Chapter 9#
Unexpected#
A gentleman seeks revenge, from morning till night.
When it came to matters of life and death, Pei Jintang refused to let it go easily. His voice cold, he said, “Do you think our Pei family can’t afford rice, that we would covet your measly meal?”
Pei Xiting looked at the man and said with indifference, “Your arrow had considerable force. If you claim to be unskilled in archery, aren’t you being too modest?”
“I’ve practiced boxing for a few years, so my hands are strong enough.” The man shrugged, looking helpless. “But I really have no aim, otherwise I wouldn’t have nearly hit you.”
If he were hunting game, not only was his aim off—it was as if he were blind. But if his target was ‘Pei Xiting’ himself, then it was far too accurate.
Pei Xiting had been painting since childhood and was used to observing carefully. When this man came out, he showed no panic at all, and his apology lacked sincerity—it was clearly intentional. Yet from the memories of ‘Pei Xiting’, there was no enmity between them.
Pei Xiting stroked his riding whip, and the forest suddenly seemed to fall silent. Pei Jintang glanced sideways and saw Pei Xiting’s expressionless face.
The accompanying guards all stared at Pei Xiting’s hand as he stroked the whip—more like a warning than a reminder. Fortunately, Pei Xiting loosened his grip slightly and finally gave a smile devoid of emotion. “Then you should be more careful next time.”
“Third Young Master Pei is magnanimous. Thank you.” The man smirked, reined his horse around, and rode off.
Pei Jintang said with annoyance, “Even if it wasn’t intentional, that sickening smile of his makes me angry!”
“Who is he?” Pei Xiting asked.
“The son of a Criminal Bureau director. His name is Wang Yehu… no, Wang Yelai. Not a man of upright character, so people curse him behind his back as ‘Nightpot’—dirty, you know.” Pei Jintang clenched his fist. “I really want to beat him up!”
“Without evidence, we’d be the ones at a disadvantage if we start a fight. Even if the heir doesn’t blame us, we’d end up kneeling in the ancestral hall back at the Pei residence.” Pei Xiting said.
Pei Jintang knew the stakes and frowned in frustration. “It’s such a pain having people watching us!”
The guards kept their eyes down, pretending not to hear.
Pei Jintang said, “They say a gentleman seeks revenge, even if it takes ten years—but this is too stifling!”
“A gentleman seeks revenge, from morning till night.” As long as the person wasn’t dead, there were plenty of opportunities for revenge. Pei Xiting twirled his whip and calmly watched the direction Wang Yelai had gone.
Pei Jintang’s eyes lit up. “Got an idea?”
Pei Xiting drew a circle on the ground with his bow, then said to the bewildered Pei Jintang, “This move is called ‘Drawing a circle to curse you’.”
Never heard of it. Pei Jintang asked, “What’s its power?”
“Soon, this Wang guy will die from tripping while walking.”
“…” Pei Jintang smiled faintly.
The four guards: “…”
Pei Xiting yawned, turned his horse around, and rode off.
Pei Jintang could only sigh and follow him into the woods, his enthusiasm clearly dampened. However, after running for a while, he saw that Pei Xiting was seriously hunting, completely unfazed, so he temporarily let it go and dove back into the activity.
“Can we shoot a rabbit and roast it?” As the sky darkened and their energy waned, Pei Jintang grew hungry.
“How about something bigger?” Pei Xiting pointed at the ground under Pei Jintang’s confused gaze. “Slight tremors—something is running toward us.”
Pei Jintang gripped his saber. “Didn’t they say there are no wild beasts in these woods?”
“Doesn’t seem like a large beast either.” Pei Xiting said.
“Two sounds—one chasing, one being chased, very close behind.” One guard dismounted and pressed his ear to the ground. “One horse and a beast. The hoofbeats sound off—here it comes!”
As he finished speaking, a large black horse burst out of the forest ahead. The rider swayed from side to side, his entire body pressed flat against the horse’s back, making no sound at all. Chasing behind was a coarse-haired, robust wild boar. The group scattered like startled birds. One guard shot an arrow that grazed the boar’s back, while another arrow came from the opposite side, striking the boar squarely in the chest and belly.
Immediately, a net flew from the right, spreading open in the air and dropping over the pain-stricken, struggling boar. A guard on the left dashed forward to grab the net’s edge, and together they subdued the boar as it squealed in agony.
At the same time, four hoofbeats had already turned and galloped after the black horse.
“That horse is much faster than ours!” Pei Jintang marveled, then asked, “Should we shoot the horse?”
“The rider can barely hold on. If the horse falls, he’ll be thrown off hard—dead or crippled!” said one guard.
Pei Xiting asked, “Is there a shortcut? We could get ahead of him.”
“There is one! But we’ll have to run a bit.”
“No matter.” Pei Xiting said. “You two take the shortcut and catch him on the other side.”
The two rear guards exchanged glances, then veered off into the woods on the left.
The remaining two continued the chase. Pei Jintang shouted, “Hey! Rider! Still alive?!”
“…Yeah!”
“You can’t keep lying there. When I shout, let go and protect your head. Someone’s up ahead to net you!” Pei Jintang’s voice was nearly breaking. “You hear me?!”
The man’s voice was hoarse. “G-Got it! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome!” Pei Jintang roared.
The man clung to the horse, clumsily loosening the reins that were wound around his hands a couple of turns, gripping them tightly. Then he heard hoofbeats ahead and someone shouted, “Get ready to fly—”
The man felt the horse let out a pained whinny and lurch forward. He instinctively closed his eyes and let go of the reins. In an instant, he was airborne, flung forward, crashing into a net, hitting the ground heavily, then bouncing up before finally dangling in midair.
“…” Trembling, the man opened his eyes and looked around. He found himself suspended in a net carried by two guards at about arm’s length from the ground. He was saved.
The man’s tense body relaxed abruptly. He exhaled a long breath, then grabbed the net and said, “Please, lower me down.”
The two guards set him down, quickly untangled the net, and helped him to his feet. The man hastily brushed aside the hair plastered to his face, revealing a pair of bright eyes and handsome brows.
“So it’s the Fourth Young Master of the Duke of Wen’s residence. You’ve had quite a scare.” The two guards bowed.
“I owe my life to you all. Otherwise, I would have suffered greatly today.” Zhao Yi bowed to the two guards, who quickly returned the gesture. Then he stepped forward and bowed to the two men on horseback. “Thank you both, young masters.”
Pei Jintang dismounted and returned the bow. “It’s our duty to help those in need. Please don’t mention it.”
Zhao Yi praised, “Second Young Master Pei is truly chivalrous.”
Just then, someone exclaimed, “Eh?” A guard crouched down to check the horse’s front hoof. “Why is there no bloodstain? Didn’t the arrow hit?”
“It did hit, but it didn’t penetrate.” Pei Jintang walked over, felt around on the ground, and found a stone. He showed it to everyone. “I threw the stone first, and Xiting shot an arrow to deflect the stone onto the horse’s hoof, making it stumble. Otherwise, that leg would have been beyond saving.”
Zhao Yi marveled, “Both young masters are so meticulous.”
“It was all Xiting’s idea.” Pei Jintang glanced at Pei Xiting, who had remained silent as if an outsider, and thought to himself, You’re quite the cold exterior, warm heart type, huh?
Pei Xiting rejected Pei Jintang’s suggestive glances and said nothing.
“This stone is smooth and was thrown with such precision while at full gallop. Second Young Master Pei’s aim is incredible. And Third Young Master Pei’s archery—truly a master of hitting a target a hundred paces away.” One guard praised. “I never thought the sons of Vice Minister Pei would be so formidable.”
Pei Jintang didn’t bother with modesty. “Praise away—I love hearing it.”
As they spoke, Pei Xiting dismounted and examined the horse from head to tail. Then he crouched down, carefully felt along the horse’s chest and belly, and suddenly touched something. “Wait.”
Everyone stopped. Pei Jintang asked, “What is it?”
Pei Xiting pulled out a half-inch-long fine needle from the horse’s neck. He stood up and looked at Zhao Yi. “Your horse was tampered with. We should report… report it to the authorities.”