Chapter 27: Miao Er, Trust Me

Hemiao said, “But those men… Ah Xun, we need to dig a pit and bury them. We can’t let anyone find out!”

Ah Xun lowered his head in thought and replied, “You all stay here. I’ll go.”

He Shun insisted, “Ah Xun, I’ll go with you.”

The two men began to dig a pit for the bodies, while the three girls stayed by the trees, drinking water to calm their nerves. 

Hemiao rubbed the water bag, pondering how increasingly mysterious Ah Xun had become. He was so kind and gentle towards her, sometimes even a bit silly. However, she had never seen him display such a fierce demeanor, exuding an aura of intimidation and murderous intent she had never witnessed in any other man. 

His skills were astonishing; he had effortlessly taken down several burly bandits without sustaining any injuries himself, even killing three of them. Though she feared death and the thought of someone killing, she was not afraid of Ah Xun. In fact, she admired his strength.

She couldn’t help but wonder about his true background. Could a wealthy young master possess such formidable skills?

Ah Xun and He Shun soon returned to the broken temple, where the weapons from the fight were scattered on the ground. Ah Xun chose the best knife, hiding it in the ox cart for protection. They disposed of the other weapons and dug a deep pit to bury the bodies and leftover weapons together.

Once they finished dealing with the aftermath, Ah Xun changed into clean clothes, having washed off the blood from the fight in the creek. Although He Shun had a slight injury on his face, it was nothing serious. They all decided to continue their planned journey to Pingzhou since they had already traveled halfway and getting out of the house had been no easy task.

After calming down, everyone got back onto the ox cart and proceeded along the road. However, not long after, they encountered a horse that seemed frightened, nervously pacing in the middle of the dirt road.

The ox cart stopped, and the group was puzzled. Hemiao asked, “Why is there a horse here?”

Ah Xun observed the dark reddish horse not far ahead, noticing it was saddled. “It must belong to those bandits.”

Bai Shu recalled, “Yes, yes! When we ran into them in the forest, I think I saw this horse!”

“What should we do? Is it going to come here to report its owner?” Hecang Xiang asked anxiously.

“Let’s go take a look,” Ah Xun said confidently as he jumped down from the ox cart.

Hemiao grabbed his arm, worried, “Ah Xun, can you ride a horse? What if it hurts you? Maybe we should wait a bit or go around it.”

Bai Shu added, “Ah Xun, a well-trained horse is usually very intuitive and won’t let strangers close. Be careful; it might kick you if you rush in.”

As Ah Xun pondered this, he recalled the horse’s behavior and thought that if he could catch it, riding it would help them reach Pingzhou faster and possibly earn them quite a sum if they sold it. With money, he could buy a lot of things for Hemiao.

He was determined to catch the horse. “Miao Er, trust me. I won’t get hurt.”

“Okay.” Looking into his earnest eyes, Hemiao felt inexplicably reassured.

Ah Xun approached the horse slowly. At the sight of a stranger, the horse stepped back repeatedly, but Ah Xun reached out to stroke its neck gently and took hold of the reins. He stepped up onto the stirrup and swung himself onto the horse’s back.

The horse, not pleased with this intrusion—perhaps startled by the earlier fight and missing its original owner’s comforting presence—began to buck and neighed loudly, trying to throw him off. 

Ah Xun held tightly to the reins and squeezed his legs against the horse’s sides, leaning forward to maintain balance as it bolted into the forest, quickly disappearing from sight.

“Ah Xun!” Hemiao jumped down from the cart, anxiously watching as he disappeared into the trees.

“Miao Er, Father! What should we do? Should we chase after him? We need to save Ah Xun!” Hecang Xiang jumped down next.

“This is bad, I said not to let him go… That horse must belong to those bandits and is probably wild and temperamental, just like its owner! What if he falls off?” Bai Shu fretted.

“He won’t,” Hemiao said, her voice firm despite her own worries. “Ah Xun said he wouldn’t get hurt. I believe in him.”

After about a quarter of an hour, the sounds of horse hooves once again became clearer as they approached.

Hemiao clasped her hands together anxiously and suddenly saw the reddish horse burst from the woods, with Ah Xun securely riding it, returning toward them.

She fixed her gaze on the man atop the horse. Though he was dressed in simple, coarse clothing, there was a handsome quality to him; his brow was straight and his eyes sharp like an eagle. He appeared like a triumphant warrior, exuding confidence and strength.

In this moment, Hemiao felt as if she was witnessing the true essence of Ah Xun—the part of him she had never been able to reach.

Ah Xun gave the reins a gentle shake and nudged the horse, guiding it to walk steadily toward the ox cart. Looking at Hemiao, he smiled warmly and softly said, “Miao Er, I did it.”

Hemiao was momentarily stunned before returning his smile, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Yes!”

“Ah, Ah Xun, you’re amazing! From now on, I won’t call you silly guy anymore!” Hecang Xiang exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up.

Bai Shu remained silent, but she couldn’t help but stare, feeling an inexplicable resentment at why such a man would fall for Hemiao instead of herself. Being with someone like him, even as a concubine, would be better than being a mistress to the young master Qi!

“Uncle Shun, please take care of the ox cart,” Ah Xun instructed. “I’ll ride the horse. With one less person in the cart, we can move faster. We’ve already wasted some time. We should try to reach Pingzhou before dark.”

After some discussion, everyone agreed to follow Ah Xun’s lead. He Shun took the reins of the ox cart, and they continued on toward Pingzhou.

The remainder of the journey went smoothly, and they soon reached Donghu County. After dropping Bai Shu off, they traveled another two hours and managed to arrive in Pingzhou just as night began to fall.

Pingzhou was bustling, and prices were naturally higher. They were reluctant to stay at an inn, so He Shun led them to a lodging on the outskirts of the city where he had stayed a few times.

Although it took about a twenty-minute walk to reach the city’s yamen or market, the rooms were more modest than the inns and only cost about thirty percent of the average inn.

The lodging was run by a kindly elderly couple who were very hospitable. The spacious courtyard contained over a dozen rooms of various sizes—single rooms, double rooms, and dormitory-style rooms charged by head.