93 – He’s Three Brothers
Qin Mian made two servings of fresh and tasty soy sauce noodles with shelled shrimps, crushed peanuts, and a handful of vegetables. He locked the door and held the noodles before he entered the space in high spirits but was disappointed to find that Lei Tie was not there. After waiting for a while, he still didn’t show up. Qin Mian had to eat both bowls of noodles and left the space after pouring some water on the pink ball.
In the four-cornered pavilion hundreds of li away, there were four people in two groups, where each occupied one side. Lei Tie lay on the stone bench with eyes closed and remained motionless. The rough-faced man, the long-haired man, and the youngster ate their pancakes in silence for fear of disturbing his sleep.
Outside the four-cornered pavilion, four horses quietly nibbled on the green grass and swung their tails from time to time. They looked extremely leisurely and comfortable.
After the sun had set, the western sky left a faint yellow radiance with thick shadows.“Clip-clop clip-clop—”
Another clatter of horse’s hooves came, urgent and speedy.
The long-haired man frowned slightly and whispered to remind the rough-faced man and the youngster, “From the sound, it seems to be a lot of people. Sleep lightly.” When going out on a trip, they might encounter all kinds of dangers. It was very important for them to be vigilant at all times.
The youngster stood up and took two steps forward, looking curiously into the distance.
“Jia, jia!” The sound of men urging the horses was reverberating and resounding. In a moment, dozens of fast horses drew near. Everyone on the horseback was tall and big. Except for the leading man, all the others carried machetes.
When the youngster saw the face of the leading man sitting on the horse, his face radically changed. He threw the unfinished pancake on the ground and rushed to his horse. At the same time, he yelled at the rough-faced man and the long-haired man, “Damn it! It’s the Panacea Hall! Let’s go, Eldest Brother, Second Brother!”
The faces of the rough-faced man and the long-haired man abruptly changed. They rushed to their horses without hesitation. However, before they could untie the reins, the people on the horsebacks recognized them and quickly surrounded them with derisive laughter.The middle-aged man on the horseback looked down contemptuously at the rough-faced big man and the long-haired man, shot a glance at the youngster, and said in a cold voice, “Catch them all for me!”
His followers heeded his order and besieged the rough-faced man and the long-haired man.
The youngster who had first mounted the horse had already dashed out for several zhang. Two other followers chased after him.
The rough-faced man and the long-haired man fought back fearlessly. Their skills were not bad. However, they were outnumbered and defeated.
The youngster saw that his eldest brother and second brother were trapped. He roared and galloped back to join the fight.
“Old Three, are you stupid? What are you running back for?” The long-haired man furiously glared at him.
Before he could speak, the youngster received a punch in the chest. The rough-faced big man rushed to help him.
Unfortunately, it was hard to beat the enemies’ four hands with two fists. The three brothers were only passively beaten.
“Sir, there’s another one sleeping there,” an underling reported after seeing Lei Tie.
The rough-faced man hurriedly spoke, “Ma Renjie, don’t mess around! That man is not with us!”
Lei Tie opened his eyes and looked at a spider crawling on the beam of the four-cornered pavilion.
The middle-aged man who had not dismounted sneered and disdainfully said, “Beat him together!”
Two underlings laughed as they rushed to Lei Tie.
Lei Tie lay still. Suddenly, he lifted his left leg and swept across them.
The two underlings screamed as they flew out of the four-cornered pavilion and fell heavily on the ground. One of them rolled a few times and happened to stop in front of the black horse.
Seeing the tender grass in front of it was crushed, the black horse looked down at the underling. It puffed out air from its nose, raised its left front hoof, and kicked him.
The poor underling let out a shrill cry and flew out again before lying on the ground, unable to move.
The black horse wagged its tail and continued to graze as if nothing had happened.
The youngster looked at Lei Tie with admiration. The man has personality, so does his horse!
Ma Renjie’s face turned dark. He said, “What are you stupefied for? Go!”
Immediately, more than half of the underlings charged toward Lei Tie.
Lei Tie sat up. Without his butt leaving the bench, his two fists attacked. Four of the underlings were beaten to the ground, forming a human pyramid.
Two crafty followers quietly crept up behind him.
Lei Tie reached behind him as though he had eyes on behind his back and timely grabbed the two sneaky fists and twisted them at will.
“Arghhh—”
The miserable scream struck the terror into the heart of the listeners.
The remaining three followers put on an attacking posture and stared at Lei Tie warily, but they dared not go forward.
Ma Renjie’s face sunk as deep as water. He was aware that he had encountered a hard obstacle today. He didn’t dare to court his ruin. He could only stare at Lei Tie with hatred and gritted his teeth as he said, “Pull—”
As if receiving amnesty, the underlings quickly mounted their horses and fled. The sound of the horse’s hooves soon disappeared into the distance.
With a sigh of relief, the three men exchanged a look and walked into the four-cornered pavilion. They bowed with hands folded in the front toward Lei Tie.
“Much thanks for your help, brother!” The rough-faced big man cupped one fist in the other hand as he said, “I’m He Sanzhou1.”
The long-haired man cupped his hands in greeting and said, “I’m He Sihai2.”
“I’m called He Wuhu3,” the youngster said lively.
The rough-faced man asked, “May I ask this brother’s name?”
“Lei Tie,” said Lei Tie.
“It’s a Brother Lei. Nice to meet you.” He Sanzhou solemnly said, “That man and we are enemies that cannot live under the same sky. If Brother Lei wasn’t here today, us three brothers would surely die. If there is a chance in the future, we will surely repay Brother Lei’s great favor!”
He Sihai and He Wuhu said in unison, “Please accept our brothers’ worship.”
Lei Tie lightly said, “No need. It’s simply a slight effort.”
He got up and went into the woods.
“Er… Uhm… Is Brother Lei angry?” Sanzhou and Wuhu looked at Sihai together.
Sihai casually said, “Gone to relieve himself.”
Sanzhou said nothing.
Wuhu pulled Sihai as his eyes were glued to the black horse. “Second Brother, Second Brother. Do you think that horse is a rare breed? That horse is very smart. I saw it deal with Ma Renjie’s men just now.”
Sihai half-heartedly glanced at the black horse and said simply, “No. It’s a common local horse.”
Wuhu knew that the so-called “local horse” was a kind of horse that was very common in terms of coat color, body shape, speed, and blood lineage.
“Unlikely, right?” He didn’t believe it. “Second Brother, take a look again. You can see its body shape, its temperament, and especially its coat color. It’s so beautiful, just like it’s wrapped in black silk. How can it be an ordinary horse?”
“I, am, very, sure!” Sihai touched his chin as he carefully looked at the black horse, “It may have been well raised by its owner, so it looks like an outstanding horse.”
Sanzhou helplessly sighed, “You two, your bodies don’t ache? Do you want some medicine?”
“Yes.” Wuhu felt the pain all over his body and rushed to grab the ointment in Sanzhou’s hand.
“Second Brother, we owe a life-saving grace to Brother Lei. What do you think we can do to repay Brother Lei?” Sanzhou asked.
Sihai shook his head, “Wait for an opportunity.”
Lei Tie entered the woods and went far away before he quietly entered the space. He looked around and did not see Qin Mian. Noticing that the soil in the flower bed was wet, he knew that he had missed his wife. He scooped up a ladle of water and watered the pink ball before leaving the space.
The He’s three brothers watched Lei Tie approach. They were about to say something but Lei Tie lay down on the bench and closed his eyes.
The three brothers could only shut up and decided to wait until he woke up.
The whole night passed in silence.
On the first glimmer of dawn and dew, Lei Tie opened his eyes. He jumped on the horse and continued the journey.
The three brothers were still sleeping.
As the sun rose, the long-haired man opened his eyes first and found that the man had disappeared. He quickly woke up Sanzhou and Wuhu.
“Eldest Brother, Third Brother, get up quickly. Brother Lei is gone!”
“What?” Sanzhou sat up and looked around. He was incomparably disappointed, “How can he just go? Uhm… We don’t even know where he comes from.”
Wuhu regrettably scratched his head, “If I knew it, I would not sleep.”
“Forget it.” Sihai stretched out. “If there is fate, we will meet again.”
……
Lei Tie galloped all the way and rushed into Qingtian Prefecture before the city gate closed. He stayed in the inn where he lodged last time.
There might be people with high martial arts skills in the inn. If they perceived his breath had disappeared, they would be suspicious. Therefore, although Lei Tie had the opportunity to enter the space, he did not enter.
After dawn, he bought fifty silver-thread meat pancakes and went to the biggest brokerage in Qingtian Prefecture after breakfast. The four chefs of Double Xiang House were bought through this brokerage.
The owner of the brokerage was a very shrewd old man. He still had the impression of the reticent young man who had a scar on his face and warmly invited him into the hall.
“Gongzi, please have tea.” The owner asked, “What kind of people are you going to buy this time? You had come once and presumably know that our brokerage is the largest one in Qingtian Prefecture. There are almost all kinds of people. If you can’t buy the right one here, it’s even more impossible to buy in other brokerages of Qingtian.”
Lei Tie said concisely and comprehensively, “Call out all healthy teenagers with irrevocable title deed about 12 to 14 years old.”
“Yes, just a moment, please.” After the owner instructed a staff, he invited Lei Tie, “Have tea.”
Not a while later, the staff came with more than forty teenagers between 12 to 14 years old lined up in a few rows. Some were tall, short, fat, and thin. The teenagers were looking at Lei Tie nervously, not knowing what this man was going to do to buy them. But in any case, they were not eligible to refuse.
“Are you satisfied?” The owner asked. “Don’t worry. These children are in good health. If you don’t believe me, you can ask for a doctor to check.”
Lei Tie didn’t pay him any mind. His sharp eyes swept over the teenagers one by one. He asked in a low voice, “What’s the important thing for a servant to have?”
The owner wisely stopped talking.
The teenagers were puzzled and looked at each other. Some were silent, some answered “cleverness”, some answered “obedience”, some answered “competence”, and some answered “loyalty”.
Note:
Footnotes
- third province
- fourth sea
- fifth lake
