Chapter 94: [Crossing the River] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian's group hastily left Surrounding Color Pavilion; shortly after stepping out the gate, they heard someone call from behind: "Hu brother, please wait!"

Hu Xiaotian and his two companions turned around together, only to see Xiang Qin rushing over again; Murong Feiyan thought she had regretted her decision, gripping her sword hilt warily, on high alert.

Hu Xiaotian, this smiling tiger born with a grin, smiled narrowly and said: "Sister Qin, what else do you need from me?"

Xiang Qin giggled and said: "Since you call me sister, I naturally ought to give you something. On your way to Qingyun Mountain with its high waters, I just checked your luggage—you don't even have half a copper coin. I see you three are penniless; since you're taking up a post in Qingyun, you can't go begging all the way. I have fifty taels of silver here—take it for travel expenses." She handed over a small parcel.

Hu Xiaotian really couldn't figure this out—just moments ago he was forced to write an IOU for a thousand taels, and now she's being generous, charitable, and kind-hearted; could it be that this plump sister actually has feelings for him?

Murong Feiyan looked at Hu Xiaotian; if it were her, she would definitely refuse. Even as a ninth-rank official, one must care about dignity and integrity—how could she accept charity from a woman?

Hu Xiaotian clearly lacked the integrity Murong Feiyan expected; this guy shamelessly accepted it with a grin. Hu Xiaotian has his own life philosophy: no one in any era would quarrel with money— a single coin can fell a hero, without money you can't take a step. Besides, this isn't a matter of principle; besides, having already signed a thousand‑tael IOU, what's another fifty? As the saying goes, "Many lice don't itch, many debts don't worry"—let alone your fifty taels, I'd accept even a thousand.

Naturally, Hu Xiaotian didn't believe Xiang Qin's motive was so simple; he smiled and said: "Sister Qin, shall I go back and write another IOU?"

Xiang Qin shook her head and said: "No need, I trust you." Yet as she spoke, her eyes held not a trace of sincerity—her expression clearly said, "Trust you? Fat chance."

Hu Xiaotian accepted the silver, gave a courteous bow, watched Xiang Qin walk back into Surrounding Color Pavilion, then left with Murong Feiyan and the others.

Regarding Hu Xiaotian receiving someone's favor, Murong Feiyan naturally argued with him heatedly again, but she couldn't deny the fact that without those fifty taels they'd have to pawn their belongings. With the fifty taels, at least they could enjoy a proper meal, find a clean and comfortable inn to sleep soundly, recuperate, and set out again.

It took another four days to travel from Xiezhou to Qingyun Xian, traversing mountains and rivers, extremely arduous; though they suffered some hardship, they encountered no danger, and with the fifty taels of silver Xiang Qin gave them as a safeguard, they naturally had no worries about food and lodging.

After crossing the final ridge, the walls of Qingyun Xian came into view; Liang Da Zhuang's facial wounds had mostly healed. These past days he's become much more honest, knowing he was in the wrong and had caused Hu Xiaotian plenty of trouble, braced for a thunderous beating from Hu Xiaotian—but the beating never landed on his head, and Hu Xiaotian never pursued the matter, as if nothing had happened. Yet the more this happened, the more Liang Da Zhuang felt uneasy, as if a great iron hammer hung over his head, ready to fall at any moment. This feeling was worse than being beaten; Liang Da Zhuang finally couldn't hold back and cautiously approached Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian sat there checking his pulse; from these days of observation he was certain that Qiqi had indeed given him the antidote for the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle, and any residual toxin should have been completely cleared. Moreover, seven days had passed since the poisoning, and he showed no abnormal signs—his luck seemed decent; he had ultimately survived this calamity.

Liang Da Zhuang eagerly handed the waterskin to Hu Xiaotian: "Master, please have some water!"

Hu Xiaotian waved his hand, narrowed his eyes at the great river stretching ahead; Murong Feiyan had already gone downstream along the river to look for a boat to cross.

Liang Da Zhuang coughed uneasily and said: "Master, I'm sorry to you."

Hu Xiaotian's gaze finally swept over him, and he remarked offhandedly: "What's this all of a sudden? Everything was fine."

Liang Da Zhuang said: "That day on Pengyin Mountain, we encountered a wolf pack; I lost my composure—I shouldn't have abandoned the master and fled alone."

Hu Xiaotian replied: "What good would staying have done? The end result would merely have been one more person feeding the wolves."

Liang Da Zhuang's face flushed red from his words: "Master, do you really not blame me?"

"If you can stay alive, it proves your vitality is tenacious enough; even Heaven wasn't prepared to take you—since Heaven won't have you, why should I blame you?"

"Uh…… this……"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm just wondering how you escaped from the wolf pack back then."

Liang Da Zhuang, somewhat embarrassed, said: "When I saw the wolves coming, I was terrified out of my wits, threw the two large bundles I was carrying aside, then clung to my head and rolled down the slope, thinking even if I fell to my death it'd be better than feeding the wolves. Heaven pity me—I rolled all the way down, fainted midway, and when I came to, I found myself at the mountain's base; not far away lay one bundle, I grabbed it and searched for the other, but couldn't find it no matter what. I had wanted to go back and rescue the master, but hearing the wolves' howls and ghostly cries on the mountain, I—" At this point Liang Da Zhuang plunged to his knees with a thud, raised both hands and slapped himself hard left and right, sobbing uncontrollably: "Master, punish me—even if you beat me to death, I won't say a single 'no'."

Hu Xiaotian patted his chubby shoulder and said: "I haven't blamed you—what's the point of beating you to death? You escaped intact and even retrieved my official seal and documents; that's clearly a great merit—I'd be rewarding you if I had time, so how could I blame you?"

Liang Da Zhuang was half‑believing, half‑doubting; since escaping Pengyin Mountain he's felt he'd made a grave mistake, his heart anxious and uneasy, fearful all day. The reason he's come all the way to Xiezhou is that deep down he still harbors a sliver of hope, wishing Hu Xiaotian could get out of danger; if Hu Xiaotian died, he'd never dare return to the capital, would go into hiding under an assumed name, wandering the world, only hoping not to be found by Hu Buwei—otherwise Hu Buwei would surely kill him to accompany Hu Xiaotian in death. Thus, Hu Xiaotian surviving this calamity means Liang Da Zhuang has also survived a great disaster; though he remains uneasy, deep down he is overjoyed.

Liang Da Zhuang, tears in his eyes, said: "Master, I, Liang Da Zhuang, swear by the heavens that I will never frown while braving knives and fire for you; I will devote my life to keeping you safe and sound."

Hu Xiaotian knew this fellow's words were merely empty rhetoric, and after several occasions when he abandoned himself at critical moments, he'd still flee when real trouble came—but Hu Xiaotian took it lightly; nobody fears death, himself included, and Liang Da Zhuang is just a servant; you can't expect him to be unafraid of hardship and death like a party member, not everyone can be a hero.

Hu Xiaotian patted his shoulder and said: "Get up, you big shots, crying like a woman—from now on stay by my side and work diligently; I won't shortchange you."

Liang Da Zhuang nodded through tears, feeling that the master's breadth of mind had grown much greater than before.

Murong Feiyan searched half a day for a bridge, never expecting that even as Qingyun Xian loomed ahead they'd still run into trouble; hesitating, she spotted a white‑haired fisherman humming a tune as he poled upstream from downstream. Overjoyed, she waved and called out: "Sir, could you ferry us across the river?"

Hu Xiaotian and Liang Da Zhuang heard the movement and also rose to walk over.

The old man's beard and hair were all white, yet his complexion was very ruddy, giving off an air of crane‑hair, childlike face, immortal wind and dao‑bone; he rowed over and called out: "Gentlemen, where are you headed?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Sir, we want to go to Qingyun Xian city; we can see it ahead, yet this great river blocks our way, and after searching half a day we found no bridge."

The old man replied: "There used to be a bridge; go upstream five li and you'll find Qingyun Bridge."

Hearing there was a bridge five li upstream, Hu Xiaotian promptly thanked him—after all, five li isn't far, walking to the bridge and crossing would be steadier than taking a boat, and besides, the old man's little flatboat might not bear the weight of the three of them.

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