Chapter 13: Rainy Night
It was pouring rain outside, the sky and earth were almost one line apart, and there were flashes of lightning and thunder every now and then.
Qi Shan had only been asleep fully clothed when he was awakened by the noisy knocking at the door. He opened his eyes, got up, straightened his clothes, and was about to put on his wooden clogs to open the door when Shen Tang opened it first.
The person who arrived was wearing a straw hat and raincoat, and looked anxious.
He was the village head of Qianjia Village.
Shen Tang turned to the side, inviting the person into the house.
"It's raining heavily outside, old man, please come in and talk to me first."
Muramasa waved his hand and declined, saying, "No, no."
Qi Shan stepped forward: "Judging from your anxious expression, sir, has something happened?"
"Have you two gentlemen seen Ayan?" Outside, the wind and rain were raging, and Muramasa's face was soaked with rain, which was dripping down his face. He didn't bother to wipe it with his hands, and his voice trembled slightly, "That child... he just disappeared because I wasn't watching him!"
Shen Tang asked in confusion, "Who is A Yan?"
"The child who was playing around with the young master earlier."
As soon as he said that, Shen Tang knew who it was.
It turned out to be that silly-looking little child.
His name is "Ayan".
Shen Tang glanced at the situation outside and shook her head: "We've been inside the whole time and haven't seen him. When did he disappear?"
Muramasa: "Just now, at most fifteen minutes ago."
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang's expression visibly darkened.
A quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes.
The rain outside was so heavy that even a straw raincoat and hat couldn't keep out the wind. A fierce wind howled, and torrential rain poured down. The faint howls of wild animals could be heard from the mountains, sending chills down one's spine. A child disappearing in this weather—couldn't they have been snatched away by wolves or tigers that had sneaked into the village?
This is also what Muramasa is most worried about.
He said, "If they're naughty and run off to play, that's fine, but I'm afraid they might get snatched away by a big tiger coming down the mountain..."
These past few years have been plagued by drought and poor harvests, heavy taxes, and constant warfare, making life difficult for the villagers and the wild animals in the mountains. They often come down to hunt for food. It's not so bad if they take the villagers' livestock, but the real fear is that they might take the children.
Three similar tragedies have occurred in the past two years.
Qi Shan took the straw hat hanging on the wall, put it on his head, tied the rope, and said, "Don't worry, old man. I'll help look for him too. We'll find the child eventually. On the bright side, perhaps the child was taken back by the servants of the estate..."
Muramasa sighed.
He also hoped that everything was as Qi Shan had said, just a false alarm, and that the child hadn't gone missing or been carried away by a tiger, but had been taken back. However, he knew that the possibility was extremely slim. Ayan was not valued, and her quality of life at the manor was merely to avoid starvation.
About two weeks ago, I stayed in the village for four or five days before being picked up—and that was only because a villager from Qianjia Village happened to meet one of the old women and deliberately reminded me. With the weather so bad tonight, don't expect them to come to pick me up in the rain.
Shen Tang said, "I'll help look for it too."
Qi Shan glanced at him and said, "Forget about you, don't you even check what the weather is like outside? Lest we lose you instead of finding the person?"
Muramasa was grateful for Qishan's help and did not approve of Shentang going out—this young man was still immature, eleven or twelve years old, and thin, looking only five or six years older than Ayan.
"These worries are unnecessary. How could I possibly lose it? Even if things go wrong, it's better than having the villagers search for me in the dark." Shen Tang borrowed a straw raincoat and bamboo hat from the village head. The village head, still worried, also handed her a wood-chopping knife, so that she could at least hold her off if she were unlucky enough to run into a tiger.
"Ayan!"
The heavy rain made the land muddy.
Although Shen Tang had good eyesight, she would still occasionally step into puddles, splashing mud and water as she walked, making the hem of her clothes filthy. Within fifteen minutes, she had searched all the fields near Qianjia Village but couldn't find Ayan; the other villagers hadn't found her either.
The longer it went on, the less confident people became.
Qi Shan asked where the village was located, and he planned to go there to ask—although the chances of being taken away were slim, what if they were?
Shen Tang volunteered: "I'll go too."
Muramasa sighed, "Then I'll trouble you two to make the trip."
The villagers of Qianjia Village searched further into the mountains. The same was true for the child who had been carried away by the tiger. After searching all night without finding him, they finally found his intestines, bits of flesh, and bones dragging out in the grass at the foot of the mountain.
"If the power of words is so magical, why doesn't it have a rain-proof function?"
Despite wearing a straw raincoat and hat, Shen Tang was still soaked to the bone, and the cold fabric clinging to her skin made her extremely uncomfortable. If the night wind blew through the gaps in the raincoat, it would raise goosebumps all over her body.
Qi Shan said, "Perhaps."
Who can blame them when there are so many words of power?
Besides—
"Even if such a thing existed, not every Word of Power could be learned. Expecting such a Word of Power to exist in the world is less desirable than wearing more rain gear."
Shen Tang jogged to keep up with him, not caring that her heavy steps would splash dirty water—it was already dirty, so it didn't matter how careful she was: "Do you have any lighting equipment that won't get wet from the rain? It would be convenient for marching or walking at night in heavy rain..."
Qi Shan: "..."
Zhuangzi is not far from Qianjia Village.
The two followed the muddy path, their steps uneven, and it took them about fifteen minutes to find it. It was a courtyard surrounded by a low wall, with the dark tiles and white walls vaguely visible. The courtyard was pitch black, without any light, and from a distance it looked like a curled-up black shadow of a wild beast.
Shen Tang stepped forward and raised her hand to knock on the door.
Thump thump thump—
At that moment, a bolt of lightning leaped through the clouds, illuminating half the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
Worried that they might not hear her, she changed from knocking with her fingers to knocking with a loosely clenched fist, gradually increasing the force—bang bang bang!
Just when she thought no one was inside, she vaguely heard a man's impatient voice reply: "Who is it, knocking on the door?"
After a while, the door opened.
The middle-aged man who opened the door was wearing a short brown robe and a headscarf. He seemed quite displeased that someone was disturbing their sleep in the middle of the night, and he glanced at Chen Tang and Qi Shan with an unfriendly expression. Seeing that the two were of different heights and were not very old, his expression seemed to relax slightly and become more amiable.
Who are you two?
Shen Tang replied, "We are travelers who stayed in Qianjia Village. The village headman told us that the child named Ayan is from your village. He played in the village during the day and did not return home. He disappeared not long ago. The village headman is worried that he was carried away by a tiger and is searching for him everywhere."
The middle-aged man's expression softened considerably after hearing Shen Tang's words: "Oh, Ayan has been brought back. Thank you for your concern."
They've been brought back?
Shen Tang frowned slightly.
Using a straw hat to conceal it, it returned to its normal color.
At this moment, Qi Shan bowed to the man with his hands clasped, and said gently, "We are relieved that the young master of your household is alright. However, it is dark and the road is narrow, and the wind and rain are strong. May we borrow your mansion for a while to take shelter from the rain?"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.
However, he still stepped aside to let Shen Tang and the other person in, saying, "You two have also braved the rain for my son. It is fine if you just want to take shelter from the rain. However, it is too late now, and everyone in the manor has gone to bed. We cannot entertain you. Please forgive us."
Qi Shan: "That's natural; a roof over one's head is enough to shelter from the rain."
The two followed the middle-aged man into the courtyard.
Several trees were planted in the yard, and hemp ropes for drying clothes were tied between the tree trunks. Clothes were hanging on the hemp ropes—seven or eight adult clothes, and one child's clothes that had been starched and faded and patched.
Shen Tang glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, then subtly looked away.
Wow, I got featured on the splash screen today, and my collection count increased a bit.
I wonder if there are any new readers right now, hehe (#^.^#)
(End of this chapter)
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