Chapter 1596 - The Boy
"What?" Huang Zhen didn't immediately register her words.
"This month... my 'that' didn't come."
"Your 'that'? Speak clearly—" Suddenly, Huang Zhen froze. "Your monthly didn't come?" You Xiu nodded shyly. Huang Zhen was no inexperienced youth, and he understood medical principles well enough to know what this meant. "How long has it been?"
"About ten days late."
"That's fine. Women's menstrual irregularities are common. Perhaps you've been overworked recently, or ate something cold."
"I'm usually very punctual."
Huang Zhen checked her pulse. Sure enough, there was the sign of pregnancy. He lost his composure for a moment. He hadn't expected this—with life-or-death separation imminent, such a thing should happen!
Huang Zhen had no idea what to do. He'd married twice during his years at Mt. Hua, but both wives had died of illness, leaving no children. Thinking himself destined to remain childless and likely to die alone in old age, he'd abandoned any thought of remarrying. He never imagined that in this dragon's lair and tiger's den, he would not only find tender affection but also receive such joyous news.
In ordinary times, this would truly be cause for celebration. But tomorrow he would need to rendezvous with the heroes escaping from East Gate Market, flee together into the Li territory, and attempt to leave Hainan Island. Though someone was supposedly waiting to receive them, their chances of survival were slim, and whether they could actually escape remained uncertain.
Seeing his solemn face and conflicted expression—showing no joy, revealing only a trace of embarrassment and difficulty—You Xiu immediately began to weep.
"You heartless man! Do you despise me and this child?" She suddenly paused. "You must have another wife and children at home! You deceived me so cruelly!" With that, she burst into loud wailing.
Huang Zhen felt helpless. This really is an ill-fated connection. But regardless, though life and death were uncertain starting tomorrow, if he could leave behind a son or daughter, at least the Huang family would have a descendant.
With this thought, he comforted her gently: "How could I despise you? I'm a widower with no children. It's just that I run this medicine shop alone and would have to support you and your children..."
"Why would I need you to support me?" Hearing his words, You Xiu couldn't help but smile through her tears. "Brother Huang, don't worry. I know you're a man to be relied upon. But in this world, the word 'status' matters most..."
Huang Zhen smiled bitterly to himself. She's using this opportunity to force a marriage. He reflected that everything he'd said today had been lies, so he could only say: "You can set your heart at ease about that. I'll make sure to give you proper status."
"I knew you were the most reliable." You Xiu beamed with joy and burrowed into his arms. "It's late now. Tonight, let this servant serve the master well, in a different way..."
While they were entangled in bed, a team of Japanese Public Security Army soldiers slipped silently into Nanbao Town. The final arrest was about to begin.
The eastern sky was just showing the first pale light of dawn. Zhuo Yifan and Sima Qiudao finally arrived at a small hill near Nanbao.
Though the Hair Thieves' medicine enabled Zhuo Yifan to walk and kept fever at bay, he'd lost too much blood. His qi was depleted, his strength hollow. Starting and stopping along the way, he'd originally thought they could reach Nanbao late at night to contact Huang Zhen and the others. Instead, they barely arrived here as the roosters crowed.
With dawn approaching, entering town rashly was too dangerous. They concealed themselves in a forest on the hilltop, not far from town. Several households lay below the hill. The two pushed deeper into the woods, confirmed no one was around, and sat beneath a tree to rest.
"Brother Zhuo, we should be safe now. No pursuers behind. Rest here for now. After sunrise, I'll go into town to find Huang Zhen and the others—everyone can try to escape together!"
Zhuo Yifan had walked all night. His energy was utterly spent; he could barely speak. Sima Qiudao changed his dressing, gave him medicine, and provided some dry food to eat. Fortunately, they'd replenished their water supply along the road, so there was no need to risk going out now.
Sima Qiudao had Zhuo Yifan lie down to rest. He himself had led Zhuo Yifan the entire way and was exhausted as well. Besides, it was still too early. So he leaned against a tree and dozed.
In a half-dream state, he thought he heard rustling sounds. Wrong—someone's here! He sat up instantly, gripping his knife, and looked up just as a thin, small figure flashed past more than ten steps away.
Horror shot through Sima Qiudao, all sleepiness vanishing. He leaped up, drew a short dagger with one hand, and pounced in the direction the figure had vanished.
His movement technique was extremely swift. In one leap, he had the person pinned to the ground, the short dagger forced against their throat.
It was a boy of about ten. He wore his hair cut short, dressed in a blue cloth buttoned jacket, with pant legs caked in mud. He was barefoot, a pair of cloth shoes threaded with thin rope hanging around his neck. He also carried a canvas school bag. Besides a crumpled student ID card, there was nothing on him.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Sima Qiudao demanded in a low voice.
Facing this man with his choppy hair, mud-caked clothes, and knife in hand, the boy was terrified. He stammered: "P-picking some herbs before school—to sell in town on the way..."
Sima Qiudao noticed the herbs in a small bamboo basket beside him. "Are you from Nanbao Town? How far is it to the town?"
The boy trembled: "I... I don't live in town, just in the village down the hill. It's less than one kilometer to town..."
"Going to school—where do you go to school?"
"Nanbao Primary School... newly opened recently. My family is poor—couldn't afford school before. Later a Chief came and said Junior Primary School is free, and they provide a meal and a set of clothes." He begged again, "My family is poor—I have no money..."
By now, Zhuo Yifan had also awakened. Seeing the scene, he approached and said: "Little brother, don't be afraid. We're not bad people. We don't want your money." As he spoke, he opened the school bag. Inside, besides a sweet potato wrapped in banana leaves, were books and stationery: several "Australian style" bound books, notebooks, pencils, and the like—all fine white paper, beautifully printed and bound. It was hard to imagine these were things a mud-covered student could use.
Sima Qiudao released his grip, though he brandished the short dagger before the boy's face: "Sit still, don't talk nonsense or move around, and your life will be spared!"
The boy was shaking like a sieve, unable to speak, only nodding repeatedly.
Zhuo Yifan whispered: "Ask about the situation in Nanbao."
"I know." Sima Qiudao whispered back. He turned to the boy again: "Let me ask you—has anything unusual happened in town recently?"
"Unusual?" The boy looked confused. "Nothing... about the same as always..."
"Have many soldiers and officials arrived?"
"Officials?" The boy hesitated a moment, then seemed to understand: "You mean the police? No—haven't seen many police coming lately."
"Have the Hair—er, the Chiefs—sealed any shops or arrested anyone?"
The boy shook his head: "Haven't heard of anything like that..."
Sima Qiudao shook the dagger menacingly: "If you're lying to me, I'll take your little life right now!"
"I wouldn't dare—I wouldn't dare!" The boy shook his head frantically.
Sima Qiudao asked a few more questions and determined that everything in Nanbao appeared normal. Presumably the Huang Family Medicine Shop was safe and Huang Zhen and the others were unharmed. His heart settled considerably.
"The medicine shop is safe. I'll go into town to contact Old Huang right now. You're injured—rest here for now. As for this child—" Sima Qiudao's eyes turned cold, and he raised his short dagger, preparing to silence the witness permanently.
Zhuo Yifan whispered: "Brother Sima, you mustn't!"
"If we don't kill him, what if he goes to report?"
"Brother Sima, you and I both come from righteous and renowned sects. We came to Lingao to save the common people. How can we murder the innocent and disgrace our sects' honor? If we do this, how are we any different from those Hair Thieves? Besides—this is still a child!"
"But—"
"We won't release him either. Tie him up well and leave him here so he can't alert anyone. In a day or two, once we've left, someone will surely rescue him."
"Very well." Sima Qiudao found it troublesome, but Zhuo Yifan's reasoning made sense. "Then you rest here. I'll tie him up properly before going into town."
He used the straps of the school bag to bind the boy's hands behind his back. After tidying up, he headed down the mountain toward Nanbao.
Seeing the boy living in terror, Zhuo Yifan offered reassurance: "Be at ease—we won't take your life."
The boy nodded vigorously.
Zhuo Yifan leaned against a tree and slowly sat down, gripping the short dagger. Sitting there with nothing to do, he asked: "What does your family do?"
"Farming. We used to rent a few mu from Master Zhou's land. Now we work as long-term laborers for the farm..."
"That's a respectable living." Seeing the boy's regular features and clear articulation, Zhuo Yifan sensed he wasn't just another ignorant villager. He felt inclined to talk with him. "Since you study, why don't you attend a private school and learn the Four Books and Five Classics, instead of reading the Hair Thieves' evil books?"
The boy looked puzzled: "My family can't pay tuition. We're very poor—can't even eat enough. If the Chiefs hadn't said there's a meal provided, my family wouldn't have let me go to school at all..."
Just for a meal. Zhuo Yifan felt a tightness in his chest. He'd only meant to pass the time, but now he felt moved to guide the boy toward the right path. "Do you know that the books you read in the Hair Thieves' school aren't the learning of sages but Australian heretical nonsense? What use is studying them? Being illiterate would be better."
"Heretical nonsense?" The boy obviously didn't understand the term. He said timidly: "What the Chiefs' school teaches is reading characters, arithmetic, and such..."
"They call it reading characters, but you learn the vulgar script—not orthodox characters. If you went to sit for the Imperial Examination, the examiner would beat you out immediately..." Zhuo Yifan felt a dull ache from his wound. "As for arithmetic, that's not tested in the Imperial Examination. Your family doesn't run a business—what use is learning it? Even if you can't afford formal schooling, being an honest and dutiful farmer, even if illiterate, still makes you a cornerstone of the Imperial Court. Why wade into the Hair Thieves' muddy waters just to recognize a few characters..."