Chapter 166: [Trouble Arrives] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian put on airs and said, "As an official for one term, I will bring blessings to one region. I came to Qingyun just to do good deeds for the common people."

Song Shaofu again flattered, "Sir's arrival in Qingyun is truly Qingyun's blessing, the people's blessing."

This flattery was pleasant; Hu Xiaotian smiled broadly, very pleased, took the tea Liu Kuohai handed over, took a sip, and said, "Manager Song, do you have any suggestions?"

Song Shaofu said, "For the matters Sir organizes, I will definitely be the first to support. I have a preliminary idea: I will gather the people, and at that time we will set up twenty tables at the Wild Goose Tower, with all food and drink expenses borne by me; this counts as my contribution to Qingyun."

Hu Xiaotian secretly praised Song Shaofu for being sensible; Wan Bo Ping's recommendation of him to me was indeed correct. Having him gather people and handle all food and drink arrangements means I don't need to do anything, just reap the benefits—really good. After being pleased, Hu Xiaotian suddenly had the idea to recruit him; he would treat this charitable sale as a test of Song Shaofu. If he could handle this matter smoothly and successfully, then later he would develop him into my core cadre in Qingyun.

Hu Xiaotian's greatest advantage is that he is not **, not autocratic; he possesses a consciousness more advanced than most people in this world. He understands that even if one's ability is great, it is limited; only by pooling everyone's wisdom can tasks be done with twice the result for half the effort, making the heavy seem light. As the saying goes, over five thousand years of Chinese history, no matter how enlightened an emperor, they cannot escape the four words "arbitrary and domineering". It is consciousness that causes this; absolute power means absolute corruption. A truly wise leader is not measured by how great his own ability is, but by how great his ability is to mobilize others' enthusiasm. In this regard, Han Gaozu Liu Bang did not badly; Hu Xiaotian couldn't help thinking, I should be much stronger than Liu Bang? Liu Bang was just a country rascal; I am a medical doctor. Before launching his uprising, Liu Bang at most held the post of Chief of Si Shui Pavilion. I started out as Assistant Magistrate of a Pin County. Looking at it this way, my future achievements ought to surpass Liu Bang's.

He had zoned out; even Song Shaofu noticed this guy zoning out, and thought Hu Xiaotian was dissatisfied with his suggestion, so he coughed and said, "I'll bring out a jar of thirty-year-old osmanthus wine from my shop's collection for the charity sale."

Hu Xiaotian then reacted. He laughed heartily and said, "Good wine should naturally be kept for oneself to drink; Manager Song, you've done enough."

Song Shaofu also laughed along.

At this moment Hu Xiaotian realized Zhou Ju still hadn't arrived, and he felt a bit anxious. He had Liu Kuohai go check the gate; before Liu Kuohai even reached the gate, he heard the sound of carriages and horses outside, and he laughed, "Here they come; it must be Mr. Zhou."

But contrary to expectations, the one who walked in from outside was Liang Da Zhuang alone, with no one else beside him.

Hu Xiaotian asked somewhat surprised, "What's up? Where is Mr. Zhou?" Seeing that Zhou Ju hadn't come together, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help feeling strange; although tonight I was the host, the meeting had been proposed by Zhou Ju, so he should have wanted to discuss some medical issues, yet I don't know why he would stand me up.

Liang Da Zhuang said, "I heard from the people at Wan Mansion that Mr. Zhou left early this morning and hasn't returned yet."

Hu Xiaotian felt puzzled; could it be that Zhou Ju forgot about this? Logically he shouldn't. Zhou Ju handles matters meticulously; he's not the sort to be so careless.

Since the host and guest hadn't arrived, this unexpected guest Song Shaofu felt a bit awkward; he was considering whether to take his leave, and Hu Xiaotian said, "Since that's the case, let's eat while we wait." It was already late. Zhou Ju still hadn't shown up, and with so many people we couldn't keep waiting endlessly.

Song Shaofu unintentionally acted as a substitute; that evening the few people drank to their heart's content, the banquet lasted about two hours, and from Song Shaofu Hu Xiaotian gained much useful information. He noticed Song Shaofu had intentions to get close to him, and there was no lack of probing; human interaction is indeed a process of mutual familiarity and probing.

Hu Xiaotian had just seen off Song Shaofu when someone knocked at the door; he thought it was Zhou Ju arriving, and couldn't help laughing, "Coming at this hour, the yellow flowers will have gone cold."

Liang Da Zhuang walked over and pulled open the door; outside stood a green-clad servant. Hu Xiaotian recognized this servant as Zhou Ju's medicine boy, who said, "Is Sir Hu present?"

Liang Da Zhuang let him in; the medicine boy came before Hu Xiaotian and bowed deeply, saying, "Sir Hu, my master specially sent me to invite you."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Wasn't it agreed that you'd come over for dinner tonight? Where has Mr. Zhou gone?"

The medicine boy said, "It's like this: my master went out today to see patients, encountered a critically ill person, and up to now still hasn't found a solution, so he specially sent me to ask Sir Hu to come help take a look."

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but wryly smile; Zhou Ju is quite good at finding trouble for me. To say our friendship hasn't yet reached this point. You, this Xichuan Divine Doctor, when treating patients, why must you drag me into this? He was hesitating whether to refuse.

The medicine boy also said, "Sir Hu, the patient is a relative of Mr. Zhou's family, and Mr. Zhou specifically instructed me to be sure to invite Sir Hu to come help."

Liang Da Zhuang, having followed Sir Hu for quite a while, saw Sir Hu's hesitation and immediately said, "It's already so late today; my master wants to rest. If there's anything, let's discuss it tomorrow instead."

The medicine boy urgently said, "Human life outweighs the heavens; we absolutely cannot wait until tomorrow." Seeing Sir Hu still undecided, he added, "Saving a life beats building a seven-story pagoda; the wounded are in imminent danger, sir!"

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brow, finally nodded and said, "All right, if it's not far, I'll go with you."

The medicine boy said, "Not far; it's right in Sage Lane."

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Fine, I'll go with you to have a look."

Liang Da Zhuang said, "I'll go with the master."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "That works too!"

The medicine boy lit a lamp and led the way ahead; Hu Xiaotian and Liang Da Zhuang followed behind. Because they had drunk quite a bit with Song Shaofu earlier, their heads were a little dizzy, but stepping outside they felt a refreshing night breeze blow in their faces, and their minds instantly cleared considerably.

Hu Xiaotian still wasn't very familiar with the geography of Qingyun County; Sage Lane was still something he'd never heard of, so he asked the medicine boy, "Where is Sage Lane?"

The medicine boy pointed to the nearby alley entrance and said, "It's just two streets away from where you live."

Hu Xiaotian hadn't expected Sage Lane to be so close to his residence on Three Virtues Lane; walking there would take only the time to finish a cup of tea, and he couldn't help laughing, "It's actually that near!"

The medicine boy laughed, "Yes!" He paused briefly at the alley mouth, waiting for Hu Xiaotian to catch up his steps, then turned into the lane.

Night deepened, people were quiet; most residents of the lane had already slept, only one or two households still had lights on. Hu Xiaotian suddenly felt something odd about this matter: Zhou Ju lives so near me; even if he didn't come tonight for dinner, he should have sent the medicine boy to say a word. Why make me wait until now? I had warmly invited him; could he be being rude? Based on what I know of Zhou Ju's character, he shouldn't be like this. Thinking this, doubts arose in my heart, and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

The medicine boy noticed there were no footsteps behind him and hurriedly turned his head.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Is Mr. Zhou inside here?"

The medicine boy nodded and said, "Yes, that residence at the end of the alley is the one."

Hu Xiaotian had no intention of moving forward, smiling, "Then have Mr. Zhou come over to see me."

The medicine boy obviously froze for a moment, then exclaimed in astonishment, "Mr. Zhou is busy treating patients and can't spare the time to come over; please, Sir, walk a couple more steps ahead—it's right there."

Hu Xiaotian's eyes narrowed, a cold light flashed, and he said coldly, "You dare lie! Do you believe I won't have you arrested and punished as an official?"

The medicine boy was startled by him, visibly trembled, and the lantern in his hand slipped and fell; the candle ignited the paper lantern, which instantly burst into flames. The medicine boy quivered, "Sir Hu… why are you doing this?"

Hu Xiaotian kept watching the medicine boy's expression—from his panicked look to the sudden change in his countenance when I just rebuked him—already realizing something was fishy, he said to Liang Da Zhuang, "Da Zhuang, let's go back!"

Liang Da Zhuang didn't know why Hu Xiaotian suddenly flew into a rage, but he always obeyed Hu Xiaotian's commands; since Hu Xiaotian wanted to leave, he naturally complied, and at once turned and followed Hu Xiaotian away.

Seeing the two unwilling to go forward, the medicine boy panicked, his hands and feet at a loss, and hurriedly said, "Sir, don't go!"

Hu Xiaotian not only ignored him but quickened his pace; the medicine boy's abnormal behavior made him feel a great danger approaching. Suddenly he sensed movement overhead, hastily looked up, and saw a huge black net unfurling from above to cover the sky and earth. Liang Da Zhuang noticed this a bit later than Hu Xiaotian; both were only watching their surroundings, overlooking the danger from above, and were suddenly caught in that big net before they could struggle free. From the wall two figures leapt down, holding blue-steel swords pressed against their bodies, and one of them coldly said, "Better obey obediently, otherwise I'll stab a few transparent holes in you."

Hu Xiaotian secretly groaned; drinking really messed things up—how could I fail to see through such a lowly ruse? If I had noticed something was off a bit earlier, I wouldn't have ended up as someone else's captive.

The medicine boy stood there, obviously frightened silly, he stammered, "I… I brought the person here… you guys don't hurt my master." Meanwhile Liang Da Zhuang angrily said, "You who know the times, quickly release my master, or else—" Before he finished speaking, someone struck his mute point, his mouth opening and closing but producing no sound. (To be continued…)

Hu Xiaotian heard his words, really laughed and cried, as it turns out this medicine boy had tricked me into coming here to exchange for Zhou Ju. Liang Da Zhuang angrily said: "Those who know the times, quickly release my Sir, otherwise..." He hadn't finished speaking when someone tapped his mute point, his mouth opening and closing but producing no sound. (To be continued...)