Chapter 108 The Young Man in Chain
Trailing after Mei Ruohan all the way, Su Li stood on the dark-colored roof and couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows. When she saw Mei Ruohan buy food and herbs in great quantities in shops along the street, she was more interested.
It seemed that Mei Ruohan had other things to do in the Qinghe Town. And she had to keep those things to herself. Or else she would not just ask for help without saying anything. She would tell Su Li about these things according to her temperament.
Mei Ruohan put away the remaining silver after packing up all things with difficulty. She seemed to remember something and a hint of happiness appeared on her face.
After getting out the city gate, she always chose byways regardless the danger at night. Su Li finally saw a shabby temple in the woods after they walked for half an hour.
There were lot of beggars in the shabby temple. Mei Ruohan walked into the temple familiarly and gave most of the food to the beggars. Then she went into the innermost room and put down the package on her back. She panted and then whispered, “Brother Long, are you there? I am coming to see you. Brother Long…”
With a rustling sound, a man climbed out from the back of the dilapidated Buddha statue after Mei Ruohan quietly called him for several times. The chain on him jingled.
Although he was unkempt and ragged, it could still be found out that he was a tall young man in early twenties. There was a chain in each of his scapula. It seemed that someone had forced the chain into his scapulae. So, he not only couldn’t put forth strengthen, but suffered from pain all day long.
Su Li saw him through the crack of the roof with her eyebrows slightly raised.
Only major criminal offenders who had committed serious crimes would suffer from the torture of bone puncture. It could be concluded from the rusty chain and the dried blood stain on his shoulders that he had been chained for no less than a year.
“He is still alive and has a fairly vigorous breath after a year’s torture. And here is another one who has practiced Xuangong.” Su Li was more interested and continued to watch.
The young man became soft for an instant when he saw Mei Ruohan. But he returned to be cold before Mei Ruohan found out. Then he said, “Why are you here? Do you forget what I told you last time? I told you to go away…Do you hear me?!”
The young man almost screamed the last words out with all his strength, and the chain jingled aloud.
Mei Ruohan’s body trembled and tears began to well up in her eyes. She was brought up in clover and had never be blamed to such extent. But she didn’t leave. Instead, she wiped her tears and chattered while taking things out of the package,
“This herb is used for easing pain. Doctor said it will have a better effect if pounding it into pieces.”
“This is food. You must hide it well. Don’t let other beggars take it again.”
“I also bring you clothes, water and dry cloth. Don’t forget to wipe your body…”
The young man looked at Mei Ruohan in astonishment and his face even quivered. Finally, he lay on the ground and said coldly, “Suit yourself. You’re allowed to bring someone here next time. Don’t come here by yourself at night.”
Mei Ruohan stopped packing up for a moment when she heard what he said and then she packed faster. She lowered her head so that no one could see her brightened eyes. Her eyes had never been lit up for seventeen years.
Mei Ruohan chatted with him after hiding well the food. Most of the time Mei Ruohan talked about the interesting things happened in Qinghe Town all by herself and the young man responded with a simple hum from time to time. In such weird conversation, Mei Ruohan talked for a fully hour.
Until late night did Mei Ruohan return to Qinghe Town alone. The outside of the Qinghe Town wasn’t safe. It couldn’t be known who gave her the courage to be out at night. For two months, she had been lucky and didn’t run against danger.
There was only the young man left in the room after Mei Ruohan left. He was not cold but gentle. He stared at the place where Mei Ruohan had sat and couldn’t help touching it. The hay was still warm.
He had already lost all the hopes. That day, he even couldn’t get away from the chase of official soldiers and would die in the woods. He had never thought that he would run into her and she tried to protect him instead of being scared when she saw him…
Although she was weak, she carried him whose weight was more than fifty kilograms from the wild land to this shabby temple. She had given all she had to those beggars so as to let him live here.
He feebly touched the rusty chain and the bitterness welled up in his mouth. He couldn’t help but whisper, “How could you commit yourself to a dying man like me…”
“If you thought like that, she truly committed herself to a wrong person!”
Su Li lightly jumped down from the roof. The young man instantly got so nervous that he bended his back as a well-prepared leopard. Instead of any gentleness in his eyes, he gave off horrifying breath of a lone wolf that was driven to the last ditch.
He was too careless!
The young man gazed at the girl in black with a black veil on her face. He actually didn’t know when she came.
Su Li looked at the young man with interest and said while nodding her head, “You are very good. Although you know perfectly well that you are not a match for me, you summoned up your courage to fight. However, that Mei Ruohan isn’t the same as you…”
“What are you going to do?!” The young man’s look became cold and then he said, “Don’t make trouble with her! Or else I will not let you go safely even if I may risk my life.”
Su Li pinched her slim fingers and casually teased, “Yech! Worry about her now? Why are you so cruel before? Do you truly think you can hurt other people’s feelings at will just because you are going to die?”
The young man in chain was nerveless and then he asked after a while, “What’s your relationship with her?”
The corner of Su Li’s mouth slightly rose. She was not afraid of smearing her valuable black gauzy coat and sat at where Mei Ruohan had sat. She chuckled and said, “You are very smart. At least you’re smarter than I thought. Does a man’s intelligence quotient will automatically decrease when he is in love?”
The young man immediately felt embarrassed. When did he fell in love, moreover…was that so obvious?
“Who on earth are you?”
The young man in chain habitually touched his scapula. The dull pain began again after the violent movements just now…
“I am not a big shot.” Su Li took the medicine package and said while throwing it to the young man, “I am only Mei Ruohan’s boss.”
“Boss?” The young man in chain was slightly astonished and asked, “Isn’t she a student of Qinghe Girls’ School? How can she have a boss?”
“Unfortunately, that’s true.”
Su Li took out a contract, showed it to him and said, “She signed it today. Otherwise how can she get money to buy herbs for you?”
Although Su Li put away the contract quickly, the young man still saw Mei Ruohan’s fingerprint and handwriting on the contract. He instantly looked pale. How could a weak girl stand against a legal contract?
Mei Ruohan sold herself for a hundred taels of sliver so as to cure him?!
The young man in chain stared at Su Li who dressed in black gown and said with his lips trembling, “What kind of business are you involved in?”
“What do you think?”
Su Li said with a charming laughter. The young man’s face became extremely pale.
“Take the herbs back!” The man in chain threw away the medicine package and gazed at Su Li without blinking his eyes. Suddenly, he rushed to Su Li at full speed and shouted, “She can’t go to a brothel. Give me the contract!”
Su Li stood up and went back a few steps. She lightly jumped aside and the young man in chain failed to hold her. The chain hit the ground with clatter and the man groaned in pain.
He shakily took a deep breath and slowly crawled up and kneeled before Su Li. But when he was about to lower his head, he was stopped by a cold fingertip on his head.
He rose head and met with a pair of deep eyes. “Don’t say such words as begging me. I don’t want to hear it because it means nothing. You should always bear that in your mind when you work fingers to the bone for me.”
The young man in chain was dumbfounded and he asked, “Work fingers to the bone for you?”
Su Li poked the hard chain which made the man frown in pain and asked, “Do you want to be locked here for your entire life until you die? And…”
Su Li stood up with her arms crossed before her chest and then she angrily continued, “When did I say I run a brothel?”
The young man in chain was completely stunned. It took a long time before he knew what had happened. There was flames of fury in his eyes. It turned out that the long conversation between them was just a joke that the girl in front of him played?!
“I didn’t mean to make fun of you.”
Su Li seemed to saw through the young man in chain and said coldly, “Mei Ruohan now follows me. Since she wants to be with you, I certainly need to test you out. As for the result, you barely reach the standard.”
The young man in chain sneered and retorted, “She is not anybody’s follower!”
Su Li instantly smiled after hearing that. Then she said, “It isn’t up to you to say whether she is a follower or not because you will also become my follower soon.”
“Impossible!” The young man in chain grinned and said, “I have already lost everything. I will not live long. And now you want to take freedom away from me? I would never let her work for people like you if I had enough ability.”
“Am I cruel?”
Su Li tilted her head to one side and blinked her eyes. Suddenly she chuckled and said, “That’s right. I am very cruel either in previous life or in this life. But I will figure out a way to make you want to follow me. Do you believe that?”
“Well?” The young man in chain struggled to stand up. It seemed that he was trying to maintain his last dignity. He continued, “Then show me what you can do.”
“It seems that you have forgotten what I just said. Or you didn’t even hear it?”
Su Li walked to the young man and coldly said while poking the chain with her fingertips, “I will repeat it for the last time. Do you want to wear this chain until you die and live a useless life? Or…you don’t want to be with Mei Ruohan for the rest of your life at all?”
The young man changed his expression and he finally couldn’t maintain his weak dignity. If he could publicly stay with her…and make her happy, this last dignity seemed to mean nothing.
“If you have any doubts on that, you can forget that I have come here tonight.” At this time, Su Li clapped her hands, turned away and was going to leave. Then she heard the man answer eagerly, “Wait!”
Su Li lightly turned around and saw the young man’s troubled face. He finally asked, “Can you really find a way to help me?”
“You don’t believe me?” Black flame of fury suddenly lit Su Li’s eyes and she said, “Then I will show you!”
“Crack! Crack!”
Su Li looked slightly cold. She reached out her hands to grasp and press the chain in front of the young man’s chest. The chain was immediately pulled straight by the external force. Then it was pulled out from the bone!
The young man felt a really sharp pain from his shoulders. Suddenly, he couldn’t see anything and completely passed out because of the pain. Su Li hurriedly bended down to treat his wound. And the corner of her mouth slightly rose, which showed a perfect form of arc.
“You can’t even stand such pain? It seems that you are more vulnerable than I thought.”
…
It was an endless dark space. The two-character Brother Long sounded in the ears of the young man in chain from time to time. He didn’t know where he was. All he could do was to keep running. Finally, he saw a hint of light and opened his eyes.
Looking at the flat ceiling, he was in a daze. He began to think, “Where am I? Right… I am in the shabby temple and the girl had pulled out the chain from my body directly. Am I dead?”
The young man in chain slowly turned his head and he saw Mei Ruohan laugh with tears. His eyes finally had focus.
Am I still alive? And…he touched his shoulders and found the chain actually gone.
It actually wasn’t a dream!
“Ruohan…”
The young man in chain was frightened by his own hoarse voice. How long did he sleep?
“You finally wake up?”
A girl dressed in white clothes suddenly appeared by the window. Although she had changed clothes, he still could recognize her at the first sight. That devilish woman had tormented him inside and out.
“You have already become my follower. You should tell Mei Ruohan and me what your name is?”