were fine, his flesh would still hurt for a while.

Shanlai asked Chunyan to wait for her for a while until she recovered.

They were still in pain when suddenly a loud noise came from ahead, like thunder, shaking the heavens and the earth. It was getting closer and closer, and when it got closer, they could hear it clearly. It was the sound of horses' hooves.

Such momentum...

Shanlai disregarded his chest and hurriedly turned around to look.

How could so many horses appear in such a remote place as Huixian Town, especially on a rainy day? This is highly unusual.

Even more unusually, the dozen or so horses suddenly stopped in front of Shanlai's carriage.

This is really scary.

Minghai hurriedly stepped forward and pushed Shanlai behind him.

"Yao Shanlai! Is it Yao Shanlai?!"

Someone shouted.

Shan Lai was stunned.

She recognized the voice.

Why is Li Xiang here?

"Yao Shanlai! I see you!"

Li Xiang reached out and pulled Minghai aside, and Shanlai saw him.

I almost don't recognize them anymore.

He was pale and emaciated, his body skeletal.

How could this be Li Xiang?

"Young Master Li, what's wrong with you?"

"Never mind what happens to me! Come with me!"

He grabbed Shanlai's wrist and turned to leave.

Since he was trying to snatch someone away, Minghai naturally had to make a move, grabbing his wrist and applying a little force.

Li Xiang let out a scream.

"Let go! Let go now! It's broken! It's broken!"

Shanlai quickly told Minghai to let go, "Young Master Li is my friend, don't hurt him!"

Minghai then let go, but Li Xiang was still wincing in pain.

Shan Lai, having recovered from his initial shock, asked Li Xiang, "Young Master Li, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to find you!" Li Xiang clutched his injured wrist, his expression indignant. "You heartless person! Liu Liansi treated you so well, and you just ran away like that! How could you do this to him! I don't care what you think, just come back with me now! He didn't treat you right, you can't abandon him!" His tone suddenly changed, no longer resentful, but aggrieved. "Now only you can save him..."

What are you talking about?

Shanlai really couldn't understand.

"I need you to go back and save him! He's dying! You have to save him!"

I'm about to die...

"What nonsense are you spouting! Explain yourself clearly!"

Shan grabbed Li Xiang's shirt, glaring at him with gritted teeth.

Li Xiang turned her head away and wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.

“His father has another child and doesn’t need him anymore! They can’t tolerate him… so they put him in prison… I told them he was pitiful, all alone… and you ran away… aren’t you forcing him to die?”