Chapter 33: The Mercenary Scholar
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The burly man froze for a moment.
The short blade stopped in midair.
Before he could react, Cheng An scooped up a handful of incense ash from the ground and flung it into his face.
The man’s vision blurred.
Seizing the opportunity, Cheng An lunged forward and sank his teeth into the man’s wrist.
“Argh!”
With a howl of pain, the burly man dropped the blade.
Cheng An spun around like a slippery loach. After evading the man’s grasping hands, he somersaulted forward and snatched up the blade.
At the same time, he shouted, “Do it now!”
“He’s alone! What are you afraid of?”
Only then did everyone come to their senses.
The servants quickly closed in from both sides.
Du Xiu also picked up a brick from the ground and blocked the man’s escape route.
“You little whelp!”
The burly man instantly flew into a rage. His face twisted savagely as he snarled, “Even if I die, I’ll kill you first!”
With a low roar, he charged forward with all his strength.
He knocked Du Xiu aside, then used the momentum to pounce toward Cheng An.
In the confusion, Cheng An slashed wildly with the blade.
Clang!
The blade cut into the man’s forearm.
He staggered and dropped to one knee.
Before he could rise, two servants lunged from either side and pinned him firmly to the ground.
Cheng An did not hesitate for even a moment.
He pressed the blade against the man’s throat, his young face cold and solemn.
“Move again, and I’ll kill you!”
The burly man instinctively stopped moving.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Cheng An turned and glared at the two sisters. “Go find some rope!”
“Oh—oh!”
The two hurriedly retrieved rope from the donkey cart.
After quite a struggle, everyone finally managed to bind the man securely.
“Now talk!”
Du Xiu dropped heavily onto the ground, looking thoroughly disheveled. “Who sent you?”
“Heh.”
The burly man sneered and turned his head away, refusing to answer.
“Tch. So you’re a tough one?”
Cheng An smiled.
He carried the dagger over to the man and said, “Wonderful. I’ve always admired brave men. You’d better hold out—whatever you do, don’t beg for mercy!”
The tip of the blade edged slowly toward the man’s heart.
The burly man finally panicked.
He stared at Cheng An in terror.
Were children this ruthless nowadays?
The boy could barely even hold a blade properly, yet his voice was unnervingly calm. He showed no trace of fear—in fact, there was even a hint of excitement in his eyes.
“It was Cheng Dahai!”
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The instant the blade pierced the skin, the burly man finally stopped pretending.
“It was him! He gave the two of us five strings of cash to buy your life! It was supposed to be three strings, but later…”
“Later what?”
“When we heard that you were his own nephew…”
The burly man hesitated before lowering his voice.
“We used that to threaten him and demanded two more strings.”
A man who always asked for more money?
Cheng An nearly laughed despite himself.
After asking a few more questions, he clasped his hands toward Du Xiu and said respectfully, “Sir, it appears these two are habitual offenders without a doubt. What happens next is for you to decide.”
“You…”
Du Xiu studied him deeply.
The question stuck in his throat, impossible to voice.
How could Cheng An not know what he was thinking?
An eight-year-old child had encountered assassins without the slightest fear, and had even dared to fight back.
Was that normal?
And then there had been the scene just now, with him holding a blade to the man’s throat and forcing him to confess…
It had been terrifying enough to make one’s blood run cold.
Could an ordinary rural family really raise a child like this?
Helpless, Cheng An could only put on a bitter expression and say, “When I was at home, my elder brothers often bullied me. After enduring it for so long…I suppose I simply grew used to it.”
There was a saying in the theater troupe:
To become someone, you must first endure hardship.
The suffering endured before success was difficult, but it also forged a person more effectively than anything else.
Yet no one had expected Cheng An’s explanation to be this.
The injustices he had suffered as a child had now become the bargaining chip that allowed him to escape danger.
The irony was overwhelming.
Everyone felt a heaviness in their chests.
“You’ve had a hard time.”
Du Xiu let out a deep sigh and nodded. “In that case, we’ll take this man with us. Once we reach the county seat, we’ll hand him over to the authorities.”
“Yes!”
…
A short while later, the rain stopped.
The group resumed their journey with the assassin bound tightly from head to toe.
“Cheng An.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you…”
Gazing at his somewhat frail back, Gu Xiaorou’s pretty face flushed faintly.
From atop the front of the cart, Cheng An turned around.
“This trouble arose because of me in the first place. The fact that Miss Gu is willing to let it go is already a great blessing. I truly do not deserve your thanks.”
“Tsk!”
Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes and said sweetly, “How many days have you actually been studying? Why are you speaking so stiffly, like some old scholar?”
“Xiaoyue.”
Gu Xiaorou frowned at her younger sister, then turned toward Cheng An.
“Then I wish you success in the examinations this time.”
“Thank you.”
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“Father said…”
Gu Xiaorou lowered her head and spoke softly. “As long as you pass the examination and become a student licentiate this time, the Gu family will cover all your expenses for the provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations in the future.”
“Why?”
Cheng An turned back in confusion.
Everyone knew that the imperial examinations cost money.
The travel expenses alone, not to mention food, lodging, and transportation, were enough to support an ordinary family for an entire year.
When Cheng Dahai had taken the licentiate examinations twice, the entire family had been so poor that they could not even afford a proper meal of millet cakes. They had struggled for seven or eight years afterward and still had not recovered.
But even so, what did any of that have to do with the Gu family?
What was this supposed to be?
A scholarship?
Beside them, Du Xiu smiled.
He cast a meaningful glance at the two sisters, his eyes deep and unreadable.
“Just focus on doing well,” Gu Xiaorou said.
Her face grew even redder as she lowered her head and nervously twisted the corner of her clothing.
“An eight-year-old student licentiate! If you pass, your name will surely become famous throughout Pinggu County. Don’t you want that?”
“I do.”
“But…”
Cheng An was about to ask another question when the driver suddenly called out, “Whoa! We’ve arrived!”
Pinggu County.
Cheng An looked up.
Beneath the weathered, timeworn city walls, several gate guards were dozing in their guardhouse.
Du Xiu jumped down from the cart and hurried over.
After exchanging a few words, two constables approached with grave expressions.
One of them glanced at the assassin, who was being held down on the donkey cart, and frowned.
“You’re saying this child captured him? You’re not joking, are you?”
“I am a scholar,” Du Xiu replied.
“Very well…”
The constable was rendered speechless.
After the prisoner had been handed over, he took another look at Cheng An.
“How about this? Please come with me to see the county magistrate. If your account proves true, there may even be a reward.”
Ordinary commoners had actually captured an assassin?
As long as the county magistrate possessed even a little sense, he would never pass up such an excellent opportunity for favorable publicity.
“Very well…”
Du Xiu hesitated, then nodded. “We’ll trouble you, Constable.”
They entered the city.
Cheng An looked around curiously as they went.
Compared with Clear Water Town, this place was indeed much larger. The buildings were arranged in an orderly fashion, shops stood side by side in every direction, and the streets were filled with a steady stream of pedestrians.
When they reached the county office, however, there was none of the grandeur he had imagined.
It was merely a large old residence with a considerable history.
The gilded lettering on the lintel had long since peeled away, leaving only the four words “Pinggu County Office.”
Cheng An secretly approved.
Who would have thought the government residence of Pinggu County would be so dilapidated? It seemed the county magistrate was at least no corrupt official. Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to live in such poverty.
The constable entered to make his report.
A short while later, a middle-aged man in pale green official robes walked out.