Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 378 Black Otter
Ren Yuan and the other two had only heard Yang Zhong say that his father had died in battle, but they had never expected that he was the only male member of his family to survive...

The two people who were talking were already in tears. Yang Zhong knelt down and kowtowed to Dugu Xin to thank him, crying uncontrollably.

"We are brothers, isn't this what we have to do?" Dugu Xin helped him up with tears in his eyes and said:

"We searched through all the bodies and questioned all the captives, and finally came to the conclusion that you must have escaped with serious injuries. We searched for you for a whole month, but gave up when we couldn't find you. We even built a cenotaph for you at your ancestral grave in your hometown."

After saying that, he held Yang Zhong's hand tightly and asked, "Zhong, how did you survive?"

Yang Zhong then told Dugu Xin about his experience of escaping all the way to Mount Tai, being saved by Lu Kutao when on the verge of death, and marrying her after he recovered from his injuries.

"Okay. You actually got married secretly, you owe us a wedding banquet, you know?!" Dugu Xin finally heard some good news and smiled with red eyes.

"You haven't started a family yet?" Yang Zhong asked softly.

"Of course not. We are all single." Dugu Xin said, "We are doing a job that requires a lot of effort. We can't cheat on other people's girls, right?"

"If it were you, I think you would feel cheated for not having a daughter." Chen Baxian finally got the chance to interject.

"That's right." Ren Yuan nodded.

"Hahaha, same to you." Dugu Xin also had a very good impression of the heroic Ren Yuan and Chen Baxian.

"I was thinking that my whole family had died and I was the only one left. I had to start a family and have a baby as soon as possible, so that the Yang family would not be extinct." Yang Zhong explained with a wry smile: "It's a pity that I got up early and went to the market late, but I still haven't given birth to a child."

"Don't worry, good things come late, you will definitely have a son in the future." Dugu Xin assured her, "In the future, we will be in-laws."

"Thank you for your kind words." Yang Zhong smiled and continued, "Don't worry if you laugh at me. At that time, I really wanted to hide in the depths of Mount Tai for the rest of my life. I didn't dare to think about revenge at all."

"I totally understand. Revenge is too extravagant in this world. Staying alive is the most important thing." Dugu Xin sighed with deep sympathy, "Take my family for example. At first, we followed the Heba Army Commander and served the court together. We also killed Wei Kegu, the general of Po Liu Han Baling. But we ended up...getting revenge from the rebel army and were killed."

"If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet Uncle Yuwen, I would have been killed by Xianyu Xiuli. Now I am still serving Ge Rong honestly. How dare I think about revenge?" Dugu Xin said, and then asked:

"Let's not talk about me. Let's continue talking about you. Since you have been living a good life in Mount Tai, why did you come out again?"

"Alas, what happened next was even more outrageous." Yang Zhong smiled bitterly, "That year, my wife and I had just gotten married when the Southern Dynasty took advantage of the chaos to launch an expedition to the north. General Pei fought all the way to Dongping. The government organized local militia to resist, and my wife and I were also drafted into the army."

"As a result, as soon as the battle started, the government troops were defeated, and the officials also fled on horseback, leaving us young men to the Southern Army. Fortunately, General Pei was not bloodthirsty and took the young and strong people back to the Southern Dynasty. My husband and I became Liang people without knowing it."

"In the Southern Dynasty, able-bodied men were assigned to serve in the army. I was lucky. I was not sent to the front line, but stayed in Jiankang and became a ghostwriter of the Gou Chensi." Yang Zhong continued to introduce:
"Later, I met these brothers while on a mission, and later they also joined the Gou Chen Division..."

"So you are spies from the Southern Dynasty!" Yang Zhong was just saying this when he heard a loud shout from the door. Everyone turned around and saw a huge man like a black iron tower. The black man shouted fiercely, but his eyes were red with excitement. He rushed in like a gust of wind, hugged Yang Zhong, and kept shouting: "You, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, have also betrayed your country!"

"You, Black Otter, are a traitor as well, aren't you?" Yang Zhong retorted, but he hugged the black man tightly, and then they both burst into tears.

"You stinky slave, you miss your daddy so much."

"You damned black otter, you want me dead too."

Dugu Xin was a little embarrassed by the joking father and son, and quickly explained to Ren Yuan and others: "This black man is Zhong's good friend who was born in the same year and month as him. He is also his best friend. His nickname is Yuwen Tai, and he is Luo Shengge's fourth brother."

Ren Yuanxin said, wow, this guy turns out to be an even more heavyweight.

After Yuwen Tai joined in, Yang Zhong had to tell his story again from the beginning, and of course he had to ask about his family's situation.

"After the Six Garrisons revolted, Uncle Heba, the military commander of our Wuchuan Garrison, was unwilling to betray the court. So he conspired with my father and led the local heroes Yu Zhen, Nian Xian, Yi Fu Kugen, Yuchi Zhentan and others to recruit volunteers and kill Wei Ke Gu. In that battle, my eldest brother died."

"Who knew that just after we expelled Wei Kegu's tribe, Wuchuan was invaded by Tiele again. When leading the army to resist, Uncle Heba died in the battle. So my father led the tribe to Zhongshan for refuge."

"In the first month of the second year of Xiaochang, Xianyu Xiuli of Huaishuo Town started an uprising in Zuoren City, Dingzhou. This time my father decided to accept his invitation and join the uprising army." Yuwen Tai smiled bitterly and said, "There was really no other way at the time. A family of hundreds of people was living off their savings, so they had to find a way to make a living."

"I understand." Yang Zhong nodded. Wasn't he also a commoner living in Daliang?

"As luck would have it, we encountered the government troops on the way to Zuoren City... Although we were on our way to join the rebel army, we were attacked indiscriminately by the government troops before we even joined. As a result, my father and second brother were killed, but my third brother, Dugu and I survived and fled to Zuoren City and joined the rebel army."

"After Xianyu Xiuli died, we followed the emperor again. In the following years, we fought on the battlefield and have been on the brink of death until now." Yuwen Tai said with a smile: "But Dugu and I didn't get a single wound. Isn't that amazing?"

"This shows that you are blessed with good fortune and luck," said Yang Zhong.

"That's..." Yuwen Tai said proudly, "Now my third brother has been named Prince of Yuyang, and I am also the prince's younger brother. It will be no problem for me to protect you!"

"A Zhong is already an officer of the Southern Dynasty, why does he need your protection?" Dugu Xin said with a smile.

"I was wondering why you didn't dare to see me when you came. It turns out you are guilty of being a traitor!" Yuwen Tai teased Yang Zhong again.

"I don't feel guilty at all!" Yang Zhong's aura was relaxed when he saw his childhood friends. "We are not here on official business, but for personal matters. What do we have to feel guilty about? Besides, you have no right to laugh at me."

"That's right. Rebels and traitors are the same. No one can laugh at anyone else." Yuwen Tai laughed loudly and said, "What on earth is the reason for traveling thousands of miles?"

(End of this chapter)