Chapter 61 "Never mind, what can I do? He named him Yu'er..."
When the Japanese man saw Yokoha rushing straight at him, he dodged the woman's sword tip that was pointed at his chest and tried to retreat. However, in doing so, he lost the possibility of further seriously injuring the woman.
However, the woman was also ruthless. Ignoring her own injuries, she gripped the man's bayonet tightly, preventing him from withdrawing, while shouting to Yokobo, "Girl, he's a Japanese pirate!"
Enraged, the man had no choice but to abandon his knife and rush toward the only window in the house.
Hengbo couldn't let him escape so easily, especially since his back was completely exposed to her. She had to take his life no matter what.
The Shadow Chaser was activated, and within two breaths, the horizontal wave had caught up with the man. The man was terrified, but he could only turn around to block.
To Hengbo's surprise, the man's martial arts were extremely exquisite. Unlike most Jin people who only studied one style in their lives, this man's martial arts combined fist techniques, leg techniques, footwork, and hand-blade techniques. Moreover, as an adult male, he had a flexibility that was no less than that of a child.
However, the result of learning everything is that no one can reach the pinnacle.
After thoroughly observing his every move and the novelty of his martial arts style wore off, Hengbo lost the will to continue fighting with this man.
The drizzle follows silently; whether you use fists or legs, I am the butcher, and you are the fish.
Thus, what the man thought was a way out became his dead end; wherever the gale woven from his sword strikes passed, not a single patch of skin remained intact.
Finally, with a single sword strike to his throat, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to close his eyes.
Hengbo sheathed his sword and hurried back to the woman's side.
The woman leaned against the wall and had already removed the knife from her abdomen and bandaged the wound herself. However, judging from her weak appearance, she probably couldn't even stand up now.
Hengbo frowned. If this woman didn't receive immediate medical attention, she would surely bleed to death. And since the Japanese pirates had already been eliminated, there was nothing more she could do to help the rest.
She helped the person up so that he could lean against her, but paused when she touched a certain spot, then casually looked away.
"May I ask how I should address you, young lady? I will never forget your life-saving grace." The woman leaned on Hengbo's shoulder, her voice already weak, but she still insisted on expressing her gratitude.
Hengbo shook his head, then gestured for her to shut up.
Upon seeing this, a dark glint flashed in the woman's lowered eyes.
Hengbo half-dragged the person out of the wine shop. At this moment, the county town was in chaos, and since she was unfamiliar with the place, she didn't know where to find a doctor. She could only go to Shen Guitang first to see if he had any ideas.
In a deserted courtyard, Shen Guitang sat alone on a stone bench. In the corner next to him, a boy named Chen Yu tried to curl up as much as possible so as not to get in his way.
After a long pause, he finally couldn't help but say, "That pretty lady..."
Shen Guitang glanced at him and corrected him, "That's my fiancée."
The boy didn't know why he suddenly brought this up, but he still cleverly changed his tune, saying, "Is it alright for your fiancée to go to the Japanese pirates' lair alone?"
Shen Guitang glanced at him and said, "Mind your own business. She knows what she's doing."
Although she said that, Shen Guitang couldn't help but straighten her back a little: Little Princess, do you really know what's good for you?
At this moment, the sensible young princess finally led the people outside the courtyard. Countless houses had collapsed due to the flood, and many people were injured in the streets, so the two of them blended in without being conspicuous.
I knocked on the door using the pre-arranged code, and within moments the door opened from the inside.
Shen Guitang, who was inside the door, first glanced at Hengbo up and down. Seeing that she was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he saw the blood-covered woman leaning against her, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Just then, as if sensing Shen Guitang's gaze, the woman raised her head with all her might, revealing a face that, despite the marks of time, still retained its charm, to the two people in the courtyard.
Shen Guitang stopped in his tracks. He twitched his lips and gave a meaningful smile to the face that, despite the passage of time, still held a trace of nostalgia: "Kazama Noko? It's been a long time."
"Kazama Noko," the woman murmured softly, a blush spreading across her pale face, "so, it's an old friend."
As soon as she finished speaking, a dagger hidden in her sleeve flipped into her palm and stabbed without hesitation at Hengbo, who was almost touching her.
However, the dagger made of fine iron did not make contact with the soft body as expected.
With a clang, the dagger that had collided with the scabbard fell to the ground. Kazama Noko looked incredulously at the girl beside her who had somehow distanced herself from her, only to be met with a pair of calm, expressionless eyes.
Her voice was hoarse, but completely unlike her previous weakness: "You knew all along?"
Hengbo shook her head. She didn't know who the person next to her was, but the way Jin people and Japanese people held knives was different, and the calluses left on their palms from years of wielding knives would also be different.
She only noticed that she was Japanese.
Kazama Noko clutched her wound, which was bleeding again from her earlier movement, and turned to run into the street. She was gambling that the two of them didn't want to make a big fuss.
However, before she could take two steps, she was suddenly stopped by a shout.
Still reeling from the recent tragedy, Chen Yu rushed out from the corner of the courtyard and shouted at the blood-stained figure, "Mother!"
Who is Kazama Noko? That's clearly his mother! His mother came to save him!
Kazama Noko turned her head back inch by inch, only to find her missing son suddenly appearing in the courtyard for some unknown reason. His face was flushed red, his eyes rolled back, and a wheezing sound came from his throat, which gradually weakened.
And on his tender neck, the man's hand was tightening around his neck.
"Yu'er!" Kazama Noko rushed toward Shen Guitang in a panic, still shocked by Shen Guitang's actions. She subconsciously drew her sword to block him.
But then Kazama Noko suddenly knelt down in front of them, her forehead hitting the stone floor hard, again and again, her urgency growing.
“I know I’m guilty!” she sobbed, almost incoherently. “I deserve to die. I don’t deserve to live.”
"Please, please, spare my child! He knows nothing, I beg you! Please!"
Her once beautiful face was now bruised and swollen, and tears streamed down her face, making her look utterly miserable. She was no longer the dashing figure of the top assassin by Ishikawa Ichiro's side.
At this moment, she is nothing more than a pitiful mother.
However, would Shen Guitang pity her for this?
"You killed so many children," Shen Guitang's voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze in the mountains, but to Kazama Noko it sounded like the hiss of a venomous snake. "Why did your child survive?"
"Aaaaaah!" Kazama Noko, like a trapped beast driven mad, disregarded her wounds and the disparity between herself and the enemy, and pounced on Shen Guitang like a moth to a flame.
Hengbo's brows, which had never relaxed, furrowed even more tightly. Her counterattack, which was tantamount to suicide, could only be met with a chop to knock her unconscious.
She turned to look at Shen Guitang, her expression complex.
Shen Guitang couldn't stand her expression, so he simply lowered his eyes and said, "An eye for an eye, am I wrong? Besides, she even wanted to kill you."
He was both explaining and yearning for recognition.
Hengbo sighed and gently stroked his arm, which was trembling, whether from excessive force or from going against his own will.
The gentle force temporarily soothed all the violence in his heart. He let go of his hand in despair, and the child, whose face had turned blue and purple, fell to the ground, coughing violently as he inhaled air again, as if he wanted to cough up his heart and lungs.
Shen Guitang turned around, unwilling to witness this ironic scene any longer. "Never mind, it's his name, Yu'er."
...
Inside a makeshift clinic, Hengbo looked at the two people, one big and one small, lying on the bed, fast asleep, and felt utterly helpless.
She originally brought an injured person with her to see if Shen Guitang had any solutions, but... instead of solutions, she was given another injured person.
Especially when the old doctor at the clinic looked at Chen Yu with such a terrified expression after seeing the wound on her neck.
Hengbo:……
Fortunately, Shen Guitang didn't completely abandon this mess. Watching the government officials passing by on their way to the Japanese pirates' lair, Hengbo's eyes flickered slightly. He could only hope that they could find more food from the Japanese pirates.
The damage caused by seawater intrusion goes far beyond what is visible on the surface; the erosion and pollution of land and well water by seawater is what truly causes headaches.
Shen Guitang has been living almost entirely in the Bin County government office these days, while Hengbo continues to watch over the two of them. Fortunately, although Chen Yu's injuries look terrible, they are recovering quickly, although his speech is slightly affected.
However, judging from his current appearance, he doesn't seem to want to speak.
Finally, Chen Yu couldn't hold back any longer and found Heng Bo, saying in his hoarse voice, "Can I please stop eating plain porridge?"
Although he was born into a farming family and his life was not wealthy, it was still not something a child could endure eating plain porridge every day.
Hengbo shook her head mercilessly. Right now, the entire Bin County is short of food and clothing. It would be merciful if she could guarantee him three meals a day without missing a single one.
Besides, given his terrible voice, the old doctor said he should eat something light these days.
Chen Yu grabbed her sleeve and said pleadingly, "I'll trade you my secret."
Hengbo glanced at him in surprise, noticing the tension and unease on his face. She then realized that he wanted to tell her but was too embarrassed to do so.
This child must have been suffering for a long time these past few days.
Chen Yu had indeed been conflicted ever since he woke up. It wasn't that he hadn't realized the man hated him and his mother, but his mother was still lying there safely, and the man hadn't killed him in the end.
Kazama Noko has been mostly asleep these past few days, with little conscious time. At this moment, beside her bed, Chen Yu whispered, "My mother, is she really a Japanese?"
Hengbo gazed at him quietly, and finally nodded.
Seeing this, Chen Yu felt a little sad but remained relatively calm. "My mother is quite skilled. Sometimes she goes to the mountains next to our village to hunt for mountain products to sell. She usually makes a decent amount of business almost every month."
“I begged my mother countless times to teach me some kung fu, or to take me with me on some trips up the mountain, but she never agreed. So one day I secretly followed my mother.”
Hengbo recalled how he had followed them suspiciously all the way from the seaside to the county government office, and couldn't help but think to himself, "So this kid has a criminal record."
"Then I saw a woman who looked like she came from a wealthy family stuffing things into my mother's hands, carrying large and small bags. But when my mother brought them home, she said she bought them with the money she earned from selling mountain produce..."
"I'm sorry," the boy said shyly, "I had thought of this before, but I didn't tell you."
Upon hearing this, Hengbo suddenly remembered Guixiang, who went to Suixian once a month. So, was Guixiang going to visit Fengjian Yezi? What is their relationship? Will what Shen Guitang wants be in their hands?
“Pretty sister.” Chen Yu’s hesitant voice brought Hengbo back from her wandering thoughts. She looked down at the well-behaved child sitting there.
"Do you think my mother really killed a lot of people?"
Yoko knew nothing about Kazama Noko, but based on her single-handedly massacre of the Japanese pirates' lair and Shen Guitang's few words, the answer was probably not what he expected.
She stroked the boy's soft hair; perhaps only Kazama Noko herself was qualified to answer this question.
The boy must have realized something from her silence; his eyes instantly filled with glistening tears. He quickly lowered his head so that Hengbo wouldn't see his embarrassment.
"But...but even if the whole world blames her, she's still my mother." His voice trembled with sobs as he said, "I...I will never blame her."
This is a pain that only a child who has read books and understands morality can experience.
After saying that, he could no longer contain the heat in his eyes, so he raised his sleeve and wiped his face haphazardly before running out in a flash.
Hengbo shifted her gaze from his receding figure and turned it back to the woman on the bed whose eyelashes were trembling.
Unable to stop herself, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Hengbo suddenly understood the words Shen Guitang left behind when she asked how to deal with Kazama Noko: "Let her live. It's more painful for a person with a conscience to live."
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