Chapter 2129 - Hiding Place

Just as he was secretly crying out in despair, he heard a crashing sound behind the opponent. The man cried "Ah!" and suddenly slipped and fell to the ground!

Yi Haoran didn't hesitate. He immediately lunged forward, thrusting his sword. Unexpectedly, he stepped on something round and slippery, lost his footing, and fell solidly as well, his sword flying out of his hand. His ears heard only a dying groan.

This fall made him dizzy and see stars. Anxious, he ignored the dizziness and pain and struggled to get up.

He saw the woman had already picked up his discarded sword, holding it tightly with both hands, pointing it straight at his chest.

The man's head was tilted to one side, covered in blood. Next to him lay a heavy iron ruyi scepter, covered in blood stains.

Yi Haoran dared not act rashly. He whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. I am not a bad person!"

The woman's face was covered in tears. She shook her head with difficulty and said, "I don't care if you are a good person or a bad person..." With that, she stabbed violently with the sword.

Yi Haoran hurriedly dodged to the side. Unexpectedly, he stepped on something else and slipped again. This time he was prepared and grabbed the pillar under the eaves, preventing a fall. Seeing the woman stumble from her missed thrust, he immediately turned his hand over and twisted her wrist. With a little force, the sword clattered to the ground. Yi Haoran, afraid the woman would scream, hurriedly whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid! I'm really not a bandit!"

However, the woman's body went limp, and she actually fainted.

Yi Haoran hurriedly supported the woman, dragging and pulling her into the main hall and placing her on a chair.

He listened intently. Only silence reigned outside, with the occasional bark of a dog. His heart settled secretly. Fearing the man had accomplices in the house, he hurriedly returned to the eaves, retrieved his sword, and checked the man's breath. He was already dead.

Getting involved in a homicide case for no reason! It left him somewhat at a loss. Although human life was cheaper than a dog's in troubled times, a person had died after all. How should he deal with it when day broke?

In the distance, he heard the watchman's clapper already striking the third watch, third point. Once the fourth watch was struck, people preparing for the morning market would get up to prepare their business, and there would gradually be people on the streets. Wandering the streets looking like this, he would be caught by the patrolling bandit runts in an instant.

Can only hide here for a bit! Endure through the day.

Thinking of this, he turned back. He pinched the woman's philtrum several times. The woman slowly woke up. Seeing his terrified face again, she lowered her head, shrank her body, and said, "What do you want?"

Under the weak lamplight, the woman's face was pale, her hair disheveled, and there were traces of blood at the corners of her mouth—truly neither human nor ghost. In troubled times, people were cheap as dirt. Thinking of this little woman's encounter, Yi Haoran couldn't help but sigh. He bowed and whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't panic. This student is also a person in distress—the bandit runts entered the city and arrested Great Ming officials and generals. I was originally in Governor-General Xiong's tent. With nowhere to go, I came here. I only beg Sister-in-law to allow me to hide here for a day. I will leave as soon as it gets dark tomorrow."

He spoke earnestly and had the conversation of a serious scholar, which indeed relaxed the woman's expression somewhat. She turned her head, looked him up and down by the light of the oil lamp, her expression relaxing a few more degrees, and asked, "You... are an official?"

"This student is not an official, but an advisor in Governor-General Xiong's tent—that is, Governor-General Xiong's master in charge of documents." Yi Haoran explained, afraid she wouldn't understand.

The woman nodded, looked him over a few more times, and suddenly asked, "A few days ago, did the Master fight with some soldier ruffians near here?"

Yi Haoran was stunned: at that time, he had clashed with the Wolf Troops near here to rescue Chang Qingyun, who had been attacked by rogue soldiers.

"Indeed, there was such a thing," Yi Haoran nodded. "At that time, this student was under orders to patrol the city. Seeing Master Chang trapped by rogue soldiers, I rushed over to rescue him."

"Is the Master Chang you speak of a middle-aged scholar in his early forties with a goatee? That day, he was riding a horse and leading eight or nine soldiers."

"It is him. Master Chang Qingyun. We are both in Governor-General Xiong's tent."

"So his surname is Chang," the woman murmured.

Seeing her expression, Yi Haoran guessed she had some connection with Chang Qingyun. This settled his heart considerably.

"Master Chang has shown grace to this servant," the woman said.

Yi Haoran nodded: "So that's how it is."

"That day when Wuzhou was besieged, this servant had matters at her maiden home and was anxious to go back to visit. Halfway there, my husband was... harmed... by rogue soldiers..." At this point, she was on the verge of tears. It took a while before she continued, "The bandit soldiers wanted to insult this servant in the street. Thanks to Master Chang passing by with troops on patrol, my chastity was preserved... At that time, this servant still harbored foolish thoughts, thinking of asking Master Chang to avenge my husband—I didn't expect that he himself would be in danger, and fortunately, the Old Master came to save him."

"Not at all, not at all. We are colleagues in Governor-General Xiong's tent. When he is in danger, how can I not save him?" Yi Haoran felt respect for Chang Qingyun; he hadn't expected him to have performed such a righteous act!

"I wonder if Master Chang is safe now?"

"Last night, I saw him leave the city with the refugees. I don't know if he is alive or dead—but the bandit runts have never been bloodthirsty. Even if captured, he would only suffer some humiliation and be used as a laborer; his life should be safe."

"That is good, that is good." The woman put her palms together and chanted the Buddha's name a few times.

The two talked a few more sentences. Yi Haoran learned that this woman's maiden name was Jiang, her childhood name was Qiuchan (Autumn Cicada), and her maiden family ran a silk and cloth shop on West Gate Street. Her husband's family was from Teng County and had some land collecting rent at home. After she married, she gave birth to a son. Her husband passed the exam to become a xiucai (licentiate) and entered the prefectural school. The couple then moved to Wuzhou with their son, bought a house in the city, and lived a very harmonious life.

Unexpectedly, a great disaster fell from the sky!

Chang Qingyun could save her chastity for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Yesterday the city was breached, and the rogue soldiers scattered and fled. In desperation, a soldier from the guest army climbed over the wall and entered. This time, no one could save her.

"...This servant originally intended to resist with death, but expecting that thief to grab this servant's son and use him as leverage..." At this point, Qiuchan could hardly continue.

Yi Haoran nodded and said, "You don't need to blame yourself too much. Although you lost your chastity, firstly, you were forced by others, and secondly, it was to preserve the heir. The sin is not yours."

Qiuchan nodded silently, probably not yet recovering from the issue of "losing chastity."

Yi Haoran said, "However, the corpse outside..."

This immediately reminded Qiuchan. She jumped up in shock: "Heaven! This... this... what can be done?!"

"Is there a cellar or pond in this courtyard? Let's bury the corpse first."

"There are no cellars or ponds, but there is a dry well in the backyard..."

"Let's go clean it up," Yi Haoran said. "If it's discovered at daybreak, it will be terrible."

"Yes, yes, what the Old Master says is true." Qiuchan had completely lost her backbone at this moment and subconsciously regarded him as a reliance.

The two worked together. First, they wrapped and tied the rogue soldier's corpse with broken reed mats and ropes, then carried it all the way to the backyard.

When cleaning up the corpse, they discovered that the "crashing" sound was soybeans. Qiuchan had scattered half a dou of soybeans on the ground, and then, at the moment the rogue soldier slipped, she smashed his head with an iron ruyi used as a paperweight in the main hall.

This wit and the ruthlessness that exploded in an instant made Yi Haoran look at her with new eyes—she was no ordinary woman!

The corpse was very heavy. Qiuchan was weak and had bound feet, so she couldn't help much. Yi Haoran carried and dragged it, struggling to transport the corpse to the backyard.

There was a small vegetable garden in the backyard, and a thatched pavilion. It looked like Qiuchan's deceased husband was a man with leisurely tastes. In times of peace, he probably drank wine and tea here, admiring flowers and the moon... Once the war started, not only did he die, but his wife and son also suffered torture... Worldly affairs are truly unpredictable...

"This is the dry well." Qiuchan pushed aside the wild grass by the wall. There was a wooden board on the ground. Yi Haoran moved the wooden board away, and a fishy, rotten smell hit his nose. He looked down; the dry well was quite heavy. Throwing it down would be fine for ten days or half a month. Immediately, he pushed the corpse down and covered the well mouth with the wooden board again. He also covered it with a layer of loose soil to prevent the rotten smell from leaking out.

After disposing of the corpse, the two washed away the bloodstains under the corridor. When all traces were cleaned up, the rooster had already crowed for the first time. Having tossed and turned for half the night, the two were exhausted and numb. Yi Haoran said, "Please give me the key to the main gate. I'll climb over the wall and remove the padlock from the gate—leaving this lock hanging will invite trouble."

A locked main gate would make people think no one was home, which would instead attract the covetous eyes of evildoers.

"Opening the lock is easy. This servant can just open the back door and go around. It's just that once the lock is opened, what if the bandit runts come to cause trouble..."

"The bandit runts have never disturbed the common people. It's just that after breaking into the city, they will inevitably come to check the household registration. Little Lady just needs to respond carefully and it won't matter." Yi Haoran said, "It's just that this student will have to hide in the backyard for a day."

Qiuchan nodded slightly, bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said resolutely, "Mr. Yi, hiding like this is not a solution. If you are discovered by the bandit runts, it will be impossible to explain clearly. In this servant's opinion, you might as well count as a cousin of this servant's husband's family, trapped in the city while running errands—resting here for the time being."

Yi Haoran thought about it; Qiuchan made sense. Her husband's family was from Teng County, so the locals in Wuzhou naturally wouldn't know which relatives her husband's family had. Impersonating a "cousin" would be easy to muddle through.

Fortunately, Xiong Wencan's headquarters had not moved to Wuzhou for long. Because he had been training troops in Teng County, he had spent even less time in Wuzhou, and very few people in the city knew him. As long as he didn't encounter colleagues he had worked with, it wouldn't be difficult to hide.

"Good, we'll do as you say." Yi Haoran bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sister-in-law Qiuchan!"

"Don't thank me. We are both people in distress," Qiuchan sighed. "It's just that this form of address needs to be changed."

"Yes, yes, this student understands."

Immediately, Yi Haoran changed his name to "Hao Ran," with the identity of a cousin from Jiang Qiuchan's husband's family. He had left home to study and travel when he was young and had only recently returned to his hometown. He came to Wuzhou on business this time and was trapped, so he could only stay at this niece's house. Yi Haoran had trained troops in Teng County for many days and knew a thing or two about the geography and cultural situation there, so he could more or less muddle through. As for the issue that he couldn't speak the Teng County dialect because he "left home young and returned old," he also had an excuse.