Chapter 5 Seeking Adoption
Su Yuyao walked for a day and a night, thirsty and hungry, and finally saw a house.
She rushed over and pleaded, "Is anyone home? Please, have some water!"
"Hmm? Where did this little girl come from?" A shifty-eyed old man came out of the house, looking Su Yuyao up and down, front and back, and asked lecherously, "Oh! Little sister! You came by yourself?"
Su Yuyao could tell at a glance that the old man was not a good person, so she said, "I got separated from my family, but they may find me soon."
The old man stepped forward, placed his hand on Su Yuyao's shoulder, and began to knead it maliciously. He said, "Then wait here with me until your family comes looking for you." With that, he ripped off Su Yuyao's mourning sash. "Take this off first, it's so unlucky."
Seeing the old man's lewd expression, Su Yuyao thought to herself, "Oh no! I have to escape!"
As she backed away, she said, "No need to trouble you, I'll go look for it up ahead first."
"What? You want to leave?" the old man said with a sneer. "This is the only road from Qianlong Town to Feilong City. I haven't seen any funeral processions passing by here. Little girl, lying will get you punished!" The old man's smile grew more and more sinister.
"I... I'm not lying. My family... is a fat old man and a tall, thin man!" Su Yuyao said boldly, "They should have just passed by!"
"Huh? Those two are your family?" The old man snorted. "They passed away a few days ago. Who are you trying to fool?!"
After saying that, the old man stopped trying to hide it and reached out to grab Su Yuyao.
Su Yuyao turned around to run away, but the old man grabbed her by the collar first.
"Even if you run, you can't escape. I'm the only family around here. Where can you run to?" After saying that, he grabbed Su Yuyao by the neck and dragged her into the house.
Su Yuyao had been traveling for a day and a night without food or water, and was already exhausted. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't escape the old man's control.
Before she could even cry for help, the old man picked her up and slammed her heavily onto the smelly, hard bed.
Su Yuyao was in so much pain from the fall that she couldn't get up. She began to regret not going home sooner. Even if she died, she could have died with her parents. Why was she so reckless as to run away? Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Qianlong Town and eke out a living for the rest of her life? How ridiculous!
With tears streaming down her face and a bitter smile on her face, she watched as the old man, who was already eagerly stripping off his clothes, was about to pounce on her. Was she just going to give in like this?
She fumbled around, trying to find something she could reach. Suddenly, she touched something hard and irregular. Hmm? What is this?
Whatever it is, this is our last hope!
Su Yuyao seized the opportunity and hurled the object at the drooling old man.
"Ouch!" The old man covered his eyes, took a few steps back, and cursed, "You brat, I'll beat you to death!" After saying that, the old man turned around to find his tools.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Yuyao got up and kicked the old man's dark and smelly buttocks hard.
"Oh—!" The old man cried out like a monkey, clutching his thigh and collapsing to the ground.
Su Yuyao quickly ran out, not daring to stop, and only slowed down when she could no longer catch her breath.
As darkness fell, she was too exhausted to walk any further, so she found a tree, climbed up it, and fell asleep while crying.
As dawn broke, she climbed down and licked the dew to quench her thirst, but she still couldn't find anything to fill her stomach.
She looked back at the road she had come from. Should she go back? If she went back, would she still have a chance to avenge her parents and Green Ivy? The old man said that those two had already passed by. If she was any slower, would she miss her chance again?
No! We have to try, no matter what!
Su Yuyao made up her mind to keep going!
With sheer willpower and unwavering belief, she finally reached the village outside Flying Dragon City!
"You bitch! You stole my eggs! And you still won't admit it!"
"Go to hell! Who wants your broken eggs! Don't frame an innocent person!"
As soon as she reached the village entrance, she heard two women hurling insults at each other.
Su Yuyao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people snickering around two women who were wrestling.
Two women, one pulling my hair, the other tugging at your clothes, their hands and mouths never stopping.
Su Yuyao walked over curiously, and the crowd of onlookers quickly made way for her.
"Why does this girl smell so bad!"
"How pitiful! Look at all this mess! Oh! He's even wearing mourning clothes!"
The people who had been watching the fight and snickering now began to watch Su Yuyao and whisper among themselves.
Su Yuyao didn't care about the stares of those around her; she was simply observing the women wrestling together.
The woman who lost the eggs spoke with righteous indignation, genuinely angry because she had lost them. The woman accused of stealing the eggs, on the other hand, retorted with righteous indignation and a clear conscience.
Su Yuyao cast a hexagram at will. The woman's hexagram is Li, the rooster's hexagram is Xun, the main hexagram is Fire over Wind Ding, the time is Si, the top line moves, the changing hexagram is Thunder over Wind Heng, which is harmonious and smooth.
"Auntie, she didn't steal the eggs!" Su Yuyao shouted.
"What? She didn't steal it?" The woman who threw the eggs looked at Su Yuyao with disdain. "You say it wasn't her, so it isn't? You filthy beggar, get lost!"
“Auntie, you won’t find the eggs if you keep hitting her like this. How about I point you to a place where you can look? If you find the eggs, you can give me some food. If you don’t find the eggs…” Su Yuyao looked down at herself, realizing she had nothing to offer in return, and said guiltily, “Then I’ll help you with the farm work…”
"You're going to point me to a place? Why should I believe you?" The woman who threw the eggs, though she didn't believe her, had stopped tearing them apart.
“Even a beggar could tell I didn’t steal the eggs, you’re just blind and insensitive!” the woman said, smoothing her disheveled hair as she was released.
“Auntie, to be honest, I know a little about Plum Blossom Divination. Although I’m not an expert, I can still make a clear judgment on small matters.” Su Yuyao pleaded with tears in her eyes, “Please, trust me just this once. If I’m right, you can give me a bite to eat.”
The two women's hearts softened when they saw Su Yuyao looking so disheveled and pitiful.
"It's just a stutter, you wait here, I'll get it for you." The woman who threw the eggs straightened her clothes and went back into the house. A short while later, she came out with two steamed buns and handed them to Su Yuyao.
Su Yuyao's mouth watered as she looked at the steamed buns. However, she didn't reach out to take them. Instead, she wiped her mouth and said, "Auntie, why don't you look in the woodpile on the east side? If you find any eggs, I'll eat them."
The older woman stuffed the steamed buns into Su Yuyao's hands and said, "You eat these first, I'll go look for some now, and if I can't find any, you'll stay here and do hard labor for me!"
Su Yuyao held the steamed bun, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist its aroma and wolfed it down.
"Hey! It really is here! This old hen laid her egg in the woodpile herself!" The woman who lost the egg returned with a smile.
"I told you I didn't steal it! You just wouldn't believe me! And you even hit me?! I don't care! You have to compensate me!" the woman who had just been beaten shouted, hands on her hips.
The woman who threw the eggs was speechless for a moment, her face turning pale and then red.
"Aunties, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, why argue about it anymore?" Su Yuyao wiped her mouth, curtsied to the aunt who threw the egg, and said, "Thank you, auntie, I'm leaving now."
"Huh? Judging from your manners and speech, you should be from a wealthy family. How come you're in such a sorry state?" The old woman who threw the eggs asked Su Yuyao with a puzzled look.
“My... parents are dead…” As soon as she said this, Su Yuyao recalled the scene in her dream and couldn’t help but cry.
"Oh, poor child. Where are you going?"
"Flying Dragon City, I need to go find someone," Su Yuyao said, wiping away her tears.
"Flying Dragon City is just ahead. We know someone you're looking for, and we can help you ask around."
Su Yuyao blinked, pondering. They were secretly recruiting by posting the recruitment notice. If she openly used the notice to approach them, would it cause other trouble? Besides, she wasn't even sure if they had actually posted a recruitment notice in Flying Dragon City…
"I... am looking for... my stepfather..." Su Yuyao uttered a lie that even she herself didn't quite believe.
"What?"
"Finding a stepfather?"
The crowd that had been about to disperse to watch the spectacle gathered around again.
“My stepfather is tall and thin, and his servants are old and fat. When my mother was alive, she married my stepfather, taking me and my family’s property with her. Now, my mother’s body is barely cold, and my stepfather has run away with the money…” After saying this, Su Yuyao covered her face and wept.
The crowd immediately erupted in discussion, all cursing this fictitious, damned stepfather.
"If any uncles or aunts have seen them, please give me directions so I can find them..." Su Yuyao pleaded, covering her face.
"Hey? I just remembered two people, they look a bit like them!" a young man in the crowd said. "These two, the older one has a long beard and hair, the younger one has a cold expression, and they always drink tea at the teahouse near the city gate!"
"It's them!" Su Yuyao quickly asked, "Which teahouse? Are they still there?"
"It was still there yesterday, but I didn't go into town today, so I don't know," the young man said.
"Thank you everyone, I'll go into the city to look for it right away!" Su Yuyao hurriedly pushed through the crowd and ran towards Flying Dragon City.
Please, please, please! This is my last hope. If it's not in Flying Dragon City, then finding it will be even harder!
After noon, with the sun directly overhead, Su Yuyao finally burst through the gates of Flying Dragon City, drenched in sweat and panting.
Sure enough, a crowd had gathered at the city gate. Su Yuyao peeked through the gaps in the crowd and saw that it was indeed a summons! Great! They're still here!
Su Yuyao looked at the teahouses and restaurants near the city gate. They were not allowed to enter the first floor, and the second floor was full of windows, so she couldn't see anything at all!
What should I do? What should I do? Su Yuyao paced anxiously at the city gate.
Are we going to use that method again?!
“Immortal Master Qimen! That little beggar, doesn’t he look a bit like…” Xuanfeng peeked out the window incredulously at Su Yuyao, who was looking back and forth at the city gate, “like… that brat from the Su family?!”
"Hmm? Where is it?" Qi Men sipped his tea, opened the window, and looked towards the city gate.
"Pfft!" A mouthful of tea was sprayed directly onto the window paper.
"How is she still alive?!" Qi Men asked, his eyes wide.
"You!" Xuanfeng softened his tone, lowered his voice, and said, "Are you asking me? Didn't you order Flying Eagles to purge them? Why were there survivors?!"
"Flying Eagle came back and said that the old couple and their daughter have all... ah! I forgot to mention, there's also Green Ivy..."
"Immortal Master! How could you make such a mistake?!" Xuanfeng said, his eyes red. "Let's do it ourselves! There's no other way..."
Xuanfeng suppressed his anger, picked up his teacup and brought it to his lips, peering out through the damp window crack. He saw Su Yuyao clumsily squeeze into the crowd, and soon, the crowd began to stir.
Xuanfeng looked at the familiar scene, and a sense of déjà vu slowly rose to his head.
As expected! The summons was once again sent to the ground without a single one falling.
"Immortal Master Qimen, were there any loopholes in the purge?" Xuanfeng asked calmly, watching the gradually dispersing crowd.
"Besides the bag you mentioned, there's nothing else. Flying Eagle is always cautious; there won't be any problems," Qi Men said.
“But,” Xuanfeng said, looking at Su Yuyao sitting on the summons, “this brat is clearly here for us, otherwise she wouldn’t have torn up the summons.”
"Crack!" The teacup shattered in Xuanfeng's hand, and veins began to bulge on his temples. "You brat!"
"Huh? It's torn again?!" Qi Men leaned against the window frame and carefully looked out, then said with a smile, "Lord Xuanfeng, how about I go and bring Miss Yao'er up here, ask her what she's up to? If she's really discovered something, we can handle it, and then find a secluded place to deal with her. What do you think?"
Xuan Feng squinted at Su Yuyao, who was spoiled and willful just a few days ago but was now a mess. He couldn't help but wonder how this little girl had come up with the idea of finding this place.
"Master Qimen, please... bring her up here..."
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