As soon as the young master left, the crowd gathered here dispersed and went to the bachelor's house to watch the fun.
Tao Yiru retreated back to the courtyard with lingering fear, bolted the door, and then turned around to ask Chen Que: "Who reported it to the authorities?"
Shen was also confused. Hearing this, he shook his head, picked up the axe and put it back in the kitchen.
Soon after daybreak, the shrew brought people to block the door. Even if they wanted to, they didn't have the time to go to the county to report to the authorities. It didn't make sense to say that some kind-hearted villager went there on their behalf.
To get from Qingyuan Village to the county town, I'm afraid this person would have to set out before five o'clock in the morning. This is why he was able to invite him at this time. Among the villagers in this village, no one would be so kind-hearted.
"It's really strange," Tao Yiru said this, but she was relieved in her heart. "That rascal is the nephew of our local squire. If the incident really gets out of hand, I'm afraid we will be the ones who suffer. Who knew that the prefect would come out and interfere..."
"It's really strange. Such incidents are not uncommon in the village. As long as no one is killed, the government office will never pay any attention to it. Why are they taking it so seriously today and even sending a yamen to arrest the man?"
After listening to her, Shen Que was thinking in his heart, the man who could invite those yamen here must have some status and position, but who would help him for no reason?
The master and senior brothers are probably all in Kyoto right now, and can’t reach this water town. The person closest to him right now is probably “Lin Xie” whom he met in the town that day.
But how could that person secretly protect him? This is not something that someone like Lin Xie would do.
If they knew that he was hiding in this water town, they would have chased him long ago, and then used threats and intimidation, using the same old tricks, and humiliating him in every way.
Who knows, he and Si Lai might be sent back to Kyoto to seek credit in front of His Highness.
Seeing him standing there in a daze with a slightly panicked look, Tao Yiru knew that he was worried again, so she quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, who knows, it could be some kind-hearted person in the village. That scoundrel family has offended many people in the village in the past, and many people dislike them."
Of course Shen was willing to think positively, but he always felt that this matter was a bit strange. He nodded on the surface, but his heart was still calm.
The weather was cold and the old lady's knees were always hurting, so she couldn't walk much. Therefore, the few times Tao Yiru went to the mountains to collect herbs, she was accompanied by Shen Que.
There are several medicinal herbs on this mountain. They will not sprout until the new snow falls and a thin layer of frost and snow covers the ground. But if you wait any later, the mountain will be blocked by heavy snow and the road will be difficult to travel. Tao Yiru will not take the risk to collect these herbs.
Therefore, in the past few days, the two of them often went up the mountain with bamboo baskets on their backs at dawn, and did not return to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain until dusk.
Chen had followed Tao Yiru back and forth several times and was quite familiar with the route.
That day, Tao Yiru took the old lady to the next village to help a woman give birth, while Chen Que went up the mountain to collect herbs with Si Lai on his back. He was much more skilled than Tao Yiru, so without her, he could go deeper into the mountain.
Chen always remembered the money he owed Tao Yiru. He felt bad for living and eating for free at her house these days, so he just wanted to find more medicinal herbs to bring back to help her a little.
As Chen walked deeper into the forest, he was thinking in his mind that after this winter, it would be the Spring Festival soon. He would be idle in the house on snowy days, so he would tear up some old cloth and make some cloth dolls imitating the silk figurines sold in Kyoto City, and also paste some paper kites. He would sell them at the temple fair in the spring, and there should be people who would want them.
But the deeper he went, the more Shen realized that something was wrong.
There seemed to be some very subtle strange noises coming from behind him. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt as if someone was following him, and not just one person.
But as soon as he stopped, the sound disappeared out of thin air.
Shen Que immediately became alert. The forest was very deep and it was easy to get dizzy because of the twists and turns in it. So he deliberately walked around in the forest like a headless fly.
He was extremely fast and was intentionally hiding himself behind the shadows of the trees. The people following him didn't seem to expect that they had been discovered by him, and in the blink of an eye, Shen disappeared from their sight.
One of them was about to speak, but was stopped by another man who pinched his shoulder. This man whispered: "He has discovered us. How cunning."
"Unfortunately, this is my territory. Don't worry, he can't escape."
Two of these three people are old hunters in this mountain. They grew up here since childhood and have spent half of their lives patrolling the mountains and hunting here. They can move freely in this mountain even with their eyes closed.
The two men left the lame bachelor behind and asked him to follow from a distance. As his legs were not handy now, he had been asked to be carried on the hunter's back all the way. If the hunter was not carrying a heavy load, he would not have made such an obvious noise.
One of them picked a tall tree, climbed to the top and looked around. He caught a glimpse of Shen Que's trace not far away, and then he slid down the trunk easily and made a gesture to his companions, meaning that the person was in the northwest direction.
Then the two of them moved closer and closer, just like hunting wild animals. Shen, who was trapped in the middle, seemed to have sensed something and kept retreating the same way he came. But how could he hide his thoughts from these two experienced hunters?
Shen, who was trapped in the forest, could not tell where they were at all. The footsteps of the two men were terribly light. Shen could even hear the sound of falling leaves in the forest, but he could not hear the noise they were making.
At the same time, the man squatting on the treetop suddenly dropped a thin lasso from the tree. The line was almost transparent, yet extremely tough. It quietly and silently caught the ankle of the little cub who was sleeping soundly in the bamboo basket on Shen's back.
At the same time, several poisoned arrows were shot from the other side, heading straight towards Chen Que. He was in a hurry to dodge the arrows and for a moment he didn't pay attention to Silai who was lying in the bamboo basket.
While quickly dodging the hidden arrows, he quickly approached the man who was hiding behind the bushes and shot the arrow. He kicked the gun in his hand away, then bent his elbow, jumped up and hooked his neck.
The scimitar came out, and the tip of the knife pressed against his heart.
But when he robbed the man smoothly, he heard a low laugh coming from the treetops not far away, followed by the cry of a child.
Chen looked up hastily, only to see Si Lai hanging upside down in the air by a thin wire, his little face flushed red. The forest was already silent, so the cub's cry seemed even more deafening.
Seeing him like this, Shen Que's heart was broken.
"Stab it," the man on the tree laughed, "if you stab it, I will cut the string and let the baby fall from here."
"If such a small child falls headfirst onto the ground, he will be either dead or disabled," the man continued, "If you don't want to see this kid bleed, throw away the knife in your hand."
He finished speaking, but did not hear Shen Que speak. This man was not in a hurry at all. He smiled and then stared at Shen Que closely.
The two sides confronted each other silently, and the only sound in the woods was the boy's crying. Si Lai's body turned red from crying, and the thin rope locked around his ankles became tighter and tighter.
There were still a few poison needles between Chen's fingers. They were too far apart, and if he released them all at once, he might still have some chance of success. However, if the man was hit by the needles and fell down, Si Lai, who was in his hand, would probably fall with him.
He was very cautious and didn't dare to act rashly.
"We have plenty of time," the man continued, "to see whether you can endure it or not."
After saying that, he deliberately shook the thin wire in his hand, and the little guy immediately swayed in the air, which made Shenque's heart tighten.
No, don't.
Just as he was lost in thought, an arrow suddenly flew from behind and pierced his calf.
The arrow was smeared with anesthetic, and he felt an immediate pain in his leg. Then the medicinal properties of the arrow bit him, causing his body to go limp, and the scimitar in his hand was immediately knocked away by the man in front of him.
The man turned around and kicked him to the ground, crushing his chest with the tip of his shoe: "This medicine was originally prepared for hunting big insects, and I gave it to you for free."
The bachelor who was shooting arrows at the back was also playing with the crossbow in his hand with a beaming face: "Uncle, you said you normally don't allow me to play with your crossbow, but now I'm getting the hang of it, my accuracy is pretty good, right?"
The man on the tree jumped down, grabbed the cub by the scruff of the neck, and pinched his chubby cheeks: "How did you give birth to a pair of wolf eyes? There is no such thing among us Han people. Could it be that this androgynous monster had sex with a wild wolf in the forest and gave birth to this evil child?"
The bachelor also laughed, and kicked Chen Que several times fiercely: "Damn it, there were no women in this village willing to follow me. Now my legs are broken and I have to go to that prison again, all because of this monster!"
In order to get him out of prison, his uncle used so many connections, begged everyone for help, and spent a lot of money, only then did the prefect give in.
They also asked him to be confined to his home after he was released from prison and not allowed to go out before spring. But how could he be willing to stay at home?
When the bachelor thought of this monster still living happily in the widow's house, he became so angry that his teeth itched. He tossed and turned day and night, unable to swallow this anger.
Shen Que was now suffering from the effects of the medicine in his body, and his entire body felt limp. He struggled several times, trying to get up from the ground, but failed every time.
"Don't struggle. Be quiet. This medicine was originally used for big insects. Even beasts like that can't handle it, let alone you."
The bachelor had heard what his companions said that day and had always been curious about Shen Que, so he used the back of his hand to slap away the hunter's feet that were pressing on Shen Que's chest, and lifted up his somewhat loose lapel, and he actually smelled a fishy smell of milk.
Seeing the intriguing blush on his spot, the bachelor's face changed and he said "tsk" meaningfully: "Damn, Jiao Pang didn't lie to me, he really has milk!"
"What kind of monster is this!"
The idea of teaching this monster a lesson suddenly changed in his mind. Although this monster looked like a man on the surface, his skin was smooth and soft, just like a woman's.
No woman in this village is interested in him. The bachelor is so greedy for women that he is going crazy. He stared at the beautiful scenery on Chen Que's front and laughed obscenely: "As for me, I am still a virgin now, but it's a good thing for you, a lowly monster."
Sensing what he was about to do, the hunter next to him frowned and scolded him, "Nephew, just beat him up. He is a man no matter how you look at him. Isn't it disgusting that you want to sleep with him?"
The bachelor was unmoved: "It's a waste if you don't sleep with him. Uncle, how would you know that this monster can give birth to a child like a woman? Do you think his private parts will look like a woman's?"
Upon hearing this, the two hunters looked at Chen Que with a hint of inquiry in their eyes.
Everyone said that this man was a monster that was neither male nor female, but no one had ever seen what kind of magic he was.
"Take off his clothes and let us open our eyes today!"
Just as he finished speaking, before his fingertips touched Chen Que's collar, he heard footsteps behind him. Before the bachelor could even put away the smile on his face, a long sword slashed diagonally across the neck.
With a "ripping" sound, his upper body was almost cut in half by the sword. Blood spurted out immediately and splashed all over Shen Que and the two hunters.
The bachelor still had a half-smile on his face, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes. His scream was still stuck in his throat when he died.
He collapsed, and the man with the sword behind him was completely revealed. He was dressed in a light black outfit, embroidered with silver patterns, and had a purple jade belt around his waist. It was obvious at first glance that he was not an ordinary person.
Without any restraints, Shen forced himself to stand up from the ground. When he raised his eyes, he met a pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes. There was a hint of light color in that person's eyes, and the amber pupils had a kind of fascinating and enchanting feeling.
A few spots of bright red blood splashed on the almost transparent white skin under his eyes. He slid down halfway and hung there precariously. The little bit of blood fell on his face and was almost shocking and creepy.
King, Your Majesty...
But Shen didn't understand why he looked at him like that. It was like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, which wrapped around his body stickily and coldly, making every inch of his body covered with venom.
He was so scared that his body began to tremble unconsciously.
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