Chapter 364: The Inescapable

Shaoyin fled with his younger brothers, though he did not know where to run. He dodged the people coming and going on the road until he saw the haystacks at the Threshing Ground. Only then, in a panic, did he lead the others running toward them. He then used his hands to pull a hole in a haystack, placed his brothers inside, and used the pulled-out grass to plug the hole back up.

He understood in his heart that this time, there was absolutely no escaping. Even if no one saw that it was the trouble they had caused, he still needed to take responsibility; otherwise, it would not align at all with the warrior spirit his father had taught him.

He hid his brothers away only because he did not want them to be harmed. Everything was planned by himself, and his brothers had been tricked into coming by him. Thinking this in his heart, he decided to take all the blame upon himself alone, and thus he resolutely began to run.

He first had to go home to tell his mother. There was no possibility of being saved this time. He wanted his mother to find a way to save his brothers, even if it meant having her take them and flee Huaxia. He would go to Baifeng to surrender himself afterward.

While Shaoyin was running home, Xiong had just been dismissed from his post. All the Soldiers were on the road. The Soldiers searching for Shaoyin and the others did not go to search Xiong's home first, because they felt that someone so grown, having caused such trouble, would surely think of running away first rather than going home, so they searched around the Pasture.

Xiong snuck a look around his home and found no Soldiers there. He could also hear his mother and several aunts talking in the courtyard, so he dared to show himself, quickly ran into the house, and closed the main gate.

His mother saw the frantic Shaoyin and thought he had gone wild playing again. She was about to scold him, but when she did not see his brothers, she hardened her face, intending to teach him a lesson for not looking after his brothers while out playing.

Unexpectedly, Shaoyin rushed to her in two or three steps, knelt down, and his crying and tears burst forth uncontrollably.

His mother, seeing Shaoyin like this, also lost her temper. Feeling that something had happened, she quickly got up from her chair to pull Shaoyin up, comforting him as she asked, "Son, don't cry. What is there for a big man to cry about? Isn't it shameful? Get up quickly and tell Mother what's wrong." She also wiped Shaoyin's snot in the process.

Shaoyin slowly reined in his emotions, opened his eyes red, and said, "Mother, I have committed a great wrong. This time, I fear I am going to die. It is just that my brothers are innocent; they were implicated by me. I will go find the King to surrender in a moment, but you must find a way to save Erhu and the others. Fourth Tiger is such a small child; he understands nothing."

Not only Shaoyin's mother, but his several aunts also stood up in shock, their eyes growing redder and their expressions increasingly tense.

However, Shaoyin's mother was still suppressing her emotions. She felt that Shaoyin must have exaggerated the trouble he had stirred up. What capital crime could a few children commit? If it were a minor offense, Xiong would still be able to resolve it.

Thus, she asked in a slightly trembling tone, "Shaoyin, don't be afraid. It won't be that serious. Tell Mother carefully what exactly you all did."

Shaoyin then told the story exactly as it happened. Upon hearing that a herdsman had been trampled to death by a horse, Shaoyin's mother was the first to be unable to bear it; her face turned pale, and she sat down on the ground with a thud. Fourth Tiger's mother felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed.

Shaoyin asked anxiously if there was any way to save his brothers, but he received no answer. Seeing the expressions of the women, he suddenly understood: what could they even do? Not one of them was literate. They used to be skilled at manual labor, but now they mostly enjoyed a life of leisure with Xiong's support. Their brains were likely not even as sharp as a child in a Primary class.

Seeing that things had reached this point, staying here was of no use at all. If he waited any longer, he would likely be caught by the Soldiers. Their laws stipulated that surrendering could reduce punishment; this was what he had to strive for, along with taking all the blame upon himself to save his brothers.

He no longer knelt, stood up quickly, opened the door, and began to run for his life regardless of anything else. People on the road saw Shaoyin running in such a frantic rush and were all full of confusion. In the city of Huaxia, what could happen to make a young man so crazy?

The Soldiers searching for Shaoyin and the others found footprints outside the Pasture, as well as bloodstains stuck in the prints. They followed this and searched without stopping until they reached the Threshing Ground, where the footprints disappeared on the hardened Cement ground.

However, it was already clear where the people were hiding. Besides the haystacks, was there any other place to hide here?

Thus, they searched among the haystacks. The pulled-out grass was bright in color and fluffy, clearly different from the grass pressed at the very bottom that had already grown some mold spots. The people were naturally hiding here.

Erhu and the others were hiding in the grass hole. The silence, darkness, and narrow space gave them a sense of security. After being stifled for a while, Fourth Tiger was physically and mentally exhausted and had fallen asleep at some point. Only the slightly older Erhu remained with his nerves taut; he understood what the consequences of today's events would be.

But looking at Fourth Tiger snuggled in his arms, he did not feel at ease leaving him behind to go out and surrender with his brother. If he left, the two younger brothers would have no backbone; what would they do?

Just as he was thinking this, he heard the voices and footsteps of people outside. The number of people was clearly large, and from the content of their conversation, he could tell they had come looking for them. He curled his body up involuntarily, which squeezed Fourth Tiger and woke him up.

The exhausted Fourth Tiger woke up, heard the movement outside, and there were signs of crying in his throat. But even though Third Tiger covered Fourth Tiger's mouth in time, a sound still came out.

The Soldier had already been standing outside the grass hole for a while. Upon hearing this sound, he no longer waited and said directly, "Shaoyin, come out yourself."

Erhu knew there was no avoiding it, so he bit the bullet and pushed out the grass stuffed in the hole. Sunlight shone in instantly. Before him appeared twenty Soldiers dressed in full black crocodile armor, holding Changdao. The severity of the situation was self-evident.

Second Tiger did not dawdle; he directly hugged Fourth Tiger and crawled out, not caring about the grass stuck to his head and clothes. Third Tiger also crawled out afterward.

The Soldiers tilted their heads to look into the hole and saw no one else, so they asked Third Tiger, "Where is Shaoyin? Why are there only the three of you?"

Erhu said, "My brother went to surrender."