Chapter 249: Rescuing the Private School Teacher and Students

Fang Hui said, "What's wrong? Are you worried about your dad? He's probably over fifty, and he has a leg ailment—no matter how they conscript laborers, they wouldn't take him!"

"No! I'm worried about those people in the private school!" Li He grabbed Fang Hui's arm, "Quick, come with me to the school!"

Li He knew that the teacher at the private school was in his thirties, and the students were mostly around sixteen.

Isn't that a sure catch every time?

Fang Hui realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately followed.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and said, "Big brother, wait!"

Then he rushed straight to the place originally used as the back kitchen, took out two cleavers, gave one to Li He, and then they set off.

When the two arrived at the private school in a hurry, the constables hadn't searched this area yet.

Clear, rhythmic reading voices rose in unison.

Li He burst in and shouted, "Stop reading! Follow me!"

Several dozen students stared blankly at him.

The teacher also froze, then angrily scolded, "Li He! Skipping school yourself is bad enough, but now you want to drag others down? Get out and stand there! After I finish today's lesson, I'll go to your house to talk to your parents properly! Someone like you, a hopeless troublemaker, I really can't teach!"

"Don't say that about my big brother!" Fang Hui yelled, brandishing his cleaver.

The teacher widened his eyes, "Oh, you… you even brought accomplices to threaten the teacher!"

Li He said solemnly, "Teacher, I've been disrespectful before, I apologize first. Please quickly bring everyone with me outside—constables are rounding up able-bodied men everywhere! Once they find you here, you won't be able to escape!"

Hearing this, all the students' eyes showed panic.

The teacher, however, gave a cold smile, "Li He, Li He, you've always been slippery, constantly coming up with tricks to toy with me—today you've changed tactics again? You even made up the story about constables conscripting laborers—ah, it seems my little temple can't accommodate a great Buddha like you!"

"He's not lying!" Fang Hui, anxious, scratched his head, "Hurry up! Otherwise it'll be too late! Do you all want to be conscripted? Then you'll never see your parents again!"

Seeing that Li He and Fang Hui weren't joking, the students grew more panicked, and someone hesitantly rose to their feet.

The teacher slapped the ruler on the desk, "Nobody move! Don't listen to these two brats spouting nonsense! Even if the County Office conscripts laborers, why would they take you scholars? Even if they really came, I'm not afraid—I'm a recommended scholar; the county magistrate must give me face, I can protect you all!"

His firm words steadied the students; those who had wanted to leave sat back down.

"This time is different from before—those constables are acting crazy, they won't care whether you're some bird-brained recommended scholar!" Li He gritted his teeth, fierce, "Fang Hui! Let's go hard!"

"Yes, big brother!"

Fang Hui lunged forward in a single step, placing his cleaver against the teacher's neck.

"Bird-brained scholar! Walk with us honestly, or I'll slit your throat!" Fang Hui threatened viciously.

The teacher trembled, "I… I don't have the surname Bird……"

Fang Hui struck the teacher's forehead with his other hand, "I don't care what you're called! Move!"

The teacher was truly frightened now.

Half-grown youths are prone to impulsiveness; seeing the situation already mad, they could only move their steps with trembling fear.

More than ten students present had never seen such a scene; immediately half were stunned dumbfounded, the other half even burst into tears.

Li He had no time to coax gently; he violently chopped the teacher's wooden table with his cleaver, threatening, "Fall in! Anyone who disobeys will end up like this table!"

This simple, brutal tactic really worked.

The students immediately obeyed and followed.

"Wait, big brother……" Fang Hui, holding the teacher hostage, asked, "Where should we run to?"

Li He said, "Leave through the small path behind the private school, take a secluded route to the ruined temple—you lead the way, I'll bring up the rear!"

"All right, big brother!"

Fang Hui kicked the teacher's buttocks, pressed the back of his cleaver against his shoulder, and said, "Move, move, move!"

Thus, the group hurriedly left the private school.

Just as they exited the back door and entered the alley, they saw a group of constables marching aggressively past the far end of the alley.

To avoid detection, Li He had everyone stay still and remain silent in place.

Soon, everyone heard the constables smashing the door and storming into the private school.

Moreover, the constables were shouting that they had come specially to this place to capture people, yet no one was there.

At that moment, the teacher realized Li He wasn't joking with him, and a wave of fear washed over him.

"We can go now," Li He whispered.

Fang Hui then pushed the teacher, urging him to walk forward.

"No!" The teacher's feet wouldn't move.

Fang Hui, furious, thought of cleaving his skull with a single strike, "You've seen the situation—how can you still not believe?"

The teacher swallowed, "This alley behind the private school isn't safe enough; I know a more concealed route—follow me."

Having said that, he crouched and slipped off in another direction.

The rest, including Li He and Fang Hui, were all puzzled.

That side was clearly an abandoned dead-end alley that had been deserted for who knows how many years—there was simply no way through.

But unexpectedly, after the teacher had gone only a short distance, he began prying at the alley walls, turning his head to urge, "What are you standing around for? Come lend a hand! This is the entrance to the secret passage—later, when the constables search the private school and find no one, they'll surely come to the back door to look, so hurry up!"

Hearing that, the students rushed forward, fumbling as they helped him move the piled rubble.

Soon, a hole about half a person's high, pitch-black, appeared in the wall before everyone.

"Teacher…… how could there be a secret passage here?" someone asked.

The teacher's face showed pride, "This I discovered by accident years ago when I studied here—hehe, every time I skipped class I'd crawl in here, and nobody ever noticed……"

"Ah? Teacher……"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The teacher gave a dry cough, "Who hasn't had a mischievous, clueless youth? But you lot aren't allowed to learn this! Otherwise I'll thrash your backsides!"

Having said that, he led the way and crawled in.

The rest entered in turn, and Fang Hui and Li He were the last to slip into the wall opening, sealing it again with broken stones.

Inside the Secret Passage it was much more spacious; the group groped forward in the darkness. After only a few steps, they heard, from the narrow lane beyond the wall behind them, the expected officials conducting a search, and everyone felt a wave of dread.

"Ouch!" the teacher at the front shouted suddenly.

The few students behind him hurriedly reached out, groping to cover his mouth.

"Teacher… don't call out, or we'll be in big trouble if we're discovered…"

The teacher, smothered to the point of gasping and rolling his eyes white, was left covered for a while; after a good while the students let go and whispered, asking what was wrong.

He panted heavily, "Just now… just now I hit my knee. Ahead there seems… seems to be a pile of loose stones blocking the way. I haven't walked this place in many years, so I don't know how it's… changed… Don't move recklessly, be careful of danger."

The students muttered:

"What a pity we have no lanterns or torches; otherwise we could see the situation clearly."

"What to do? Feel our way slowly, or…"

"How about a few of us go back, fetch oil lamps and candles?"

"…"

Before the group could finish debating, a sudden beam of light shone from behind.

Turning back, they found their eyes unable to open, blinded by the glare.

Li He's voice followed, "I have a lighting tool; I'll shine it for you, keep moving."

The teacher squinted, unable to discern what Li He held, but the brightness was far beyond any torch, perfectly illuminating the surroundings, so he turned back and led the group forward.

Fortunately, although there were collapsed loose stones ahead, the Secret Passage was not completely blocked.

With the light, everyone cooperated, clearing the stones while pressing on.

"Teacher, why is there a Secret Passage behind the private school? Where does it lead?" Li He's voice came from the rear of the line.

The teacher replied, "It is a natural fissure in the mountain, with one exit behind the wall of an alley outside the private school. Stay close; further ahead there are many branches, don't get lost. The sole exit at the other end leads straight to outside the southern city gate, not far from that ruined temple."

Li He rejoiced, "Truly heaven helps me! Now we won't have to worry about running into officials at the southern gate!"

"What heaven? It's I, the teacher, who helped you," the teacher boasted.

Li He smiled, "You're right, teacher."

The teacher sighed, "How rare, it's the first time I hear you agree with me; you always opposed me before."

"Ahem… teacher, that's true."

"…"

The teacher fell silent for a moment, then said, "Li He, you're actually very clever. I often hear people say you're quite loyal. You must stay on the righteous path; even if you dislike studying, don't commit wrongdoing."

This was essentially the teacher's first heartfelt talk to Li He; Li He felt moved and earnestly replied, "Teacher, rest assured, the Li He of now is not the Li He of before. I will keep your teachings in my heart."

"Hmm, not bad, not bad, the lad is teachable," the teacher said, pleased, working even harder to clear the stones ahead for the students behind, shaking his head and adding, "Come, come, recite a few poems from the Book of Songs for me."

Li He paused in silence, then said, "Teacher, we have barely built some feeling between us; it's better not to ruin it."

The teacher sighed, "Ah, pretend I never praised you."

The other students burst into laughter, easing the tension for everyone.

When everyone emerged from the Secret Passage, night had already fallen.

Except for Li He and Fang Hui, who remained energetic and unbreathless, everyone else—including the teacher—was exhausted, collapsing to the ground.

Suddenly, a booming sound echoed from the cave they had just exited.

The noise startled them into sitting up, looking toward the cave entrance.

Li He observed cautiously, then slipped back in, soon emerged again, and told the group that the Secret Passage had completely collapsed, blocked by rubble and earth.

Still shaken, the teacher patted his chest and said, "We must have cleared a lot of stones along the way, making the already unstable fissure even more fragile. Fortunately… fortunately we're out, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Li He looked around, confirming they were indeed on the hill behind the ruined temple; after the others recovered a bit, he led them all into the temple.

The night was cold, and rain continued to fall from the sky.

The teacher and more than ten students, cold and exhausted, huddled together on the straw pile Li He had arranged in a corner, keeping warm, and soon fell asleep.

To be safe, Li He turned off the flashlight Ning Jinli had given him, didn't even light a fire, and took turns keeping watch with Fang Hui.

After a night, at dawn, the rain had lessened considerably.

The others woke up one after another, taking a while to regain composure, recalling yesterday's events and realizing they were now hidden inside the ruined temple.

Some students began to cry, saying they missed their parents and wanted to go home.

Some students clutched their stomachs, shouting that they were hungry.

That's no one's fault; after all they're just ten‑something youths who had never experienced anything like this before.

The teacher gave a lengthy consolation, then called softly, "Li He, Li He?"

"Teacher, Li He went into the city to scout," Fang Hui said as he approached, "You all stay here for now. Oh, by the way, I've cooked some food for you; it'll be ready soon."

The teacher exclaimed, "There's still food here?"

Fang Hui chuckled, "Actually this is a secret dwelling of mine and Li He's older brother. Not long ago we renovated it a bit and stored some grain in case of emergency; I didn't expect it to be useful."

"I see," the teacher said, looking around, then asked, "What did Li He use for illumination yesterday? I vaguely saw something like a black cylindrical rod less than half a foot long, no flame, yet extremely bright."

Fang Hui replied, "That's a lighting tool Ning Jinli gave, called… a flashlight, I don't really know, but it's very bright."

"Ning Jinli's sister? Who is that?"

"Um… teacher, please don't ask, I'm tongue‑tied and can't explain."

"…"

At that moment, Fang Hui heard footsteps in the distance.

He rushed to the temple doorway, glanced outside, his face turning pale instantly, then hurried back, lifted a wooden board in a corner and shouted, "Officials are coming, quick, hide in here!"

Under the board was a hole in the ground.

It was a pit he and Li He had dug during this time to store silver ingots and the items Ning Jinli occasionally sent.

With the help of the teacher, more than a dozen students quickly slipped inside.

Fortunately, they were all scrawny youths, small in stature; after squeezing hard, they barely managed to hide inside.

"Sir, you go in too!" Fang Hui urged.

The teacher stared at the mouth of the earth hole, frowned and shook his head, "If I squeeze in again, the children might get crushed to death; I think at most we can still fit one more person, Fang Hui—you hurry in."

"Sir…"

"No more nonsense, hurry up! I'll stay outside and can still cover you with a plank!"

Having said that, the teacher shoved Fang Hui inside.

Inside the earth hole, all the youths strained to curl their bodies tight, standing close together, making a little gap for Fang Hui.

Fang Hui's legs went in, but his upper torso got stuck among several people, unable to move.

The teacher made up his mind, pressed down hard on Fang Hui's shoulders with both hands, expending considerable effort to finally shove him in, then quickly covered the hole with a plank and scattered some dry grass to conceal it.

At that moment, several county office constables carrying swords walked into the ruined temple.

The teacher hastily sat down on the plank, and the constables quickly noticed him.

"How did you officials come here? What business brings you?" he panted, smiling and greeting politely, "How has our county magistrate been lately?"