Daughter of the Jianghu (Part 3)

Bian Hongqiu fell into confusion again in the small boat on the Xiliu Sea. The crimson, gray and black between the sky and the earth were changing in full swing. The small boat quietly shuttled through clusters of clouds and sailed into the damp and hazy night fog. Only souls whose grievances had not been redressed remained on the vast Xiliu Sea. The moonlight hung high in the sky, and tomorrow would be the same.

The cold mist sank, clinging to Bian Hongqiu's already soaked clothes. He shuddered violently, his teeth chattering, his neck cracking. He looked up, and the shore of Daohai City was right before his eyes. He immediately turned to look at Lao Ju, who was rowing slower. He caught Lao Ju's gaze as it slowly scanned the shore, as if checking to see if there was anything unusual in Daohai City.

Bian Hongqiu propped himself up on the boat and shrank back slightly.

After asking him, Lao Ju did not press for an answer, as if it was just a casual question.

Bian Hongqiu gazed at his figure in the boat, unmoved by the wind and rain. His gaze, lowered, was calm and composed, as if unfazed by the hardships and obstacles ahead. A sudden longing surged within him—a desire that had perhaps arisen before, but always failed to materialize. The road ahead was treacherous and uncertain, a fate of blessing or curse, life or death. The very thing he had once hoped to control for himself was finally in his hands.

He was so scared that he was shaking all over.

Lao Ju rowed the boat to the shore, and the two wet sheaths rubbed against his coarse clothes a few times. He woke up the old woman who had slept all day on the boat. He passed by Bian Hongqiu's trembling body, hesitated for a moment, reached out and squeezed his shoulder hard, "Go ashore first, find a place to change your clothes."

Bian Hongqiu moved forward step by step with great difficulty.

But he could not be more cowardly or more courageous, because he could not convince himself to stay on the boat and wait for death.

His cowardice was not even a justifiable reason for committing suicide.

The old woman was awakened by Lao Ju. She stood up from the boat with her arms folded, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar Daohaicheng dock, the vast river. After a long day of rest, her voice regained the strength to scream and cry out. After drifting on the sea for so long, she was still crying out "Liu Lang".

Driven by intuition, Lao Ju has decided to go to the capital.

Saving these two people was truly a duty. As for whether they were going to swim back to Minghunzhou to look for people who might never be found, or were hesitating and thinking about where to go next, it had nothing to do with him.

He could no longer feel any sympathy and gave two pieces of advice: "If you have nowhere to stay, go and hide in the dilapidated temple in the east of the city." Then he tied the boat to the shore and left without looking back.

Lao Ju walked ashore in the moonlight, thinking about everything, but did not go to the dilapidated temple again. He knocked on the door of the medicine shop that had just closed because he knew the shop well.

When the waiter heard the unhurried knock on the door, he thought it was no big deal, so he came out with noodles in his hands, slurping them while moving the wooden board blocking the door. Seeing that it was an acquaintance, he greeted him without swallowing the food in his mouth, "Old sir!" Then he ran to the backyard to find the master with the bowl in his hand.

The old doctor had finished his meal early and walked out with a pot of wolfberry tea. He slowly asked Lao Ju to sit down.

Lao Ju took out some of the money Meng Shizhuang had left on him and said, "There's a reason for this. I wonder if this is enough to buy a pot of hot tea and keep me company for a night?"

It had nothing to do with money. The old doctor had relied on his unique skills to survive in these turbulent times. He had seen everything, from swords and spears to separations and deaths. He was now a middle-aged man, managing the clinic. His disciples were quite obedient, and nothing went wrong. He did things based on his mood. He and Lao Ju were not close friends, but they had occasionally chatted and he appreciated Lao Ju's conversation, so he was willing to take him in.

He stroked his beard, handed Lao Ju a cup of wolfberry tea, and told his apprentice to prepare another bowl of noodles.

Lao Ju did not refuse and bowed in thanks.

The old doctor's surname was Jiang. He looked him up and down and asked, "Have you returned from outside Ming Hunzhou?"

Lao Ju nodded briefly with a cup of hot tea in his mouth.

Doctor Jiang asked again: "Where is the child? Was he lost at sea or taken into the city?" He did not specify, but it could not be anyone else except Meng Shizhuang.

Lao Ju's expression remained unchanged. "Once we enter the city, we might be taken somewhere else. Please allow me another day to rest, and then I'll go look for him."

Doctor Jiang refilled his tea. "That child is very determined and has a lot of courage in his bones. I'm sure he won't fall easily on your way to find him. But I'm sure you know your body well. Don't rush things."

He didn't try to persuade Lao Ju to stay. He'd seen too many loved ones displaced and separated. Isn't life all about longing? Waiting half-dead, how boring would that be? Under the dim nightlight, Lao Ju's face, slightly wrinkled by the frost, forced a smile. He never said these words to Meng Shizhuang, "I don't ask to stay with him for long. If I can train him to be a sword that knows right from wrong and advances and retreats, then I can rest in peace in this life."

Doctor Jiang looked at him with a smile in his eyes. "I see you have a lot of experience. I'm sure you were very ambitious when you were young. Now you just want to raise a child?"

Lao Ju didn't feel confused or hesitant, and nodded firmly at him: "Yes."

Doctor Jiang didn't ask why. The young apprentice had already prepared a bowl of steaming hot noodles and brought it to him. He looked at the apprentice with nimble hands and feet, and then glanced at the place where the apprentices were resting in the backyard. There was no need to ask why. Instead, he looked at Lao Ju and smiled at him in tacit understanding.

Lao Ju rested in the clinic for one night and said goodbye to leave early the next morning.

Doctor Jiang got up early to see him off, handing him a bundle containing emergency pills, money, and a pot of strong liquor. "Don't worry, don't say too much. We'll meet again someday. I see that sword growing brighter and brighter with each passing day, and its righteousness is growing stronger. Whether it's in a scabbard or not, it will surely be a fine sword in the future! Brother, you will get what you wish for."

Lao Ju no longer refused: "We met by chance, thank you for your kindness!"

He pushed the door open and went out. The old woman and the child who had left the boat yesterday were waiting not far from the clinic.

Lao Ju glanced at him indifferently and walked towards the path he wanted to go without taking the initiative to move forward.

He had no intention of going over, but the two people who had been waiting all night followed him consciously.

Lao Ju didn't take it seriously, figuring the two would leave soon. He sold the boat he no longer needed, and then found out how to get from Daohai City to the capital, asking if the various prefectures had any special procedures along the way. Finally, he became troubled by the road permit.

Not to mention the past few years, even in just a few months, when Xi Zhongting wasn't leading his troops from the western border to reorganize the country, the travel permit had already been useless for over a decade. Yet, it happened that it was re-introduced in these few months. He was already old, trapped on Sujian Mountain for most of his life, without any household registration documents, and obtaining a travel permit was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

At this moment, the old woman who had been following him with a hunched back saw him and came forward with her neck shrunk: "You can't get a travel permit, right?"

She recognized Lao Ju.

On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, she and Liu Lang were abducted onto a ship. When they reached the shores of Minghunzhou, Liu Lang was abducted by an even more aggressive person on another ship. She witnessed with her own eyes the young man descend from the sky and snatch Liu Lang away from the traffickers. Before that, she had been constantly trying to find a way to escape the ship. She glanced countless times at the passing ships, and she clearly remembered that the man who rescued her and the young man who rescued Liu Lang were together.

Lao Ju looked back at her without saying a word.

The old woman was a little anxious: "You don't have any solution, right? I can help you, but you have to agree to one condition!"

People who are too impatient will always fall into the trap. She asked again and again, but Lao Ju remained silent. Finally, she was so anxious that she wiped away tears and choked with sobs: "I saw it. Your son took Liu Lang away. You are going to find him, right? Take me with you. Liu Lang has never left my side since he was a child. He is so young, and neither the master nor the mistress wants him. I am the only useless widow left. Please help me!"

She pleaded, "Although I am not young, I have worked hard for half my life and will never let you down!"

The old woman pulled out a few pieces of paper from her cloth bag. "These are the travel permits and household registration documents of several other servants. They died along the way due to banditry and war, but I couldn't bear to throw them away. I want to build a tomb for them when I settle down. Take a look, you'll need them!"

Lao Ju finally relaxed a little and took it. He saw that there was someone very close to his age, so he thought he could get away with it.

Then, he looked at Bian Hongqiu, who was hesitant to speak, and asked, "Have you decided to go to the capital?"

Bian Hongqiu actually hadn't thought it through.

But he always followed Song Jingyan's advice, going with the flow, but he needed a wave to follow. He pursed his lips and said, "Your son might have boarded my family's boat. The boat goes to the capital, which is very big. I...my family lives in a very special place, not accessible to ordinary people."

Even Lao Ju could tell, without him having to tell her, that in this world where starving people can be found everywhere on the roadside, there's still this large, luxurious ship glittering and glittering on the Xinglu River. It's obvious that it must be of some extraordinary status. But he looked at Bian Hongqiu's still-swollen face and said, "The person I'm looking for may not have gone with your ship."

Bian Hongqiu's one stem.

He is lazy and doesn't know how to distinguish between crops. Now he is penniless and doesn't even have a valuable red hairpin. There is really no other way.

"But you can take me with you." Lao Ju changed the subject, "I won't stop along the way, and I won't provide you with food. If you can find a way on your own and can handle my speed, then you can come with me."

Bian Hongqiu was stumped by this request. Before he could even think of the solution or the second option, Lao Ju had already gone out to buy a horse and a carriage, and the old woman hurried to follow him.

His breathing quickened. He had missed this person who truly had no ill will towards him. Unless he could return to Beijing on his own, finding someone else to partner with would only lead to more trouble. Otherwise, he would have to find a way to survive until the day Song Jingyan led her men to find him.

But things are not peaceful now. Didn’t he meet a kidnapper in the city before?

Bian Hongqiu always avoided making choices, but he would still weigh the pros and cons, so he trotted after her: "Okay, I can do it!"

When Lao Ju saw Bian Hongqiu running like a willow branch swaying, he sighed slightly in his heart.

He keeps his word. Even if he encounters obstacles, he will leave today, even if he has to work until midnight.

At the last moment before the city gate was closed, Lao Ju drove the horse, and the cart behind him was pulling an old man and a child, who could not even be called a burden. They set off towards the unknown capital city in a bumpy and bumpy manner, as if fleeing from famine.