Chapter 79 Arrival in Jizhou
"If we had known that the flammable oil was so potent, we should have just burned those bastards to death back then."
"Young Master Zhu is still too kind."
"Are you stupid? In that situation, how could you burn everyone to death? Were you going to pour the boiling water on them one by one? What if you accidentally hurt our own people?"
The topic gradually shifted in a direction that Zhu Mingyue found unbelievable: everyone was discussing how to maximize the number of bandits killed without harming their own people.
Wang Zongxiu handed him a water bag, "Have a drink of water."
Zhu Mingyue was indeed extremely thirsty, but her hand holding the water bag was still trembling uncontrollably.
"Scared?" Wang Zongxiu laughed. "Is this your first time killing someone?"
Zhu Mingyue gave a soft "hmm," looked down at her uncontrollable hands, and a hint of embarrassment flashed in her eyes.
Instead of mocking him, Wang Zongxiu spoke with admiration: "Everyone's first time killing someone is like this. Mine was the same the first time, and it was much worse than yours. I vomited all day and couldn't eat. I also had nightmares all the time. But after a while, I got used to it."
“You must always remind yourself that you should not offend others unless they offend you. The people you killed were all vicious criminals. If they hadn’t died, not only you would have died, but many innocent people would have also died. You are doing this to rid the people of a scourge.”
Zhu Mingyue understood the reasoning. In that situation, killing was unavoidable if he wanted to survive. The social order and legal system he followed in his previous life were completely inapplicable to this dynasty. He felt no remorse for those who died at his hands; he just couldn't get over the hurdle of killing someone. He thought he needed to calm down a bit more.
Wang Zongxiu also said that his symptoms of the aftereffects of his first murder were relatively mild, and he might recover soon.
However, this simple idea was completely shattered after Zhu Mingyue ate a bowl of rice porridge that day.
He leaned against the tree trunk, vomiting violently. Whenever he ate, images of bloody, mangled flesh, unseeing corpses, and burning figures rolling on the ground and howling in agony would appear in his mind. He could even faintly smell the aroma of burnt meat.
My stomach began another round of violent churning until I could vomit no more.
He looked at Wang Zongxiu with resentment, and then burst into another dry retching.
Wang Zongxiu: ...He vomited on the spot after killing the person. I didn't expect Zhu Mingyue's reaction time to be so long!
The caravan rested for a day at an inn in Yong'an County. During that time, Zhu Mingyue was listless and could only manage to eat something on the second day, barely suppressing her nausea.
The group set off again. This time, they only needed to pass through Fengzhou to reach Jizhou. Guan Jing was left at the clinic in Yong'an County. His injuries were too severe. Fortunately, there was hemostatic medicine among the goods on the trip. He was able to get the medicine in time and be kept on an IV drip, which allowed him to make it to the clinic. Although his life was saved, he was not completely out of danger and could not withstand any more hardship.
After entering Fengzhou territory, they traveled for four more days, and finally arrived at the city gate of Jizhou on the fifth day.
Zhu Mingyue had suffered a lot in the past five days. At first, he couldn't eat and was so weak that his legs would tremble after walking a few steps. Wang Zongxiu let him ride in the carriage. The caravan was queuing up to wait for the government to inspect them. He leaned against a pile of goods and propped himself up to look at the city gate.
Few ordinary people entered or left Jizhou; most were soldiers in military uniforms. Zhu Mingyue looked around casually when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves came from afar within the city. The ground trembled slightly, but no one was in sight and yellow sand filled the air. Zhu Mingyue quickly covered her face with her sleeve.
A troop of cavalrymen, all clad in uniform black iron armor and with their faces covered, surged out of the city gate like a black tide. The soldiers guarding the gate seemed unfazed and made no attempt to stop them. They even directed the civilians to move aside and make way for the cavalrymen.
As the yellow sand settled, Zhu Mingyue looked back at the direction of the cavalry with some curiosity. Wang Zongxiu, holding the travel permit, leaned against the carriage and explained to him, "This is the Xuan Tie Heavy Cavalry under General Guan. I heard that there are only two hundred of them, and they are all elites."
Zhu Mingyue nodded. He could tell. Just by the fact that the team was well-equipped from start to finish, and even the warhorses were covered in armor, he knew that this team was extraordinary.
"This General Guan..."
Wang Zongxiu interrupted him: "Did that kid Guan Jing tell you? Don't listen to his bragging. Although they share the same surname Guan, there are countless people in the world with the surname Guan. He and General Guan are really not related at all."
"Uh, he didn't mention this to me." In fact, Zhu Mingyue didn't even know who General Guan was before, and she never thought of the two of them together. There were many families with the surname Li in their village, and they weren't all related by blood.
However, after spending time with Guan Jing these past few days, he had come to understand him somewhat. In his previous life's words, this guy was a somewhat immature individualistic hero. The reason he was able to claim kinship with Guan Jing was probably because he greatly admired General Guan.
Just before they entered the city, Wang Zongxiu handed over the travel permit. Several soldiers searched each carriage one by one, and were somewhat surprised to see Zhu Mingyue lying among the goods. "Is this also part of your caravan?"
Wang Zongxiu knew him and chuckled, "No, he came from Ganzhou to visit relatives, and I gave him a ride along the way."
"Jizhou is in such a state now, and there are still people coming to visit relatives?" The guard sneered, expressing his doubt.
“Of course you don’t understand,” Wang Zongxiu grinned. “His husband is in Jizhou Camp. What’s so strange about him coming to visit his family because he’s so homesick?”
While marriage between men was indeed permitted in the Li Dynasty, it was more common among high-ranking officials and wealthy families, and relatively rare among ordinary people. But, was it love at first sight? The guard's scrutinizing gaze towards Zhu Mingyue held a mixture of disbelief and…admiration?
Zhu Mingyue: ...
Stared at like that, a blush spread from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
The other party probably finished scrutinizing him, and seeing that he did look sickly, didn't think there was anything wrong with him, so they let him pass.
After entering the city,
The carriage traveled along the city streets, with people coming and going on both sides, mostly government officials and soldiers, and only a small number of civilians, who walked by in a tense and hurried manner.
Zhu Mingyue blushed and held back for a long time before finally saying what she hadn't said in front of the guards: "Xie Pei is not my husband."
Wang Zongxiu almost choked, "Not your husband?"
Zhu Mingyue's voice was barely audible: "Mmm."
"When did I tell you about my relationship with him?"
Wang Zongxiu looked embarrassed: "Hehe, you misunderstood. You don't know, back then you asked... no, it was Centurion Xie who asked me to send something. To avoid the package getting lost or mixed up, I had to check it beforehand."
"It's just that he sent you clothes. I initially thought you were a woman, and I was surprised when I found out it was you after we met. But it's not uncommon for men to marry each other, and besides, who would send this kind of thing to someone other than their own wife?"
Zhu Mingyue never expected that the clothes she secretly hid at the bottom of her trunk, which she dared not wear, had already been seen by Wang Zongxiu, and even caused him to misunderstand her because of it.
He choked for a moment, then said, "Now you know, we're not in that kind of relationship."
Since they weren't husband and wife, Wang Zongxiu was puzzled: "If you're not husband and wife, why would someone with the surname Zhu be a member of the Xie family?"
This was the first time Zhu Mingyue had ever been so annoyed by someone's probing questions. He was a little annoyed, but still decided to tell the truth: "He has a brother."
Zhu Mingyue didn't need to elaborate further; Wang Zongxiu was a smart man and understood everything immediately.
"You two have such a good relationship," Wang Zongxiu casually praised. The younger brother-in-law, even while fighting on the front lines, did not forget to send letters and gifts to his widowed sister-in-law at home. The widowed sister-in-law disregarded her own safety and followed them through dangers to Jizhou, thousands of miles away, just to see if her younger brother-in-law was alright.
However, something feels a little strange.
Wang Zongxiu scratched his head, quickly realizing he no longer had time to dwell on it.
Zhu Mingyue also felt strange and uncomfortable. What he said wasn't wrong, but it seemed to have a deeper meaning coming from Wang Zongxiu's mouth.
They arrived at the largest grain store in town, and the store manager, upon hearing the news, immediately came out to greet them, saying, "Brother Wang, it's been so many days since we last met, I've missed you terribly!"
Wang Zongxiu felt like vomiting at these hypocritical and greasy words, but he replied perfunctorily, "Brother Ma, how have you been?"
Little did anyone know that Manager Ma had ulterior motives. Dragging his obese body forward, he exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries with him, his eyes fixed on Zhu Mingyue without sparing him a glance. He reached out to take Zhu Mingyue's hand, a lewd expression unconsciously creeping onto his face.
"May I ask who this young man is?"
Zhu Mingyue moved back in disgust, and Wang Zongxiu quickly reacted as well, spitting inwardly, "Pah! This lecherous scoundrel. It's not enough that he's ruined so many young men and women, now he even dares to set his sights on the people around him!" He quickly stepped between the two of them and tightly gripped Manager Ma's hand.
He laughed and said, "It's unimportant people, so please don't delay our reunion."
Manager Ma's smiling expression froze, visibly turning into a forced smile.
He tried to pull his hands away from Wang Zongxiu's grasp, exerting force secretly, his face trembling, but the other man remained unmoved. Wang Zongxiu, as if unaware, continued to hold his hands and led him into the house.
Manager Ma couldn't hold back any longer and tentatively asked, "Brother Wang, would you please let go and allow me to pour you a cup of tea so we can catch up later?"
Wang Zongxiu said "okay," but his hands were not in a hurry at all. Instead, he moved his fingertips and gently rubbed the fat man's fat hands for a while before letting him go with an expression of lingering satisfaction.
Now that he was free, Manager Ma had no desire to philander anymore. He rushed off to pour tea, only to feel a chill run down his spine.
Wang Zongxiu was not about to let him off so easily. While Ma was pouring tea for him, Wang Zongxiu complimented him in an ambiguous tone, "Brother Ma's hands are so smooth and tender."
Zhu Mingyue almost spat out the hot tea she had just taken a sip of. Wang Zongxiu's words sounded quite sincere, and for a moment he couldn't tell if he was sacrificing himself to blow up the latrine for him or if he really had some shameful pica.
Manager Ma, who was hunched over, paused upon hearing this. The boiling tea spilled out, scalding him and causing him to wince. He was in a flurry of activity.
Wang Zongxiu, having enjoyed his comical antics for a while, changed his tune and, with a tone of genuine concern, took Manager Ma's hand in his. "Brother Ma, how could you be so careless? How did such fair and delicate hands get burned red?"
Wang Zongxiu tried to blow air on him, but Manager Ma's face was even more ashen than if he had eaten two pounds of excrement. He twisted his face, snatched his hand back, and said, "I'm going to apply some medicine," before running away as fast as he could.
It's hard to believe he weighs over 200 pounds; he gets out of breath just walking. Yet he's running incredibly fast right now, probably because he's reached his limit.
After he left, Zhu Mingyue and the other bodyguards looked at him with mixed feelings.
Wang Zongxiu: "What are you looking at? Drink your tea."
He was too nauseous to drink much, but he had long disliked Manager Ma, and now that he had caught him trying to harass Zhu Mingyue, he was determined to teach him a lesson.
It was unrealistic to simply give him a good beating, but Wang Zongxiu believed he was quite adept at making him feel disgusted.
He's known for his habit of harassing and molesting young and beautiful boys and girls, so he'll let him experience what it's like to be harassed by others.
After a short while, Manager Ma arrived late, waddling along with his obese body.
Zhu Mingyue almost burst out laughing. This wasn't going to apply medicine; it was as if he wanted to wrap himself up tightly to prevent Wang Zongxiu from touching him!
Only a few fingers were burned, yet the gauze was wrapped tightly around both hands.
Wang Zongxiu was so suppressing his laughter that he almost suffered internal injuries, but he still had to pretend to be regretful: "Alas, what a pity."
Unfortunately, it goes without saying that when Manager Ma heard this, he swayed and almost fell down. Perhaps fearing that if he fell, Wang Zongxiu would take advantage of him, he stubbornly stood up, though sweat poured down his forehead.
Seeing this, Wang Zongxiu pressed his advantage, saying, "Brother Ma, all my grain is on the carts outside. Would you like to inspect the goods and determine their grade now?"
Manager Ma quickly shook his head: "No need, Brother Wang transported the goods all the way from the capital, so they are naturally top-quality."
Wang Zongxiu raised an eyebrow: "In that case, let's move on! The brothers are tired from the journey and are eager to find a place to rest. After the handover, we won't bother Brother Ma any longer."
Manager Ma's mind was a complete mess. He only heard the words "get out of here after the transaction is over," and his tiny, beady eyes immediately lit up: "No need for the digging, I trust you, just do as you said!"
This was a truly hasty move, unlike his usual style, but Manager Ma was at his wit's end. He didn't want to see Wang Zongxiu for even a second longer and just hoped to get rid of this person with peculiar tastes as soon as possible. He really hadn't expected that someone he'd known for so many years would harbor such thoughts about him.
If it were a handsome young man like the one in front of him, that would suit his taste perfectly, but someone like Wang Zongxiu made him shudder.
This was probably the fastest transaction the caravan had ever made; a quarter of an hour later, Manager Ma practically kicked them out the door.
Looking at the heavy silver in Wang Zongxiu's pocket, Zhu Mingyue thought to himself, "Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to swallow, but this latrine was blasted out of the way and it was totally worth it. Even I was a little tempted."
Wang Zongxiu was also overjoyed. Manager Ma relied on his family's grain store to dominate Jizhou, monopolizing the business of many caravans. He bought their grain at low prices and then sold it to smaller grain stores at slightly higher prices.
The caravan couldn't even bypass him and the small grain shop to do business; if they were discovered, they would be unable to do any more grain business in Jizhou.
Even someone as shrewd as Wang Zongxiu suffered in silence for many years at his hands.
I never expected to be able to trick the other party in this way today. Although I was a little wronged, no matter how wronged I was, it was not as important as the money I got.
He immediately said, "Let's go to a restaurant today and drink and eat to our hearts' content!"
Everyone was happy, but Zhu Mingyue seemed to remember something and choked again amidst the cheers.
Wang Zongxiu: "..." Will this unlucky kid ever get better? He's been vomiting for so many days now. Is he going to never be able to see or hear meat again?
...
When Zhu Mingyue arrived in Jizhou, she was completely clueless and couldn't stand it after only one day at the inn.
"Don't worry," Wang Zongxiu handed him a bowl of Pinellia and Ginger Soup. "I asked the brothers in the camp, and these days those southern barbarians outside the city have been restless. The general has ordered some of his soldiers to defend different areas, while the rest are gathered in the camp inside the city, ready to be deployed at any time."
“I went outside the military camp to inquire, but there is no centurion surnamed Xie in the city. However, in the days since I left Jizhou, there has been no large-scale war with the Southern Barbarians, and the casualties are not too many. With Xie Pei’s abilities, he must still be alive and well, so don’t worry. He is probably defending other places outside the city right now.”
Unwilling to give up, Zhu Mingyue continued to ask, "Did you find out anything about Li Zhengyang?"
“Li Zhengyang?” Wang Zongxiu shook his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. “To be honest, there are too many soldiers in the military camp. If you haven’t made it to a position in the army, not many people will know your name.”
Zhu Mingyue felt regretful. He knew Wang Zongxiu was right; it was indeed difficult to find an unknown person in such a large military camp.
He silently swallowed the medicine in his hand, wiped his mouth, and said to Wang Zongxiu, "I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back later."
"You're not going to the military camp to look for them, are you?" Wang Zongxiu advised him, "Don't be so hasty. Finding people isn't something that can be done in a day or two. As long as they're still alive, we'll find them eventually. It's very unsafe for you to go there rashly like this."
Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "I'm not going to the military camp to look for people. Since you haven't found out yet, it would be a waste of my time to go."
He walked to the window, pushed it open, and pointed to the street below: "Since we're in Jizhou, let's take advantage of this time to wander around. It's so boring staying indoors all day." He was indeed feeling incredibly stifled.
It was safe to just wander around the neighborhood, so Wang Zongxiu nodded in agreement after a brief thought. However, he still reminded him, "Come back as soon as possible and be careful not to get bumped by the horses on the street."
"Okay!" Zhu Mingyue waved to him, thinking to herself that Wang Zongxiu's behavior was becoming more and more like his grandmother's.
The street they were on was one of the most bustling areas in the city. Compared to other areas, it was the most frequented by locals, and there were many vendors on both sides of the road, but they didn't sell many kinds of things, only food and trinkets.
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