Chapter 13 – Oh Shit
Three masked men dressed in black had appeared in the yard. Gu Wenzhu, clad only in his underclothes, was fighting two of them. Meanwhile, Kirin had clamped onto the third man’s leg, growling as he dragged him toward the corner.
Seeing that Gu Wenzhu was holding his own against two men, Xia Yi’s heart steadied. He quietly crept up behind them and swung his staff hard at one of the men’s knees. There was a sickening ‘crack’, and the man let out a blood-curdling scream as he collapsed to the ground.
Gu Wenzhu seized the opportunity to punch the other man square in the face, sending him flying backward to slam against the courtyard wall. The man slid down, unconscious.
The man that Qilin had bitten was still screaming. The dog had his leg in a death grip, gnashing his teeth with each bite, causing the man to howl in agony every time.
At that moment, the courtyard gate burst open, and a group of villagers, armed with sticks, rushed in. “Thieves! There are thieves!”
Leading the charge was none other than Uncle Wang, wielding a copper chamber pot.
Uncle Wang circled the scene and brought the chamber pot down on one of the men’s heads. “Tie them up and report to the authorities!” he bellowed.
“No, no, don’t! Please don’t report us!” begged the black-clad man that Xia Yi had struck down.
Recognizing his voice, Gu Wenzhu stepped forward, yanking off the man’s mask. “Ah, so it’s our esteemed officer coming to rob me in the middle of the night.”
It was the same three officers who, under Yu Chengzhi’s orders, had once tried to arrest Gu Wenzhu but were stopped by the county magistrate at the city gate.
It turned out that these three officers, hoping to earn some silver from Yu Chengzhi, failed to get the money and were instead punished by the county magistrate. They lost their monthly wages and were dismissed from jail. Angry and resentful, they plotted to rob Gu Wenzhu’s home and kidnap Xia Yi to extort some silver.
But they hadn’t expected the large black dog to be so fierce. The dog hadn’t made a sound as they scaled the wall, only to pounce the moment they landed.
Talk about bad luck.
After listening to their story, the villagers bound the three men and hauled them off to the magistrate, ignoring their pleas for mercy.
Who would’ve thought that such a small incident would lead to this string of events? Xia Yi couldn’t help but marvel, finally shaking his head and saying, “I must be a disaster magnet.”
Gu Wenzhu: …
The next day, the rain cleared, and a gentle breeze filled the air, bringing new life to everything. Watching Xia Yi obsess over the white radishes, Gu Wenzhu suggested, “Let’s go up the mountain and gather some mushrooms today.”
“Great! We can make chicken stew with them!” Xia Yi eagerly agreed, always excited when it came to food.
Gu Wenzhu slung a basket over his back, Xia Yi grabbed his begging staff, and the two set off into the mountains with Kirin following. The dog ran around joyfully, chasing rabbits and birds, always dashing ahead before waiting for them from a distance. Beneath the trees and by the rocks, many fresh wild mushrooms had sprouted, and under Gu Wenzhu’s guidance, Xia Yi collected them eagerly.
As Xia Yi bent down to pick a particularly large mushroom cap, happy to show it to Gu Wenzhu, his vision suddenly blurred, and the scenery around him began to distort.
What’s happening? What’s happening? Damn it, damn it!
The entire scene grew more and more twisted and began to spin. Xia Yi reached out toward the now-blurry figure of Gu Wenzhu, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t grasp anything.
“179! 179! What’s going on? 179, come out! System, system, are you there?”
There was no response from 179.
The entire world spun madly, twisting and distorting. Everything turned into multicolored stripes and flickering lights, eventually merging into a swirl of dazzling blackness.
Xia Yi felt a wave of dizziness, closed his eyes, and was filled with panic.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was no longer on the mountain. Instead, he was in another setting.
A courtyard garden with flowers, a small bridge, and rock formations.
He looked around and realized he was in the back garden of a large mansion, standing on a small wooden arched bridge. In his hand, he held a handful of fish food, and in the lake below, a group of red koi was eagerly waiting to be fed.
“Yi’er, go say goodbye to your mother. Stop being stubborn with her,” a familiar voice called out from behind him.
When Xia Yi heard the voice, he was jolted. He turned around abruptly and shouted in disbelief, “Dad.”
“What do you mean ‘Dad’? Go on. You’re about to join the Qishan Sect as an apprentice. Your father won’t stop you from pursuing your ambitions, but your mother is heartbroken. Don’t hurt her feelings,” said a middle-aged man, who looked exactly like Xia Yi’s father from his previous life, as he walked over. “Go, say a proper farewell to her.”
Xia Yi stared at the man before him, his emotions surging, his lips trembling, and his vision blurred with tears.
This was how his father looked when he was still healthy.
Xia Yi’s lips quivered as he softly muttered, “Dad,” before walking forward and throwing his arms around the man, burying his head in his shoulder. His tears soaked the man’s clothes in an instant.
