Top Scholar

Chapter 70 Avoid tigers in the morning and snakes in the evening

Just then, broken Mandarin came from behind the woods.

"Don't misunderstand, we mean no harm."

The three of them, Su Lu and his father, remained silent, seemingly too frightened to speak...

After a moment of deathly silence, a burly figure emerged from the woods and headed straight for the three of them.

By the faint moonlight, one could see that the man was wearing a studded cotton armor of a Ming Dynasty officer, and leather boots just like the old man's.

But his head was bound with a blue cloth in a topknot shaped like an eagle's beak, and adorned with a beautiful eagle feather. This was the typical hairstyle of a Roro warrior, called the Hero's Bun.

But at this moment, the 'hero' looked truly pitiful. His left arm was severed at the root and was only haphazardly wrapped with strips of cloth. The cloth was soaked with blood, and drops would drip down from time to time.

He had clearly lost too much blood; his imposing body swayed unsteadily, and he could barely stand by leaning on his knife with his right hand.

"..." But the three of them dared not let their guard down for a moment. They were considered reserves for the Ming Dynasty, and the Hundred-Household Office conducted military training during the off-season for farming, so they had basic battlefield knowledge.

So even though they were in a panic, the three of them still stood in a triangular formation, with Su Lu and Su Youcai in front holding sticks and Su Tai behind holding arrows.

"Which guard are you from?" the warrior asked.

"Who are you?" Su Youcai asked, mustering his courage.

"I am Su Jia, a commander of the Yongning Pacification Commission." The warrior Luo Luo reached for his waist token in his robes, only to find that he was missing his left hand. He took a deep breath and forced himself to speak, "The situation is urgent, so I'll get straight to the point. Today I was escorting my young master to visit relatives in Guizhou, but we were ambushed by the Du Zhang barbarians on the way."

"We were caught completely off guard, and our entire army was wiped out. I fought desperately to protect my young master as we fled into the mountains, but the barbarians relentlessly pursued us, following my blood trail, and we couldn't shake them off no matter what we did." He sighed desolately, "And I'm almost at my limit..."

He then knelt on one knee and pleaded in a deep voice:
"Please, you three, help me send the young master back to Lincheng. We, the Ye family, will be eternally grateful!"

Just then, a commotion arose in the distance, and faint flickering flames could be seen.

Su Jia's expression tightened, and without waiting for the three to answer, he called out in the Luo Luo language to the back of the tree. Only then did a small, thin figure emerge from the darkness.

Su Jia whispered a few words to the young master, who shook his head and wiped away his tears. Su Jia then pushed the young master towards Su Lu and his son, choking back sobs, "I will only be a burden to you, so we must separate!"

He finally said to Su Youcai, "I'll draw the pursuers away, you guys hurry up and leave!"

After Su Jia finished speaking, he gave his young master a deep look, then stood up, leaning on his long sword, and headed towards the firelight...

The forest clearing was deathly silent. The father and his two sons stared blankly at the child Su Jia had left behind, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. He had a high bun on his head, his face was covered in ash, and he wore clothes that clearly didn't fit him, making him look even thinner and smaller. He didn't seem aggressive at all.

How come I woke up like this?! Su Lu pinched his thigh hard; it definitely wasn't a dream...

"Let's leave here first," Su Youcai said in a low voice.

The three of them hurried away from the fire, with the little one following closely behind.

"What should we do?" Su Youcai asked his son in a low voice as they walked.

"What does the old man say?" But in these matters, the son must listen to his father...

"It's too dangerous to take him with me, but if I don't, he's definitely doomed." Su Youcai asked, extremely conflicted, "What did the Sage say?"

“The sage said, ‘To see what is right and not do it is cowardice,’ but he also said, ‘A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall,’” Su Lu said.

"Even saints aren't always right," Su Tai couldn't help but complain.

"Sigh..." Su Youcai sighed, "Forget it, let him follow. If he gets lost, so be it..."

That poor kid, spoiled and pampered, didn't have the iron legs of the three of them. Besides, he had already followed Su Jia on her escape for half a day. In the dense forest with no path at all, he stumbled along, gritting his teeth and following for half an hour, before he simply couldn't keep up anymore.

Seeing the child getting further and further away, Su Youcai sighed, "If we lose him, so be it..."

~~
The old forest of Vitex negundo was filled with the damp, decaying smell of leaves, mixed with all sorts of strange, fishy odors. Inhaling it felt suffocating and heavy, making one want to vomit. This was the miasma that people from the Central Plains dreaded. In fact, even locals would succumb to the miasma if they stayed in this environment for too long…

The branches of the ancient tree were intertwined overhead, and the vines hung between the branches like giant pythons, some dangling in mid-air, others weaving a dense net on the ground. The decaying leaves underfoot were half a foot thick, and one could easily trip over the tree roots and vines buried beneath.

Su Tai used a wooden stick to clear a path through the thorns. Su Youcai and Su Lu followed behind, supporting the unfortunate child...

At least one and a half of the three men are good people; how could we really abandon him?
Looking back, Su Youcai saw that the child's ankle was swollen like a bun... Su Youcai had no choice but to carry him on his back.

Don't let the fact that this child only weighs seventy or eighty pounds fool you; he's quite a burden. Su Youcai carried him for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and he was already panting heavily and soaked to the bone.

They had no choice but to help Su Lu carry him, and after walking for another half an hour, the two of them were exhausted and soaked to the bone.

"Sigh, I didn't check the almanac before I went out..." Su Youcai wiped the sweat from his face and complained to the boy in a low voice, "I ran into such an unlucky kid like you."

The boy shrank back like a little quail, remaining silent no matter how much he was teased.

"Isn't this area your territory? How come you can't even guarantee your safety?" Su Lu was also very unhappy, but venting his emotions wouldn't solve anything. He should first gather some useful information for his next decision.

"..." The boy was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's a long story."

He probably hasn't gone through puberty yet; his voice sounds like a girl's.

"Then get to the point," Su Lu said.

"Someone wants to capture me and blackmail my mother," the boy said succinctly.

"Who is your mother?" Su Youcai asked.

“She Saihua, the Pacification Commissioner of Yongning,” the young man said.

"Good heavens!" Su Youcai was startled. A fourth-rank Pacification Commissioner, one of the four powerful figures of Yongning. He could even be considered the most important person within a radius of four hundred li…

Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, the She family had ruled this area. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, She Xiang's father, She Luhuan, submitted to the court and was appointed as the Yongning Pacification Commissioner. Later, during the Ming Dynasty's campaign to pacify Yunnan, he helped the government army build bridges and roads to ensure logistical support. After the war, in recognition of his merits, he was promoted by Emperor Zhu to the Yongning Pacification Commissioner and was also granted the territory of the disobedient chieftain. Yongning was located at the junction of three provinces, a very important position, and deep in the mountains, far from the control of the imperial court. Over time, the court naturally became uneasy. Therefore, three major guard posts—Yongning Guard, Luzhou Guard, and Chishui Guard—were established in the territory of the Yongning Pacification Commissioner, driving three nails into the chieftain's territory to guard this vital passage from Sichuan to Yunnan and Guizhou.

Fortunately, the She family has always been a model chieftain who is loyal to the emperor and loves the country. Over the years, although there have been constant frictions between the two sides, they have never broken off relations and even jointly suppressed the rebellion of the Duzhang Man and Sheng Miao.

After more than a hundred years of adjustment, the current situation of coexistence, where the Pacification Commissioner's Office and the Guard Posts are intertwined, each in charge of both Han and non-Han peoples, has finally been formed.

So even though Erlangtan is located within the territory of Yongning Xuanfu Division, ordinary military households have no idea of ​​the existence of the chieftain...

Of course, often, not being able to feel it doesn't mean it doesn't exist; it simply means you're too low a level to be noticed by it...

Therefore, when Su Lu heard that the boy's mother was the Pacification Commissioner of Yongning, he immediately stopped talking:
"Okay, let's stop talking."

"Don't you want to know who arrested me?" the boy asked.

“Not interested.” Su Lu shook his head and said coldly, “Your affairs are none of our business.”

"You really don't want to know who I am?" the boy asked again.

"No interest. Knowing who your mother is is enough to know where to send you." Su Lu thought to himself that this kid was a bit dim-witted. You've already revealed your family background, what's there to guess about your identity?

The boy wanted to speak, but Su Lu glared at him and said, "Stop talking, just focus on walking. Your foot is better now, right?"

"..." The boy was stunned by his words and could only keep his head down and continue on his way without saying a word.

Su Youcai wanted to say something, but seeing Su Lu shake his head slightly, he remained silent.

The four of them trudged through the mountains and forests for half the night, inevitably sustaining injuries. Su Tai bumped into a thick vine lying in front of him, getting a large bump on his head.

Su Youcai and Su Lu's limbs were covered in cuts from thorns, while the boy, apart from twisting his ankle at the beginning, did not suffer any new injuries.

But they dared not linger for a moment, continuing their journey south. Fortunately, Su Tai, having spent years roaming the mountains, was experienced in finding his way, and thus did not get lost…

When the moon was out of sight, Su Tai relied mainly on observing the water flow to determine his location. He knew that most of the mountain streams in this area flowed southeastward along the terrain to join the Chishui River.

So he led his men along the waterway. This had many advantages: first, it ensured they had access to drinking water; second, following the waterway would lead them to the main road; and third, it eliminated their scent and footprints, making it impossible for the enemy to track them even with hunting dogs.

Of course, there were also downsides. One was that the stream water was too cold. At first, wading in the water was quite comfortable, and the heat on my body was quickly washed away by the water flow.

But after a while, all that remained was a bone-chilling cold, creeping up the soles of the feet and all the way to the knees, like countless ice needles piercing the bones. Su Youcai's calves cramped, and the unfortunate boy was shivering uncontrollably.

As dawn broke, Su Lu saw that his lips were purple from the cold, his teeth chattering, yet he bit his lip tightly and remained silent. She thought to herself, "This guy's got a tough nut to crack..."

As for Su Lu and Su Tai, the silly boy, they slept on the cold kang (heated brick bed) – all thanks to their strong constitution, they walked in the spring water for half a day without any serious harm.

The second problem was the same for everyone: there were no roads. The stream flowed down the mountainside, only seeking the most convenient path, regardless of how difficult it was to traverse. So, every now and then, steep slopes would block the way for the four of them.

The most dangerous section of the steep slope is nearly two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high, and its surface is covered with slippery moss, with water droplets constantly splashing out...

Su Tai searched for a while and returned, saying in a muffled voice, "It's the same on both sides; I haven't found a safe route either."

“That’s normal.” Su Lu nodded; karst topography is like that—vertical. Gentle slopes don’t exist. He then volunteered:

"I'll go down and scout ahead first."

Although Xia Ge'er really wanted to go down himself, he was worth two Su Luchens, so in the end, reason prevailed over emotion.

The three men then untied their belts and leg wraps and tied them together end to end.

"It's still not long enough." The three looked at the unfortunate child and urged, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take off the strip of cloth binding your head!"

"..." The unlucky child hesitated for a moment, but still obediently untied the strips of cloth binding his hair.

His long, jet-black hair cascaded down, obscuring his slender, fair neck… The grime on his face and neck had long since been washed away. The unfortunate boy lowered his head in embarrassment…

But the Su father and son were only focused on connecting the ropes and didn't pay any attention to his changes. Only Su Youcai couldn't help but complain, "He's really spoiled and pampered, as white as a little girl."

With the rope tied around Su Lu's waist, Su Tai slowly lowered him down the slope...

Once Su Lu's feet touched the ground, the rope reached its end.

After checking and confirming that there was no danger below, Su Lu waved upwards, and Su Tai followed suit, sending his father and the unfortunate child down.

When it was his turn, he simply threw the rope down and, without any protection, gripped the crevice in the rock, using both hands and feet to cautiously incline down little by little...

Gravel kept sliding down the slope, and Su Youcai and Su Luxin were both in their throats. Fortunately, they were unharmed, and Su Tai landed steadily. As soon as he got down, Su Youcai pinched his ear and said, "You brat, why didn't you use a rope?"

"Nobody's going to untie me, Dad?" Su Tai chuckled. "Don't worry, I've climbed hills even higher than this..."

"Don't take such risks again." Su Youcai sighed, then pointed to the path on the ground, which had been trampled by someone or an animal, and said happily, "There's a path on the ground now."

"We'll be heading down the mountain soon then," Su Tai said softly. "We need to be extra careful, especially in situations like this. The enemy might be lying in ambush down below."

Upon hearing this, all three of them lowered their breathing and continued walking with Su Tai...

As the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon, they finally reached the edge of the forest. Through the layers of branches, they could see a wide road ahead.

The road was dusty and bustling, with long lines of people, including government troops and unruly warriors.

At this point, the officers and leaders had finished their speeches and were preparing to begin searching the mountain.

The 'unlucky kid' stared at the line for a moment, then excitedly tugged at Su Lu's sleeve and said:

"They've come looking for me!"

(End of this chapter)