Chapter 39: You
Qingyuan Temple.
The golden Bodhisattva had dimples on its cheeks, and its eyes were filled with compassion.
It was a centuries-old temple, bustling with incense.
Upon entering, the summer heat seemed to vanish.
The restlessness in people’s hearts also dissipated as they stepped into the temple.
Old Madam was a devout visitor of the temple and was generous, offering large donations every time she came.
A steady-looking middle-aged monk came to greet them.
The monk spoke with eloquence, his words imbued with Zen, making Old Madam’s expression even softer.
Jiang Wan listened attentively as well.
Upon entering a temple, one must naturally burn incense and pay respects to the Buddha.
Jiang Wan and her grandmother washed their hands and faces before arriving before the Buddha.
Old Madam had a special meditation cushion.
Though young, Jiang Wan behaved remarkably well and was very devout.
The Great Buddha gazed at the grandmother and granddaughter with eyes full of compassion, appearing very kind.
Old Madam chanted Buddhist scriptures while twirling her eighteen-bead rosary.
The golden Great Buddha stood tall and imposing.
The young girl in green was gentle and graceful.
The Great Buddha stood firm like a mountain.
The young girl knelt down with composure.
Incense smoke curled before the Buddha.
The young girl chanted scriptures earnestly.
The young girl’s voice was soft and pleasant to the ear.
The Bodhisattva seemed to listen with a smile.
Jiang Wan worshipped very devoutly because she had some mysteries in her heart.
Only when chanting scriptures did she feel at peace.
As she gazed at the Great Buddha, suddenly, the image of the infant in the arms of the Little Peddler she had just seen popped into her mind.
The infant seemed to be looking at her, its watery eyes filled with tears.
She suddenly remembered.
She had seen her before.
When she went to see Jiang Yu, she had glanced at the wooden basin beside her; there was a child in it, and the child’s swaddling clothes were made of various patches. The child was very fair.
She hadn’t looked closely, subconsciously feeling that this child probably wouldn’t live long.
Recalling that scene just now, she remembered that when the woman was kowtowing, there was coarse cloth exposed behind the basket on her back, which looked like Jiang Yu’s clothes.
She was so shocked that her face turned pale.
Her straight back almost collapsed onto the kneeling mat.
She closed her eyes tightly, not daring to look at the Buddha’s eyes.
She repeated the scriptures, her voice hurried and intermittent.
After chanting the Buddhist scriptures three times, she opened her eyes to look at the Great Buddha in front of her.
The Great Buddha’s smiling face suddenly turned into the appearance of that infant, and the Great Buddha’s smiling eyes were suddenly filled with tears.
The teardrops seemed heavy enough to fall onto her head.
Sweat broke out on Jiang Wan’s forehead.
She continued to chant.
“All phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; if a Bodhisattva has a concept of a self, a person, a living being, or a life, then they are not a Bodhisattva; all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and like lightning; thus should they be contemplated…”
She recited it repeatedly.
She knelt before the Buddha and sincerely prayed, praying for the Bodhisattva to protect Jiang Yu and her sister, ensuring they would be alright. She hadn’t done it on purpose; she hadn’t noticed it at all. Perhaps this was fate, which was truly hard to change.
Her pale complexion gradually regained its color.
The Great Buddha’s eyes smiled with tears.
The young girl knelt before the Great Buddha, fragile and devout.
Jiang Mianmian lay in the basket, weakly sucking on her finger.
She looked helplessly at the top.
The lid on top was covered tightly, and she couldn’t kick it open.
Fortunately, it was woven from bamboo, so it was breathable, otherwise she would have suffocated.
The only thing that gave her some comfort was that there were many small ants biting at the latch of the lid, making a ‘click-clack’ sound.
Little Black was in command, occasionally bumping her finger with its antennae, as if comforting her.
The basket kept swaying, and she knew she was moving forward.
She could hear the conversation between the Little Peddler and his wife.
“Can you still hold on, dear? Are you uncomfortable? Bear with it a little longer; we’ll be at the next county town soon.”
“I can bear it.”
“The doctor said Kuanger will be better after six more doses of medicine.”
“Yes, girls from earthen kilns die quickly, and there is high demand for them. Selling these two girls this time will fetch twenty taels, which will be enough to continue Kuanger’s medicine for another half a year.”
“Are you still okay, dear? This stretch of road isn’t safe; we need to hurry.”
“Juaner, Juaner, I’m truly tired. Let me rest. There are only two of us peddlers; the mountain bandits won’t even look at us.”
The load hit the ground with a clatter.
The Little Peddler, who had been bitten, sat down on his butt.
He didn’t know what poisonous insect had bitten him; now he felt chest tightness and wheezed heavily when walking.
“Juaner, help me check my back again.”
The Little Peddler lifted his clothes.
The woman put down the basket and turned to look, then jumped in fright. At first, there were only a few bumps, but now they had merged into one, and his entire back was swollen.
“Aren’t you a medicine seller? Give me the medicine for poisonous insect bites.”
“It’s fake, it’s useless.” The Little Peddler frowned tightly.
“Click,” the lid fell off again.
The Little Peddler was burning with pain.
Juaner’s bad temper flared up.
“I said we should just strangle them, strangle them! Can such small money-losers even be sold for money?”
She rushed furiously to the basket, ready to take action.
But she suddenly backed away several steps… as if she had seen a ghost.
Beneath the infant’s swaddling clothes was a dense mass of black. She had thought it was her husband’s padded cloth, but looking closely, it was actually a dense mass of ants, seemingly lifting the infant.
Seeing the woman approaching with a sinister look, Jiang Mianmian was also startled, feeling that she was done for. She couldn’t help but cry loudly: “Ahhh~”
The infant’s crisp and loud crying echoed through the mountains and forests.
Several youths in the forest were itching to act, but it turned out to be just two poor peddlers.
The youths wanted to show off, but they knew these kinds of peddlers had no oil or water and weren’t worth it.
However, they saw The Peddler stop, and then they heard the crying of an infant.
Why would this Little Peddler be carrying such a young baby to sell goods?
A Kidnapper!
Gouzi was the first to lose patience; his younger sister had been kidnapped by a Kidnapper and never found again.
“Big Brother, Big Brother, I, I’m going down.” Gouzi held a big knife, his face flushed red.
Before the eldest brother could nod, a youth nearby rushed out first.
Then a group of youths rushed out, thinking they were charging mightily.
In reality, they were in twos and threes, stumbling along.
The four mountain bandits didn’t stop them; they didn’t even stand up.
They wanted these little rabbits to suffer a bit before they stepped in.
The mountain bandits knew the rules: it’s best not to rob lone peddlers on the road; they are poor and tough. These kinds of people don’t value their lives; if a fight starts, who knows who will die.
Seeing the people rushing out of the forest.
Juaner’s hand grabbed her shoulder pole and blocked it in front of her husband.
The Little Peddler endured the pain and stood up, pulled a stick from his cargo cabinet, and poked it into the ground, revealing the blade inside.
In just a blink of an eye, the couple stood in a posture of relying on each other, looking fierce.
Standing there, one couldn’t tell who was the robber.
Jiang Feng heard the familiar crying, and the string in his mind snapped.
He was the first to rush out.
He ran to the front and saw the infant in the basket; it was Mianmian.
His spear pried open the lids of the other two baskets, and inside lay a girl in each, one of whom was Jiang Yu.
Jiang Feng’s face was pale, his eyes red, staring at the two peddlers.
Although the Little Peddler was a dwarf, he was very strong, with thick arms and sturdy legs, looking very explosive. The other one, although a woman, was also incredibly fierce.
Six youths, three in the lead, and three lagging behind, their legs trembling slightly.
It looked like the two peddlers were more like robbers than they were, much fiercer. One of them could beat them all.
Jiang Feng, Gouzi, and Mantou were at the very front.
Gouzi held a machete, Jiang Feng gripped a spear, and Mantou held a hammer.
The Little Peddler said: “You are seeking money, but we have no money. If you are sensible, get lost. I have been walking these mountain roads for so many years, and no one has ever been able to rob me. Instead, many have left their lives in my hands.”
Juaner didn’t say a word, holding a thick and hard wooden shoulder pole. Her arm was twice as thick as Gouzi’s.
Jiang Mianmian lay in the basket, mouth wide open, forgetting even to cry. She didn’t know what kind of miraculous development this was. She knew her brother’s business scope was extensive and rich, but she hadn’t expected it to be this rich—besides helping girls solicit customers, he was actually robbing people on the road in the wilderness…
She didn’t know whether she should cry, laugh, or shout ‘go for it’.
“You are a Kidnapper, we are going to report you to the officials!”
A youth walking at the very back shouted, his legs shaking.
He also held a spear in his hand, but he could only use it as a cane to keep himself from falling awkwardly.
The mountain bandits in the back laughed.
Report to the officials? Who to arrest?
Jiang Feng’s heart was filled with raging fire. Looking at Jiang Yu curled up in the basket—she was usually so talkative, but now she was like cargo, thrown into a basket.
Looking at Mianmian lying there, she had been crying so loudly, but stopped as soon as she saw him. However, she was still full of tears. She recognized her brother; she could recognize him.
Jiang Feng’s usual personality was the type who liked to let others rush to the front while he picked up the pieces from behind.
So, the group respected Gouzi, but they all felt they had a very good relationship with Jiang Feng.
“No need to report to the officials. Those who kidnap and sell people deserve execution; anyone who sees them can kill them.”
This time, Jiang Feng rushed up with his spear.
The youths followed and rushed.
The three lagging behind closed their eyes as they rushed.
There were six of them, and only two Kidnappers, but they were exceptionally fierce.
In just one encounter, Gouzi was kicked away, and Mantou’s face was slashed open, with blood and flesh splattering.
They had fought before, but they had never killed anyone.
Jiang Feng hadn’t either.
He had never killed anyone.
But his spear was firmly stuck into The Peddler’s body.
He pulled it out, bringing out blood and flesh.
He stabbed it in again, and pulled it out again.
“Pfft, pfft,” a very rhythmic sound.
From the initial clumsiness, not quite used to the resistance of the spearhead piercing through clothes and fabric, then into flesh, and through bone.
Slowly, he adapted.
He had hunted before.
He had used wooden spears, and the wooden spearhead was also sharp.
Every time he stabbed, blood would splatter.
He would also get hurt, but the opponent was injured more heavily.
His arm was heavily struck by the woman with a wooden pole, and he seemed to feel the sensation of a bone breaking.
He still firmly held the spear, piercing, piercing, piercing.
In the end, he was shouting: “I cannot kill people, I cannot kill people, I cannot kill people.”
The Little Peddler and the woman fell to the ground, their bodies full of holes, constantly bleeding, but they didn’t die. This youth holding the spear seemed to understand medical acupoints; every stab was so deep, but if it had been off by even a little bit, they would have died hundreds of times over.
But the youth was still holding the spear, piercing back and forth through their bodies…
Five youths lay on the ground.
The four mountain bandits in the dense forest stood up in shock.
A crisp cry startled the crazed Jiang Feng who was holding the spear.
Jiang Feng dropped the spear, rubbed his blood-stained hands hard on the green grass nearby, wiped them clean, and then went over to pick up the wailing infant.
“Big brother is here, big brother is here, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
