Chapter 51 He Might Not Be Such a Good Person After All

Normally, it was impossible to have so many garrison troops patrolling inside the city.

Wang Xuezhou’s gaze was searching all around the city gate.

After he and Axe had agreed upon a plan last time, Axe had said he needed to go deal with the carriage first.

Originally, those bandits had intended to keep the carriage for their own use, but they never expected Axe to suddenly turn the wolves on them.

In the end, those bandits were either mauled to death by the wolves or severely injured, fleeing in such panic that they could no longer care about the carriage.

Seeing them leave, Axe climbed down from the tree where he had been hiding and took away both the carriage and their luggage.

When he came to find Wang Xuezhou, he had hidden the carriage and the luggage away.

The two had agreed that they would meet in the city after he finished dealing with the carriage.

After scanning the city gate area for a moment, Wang Xuezhou spotted Axe, who was disguised as a beggar, standing beneath a tree. The two exchanged a glance.

Seeing Axe give a slight nod, Wang Xuezhou withdrew his gaze.

"Alas, it looks like there's going to be trouble!" Someone in the caravan sighed upon seeing the garrison troops exiting the city.

Hearing this, Zhou Mingli quickly asked, "My good sir, why do you say that?"

The speaker was a guard in charge of the cargo, a man who had traveled far and wide and naturally possessed a certain level of experience.

"Earlier this year, when I went up north to haul goods, I heard there were some minor frictions near the border. Recently, colleagues from those parts told me that inspections at the checkpoints have become extremely strict, which is probably a bad sign. Look, the defense on the city walls here has also tightened, and garrison troops can be seen patrolling inside the city. This is definitely not a good omen."

The burly man pointed his chin toward the city wall, signaling Master Zhou to look.

Zhou Mingli raised his head and sure enough, the garrison soldiers above were staring sharply toward the city gate. The number of archers and foot soldiers had increased manifold, all of them highly focused and poised for action.

Suddenly, wealthy patron Bai recalled what that band of bandits had said: "The prefectural governor is up to his neck in trouble, how would he have the time to bother with you?" At the time, he had thought it was pure nonsense, but now thinking about it, could it be because of this?

The group did not dare to linger any longer.

Upon entering the city, the atmosphere inside did not feel particularly tense; on the contrary, because of the upcoming prefectural examinations, there were even more people than before.

Stepping onto the bluestone-paved road, wealthy patron Bai finally relaxed completely. "It is getting late today, how about coming to my estate to rest and recuperate first? Tomorrow, after I have someone tidy up that courtyard, I will send you over there, Master."

"Thank you for the trouble," Master Zhou replied courteously.

The delighted landlord Bai instructed the caravan members to escort them over first.

***

The Bai estate was not far away, and the carriage reached the destination in about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

At the front gate, the doorman was startled into opening the heavy doors wide, watching as wealthy patron Bai ushered their group inside.

Madam Bai’s physique was a match for wealthy patron Bai’s. Seeing her husband shake off the maid's hand and rush over, she covered her mouth with a soft gasp. "Oh heavens! What has happened to my lord? How did you end up looking so exhausted, you've almost lost all your hair! Zhaocai! How did you serve your master?"

Madam Bai looked at the top of her husband's head with heartbreak and glared fiercely at the young servant standing nearby.

The servant gave a bitter smile and was just about to speak when wealthy patron Bai stopped Madam Bai. "We have distinguished guests present, watch your tongue. Go call Yan'er and have him come pay his respects to the guests."

Only then did Madam Bai notice the few people standing nearby. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face, and she hurriedly instructed the maidservants to serve tea.

Just as Master Zhou and the others sat down, they saw a solidly built young man in scholar's robes walk in, calling out in a muffled, resonant voice, "Father, Mother!"

Zheng Guangyuan and the others almost spat out their tea.

The newcomer stood over seven feet tall, his robust muscles straining tightly against his cyan scholar's gown. The bulging muscles on his arms forced his arms to flare slightly outward, and as he walked, he swung his arms and strode with pigeon-toed steps. Combined with his fierce and martial appearance, he looked precisely like a moving little hill.

This muscular hunk was actually wealthy patron Bai's youngest son who was going to take the prefectural examinations? He looked like he should be taking the martial arts examinations instead!

Not only were Wang Xuezhou and the others shocked, but even Master Zhou’s expression showed a trace of astonishment.

"Yan'er, why don't you come and pay your respects quickly? This is Master Zhou, who saved your father's life on the road. These young gentlemen are Master Zhou's students, around your age, and are also candidates for this year's prefectural examinations."

Master Zhou and the others received yet another jolt.

"Greetings, Master Zhou. I am Bai Yan, twelve years old this year, and I am a candidate about to take the prefectural examinations."

This youth, who looked almost old enough to have reached his cap-donning adulthood, was actually only twelve...

Master Zhou recovered his composure and nodded gently. "This is my student, Wang Xuezhou..."

After the introductions were made in turn, wealthy patron Bai also recounted their harrowing encounter on the road to his son and wife.

Hearing that it was Master Zhou and his students who had saved wealthy patron Bai, the two of them repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

Madam Bai hastily ordered someone to summon the estate physician to diagnose and treat the group, and she personally led the maidservants to tidy up the guest rooms.

Bai Yan thumped his chest with a resounding sound. "If you have any difficulties in the future, just come find me!"

***

That evening, they were treated to a lavish reception. There were twenty-eight dishes alone, and everyone was urged to eat until their bellies were round.

After washing up, Wang Xuezhou lay in bed, turning things over in his mind before finally getting up to go find Master Zhou.

"Master, are you asleep?"

Wang Xuezhou stood outside the door and knocked gently.

"Come in."

Wu Huai opened the door and invited him inside.

Master Zhou was sitting at a table and gestured casually to the seat beside him. "Sit."

Before Wang Xuezhou could speak after sitting down, Master Zhou took the initiative. "I happen to have something to ask you. The person who intercepted the bandits that day—do you know him?"

"Indeed! Master, that person is..."

Through years of association, Wang Xuezhou knew Master Zhou was not a pedantic man, so he candidly recounted the matter, only omitting the part about Axe using wolves to kill people.

After all, since Axe was going to follow by his side in the future, his background could not possibly be hidden from his teacher forever.

"I would like to ask Master to write a letter to the county magistrate to reissue a travel permit for Axe to enter the city."

Axe and the others had lost their travel permits years ago, which was why they had been living among the mountain folk.

A few years ago, Zhou Mingli had vaguely heard about this matter.

After listening, although he felt a sense of pity for those two children, he held a different perspective. "Even though they are pitiable, this matter is ultimately based solely on his own words and cannot be completely trusted."

"It's not that your teacher is prejudiced, but rather that those who touch vermilion are stained red, and those who touch ink are stained black. If the truth is indeed as he claims, I fear that with such experiences, his temperament would have long since changed. Having someone like that by your side is rather inappropriate. If he should harbor evil intentions, how would you guard against him?"

Wang Xuezhou thought for a moment and said, "After all these years, student truly cannot say for sure what his temperament is now, but a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his intentions."

"Back then, it was merely a casual gesture on my part, yet he remembered it for all these years. He recognized me simply by hearing my voice, and he was willing to take a risk to help us escape. Based on these actions, student believes he is worthy of trust."

Furthermore, he himself might not necessarily be considered a good person...

Seeing his determination, Master Zhou nodded as well. "If you act with a clear conscience, then do as you see fit. However, since you are keeping him by your side, you bear the responsibility of guiding and restraining him, and you must never let him do anything detrimental to others."

"I will handle this matter. You can focus on preparing for your examinations with peace of mind."