Chapter 7

"Visiting a friend!" Tuniu'er waved his arm carelessly and was about to squeeze past the village head. The village head chuckled, grabbed Tuniu'er by the collar, and kicked him out of the gate.

Tuniu'er fell on his back, his buttocks almost split into pieces, and he winced in pain. He got up and shouted, "Old killer, why did you sneak attack me? If you have the guts, come out and let's fight to the death."

The village head didn't mind at all and sneered. "With your little tricks, if I fought you to the death, wouldn't I be disgracing myself? From your skills, you've only learned some street tricks. You're not even a match for one of my hands. Come back when you've properly learned some martial arts."

Tuniu'er grumbled and tried to charge forward again but was stopped by Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao bowed and said, "Sir, we are indeed visiting a friend. Please let us through."

"Who are you visiting?" The village head lowered his eyelids and asked indifferently, still blocking the door with no intention of moving. "State your names and addresses."

"We are from Qingyunli. I am Liang Xiao, and he is Tuniu'er. We are looking for someone named Huan Sheng in Shili. Do you know him?"

"Huan Sheng?" The village head pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and examined Liang Xiao and Tuniu'er again. "You've come to the wrong place. There's no one named Huan Sheng here, not even anyone with the surname Huan."

"Ah?" Tuniu'er was greatly disappointed and pulled Liang Xiao to leave. "Let's go back and ask again. Maybe he got the name wrong."

Liang Xiao broke free from Tuniu'er's hand and smiled even more. "Sir, from your skills, you must have been in the military, right?"

The village head nodded but didn't speak, just staring at Liang Xiao. The smile on his face disappeared, and his eyes showed a hint of unease. Liang Xiao noticed all this. When he mentioned Huan Sheng, he felt something was off with the village head, and now he was even more convinced there was a problem.

"Indeed, I served for over a decade and retired last year."

Liang Xiao bowed again. "Where did you serve, in the capital or at the border?"

The village head stared at Liang Xiao for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Little trickster, you speak with some sense, but how can you lack such knowledge? How could a subject of a vassal state serve in the capital or at the border? I served in Kuaiji."

"I doubt that." Liang Xiao also smiled, with a hint of cunning. "From what I see, you weren't in Kuaiji. There are no organized cavalry units there." Liang Xiao pointed at the village head's slightly bowed legs.

The village head's cheeks twitched, and his smile looked forced and somewhat sinister. "I was the personal guard of a general, often riding and serving."

Liang Xiao changed the subject. "Served for over a decade, with all limbs intact and not a single scar on your face. If you were a personal guard, it's not impossible."

The village head snorted and looked at Liang Xiao with a fake smile, his hand behind his back clenching and unclenching.

"But after retiring, you have no merits to your name and are only a village head. That's a bit strange. Did you always retreat in battles, or is it because of your identity that you couldn't be rewarded?"

The village head narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Little trickster, you have good eyes. But your mouth is too loose. Don't you know that words are like arrows, easy to release but hard to retract?"

Liang Xiao smiled and said, "How about this, sir, let me in to look for Huan Sheng. I'll keep my mouth shut and pretend I never saw you, okay?"

The village head raised an eyebrow and hesitated for a moment. "Really?"

"A gentleman's word is as binding as a team of four horses."

The village head nodded and slowly walked into the gatehouse, yawned, and closed his eyes. Liang Xiao didn't dare to delay and quickly pulled Tuniu'er through the gate. Tuniu'er rubbed his sore buttocks and looked at Liang Xiao with admiration.

"Axia, what did you see that made that old man so nervous?"

"Shut up, quickly ask around if anyone here has the surname Huan." Liang Xiao whispered, "I only knew this area was a mix of good and bad, but I didn't expect to encounter someone like this today. Keep your mouth shut, don't say anything, or you'll ruin their cover and bring disaster upon yourself."

Tuniu'er rubbed his still sore stomach and nodded repeatedly.

The two asked several households but found no one with the surname Huan, let alone Huan Sheng.

Liang Xiao felt something was off and specifically asked a few elders, but still found nothing. Tuniu'er wanted to ask another household, but Liang Xiao stopped him.

"Stop looking. It's understandable that young people don't know, but even the elderly who have lived here for decades don't know. Either there's no such person, or they're not willing to say."

"Why wouldn't they say?" Tuniu'er looked puzzled. "Do we look like bad people?"

Liang Xiao thought to himself, you don't look like a good person. With half your face swollen and walking awkwardly, everyone looks at you strangely, either in fear or disdain. Even I get several strange looks, and I really want to pretend I don't know you.

"Let's talk outside." Liang Xiao pulled Tuniu'er out of Shili. As they passed the gate, the village head was still pretending to sleep, but his lips twitched slightly. Tuniu'er was about to look back but was stopped by Liang Xiao. "Don't look. Do you want to cause more trouble?"

"What trouble did I cause?" Tuniu'er asked carelessly. "Isn't it just a deserter or a fugitive? I've seen many. This city is full of them." Tuniu'er gestured with his hand. "I dare say that within ten miles, anyone with a foreign accent could be a fugitive."

Liang Xiao sighed inwardly, feeling a bit regretful. When he first heard the prisoner say his son used to live in Shili, he felt something was off. When he met the village head who was clearly hiding his identity, he was already suspicious. Now, hearing Tuniu'er, he was sure there was a problem.

Huan Sheng was indeed not in Shili, and the prisoner might have set a trap for him.

As Tuniu'er said, Guangling City was never short of fugitives. The Han Dynasty was not far from ancient times, and the风气 of wandering scholars was strong. Many people sought wealth or refuge by attaching themselves to high officials or wealthy and powerful feudal lords. King Liu Bi of Wu secretly plotted a rebellion and for decades recruited fugitives and rebels. From then on, Guangling City became a haven for wandering scholars and fugitives.

When King Wu of Wu rebelled, Guangling City was the place where the oath was taken. The families of his subordinates' generals were held as hostages in Guangling City. After the defeat of Wu and Chu, the main culprits were executed, the accomplices were captured, and the ordinary soldiers were pardoned and allowed to live in Guangling City, becoming registered citizens of Jiangdu Kingdom.

The area around Shili was where the wandering scholars lived, just as Tuniu'er said, those with foreign accents might have been fugitives. The village head was no exception. His background suggested that he, like the prisoner Huan Jun, was likely a former rebel under King Liu Bi of Wu.

Liang Xiao took a few steps and then hesitated, turning back. The village head opened his eyes and looked at Liang Xiao lazily, tilting his mouth. "Little trickster, since you left, why are you back?"

Liang Xiao showed an innocent and harmless smile. "Sir, can I ask a question?"

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