Chapter 141: Master And Servant
Xiao Yi walked behind Shi Deyu.
After a long while, Shi Deyu was still focused on staring at the back gate of the Shi Residence.
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah!”
The figure before him jumped up like a startled bird and fell to the ground.
“Xiao Yi? Is that you? Save me.”
“I am the only one here, you are in no other danger but me.”
Xiao Yi did not hide his ill intentions, but Shi Deyu did not seem to notice, grabbing his leg and begging for help.
“Save me, someone wants to kill me.”
“Who?”
“I I I’m not too sure, they said it was Guo… that the new Emperor sent people to kill me, but I suspect it was Second Uncle.”
“Let’s go, find a place to talk.”
Xiao Yi did not take Shi Deyu to the Li Residence but headed towards Imperial Street.
Glancing back, the figure in red had already entered the side gate of the Li Residence. Then, Su Dexiang’s carriage arrived, not waiting at the side gate, but following them.
Shi Deyu lowered his head nervously and said, “The assassins are still chasing me.”
“That’s not an assassin.”
“He’s following me.”
“He’s following me.”
Many shops were still lit on Imperial Street at night; though it wasn’t the Lantern Festival, it had some of the liveliness of the New Year.
Perhaps Guo Wei’s benevolent demeanor upon his enthronement quickly stabilized the people’s hearts, or perhaps the people of Kaifeng had grown accustomed to changing emperors.
Xiao Yi, holding Shi Deyu by the back of his collar, quickened his pace at the corner of Sweet Water Alley and Imperial Street, avoiding the carriages, and entered a small tavern, asking for a private room.
“Brother Xiao Yi, can I… have some food?”
“Hu Bing, roasted lamb, is that okay?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, thank you Xiao Yi.”
Shi Deyu was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.
Xiao Yi then ordered an extra pot of wine for him, took out a bag, counted out thirty copper coins, and then his eyes lifted. He saw Shi Deyu staring intently at the copper coins, like a dog staring at bones.
“Tell me from the beginning.”
“After you saved me that day, I rode east until I fainted from pain. When I woke up, I found myself in a pirate’s lair. The leader said he wanted to take me as his son-in-law. I… I hid it from him for a while until I couldn’t anymore and was beaten badly. They made me do hard labor at the water fort… Wuwuwu… it was too hard…”
Mentioning the days of hard labor, Shi Deyu cried bitterly, unable to stop sobbing. He only managed to hold back his tears when the hu bing was served.
“It was really too hard, woo, worse than a dog, and much harder than working at the Shi Residence.”
“What happened later?”
“I heard that Guo Wei had captured Kaifeng, so I guessed the situation had changed. I told the pirate leader that I could get a large sum of money if he released me. Although he didn’t believe me, he agreed to demand a ransom to try. So I wrote a letter to my Second Uncle in Xingyang. Before long, Second Uncle sent someone. As soon as I saw him and called out ‘Da Lang,’ I was beheaded. The pirate leader told me that Second Uncle had promised him a large sum of money to buy my life. But the pirate leader intended to pull off a bigger scheme and sent four men to take me back to the capital to seek great fortune.”
“Where are they?”
“We had just reached Chenliu when we encountered a group of officers and soldiers on the road. They were suddenly killed, and our travel expenses were taken. This damned world. I was lucky to escape and returned to Kaifeng by begging. The day before yesterday, I met Second Uncle’s steward outside the Shi Residence. He told me not to make a sound, saying Guo Wei wanted to kill me and asked me to go with him. Halfway, I got scared and ran away.”
Xiao Yi praised, “As expected of Da Lang.”
The situation was understood, and what needed to be considered was how to use and control Shi Deyu.
While thinking, he heard conversations outside and signaled Shi Deyu to remain silent.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and Su Dexiang entered with a serious expression.
“Xiao Lang, let’s make things clear today!”
“Hmm? Say what?”
Su Dexiang said solemnly, “Between you and me, one of us must give up Li Xiao Niang Zi.”
Xiao Yi immediately understood why Li Zhaoning disliked this person; he was like a persistent fly.
Looking again, Shi Deyu, without lifting his head, was frantically stuffing hu bing and lamb into his mouth.
“You go out, don’t choke to death.”
“Let’s have a competition, not in literary talent; it would be unfair for me to win. We’ll only compete on who truly cares for Li Xiao Niang Zi and who can make her live a better life.”
“Foolish bird.”
“What did you say? How can you be so vulgar?”
Just as Xiao Yi was about to drive Su Dexiang out, he suddenly saw five ruffians ascending the stairs. Judging by their figures, he couldn’t help but think of what Shi Deyu had said about “assassins chasing me.”
Su Dexiang blocked his way and said solemnly, “Li Xiao Niang Zi is a celestial being, you are a martial man, not worthy of her.”
Xiao Yi grabbed his collar and threw him behind him.
“Clang!”
The desk was knocked over, and cups and saucers fell to the floor.
“Whoosh—”
A bone-scraping knife slashed towards his face.
Xiao Yi used a ghost-like step, instantly retreating half a step. The ruffian opposite him clearly hesitated. He followed up with a low sweep kick, knocking the opponent down.
Retracting his leg, he delivered a high sweep kick.
“Bang!”
His thick deerskin military boots were hard and kicked the front teeth out of the second charging ruffian.
His foot landed, and the third ruffian lunged with a bone-scraping knife.
Using his momentum, he bent his knees, instantly ducked, dodged the knife, used an iron mountain lean, and struck out with both hands. He used Eight Extremities Fist to flip the opponent, using the enemy’s body to block the fourth ruffian.
Sidestepping, he dodged the bone-scraping knife thrown by the fourth ruffian and launched into an aerial knee strike.
“Clatter.”
His knee forcefully struck the bridge of the nose, and he heard the sound of teeth and the bridge of the nose shattering.
Xiao Yi landed, stepped back, and released the force.
The fighting before was in armor; tonight he was dressed lightly, and various combat skills from training could finally be used to their fullest.
This is called third-rate?
Top-tier martial double.
“Ah!”
At this moment, Su Dexiang and Shi Deyu finally had time to scream. One tightly held the other, huddled in a corner.
Xiao Yi picked up a bone-scraping knife from the ground and looked at the last ruffian.
“Clang.”
The opponent’s knife fell to the ground, and he knelt down begging for mercy. The other four were either moaning on the ground or getting up, but they dared not make another move.
“Spare us, good sir!”
“Who sent you to kill him?”
“We didn’t ask who the employer was, but someone paid money to kill him…”
Xiao Yi looked at the portrait the ruffian took out and compared it with Shi Deyu. It was indeed quite similar.
“Each of you, leave a finger as a sign of your sincerity to mend your ways.”
“The Qu She is not to be trifled with, I advise you… Ah!”
Seeing one person still daring to be arrogant, Xiao Yi directly took the bone-scraping knife and dislocated half of his arm.
Seeing the other four scared and each chopping off a finger, he picked up Shi Deyu and walked out.
“Wait for me.”
Su Dexiang, his face pale, followed them closely, holding up his hem to avoid getting any blood on it.
After leaving the tavern, not far away, he started chattering again.
“Your fighting does have some heroism, but you don’t have the same sincerity for Li Xiao Niang Zi as I do. I will never give her up because of this.”
“Stop following me.”
Xiao Yi casually handed him the blood-stained knife.
Su Dexiang, startled, hesitantly took it and threw it on the ground.
“You… you can’t scare me. Where are you going? I have a carriage.”
“No need, we’re going to the restaurant ahead.”
Xiao Yi paused his steps and signaled Shi Deyu to pick up the bone-scraping knife.
Reaching Lin Que Tower, Xiao Yi saw Su Dexiang still behind them. He beckoned two soldiers and had them directly escort him away.
Carrying Shi Deyu to a private room, the Dianqian Division Generals were still drinking.
Zhang Mantun was seen competing in a drinking contest with Tang Jin, losing in both his lips and his drinking capacity, and was also being lectured by Tang Jin.
“Hmph, you fool, your martial arts are not good, and your drinking capacity is even worse.”
“You dog, *hic*, drink more.”
Xiao Yi thought to himself, luck is like this. If Shi Hongzhao had become Emperor, the Son of Heaven’s direct guard would have been Zhang Mantun. Would these two have switched places?
Of course, life is long, and luck is only temporary.
“Tie Ya, look who’s here.”
Zhang Mantun turned his head to look, his drunkenness dissipating, and he began to cry loudly.
“Da Lang? Waa!”
Li Chongju’s stern eyes welled up with tears. He knelt on one knee and cried, “Seeing Da Lang saved today, we can finally face Lord Shi in the afterlife!”
Zhang Yongde was deeply moved. He raised his wine cup and said generously, “The former subordinates of Lord Shi are all loyal and brave. I toast you all!”
Xiao Yi didn’t understand what they were so moved about; everyone was praising him for his loyalty and righteousness.
They hadn’t praised him like this even when he speared Murong Yanchao; at that time, they accused him of stealing credit. Now they called him a hero.
Looking again at Shi Deyu’s flickering eyes, it seemed he felt that the Shi family still had a foundation.
Xiao Yi sneered inwardly. Taking advantage of everyone’s drunkenness, he spoke about Shi Deyu being assassinated.
“Which dog said that the Emperor sent assassins?!”
Tang Jin slammed the table and said, “The Emperor had a deep friendship with Lord Shi, everyone knows that. If you ask me, it must be Shi Fu who wants to seize the Shi family’s wealth.”
“You, a great genius, hit the nail on the head. It must be the uncle plotting to kill his nephew for money.”
“Let’s go! Confront Shi Fu directly and clarify this matter.”
Xiao Yi listened and handed a jar of strong liquor to Shi Deyu, saying, “It’s cold, warm yourself up.”
“Xiao Yi, you are still the best to me. One day as master and servant is a thousand days of kindness, no, I want to recognize you as my younger brother, can I?”
“Don’t rush, let’s sort out your family matters first.”
Zhang Yongde was thorough. Before long, he sent people to find Shi Fu’s whereabouts, which was at the official posthouse in the city.
The Dianqian Division Generals personally took charge, and it was naturally very quick to apprehend the man.
Shi Fu’s personality was the complete opposite of Shi Hongzhao. He looked like a wealthy man, servile, but the occasional glint of cunning in his eyes revealed him to be a sinister person.
At first, Shi Fu denied it, thinking he could bully Li Chongju into not using torture on him. Tang Jin stepped forward and made him cry in just two moves.
“You idiot, killing your nephew for wealth, and the crime of deceiving the Emperor! Do you still want to put His Majesty in an unjust position? If you don’t tell the truth, do you think I can’t cut you into a thousand pieces!”
“I’ll tell, I’ll tell, I didn’t mean to deceive the Emperor, I just thought… Shi Deyu is living a shameful life, a disgrace to the clan, and an insult to our ancestors, so I sent people to kill him…”
“Ah! Go to hell!”
A blur flashed before Xiao Yi’s eyes, and Shi Deyu had already lunged forward.
If he wanted to stop him, he could, but not only did he not stop him, he pretended not to catch Shi Deyu and blocked Li Chongju instead.
He had intended to go with the flow; the situation had naturally progressed.
“Plop.”
The bone-scraping knife was plunged into Shi Fu’s abdomen.
“Die! Die! Living a shameful life? Do you know how much suffering I’ve endured!”
“Plop.”
“Plop.”
“Tie Ya, hold him.”
Xiao Yi leaned over to examine him; his upper arm had already been grabbed by Shi Fu.
“Save… save me…”
Shi Fu’s eyes were filled with pain, but his life force had not yet faded. Looking at the wounds again, although there were three stabs, they were all in the side of his abdomen, avoiding vital points.
Shi Deyu looked formidable, but he disappointed every time.
Xiao Yi quickly glanced back, ensuring no one was paying attention. One hand seemed to be closing Shi Fu’s eyes, but in reality, he covered his mouth. The other hand gripped the bone-scraping knife and thrust it diagonally upwards, twisting it and drawing blood.
Moments later, the life in Shi Fu’s eyes had completely vanished.
“He’s dead.”
Xiao Yi stood up, took two steps back, and walked to Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin, whispering, “We’ve caused trouble.”
Li Chongjin said, “Scared of what?”
“Shi Fu was invited to the capital by my father-in-law. It’s fine if others kill him, but we can’t.”
At this point, Zhang Yongde’s attitude was no longer as rigid. He glanced at Shi Deyu beside them and signaled Xiao Yi to speak with him aside.
“A Yi, the Dianqian Division has just been established, we cannot give them a handle. You must draw a clear line with Da Lang Shi.”
Xiao Yi pondered for a long time and said, “I have no problem. To be honest, Military Head, I have both favors and grievances with the Shi family. Now, the debts of kindness and righteousness have been settled.”
“Father-in-law will definitely see Da Lang Shi. His statement is very important.”
“I will teach him.”
“Good, I need to instruct Li Chongju and Zhang Mantun.”
“Don’t worry.”
After the conversation, Xiao Yi turned his head and saw Shi Deyu staring blankly in their direction, clearly already anticipating trouble.
He beckoned and said, “Come with me.”
They found a deserted spot in the posthouse.
Shi Deyu was distraught and said, “Brother Xiao Yi, I…”
“Slap!”
Xiao Yi raised his hand and slapped him.
“Do you know what the Palace Army is? The Son of Heaven’s personal guard, established today, and you dare to instigate them to seek personal revenge for you?”
“Brother Xiao Yi, listen to my explanation…”
“Slap!”
He slapped him again with the back of his hand.
Shi Deyu dared not dodge and took the blows obediently, closing his mouth.
He seems to have been well-trained by the pirates.
“What use is explaining to me? Tell the court officials, where do you place His Majesty, the Shi family, and yourself in your heart? Why dare you use His Majesty’s sword to kill your own uncle?! Tell the Palace Army why you want to harm them?!”
After shouting loudly to this point, Xiao Yi suddenly lowered his voice and asked softly.
“Could it be that your great ambition has not yet faded?”
“I dare not!”
Shi Deyu shivered, knelt on the ground, clasped Xiao Yi’s boots, and kowtowed heavily.
“Save me, please, save me one more time, Brother Xiao Yi, for the sake of our past relationship… no, for the sake of the future, for the sake of my willingness to be your beast of burden in the future, please save me again…”
