Chapter 50: What Can I Do By Following You?

Seeing that Wang Xuezhou recognized him, Hatchet relaxed as well. He pointed at the window and climbed out of the room first.

Wang Xuezhou glanced at the others fast asleep in the room and quietly followed him out.

The two made their way to a deserted spot, one behind the other, before Wang Xuezhou finally spoke up: "Hatchet, what are you doing here? Where is your brother? Where did you guys move to later on?"

After the illness of Lock and Hatchet's mother was cured, the two brothers had vanished.

When Zhao Xing and Qi Xian dragged Wang Xuezhou along to visit them, the dilapidated thatched cottage had already been abandoned for a long time.

At the time, the two boys had angrily cursed them as ungrateful wretches, complaining that even though they had clutched their chests and sworn to repay the silver Wang Xuezhou gave them, they had disappeared without a trace the moment their mother got better, without even a word of thanks.

Wang Xuezhou had not cared much about it anyway, as he had never expected them to pay it back.

He simply never imagined they would meet again under such circumstances.

Hatchet's eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life, and he looked much more mature. Hearing Wang Xuezhou's question, the corners of his mouth twitched: "My mother is gone, and my brother..."

He slowly recounted the events of those past years.

Back then, after taking a few doses of medicine, his mother's illness gradually improved. He and his brother were overjoyed, dreaming that their days would get better and better, and that they would soon be able to earn money to repay their debts.

After all, the two brothers were still young and failed to perceive the sorrow hidden in their mother's heart.

Could a widow with two children, owning no land, no house, and with no man in the family, ever find life easy?

Not long after his mother's health recovered, the man who used to constantly harass her came back again.

The difference this time was that he and his brother witnessed with their own eyes that man pressing down on their mother's body.

Although the two boys did not yet understand what was happening, such an action instinctively filled them with rage.

Lock immediately picked up a chair and smashed it against the man's head, ignoring their mother's attempts to stop him.

Lock struck the man's head frantically several times until the fellow stopped moving entirely.

Once Lock calmed down, he saw the terrified expressions on his mother's and Hatchet's faces.

The man had stopped breathing!

Since the man had a family of his own, someone would surely report the crime to the authorities. Their mother managed to regain some composure and directed them to find a desolate place, planning for the three of them to bury the corpse under the cover of night.

As soon as the burial was done, they fled by night, and their mother took them to seek refuge at her brother's home in the neighboring county.

The three of them stayed at their uncle's house for five days before the uncle's family began to show resentment, slamming doors and throwing things around all day long.

In less than half a month, the uncle sold the mother and her two sons to a widower for the price of five taels of silver.

That widower was a laborer whose only hobby upon returning home was beating people.

Having beaten two previous wives to death without feeling it was enough, he subjected them to a brutal whipping the very day they were sold to him.

The three of them barely lasted a month in his hands before their mother was tortured to death. Once again losing his sanity while the man was asleep, Lock took a blade and hacked him to death.

After committing the murder, unable to bear the psychological trauma, Lock went mad...

Hatchet fled everywhere with his brother; Wang Xuezhou could easily guess the hardships and trials in between without needing any detailed explanation.

"I never expected to run into you here. Sometimes fate is truly wondrous."

Hatchet smiled faintly as he spoke.

Wang Xuezhou looked at him quietly: "How did you know we were staying here?"

Unless they had been following them the entire time...

Hatchet turned around and pointed toward the woods on one side: "Little Grey smelled your scent and brought me here."

Wang Xuezhou looked at him with some surprise: "You don't mean those wolves, do you?"

"Of course. Little Grey is the alpha wolf!" He paused for a moment and added, "Actually, I find being with animals much more comforting than being with humans."

Wang Xuezhou agreed with this to some extent, provided he wasn't the one facing a pack of wolves.

"How did you end up mixed up with those mountain bandits?"

"My brother and I were taken in by a mountain dweller two years ago. A month ago, while I was up in the mountain hunting, those bandits raided the place, killing and pillaging. The grandfather who adopted us was killed, and just as they were about to kill my brother, I returned."

"They took a liking to Little Grey and the others that I raised, so they used my brother as a hostage to force me to join them. I agreed."

"They dragged me along as they drifted all the way from Yongzhou Prefecture to here. On the way, they happened to encounter that Baili Damin collecting rent. Overhearing a conversation between him and someone else, they targeted him, figured out his background, and stalked him for seven or eight days before making their move. I never expected you would be in that dilapidated temple as well."

Hatchet recounted everything in a flat tone. Wang Xuezhou opened his mouth, finding no words of comfort: "Is your brother still in their hands?"

Hatchet replied with numbness: "No, he's dead."

"A few days ago, I took Little Grey to track Baili Damin. My brother's madness flared up, and he started beating and biting Lu Gang, who slapped him down to the ground. His head struck a stone, and by the time I got back, he was gone."

With a cold chuckle, Hatchet opened his hand. A single tael of silver lay quietly in his palm.

"I came today to return this."

"This is what we owed you back then. Since my brother is gone, I am the only one left to fulfill it."

Wang Xuezhou gazed quietly at the silver without moving: "Those people are ruthless and vicious. Seeing you help us yesterday, they certainly won't let you off easily."

Hatchet's tone turned fierce: "I originally planned to poison them all to death to avenge grandfather and my brother. I hadn't had the chance to act yet when I ran into you. Since we crossed paths once, I couldn't just stand by and watch you die at their hands."

"It's only a pity for Little Grey's companions—they didn't manage to bite every single one of them to death before they died! But that IOU was torn to shreds by Little Grey and the others, so you don't have to worry."

Having heard all this, Wang Xuezhou did not think Hatchet was cruel; instead, he felt a sense of relief and considerable peace of mind. "What are you going to do next?"

Hatchet looked up and, seeing no strange expression on Wang Xuezhou's face, felt a slight warmth in his heart.

He had experienced very little kindness in his life, and the person before him was one of the few exceptions.

He pushed the silver into Wang Xuezhou's hand: "The world is vast; there will always be a place for me."

"Now that the debt is repaid, I should go."

With that, he turned toward the woods. Rustling sounds came from within, presumably Little Grey waiting for him.

Wang Xuezhou watched his figure gradually disappear into the darkness, then suddenly called out, "Wait. How about coming with me?"

Hatchet's body halted. He turned around, half his face veiled in shadow, looking perplexed: "What would I do following you?"

Wang Xuezhou paused for a moment: "I am taking the imperial examinations. In the future, I might even become a licensed scholar, and I will always need someone to help me around. If I eventually pass the provincial or metropolitan exams and become an official, I will be even more in need of people by my side."

"If you follow me, you won't have to wander from place to place anymore, and you'll have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. I will give you a proper name, and if you wish, I can even help you take back your father's property. What do you say? Will you come with me?"

The two gazed at each other for a long time. Hatchet stepped out from the shadows, his expression utterly solemn: "Can you actually do everything you just said?"

"I can!"

Wang Xuezhou answered with absolute certainty.

"Alright, then I'll follow you. Don't lie to me!"

......

When the bedraggled group finally rushed to Huaiqing Prefecture, two days had already passed.

Gazing at the towering city walls and the endless stream of people at the city gates, Zheng Guangyuan and the others stretched their necks forward.

"Look over there! As expected of a prefectural city, there are so many garrison soldiers on the streets!"

Xia Qianli pointed excitedly at the garrison soldiers emerging from the city.

The caravan members, upon seeing them, quickly pulled their carts aside to clear the way.

It took quite a while before the procession at the city gate began moving forward once more.

Teacher Zhou frowned deeply as he watched the scene.