Chapter 15: Night Alarm

The Black Man asked in surprise, "What problem?"

"If he really is the high-ranking young master you say he is, how could he eat with us? Even that jerk Lisi in our village wouldn't eat with us—"

The Black Man's face hardened: "Don't talk nonsense! What jerk Lisi? You must call him Lisi-my lord!"

"He always orders Dad to do free work for him and won't even give us a few liters of beans. He's just an old jerk!" little Ah Wu said stubbornly.

"That's it, I have to spank you today!"

The father and daughter laughed and played together.

Tired from the commotion, little Ah Wu lay spread-eagled on the bed and said, "Dad, you have to be careful, don't get cheated."

The Black Man laughed: "Who taught you to be so clever?"

Little Ah Wu sat up with a kip-up: "Dad taught me!"

"So, what you can see, Dad can also see; what you can't see, Dad can still see. So what are you worried about?"

"Pfft!" little Ah Wu looked unconvinced, but after a while, she said, "But he wouldn't even drink the huo green soup, he shouldn't be an ordinary person, right?"

"Ah Wu, in life, you have to look at the long term."

Hearing her father start to preach, little Ah Wu knew he was about to start lecturing. She immediately sat up straight. She heard her father continue:

"If you feel pained over a bowl of huo green soup or a bowl of bean and wheat porridge, you won't accomplish anything. It's like sowing seeds in spring; if you feel pained over the seeds, or can't help but eat the seed grain, how will there be a harvest in autumn? If you want a harvest, you must be willing to pay the price. Do you understand this principle?"

Little Ah Wu thought for a moment and said, "Does Dad mean that if Ah Wu wants two bowls of huo green soup, I have to give away this bowl first?"

The Black Man laughed heartily: "Two bowls? Two bowls are too few! Dad will set out a hundred bowls for you later, so you can drink your fill!"

"I don't want a hundred bowls, I just want two!" little Ah Wu said seriously.

"Pfft, what's huo green soup, look at what this is?" The Black Man took a cloth bag from his bosom and opened it.

"It's dried fish!" little Ah Wu's eyes lit up.

In the east room, Wang Yang covered himself with a tattered quilt, listening to the warm laughter of the father and daughter, feeling a bit lonely.

Since crossing over, one crisis after another had followed. He had no time to reminisce about his original friends and life, no time to plan future actions, and not even time to think about the crossing itself.

He was like someone chased by a wild beast, running for a day and a night, and now he finally had a chance to catch his breath.

He began to think about the conditions of the crossing.

If it was the Soul Bottle, what was the mechanism that triggered the crossing?

At that time, there were five people in the museum looking at the Soul Bottle, and at the same moment, on the Southern Qi side, there were also five people surrounding the Soul Bottle. Was this a coincidence?

Could it be that this coincidence caused the crossing? But why did only four people cross successfully in the end?

And where was the original owner of this body? Why didn't he have the original owner's memories? Was it possible that while he crossed to ancient times, the original owner also crossed to modern times?

Now the Soul Bottle was shattered, and of the four who crossed together, only he remained. There was probably no hope of going home, but what about his mom?

Sigh, his mom was smart, cheerful, and not lacking money; she could live very well without him.

Wang Yang could only comfort himself this way.

"Original owner, original owner, if you really crossed to modern times, you must be filial to my mom for me and live well for me." Wang Yang closed his eyes and prayed silently, then muttered after a while: "I will also live well for you."

Bang, bang, bang!

Bang, bang, bang!

An abrupt knocking on the door rang out in the night.

Wang Yang sat up instantly, his first reaction being that his fake identity had been exposed and Captain Xue had brought people to arrest him!

"Open the door! Open the door! If you don't open it, we're going to ram it!" someone shouted loudly outside.

The Black Man's face changed drastically. He reached back to grab his waist saber, but after thinking about it, he put the saber back on the head of the bed and instructed Ah Wu: "Don't come out no matter what!" Then he hurried to open the door.

Four big men burst in, instantly taking up half the space in the small room.

"You're back, why didn't you say anything?" A middle-aged man wearing a yellow silk robe and a gold ring with a gemstone on his hand walked in with a smile.

He was dressed like an ordinary wealthy merchant and had a meticulously trimmed mustache. Although he had a pair of hawk-like eyes, he smiled in a refined and gentle manner and was very friendly toward the Black Man. However, anyone who thought he was a kind person was the biggest fool in the world.

The Black Man hurriedly bowed and saluted: "I just returned and haven't had time to pay my respects to Third Master."

Third Master Du smiled warmly: "It doesn't matter, as long as you pay back the money, it's not too late to pay respects now."

"I've already found out! That woman married a big merchant and is living in Jiankang now. She must have the money to pay—"

Third Master Du's smile paused: "You mean you want me to go to the capital to find someone?"

The Black Man said anxiously: "I wouldn't dare! It's just... it's just that the woman borrowed the money, and she ran off with it. I haven't seen a single coin!"

Third Master Du said slowly: "A wife's debt is paid by the husband; this has been the case since ancient times."

"But we divorced a long time ago—"

Third Master Du said kindly:

"Whether you divorced or abandoned your wife has nothing to do with me. You were the one who signed the guarantee, and your daughter was the collateral. Either you pay the money, or you hand over your daughter. You choose one."

The Black Man hated himself for being stupid. That woman had come back a year ago, begging him pitifully, kowtowing and crying, swearing to heaven and earth that she would turn over a new leaf. The previous divorce was partly because the Black Man had hit her, so out of guilt and old feelings, and for Ah Wu's sake, his heart softened and he agreed to reconcile.

It wasn't that he hadn't been on guard, but that woman had acted too convincingly, lowering his vigilance!

He really thought she wanted to live a good life with him; otherwise, he wouldn't have believed the ghost story about borrowing money to invest in a cloth shop!

What was even more hateful was that she had actually found someone to cooperate with her, swap the documents, and use Ah Wu as collateral behind his back! Otherwise, he would never have signed the guarantee!

The Black Man knelt down, kowtowed three times heavily, and begged sincerely:

"Third Master, I only have this one daughter! I was tricked into signing the guarantee! With your supernatural powers, Third Master, who can't you find? Zhang Anu married a candle merchant surnamed Liu, and they are living in Jiankang now! I beg you, I beg you to leave me a way to live!"

"Shh—" Third Master Du leaned down, supported the Black Man with the gray swelling on his forehead, and the smile on his face made the Black Man shudder.

"Look at you, making me sound like a bully," Third Master Du brushed the Black Man's clothes as if cleaning off dust, and smiled, "Actually, I'm a simple person. As long as you follow the rules, I certainly won't make things difficult for you. Pay the money or hand over the person, you have to choose one. If you choose neither..."

He patted the Black Man's trembling face and laughed: "Then, don't blame me."

"I... I don't have any money right now. You can take this house, and you can take anything in the house—"

"Hehehehe..." Before the Black Man could finish, he was interrupted by Third Master Du's laughter. The four people beside him also started laughing.

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't even take your dilapidated house if you gave it to me for free. Alright, hurry up and tell your daughter a few words, then pack a few of her clothes. I'll give you half a quarter of an hour."

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Note: ① Yellow becoming the exclusive color for royalty happened after the mid-Tang Dynasty, so Third Master Du could wear yellow at this time.

② According to the research of the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhao Yi, the use of "Ye" (Grandfather/Master) as an honorific originated in the Tang Dynasty. (Gaiyu Congkao) During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, "Ye" meant father. So strictly speaking, the title "Third Master Du" (Du Sanye) likely wouldn't appear in the Southern Qi (unless nicknames like "Old Dad" or "Third Pa" were popular in the underworld then). However, since historical materials from the Northern and Southern Dynasties are relatively scarce compared to later generations and focus mostly on the nobility and scholar-officials (unlike the Song Dynasty, where records of ordinary people increased after the rise of the commoner class), the restoration of social details at that time cannot be perfectly achieved. To make it easier for everyone to grasp the characters, the title "Ye" is still used here, and titles like "Young Master" and "Prince" will be used later, but these titles may not necessarily conform to historical facts.

③ There was no "Nin" (polite 'you') in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. If other titles were used to replace "Nin" for respect, the writing would be too cumbersome. If "Ni" (ordinary 'you') were used directly, it wouldn't conform to modern reading habits. To make it easier for everyone to grasp the tone of the dialogue, "Nin" is still used. ===== CHAPTER 16 =====