Chapter 15: Night Alarm

The black man said in surprise, “What’s the matter?”

“If he’s really some noble young master like you say, how could he possibly eat with us? Even our village’s lowly clerk wouldn’t eat with us—”

The black man frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense! What lowly clerk? You must call him Master Li!”

“Your commander dad makes him work for free and won’t even give him a few sheng of beans—he’s just an old scoundrel!” Little Wu stubbornly said.

“No, I’m beating you today!”

Father and daughter laughed and wrestled playfully.

When they were tired, Little Wu lay flat on his back on the bed and said, “Dad, you’ve got to be careful—not everyone’s to be trusted.”

The black man chuckled, “Who taught you to be so clever and sneaky?”

Little Wu sprang up like a leaping carp. “You taught me, Dad!”

“So, whatever you can see, I can see too; whatever you can’t see, I can still see. So what’s there to worry about?”

“Pfft!” Little Wu looked unconvinced, then after a moment added, “But he wouldn’t even drink a bowl of wormwood soup—he must not be ordinary.”

“Wu, when you live, you must look ahead.”

Hearing his father’s solemn tone, Little Wu knew another lecture was coming. He sat up straight at once. His father continued:

“If you’re stingy over a bowl of wormwood soup or a bowl of bean-and-wheat porridge, you’ll never accomplish anything. It’s like planting in spring—if you’re too afraid to use your seeds or can’t resist eating them, how will you ever harvest in autumn? To reap, you must be willing to give. Do you understand?”

Little Wu thought a moment. “So you mean, if I want two bowls of wormwood soup, I have to give away this one first?”

The black man burst out laughing. “Two bowls? Two bowls are nowhere near enough! I’ll give you a hundred bowls someday—enough to drown in!”

“I don’t want a hundred bowls—I only want two!” Little Wu said seriously.

“Pfft, what’s wormwood soup? Look what this is!” The black man pulled a cloth bundle from his chest and opened it.

“Dried fish!” Little Wu’s eyes lit up.

In the eastern room, Wang Yang lay under a tattered quilt, listening to the warm laughter of father and daughter, feeling lonely.

Since his transmigration, crisis after crisis had come one after another—he had no time to long for his old family and life, no time to plan his future path, not even time to ponder the very act of transmigration.

He was like a man chased by beasts, running nonstop for a day and night, and now, finally, he had a moment to catch his breath.

He began to wonder what conditions triggered the transmigration.

If it was the Soul Vase, then what mechanism activated its transmigration power?

At the time, five people in the museum had been gathered around the Soul Vase, and at the same moment, five people in Southern Qi had also gathered around it. Was that coincidence?

Could the transmigration have happened because of this coincidence? But why did only four succeed?

And where was the original owner of this body? Why didn’t he inherit the original owner’s memories? Could it be that while he transmigrated to the past, the original owner had transmigrated to the modern world?

Now the Soul Vase was shattered, and the other four who transmigrated with him were gone—only he remained. There was likely no hope of returning home. But what about his mother?

Bah, his mother was smart, cheerful, and never short of money—she’d live fine without him.

Wang Yang could only comfort himself this way.

“Original owner, if you really made it to the modern world, please be filial to my mother, and live well for me,” Wang Yang whispered, eyes closed, then murmured after a pause, “And I’ll live well for you too.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A sudden pounding on the door shattered the night.

Wang Yang sat bolt upright—his first thought: his false identity had been exposed, and Xue Duizhu had come to arrest him!

“Open up! Open up! Or we’ll break the door down!” A loud voice shouted outside.

The black man’s face turned pale. He grabbed his waist knife, then hesitated and put it back on the bed. He told Little Wu, “Don’t come out!” Then hurried to open the door.

Four large men burst in, filling half the small room.

A middle-aged man in a yellow silk robe and jeweled gold rings stepped in with a smile.

He dressed like an ordinary merchant, with neatly trimmed whiskers. Though he had hawk-like eyes, he smiled with refined grace and treated the black man with friendliness—but anyone who thought him a kind soul was the greatest fool on earth.

The black man bowed deeply. “I’ve just returned and haven’t yet had the chance to pay my respects to Third Master.”

Third Master Du smiled warmly. “No matter. As long as you repay the debt, paying respects now is still timely.”

“I’ve confirmed it! That woman married a wealthy merchant and now lives in Jiankang—she must have money to repay—”

Third Master Du’s smile froze. “You mean I should go to the capital to find her?”

The black man hurriedly said, “I dare not! But... but the money was borrowed by her—she ran off with it, and I never saw a single coin!”

Third Master Du spoke slowly: “A wife’s debt is the husband’s responsibility—this has always been the way.”

“But we divorced long ago—”

Third Master Du said gently:

“Whether you divorced or divorced her doesn’t concern me. You signed the guarantee, you pledged your daughter as collateral. Either repay the money, or hand over your daughter. Choose one.”

The black man cursed his own stupidity. A year ago, that woman had returned, pitifully begging him, weeping and kowtowing, swearing on heaven and earth that she’d reform. Their divorce had partly been his fault—he’d beaten her. Out of guilt, out of old affection, and for Little Wu’s sake, he’d softened and agreed to take her back.

He hadn’t been careless—but she’d played her part too well, lulling his guard down!

He’d truly believed she wanted to live peacefully with him—otherwise he’d never believed her lie about investing in a cloth shop!

Worse still, she’d conspired with others to swap documents and deceive him into using Little Wu as collateral. Otherwise, he’d never have signed the guarantee!

The black man knelt and banged his head three times hard on the ground, pleading sincerely:

“Third Master, I have only this one daughter! I was tricked into signing the guarantee! With your vast influence, who can you not find? Zhang Anu married a Liu, a wax merchant—they live in Jiankang now! Please, please, give me a way to live!”

“Shhh—” Third Master Du leaned down, supporting the black man’s swollen forehead, his smile sending chills down the man’s spine.

“Look at you—you make me seem like a bully,” Third Master Du brushed dust off the black man’s clothes as if cleaning him, smiling. “I’m actually simple. If you follow the rules, I won’t trouble you. Repay the money, or hand over the girl. You must choose one. If you choose neither...”

He patted the black man’s trembling face and smiled. “Then don’t blame me.”

“I... I don’t have money now. Take this house. Take everything inside—”

“Hehehehe...” Before he finished, Third Master Du’s laughter cut him off. The four men beside him joined in.

“Are you joking? I wouldn’t take this hovel even if you gave it to me for free. Now, say your goodbyes to your daughter, pack a few of her clothes—I’ll give you half a quarter-hour.”

——————————

Note: ① Yellow became the exclusive color of the imperial family only after the mid-Tang dynasty, so Third Master Du could wear yellow robes at this time.

② According to Qing scholar Zhao Yi’s research, the honorific “ Ye ” originated in the Tang dynasty. (《 Gaiyucongkao 》) During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, “ Ye ” meant “father.” Strictly speaking, the term “Third Master Du” likely would not have appeared in Southern Qi (unless such nicknames as “Old Man” or “Third Dad” were already common among outlaws). But due to the scarcity of Southern and Northern Dynasties records—most centered on aristocrats and scholar-officials, unlike the Song dynasty’s growing documentation of commoners’ lives—historical reconstruction of daily details remains incomplete. For ease of character recognition, “ Ye ” is retained here, along with “Young Master” and “Prince,” though these may not be historically accurate.

③ The character “ Nin ” did not exist during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. To express respect, other terms replaced “ Nin ,” but using them throughout would make the text cumbersome. Using “you” directly would feel unnatural to modern readers. For clarity of tone, “you” is rendered as “you” with respectful context implied.