Chapter Twenty-Five: Wild Mustard

  Due to the intervention of the government, the Song family did not bother that young man again. And because of this, Qi Xian was not beaten into a pig's head for seeing injustice on the road. The governor saw an opportunity to fawn over the noble person from Kyoto and would not let Zhu Chengxun go easily, immediately taking him to the best restaurant in Zhu Xiantown. In such a situation, Qi Xian naturally wouldn't follow them, having always looked down on those bureaucrats' faces, whether in his past life or now. He had originally planned to take the young man back to the inn, but the other party didn't appreciate it and instead shook off Qi Xian's hand and headed towards the north of the city by himself.

  Just then, Ah Guan finally managed to squeeze over from the crowd. Qi Xi had originally been hit on the back with a stick and any slight movement would trigger pain, instantly making him grit his teeth in agony. Seeing this situation, Ah Guan's face was filled with worry: "Before going out, Young Master Jing instructed me to take care of Young Master Qi. He said he was afraid that Young Master would get into trouble outside for meddling in other people's business. Besides, who knows if that young man is just a servant of this family? After all, it's not a big deal for the master to beat his servant."

  Qī xiāo's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself, "This era is not like the previous one. Everywhere emphasizes equality among people. In Ah Guan's eyes, or perhaps in his opinion, being a servant is a normal thing, and getting beaten is an everyday occurrence. But who was born to be a servant?" He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he watched the young man leave with a stubborn expression on his back. His gaze at Ah Guan also softened, even filled with a hint of pity: "Ah Guan, why don't you have any sympathy for him? Maybe you're lucky to have followed a good master, but how many people are as fortunate as you? People are born equal, no one is destined to be someone's slave. This world has never had natural-born slaves." These words of equality were perhaps not easy for Ah Guan to digest, but the shock in his eyes was undeniable. Maybe he couldn't understand it at that moment, and before he could react, Qī xiāo dragged him straight to the infirmary: "Ow, I'm going to die from pain! That evil slave really hit hard."

  Today, Qi Xi's words and actions have indeed caused a great shock in Ah Guan's small heart. In this world, the lower classes are no different from cats and dogs. Don't mention just verbal abuse, even if they beat their own servants to death, the authorities won't investigate. Human life is so cheap, perhaps that young man's nightmare has not ended. From then on, seeing the officials come again, Song Da Fu's face wore a sly smile, which can be guessed in part.

  Because of the wound on his back, he thought it should have been a bruise by now. Such a small injury was in such an embarrassing place, so naturally, he didn't want to call a doctor to take a look. Although he was shouting that he was going to die from pain, he insisted on finding the best doctor in Zhu Xian Town to diagnose and treat him. However, he headed towards Yue Lai Inn instead. Before leaving, his father handed over a large pile of medicine, including some for stopping bleeding and treating knife wounds, and even some to prevent mosquito bites. Speaking of his father, it was unlikely that he would not follow just because of a letter. Had something gone wrong? With Gan Jing taking care of him on the sandy island, everything should be fine. These wealthy people all had some connections, so even if Meng Kuang wanted to harm someone in the Gan residence, it wouldn't have been possible.

  After returning to the inn, Qiuxi finally managed to persuade Ah Guan to leave. The wound on his back was not serious, but he couldn't apply medicine himself. He thought that it wasn't a big deal and just left the ointment aside. However, he couldn't help but think that if he, an adult, got hurt so easily from just one hit, how could that child endure it alone? Zhuxiantown was just a small town, and Yue Lai Inn happened to be on the same street as Songfu Mansion. When another commotion broke out, there were also people gathering around to watch the excitement here. Ah Guan had always been a curious person, and since I allowed him to go exploring, he wouldn't miss this kind of excitement.

  But he didn't expect him to turn back so quickly: "Young Master Qi, it's not good! That kid is probably going to get another severe beating."

  There are always some people in this world who know that eggs will meet their doom when they collide with rocks, yet still charge forward without hesitation. It's the same familiar face, the same stubborn gaze. Outside the Song family mansion, that child was like a mad dog, pouncing on anyone from the Song family he saw. The butler seemed to have already suffered at his hands, and the fierce energy emanating from him left the surrounding thugs momentarily stunned in place.

  "Why, why do you have to treat us like this? Why can't even let my mother rest in peace after she's dead?" He wailed until his voice was hoarse, and finally knelt down in front of the Song family gate, both compromising and pleading, "Master Song, please don't order people to destroy my mother's grave again, please, I beg of you!" His voice grew smaller and smaller, and with his original injuries, his face looked more and more terrible.

  The people around him looked at him with eyes that seemed to be watching a madman, and even if some couldn't bear to look, they just turned their heads away. Qiuxi wasn't without anger in her heart, but it's said that the dead are greater, no matter what the purpose is, destroying someone's grave is an unrighteous act. Moreover, in this era where everyone believes that there are gods three feet above one's head, could it be that the Song family people are so arrogant that they don't even fear the gods? But facing such ruthless people, crying and pleading was useless. Qiuxi took a few steps forward and grabbed the youth's collar, trying to pull him up, but unfortunately her body was only that of an underage little loli, so she let go and started scolding him loudly: "Do you know that men have gold under their knees? Is it worth kneeling down for that kind of person? If your mother saw this from heaven, she'd probably cry to death. Be a man and stand up for me!"

  "Whatever!" Although the young man's tone was unpleasant, he still got up after all.

  。。。。。。

  It all ended with a sentence from the young man, "You understand?" The young man had been walking ahead, while Qi Mei and Ah Guan were following behind at a leisurely pace. They didn't know how long they had walked after leaving the city before they finally came across a pile of rubble and an overturned tombstone in a withered grass thicket. There were also some workers busy doing something around them. When the young man saw this, he hastily got up to support the tombstone, glaring fiercely at those workers. He only called himself Xiao Shi, perhaps because he didn't want to admit that he was a member of the Song family, so he omitted the "Song" character from his name - Song Xiao Shi.

  His previous crazy behavior in front of the Song Mansion was entirely out of anger after seeing his mother's grave being destroyed, and Qī Miǎo's scolding had just awakened him. Anyway, even if he wanted to take revenge on that Song Baozi, at least he should have taken care of his mother's grave first. Originally, Qī Miǎo was about to go forward to help, but Sòng Xiǎo Shí brutally pushed her away. Afterwards, Qī Miǎo could hardly believe her eyes. The ancients always believed in the saying "entering the earth for peace", and Sòng Xiǎo Shí's behavior was absolutely considered outrageous and unorthodox in the eyes of the world.

  Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth. No matter how glorious one was in life, death is the ultimate return to the yellow soil. A puff of smoke, a wisp of ash, and all the hatred and karma are gone with the wind. For Qi Xi, cremation wasn't anything surprising, but she didn't expect Song Xiaoshi, an ancient man, to be so open-minded. He let go of his hand and allowed the ashes to scatter in the wind: "Mother, no one can disturb your peace anymore. You once said that what you wanted to do most in this life was to travel and see the world. Being buried in this place for so many years must have been suffocating. Now you've finally fulfilled your wish, and no one can disturb you again."

  A strong gust of wind blew through the open field, causing the tall grass to rustle loudly. Qi Ling stood silently behind the young man, who was desperately trying to suppress his emotions, but his body still trembled slightly despite his efforts.

  "I heard that my father died of illness the year I was born, and when I was five years old, my mother followed him. From a young age, people around me called me 'Sweeping Star', saying that on the night I was born, many sweeping stars appeared in the sky. After my mother passed away, it was an old lady from the village who took me in. Although others kept calling me 'Sweeping Star', I never paid attention to it until the old lady's grandson fell to his death and she herself couldn't survive that winter due to excessive grief. Maybe I really am a Sweeping Star. I've never dared to go out during the day, only doing some night watchman work at night. Thank you for your kindness, young master, but for your own sake, it's best if you leave quickly and burn some incense to ward off bad luck when you get back."

  "What a broom star, I'm actually a solitary star, I really didn't see that you're so superstitious, this young master's fate is hard enough not to be afraid of your suppression. Little stone, what are your plans for the future? I heard that Song Baozi is not only the biggest local tyrant in Zhu Xian Town, but also has a deep connection with the officials in the government, do you still want to stay in this place?" This kid was born on a day when he just happened to encounter a meteor shower, such a beautiful celestial phenomenon, but ancient people only regarded it as an ominous sign.

  Song Xiaoshi was taken aback at first, but then his eyes lit up: "My mother used to call me that too. What's the plan? I've also been thinking of going out and taking a look around." At that moment, his eyes were very clear, without any resentment or sadness, as clean as the spring water on a high mountain.

  "Since we're both destined to be donkeys, then follow me." He had always envied those donkeys that roamed all over the country, but never had the conditions or courage to do such traveling.

  Song Xiaoshi surprisingly didn't even ask where they were going, just nodded her head, but her gaze remained fixed on the western sky, the direction from which the wind was blowing.