Chapter 41 – Fright

The man who approached had a dark, menacing face and a fierce expression—it was frightening just to look at him.

He sported a full beard, wore a striking green robe, and on his feet were black-soled official boots with white uppers. However, parts of his robe were stained with an unknown substance, marked with dark red blotches, and his boots were caked in dust.

Xia Youtian gave a shudder at first, but seeing the man showed no interest in snatching the money pouch he held, he gradually calmed down.

He forced out a smile, bowed deeply, and greeted him politely:

“Master Jin, it’s been a long time! How have you been?”

The bearded man scratched his head, then grabbed Xia Youtian by the shoulder and swiftly pulled him into a narrow alley, talking nonstop as he moved:

“Fourth Brother, don’t flatter me like that! Come, this way—let’s talk inside!”

With a loud creak, the bearded man pushed open an old, weathered wooden door. Once the two entered the courtyard, he looked around, and after confirming no one had followed, closed the gate behind them.

Xia Youtian, already uneasy, felt his heart leap to his throat.

The bearded man pressed his ear against the door for a moment, listening for any noise outside. Then he yanked Xia Youtian inside, locking the door from within before finally speaking:

“Fourth Brother, thank the heavens I ran into you today—saves me a trip to Beiguan Village.

Tell Yu Jiao something for me!

I’ve been assigned a mission up north. It’ll take at least a year, maybe two, before I return.

Tell her not to rush into marrying anyone else. Ask her to wait for me—just two years! As soon as I return, I’ll propose!”

Xia Youtian’s eyes bulged wide like ox eyes, stunned speechless for a long moment.

The bearded man barked aggressively:

“You must tell her. If she refuses, I’ll find her myself. And if you don’t deliver the message, I’ll come after you!”

After blurting this out, the bearded man grabbed a teapot from the small table in the room, guzzled down several gulps of cold tea, wiped his mouth, and slammed the pot back onto the table with a “thud”:

“You can go now. Don’t tell anyone you saw me—except Yu Jiao.”

With that cryptic message, the bearded man turned and climbed onto the kang bed. From the wall at the head of the bed, he pushed open a small window, then hoisted himself up and slipped out through it.

Though stocky and seemingly heavyset, he moved with surprising agility.

He disappeared in a cloud of dust, his boots clattering loudly as he ran.

Xia Youtian stood there dazed, watching the figure vanish into the dust, unable to recover for a long while. His mind had already begun racing.

That Jin fellow had a bit of a name in Beiguan Town—but for all the wrong reasons.

When had he met Yu Jiao?

From what he said, had they already made a secret pact to marry?

But everyone said that man already had a wife and kids!

Yu Jiao was the precious darling of the Xia family, cherished by the whole clan—how could she become someone’s concubine?

Even if his wife died, letting Yu Jiao marry him as a second wife was out of the question!

Yu Jiao was good-looking, young too. Though she had broken off the engagement with the Xie family and suffered some gossip, she was just a little downcast for now.

Soon enough, she’d recover.

Once she did, they could find her a decent, hardworking young man from a good farming family.

Even if it meant marrying her off to a more distant village, so be it!

Surely marrying someone proper was far better than being someone like Jin’s second wife!

After much thought, Xia Youtian decided—he had to keep this to himself.

He’d say nothing once he got home.

Yu Jiao wasn’t much older than Lihua. He had practically watched her grow up.

That bearded man was rough, hot-tempered, already had a wife—and more than one child…

No matter how he looked at it, he just wasn’t the right kind of man for his little sister.

Xia Youtian shook his head and pushed down the troubling thoughts. He gathered his things and prepared to leave.

The room was in terrible shape—everything was old and worn. There wasn’t even a single proper bedding set. It clearly wasn’t a place fit for anyone to live in.

There was nothing valuable here, so there was probably no need to lock the door.

But maybe he hadn’t checked the almanac today—because Xia Youtian’s fright wasn’t over yet.

Just as he stepped outside the courtyard gate of that shabby little house, he saw a man in black climbing over the courtyard wall.

His heart pounded like a drum. He nearly collapsed on the spot.

Clamping his hand over his mouth, he forced himself to stay calm.

And just then—a group of about ten officers ran past the end of the alley, shouting, “Quick, quick, follow him!”

The blades in their hands gleamed in the sunlight, cold and sharp, sending chills down his spine.

Xia Youtian’s heart, which had just steadied, began thumping uncontrollably once more.

The bearded man was frightening, sure. And the wall-climber, too. But neither compared to those officers—because you couldn’t reason with the authorities!

He leaned on the wall, inching away bit by bit.

His legs were trembling, refusing to obey—he wanted to move quickly, but all he could manage was a slow shuffle.

No matter what, he needed to get far away from that cursed house.

If Jin was somehow entangled with those people and dragged him into it, he’d be locked away—with no one to defend him.

If that happened, Aunt Jiang would cry her eyes out!

And their family barely had any silver. Even if they used everything to bribe officials, there was no guarantee they could get him out.

If he fell sick in prison, he wouldn’t even be able to farm anymore!

Xia Youtian forced himself to keep a calm expression, but the terrifying thoughts weighed heavily on him.

He couldn’t help but think—he’d been too careless lately.

There were still wanted posters for dangerous criminals at the city gates!

How could he act like nothing was wrong and just run into town whenever he felt like it?

As he left the town, he spotted a new public notice posted by the gate. His stomach twisted like it was full of rocks, and he couldn’t breathe.

Even his legs felt heavier.

He walked out of town slowly, face pale. By the time he reached home, it was nearly an hour later than usual.

Aunt Jiang had already looked toward the village entrance several times, clearly worried.

The children were hungry, but none dared eat before he returned. They waited patiently.

When they saw Xia Youtian’s gloomy expression, the whole family rushed to surround him.

“Youtian, what happened to you?”

“Dad, are you hungry?”

Being surrounded by his family, all looking at him with concern, Xia Youtian forced a smile to reassure them:

“It’s nothing, nothing. I just ran into an old friend in town—hadn’t seen him in a long time, so we chatted for a bit. Lost track of time.”

The children seemed convinced, but Aunt Jiang and Xia Daohua could tell he wasn’t telling the full truth.

After a quick meal of cornmeal porridge, Aunt Jiang put the children to bed and then came to ask Xia Youtian what really happened during the day.

Unexpectedly, Xia Youtian looked gloomy and told her, “We made a mistake by splitting up the family.”

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(End of Chapter)