Chapter 2128 - Climbing the Wall into the Courtyard

Yi Haoran was cold and hungry. He had been squatting in these ruins for a long time.

This place was originally a small temple under the city wall. No one could clearly say which deity became worshipped here, but anyone traveling far from this city gate would come to offer incense and pray before the spirit tablet in this low, single-room temple, praying for a safe journey.

Half of the small temple had been blasted down by the Fubo Army's shelling. Yi Haoran was hiding in the remaining half of the ruins that could barely shelter a body, lingering on his last breath.

Last night, he had wanted to mix with the refugees to leave the city. Unexpectedly, the Bandit runts fired cannons to bombard the city. A shell landed right on the street, instantly killing dozens of people. The column was immediately thrown into chaos, and he was blocked inside the city, unable to get out.

Hearing that the bandit runts were intercepting and capturing refugees at every city gate, Yi Haoran once again had the idea of organizing men and horses to engage in "house-to-house street fighting" with the bandits, fighting until exhaustion and death.

However, he was all alone now. The family servant team he had trained with Jiang Suo had disintegrated, and he couldn't command any other troops. Let alone "street fighting," even trying to break out to save his life was impossible.

In the chaotic army, Yi Haoran lost all his attendants and servants, and even Jiang Suo's whereabouts were unknown. He fled alone to this ruined temple, preparing to hang himself from a beam.

However, facing the roof beam, Yi Haoran didn't want to die anymore. He had escaped from Liaodong with great difficulty back then, and traveled thousands of miles to get here. He hadn't achieved a single merit yet; how could he die in obscurity like this!

If he had to die, it had to be vigorous and spectacular—at least he should end up being tied to the execution ground by the bandit runts and cut in two with a single stroke.

Since he wasn't dying, he had to think about the next step. When Yi Haoran came out of the Governor-General's Yamen, he had changed into old robes. He carried some silver and money with him, as well as a half-full waterskin and a few pieces of dry rations, which could barely sustain him for a day or two.

Hiding in these ruins was not a long-term plan: it was very close to the city gate, and the bandit soldiers were close at hand. Moreover, once they entered the city, they would start organizing laborers to clear the rubble and ruins.

Having made up his mind to survive, Yi Haoran calmed down. He squatted motionless in the ruins, deeply afraid of alerting the bandit runts. He waited until the dead of night before quietly sneaking out of the ruined temple.

Leaving the city was impossible. Although the city gate was dilapidated, it was guarded tightly. Torches and lanterns illuminated the area brightly, and bayonets reflected cold light. Yi Haoran didn't dare to delay and hurriedly headed into the city.

Fortunately, the chaos of a few days ago had damaged many of the street barricades. In the turmoil of war, the militia squads guarding the street gates at night didn't dare to come out on patrol. Patrol teams and night watchmen had lanterns, which could be seen from afar and avoided. Yi Haoran walked and stopped, crossing several streets in succession.

Inside, he was completely at a loss as to where to go. He was a stranger in Wuzhou—he had been training troops in Guangxi with Jiang Suo until Xiong Wencan fled to Wuzhou, at which point he brought the team to Wuzhou. Apart from official figures and Xiong's staff, he had no acquaintances locally, let alone friends.

People he knew wouldn't take him in because he carried the identity of "Xiong Wencan's advisor." Besides, they couldn't even protect themselves; they might have already fled or been captured by the bandit runts.

Must find a hiding place as soon as possible!

He thought there must be empty houses left behind by owners who had fled or died. Regardless of size, find one to hide in first.

Yi Haoran saw a courtyard here with an iron lock hanging on the door. The courtyard wall wasn't high, and it looked like the house of a middle-class family. Although Yi Haoran was over fifty, he had practiced martial arts for years and his legs were very agile. He leaped up, kicked off the wall, grabbed the top with both hands, and pulled himself up onto the wall.

The courtyard was dark and deserted. There was no sound of barking dogs either. Yi Haoran secretly rejoiced and immediately jumped down from the wall.

He had been in the military for a long time and his experience in fleeing was also considered rich, so he didn't act rashly. First, he looked around from the base of the wall for a while before quietly creeping towards the house.

Groping his way to the window at the base of the wall, he found the window paper was mostly tattered, rustling in the wind. Yi Haoran slowly straightened up and looked sideways through the window.

This look gave him a start. In the center of the main hall, a thin-skinned black lacquer coffin was set up. Before the coffin, a "head-turning lamp" was lit, the flame as small as a bean.

Before he could recover, he heard very faint weeping of a woman coming from the room. The sobbing sound transmitted faintly in the dark night, indescribably desolate and terrifying. Yi Haoran shivered—he didn't believe in ghosts and spirits, but since there was weeping, there must be an owner in the room. His plan to find an empty house to hide in had fallen through.

From the looks of it, this was a family that had recently suffered a bereavement. During the few days Wuzhou was under siege, with shelling outside the city and riots inside, many innocent civilians had died.

However, even with a recent bereavement, although it was a time of turmoil and inconvenient to hold a ceremony, it shouldn't be to the extent of locking the main gate, extinguishing all lights, and leaving only this one oil lamp.

Sure enough, the crying suddenly turned into whispered pleading, and then a man's lowered threatening voice was heard. Yi Haoran knew there must be something strange here—he was currently in hiding, and one less trouble was better than one more. It was better to leave quickly.

Just as he was about to leave, the lamp shadow suddenly went dark, and a person ran out from the inner room. Yi Haoran cried "Not good" inwardly. He hurriedly pulled back his foot and shrank his head back, only hoping the other party would finish whatever business they had and go back to the inner room so he could climb over the wall and get out.

But he heard the woman crying bitterly in the room. A moment later, two loud slaps were heard, followed by the man's vicious but suppressed voice:

"I told you to cry! I'll slaughter your kid first, then chop your dead ghost of a man into eight pieces!"

Yi Haoran was stunned: this man wasn't speaking the local Wuzhou dialect—Wuzhou dialect was similar to Cantonese—but Mandarin from the Guilin-Liuzhou area!

He couldn't help but peek slightly. In the main hall, he saw a short and fierce man wearing an ill-fitting scholar's gown, his chest exposed, grabbing a disheveled woman by her hair bun, cursing while slapping her. The woman was beaten until blood flowed from the corners of her mouth. Although her body struggled, she couldn't move under the man's arm. She just kept crying.

From their conversation, Yi Haoran gathered that the woman was likely the bereaved mistress. However, this woman wasn't wearing mourning clothes; she was dressed in silk and wore makeup. He was furious in his heart: This woman is truly shameless. Her husband's bones are not yet cold, and he hasn't even been buried, yet she is committing adultery with this adulterer at home. Truly, public morals are declining daily! No wonder monstrosities like the bandit runts have appeared to bring disaster to the world!

However, he couldn't leave at this moment, so Yi Haoran could only hold his breath and wait quietly.

In the main hall, the woman cried and said, "You thief, you've taken all the money and jewelry in the house. Where do you expect me to get more money?"

The man said, "Don't give me that! I know your family's background. Your dead ghost husband was just a poor scholar, but your maiden family is wealthy. Isn't that silk and cloth shop on West Street your maiden family's property? You just lost your father; go back to your maiden home to ask for help. Wouldn't getting one or two hundred taels of silver be as easy as reaching into a bag?"

Yi Haoran thought to himself: Sure enough, a pair of adulterous dog and bitch!

He only heard the woman say, "Although my maiden family runs a shop, the capital is only a few hundred taels. Besides, I am a married daughter. Usually, it's hard to ask for help of even a few taels of silver, let alone you opening your mouth to demand one or two hundred taels!"

The man laughed hideously: "Doesn't this depend on your ability? If you care about your kid's life, go borrow money for me at daybreak. Otherwise, I'll slaughter him first, then chop your dead ghost husband into eight pieces!" After speaking, he grunted again, "Go back to the room now, reapply some powder and makeup, and come back to serve the Master well! If you serve the Master happily, I'll give your kid an extra bite to eat tomorrow—otherwise, I'll send him to see his father first!"

The woman just sobbed and didn't speak anymore. The man spoke again, "Are my armor and weapons hidden well?"

"They are all in the shed in the backyard," the woman sobbed.

"Little lady," the man's voice softened, "The Master is a military officer of the Imperial Court! With an official appointment! Luck is bad right now, so I'm hanging out at your place for a few days. Once the Master gets through this difficulty, glory and wealth will be the same as before. Even if you are a widow, the Master won't dislike you and will still give you the status of a concubine... Hahaha..."

The woman just cried bitterly.

Yi Haoran was furious. He had roughly understood that this man was probably a routed soldier from the Guangxi guest army who had run into this house during the chaos and seized the woman who had just lost her husband.

Just now he was despising this woman for not committing suicide and willingly suffering humiliation to serve the bandit. Now knowing she was compromising for the sake of her son, he felt that enduring humiliation to survive for the sake of continuing the family line was excusable.

"It's just that if the son can establish a family and career in the future, this woman should also commit suicide to apologize for her sin."

However, whether he was indignant or admiring, this was a place of trouble, and he shouldn't get involved—he no longer had the spirit of "roaming the world with a sword" from his youth; he just wanted to escape quickly and find another place.

He took a step back, about to leave, but unknowingly kicked something, making a clanging sound. Immediately, a shout came from the room: "Who?!"

Yi Haoran secretly cried out in misery, turning to run. But the door of the main hall creaked, and a black shadow suddenly leaped out. In two or three steps, it blocked his path, raising a hand to slash with a knife.

Yi Haoran was caught off guard. Fortunately, he had practiced martial arts in his youth and practiced continuously over the years. His movements were still agile, and he managed to dodge barely. Turning around, he drew his sword. The opponent's saber technique was obviously military martial arts, confirming his deduction was correct.

He was extremely angry: To take a life indiscriminately without asking right or wrong, this soldier ruffian is truly hateful!

He hurriedly said, "Friend, don't attack. I'm just passing by looking for a hiding place!"

Seeing him dodge and bearing a sword, the opponent was startled, then said grimly, "No matter where you're from, friend, stay here tonight and don't leave!" With that, he slashed again.

Yi Haoran originally wanted to talk to him so they could go their separate ways. He didn't expect the other party to immediately intend to take his life. He dared not be careless and immediately swung his sword to counterattack.

In the dead of night, a sword fight between two people would inevitably attract patrolling watchmen and bandit runts if it lasted too long. Therefore, the two showed no mercy, every move a killing strike, seeking to kill the opponent quickly to silence them.

Yi Haoran was, after all, old and physically declining. After just three or four moves, he fell into a disadvantage, unable to cope, and was almost driven into a desperate situation.