Chapter 123: Using Beauty to Serve Others (Three)

Cannot be soft-hearted.

Cannot be soft-hearted.

Liu Er tried to warn herself——

That man surely heard the sound of gold and silver in his arms.

Now he looks honest, but you can't tell if he hasn't also harbored murderous intent like him.

He definitely cannot be soft-hearted.

He must strike first, before anyone strikes at him, he must strike at others.

That is right.

That is definitely right.

After all, since he was sold into the troupe at seven, everything has been taught to him this way.

Just......

Just......

I don't know why, but today upon seeing that woman, he somehow thought of his mother, whose face had long blurred.

He actually, in the past, was also loved by someone.

That was the distant time before he was seven.

The family was not well-off, with seven or eight siblings guarding a shaky thatched hut; parents worked all day, yet no one in the family could ever eat their fill.

He was the youngest at home, and mother by the stove would secretly give him an extra half bowl of porridge.

Although it was just thin rice water that could reflect a person, he was still very happy, very happy.

But later, his father and mother fell ill, ill for a long time, lying day after day in a patched-together quilt, coughing up blood.....

All the family's sellable goods were sold off; the elder brother became an apprentice and was beaten to death by his master; several elder sisters married off, or were sold off.

No one looked after him; he went hungry every day, and the wild vegetables he dug were never enough to eat.

Even so, his father and mother still died.

Afterwards, he had not even wild vegetables to eat, and was sent to the troupe......

"Found it?"

"The square-faced man's voice came up muffled from the water, breaking Liu Er's reverie:"

"I felt around, didn't feel anything sharp, huh?"

Liu Er snapped back, as if scalded, pulling his hand back and hiding it in his sleeve.

He forced himself to look away from the old woman on the cart, his voice somewhat tense:

"No, no... maybe I felt wrong, it doesn't hurt anymore, big brother, get up."

The square-faced man lifted his head from the water with a splash, water dripping from his face, he grinned, showing a fairly neat set of teeth:

"It's fine as long as it's fine, it's fine as long as it's fine."

"Little brother, you're also going to seek refuge with the Princess, right? Let's travel together; my cart may not be fast, but it can at least carry some things for you. With your skinny frame, you'll collapse before going far."

"Carry some..... things?"

Liu Er instinctively covered the bundle in his arms and stepped back, shaking his head:

"No, I'm not going to Cang Cheng to seek refuge with the Princess."

"I want to go to another city to find my parents; I have parents...... I am not someone without parents."

The square-faced man blinked, tilted his head at him, as if he hadn't understood:

"Didn't you hear clearly what those people were shouting? The Princess said she would open Dun Cheng to aid disaster victims; what are you doing going to Cang Cheng?"

Liu Er froze.

Dun Cheng?

He thought he had misheard, frowning as he asked:

"Not Cang Cheng?"

"No."

The square-faced man said, as a matter of course:

"I heard the shouter say, acting on the Princess's orders, the water is now too great; if we tried to cross the river to Cang Cheng, disaster victims might fall and it would be a dead end. So we are to walk along the official road; the Princess specially set up a porridge shed in Dun Cheng, letting everyone go to Dun Cheng......."

Liu Er opened his mouth, for a moment not knowing what to say.

When at the foot of Ju Cheng, he had heard the Princess say she was enfeoffed in Cang Cheng, so having only heard the words 'Princess' and 'aid' just now, he naturally assumed it was Cang Cheng.

Who would have thought, the Princess is actually aiding the people in Dun Cheng.

But, this could also be considered a good thing, right?

The common folk find it hard to cross the river, so the Princess naturally finds it hard to come over, and now there are so many disaster victims......

Who knows, maybe they won't even recognize him.

Making up his mind, Liu Er ended up following the square-faced man's steps.

The cart creaked again.

This walk lasted a full day and night.

The rain stopped, then poured again, then stopped again.

The sky remained a dull gray, with no distinction between day and night.

As far as the eye could see, everywhere was a vast expanse of watery land.

The water reached the thighs; each step felt like pulling the leg out of the mud, joints clicking.

The soles of the feet had already been cut to shreds by broken tiles and stones, soaked and turned white; stepping on them didn't hurt, but pulling them out felt like being gouged by a knife.

Liu Er several times felt like he would collapse, yet his body kept moving forward, as if it were no longer his own.

It wasn't until the second day, when it was pitch black, that in this utter silence of heaven and earth, the Heavenly Father finally granted a speck of orange light.

Liu Er stared at that orange speck for a long time, only then realizing what it was—

City walls, watchtowers, torches.

Dun Cheng.

We've reached Dun Cheng!

Liu Er anxiously called out:

"Daniu, Dun Cheng has arrived!"

Over the past two days, they had already exchanged names.

This square-faced man was called Zhao Daniu; his family were ordinary farmers, with bare walls.

Upon hearing that, Zhao Daniu hastily stopped the cart, braced his hands on his knees, and gasped heavily.

"At last... at last we've arrived!"

At that moment, the rain had paused, as if awaiting their return.

Zhao Daniu turned around; his face, smeared with mud and sweat to the point of being unrecognizable, now broke into a childlike grin.

"Little brother, let me tell you, once we get into the city, no matter how thin the relief porridge is, I'll definitely gulp down two big bowls—no, two bowls aren't enough, I need three big bowls! I'll make up for all the losses we've suffered on this journey."

Indeed, he's an idiot.

Who relies on drinking porridge to strengthen their body?

Liu Er leaned against the cart, muttering to herself, but seeing his utterly foolish smile, she couldn't help twitching the corner of her mouth.

After traveling together these two days, he had come to understand—

This mother and son are actually both good people.

Especially Zhao Daniu, who is a particularly simple-minded, foolish big guy.

Fortunately, fortunately.

Earlier, the defenses and killing intent he had harbored were never carried out...

Liu Er's heart eased a little; she rare ly felt like joking, so she lifted her chin, her tone carrying a lightness she herself couldn't quite explain.

"You drink the porridge; I still have some savings, and later I'll buy a meat pancake for Auntie to eat."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the elderly woman on the cart, who had kept her eyes closed, suddenly stirred.

Her eyes remained shut, but the corners of her mouth slowly, slowly curved upward a bit.

The curve was exceedingly slight, so slight it was almost imperceptible.

Yet her gaunt face, because of that smile, suddenly gained a hint of indescribable tenderness:

"Child...... you're also a good child...... you eat...... don't worry about us......"

"Be good...... you need to eat your fill...... that's right......"

Before, Liu Er always thought she needed gold and silver, fine silks, and a big house to live a good life.

But now...

Just an instant.

Just this instant.

Three people, one cart, on the muddy road outside Dun Cheng, in the glow of the firelight...

Yet Liu Er felt that good days were practically within reach.

Liu Er stared blankly for a few breaths, unable to keep her eyes from reddening.

He opened his mouth to answer, but just then the city gate erupted in a cauldron—

"This is the Princess's order——!"

"The Princess said to relieve the disaster victims——!"

"Let us enter the city——!"

The voices were urgent and chaotic, like torn cloth blown by the wind, drifting over in fragments.

Before Liu Er could react, another voice rang out from atop the city wall—higher, harder, with a metallic chill:

"What Princess! Who knows what Princess! Our magistrate has gone missing, the city is sealed shut, we won't recognize any disaster victims!"

Liu Er stiffened all over.

The townspeople below kept shouting, their voices growing louder and more confused, like waves at high tide, one after another slamming against the city walls.

Torches clustered on the city wall, shadows swaying back and forth, the glint of armor piercing coldly into the night.

Then he saw a point of light.

Or rather, a point of fire.

That point of fire shot up from the city wall, tracing a bright arc like a meteor trailing a long tail, slicing across the pitch-black sky.

It flew so fast that Liu Er's eyes could barely keep up.

He could only see that light drawing nearer and brighter, heading toward them—

No.

He suddenly realized—

Toward them.

He wanted to shout, his mouth opened, but his voice got stuck in his throat.

That arrow pierced the night, carrying the sound of wind and the glow of fire, accurate as if it had grown eyes.

It passed straight through the throat of the elderly woman on the cart, the arrowhead protruding from the nape, pinning into the cart's wooden plank with a dull thud—

"Pfft!"

The flame on the arrow's tail burned, licking the old woman's throat, making a sizzling sound.

The smile at the corner of her mouth hadn't had time to pull back; it froze on her face, her mouth half open, like a puppet locked in place.

Zhao Daniu's honest, simple smile still hung on his face, but now the stiffness was uglier than tears.

Liu Er felt as if something inside her chest had shattered with a sound.

He couldn't put it into words; he didn't know.

Someone on the city wall shouted an order:

"Fire arrows! Drive away these clueless disaster victims!"

?? Come on, come on, vote to save the disaster victims~