Chapter 41: Qingyuan Mountain, Jiang Feng
Once upon a time, there was a mountain called Qingyuan Mountain.
Deep in the mountain, there was a temple called Qingyuan Temple.
Inside the temple stood a yellow wall, vibrant and bright.
Beside the ancient temple’s yellow wall, embroidered shoes inlaid with pearls strolled along.
She walked very slowly, as if she were time itself.
The sunlight turned into rosy clouds at the horizon, and under that glow, the yellow wall looked even more resplendent.
She rarely asked for anything on her own initiative, but today she suddenly asked her grandmother to come to Qingyuan Temple to pray.
She seemed to have a premonition that she would meet someone important here.
She was praying, but she was also waiting.
It was an indescribable feeling.
Like a very important destiny.
So, on the way, she didn’t dare to delay, fearing she might miss it.
Only when she arrived at Qingyuan Temple did she feel at ease.
She strolled along the wall, step by step, but her embroidered shoes still got a speck of mud on them. She frowned slightly.
…
Jiang Yu’s embroidered shoes were stained with blood.
Her heart ached so much that she gasped, and she cried even louder.
In her sister’s arms, Jiang Mianmian was careful and obedient, not daring to be mischievous.
She swore that in the future, she would never again swap her sister’s hidden savings for stones.
The other youths looked on with heavy hearts.
Gouzi was sobbing uncontrollably nearby.
He missed his little sister. She was so small, and he didn’t know where she had gone.
His father had gone to work on a boat, hoping to find her, but later fell into the water and died.
His mother got sick and died. Before she passed, she would mutter his sister’s name every day: “A-Fu, A-Fu.”
The young girl was crying very loudly, but she was also kicking with all her might.
The Little Square Face youth on horseback thought that if he had been the one to save this girl, he probably wouldn’t have needed to trouble Brother He.
This girl wouldn’t just take a beating without a sound, waiting to be beaten to death by that foolish young master.
Even if this girl were beaten until she lost her memory and didn’t know her family, she would still fight back.
Even if it meant she ended up bloodied.
If you hit her once, she would at least bite you back.
She was as tenacious as a little wolf dog.
He really wanted to save her.
The other youth on horseback shivered uncomfortably. This kind of wild country girl was too ferocious; it was scary…
After kicking The Peddler, her foot hurt.
Jiang Yu wiped her tears with her sleeve, looked up at the person on the tall horse, and said: “These people all followed my brother to save us. We were abducted by Kidnappers. I beg the young hero to help us report this to the officials. My brother and the others are all injured. Could you please take us back with you?”
For some reason, the Little Square Face youth’s face turned red again as the ferocious little girl, whose nose was red from crying, spoke to him.
“Yes, yes, my guards are right behind us and will be here soon. In a while, you can come into the city with us. We will report it to the authorities. You don’t need to go to the yamen; I will have someone send you home first.”
In her sister’s arms, Jiang Mianmian also saw the Little Square Face youth speaking from horseback.
She thought to herself, This person is actually quite nice.
Meanwhile, Jiang Feng kept his uninjured hand gripping his spear.
His gaze passed over the well-dressed youth and remained fixed on the dense forest.
In the dense forest, the trees were thick, packed together, and green to the point of gloom.
No birds were flying.
The cicadas were still chirping.
Brother Hu and the others were in there.
Jiang Feng’s hand holding the spear was trembling from exhaustion.
A-Cui was revived by the water they poured into her. She looked at everything around her, saw so much blood, saw Jiang Da, and saw Jiang Yu. Her body went limp, and she fainted from fear again.
Jiang Yu strapped her sister to her chest, cupped her hands in a salute to the Little Square Face youth on horseback, and said: “Many thanks, young hero. Your life-saving grace cannot be repaid, so I can only offer myself to you!”
The Little Square Face youth’s face turned bright red, illuminated by the sunset glow.
Jiang Mianmian was completely bewildered. What kind of trope is this? Has my sister been listening to too many plays?
Jiang Feng, covered in blood, wanted to knock Jiang Xiao-Yu on the head right then. Little fool, what is wrong with your brain? You just listen to lines from plays; who actually does that?
He tugged on his younger sister’s hand.
In the basket, the ‘fainted’ A-Cui almost opened her eyes. Jiang Yu is so fierce.
The other youth on horseback rolled his eyes. Here it comes, here it comes again… She’s trying to latch onto him.
Brother Meng’s square face just gives people a sense of reliability. There have already been several groups of people wanting to repay his kindness along the way, scaring Brother Meng into running the whole time.
Jiang Yu pushed her brother, who was tugging at her hand, to the front and said:
“But I don’t know how to do anything; I’m lazy and love to eat. My parents can’t bear to part with me; they won’t even let me go to the Prefecture City to be a maid for the magistrate’s family. So, I will offer my Elder Brother to you instead. My Elder Brother speaks well, works diligently, is quick with his hands and feet, and everyone likes him.”
Jiang Yu’s little round face was extremely sincere. The tears in her eyes hadn’t dried yet, the blood on her shoes was still fresh, and the baby in her arms was cutely sucking on its finger.
She saw that this Little Square Face was a rich and good person. Her Elder Brother spent his days bumming around on the streets; it would be better for him to hang out with this person. Maybe he could make something of himself. The elders always said: ‘Follow a dog and eat dung; follow a wolf and eat meat.’
After Jiang Yu finished speaking, the other idlers were envious. They envied Brother Feng for having such a good younger sister who thought of him whenever there was an opportunity. To them, being able to follow a young master with a fine horse and a fine sword was definitely better than bumming around on the streets.
They couldn’t even measure up to a single mountain bandit wielding an axe.
Jiang Feng was pulled tightly by the hand by his silly younger sister. He looked up, and his eyes inexplicably grew moist.
He was afraid that if he didn’t look up, his tears would fall.
The Little Square Face youth jumped off his horse. His face wasn’t as red anymore, and he said politely: “You had already saved yourselves; I didn’t do anything. It was just a small effort, so please don’t be so polite.”
He looked at the scene: the round-faced girl’s brother was covered in blood, his spear was also covered in blood, the two sturdy Kidnappers lying on the ground were full of holes, and the other youths were injured and scattered.
Although the girl’s brother had a scar on his forehead, it didn’t look bad. Even with his face covered in blood, his eyes were clear and full of righteousness.
He had quite the air of a heroic knight who could’slay a man every ten steps and leave no trace for a thousand miles.’
Thinking about how he had traveled a thousand miles to save people, and how he had the ability to kill but held back, the Little Square Face youth felt very impressed.
He solemnly cupped his hands in a salute to the round-faced girl’s brother and said:
“I am Meng Shaoxia of the Meng Family in the capital—the ‘xia’ in ‘a flaw does not obscure the jade.’ Your skills are remarkable; in time, you will surely achieve great things.”
The other youth on horseback saw Brother Meng actually dismount to salute. He thought that although Brother Meng came from a military family and was perhaps too kind-hearted, his judgment was excellent, and he had been very accurate in assessing people along the way.
Only after Brother Meng said this did he realize that the scene before them was mostly the credit of this girl’s brother. If it were him, without guards, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
He also jumped off his horse and cupped his hands in a salute: “I am Young Master He Chen of the He Family in Qingzhou.”
The two introduced themselves.
Both were from prominent noble families of the time.
But in this rural place, none of the idlers understood.
Jiang Yu didn’t understand, and Jiang Mianmian understood even less; they just thought that introducing themselves like that was very cool.
“Yiya yayaya!” (I am Mianmian of the Jiang Family~~ Mei!) she shouted loudly.
The couple, The Peddler and his wife, lying on the ground, were in too much pain to speak.
Why are they exchanging pleasantries? Are they going to report to the authorities or not? It hurts so much.
As for Jiang Feng, from childhood until now, rarely had anyone treated him so solemnly, saluting and greeting him.
He also cupped his hands and said: “I am Jiang Feng of Qingyuan Mountain.”
Young Master He Chen burst out laughing.
Meng Shaoxia also laughed, “Today you take Qingyuan Mountain as your name; one day, Qingyuan Mountain will surely be proud of you.”
Jiang Feng also laughed. On his blood-splattered face, his dimples could not be hidden.
His arm didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore.
Jiang Feng thought to himself that this Little Square Face youth spoke even more pleasantly than he did.
Young Master He Chen of the established noble He Family of Qingzhou also laughed along and said: “We were originally going to Qingyuan Temple, but since we have met Jiang Feng of Qingyuan Mountain, we have already found the person we were fated to meet. Let’s go, we’re heading into the city; we must have a drink.”
Jiang Yu pursed her lips, not knowing what these people were talking about. Did that Little Square Face agree or not? So anxious!
Jiang Mianmian stared wide-eyed at her elder sister, Jiang Yu, feeling that her sister was quite sharp sometimes, and not at all socially anxious.
In the midst of their conversation, the sound of hooves gradually grew thunderous.
The guards of the two youths on their fine horses had followed them.
The guard in the lead shouted: “Young Masters, Young Masters! Qingyuan Temple is right ahead; we took the wrong turn, we need to take the other road.”
“We’re not going! We’re heading into the city.”
The setting sun shone on the group as they headed back.
The idlers were riding horses for the first time, wiggling their bottoms. They all had more or less injuries on their bodies, but they couldn’t suppress the smiles on their faces.
It was the first time they had done a good deed and received praise; the young masters with the fine horses had even complimented them.
They had all forgotten that they had come here to rob people…
The dense forest behind them remained quiet.
When they turned the corner and the dense forest was almost out of sight, Jiang Feng looked back and saw a face in the dense forest. It smiled at him and gestured with a giant axe across its neck.
Jiang Feng, riding his horse, shouted loudly toward the empty valley: “I am Jiang Rong of Qingyuan Mountain!”
