Chapter 22

Guan Hai's blade did not come down; it stopped just at the back of Shi Xun's neck, barely grazing the skin. Hearing the boy speak, "What the hell!" he was puzzled and tilted his head for the third time to ask, "What is this supposed to mean?" The translator was also at a loss: "This... might be a literary reference, or a dialect, I don't understand it either..."

Guan Hai scratched his head, then put away his blade and pointed at Shi Xun: "How about it, can you speak now?" A little girl shouted from the side: "Daring to deceive my father, cut them both down!" By "both," she meant Shi Xun and Shi Jun, the two brothers.

Shi Xun hadn't figured out how to explain yet, but Guan Hai waved his hand first: "He's not lying to me." He looked around at everyone and said steadily: "I've seen this before. Some people lose their parents, some lose their children, and in a moment of shock, their qi and mind get confused, and they can't speak. Even the great virtuous teacher's talisman water can't cure it. Hey, the great virtuous teacher is truly a god; he called the person over, gave a lecture, and the person could speak right away. He told us: 'You don't have the power to lecture, but if you encounter this illness, try to scare them. When a person is truly desperate, at the brink of life and death, even a mute can shout, let alone someone who could speak before.' Today's test shows that the great virtuous teacher's teachings are truly profound!"

Shi Xun thought to himself, "Damn, I haven't even come up with a good reason, and you've already solved the problem for me. Is this possible? What, Zhang Jue cures muteness by lecturing, is he a psychologist?"

"Is that so," the little girl was still a bit confused, "then don't cut them, let them speak."

Guan Hai waved his hand again: "Forget it. The great virtuous teacher said, 'loyal ministers are bullshit, filial sons must be respected.' This boy lost his voice from crying over his father's death, he's a filial son, so he doesn't need to speak." He pointed at Shi Jun: "And this one, who dared to stand in front of his brother and plead for mercy, is quite loyal. Let him off too."

Shi Jun, who had been holding his breath, felt his whole body go limp and leaned on Shi Xun's shoulder, almost knocking him over. On the brink of life and death, although Shi Xun didn't collapse, he felt his forehead throb, his bones tremble, and his organs tighten, as if he were in a nightmare.

Guan Hai pointed to Zheng Yi: "You speak." Zheng Yi's legs were still shaking, his neck stiff, but he still gritted his teeth and refused: "No, kill me if you want."

Guan Hai smiled coldly: "Good, you have spirit, I like it! I'll give you a quick death." The big knife was raised again. Shi Xun, who had just escaped death, had a wild thought, shrugged his shoulders, shook off Shi Jun, and stepped forward to block Zheng Yi: "This is the son of Zheng Kangcheng, you can't kill him!"

"Zheng Kangcheng?" Guan Hai was surprised, "Is he the Zheng Xuan from Gaomi?"

Shi Xun vaguely remembered that the "Book of the Later Han" mentioned that Zheng Xuan once sought refuge in Xuzhou, and when he returned home, he encountered a large Yellow Turban army. Upon hearing his name, the Yellow Turban rebels all bowed and let him pass, without any harassment. Shi Xun had always been skeptical of this account. Zheng Xuan wasn't a benevolent official who had directly benefited the people, and a scholar, how could the Yellow Turban rebels know his name and respect him? Is this possible?

But after hearing Guan Hai's words about "loyal ministers are bullshit, filial sons must be respected," he felt he shouldn't underestimate these Yellow Turban rebels. Zhang Jue's political slogan was to change the heavens and the earth, to replace the dynasty, not to kill all corrupt officials and landlords. Perhaps the conflict between them and the scholars wasn't so irreconcilable. Moreover, this small group of Yellow Turban rebels even had a "translator," not just country bumpkins. Maybe mentioning Zheng Xuan's name would work.

Anyway, Guan Hai had just said he wouldn't kill him, so the possibility of immediately turning against him wasn't high. If Guan Hai listened to him and spared Zheng Yi, wouldn't he be forming a connection with the Zheng family? If he could return alive, he could ask Zheng Yi to put in a good word for him, and maybe Zheng Xuan would take him as a disciple. Even if Guan Hai didn't listen and said, "Who is Zheng Kangcheng?" or "Zheng Xuan's son can still be cut," the worst-case scenario would be, "I just said it, you do as you please."

He took a gamble, and it paid off. Guan Hai looked Zheng Yi up and down for a while and nodded slightly: "So you are Mr. Zheng's son, no wonder you have such spirit. Mr. Zheng's son cannot be killed..." He suddenly exhaled and shouted: "Next!"

The next one was a slave from the Wang family. His master was already dead, so he knelt down and shouted the slogan three times, then pleaded with Guan Hai: "I couldn't protect my master's life, and I will die if I return. I am willing to join you in rebellion, please take me in."

Guan Hai patted his shoulder: "Good. But we are not rebelling, we are the Yellow Turban Army, overthrowing the cannibalistic sky to build a peaceful Yellow Sky world! The cycle of heaven, the sky is dying, the Yellow Sky must rise, this is the will of heaven, the decree of the Central Yellow Taiyi!"

He then ordered his men to untie the slave and take him aside to be brainwashed... or rather, comforted. Finally, he stood in front of Wang Zhong: "You, will you speak?"

Wang Zhong rolled his eyes: "I won't speak, and I don't want to die."

Guan Hai laughed: "Don't want to speak and don't want to die? There's no such good thing in the world."

Wang Zhong replied: "My father is the magistrate of Gaomi, actually the chief clerk of Beihai. All the arrangements in the county are in my mind. I am willing to exchange this information for my life."

Before Guan Hai could ask, the "translator" ran up to explain: "He says his father is the acting magistrate of Gaomi, his official position is the chief clerk of Beihai, a close aide to Kong Rong. So he knows all the arrangements in the county to defend against us, and hopes to exchange this information for his life."

"Good," Guan Hai sneered, "If it's true, I'll spare your life. If you lie, I won't cut off your head, but I'll flay your skin!" He ordered his men: "Take him aside and ask in detail."

As they pushed Wang Zhong away for questioning, Shi Xun, Shi Jun, Zheng Yi, and Shen Yuan were still tied together, standing in the middle of the Yellow Turban rebels, none daring to raise their heads or speak. Shi Xun was wondering when Guan Hai would let them go when he felt a wet breeze on his face. He turned his head and saw a pretty little face right in front of him, less than ten centimeters away. He almost bumped noses with her.

It was Guan Hai's daughter, the little girl. He wondered how such a big man could have such a delicate daughter. The little girl was blowing on Shi Xun's face. When he turned his head, she raised her fine eyebrows, opened her bright almond eyes, and whispered: "Boy, you hurt two of us. Father said he won't kill you today, but I have to leave a mark on you to avenge them!"

Shi Xun had been playing the hero, and now he couldn't back down. He stubbornly... changed the subject: "You're younger than me, what's your name?"

The little girl pouted and suddenly, with lightning speed, pulled out a copper-tipped arrow from behind her and "pfft" stabbed it into Shi Xun's thigh. "Aah~" Before Shi Xun's cry was over, the little girl pulled out the arrow, covered in blood, and stabbed it into his shoulder again.

Shi Xun screamed again, and this time it finally caught the attention of Guan Hai, who was questioning someone nearby. He raised his head and shouted: "What are you doing, Sier?"

"Father, don't worry," the little girl replied smugly, "I'm not killing him, just letting some blood."

Guan Hai frowned: "Don't mess around! These rich boys are weak, a little blood might kill them. I promised not to kill him. Do you want me to be a liar and be punished by the Central Yellow Taiyi? Quickly bandage his wounds."

The little girl pouted and muttered, "It's not that easy to die..." She called to a nearby thug: "You do it..." Suddenly, she heard Guan Hai shout: "You hurt him, you bandage him!"

Although his shoulder and thigh were in excruciating pain, Shi Xun instinctively found the little girl's pouting face quite cute... well, maybe it was just a normal male's lustful instinct or a perverted uncle's nature. He saw the little girl reluctantly muttering, pulling out a long piece of hemp cloth from somewhere, biting it with her front teeth, and tearing it into two pieces. Before bandaging, she poked the wound with her finger: "Does it hurt? Cry if it does?"

Shi Xun sucked in a breath of cold air, but he refused to admit defeat in front of the little girl, gritting his teeth and forcing out the words: "Hurt, hurt your sister..."

The little girl, while bandaging his wound, asked: "What's 'your sister'?" Shi Xun, full of resentment, replied: "You are my sister." Then he "hissed" and took another deep breath of cold air—little girl was poking his wound again.

Finally, he was bandaged, but without disinfecting with alcohol, he wondered if it would get infected... well, there was no alcohol in this era, so... forget it... He heard the little girl whisper to him: "Remember, my father is a pig, so he's called Guan Hai. I'm a snake, so I'm called Guan Si... If you have the guts, come find me for revenge!"

Guan Si, not "four" but "Si," was indeed a venomous... shiny silver ringed snake. Shi Xun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What revenge? Let's call it even, okay?" Guan Si glared at him: "Even your sister!"

The Yellow Turban rebels held Shi Xun and the others for a night. The next morning, they untied them and let them go. The five young men, hungry, thirsty, and sore all over, supported each other as they walked down the mountain. When they reached the mountain pass and couldn't see any Yellow Turban rebels, Shen Yuan stammered: "In times of crisis, we must act quickly... just shouting a few words doesn't count... I was cursing these bandits in my heart—Zi Chun, how could you reveal the county's plans to these bandits?"

Wang Zhong rolled his eyes: "I will go to the capital to confess—Guan Hai is a Yellow Turban leader, and he brought a dozen men into the county to gather information. By telling him the truth, he might not dare to invade. Moreover, it will take time for him to return to Langya and gather troops, and we can redeploy in time."

Shi Xun nodded silently—this boy had some brains, and his words weren't just an excuse, but had some insight. He understood Shen Yuan's real intention in questioning Wang Zhong—just to shift responsibility and find someone to share the blame, so everyone would be on the same boat, unable to act alone. So he said: "We have been humiliated this time. When we return, we don't need to explain everything to avoid misunderstandings."

"Yes, yes," Shen Yuan nodded, "If we mention those lies, ignorant people might think we all shouted to get out."

"We don't need to mention those," Shi Xun quickly said, "Just say the Yellow Turban rebels admired Mr. Zheng Kangcheng and let us go."

Suddenly, there was a "rip," and Zheng Yi tore a long strip of cloth from his robe, threw it at Shen Yuan, and said solemnly: "I must tell the truth to my father, although I will keep the details of the initial incident to myself, but I will no longer associate with you!" Then Wang Zhong also tore a strip of cloth from his robe, threw it at Shen Yuan, and silently supported Zheng Yi, walking ahead.

"You, you..." Shen Yuan's face was cold, and he stomped his feet, "Why be so pretentious!"

Shi Xun thought, "Being afraid of death isn't a sin. I almost shouted that slogan yesterday too." He patted Shen Yuan's shoulder: "Everyone has their own path. Brother Shen, don't blame them. Let's go, we have a long way to go back to the county..."

——————————I am a happy divider————————————

Today, I got a recommendation from the main site's six-frequency ad (even though it's just text, but who can blame me for not having a cover yet), and I'm really happy, thank you to the editor. They say that after such an ad, recommendation votes and collections will "soar," but I don't know if it's true.

So, to celebrate, I'll add an extra update. By the way, I'll ask the book friends, is anyone willing to play a non-historical NPC role in the book? For example, the translator in these two chapters, who might appear again in the future...

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