Chapter 11

The subsequent developments can be described with an ancient poem: "When the mountains and waters seem to have no path, willows and flowers suddenly reveal another village."

No, for the era Afly is in, that cannot be considered an ancient poem, but rather a future poem...

In any case, the master and his two servants rode away from the Shi family manor. They had not gone three li when the sky began to darken, the afterglow spreading across the land—probably around the second hour of the dog. Suddenly, a fiery dragon could be seen approaching along the road. Shi Xun, who had something on his mind and was already nervous, quickly dismounted and pulled his attendants into a nearby grove. The three of them cautiously peeked out and saw a column of soldiers, at least five or six hundred, each holding long spears, halberds, ringed knives, and iron swords, hurrying toward the Shi family manor.

"Damn!" Shi Xun clenched his teeth. "Could it be that the commandery has sent troops ahead of time?"

His guess was not far off. The commandery clerk had just sent someone across the river to inform Shi Yi, but was then captured by Governor Zhang. Governor Zhang immediately ordered the commandant to lead the troops to search for and capture the Shi family father and son, while he himself would follow with the main army the next day.

Shi Xun immediately wanted to ride a horse and take a shortcut back to the manor to warn his father, but Afly and Lunjia firmly held him back. According to Lunjia, even if they had wings or the ability to ride the wind, they would not be able to make it in time. The young master would be walking into a trap. Afly, on the other hand, fabricated a reason, saying, "If the governor wants to harm the master and his son, the young master's return will only be a constant worry. As the saying goes, 'If you don't cut the roots, the grass will grow again in the spring.' The master will not be harmed if the young master does not return, but if the young master returns, the master will be in danger!"

Shi Xun glanced at Afly, but over the years, Afly had often spoken strangely, and Shi Xun took it as a foreign proverb without further questioning.

According to Afly and Lunjia, if the master was prepared, he should be able to escape. The young master should follow the original plan and sail back to his hometown in Beihai. Moreover, with their small numbers, facing hundreds of commandery soldiers, they would be like three little ants. Even if they returned, it would be of no help. It would be better to go back to Beihai and find relatives to think of a plan.

But Shi Xun refused to listen—returning to Beihai? It would be too late. Even if they could come up with a brilliant plan, it would not bring his father back to life! So he finally took his two servants, abandoned their horses, and cautiously followed the soldiers back to the vicinity of the manor. From a distance, they saw the soldiers shout and scatter, surrounding the Shi family manor. Then, a commotion arose from a corner of the manor, and someone shouted, "Don't let the traitor escape!"

After a while, the soldiers suddenly burst into cheers, "We've captured the old traitor!" Shi Xun's eyes were bloodshot, he drew his sword, and was about to rush over to save his father, but Lunjia forcefully held him back.

Afly still insisted on his baseless claims, believing that as long as the son did not walk into the trap, the father's life would be spared. This was something even Afly did not believe. Shi Xun was not a famous hero, and Governor Zhang would not leave his father alive out of fear of him. But if he did not say this, seeing Shi Xun struggling to return to the manor, he would have no choice but to follow, and they would both die. Afly, a man from two thousand years in the future, did not want to die with the ancient stone.

Shi Xun was completely at a loss. He forced himself to believe Afly's fabricated reasons, his anger, fear, and worry intertwining and brewing. In the end, he decided to wait until midnight to sneak into the manor to investigate. "It's getting dark, the commandery soldiers won't leave the manor. I know the layout of the manor well. I'll sneak in quietly. If I can save my father, we'll escape together. If not, I'll die with him."

But the investigation was a trap, and he probably met the same fate as his father—the governor hated them so much that he would not leave them alive. Lunjia, while protecting the young master, was hit by several spears and became a bloodied man. He did not run far before informing Afly that the Shi family father and son had both died, then fell to the ground and soon died.

Only Afly was left, unable to help due to night blindness, and could only wait outside the manor, luckily escaping with his life. After careful consideration, the desire to live better gradually overcame the desire to survive, and he decided to take a risk. He decided to impersonate Shi Xun and go to Beihai to deceive people.

He had thought everything through. First, Lelang was in a remote corner, and Beihai was in Qingzhou. In this era, the frequency of people's movements was extremely low, so as long as he stayed in the Beihai Shi family and did not go out to meet people, his lies would not be exposed. Second, Shi Xun was only a little over a year old when his father brought him to Lelang, and Shi Yi had not left any tokens. No one in the hometown would recognize the truth.

More importantly, Afly, having lived in the Shi family manor for years, had become a gossip expert, and had thoroughly investigated all kinds of matters, from top to bottom, inside and out, including the birthdays of the Shi family father and son, the lack of birthmarks on Shi Xun, the height and build of Shi Xun's deceased mother, and her family background. There was nothing he did not know. To put it this way, the servants of the Shi family might not know much about their masters' private lives, and the masters might not know much about their servants. In the entire manor, including other manors, Afly knew the most about matters related to the Shi family. If he said he was second, no one would dare to claim first!

So, after changing his appearance, he ran straight to Nanpu. According to common sense, although Governor Zhang wanted to wipe out the Shi family, he would not care about a single foreign servant escaping, and would not send anyone to chase him. But it's better to be prepared. If someone reported that the foreign servant was carrying a personal letter from Lord Shi, intending to seek refuge inland, Governor Zhang might pursue him to avoid complications.

So, without a horse, Afly quickened his pace, traveling day and night, and arrived in Nanpu just before dawn on the fourth day. He boarded the ship that Shi Yi had mentioned. Although the ship's owner recognized Shi Xun, Afly did not need to impersonate him at this point, so he did not care.

The ship's owner, surnamed Qian, asked, "I don't recognize you, sir. May I ask your name and style name?" Afly casually replied, "I am Yang Guo, style name Gaizhi, from Ledu, and I wish to travel to the Central Plains to study."

Ledu was the most northeastern county of Lelang, and he did not believe that this sea-faring man would know all the scholars of Ledu.

Sure enough, Qian the ship's owner bowed repeatedly, "So you are Master Yang. It's a pleasure to meet you. However, the Central Plains are not very peaceful these days. Your journey will be very difficult."

"Oh?" Afly asked knowingly, "How is it not peaceful? As a ship's owner who travels between Qing and You provinces, you must have seen and heard a lot. I would like to learn more."

Afly had followed Shi Xun for several years and had learned the airs of a wealthy man. He could read and had some knowledge of ancient texts, which set him apart from the common people. Therefore, he was not suspected at all and had a pleasant conversation with Qian the ship's owner. Qian even thought, "This Master Yang has no airs of a scholar and does not look down on us merchants. He seems to be a good friend."

According to Qian, at the beginning of the year, the commanderies of Guandong had raised troops to attack Dong Zhuo. The two sides had been fighting fiercely in several battlefields in the Central Plains. In the end, Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang and took the emperor to Chang'an. However, this was a matter of the first half of the year, and Qian's information for the second half was relatively outdated, almost non-existent—Afly definitely knew more.

Afly mainly asked about the situation in Qingzhou, Donglai, and Beihai. According to Qian, the Yellow Turban rebels had frequently invaded Qingzhou in recent years, causing unrest. However, the commandant of Donglai, Cai Boqi, and the governor of Beihai, Kong Wenju, were both virtuous officials who had pacified the refugees and encouraged farming, making things relatively stable.

This season, the northwest wind was the strongest. In theory, the ship should have raised its sails and, with the wind at its side, reached the Shandong Peninsula in less than two days, and then sailed along the coast for about a day to reach the shore of Huang County. However, unexpectedly, just as the destination was in sight, a sudden southeast wind blew, "whoosh," and the ship was blown away from the coast. Then a thunderclap, and a heavy rain poured down.

At that moment, Afly was drinking with Qian in the cabin. The sudden thunder made him, who had a guilty conscience, jump and even drop his chopsticks. Qian comforted him, "Storms at sea are common, Master Yang, there's no need to panic." Afly picked up his chopsticks and, quoting Liu Bei, said, "The power of the thunder is so great." In his heart, he prayed, "Heaven, don't cause any more trouble. Let me reach Beihai safely—this thunder is your farewell. Protect me like Liu Bei, escaping the cage, and from now on, I will be a tiger in the deep forest, a dragon in the vast sea!"

So-called "sincerity brings miracles," but for someone who did not believe in heaven, heaven would not protect him much. After the thunder came a violent storm, and the large ship, in the vast ocean, was like a dumpling in boiling water, rolling and bouncing up and down. In less than half an hour, it capsized, throwing everyone into the sea.

Fortunately, Afly did not have much hope in heaven and had tied his bag firmly to his body and clung to the mast. Before the ship capsized, the mast broke, and Afly dove into the water, then sank "thud, thud, thud"...

------------------ I am a cute divider ------------------

First, thank you to the friends who are reading my book. Some of you might ask, "You're writing about the Three Kingdoms, which we are familiar with, but why don't we see any famous characters?" How is this different from a purely fictional story? Please be patient. The protagonist is still in the Korean Peninsula, where there were no famous people at that time. Soon, the protagonist will head to the Central Plains, and the possibility of famous characters appearing will greatly increase. It's coming, it's coming. Please be patient and enjoy the story. If you like it, please give it a recommendation. Thank you, thank you!

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