Zhang Jiafei remained silent for a long time before finally speaking hesitantly, "I never thought about this. I only had eyes for the embroidered shoes and those valuable things. I thought, I didn't kill anyone, so what does it have to do with me? I can't always take things from the dead either. It's not easy for me either."
"Tsk, you still have the nerve to say you have it tough? I really want to just chop you up with a knife."
Song Tantan was so angry that her chest ached. This bastard was a complete scoundrel, an oddball who had no compassion and couldn't empathize with normal people. All he cared about was a few taels of silver. What a scoundrel!
But she quickly remembered the purpose of bringing him here: "By the way, who owns those light blue embroidered shoes? Where do they live? What is their name? Do they have any other relatives?"
Zhang Jiafei stared at the shoes Song Tantan had thrown in front of him, lost in thought, and it took him a while to remember where the shoes came from.
“I didn’t get these shoes from a woman. They belonged to a boy, about a year ago. I was on my way to the next county town when I passed by a dilapidated temple and saw a group of beggars beating a raggedly dressed boy…”
He hadn't paid any attention at first, but as he walked past them, his sharp eyes noticed that the boy was carrying an old cloth bag, with the toes of embroidered shoes sticking out of it. Zhang Jiafei's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had a plan: he wanted those shoes.
But he pretended nothing had happened and hurried away. In fact, he found a place to hide in the woods not far away. After the beggars left, he returned to the dilapidated temple, hid in the shadows, and stole the shoes after the boy fell unconscious from his serious injuries.
Song Tantan: "..." Unbelievable.
“When it’s light, take us to that dilapidated temple. If the owner of the shoes isn’t there, then go to the next county town. We must find the owner,” Song Tantan said.
“I’ve passed by that dilapidated temple a few times before, and I’ve been looking to see if the boy is still there, but I haven’t seen him each time, so I felt safe taking the shoes out to sell,” Zhang Jiafei said, blushing and stammering.
"No matter what, take us to find him tomorrow. If we find him, we might let you go depending on the situation. If we don't find him, we'll send you to the yamen."
Song Tantan's cold warning implied that he shouldn't try anything funny, or he would suffer the consequences.
Zhang Jiafei was quick-witted and understood what she meant. He nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, I will do my best."
But there are still several hours until dawn, so he has to be tied up like this until dawn, and in the forest no less?
Song Tantan lit a fire with a tinderbox and had Zhang Jiafei sit in front of it. "You can sleep here for a while. Don't worry, those green eyes aren't wolves. They're my pets, kept away from wild beasts."
After saying that, she and Ye Moxun set up a tent not far away, put a small night light inside, and laid a soft mat on the ground, where they slept fully clothed.
Zhang Jiafei had been watching them closely, but the light was too dim, and he couldn't see where they had gotten the tent from. After fiddling with it for a while, the two of them stopped making any noise.
The next day, he was woken up by Song Tantan, who kicked his foot and said, "Zhang Jiafei, get up quickly, don't sleep."
The morning air in the forest was exceptionally clear and pleasant. There were no howls of wild animals, only the chirping of birds. Song Tantan added some firewood to the fire, while Ye Moxun roasted a wild rabbit with a fork.
Before roasting, the rabbit meat was rubbed with salt and honey, so it smelled especially delicious. Zhang Jiafei, who hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since noon yesterday, instinctively swallowed and his stomach started rumbling.
The noise was so loud that the two people sitting next to them could hear it, but Song Tantan and Ye Moxun pretended not to hear it and focused their attention on the grilled meat. In fact, they had just drunk a bowl of chicken soup. Of the three meals a day, breakfast is the most important to replenish nutrition.
After all, I haven't eaten anything all night, and everything in my stomach has been digested, so I urgently need a nutritious breakfast to soothe my delicate digestive system.
Watching the two of them devour their food as if no one else was around, Zhang Jiafei tried to hold back but couldn't resist. He wasn't a prisoner, so why should they be watched more closely than prisoners? Even real prisoners have the right to eat.
Despite his many grievances, he dared not voice them directly. Instead, he politely asked, "Young masters, I haven't eaten anything for a whole day and night since yesterday. Could you please give me something to eat?"
Song Tantan tossed him a rabbit head and a small piece of rabbit meat weighing about half a pound, saying, "Eat quickly, so we can get down to business."
"I'm tied up here, could you help me untie the ropes first? I promise I won't run away." Zhang Jiafei smiled ingratiatingly.
Song Tantan drew his broadsword and swiftly cleaved the rope. Zhang Jiafei's eyes lit up. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and then sat down to wolf down his rabbit meat. As he stuffed the last bite into his mouth, he suddenly leaped up and dashed away.
If not now, when?
Song Tantan and Ye Moxun didn't even glance at him, continuing to eat slowly and deliberately, silently counting in their minds. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the runaway Zhang Jiafei was brought back by the second and third brothers.
"This, this is your pet?" Zhang Jiafei asked, his voice trembling with fear.
"Yes, aren't they impressive and incredibly brave? They can not only protect you from being carried away by wild animals, but also keep an eye on you, making it impossible for you to escape."
Song Tantan laughed heartily as he watched the other person look utterly humiliated, scared out of his wits by the two dogs.
Now Zhang Jiafei really didn't dare to run away anymore. He was no match for these two young masters, so he should just cooperate and find them.
After traveling for about an hour, around noon, the three of them, led by Zhang Jiafei, arrived at the dilapidated temple. Inside, two old beggars were sleeping. When they heard the noise, they only looked up briefly before lying back down to continue sleeping.
“If he’s not here, then we’ll have to look for him in Huaming County. Are you familiar with that area? It would be best to look in dilapidated temples or places where beggars gather. I reckon we should be able to find him there, unless he’s dead,” Song Tantan analyzed.
"I'm fairly familiar with it, but not to the point of knowing every dilapidated temple and beggar's den. That would be a bit difficult."
Zhang Jiafei dared not be overconfident, fearing that if he couldn't find the person later, the young master would take his anger out on him.
Ye Moxun glanced at the two old beggars who were fast asleep and unconscious, and gestured for Zhang Jiafei to call the two over, "Have them lead the way."
Forced by the tyranny, Zhang Jiafei could only pinch his nose and endure the stench to wake the two old beggars. "Hey, wake up! Young master needs to see you. Get up, stop pretending to be dead."
Seeing that the two old men were as deaf as if they were unresponsive to his shouts, Zhang Jiafei, who was already angry, kicked them without saying a word. The kick was quite powerful, and it made one of the old beggars bend over and howl.
"You old bastard, howling so loudly, and you still dare to play dead, I..." Zhang Jiafei wanted to retaliate.
Song Tantan spoke up to stop her, "That's enough. I told you to call the people over, not to commit violence. Do you want to kill someone?"
"Young master, you misunderstand. If you don't teach these scoundrels a lesson, they won't know what's good for them." Zhang Jiafei replied quickly, but the more he spoke, the uglier it became.
"Get out of here, shut up, stop talking nonsense." Song Tantan walked over with a stern face. Zhang Jiafei thought she was going to make a move, so he quickly hid to the side in fright.
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