Chapter 7: He is a dead man

Da Zhuang was simple-minded, but he was not stupid; on the contrary, he was quite clever, otherwise he would not have become Xiao Zhen's right-hand man in his previous life.

Xiao Zhen had said he did not want to return to the capital, and that he wanted everyone in the capital to believe he was dead.

Although Da Zhuang did not understand why, he did not ask many questions.

Compared to that, Da Zhuang understood even less as to why Xiao Zhen knew even about his martial arts skills.

Indeed, Da Zhuang knew martial arts. In addition to ancestral medicinal formulas, his family also possessed an ancestral sword manual. Da Zhuang had been forced by Yao Shanbo to practice martial arts since he could barely walk.

"If this matter is accomplished, I will give my sword to you," Xiao Zhen said.

Da Zhuang's eyes lit up. He practiced swordsmanship, but he used a wooden sword; at sixteen, Da Zhuang longed to possess a real one.

He had seen Xiao Zhen's sword. When Xiao Zhen fell off the cliff, his sword had remained with him.

Although Xiao Zhen's sword was not a legendary masterpiece, it had cost five hundred taels of silver.

Da Zhuang's heart pounded: "Such a fine sword... you will really give it to me?"

Xiao Zhen nodded. "As long as this matter is accomplished, this sword will be yours."

"Will you keep your word?"

"I will never break my promise."

Da Zhuang took the money pouch Xiao Zhen gave him, turned, and ran out. A moment later, he returned and placed a basket by Xiao Zhen's bedside: "If you're hungry, eat this."

Along with the basket was a flask of water.

Yao Shanbo was not home; he had gone out alone again to gather herbs just moments ago.

Da Zhuang's trip lasted three days.

On the first day, when Yao Shanbo returned from gathering herbs and did not see Da Zhuang, Xiao Zhen had already thought of how to answer, but Yao Shanbo asked nothing.

As soon as he returned, Xiao Zhen ate dry rations from the basket when hungry and drank water when thirsty. Once his stomach was full, he slept. Once asleep, he would not move, and if he did not move, he felt no pain.

In the latter half of the night, while Xiao Zhen was sleeping soundly, he suddenly felt someone moving his leg. He opened his eyes to see Yao Shanbo holding an oil lamp in one hand while examining his injuries with the other.

Xiao Zhen did not speak, for he would soon be unable to. Yao Shanbo forced a bowl of medicine down his throat, and moments later, Xiao Zhen fell into a state of chaos.

When he woke, it was already the next day, and a strange smell permeated the air.

On this day, Da Zhuang had not yet returned. At dusk, Yao Shanbo returned from outside and sat by Xiao Zhen's bed, looking at him with a deep gaze.

"Many people came today. They found a corpse at the bottom of the cliff, and the clothes on that corpse were yours."

Xiao Zhen's clothes were already tattered and had been tossed in a corner, but Yao Shanbo had just checked, and those clothes were gone. The clothes Xiao Zhen was currently wearing were Da Zhuang's.

Xiao Zhen did not deny it. "I asked Da Zhuang to do it."

"Where did that corpse come from?" Yao Shanbo asked with some urgency.

Xiao Zhen's tone was calm. "Bought, or perhaps a poor soul who died far from home. In any case, Da Zhuang will not kill the innocent, nor will he cause legal trouble. Please rest assured."

"You don't want people to know you are still alive?" Yao Shanbo asked again.

"Yes. I did not fall off the cliff without reason; someone intended to harm me. If I return alive, they will continue to hunt me. Furthermore, I don't have much time left; my parents and my entire clan are facing danger," Xiao Zhen said.

Yao Shanbo remained silent. After a long time, he suddenly asked, "Your surname is Xiao. What is your relation to the Xiao family of Qingquan?"

Xiao Zhen had not hidden his name; he had told Yao Shanbo and Da Zhuang after he regained consciousness.

However, he had never mentioned the Xiao family of Qingquan. He had grown up in the capital and spoke the official dialect; this place was less than a hundred miles from the capital, so anyone would naturally assume he was a person from the capital.

At this moment, when Yao Shanbo suddenly asked about the Xiao family of Qingquan, Xiao Zhen was startled. The Xiao family was a military clan, but they had retired from public life thirty years ago. While they still held prestige within the military, it was limited to that; ordinary people had long forgotten the Xiao family's achievements, let alone herbalists living deep in the mountains.

Though suspicious, Xiao Zhen spoke the truth. These people were his saviors in both his lives, and he did not wish to hide it.

"The Xiao family of Qingquan is my original clan. My father comes from the eldest branch of the Xiao family, and I am the eldest grandson of that branch."

The stone house fell into silence. Xiao Zhen thought Yao Shanbo would say something, but Yao Shanbo merely gave an "oh" and returned to his own room. Half an hour later, he brought another bowl of medicine for Xiao Zhen, and just like yesterday, Xiao Zhen fell into a state of chaos.

This time, Xiao Zhen slept peacefully. The heavy stone in his heart had finally been set down. From this moment on, he was a dead man.

On the third day, Da Zhuang finally returned. This time, he brought back Xiao Zhen's four guards.

Since Xiao Zhen's fall, these four guards had never left Shiji Mountain; they wanted to find him alive, or at least find his remains if he were dead.

Those searching for Xiao Zhen were not just them, but also the Marquis of Yongning's manor and the people sent by the Emperor.

Just yesterday, they had finally found a corpse. The body had begun to rot, covered in maggots, and the face was so mangled that the features were unrecognizable. However, his build, his clothes, and even the jade pendant that had been partially broken at his waist proved that this was Xiao Zhen.

The group sent the corpse back to the Grand Princess's manor. Just as they entered, the gatekeeper told the guard Jiang Ping that someone was looking for him.

When Jiang Ping went out to look, he saw a rural youth. The youth produced a scabbard, which Jiang Ping recognized instantly as Xiao Zhen's scabbard.

There had been no sword on that corpse.

This youth was Da Zhuang. In this manner, he brought Jiang Ping and the other three skeptical guards to Xiao Zhen.

Seeing that Xiao Zhen was still alive, the four were overcome with a mixture of joy and sorrow; even these iron-tower-like men shed tears.

Xiao Zhen said softly, "Don't cry. Now is not the time for crying. You are the people I trust most; I have tasks for you to do."

The tasks Xiao Zhen gave them were to return to the Grand Princess's manor, resign from their posts to take responsibility for the loss, and deliver a letter to Xiao Yue.

Xiao Yue was only twelve years old, and Xiao Zhen did not want to involve him. What he was about to do was fraught with danger, and he could not take Xiao Yue along.

Therefore, he had to arrange for Xiao Yue to be safe. In his previous life, Xiao Yue had escaped the capital disguised as a little beggar; before that, he had nearly been thrown into the Imperial Prison, narrowly escaping the eyes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard through a brush with death.

In this life, since he had the advantage of foresight, he could not let Xiao Yue suffer such hardships.

In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the fourth lunar month. On this day, Xiao Zhen was finally able to walk on the ground. Although Yao Shanbo said he was not yet fit for long journeys, Xiao Zhen could not wait any longer.

He remembered that the anniversary of King Liang's death was the tenth day of the fourth month.

In his previous life, every year on the tenth day of the fourth month, he and Xiao Yue would set off for the Liang lands. This was because the anniversaries of Grand Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao were on the fifteenth of the fourth month. In other words, at most five days later, his parents would die at the hands of King Liang's children.

Starting from now, if they traveled day and night without stopping, they could reach the Liang lands by the fifteenth.