Chapter Seventy-three: Relentless Pursuit

At dawn, An Yi woke up and, glancing at the few bundles on the cabinet, suddenly remembered something. She sat up abruptly and said anxiously, “Mother, Second Brother, we shouldn’t be packing our things. Quickly, put everything back where it was.”

Madam Luo and An Jian looked at her in confusion.

“If we don’t know anything will happen to us, how could we possibly pack in advance?” An Yi took up the bundles and began removing the clothes one by one. “Since he can hire assassins to kill us, he’ll likely have people come to check and confirm whether we’re truly dead. We need to deceive not just Granduncle and the others in the capital, but also keep everything in this house unchanged. Any sign of something amiss will draw suspicion, and we’ll be in danger on the road.”

Understanding at last, Madam Luo and An Jian returned all the packed belongings to their original places.

An Yi put the clothes back into the chest, opened the wooden box containing their money, poured out all the cash onto the bed, untied the string holding a hundred coins, scattered them back into the box, and divided the rest of the coins, silver pieces, and banknotes into three portions, placing them into three separate pouches. “Mother, each of us should carry some, just in case.”

Madam Luo and An Jian took the pouches and tucked them into their clothes.

Unconsciously, the two of them had started following An Yi’s lead in everything.

The autumn rain had not ceased, falling from last night into this morning. The chill of early winter crept in, piercing to the bone. With no need to pack, Madam Luo sat in the room, lost in thought. An Qinghe’s heartlessness and cruelty wounded her deeply. She’d heard in plays how men, once rich, easily abandoned their wives, but never imagined such a thing would befall her. The man who betrayed her not only wanted her dead, but even refused to spare his own children.

His own children!

Madam Luo’s face changed dramatically, and she asked in terror, “Xier, your eldest brother is in the capital. Will he be in danger?”

“Mother, he’s a military official, a second-rank general. Eldest Brother is a scholar, without rank or title. They won’t cross paths, don’t worry. Eldest Brother won’t be in danger.” An Yi had already considered this. Without the convenience of modern communication, there was no way to warn An Kang, so far away, to be on guard against An Qinghe. If An Kang ever found out An Qinghe was his father, he would surely seek him out, putting his life at risk. But to spare Madam Luo from worry, An Yi forced herself to remain calm and lied to her.

Madam Luo felt somewhat reassured.

“Mother, could you make some steamed buns for the journey?” An Yi, afraid Madam Luo would fall back into a daze and start worrying about other things, found her something to do to distract her.

Madam Luo went to the kitchen to make buns.

With Madam Luo out of the way, An Yi took a small hoe, dug a hole in the corner of the yard, and hid the handwritten poison formulas inside.

Night fell, the rain ceased, and a damp breeze gently swept through, sending the last withered leaves fluttering from the branches. Before the leaves touched the ground, another figure had already appeared in the courtyard.

Dressed in black, Wei Yang arrived as promised. He entered the house and closed the door. “Everything is arranged. Tomorrow, once you enter the city, go straight to the Corner Tower. I’ll snatch you away on the street.”

“We need to sell the herbs first, then go to the Corner Tower and pretend to shop. That way, it’ll look like an accident,” An Yi said.

After Wei Yang left, the family of three washed up and went to bed, unable to sleep through the night.

The next morning, after breakfast, Madam Luo picked up the bundle containing the buns, while An Jian and An Yi carried the bundles of herbs.

Just before leaving, An Yi tugged at Madam Luo’s sleeve. “Mother, whatever you do, don’t cry, or people will get suspicious.”

Madam Luo covered her mouth. “I know, I won’t cry. We’ll come back—this is our home.”

An Jian sniffed hard. “Mother, let’s go.”

At the entrance to the village, several people were already waiting. When they saw Madam Luo and her children approach, they nodded in greeting. Soon after, Luo Chunli arrived with the ox cart. Everyone climbed aboard, and the cart wobbled its way toward the city.

Madam Luo turned back, gazing longingly at the village where she was born and raised. She slowly closed her eyes, forcing back her tears.

“Qiu Mei, are you feeling unwell?” a woman asked with concern.

Madam Luo opened her eyes and managed a smile. “I worked late on embroidery last night.”

“Qiu Mei, your Zhuzi is so promising, going to the capital for the exams. You’ll soon be a lady of rank and won’t have to work for a little embroidery money.”

“That’s right. If you wear yourself out, you’ll suffer. How will you enjoy your son’s success then?”

“When your Zhuzi becomes an official, he’ll surely bring you to live in the capital. It’s so much more lively than this little place.”

“Well, it’s where the emperor lives, of course it’s lively.”

“I’ve heard…”

The women chattered away, their conversation drifting further and further.

Madam Luo had no mind to join in. She hung her head and clutched the bundle to her chest.

After a while, their conversation turned to the Liu family. Yesterday at noon, a group of men had stormed to Zhu Fucai’s house, searching fiercely for Cong Liu. But when they broke down the locked door, the house was empty; Liu’s wife and her children had vanished.

Zhu Fucai had no parents, no siblings, only three cousins in the village, but his addiction to gambling had severed those ties long ago. With no interest in Liu’s wife and children’s disappearance, they made no effort to look for them.

The affairs of the Zhu family had nothing to do with the An family. At this moment, An Yi had no mind to meddle in others’ matters. She was thinking only of how to prevent An Kang from meeting An Qinghe before they reached the capital, to keep him from that deadly fate.

The ox cart stopped outside the city gate. Madam Luo led An Jian and An Yi inside without daring to look back at Luo Chunli, afraid that even a glance would bring tears and betray their secret.

Madam Luo went to Red Embroidery Workshop, An Jian to Thousand Gold Hall, while An Yi headed to Ji Huai Hall. They agreed to meet at the bun shop at the street corner in half an hour.

“Xier, do you want to write a letter to your elder brother?” Uncle Chen checked the herbs and asked with a smile.

“Yes, thank you, Uncle Chen.” Delighted, An Yi borrowed pen and ink from the resident physician. But when she took up the brush, she did not know what to write. After a moment’s thought, she wrote, “Elder Brother, Zhu Erhu of our village, after being struck from the Expeditionary Army’s rolls, returned and mentioned that our father died in battle four years ago attacking Hening City…”

An Yi hesitated. If she wrote this, An Kang would be deeply affected. To mourn such a beast of a man, it was not worth it. She crumpled the letter and changed her approach: “Elder Brother, the capital is dazzling and full of hidden dangers. Do not trust others’ feigned kindness, and be cautious in all things. Do not seek power or claim kinship hastily for the sake of a name. Once you pass the spring examination and bring Mother to the capital, then consider reconnecting. Your sister, Xier.”

She placed the letter in an envelope with a sigh, hoping An Kang would understand her meaning. “Uncle Chen, I’ll trouble you with this.”

Uncle Chen smiled, took the letter, and handed An Yi three taels and four qian of silver.

“Thank you, Uncle Chen. I’m leaving now.” When An Yi arrived at the bun shop, she saw An Jian buying a small knife at a nearby stall. Her eyes darkened slightly as she walked over. “Second Brother, I’d like to buy a knife too.”

An Jian glanced at her, chose another knife, and handed it to her. “Be careful not to hurt yourself.”

An Yi tucked the knife into her pouch.

The siblings waited for a while until Madam Luo arrived. The three of them headed to the Corner Tower. To make it easier for Wei Yang to grab them, they walked in a straight line, two steps apart, stopping and starting along the way.

Madam Luo’s face was taut with anxiety, her hands gripping the cloth bag tightly.

An Jian glanced left and right, as if searching for something.

An Yi, walking in the middle, seemed the most at ease, occasionally stopping to look at things at the stalls, asking prices just as she would any other day.

Wei Yang had already been waiting. He drove a horse carriage out from an alley, stopped beside An Jian, grabbed him by the collar, and tossed him into the carriage.

An Yi was next.

Then Madam Luo was captured as well.

With one hand on the reins and the other grabbing his targets, Wei Yang moved with swift, practiced skill.

An Yi steadied Madam Luo and shouted on purpose, “Help!”

Her cry came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had covered her mouth.

Before bystanders could react, the carriage had already dashed out the city gate and disappeared.

Wei Yang had chosen the Corner Tower street precisely because it was sparsely populated and close to the city gate. An Yi’s shout had confirmed for the witnesses that this was indeed an abduction.

Someone hurried to report to the authorities. The gate guards chased after the carriage for a dozen meters, but lost sight of it and had to return.

By late afternoon, the returning villagers had all arrived, but Luo Chunli still had not seen Madam Luo and her children leave the city. He waited another quarter of an hour, but they did not appear. The villagers, growing impatient, urged him to take the ox cart back.

On the road, someone mentioned the abduction near the Corner Tower, lamenting the chaos of the times. Luo Chunli heard but thought nothing of it.

That night, the An house was dark, and the pouring rain kept the neighbors from noticing anything amiss. The next morning, Zhang Lian came to deliver fish to Madam Luo, found the door locked, and went to ask Luo Fugui.

Luo Fugui found it odd as well and had Luo Dongping break the lock with an axe. Inside, everything was in place, with leftover food still in the cupboard.

Luo Chunli’s face changed slightly. “When I returned yesterday, I heard people say three were abducted in broad daylight in the city.”

“In broad daylight? That’s impossible… It couldn’t have been Qiu Mei and her children,” Yang’s wife murmured in disbelief.

Whether it was or wasn’t, they had to find out. Luo Fugui and his two brothers took the ox cart to the city to inquire. Because of An Kang, the yamen runners were quite respectful. When they heard who they were seeking, they were shocked and hurried to report to the county magistrate.

Upon hearing that the abducted might be the mother and siblings of the scholar An, the magistrate nearly fell from his chair. He summoned the head constable. “Take your men and search at once. You must find them.”

The constable gathered his men and left the city.

By then, twelve hours had passed. Wei Yang had already driven the carriage far from Lingling County. At dusk, the rain came down in sheets.

“Brother, the rain is too heavy. Let’s find a place to take shelter,” Madam Luo said from inside the carriage.

Wei Yang wiped the rain from his face and urged the horses onward. Soon, he abruptly reined in and called out, “Since you’re here, why not show yourself? No need to skulk in the shadows.”

“How bold. I hope you’ll be just as bold when you meet the master,” came a mocking reply.

Before the words had faded, the clash of swords rang out outside.

Madam Luo clutched An Yi tightly, while An Jian opened the carriage door.

In the darkness, only the cold glint of two swords could be seen. Wei Yang and his assailant, both dressed in black, moved too swiftly to make out. A bolt of lightning split the sky, and in that brief illumination, An Yi saw the two figures separate. Her heart clenched—who had won?

After a moment, Wei Yang returned, leapt onto the carriage, and smiled at the three inside. “It’s over.”

“We’ve already left traces,” An Yi said with a bitter smile. In a single day’s journey from Lingling, assassins had already caught up. The road to the capital would be perilous.

“That was his assignment. I forcibly took it from him, which aroused his suspicion. He’s dead now; there won’t be others,” Wei Yang said, closing the carriage door and flicking the reins.

The next two days proved Wei Yang right; all was calm. An Yi’s nerves relaxed a little, but on the third day, as the carriage rounded a bend, two men in black blocked the way ahead.

The man on the left, arms crossed, called out, “Wei Yang, where are you rushing off to?”

Wei Yang wasted no words. He drew the flexible sword from his waist and leapt into battle.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wei Yang exchanged dozens of moves with the two. Alone against two, he still held the advantage. An Yi narrowed her eyes—Wei Yang was clearly a top master among assassins.

Suddenly, Wei Yang slipped and fell backward.

“Uncle!” An Jian cried out.

Before his words had faded, Wei Yang had already kicked one of the assailants off the mountain. A shrill scream echoed as he fell.

The other, startled by Wei Yang’s ferocity, hesitated, giving Wei Yang an opening. With a flurry of attacks, Wei Yang drove him back, then pierced his chest with a single thrust.

Wei Yang curled his lip in a cold smile, withdrew his sword, and blood sprayed forth.

Madam Luo cried out and closed her eyes.

An Jian’s face turned pale. He hadn’t seen clearly in the night before, but now it was all too real and bloody.

An Yi remained calm; she was no stranger to blood from her days in surgery.

As Wei Yang approached, An Yi noticed his arm was wounded. “Do you have any medicine for stopping bleeding?”

Wei Yang produced a small bottle and tossed it to her.

An Yi applied the medicine, then took the handkerchief from Madam Luo and bandaged his arm. “Uncle, last time there was one, this time two—next time, I fear there will be three or even more. Should we switch to traveling by water to the capital?”

Wei Yang pondered for a moment. “When we reach the next town, I’ll find us a boat.”

At dusk, they reached a small town and checked into an inn.

Several guests sat inside. The attendant greeted them warmly. “Are you here for a meal or lodging?”

“Lodging. Two rooms,” Wei Yang replied, tossing him a piece of silver. “Take the horse to the back, and bring our meals to the rooms.”

“Certainly, honored guests. Upstairs, please.” He led them to two adjoining rooms on the left. “Please wait a moment; I’ll bring your meals up right away.”

The four settled in. Madam Luo asked with concern, “Brother, how is your arm? Is it serious?”

“It’s just a scratch, nothing serious,” Wei Yang replied with a smile.

Just then, four more people entered the inn. Had the An family been present, they would have recognized them as Mrs. Liu and her three children, now in disguise. Mrs. Liu requested a large room and some food, then followed the attendant upstairs, taking the room furthest on the right.

—End of Chapter—

Catching cold again and again in this wretched weather—must I really be forced to get an injection?