Chapter 27
Shen Ah Heng stared at his "are you kidding" expression for a long time before confirming that he had heard correctly. He repeated slowly word by word: "You, won't, give, money?"
"You've been eating well at my house for so many days, with both meat and vegetables for every meal, and you live in a room with windows. Why would a little girl want so much money?" Mr. Liu rolled his eyes and started to spread rumors again: "My mother's illness hasn't fully recovered yet, and you're in a hurry to leave. I'm afraid you're guilty and can't bear the responsibility if it relapses later, right?"
He suddenly changed the subject, his eyes like glue, scanning her from head to toe, his tone greasy enough to drip oil: "But... it's not impossible to negotiate. If you're willing to stay and have a good 'communication' with me, and be humble, this money..."
“Bang!”
The crisp sound of slaps drowned out the faint croaking of frogs in the pond outside the yard.
Mr. Liu covered his face with his hands, completely stunned.
Shen Aheng shook his numb hands. If he had known the slap would be so loud, he should have used a little more force.
No, if I had known this fat stinky pig was so shameless, I should have collected the deposit first!
She wasted so much time in vain.
Everyone in the opera troupe in the hall was stunned; even the servants and maids serving around were staring at the scene in a daze.
Mr. Liu covered his face with his hands, staring in disbelief: "You, you little girl, how dare you hit me?"
Shen Aheng puffed out his chest and shook his numb hands: "What's wrong with beating you? It's only natural to pay for medical treatment. If you dare to refuse to pay, I will not only beat you, but I will beat you to death if you don't pay!"
Mr. Liu had never been threatened like this in his life, let alone by a young girl. He was so angry that his face turned purple. He slammed the armchair and shouted, "Rebellion! Someone, come here! Take down this arrogant girl!"
As soon as Mr. Liu finished roaring, several servants outside the hall pounced on him like hungry wolves.
Shen Aheng saw the opportunity and slid to the side to avoid it. Before she could catch her breath, Master Ma, who always followed Mr. Liu with a kind face, rushed over with red eyes, yelling, "You dare to hit my master? Are you tired of living?" Shen Aheng dodged again, and Master Ma missed. She took the opportunity to grab his collar and pulled it back.
Master Ma was probably so anxious that he lost his mind and lost his balance, falling flat on his face, and his front teeth almost hit the door sill.
"You little bitch, how dare you trick me!" Master Ma got up, rolled up his sleeves and was about to pounce again.
At this moment, a gray figure suddenly rushed in from outside the door, moving as fast as a gust of wind. As soon as Master Ma raised his fist, it was firmly grasped by a bony hand. The force was so great that he cried out "ouch" repeatedly, and his wrinkled face instantly wrinkled into a ball.
After Shen Ah Heng stood firm, he looked up and saw Ashina Yu standing in front of him. He was wearing a gray robe made of coarse cloth that was washed white, which made his posture more upright. A few strands of his hair hung in front of his forehead. His eyes were no longer as gentle as usual, but as cold as ice. He swept across the crowd in the hall and said in a low voice with a deterrent effect: "Whoever touches her... will die."
There was no extra expression on his face. He just twisted his hand lightly, and Master Ma immediately let out a scream like a donkey being slaughtered.
Shen Ah Heng’s eyes lit up when he saw it, and he walked over and patted his arm: “Sure! If you turned around again when you came in just now, you would be even more handsome!”
Ashina Yu paused while holding Master Ma's hand, and her ears turned red. Master Ma was very angry, but he didn't dare to struggle at all.
When Ashina Yu came, Shen Ahheng was like a little fox who relied on the power of a tiger. He put his hands on his waist and shook his fist at Liu Yuanwai triumphantly: "Huh, see? If you don't give me money, I will kill everyone here!"
Mr. Liu's face turned pale. He never expected that the two little brats who looked so weak could actually use magic. He looked at Shen Aheng in horror, then at Ashina Yu, and nodded quickly: "I'll give it to you! Lady, spare my life, lady, spare my life!"
As he said this, he slowly moved out of the hall.
Seeing that he was almost at the door, he suddenly picked up the vase next to him and threw it at Ashina Yu!
Ashina Yu's eyes flashed, and his fingertips quickly pointed towards Master Ma's acupoints. At the same time, his sleeves moved slightly, and several gusts of wind swept out, accurately hitting the tendons of several servants nearby.
Master Ma and the servants froze in place, unable to move.
Before Shen Aheng had time to marvel at his superb telekinetic skill, he saw Ashina Yu rush over like a gust of wind, twisted Liu Yuanwai's wrist, and forcibly squeezed the vase in his hand.
"You dare?" Ashina Yu's Central Plains dialect was filled with coldness. Liu Yuanwai gasped in pain and begged for mercy, "I dare not, I dare not, I'll go get the silver now!"
Under the "threat" of the two, Mr. Liu didn't dare to play tricks anymore. He honestly asked Master Ma to take out a thousand taels of silver notes from the warehouse, and ordered his servants to pack two large bags full of things, including beef jerky, naan, medicine for wounds, clean cloth strips... and even two thin cotton robes to keep warm.
Then he asked his servants to bring two of the strongest horses, which were equipped with brand new saddles and stirrups. They were obviously good horses that could gallop long distances.
Ashina Yu took the banknote, but instead of putting it in her own arms, she turned around and handed it to Shen Aheng, and her fingertips gently touched her palm: "You... keep it."
After saying that, he bent down and picked up two large bags of supplies, and put them on his back neatly. The heavy packages made the hem of his gray robe fall slightly, but it did not make him shake.
The two men led their horses out of the mansion, with Mr. Liu and a group of servants trembling behind them. Shen Ahheng stopped and turned back, glaring at him with his hands on his hips: "If you dare to report to the authorities, or let someone catch up with you, I will beat you up when I get back!"
After hearing this, Mr. Liu was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I dare not! I absolutely dare not. I beg you... No, I beg you, my lady and my young master, to spare my life!"
When the servants behind him saw their master kneeling, they also knelt in unison, and banged their heads on the bluestone slabs in front of the Liu Mansion gate with a loud bang.
Shen Aheng felt very happy when he saw this, and turned to Ashina Yu and said, “Let’s go!”
Ashina Yu nodded slightly, first held her arm to help her climb onto the horse's back, and after she was firmly seated, he turned around, stepped neatly into the stirrup, and lightly mounted another horse.
Two horses galloped out.
After galloping for a while, he could still hear Mr. Liu's tearful farewell voice, "Goodbye!", behind him. Shen Ah Heng couldn't help but glance back and saw that the group of people were still kneeling in the same place. He couldn't help laughing out loud: "I didn't expect this old traitor to be so cowardly."
In the night, the wind gently lifted Ashina Yu's long hair, and the ends of her hair brushed against his gray robe, shimmering softly in the moonlight. Ashina Yu tilted his head to look at her, and his Central Plains dialect spoke more smoothly than before, his voice very gentle: "Next... where to go?"
Shen Ah Heng tugged at the reins, thought for a moment, tilted his head to meet his gaze, and said, "The poison in your body still lacks the two herbs of ice silk and Yinhuai wood. Let's go find the herbs first and cure your illness completely."
Ashina Yu nodded slightly, raised the whip lightly, the sound of horse hooves became clearer in the night, and the two horses galloped out of the city.
After all, a strong horse is faster than walking. In less than the time it takes to eat a meal, Shen Ah Heng thought that they had already run a hundred miles.
Now even if they chased, they probably wouldn't be able to catch up.
But they still couldn't let their guard down. Shen Aheng and Ashina Yu rode for most of the night until they arrived at a small town and found a small inn to rest.
In the evening of the next day, the two men settled their bill and set off on horseback.
In order to keep a low profile, the two men tried not to take the official roads and took the remote paths instead. They traveled day and night, and after more than ten days, they were finally approaching the East China Sea.
The seashore was covered with jagged rocks. Shen Ahheng pulled the reins, and the sluggish horse snorted loudly and lowered its head to eat the grass on the ground.
She looked back at Ashina Yu behind her. Ashina Yu was holding the reins of the horse, his eyes like black glass staring at the endless sea in the distance. His nose was straight and his lips were light in color, like an ancient painting outlined in light ink. He didn't even notice that the wind had messed up his hair.
"Let's find the boatman first."
Shen Aheng turned over and got off the horse. Just as he grabbed the reins and was about to lead him away, he saw him catching up quickly, holding an oil-paper package in his hand. He had specially roasted it when they camped in an apricot forest yesterday.
"Eat something and then find something else. You didn't eat much this morning."
At this time, I am still thinking about eating.
Shen Aheng was helpless, and didn’t want to listen to him continue nagging, so he took the sweet potato and found that it was still hot, and his heart softened.
The two men walked half a mile along the coastline before they found an old boatman puffing on his pipe in a simple dock.
When he heard they were going to the deserted island, the old boatman frowned and quickly waved his hand: "That island has been abandoned for a long time. The wind is strong and there are many reefs. Few people dare to go there."
Before Shen Aheng could say more, Ashina Yu suddenly stepped forward and took out a piece of silver from her bosom. Shen Aheng was not good at managing money. When she was alone in the past, she always spent whatever she had. So Shen Aheng found it troublesome to deal with the accommodation expenses and money transactions along the way, so she gave them all to Ashina Yu.
"Boatman, we have an urgent matter."
Ashina Yu knew that his Central Plains dialect was not fluent, so his voice was a little anxious, but he softened his tone as if he was afraid of scaring people: "We have some skills, and we won't cause any trouble for you."
The old boatman looked at the silver in his hand, then looked at the two men, and finally sighed: "Okay. Let's try our luck today. You guys better sit tight."
Shen Aheng and Ashina Yu then settled their horses nearby, took only some dry food and water, and boarded the boat.
The boat slowly rowed in the waves towards Guixu Island. When Shen Ahheng was traveling with his master in the past, he had been on many large and small boats, but this was his first time on such a large sea, and he still felt a little unsure.
The palms of her hands that were holding onto the side of the boat were sweating unconsciously, and her stomach was a little churning. Suddenly, her wrist was gently grasped by someone. Ashina Yu's palm was a little cold, but he held her hand steadily, and his fingertips gently rubbed her wrist, as if to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, I'll support you."
As he spoke, he moved closer to her and used his shoulders to block the sea breeze. "The wind is strong. Come closer to me, and you won't be cold."
Shen Ah Heng couldn't help but lean towards him, and when he smelled the faint medicinal fragrance on him, the discomfort in his heart gradually dissipated.
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