Chapter 73 "All I want is someone to carry on the family line..."

Liang Ye, lying in the coffin, also heard the noise and struggled to lift his eyes to look.

With her back pressed against the coffin lid, Shanhe guessed that this man was the owner of the thatched hut. She pursed her lips and said, "Uncle, I...we..." She didn't know how to explain. If she told him directly that they were being chased, it would arouse his suspicion. If he were to shout it out, wouldn't that attract Jin Anfu's gang to come looking for them even faster?

She gritted her teeth, trying to erase the fact that they were being chased: "My master is a little injured. He can stay here for the night. He will leave tomorrow morning." After saying that, Shanhe quickly took out a silver hairpin from her temple and presented it with both hands.

The old man, holding a rake, suspiciously took the hairpin, his mind racing. He had been awakened in the middle of the night by a disturbance and found two people covered in blood lying in the coffin he had painstakingly saved up for his own life. How could he not be terrified? The old man weighed the hairpin in his hand, and when he looked up again, his gaze fell on Shanhe's pair of earrings.

It was the pair of gold earrings that Liang Ye had given her.

Shanhe immediately understood his meaning, hurriedly removed her earring and held it in her palm, pleadingly saying, "Uncle, our injuries are too severe, and we've become separated from our servants. We had no choice but to come to you for help. We'll leave tomorrow! Once we reunite with our servants, my master will surely reward us handsomely!"

The old man took the gold earrings and examined their quality closely in the dim light. Seeing they were genuine gold, he was startled. He looked at Shanhe again and realized that although her hair was disheveled and her clothes tattered, upon closer inspection, her features were delicate and her skin fair and smooth; she was clearly not a village woman, but rather a concubine from a wealthy family. The old man approached and glanced at Liang Ye in the coffin. He saw Liang Ye's brocade robe stained with blood, his breathing labored, his eyes half-closed as he scrutinized him.

The old man put away his rake and approached, pressing his finger against Liang Ye's wound. The pain caused Liang Ye to immediately burst into tears, and the bloodstains on the bandages became even more pronounced. The old man then put his finger under Liang Ye's nose to check his breath, his face growing even more grim: "This is what you call 'a little injury'?"

"He'll be fine, he just needs a night's rest!" Shanhe quickly reassured him.

The old man looked Shanhe up and down again, pondered for a moment, then clenched all the earrings and hairpins into his palm and said, "You've dirtied my coffin."

Shanhe hurriedly replied, "Once we are saved, we will definitely prepare a top-quality coffin and send it to you."

The old man continued, "What if you go back on your word after you're saved? Or what if you forget about it? Who can I reason with then?"

Shanhe forced a smile: "No, no! You saved us, we will never forget it for the rest of our lives."

The old man said, "There's no token either."

Shanhe thought for a moment: "Do you have paper and pen? I'll write it down, and then—"

The old man said with a serious expression, "Then you can stay."

Shanhe didn't react: "What? What did I leave behind?"

The old man looked directly at Shanhe and said, "I have no children, I need a cook to carry on the family line. If you stay, I won't need a coffin." The old man knew the significance of children and chastity to a woman, "If you have a child and want to leave, I won't stop you."

Once a woman has a baby, which woman can escape? The old man knew that perfectly well.

Shanhe's jaw trembled. The old man before her had a face full of wrinkles, filthy and ferocious, yet he spoke such filthy words so casually! Just thinking about what the old man had just said made her stomach churn.

But it wouldn't do. They couldn't let Liang Ye sleep outdoors any longer. Even if Jin Anfu's men didn't find him, he probably wouldn't survive the night. He needed a proper rest. Shanhe quickly knelt down, this time taking off the pair of gold bracelets Liang Ye had given her. Holding the bracelets, Shanhe clasped her hands together, pleading, "Please, please have mercy! Take these, just let him lie here for the night! We won't disturb you!"

The old man sneered, "With such serious injuries in the middle of the night, who would dare to take you in? You might even get into trouble. I wouldn't dare take you in. If you don't agree, you can take him away. I won't do anything that involves taking advantage of someone." With that, he held the rake horizontally in both hands, pretending to drive Shanhe away.

With great effort, Liang Ye raised one hand and braced it against the edge of the coffin. He managed to utter, "Go...go..."

Where to go? I don't know. At worst, I'd rather die on the roadside than teach Shanshan to do such a thing.

He used a lot of strength to get his upper body up, and the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

"Shanshan, let's... let's go..."

Shanhe was so anxious she was about to cry. Where could they go? She knew this was just Liang Ye's momentary impulse. He could barely walk now, and she couldn't carry him. Where could they go?

The old man looked behind Shanhe and gestured towards the distance with his chin: "You people are here. You've dirtied my coffin. Now that you're leaving, you'll have to compensate me with a new one."

Shanhe turned around hastily. There was indeed a ball of fire in the distant ravine, leaping towards them. Shanhe remembered; that was the direction of the lotus pond. These weren't reinforcements, but men in black chasing them! Shanhe was terrified, repeatedly kowtowing to the old man, sobbing, "Please! Save us! Those men are gamblers; they beat my master, and now they want to kill him!"

The old man was startled: "There are pursuers?"

Shanhe nodded with tears in her eyes.

The old man's eyes darted around, and he suddenly pointed his rake directly at Liang Ye's throat, shouting sternly, "Get out! Get out now! You can settle your own business, it has nothing to do with me!" His voice grew louder and louder, as if he wanted to lure people over.

Liang Ye was furious, his eyes blazing with rage, but he was utterly exhausted. Pursuers were outside, and he couldn't stay any longer; he was at his wit's end. Looking at the rusty rake teeth before his face, Liang Ye felt a deep sorrow. Was he destined to die here? He looked at Shan He; she was still kneeling on the ground, pleading with the old man through tears. Liang Ye exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Shan Shan, you… go… it would be better if I died…"

Shanhe ignored him completely. She clasped her hands together and pleaded with the old man, crying, "Please, don't bring them here! They're going to kill us! Please! Save us! I'll give you whatever money you want!"

The old man smiled and said, "I don't want money, I want a baby to carry on the family line."

Shanhe was struck dumb, frozen in place as if by lightning.

The old man added, "Your injuries are so severe, if I save you, it would be a life-saving favor. I'd rather have a baby, it's a great deal."

Liang Ye urged in a hoarse voice, "Xue Shanhe! Hurry up... let's go!"

Shanhe looked up at the old man, whose wrinkled and withered face was now slightly brighter—the firelight was closer than before.

Shanhe's breathing grew increasingly rapid, her clasped hands slowly clenching into fists. She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, and finally said, "Okay! You save him, and I'll have your child!"

Liang Ye felt dizzy and his vision went black.

The old man's eyes crinkled with laughter, and with a push of his rake, he shoved Liang Ye back into the coffin. The old man said to Shanhe, "Then you go inside, I'll handle things outside."

Clutching the pair of gold bracelets, Shanhe stood up numbly, her voice gradually losing its vitality: "You must save us..."

The old man chuckled and said, "Of course!"

Liang Ye lay in the coffin, the pain in his chest intensifying. He struggled to get up again, his hoarse voice repeatedly calling Shan He's name, urging her to leave quickly and not to worry about him, but there was only deathly silence outside the coffin.

The old man covered the cart with straw to hide the traces of blood Liang Ye had left on it, then turned and walked to the coffin, glancing inside at Liang Ye: "She agreed. If you want to die, go by yourself. I want to live with her and have children."

Liang Ye was so angry that he was panting heavily.

The old man pushed the coffin lid shut, closing it slowly. As he did so, he said leisurely, "She kindly saved you, don't be ungrateful. With all this commotion, if someone finds out, it'll be better if you die. She still wants to have a baby with me." The old man felt he had done everything he could. He could easily have killed Liang Ye with a rake. He was a farmer, used to farm work; even if he killed Liang Ye and Shan He now, it wouldn't take much effort. But that was an unlucky thing, and the old man didn't want to add to his sins. As it was now, he had saved the man in the coffin, and he could get a wife to cook for him and have a healthy baby—it was wonderful.

The noises inside the coffin indeed gradually subsided. Once the coffin lid was completely closed, people standing outside could no longer hear Liang Ye's breathing inside.

The old man stomped on the soil in the yard, smoothing out all traces of Shanhe and Liangye's presence, before rubbing his aching back and going inside, closing the wooden door tightly. In no time at all, the group had already reached the outside of the small courtyard fence.

Shanhe stood against the corner of the wall, watching the firelight stream in through the tattered paper window. The old man looked Shanhe up and down again, smiled with satisfaction, and raised his hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. This was the first time in his life he had done such a thing, and it was both novel and fascinating. Shanhe, however, turned her head away, dodging him, and whispered, "You're dirty."

The old man was somewhat displeased, frowned, and was about to say something.

Shanhe whispered again, "It seems they've come in."

About two or three people kicked open the fence gate and came into the courtyard, looking around.

The old man pointed to the earthen bed: "Go up there and pretend to be asleep."

Shanhe had no choice but to get onto the kang (a heated brick bed), pull up the tattered quilt covered with patches and stains, and lie down.

After Shanhe had settled down, the old man pretended to have been woken up, opened the door, and asked in a slow voice, "Who are you?"

The leader sized the old man up and down, and asked in a gruff voice, "Has anyone passed by?"

The old man slowly moved into the yard: "Just you guys."

"Except for us."

"No, that's all. I don't see a soul here for eight or ten days straight."

The leader of the men in black glanced into his house; it was dark, dirty, and messy inside, and he frowned. He then asked, "Are there any villages nearby?"

The old man thought for a moment, then laughed, revealing a set of yellowed teeth: "There are many. There are twelve or thirteen villages under the jurisdiction of Jingji County, and this road in front of my house alone connects to three of them. Where are you officials headed?"

Which village is the closest?

The old man pointed west: "Go four or five miles west and you'll get there. I often go there too."

Another man in black said, "Search him, just in case he's lying."

The old man then stepped aside to let them into the house.

The three men strode inside, lighting torches to illuminate the room. They found it cramped, devoid of cabinets, with the floor littered with belongings, even the chipped bowls used for eating. Their brows furrowed further. One of them shone his torch into the bedroom and saw a person sleeping on the kang (heated brick bed). He demanded sharply, "Who's this?"

The old man stood behind and laughed, "My wife, of course."

The man stretched the torch forward and saw a small human shape rising from the blankets; it was indeed a woman's body. He was about to get closer to see when the old man quickly called out, "Fang'er! We have a guest!"

Shanhe's heart was pounding in her chest. She pretended to turn over in bed, gave a lazy, hoarse "uh-huh," and continued to pretend to be asleep.

The man in black saw that the bedding was filthy, and the exposed hair was disheveled, without even a hairpin. He pursed his lips in disgust and said to the two people behind him, "It's not that woman." Seeing that there wasn't even a wardrobe in the room, and no place to hide anyone, he said, "Let's go. She's not here."

So the three of them left the thatched hut and walked into the courtyard. Suddenly, three pairs of eyes were fixed on the coffin in the corner of the wall.

Seeing this, the old man quickly smiled and said, "Since we have no children, we'll prepare a place for our family to settle down in advance."

One of them said, "Why is there only one?"

"We're still short of money."

The man turned to his buddy and asked, "Could they be hiding in here?"

The other person said, "Open it and take a look."

The old man became a little nervous, and his face showed his unease: "This is bad luck."

The man glanced at the old man and said, "Then push it away yourself."

The old man had no choice but to step forward and brace himself against the coffin lid. He pretended to struggle to move the lid, panting after only moving it an inch, and explained, "The coffin lid is the heaviest part, all the good wood is in there." He took a breath and continued to push.

The man in black, growing impatient, said, "It's done! Liang Ye is seriously injured, and that woman has no strength left. Let's go!" The three exchanged glances, strode out of the courtyard, mounted their horses, and tossed a question at the old man: "Really, no one has come?"

The old man stood beside the coffin, his hand still resting on the coffin lid, and smiled at them: "How could I not tell you, sir, that there's someone here?"

The seven or eight men then raised their torches and whips, and galloped westward in pursuit.

The old man lowered his head and easily pushed the coffin lid forward. He saw Liang Ye lying in the coffin, gritting his teeth and glaring at him angrily.

The old man stared at him for a while, and only after the group of people had gone far away and the firelight disappeared into the ravine without a trace did the old man let out a long sigh.

A foul, aged breath entered Liang Ye's nose, causing his stomach to churn.

The old man gazed at Liang Ye's face, his brows furrowing thoughtfully: "If you live and are saved, wouldn't you avenge her?"

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Author's Note: The plot is moving quickly. These chapters are crucial to Liang Ye's character development, including his attitude towards Shan He and others...