Chapter 13: 013: Rainy Night

Outside, a torrential downpour was underway, the sky and earth nearly merging into one, accompanied by the occasional flash of lightning and roll of thunder.

Qi Shan had only just lain down in his clothes when he was awakened by the noisy knocking at the door. He opened his eyes, sat up, straightened his robes, and was about to put on his wooden clogs to open the door when Shen Tang beat him to it.

The person standing there wore a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, his expression anxious—

It was the village head of Qian Family Village.

Shen Tang stepped aside, inviting him into the room.

"The rain is heavy outside, elder, come in and speak."

The village head waved his hand in refusal: "No, no."

Qi Shan stepped forward: "Seeing your anxious expression, elder, has something happened?"

"Have you two young masters seen A-Yan?" Outside, the wind and rain were raging. The village head’s face was drenched, water dripping down incessantly. He didn't even bother to wipe it away, his voice trembling slightly. "That child... I just took my eyes off him for a moment, and he vanished!"

Shen Tang asked in confusion: "Who is A-Yan?"

"He’s the child who was playing with the young master earlier."

Once he said that, Shen Tang knew who he meant.

So it was that child who looked a bit dull and silly.

His name was "A-Yan," was it?

Shen Tang glanced at the situation outside and shook her head: "We have been in the room the whole time and haven't seen him. When did he go missing?"

Village Head: "Just now, at most a quarter of an hour ago."

Hearing this, Shen Tang’s expression darkened visibly.

A quarter of an hour was fifteen minutes.

The rain outside was so heavy that even straw raincoats and bamboo hats couldn't block it. The wind howled, the rain poured, and one could vaguely hear the howling of wild beasts from the mountains, which sounded chilling. A child going missing in this kind of weather—could he have been snatched by a wolf or tiger that had snuck into the village?

This was exactly what the village head feared most.

He said: "If he had just run off to play, that would be one thing, but I’m afraid he might have been snatched by a beast coming down from the mountain..."

Because of the drought and poor harvests over the past few years, coupled with heavy taxes and constant warfare, the villagers were living hard lives, and the wild beasts in the mountains weren't faring well either; they often came down to forage. It would be one thing if they only snatched livestock, but it was terrifying if they snatched a child.

Similar tragedies had occurred three times in the last two years.

Qi Shan took the bamboo hat hanging on the wall, put it on, and tied the strings. "Elder, don't worry yet. I will help look for him too; we will find the child. Let’s hope for the best—perhaps the child was picked up by servants from the manor and we just don't know it yet..."

The village head sighed.

He also hoped everything was as Qi Shan said—just a false alarm, and the child hadn't gone missing or been snatched by a beast, but had simply been taken home. However, he knew the possibility was slim. A-Yan was not valued; his quality of life at the manor was merely enough to keep him from starving.

Half a month ago, he had stayed in the village for four or five days before being picked up—and that was only because a villager from Qian Family Village had happened to run into one of the old women and deliberately reminded her. With the weather so bad tonight, there was even less reason to expect them to brave the rain to pick him up.

Shen Tang said: "I’ll help look too."

Qi Shan glanced at her and said: "You should stay put. Have you looked at the weather outside? I don't want to lose you while we're trying to find him."

The village head was grateful for Qi Shan’s help, but he didn't approve of Shen Tang going out either—this young master was still quite youthful, only eleven or twelve, and looked thin and frail, appearing only five or six years older than A-Yan.

"That worry is unnecessary; how could I get lost? At the very least, it’s better than letting the villagers search in the dark." Shen Tang borrowed a straw raincoat and bamboo hat from the village head. The village head, still uneasy, handed her a wood-chopping hatchet; if she were unlucky enough to run into a beast, it might offer some defense.

"A-Yan!"

The heavy rain turned the ground into a quagmire.

Although Shen Tang had good eyesight, she still stepped into puddles from time to time. As she walked, mud splashed everywhere, dirtying the hem of her robes. After a quarter of an hour, she had searched the fields near Qian Family Village without finding a trace of A-Yan, and the other villagers had come up empty-handed as well.

The longer it took, the less confident everyone became.

Qi Shan asked the village head where the manor was, intending to go there and ask—although the possibility of him being picked up was low, what if?

Shen Tang volunteered: "I'll go too."

The village head sighed: "Then I’ll have to trouble you both."

The villagers of Qian Family Village would search toward the direction of the deep mountains. That was how it had been with the child snatched by a beast previously; they searched all night and found nothing, only to discover intestines, shredded meat, and bones dragged out into the grass at the foot of the mountain the next day.

"If *Yanling* (Spirit Words) are so magical, why don't they have a rain-repelling function?"

Despite wearing a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, Shen Tang was still soaked to the bone. The sensation of cold, wet clothes clinging to her skin was extremely uncomfortable. If the night wind blew into the gaps of the raincoat, it would raise goosebumps all over her.

Qi Shan said: "Perhaps they do."

After all, there were so many *Yanling*.

Besides—

"Even if they exist, not every *Yanling* can be learned. Relying on such a *Yanling* to exist is better than just carrying more rain gear."

Shen Tang trotted to keep up with his pace, not caring that her heavy steps splashed dirty water; it was already filthy, so it made no difference. "Then are there any lighting items that don't get wet in the rain? It would be convenient for marching or walking at night in heavy rain..."

Qi Shan: "..."

The manor was not very far from Qian Family Village.

The two followed the muddy path, one step deep and one step shallow, walking for two quarter-hours before finding it. It was a courtyard surrounded by a low wall, with dark tiles and white walls vaguely visible. The courtyard was pitch black, with no lights, looking like a curled-up beast in the distance.

Shen Tang stepped forward and knocked on the door.

*Dong, dong, dong—*

At that moment, a bolt of lightning leaped across the clouds, illuminating half the sky, followed immediately by a deafening roll of thunder.

Worried that those inside wouldn't hear, she changed from knocking with her fingertips to a loose fist, gradually increasing the force—*Bang, bang, bang!*

Just as she thought there was no one inside, she vaguely heard a man’s impatient response: "Who is it, knocking so wildly?"

After a while, the gate opened.

The middle-aged man who opened the door wore a slightly short brown robe and a headscarf. He seemed very dissatisfied with being disturbed in his sleep in the middle of the night, and he scanned Shen Tang and Qi Shan with an unfriendly expression. Seeing that one was tall and one was short, and both were young, his expression relaxed slightly, becoming a bit more amiable.

"Who are you two?"

Shen Tang replied: "We are travelers staying at Qian Family Village. We heard from the village head that the child named A-Yan is from your manor. He was playing in the village during the day and didn't return, and went missing a while ago. The village head is worried he might have been snatched by a beast and is searching everywhere."

The middle-aged man’s expression softened considerably upon hearing Shen Tang’s words: "Oh, A-Yan has already been brought back. Sorry to trouble you both."

Brought back???

Shen Tang frowned slightly.

Under the cover of her bamboo hat, she returned to her normal expression.

At this moment, Qi Shan bowed to the man with his hands folded, his expression gentle: "Since the young master of your house is safe, we are relieved. However, it is dark and the path is narrow, and the wind and rain are heavy. Could we borrow your residence to take shelter from the rain for a while?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.

But he still stepped aside to let Shen Tang and Qi Shan in, saying: "You two braved the rain for the sake of the child; naturally, you may take shelter. It is just too late now, and the servants have all gone to sleep, so I cannot host you properly. I hope you will forgive me."

Qi Shan: "That is only natural. A roof to shelter from the rain is enough."

The two followed the middle-aged man into the small courtyard.

There were a few trees in the yard, with hemp ropes tied between the trunks for drying clothes. On the ropes hung several garments—seven or eight pieces of adult clothing, and one small, washed-out, patched child’s garment.

Shen Tang glanced at it from the corner of her eye, then withdrew her gaze without a trace.

Wow, it got a splash screen recommendation today, and the number of followers has increased a bit.

I wonder if there are any new readers here, hehe (#^.^#)

(End of chapter)