Chapter 109 Wuxia: Not a Substitute (5)
"Brother Meng, are you saying that a friend of yours is being hunted down by enemies and is taking refuge at our house?"
With the rain soaking her body and face, Lin Yue'e was completely sober. Upon hearing that Zhao Meng had brought friends home, and that they were being chased by the very enemies who had wiped out her family, she was trembling with excitement.
This is a major event in the martial arts world.
Annihilation of a family, escape, revenge—isn't this just like a story from a folk tale? And she can actually witness it herself; how can this not be exciting?
"Not friends, but brothers!"
Zhao Meng corrected him seriously, "We're all just having a drink together, of course we're brothers."
"Yes! They're brothers!"
Lin Yue'e nodded emphatically, her eyes sparkling. She couldn't wait to go back and see that character who seemed like the protagonist of a storybook.
Zhao Meng also heard Lin Yue'e talk about her family. After learning that she had a son and that her son had been taken away by a master, he frowned.
Having been a frequent traveler in the martial arts world, he knew in his heart that true masters were not so easy to encounter.
"Yue'e, how can you be so sure that our son was taken away by a master?"
He suspected that the child next door was his son, but he had no proof.
Lin Yue'e didn't think too much about it. She was very confident: "Then it must be that our child has extraordinary talent and is a martial arts prodigy."
"That kid next door..."
"You mean that kid? His mother came to our door, and we even did a blood test to confirm that he's her child. Meng-ge, isn't that strange? Someone gave birth in a carriage to escape being hunted down, and the baby just happened to be placed in the cave where I gave birth. I took it home and raised it for many years."
It's bizarre, this is just too bizarre, that's why it's hard to believe.
While Zhao Meng was still pondering, Lin Yue'e was quite satisfied with the story that had happened to her; she even sighed with some regret.
"Ah, it's a pity I didn't have time to ask that lady's name. However, since she was hunted down by her enemies back then, she must have been someone important. She even thanked me for helping take care of her son and gave me a lot of money. But I've almost spent it all."
Zhao Meng nodded without saying anything. He found the matter strange and decided to find another opportunity to test the boy next door.
The couple returned to the courtyard.
Wang Lei had managed to start a fire in the house with great difficulty. He found some planks and his son, Wang Ziqian, lay down on the planks by the fire.
"Brother Wang, this is my wife, Lin Yue'e."
Zhao Meng stepped forward to introduce them.
Lin Yue'e also stepped forward and clasped her hands in greeting.
"Greetings, Brother Wang."
Wang Lei returned the greeting, but his smile had faded. Zhao Meng had gone out empty-handed and returned with someone, but he hadn't bought anything. What was going on? There were no blankets, no rice or flour at home. How was he supposed to recover?
"Ah, this must be Ziqian, right? I heard from Brother Meng that you were injured? Let me see."
Lin Yue'e noticed Wang Ziqian lying on the board, his breath faint, and quickly went over to check on him.
Wang Lei stepped aside.
However, his expression quickly turned sour.
He had thought this woman might know some kind of treatment method, but it turned out she just looked around and even casually fiddled with things, her technique was very rough, which worried him a lot. But after all, she was the hostess and meant well, so as a friend, he couldn't stop her.
Wang Ziqian felt bad.
He was already young, and his injuries were quite severe. He had barely regained consciousness when the sudden movement caused him to experience waves of excruciating pain, and his eyelids rolled back, causing him to faint.
"Oh dear, my dear nephew!"
Lin Yue'e was startled and took two steps back.
Wang Lei quickly stepped forward and separated her from him, to prevent her from messing with his son.
"Hey, Brother Zhao, Sister-in-law, does town sell quilts, rice, or flour? Could you watch over Qian'er for a bit while I go buy some..."
As soon as he mentioned it, Zhao Meng remembered it and suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Oh dear, how could I forget about that?"
"Brother Wang, you should rest and recover at home. I'll go borrow some money from the neighbor next door. It's getting late, and all the shops in town are closed."
The rain had stopped by then, but the ground was still wet.
Zhao Meng hurriedly went out.
When they returned, a very energetic-looking young man followed behind them, carrying two quilts, half a pot of oil, and a large bag of noodles.
"Yue'e, help me with these things. Hey, thanks to Brother Changqing's generosity, he brought out so many things as soon as I asked."
Zhao Meng sighed repeatedly, while Lin Yue'e hurriedly took the items and stood there, unsure of what to do.
Changqing looked at the people inside the room.
Wang Lei was of medium height, with a large pool of blood on his chest. Upon closer inspection, although his face was haggard, he still had striking eyebrows and bright eyes, and was quite handsome.
Lying on the ground was his son, Wang Ziqian, who appeared to have fainted. His brows were furrowed, and the bloodstains on his body were more obvious than those on his father's body, indicating that he was more seriously injured.
"We're all neighbors, it's only right that we help each other out."
He spoke calmly, his tone quite mature, and Wang Lei quickly stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute.
"Young brother, you are so righteous, you must be a man of the martial arts world. I, Wang, am very grateful."
A member of the martial arts world?
Changqing smiled and shook his head.
"My mother was a concubine of the governor of He County, and cannot be considered a person of the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world)."
Don't try to use your generosity or chivalry on him.
"By the way," he said, looking at Zhao Meng, "Brother Zhao, it's not too much to charge you one tael of silver for these things, is it?"
Zhao Meng was taken aback.
It wasn't that he felt the child in front of him was trying to cheat him; in fact, he had no idea how much two blankets and some noodles were worth. However, he found it hard to understand why he had to pay to borrow things.
Shouldn't we help each other? Why are we being so calculating?
The young man looks capable and generous, but he seems to lack a bit of loyalty.
"What? Brother Zhao, do you look down on my things and think they're not worth it?" Changqing asked with a half-smile.
Zhao Meng realized what was happening.
"Of course not, Yue'e, give the young man two taels of silver."
He didn't care about money. He thought the young man was someone he could befriend, but it seems he was wrong. They weren't on the same wavelength at all.
He didn't care about the money; in fact, he was quite generous, intending to give two taels directly to prove a point.
Lin Yue'e, who was still holding the quilt, froze.
"I... I have no money left."
She's planning to move back here, so of course she's spent almost all her money.
That was awkward.
Zhao Meng's old face turned black.
But Changqing showed no sign of leaving, standing there calmly, waiting to collect his money.
"I, I'll give it to you."
Wang Lei couldn't stand it any longer, so he took out a tael of silver from his pocket and threw it over, which Changqing caught with one hand.
"Brother Zhao just said two taels..."
He was very disrespectful.
Wang Lei gritted his teeth, took out another tael of silver and threw it over. His whole family had been wiped out, and he had been fleeing for his life. He didn't have much money left, and now that he had spent two taels, he really felt the pinch.
Zhao Meng was so embarrassed he wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground.
Why is there no money at home?
Not only did his attempt to show off fail, but he also had to rely on his friends to clean up the mess. He felt like he had completely lost face.
Changqing took in the expressions of the others and waved his hand dismissively.
"I have some dry firewood over there, and um, some wound medicine too, if needed..."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Meng nodded excitedly. "Young brother, hurry up and bring it over. I, we'll offer to buy it!" He originally wanted to say "mine," but then he remembered that his family didn't have any money, so he changed it to "we."
Wang Lei's eyelids twitched.
I sought refuge with my good friend, but not only did I get nothing, it looks like I'll have to pay for rice, grain, and medicine myself. That's really disheartening.
However, he did need firewood and medicine, so he had no choice but to accept it.
Changqing, of course, didn't hold back. Soon he brought over some firewood and some wound medicine. It wasn't anything fancy, just common medicine that any ordinary pharmacy could sell, but it was better than nothing.
Wang Lei gave the money, carefully applied the medicine to his chest, and then applied it to his son as well.
"Dad, I'm hungry."
Prince Qian weakly opened his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Wang Lei also felt his stomach rumble; he hadn't eaten for over a day and was truly starving.
Zhao Meng, who had been watching from the side, gave instructions to Lin Yue'e.
"Yue'e, go cook some noodles."
"OK!"
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