Chapter 6: Ma Laizi and Yu the Scholar
Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Ma Laizi and Yu the Scholar
Zhu Ge frowned ever so slightly.
’The laborers!’
These six men were specialists in manual labor. Whenever a house needed to be built or a roof beam replaced, they were the ones to call.
They also took on jobs like driving away wild beasts.
They were all tall, powerfully built, and not lacking in strength.
The leader of these laborers in their village was said to have a relative who practiced martial arts in a nearby city, which was why he was usually so arrogant and domineering.
But beyond his arrogance, he also knew how to read a situation.
He was normally very respectful to the Master and the Master’s disciple, never picking a fight with them, so there had never been any trouble.
In the eyes of ordinary farmers like Zhu Ge, however, these laborers were nothing but bullies.
And yet, at a time like this, these bullies hadn’t turned into walking corpses. This was undoubtedly good news!
’If I can use these bullies correctly, they could be a significant asset.’
"What’s this? My words don’t work on you anymore?" At that moment, the lead laborer flashed a set of large, yellowed teeth and chuckled.
"The Master isn’t here. After I’m done with your mother, you think that spineless father of yours will dare to tell him?"
’A true local scoundrel...’ Zhu Ge sighed internally.
"Go on," his mother said mechanically.
"I’m coming." Zhu Ge set down his hoe and walked toward the men.
There was no fluctuation in his emotions, no superfluous movements.
Seeing this, the leader couldn’t help but be taken aback.
The man next to him leaned in and whispered in the leader’s ear, "Ma Laizi, doesn’t it feel like something’s different about this Zhu Ge?"
The leader, Ma Laizi, frowned. "A few days ago, Yu the Scholar told us a god had come and that we should lock our doors and windows and not go out... Don’t tell me Zhu Ge’s Heart Spirit has been stolen?"
As soon as he said it, the other men froze.
Ma Laizi snorted coldly.
"Yu the Scholar is the Master’s disciple. The Master even left behind a personally written ’Scholar’ character to protect our Jianshan Village. No ordinary minor god could get near. A stolen Heart Spirit? I say he’s just putting on a show!"
He lowered the tree from his shoulder, reached out a large hand, and grabbed the front of Zhu Ge’s clothes as he approached.
Zhu Ge had overheard their conversation as he walked over, but he neither dodged nor flinched, letting Ma Laizi grab him.
"It’s high noon. Even Ghost Gods have to avoid the sunlight." Ma Laizi sneered. "I see you’re just putting on an act. Trying to scare me, are you? You wanna die?"
But then Ma Laizi met Zhu Ge’s calm, bloodshot eyes, and his grip loosened involuntarily.
The other men had also put down their trees and were getting ready to watch the show, only to see Ma Laizi let go of Zhu Ge and take several steps back.
"You... you, you, you..." Ma Laizi pointed at Zhu Ge, speechless.
Zhu Ge stood silently, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Ma Laizi as he hissed in a low voice:
"Many people have had their Heart Spirits stolen. My parents too... It’s not safe here anymore!"
After he said this one sentence, everyone was too stunned to speak, clearly terrified.
"If you want to live, do as I say!" Zhu Ge continued. "I know how to survive!"
Survive!
The sun blazed overhead, yet cold sweat trickled down Ma Laizi’s face. "You... You’re lying! Yu the Scholar is still here, and the village is perfectly normal. Where’s the sign of anyone’s Heart Spirit being stolen?!"
Just then, his mother called softly from behind him, "Why aren’t you back yet?"
"Coming," Zhu Ge replied in a mechanical voice, then looked back at Ma Laizi.
"Yu the Scholar has already had his Heart Spirit stolen! He’s being controlled! The six of you, when you go home, you must remember to open your windows and sleep under the moonlight! Remember this!"
After saying this, Zhu Ge turned and walked back with a gait that seemed normal but was actually stiff.
He didn’t say too much, because he didn’t know if Ma Laizi and his men were trustworthy enough for him to reveal everything.
Although Ma Laizi was currently alive and on his side, so to speak.
But sometimes, a foolish good person is more detestable than an ordinary bad one.
Still, Zhu Ge didn’t have many other options.
He couldn’t afford to give up even the smallest potential ally right now.
At the right moment, even a scumbag like Ma Laizi would surely have his use.
"Let’s go. Don’t mind these thugs." When he reached his mother, she waved her hand. "Let’s go home first, then you can go out again."
Zhu Ge nodded.
Since it wasn’t the busy farming season, the afternoons were relatively free. As usual, he was supposed to go out and amuse himself.
Whether it was heading down the mountain to see if there was any game to hunt, finding a place to lie down for a bit, or just wandering from door to door visiting people.
’This is also an opportunity!’
He could use the afternoon to look around, to search for a breakthrough!
Following behind his mother, Zhu Ge was planning where to go in the afternoon when he was suddenly struck by the feeling of being watched, making him instinctively want to turn his head.
You see, people often react to being stared at.
If you stare at the back of someone’s head long enough, that person will most likely react to the gaze, or at least feel uneasy.
And now, Zhu Ge was having that same uneasy feeling.
It made him want to turn and look, but he resisted the urge.
’I can’t look!’
’Otherwise, the spy will notice something’s wrong!’
’Just keep moving as I was!’
"We’re home."
His mother opened the door and walked inside naturally.
Zhu Ge had originally planned to leave quickly, but now, because of that inexplicable gaze, he decided to go into the house.
As soon as he was inside, Zhu Ge very naturally walked to the wooden window, opened it, and used his peripheral vision to glance left and right.
Suddenly, a face appeared right beside his right cheek.
Zhu Ge’s pupils contracted, but he calmly spoke in an ordinary tone, "Yu the Scholar, what are you doing at my house?"
The visitor was none other than the Master’s disciple, Yu the Scholar!
After the Master left, he had specifically left Yu the Scholar here to stand guard, and with that "Scholar" character talisman, it should have been foolproof.
But the Master had only been gone for three days, and on the evening of the fourth day, the village fell.
Yu the Scholar had to be connected to this.
Zhu Ge didn’t know if Yu the Scholar had his Heart Spirit stolen or if he had betrayed them himself.
But he had to maintain his persona of having his Heart Spirit stolen, just in case!
"Zhu Ge, I know you’re still alive..."
To his surprise, the very first sentence almost made Zhu Ge lose his composure.
Yu the Scholar’s voice was serious and solemn. "...The situation is critical. We must find a way to save everyone and leave this place!"
A look of joy was about to spread across Zhu Ge’s face, and he almost blurted out that he was indeed alive.
But in an instant, he stopped himself and instead took a quick moment to size up Yu the Scholar.
Yu the Scholar was dressed in plain white robes, his hair tied up and held by a crown. Judging by his face, he was only in his early twenties and quite handsome.
As Yu the Scholar spoke, his expression was serious, but his eyes were unnervingly calm.
A knot formed in Zhu Ge’s stomach.
’I can’t expose myself!’
In that moment, Zhu Ge decided not to reveal the fact that his Heart Spirit hadn’t been stolen.
Regardless of whether Yu the Scholar’s intentions were good or evil, he could not expose himself!
"Die? What do you mean? Am I going to die?" Zhu Ge’s expression immediately became panicked. "Yu the Scholar, save me! Save my family!"
Zhu Ge suddenly seemed frantic, but his tone remained mechanical and calm.
To his surprise, Yu the Scholar’s expression changed abruptly.
He frowned, not responding to Zhu Ge’s words, and instead muttered, "Strange. Could it be his Heart Spirit wasn’t stolen..."
With that, he looked up at Zhu Ge again. "Have you seen Hua Xiaomei recently? Her mother is looking for her but can’t find her."
’Hua Xiaomei?’
Zhu Ge was about to freeze instinctively, but he stopped himself from showing that "stunned" expression and instead replied mechanically:
"Hua Xiaomei? Aren’t she and her mother already dead?"
The moment he finished speaking, it was Yu the Scholar’s turn to be stunned. "What are you talking about? Isn’t Hua Xiaomei your fiancée?"
"The engagement was just settled a few days ago. The Master himself arranged the match for you."