Chapter 380: Stealing People

Guo Village and Baligou were both rural backwaters. Ever since Li Yinfeng married into Baligou, she hadn’t seen such lively festivities on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month for many years. Now, hearing the sound of drums and gongs from the main street, she was already restless, looking even more eager to go out than Zhang Xiaohua.

By contrast, eighteen-year-old Zhang Xiaohua sat composedly, a gentle smile on his face, behaving with perfect decorum.

Of course, his divine sense had long since swept out to scout the surroundings, there was no need for him to be impatient.

His calm and steady demeanor, however, made the others present look at him with newfound respect. See, this child truly lives up to the rumors of having mingled in the big towns; such composure is rare indeed.

When the time seemed right and everyone was full from food and drink, Old Shopkeeper Li rose to his feet. Together with Shopkeeper Yu, he led the group onto the street. They followed the flow of people, admiring the lanterns lining both sides of the road.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month—Lantern Festival—was the night of the full moon. High above, a bright, clear moon hung in the sky. Many shops along the street had hung up their own handmade lanterns, and street vendors had set up stalls selling all kinds of festive lights.

Amidst the crowd, young and old alike each carried a lantern in hand, strolling, watching, chatting as they went. Not long after Zhang Xiaohua and the others left the Li family residence, they came upon a lantern vendor’s stall. With a grand gesture, Old Shopkeeper Yu bought one lantern for each person. Even Zhang Cai accepted his with a pleased expression, holding a lantern that was neither too big nor too small. Zhang Xiaohua was surprised—his father had always been a rather old-fashioned man, and Zhang Xiaohua had never seen him take an interest in such childish things. But then he saw both Shopkeeper Yu and Shopkeeper Li each carrying a lantern with cheerful smiles, and he couldn’t help but laugh quietly to himself: “So, it turns out that everyone has a child’s heart deep down.”

The streets were crowded, but people naturally gathered in their own groups. Li Jinfeng, Liu Kai, and the Yu family’s son-in-law walked together with Zhang Xiaohua. Knowing that Zhang Xiaohua was unfamiliar with such festivities, Li Jinfeng eagerly pointed things out to him, introducing the sights and sounds along the way. Li Yinfeng and Yu Bihe strolled side by side, each holding a delicate little lantern, whispering secrets to each other and bursting into laughter behind their hands. The four elders brought up the rear, walking at a leisurely pace, yet their conversation was lively, with frequent nods of agreement.

After passing through several streets, the crowd grew even denser, as if everyone had been cooped up at home for an entire year and was only now coming out to stretch their legs. Up ahead, the sound of drums and gongs rose, accompanied by waves of cheering and applause.

Li Jinfeng explained with a smile: “Up ahead is a large square in the west of town. Most of the New Year temple fairs are held here. Judging by the noise, there must be a lion and dragon dance performance going on, which is why the cheers are so loud.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s expression turned a bit odd. He had quite a connection with this square in Lu Town. The first time, he’d come here with his father and two elder brothers, where they saw Liu Qian being harassed and, acting out of righteousness, helped her, allowing Zhang Xiaolong to win the beauty’s heart. Five years ago, he and his second brother had encountered a wandering medicine seller being bullied in this very square. Again, he had stepped in, acting with chivalry, and obtained a pill recipe of sorts, even breaking the leg of a local bully. He couldn’t help but wonder what strange encounter awaited him tonight.

Yet, when they rounded the corner, all he saw was a dazzling sea of lights and a bustling, joyous scene. Everyone’s face was lit with happiness; there was not a hint of anything amiss.

In the center of the square, two dragon dance teams wielded wooden poles, each team manipulating a long, dragon-shaped lantern, locked in a lively contest.

Seeing the dragon lanterns, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, he had seen a dragon-shaped surge of heaven-and-earth Yuan Qi with his divine sense—and wasn’t it quite similar to these dragon lanterns? No doubt, these dragon-shaped energies had appeared since ancient times. Perhaps, in the era when the immortal path flourished ten thousand years ago, such visions were common, witnessed by cultivators and somehow passed down into the mortal world.

But why was there no phoenix lantern?

Almost immediately, Zhang Xiaohua found the answer. The dragon dance was lively precisely because of the dragon’s long body—many people working together made it all the more festive. If it were a phoenix dance, a single person would have to carry it; where would the sense of excitement be? Besides, only the dragon’s head was difficult to craft, but with a phoenix, the entire body would be hard to make, and it wouldn’t be convenient to perform.

“It must be so. Hahaha!”

Zhang Xiaohua felt quite proud of his own cleverness.

Around the dragon dance teams, there were also more than a dozen lion dancers, all performing with sweat streaming down their faces. Not only was Zhang Xiaohua thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, but the rest of the crowd was also applauding enthusiastically.

Zhang Xiaohua was rather pitiful in this regard—before he went to Pingyang City, he was only twelve years old. In those twelve years, he had only visited Lu Town during the New Year, and always during the day. He had never experienced the nighttime festivities of Lu Town. He had always assumed that the people of Lu Town, like those in Guo Village, would extinguish their lamps and go to bed as soon as night fell. Even on the fifteenth or sixteenth of the first lunar month, they would only walk around the village with small lanterns. It was only today that he realized how vibrant and lively town life could be at night.

After a while, more and more people gathered in the square, and Zhang Xiaohua’s group was slowly pushed to a corner of the plaza. But even here, the atmosphere was just as festive.

Just as they were enjoying the show, suddenly, a woman stumbled out from a nearby alley, crying out: “Husband! Husband, where are you? Our child has been taken!”

She shouted and searched as she went.

At that moment, a man blocked her path and called out: “Madam Wu, what’s happened to your child?”

Madam Wu sobbed: “Second Uncle, just now I was making lanterns with our child in the courtyard when suddenly a masked figure descended from the sky, grabbed her, and leapt onto the rooftop before disappearing. Tell me, how am I supposed to go on?”

The man pointed in a direction and said: “I think I saw Brother Liu over there just now. Go and look for him. Sigh!”

Madam Wu, desperate for help, grabbed his hand, forgetting all propriety, and pleaded: “Second Uncle, could you please go to the yamen and ask them to send someone?”

The man replied firmly: “Don’t worry, Madam Wu. I’ll go right away. But you must be prepared—the officials are always slack during the New Year, and from what you describe, this is someone with extraordinary abilities. The authorities wouldn’t dare get involved.”

Madam Wu wept even harder. “Then… then… how can I go on living?”

With that, she stumbled off in the direction he’d indicated, still searching.

That man called Second Uncle could only sigh: “What a world we live in…”

He patted his money pouch, pushed through the crowd, and headed straight for the yamen.

At that moment, someone nearby, who knew the family, said: “Alas, poor Zai Zai. I just saw her at the street corner this morning. Such a sweet little girl.”

Another person chimed in, surprised: “Isn’t it strange? Why would anyone take an interest in an ordinary girl from a common family? If someone wanted to kidnap, wouldn’t they go after a beauty?”

“Exactly. From what Second Aunt said, it was clearly a martial expert from the Jianghu. Wouldn’t it be easier to act at night? Why snatch someone in broad daylight, and at this hour, no less?”

Someone else added: “Don’t underestimate that little girl. When I saw her this morning, Second Aunt was having her fortune told. The blind fortune-teller said she was born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—a ghostly fate, the most yin and eerie. If used properly, and if she marries into a good family, she’ll bring great fortune to her husband.”

“Tsk tsk, could it be that some martial master overheard and couldn’t resist, so he snatched her away to marry her before nightfall?”

“Cripple, you’re talking nonsense! Zai Zai is only seven years old!”

“Heh, I’m just saying. Who knows, maybe some martial experts have strange tastes?”

Their words grew more and more unpleasant.

“Sigh…” Zhang Xiaohua let out a sigh. Human nature truly is unfathomable.

Turning slightly, he noticed several gazes fixed on him.

Zhang Xiaohua was startled. He reached up and rubbed his face, left and right, puzzled. “Father, is there dirt on my face?”

Zhang Cai replied: “No, even if there was, it’s so dark—how could I see it?”

“Then why are you all looking at me?”

Zhang Xiaohua was genuinely confused.

Zhang Cai frowned, glanced around, and whispered: “Xiaohua, didn’t you hear about that Zai Zai just now? Don’t you have any opinion?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied: “Of course, I feel deep sympathy. If her mother had given birth to her a few hours later, maybe this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.”

“You—!” Zhang Cai was so exasperated he could only point at Zhang Xiaohua, lost for words.

Lowering his voice, he said: “Didn’t you spend all those years learning martial arts? Now you see someone’s child has been taken, and the mother is so distraught she wants to die—don’t you feel any urge to help?”

In truth, the moment Second Madam had cried out about her daughter being snatched, Zhang Xiaohua had already released his divine sense and spotted the black-clad figure carrying the little girl under his arm from afar. It was just that, with so many people in the square, and the kidnapper’s qinggong not being particularly impressive, Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t in any rush to give chase. He’d simply planned to wait for a chance—perhaps slip away to relieve himself, or use the crowd as cover—before going to rescue the girl. But now, with his father calling him out so directly, he found himself in a bit of a bind.

But really, it wasn’t much of a dilemma. Zhang Xiaohua just preferred to keep a low profile. Yet everyone here knew he was a skilled martial artist—if not, his father wouldn’t be pointing at him like this.

So, Zhang Xiaohua put on a shameless grin and said: “Father, don’t be angry! Your good son will go right now, how about that?”

“Go? Go for what? The cucumber dish is already cold. What’s the point of going now?”

Zhang Cai glared at his “unfilial” son, still fuming.

Zhang Xiaohua scratched his nose, speechless. What was up with his father? People always say, “With great power comes great responsibility,” but that responsibility didn’t fall on his father’s shoulders—so when did his sense of duty become so inflated?

Seeing that there weren’t many people nearby, Zhang Xiaohua quietly said to Liu Kai: “Brother Kai, keep an eye on my father. Make sure nothing happens to him. I’ll be right back.”

Liu Kai looked nervous. “Xiaohua, wh-where are you going? Leaving me with such an important task—I feel a lot of pressure!”

Zhang Xiaohua rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to the alley over there to relieve myself.”

Sigh, everyone around nearly fainted!