Daughter of the Jianghu (V)
It turns out that this female hero's surname is Zhuang Mingji, and she is the young master of Ping An Escort Agency, the largest escort agency in Gusu City.
It's said that when the Ping'an Escort Agency was transporting a shipment to the foot of Menghu Ridge in Lanling City, they encountered this daring and ruthless bandit gang. Unfortunately, their audacity was ten times greater than their skill, and they were slaughtered in a single encounter by Zhuang Ji and his men. Normally, once the escort agency had escaped danger, they should have continued their transport operations, not been able to clear out the bandit den on behalf of the imperial court.
But Young Master Zhuang, a naturally chivalrous and courageous man, sensed something amiss during their encounter with the bandits. While resting in Lanling City, he single-handedly entered Tiger Cave to investigate, alerting the enemy and nearly getting stuck. Undeterred by his discovery, he asked his fellow escorts to leave first, while he and a few escorts who were willing to stay joined the group.
Zhuang Ji was helped to her feet and shook her ankle nonchalantly. "We've been pretending to be ordinary pedestrians since yesterday, but we've been interrupted three times in a row by bandits. We had to clean up the traces and start over. I didn't expect to meet two true heroes!" She clasped her fists and thanked them. "This mountain is complex and there are constant internal conflicts. There are some loopholes we can exploit. I thought if I could sneak in, maybe I could start a fire and save all the innocent people who were kidnapped on the mountain."
Her eyes were dark and bright, and her words were firm.
Bian Hongqiu noticed that the escorts she led were many years older than her, but they obeyed orders one by one and waited quietly.
He suddenly wondered what kind of situation outsiders saw when he was in Prince Liang's mansion.
Before he could express his true feelings, Lao Ju beside him suddenly put down his knife and said, "First, clean up this place and make a disguise. Tomorrow, please allow me to go up the mountain with you all."
Zhuang Ji was stunned for a moment, then she was obviously happy. She was of a generous nature and did not like to make empty excuses. When she was just tied to the wooden stick, she felt that the person who attacked her must be an unparalleled master. Now that the master was willing to join, she was more than happy to do so, so she stopped saying the polite words just now and kept calling him "noble and righteous".
Bian Hongqiu was multitasking.
He thought about how Zhuang Ji, clearly about his own age, was so comfortable out and about, even able to hold a conversation with someone like Lao Ju, who was so imposing and so much older than him, without seeming shy. At the same time, he felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, knowing he would probably have to go up the mountain with him. Having been carried around by Lao Ju for over half a month, he had learned to dodge and run, and had gained a lot of courage to wield a bow, but he clearly wasn't in a situation where he was "a sheep in the tiger's mouth."
"A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall" turned around in his mouth several times, and he found to his dismay that he could not take the initiative to say no.
So after cleaning up the mess, Lao Ju went to the ravine to find Grandma and the horse, and followed Zhuang Ji and his group to their destination, which was a firewood shed vacated by a farmer.
Only a middle-aged peasant woman and her recently widowed daughter-in-law remained in the house. Both wore gloomy faces, etched with weariness. The young daughter-in-law couldn't speak without bringing up her husband, who had died in a bandit attack, and then burst into tears, like a dam bursting with water. The mother-in-law also began to sigh, until the small room was filled with sorrow, so crowded that no one could rest an ear.
This place is close to the next city, but has not been directly invaded by bandits.
The young wife's husband borrowed a mule from the village and rushed to Lanling City to seek medical treatment because his father-in-law suddenly fell ill. On the way, the father and son died together.
Under the heroic and righteous aspirations of Ms. Zhuang, her compassion also grew like a towering tree. All the real and fake men in the room were tired of listening to her and scratched their heads, not knowing what to say. Only she was sincere and heartfelt, but she coaxed the young wife without adding fuel to the fire. After the meal, the young wife stopped crying, and the old woman was so tired of her coaxing.
Bian Hongqiu was so worried about how to refuse to go up the mountain that he was frowning. He was also surprised at Zhuang Ji's various skills, such as being able to catch tigers and grow flowers. His eyes and mind were very busy.
At night, Zhuang Ji discussed the arrangements for the next day with the escorts and the two new "knights". He was finally able to take a breath and sneaked into the creek beside the village to fish at night.
Lao Ju did not squeeze into the woodshed with the escorts. He sat alone in front of the yard, staring blankly at the sky which had just stopped raining.
Bian Hongqiu couldn't sleep well, so he tiptoed out. Seeing this, he followed Lao Ju's gaze, but still couldn't see the moon. With no one around, it was a perfect opportunity to embarrass himself. Hesitantly, he walked over to Lao Ju, his face almost red, without saying a word.
Lao Ju had already noticed his footsteps, but did not speak.
He had no relationship with the young man, so he shouldn't have meddled in his affairs. But thinking of Meng Shizhuang, who was wandering alone, he still hoped that Ah Shi could meet some good people. But he was really tired of this sticky and dull atmosphere, like an endless stream of lotus roots. So, he turned his head, still expressionless, and said simply: "Speak."
Bian Hongqiu hesitated for a moment longer, then managed a rather circuitous reply: "You're not anxious to go to the capital to look for Ah, are you?"
He didn't know Meng Shizhuang's real name, and when Lao Ju mentioned it occasionally, he would call her "Ashi".
Lao Ju didn't expose his intention, "Yes, you can wait for me."
Bian Hongqiu was speechless immediately.
In this gloomy atmosphere, Lao Ju suddenly recalled the night he'd learned of Meng Shizhuang's deal with Luo Shun. The abundant moonlight from the mountains poured down, like a chasm between him and Meng Shizhuang, neither of them able to convince the other. Countless previous, more intense arguments had never been as turbulent as that moment.
Meng Shizhuang would never be so hesitant and shy.
Perhaps it's his nature, or perhaps it's his environment. If he spends too much time hesitating and trying to please others, it will be more difficult for him to grow up.
Lao Ju was not forcing Bian Hongqiu. He repeated, "If you have something to say, just say it."
Bian Hongqiu didn't miss his momentary remembrance. From the distant stream, Zhuang Ji's suppressed exclamation of joy could be heard faintly. Bian Hongqiu opened his mouth, but suddenly all reasoning vanished, leaving only the bare words: "I'm scared."
Then, he felt his body, which had been heavy and numb, suddenly lighten up, and even his chest was lifted up.
Bian Hongqiu couldn't explain why this change had occurred. Lao Ju maintained his original posture and said indifferently, "Then you can stay. Don't ask me."
After Lao Ju said this, Bian Hongqiu could have gone back to sleep with relief.
But he didn't move.
He sat down cross-legged beside Lao Ju, who had already begun to slowly polish his two swords. In the silence, Bian Hongqiu asked, "What kind of person is Ah Shi?"
What kind of person is Meng Shizhuang?
As they live together day and night, Lao Ju never thinks about this problem.
He thought of Meng Shizhuang's stubborn and resolute face when they argued with him, and suddenly smiled: "He is a person who is easily softened."
If Meng Shizhuang wasn't soft-hearted, he wouldn't have chosen to stay after Dayi Baojian had come to the conclusion of leaving Sujian Mountain. He was soft-hearted for Lao Ju's cough, and for Lao Hu's somewhat inappropriate "mentor-disciple friendship." He chose to obey their decision, clinging to a false hope until his end.
Bian Hongqiu didn't quite understand. "Didn't you say he had the courage of a single man, decisive and resolute? Could such a person be soft-hearted?" After asking, he realized his question was inappropriate. Lao Ju didn't say much. Instead, he turned and looked at Bian Hongqiu carefully, staring at him so hard that he turned away.
He was feeling uncomfortable, but Lao Ju's words pinned him to the spot.
"A long time ago, I thought about this. I thought, if Ah was a timid and docile child, perhaps he wouldn't grow up with scars all over his body. Whether a person lives a good life depends entirely on his own thoughts. If he wasn't so clear-headed, he wouldn't be so painful. But I figured it out later."
"I'm not his father, but I'm raising a child."
"I've heard many people say that jade can't be made into anything without being carved, but we fathers can't even support our families. What we say is worse than farts. It's more reliable to be exposed to the wind and sun than to be carved by us. But I understand that whether Ah is brave or cowardly, kind or a ruthless bastard, I will like him."
"But good is good, bad is bad. Just because I like him doesn't mean he's a person who deserves praise for killing and setting fires."
Lao Ju spent the rest of his life pondering the matter of "Meng Shizhuang," and he had already figured it out clearly: "The world is full of changes, emperors and dynasties can come and go, and laws can be revised, but they can only make vague things clearer, not make good things worse."
"I want him to be a sharp sword, but what if he becomes a boneless flower growing out of the mud? The only thing he can't do is be a 'bad' person."
Bian Hongqiu understood and his eyes turned red. He knew why Lao Ju was willing to drag him, a burden, to the capital.
After listening to this conversation, he couldn't sleep anymore and sat with Lao Ju almost all night.
Zhuang Ji spent most of the night fishing in the stream. When he came back at daybreak, he ran into Bian Hongqiu and Lao Ju. With a smile on his face, he said nothing and directed several escorts who had just woken up to fill the water tank in the yard and put dozens of fish in.
They had been unlucky before, and could not even get to Menghuling as hostages. Today, they finally became "sheep" smoothly.
Bian Hongqiu had deliberately worn a rough linen skirt, looking even more girlish than Zhuang Ji, the stiff hems swaying as he walked. Unfortunately, his face wasn't particularly pretty. The Menghuling robbers, who had been unsuccessful in recent robberies, were becoming more aggressive, not even considering auspicious days. They were smugly boasting that they were more capable than the good-for-nothing who had lost his life a few days ago and were looking for a girl to relieve themselves, when Bian Hongqiu's face frightened them to the point of almost seeing a ghost.
The leading robber cursed his bad luck and waved his knife to signal his men not to delay and to send the robber up the mountain first.
Lao Ju pretended to be unconscious and unfathomable, prying open his eyelids to take a look at Bian Hongqiu. He didn't know if Bian Hongqiu was irritated by his words, because when they set out this morning, they didn't mention the "fear" they had felt last night.
Lao Ju had a clear idea of what was happening when he was carried away several times before, but this time it was an unknown situation.
He wanted to tell Bian Hongqiu not to act on impulse, but Bian Hongqiu unexpectedly responded with a blunt remark: "I want to go, and I don't need Uncle Ju's consent."
Lao Ju sighed slightly in his heart and was carried up the mountain in a shaky manner.
Bian Hongqiu was very dizzy on this "train". He hadn't achieved anything yet, and he was actually shaken to sleep by the robbers. He slept until nightfall, when he was awakened by the crazy cheers outside and Zhuang Ji's voice.
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