Chapter 407: The Youth

“What?” Huang Zhen didn’t react for a moment.

“This month… my ‘that’ didn’t come.”

“What ‘that’? Speak clearly.” Suddenly, Huang Zhen was startled. “Your period didn’t come?” You Xiu nodded shyly. Huang Zhen was no naive young man, and he also had some medical knowledge. He knew what this meant. “How long has it been?”

“It’s about ten days late.”

“That’s nothing. It’s common for women to have irregular periods. Perhaps you’ve been too busy with work recently, or you’ve eaten something cold.”

“Mine is usually very regular.”

Huang Zhen checked her pulse and indeed found signs of pregnancy. He was at a loss for what to do. To think that on the eve of a life-and-death parting, such a thing would happen!

Huang Zhen was at his wit’s end. He had been married twice when he was in Huashan, but both wives had died of illness, and he had no children. He had thought he was destined to be childless and would grow old alone, so he had given up on the idea of remarrying. He never expected to find a haven of tenderness in this dragon’s den and tiger’s lair, and now to receive such joyful news.

In ordinary times, this would have been a great joy. But tomorrow, he was to meet the heroes escaping from Dongmen Market and flee with them into the Li territories, trying to leave Hainan Island. Although someone was supposed to be there to meet them, it was likely a life-or-death situation, and it was uncertain if they could escape successfully.

Seeing his grave expression and his face changing from one emotion to another, with no sign of joy but rather a hint of embarrassment and difficulty, You Xiu burst into tears.

“You heartless man, are you disgusted with me and this child?” She was suddenly startled. “You must have a wife and children back home! You’ve deceived me so cruelly!” With that, she began to wail.

Huang Zhen was helpless. This is truly a ‘fatal attraction,’ he thought. So be it. Although his fate was uncertain from tomorrow onwards, if he could leave behind a son or daughter, it would at least be a continuation of the Huang family line.

At this thought, he comforted her warmly. “How could I be disgusted? I’m a widower with no children. It’s just that I run this pharmacy on my own, and now I have to support you and your child…”

“Why would I need you to support me?” You Xiu heard his words and couldn’t help but smile through her tears. “Brother Huang, don’t worry. I know you are a trustworthy man, but in this world, a proper title is the most important thing…”

Huang Zhen smiled bitterly to himself. He hadn’t expected You Xiu to use this opportunity to force a marriage. He thought that everything he said today was a lie, but he could only say, “You can rest assured about that. I will give you a proper title.”

“I knew you were the most reliable person.” You Xiu was filled with joy and snuggled into his arms. “It’s late. Tonight, let this servant serve you in a different way…”

As they were entangled in bed, a team of Japanese Security Army soldiers quietly entered Nanbao Town. The final arrest was about to begin.

The eastern sky was just beginning to show a hint of dawn when Zhuo Yifan and Sima Qiudao finally reached a small hill near Nanbao.

Although Zhuo Yifan was able to walk with the help of the Aussie’s medicine and showed no signs of a fever, he had lost a lot of blood and was weak and exhausted. They had walked and stopped all along the way. They had originally thought they could reach Nanbao by midnight and meet up with Huang Zhen and the others. Unexpectedly, they only managed to get here at cockcrow.

Seeing that it was almost dawn, it would be very dangerous to enter the town rashly. They hid in the woods on a small hill, not far from the town. There were a few houses at the foot of the hill. The two of them went deep into the woods and, seeing no one around, sat down under a tree to rest.

“Brother Zhuo, we should be out of it. There are no pursuers behind us. You rest well. After dawn, I’ll go into the town to find Huang Zhen and the others. We’ll find a way to escape together!”

Zhuo Yifan had been running all night and was extremely exhausted, almost unable to speak. Sima Qiudao changed his dressing and gave him medicine again, and also gave him some dry rations to eat. Fortunately, he had replenished his water supply along the way, so he didn’t have to risk going out to find water now.

Sima Qiudao let Zhuo Yifan lie down to rest. He had been carrying Zhuo Yifan all the way and was very tired. Besides, it was still too early. He leaned against a tree and dozed off.

In a daze, he seemed to hear a rustling sound. No! Someone is here! He immediately sat up, gripping his knife. He looked up and saw a small, thin figure flash past about ten steps away.

Sima Qiudao was horrified. All his sleepiness vanished in an instant. He leaped up, a short sword already in his hand, and lunged in the direction the figure had disappeared!

Sima Qiudao was extremely fast. With a single leap, he had already pinned the person in front of him to the ground, the short sword at his throat.

Looking closely, he saw it was a boy of about ten, with an “Aussie haircut,” wearing a blue front-buttoning short jacket. His trouser legs were covered in mud, and he was barefoot, with a pair of straw-rope sandals hanging around his neck. He also had a canvas satchel. Besides a crumpled student ID card, he had nothing on him.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Sima Qiudao asked in a low voice.

The boy saw the man before him with his hair cut in a ragged mess, his clothes covered in mud, and a knife in his hand. He was terrified and stammered, “Gathering some herbs before school—to sell in town on the way…”

Sima Qiudao saw that there were indeed some herbs in the small bamboo basket next to him. He asked, “Are you from Nanbao Town? How far is it from here to the town?”

The boy trembled and said, “I… I don’t live in the town. I live in the village at the foot of this hill. It’s less than a kilometer from here to the town…”

“School—where do you go to school?”

“Nanbao Primary School… it just opened recently. My family is poor, so I couldn’t afford to go to school before. Later, a chief came and said that primary school is free, and they give you a meal and a set of clothes.” He pleaded, “My family is poor, we have no money…”

At this moment, Zhuo Yifan also woke up. Seeing the situation, he came over and said, “Little brother, don’t be afraid. We are not bad people. We don’t want your money.” He opened the satchel. Inside, besides a piece of sweet potato wrapped in a banana leaf, were books and stationery: a few “Aussie-style” bound books, notebooks, pencils, and the like. They were all made of fine white paper, beautifully printed and bound. It was hard to imagine that a student who looked like a mud monkey could use such things.

Sima Qiudao released his hand and gestured with the short sword in front of him. “You sit still and don’t move or speak, and your life will be spared!”

The boy was so scared he was trembling like a leaf in the wind. He couldn’t speak, only nodding repeatedly.

Zhuo Yifan said in a low voice, “Find out what’s going on in Nanbao now.”

“I know,” Sima Qiudao said in a low voice. He turned his head and asked, “Let me ask you, has anything unusual happened in the town recently?”

“Unusual?” the boy said blankly. “Nothing… it’s about the same as usual…”

“Have many soldiers and officials come?”

“Officials?” The boy hesitated for a moment, then suddenly understood. “You mean the police? No, I haven’t seen many police come recently.”

“The Aussies, um, the chiefs, have they closed any shops or arrested anyone?”

The boy shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about that…”

Sima Qiudao brandished the short sword in his hand and threatened, “If you lie to me, I’ll take your life immediately!”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare,” the boy shook his head repeatedly.

Sima Qiudao asked a few more questions and roughly learned that everything was normal in Nanbao. He thought that the Huang Family Apothecary was safe and that Huang Zhen and the others were fine. He felt much more at ease.

“The apothecary is fine. I’ll go into town now to contact Old Huang. You’re injured, so you rest here. As for this child—” Sima Qiudao’s eyes glinted menacingly. He raised his short sword, preparing to silence him.

Zhuo Yifan said in a low voice, “Brother Sima, you mustn’t!”

“If we don’t kill him, what if he goes to report us?”

“Brother Huang, you and I are from famous and righteous sects. We came to Lingao to save the common people. How can we kill the innocent and disgrace our sects? If we do that, wouldn’t we be no different from the Aussies? Besides, he’s just a child!”

“But—”

“We won’t let him go either. We’ll tie him up and leave him here so he can’t report us. In a day or two, after we’re gone, it won’t matter if someone rescues him.”

“Alright.” Sima Qiudao found it troublesome, but what Zhuo Yifan said made some sense. He said, “Then you rest here. I’ll tie him up securely and then go to town.”

He then used the satchel strap to tie the boy’s hands behind his back, tidied himself up a bit, and went down the hill towards Nanbao.

Seeing the boy’s terrified state, Zhuo Yifan comforted him, “You can rest assured. We won’t harm you.”

The boy nodded vigorously.

Zhuo Yifan leaned against a tree and slowly sat down, holding the short sword in his hand. He was bored and asked, “What does your family do?”

“Farming. We used to be tenants of Master Zhou’s few acres of land. Now we’re long-term laborers for the farm…”

“So you’re from a good family.” Zhuo Yifan saw that his features were regular and he spoke clearly, not like an ignorant country bumpkin. He felt like talking to him. “Since you’re studying, why don’t you find a private school and study the Four Books and Five Classics, instead of reading the Aussie’s evil books?”

The boy didn’t understand. “My family can’t afford the tuition. We’re very poor, we don’t even have enough to eat. If it weren’t for the chief saying they provide a meal, my family wouldn’t have let me go to school…”

Just for a meal. Zhuo Yifan felt a pang of disappointment. He had originally just wanted to pass the time, but now he had the idea of guiding him onto the right path. He said, “Do you know that the books you’re reading in the Aussie’s school are not the teachings of the sages, but all Australian heresies? What’s the use of reading them? It would be better to be illiterate.”

“Heresies?” The boy clearly didn’t understand the word. He said timidly, “The chief’s school teaches literacy, arithmetic, and the like.”

“They say it’s literacy, but they teach simplified characters, not the proper characters. If you were to take the imperial examinations, you’d probably be thrown out by the examiner immediately…” Zhuo Yifan felt a dull ache in his wound. “As for that arithmetic, the imperial examinations don’t test it. Since your family is not in business, what’s the use of learning it? Even if you can’t afford to study, it’s better to be an honest farmer. Even if you’re illiterate, you are still the foundation of the court. Why bother with the Aussie’s muddy waters just to learn a few characters…”