Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 79: Strong as an Ox
"Are you okay?" Rong Wanyin moved nimbly, running to the little beggar's side, helping him up and sitting him down against the wall. The little beggar managed to steady himself and politely thanked her. It seemed that his family had suffered a disaster, which had led him to live on the streets.

Yan Mingzhang calmly placed a few copper coins into the old man's hand, raised his chin, and gestured to cook a bowl of noodles for the little beggar. Yan Mingzhang was worried that it would be too obvious, and that the child would be too shy and embarrassed.

The little beggar was covered in dirt. He looked at the noodles on the table, swallowed, and lowered his head in shame. He leaned his head against the wall, closed his eyes, and sat down.

The old man skillfully cooked a bowl of noodles, placed it on an empty table, and waved to the little beggar, saying, "Little guy, come and have some noodles!"

The little beggar looked at the noodles, swallowed his saliva, but firmly refused: "Thank you, Grandpa, but my sister said that no reward without merit. I don't have any money, so I can't eat."

The old man walked forward with a smile and said, "Hey kid, how about this? Help me with some chores later, like washing the dishes or something. That way, it won't be considered as unmerited, right? These noodles have to be eaten right after they're cooked. Otherwise, they'll clump together, and it'll be a waste if you throw them away. I wonder if this little knight could lend me a hand?"

Seeing the old man's insistence, the little beggar hesitated for a moment, then stopped refusing and stood up, picked up the bowl of noodles and began to eat it voraciously.

"How did you end up here alone, young knight? Where are your family members?" The old man chatted with the little beggar while working.

“Grandpa, you can just call me Abao… My… hometown suffered from floods and famine, and then the Liao people came. My parents all died under the hooves of the Liao people’s horses… I wanted to go to Niujia Village to seek refuge with my sister, but my sister is gone…” The little beggar had a mouthful of noodles stuck in his throat. He suddenly found it difficult to swallow, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Gone?" The old man put down his work and asked curiously, "What does this mean?"

"Well... I went to Niujia Village to inquire about my sister's whereabouts, but was beaten out by a big man who insisted that there had never been such a person in Niujia Village! My sister disappeared, as if she had disappeared from this world..." The little beggar had a sad face and tears still flowed out.

"You mean Niujia Village?" The old man's face looked a little grim. "Niujia Village? You must never go there again. I heard that there was a leprosy outbreak there a few years ago. If you get infected, you'll be crippled even if you don't die! Everyone avoids it, wanting to stay as far away from it as possible. Even so, every year there are always people who stray into it and disappear! Don't go there to die! Fortunately, a few days ago, a mountain torrent washed away the road and caused a landslide. This time, no one will be harmed!"

The little beggar's face was extremely ugly, and he was about to fall down. "What should I do? I need to find my sister!"

Yan Mingzhang and Rong Wanyin, who were standing by, felt something was amiss. They looked at each other and decided to go and take a look.

So Rong Wanyin put down her chopsticks and deliberately raised her chin towards Su Zhan.

"Hey, Master Su, it's time to come!" Rong Wanyin lowered her voice, nudged Su Zhan with her elbow, and whispered, "Master Su, this is the moment to prove that you are the chosen one! Isn't that what the storybooks say? He looks like a dandy boy, but in fact he is just hiding his incompetence. He solves all kinds of difficult cases with just one move..."

Wow, he’s already wearing a compliment before he even does any work.

Yan Mingzhang lowered his head and ate the noodles, trying hard to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.

Unexpectedly, Su Zhan had an extremely clear understanding of his own position and was not fooled at all.

Su Zhan drank a mouthful of soup gracefully, wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and slowly said in a sarcastic tone: "Oh, I'm different. Some people say that I'm a real playboy. ... Miss Rong, you should eat more and read less novels..."

Rong Wanyin refused to give up and continued to persuade, "Since we haven't been to Niujia Village yet, why not take this opportunity to go and inspect it? Help this poor little brother. We have nothing to do anyway."

Su Zhan retorted, "I'm not idle..." Before Su Zhan could finish, Yan Mingzhang waved to A Bao and called him over: "A Bao, come here, tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"

Su Zhan: "..."

None of them listen to others!
Seeing the three distinguished men in front of him looked friendly, A Bao, though a little reserved, wasn't afraid. He approached and said, "My elder sister married into Niujia Village five years ago. I went there to see her off. There's a large, crooked banyan tree at the entrance of Niujia Village. It's very distinctive, and I remember it clearly. My elder sister's house is the fifth one from the entrance, but when I went there this time, everyone in the village said my elder sister didn't exist... and even beat me out... But I clearly saw her get married!"

Su Zhan laughed and joked: "Is it because you are young that you remembered it wrong?"

Po's face flushed red as he defended himself, "I... I'm twelve this year. Five years ago, I was seven. How could I have remembered it wrong? And that big banyan tree is so special, how could I have remembered it wrong?"

I think it's because of long-term hunger that Abao is so thin.

Yan Mingzhang thought for a moment and said, "Abao, you can stay with us for one night. We'll go to Niujia Village tomorrow."

A Bao knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, Lord Qingtian!"

Yan Mingzhang felt a little strange when he heard him call him that. He frowned slightly. He hadn't mentioned who he was just now. How did this kid know he was an official? And he even called him "Master Qingtian"? This kid...

Su Zhan, who was standing by, didn't notice at all. He frowned slightly, extremely dissatisfied: "Ah? No rest for a whole day?"

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Niujia Village is located in a very remote area and there is no main road. Now the only small path has been washed away by mountain torrents.

The carriage couldn't arrive.

The carriage reached the foot of the mountain, but still needed to cross three large mountains and walk in. Yan Mingzhang left two servants to look after the carriage and gave them detailed instructions. Then the group of six people and a donkey set off towards Niujia Village.

Yes, a donkey. I don’t know why this old grey donkey never goes out when I ask it to. But today it bit the corner of Rong Wanyin’s clothes and insisted on following her. Maybe it was bored because it hadn’t gone out for a long time.

……

After walking for a long time, Su Zhan was out of breath. Holding the hem of his clothes, he sat down on a rock and started to strike: "Are we almost there? How long will it take? I really can't walk anymore!"

Although Rong Wanyin still had enough energy, she was always afraid of this kind of simple, repetitive tasks. It was too boring, so she sat down on a big rock to rest. "Yeah, when will we get there? We've been walking for half an hour... I feel dizzy, and I'm too weak to take care of myself... I'm afraid I can't go on..."

Yan Mingzhang remained calm, showing no mercy. He looked at Rong Wanyin, whose breathing was steady, and said, "Doctor Yan said that you should move around more often. This way you can live longer... so you won't be turned into a puppet... I see that you are as strong as an ox, so you don't need to rest."