Chapter 104: Ruthless Resolve
The Xiao family’s residence in the old western alley had been vacant for nearly half a year, its locks already coated with a layer of rust.
The doors of the neighbors on either side of the alley were tightly shut. The Xiao family had rarely interacted with their neighbors even in the past. Later, after Huo Kun lost the letter and came to the Xiao residence to dig three feet into the ground in his search, pounding on every door in the alley to demand the whereabouts of the Xiao family, the neighbors dared not associate with them in the slightest. Some had even moved away.
Now, returning to this old house, Xiao Huiniang made no effort to alert the neighbors.
During her recovery, she had learned from Pei Song that her son had killed a prominent Pei general. Though the Pei commanders in charge of Yongzhou City had yet to obtain solid evidence, her son remained the primary suspect and was wanted.
Once her injuries stabilized somewhat, Pei Song falsely claimed that Zhou Sui had instructed him to take her away from Yongzhou to avoid the immediate danger. Fearing she might cause trouble for Zhou Sui or be used by the Pei generals now controlling Yongzhou to threaten her son, Xiao Huiniang followed Pei Song to Mozhou.
While serving in the Mozhou army, Pei Song found a place for Xiao Huiniang in a nearby village, secretly posting guards to prevent her rescue or any mishap. To Xiao Huiniang, he lied, saying he was carrying out tasks assigned by Zhou Sui, visiting her every ten days or half a month. Xiao Huiniang never doubted him.
This time, escorting Xiao Huiniang back to the old Xiao residence, Pei Song brought two personal guards, falsely presenting them to her as Zhou Manor Guards.
As they busied themselves unloading numerous items from the carriage, Xiao Huiniang pushed open the dust-covered main gate of her home. Seeing the desolate and dilapidated courtyard, she couldn’t help but feel sorrowful: "It’s only been half a year without residents, and it’s already in such a state."
Stepping over the threshold, she began gathering the shattered fragments of earthen jars and pottery scattered across the yard.
Pei Song followed her inside, his gaze sweeping over the cramped courtyard with an unreadable expression, though his voice remained as warm as ever: "Leave that, let the men handle the cleaning."
Xiao Huiniang tossed the broken pottery shards into the vegetable patch by the wall, then righted an overturned stool under the eaves, wiping off the dust with a handkerchief. She smiled and said, "It’s not heavy work. This trip has been hard on you and your men. There’s nothing fine here to entertain you, but I’ll cook a simple meal later—please don’t mind its plainness…"
Pei Song noticed a heavily notched firewood knife in the corner of the yard. Most household knives would be sharpened again once dulled, but this one had multiple chips added to its already rolled edge, clearly the result of being used to hack against something hard after it had dulled.
He picked up the firewood knife, examining it closely.
Noticing his interest, Xiao Huiniang explained with a faint smile, "That’s the firewood knife my Huan’er used to use."
Pei Song ran his thumb over the rusted chips and asked, "The blade is so badly rolled—why wasn’t it sharpened before using it again?"
A shadow crossed Xiao Huiniang’s expression as she replied, "Back then, Huan’er had somehow offended military officers in the city over matters related to the gambling house. He was surrounded and attacked by many soldiers. With no proper weapon at hand, he relied on this firewood knife to save his life. The knife was chopped into this state during that incident."The entanglement between the proprietor of the gambling house and Huo Kun, along with the Yongzhou disaster revealed by that letter, was far too complex. Wen Yu’s identity also needed to remain confidential at the time. To spare Xiao Huiniang from fear and worry upon learning the truth, Xiao Li did not disclose the full story of the letter to her.
To this day, Xiao Huiniang still believes that the family’s misfortune was solely due to Xiao Li helping the proprietor retrieve an account book and falling into a trap set by their adversaries.
Upon hearing this, Pei Song grew thoughtful. He looked at the firewood knife in his hand and remarked, “To escape under the siege of government troops, Brother Xiao’s martial skills are truly remarkable.”
Xiao Huiniang, busy with her chores, sighed at his words. “His fighting skills were honed over the years while collecting debts for others, brawling and fighting. In the early days, whenever he returned home, he’d often be injured, afraid I’d notice, so he’d secretly tend to his wounds…”
Recalling those days when her son lived on the edge of a blade, Xiao Huiniang’s eyes reddened. Realizing she had lost her composure, she quickly wiped her eyes and smiled. “Please sit in the yard for a while. I’ll brew some tea.”
After Xiao Huiniang went into the kitchen, Pei Song glanced at the firewood knife in his hand and placed it back where it belonged.
It seemed this woman was unaware that her son had learned martial arts from someone in the imperial prison.
He continued to survey the dilapidated house and yard, recalling the fragments of the past he had heard from Xiao Huiniang and the scattered details extracted during the interrogation of the Yongzhou prison guards. It felt as if he had personally witnessed the faint, lingering shadow of the young man he covertly dreaded yet had never met—growing up year by year within these crumbling walls.
Pei Song ran his fingers over a fist-shaped dent in the earthen courtyard wall, his gaze dropping to the dust clinging to his fingertips.
The fist mark on the wall was likely left when the other was in his teens.
He had practiced the fist technique learned from Qin Yi exceedingly well.
Pei Song brushed the fine dust from his fingers, his lips pressed into a tight line.
Despite his efforts to convince himself he didn’t care, a vague, inexplicable jealousy stirred within him—one he couldn’t quite articulate.
Yes, jealousy.
Orphaned from a young age, he had nothing, while that person had a mother who cherished him as her own life and a father who had been taken from him.
And him? He had nothing, left only with endless betrayal and hatred.
A shadow fell over Pei Song’s eyes, his aura gradually turning cold and stern.
“Young Brother Song?”
“Young Brother Song?”
Xiao Huiniang called twice before Pei Song snapped back to reality. Instantly, he concealed the sharpness in his eyes, turning with a gentle expression. “Hmm?”
He had lied to Xiao Huiniang, claiming his surname was Song, with the given name Pei.
Xiao Huiniang smiled warmly. “Go sit over there and have some tea. The meal will still take a while.”
Pei Song thanked her and walked absentmindedly to the corner of the yard where Xiao Huiniang had set up a tea table. The table was a foldable wooden one, flanked by a long bench and a reclining chair.
His two guards, having already been attended to by Xiao Huiniang, held cups of tea but did not dare sit.
Only when Pei Song approached and Xiao Huiniang returned to the kitchen did one of the guards lower his voice and ask, “Master?”
Though puzzled as to why Pei Song, contrary to his usual demeanor, had not ordered the old woman’s immediate disposal—given her lack of further use—and had instead maintained the earlier deception, they knew better than to question it. Those who served by Pei Song’s side understood the importance of discretion.Moreover, since the Xiao boy had already died and Zhou Sui would soon be eliminated as well, whether the old woman lived or died held little consequence for them.
The current call was to request permission from Pei Song for them to leave.
If they stayed any longer and the old woman came out to invite them to join the meal, they knew they wouldn't have the nerve to accept.
Pei Song didn't speak, merely took a sip of tea with one hand and gestured slightly for them to leave with a lift of his hand.
Having received his permission, the two slipped away like shadows.
When Xiao Huiniang came out again and learned that the other two had already left, she kept murmuring about how they were being too formal. Pei Song leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching Xiao Huiniang bustling by the stove, and felt that the scene resembled his memories of his mother cooking in the kitchen.
He offered to help tend the fire, but Xiao Huiniang shooed him out to the courtyard to enjoy the cool air, using the kitchen's small size as an excuse.
The sun had dipped westward, and vast stretches of fiery clouds spread across the horizon.
Sitting in the lounge chair, Pei Song listened to the distant barking of dogs from the streets, the clatter of spatulas from the kitchen, and the rustle of the evening wind through the treetops. The tension in his mind seemed to slowly unwind. His gaze fell upon the half-finished new clothes Xiao Huiniang was sewing for him in the nearby sewing basket, and he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of peace and tranquility.
It was as if he were back in his childhood, when his mother was still alive, before the Qin family had been raided. He had merely grown tired from training and dozed off briefly on the stone table.
His mother would fan him affectionately, and his father would show a rare tenderness instead of his usual stern expression after he fell asleep. When he woke up, climbing onto the wall, he could still see Yichu, the girl next door, tending to her flowers and plants in the yard. Spotting him, she would take out pastries wrapped in an embroidered handkerchief and ask with a smile if he wanted some...
He fell into a deep sleep amidst the evening breeze and twilight clouds.
Xiao Huiniang stepped out of the kitchen to fetch the ginger drying under the eaves. At first glance, she mistook the person sleeping in the lounge chair for Xiao Li and nearly called out "Huan'er" before realizing it was Pei Song.
A mix of emotions surged in her heart. With a sorrowful expression, Xiao Huiniang silently wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve.
Though it was summer, the evening breeze carried a chill. Worried that Pei Song might catch a cold sleeping like this, she went inside to fetch a thin blanket and gently draped it over him.
Whether it was because he hadn't slept well in a long time or because the surroundings made him feel so at ease, Pei Song—usually alert at the slightest disturbance—showed no signs of waking.
Xiao Huiniang, thinking he was exhausted and recalling his earlier mention of having no parents, saw him sleeping so vulnerably in the lounge chair and felt as if she were looking at her own son. She sighed softly and murmured, "Another unfortunate child."
By the time Pei Song woke up, it was completely dark, with old yellow lanterns hanging under the eaves.
Xiao Huiniang emerged from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of stew and said to him with a smile, "Awake? I was just about to call you after setting out the dishes!"
Pei Song stared blankly at the thin blanket covering him, then unconsciously furrowed his brows. "Did... you cover me with this?"
Xiao Huiniang, unaware of his unease, continued setting the table and replied cheerfully, "I saw you sleeping earlier and was afraid you'd catch a cold, so I covered you with a thin blanket."
"I see," Pei Song said, as if it were just a casual question. But his fingers gripping the blanket slowly tightened, the joints turning white from strain. Beneath his half-lowered lashes, his eyes were shadowed with gloom.When had his vigilance deteriorated to such an extent?
Even his personal guards, who had followed him for years, would instantly rouse him if they approached within three paces.
Yet tonight, he had slept so soundly that someone had draped a thin blanket over him without his notice.
This sense of events slipping beyond his control filled Pei Song with disgust and an inexplicable restlessness, even breeding a dark fury within him.
He had spared the old woman’s life merely to keep Xiao Li in check.
Now that the scheme had succeeded, whether she lived or died mattered little to him. Granting her a way out was no different to him than releasing a stray cat or dog.
From start to finish, she was nothing but a pitiful creature to be used and discarded at will. How could he possibly let his guard down around her?
Was it possible that her clumsy attempts to please him had softened his heart? The very idea was laughable.
No sooner had the thought surfaced than he dismissed it. It was merely that playing along with the old woman held a certain amusement, and he had been momentarily beguiled by the maternal aura she projected. How could he ever lower his defenses for a lowly old crone?
“Why are you just sitting there? Hurry up and eat,” Xiao Huiniang urged, noticing Pei Song’s pensive expression after she had laid out the dishes.
Pei Song acknowledged her but made no move to pick up his chopsticks. Instead, his fingers absently tapped the armrest of his reclining chair, his eyes shadowed beneath half-lowered lashes as if weighing whether to alter his initial decision.
Xiao Huiniang warmly encouraged him, “Try this scallion-braised pork ribs. My Huan’er used to love this dish the most. I made plenty, so take some back later for those two young brothers of yours to try as well.”
She then fetched a small bowl and ladled him some trotter soup. “And this trotter soup is very nourishing. You look even thinner than before. When you’re away from home, you must take good care of yourself. "Don’t skip meals..."
Her nagging inexplicably soothed his sharp, restless emotions.
For a fleeting moment, a strange thought crossed Pei Song’s mind: perhaps keeping the old woman alive and letting her stay by his side wouldn’t be so bad…
Unaware of his thoughts, Xiao Huiniang gazed at this young man, who was around her son’s age and shared some similarities in temperament, and felt a genuine surge of maternal affection. “Whenever you have time in the future, come visit Auntie often. Treat this place as your own home.”
Pei Song paused mid-sip, his chest flooding with warmth as if hot water had washed over him, submerging the cold killing intent. The earlier thought grew stronger, and as if compelled by some unseen force, he heard himself agree, “Alright.”
Xiao Huiniang’s gaze grew even more tender and kind. “You really remind me of my Huan’er. Looking at you, I often feel as though I’ve gained another son…”
Though meant lightheartedly, her words struck Pei Song like a blow, jolting him awake from the warmth he had momentarily embraced.
He stared silently at the half-finished bowl of soup in his hands for a long moment before saying, “It’s a pity my mother passed away early. I always wish I could see her again, but that’s impossible now.”
Realizing she had inadvertently touched on a painful subject, Xiao Huiniang quickly comforted him, “You’ve achieved so much. If your mother’s spirit is watching, she must be very proud of you.”
Pei Song ate quietly, his tone ambiguous. “I hope my mother is happy too.”
When he was halfway through the trotter soup, Xiao Huiniang took his bowl to the kitchen to refill it. Pei Song watched her retreating back, lost in thought.When Xiao Huiniang brought out another bowl and urged him to continue eating, he took the soup bowl from her side, filled a portion for her, and handed it over, saying, "Auntie, you should eat as well."
Xiao Huiniang was visibly delighted, her face beaming with a smile as she accepted it. Though she verbally dismissed his courtesy, she immediately took several sips from the bowl.
During the latter half of the meal, their conversation grew even more harmonious, truly resembling a long-lost mother and son reunited.
After the meal, when Xiao Huiniang went to clear the dishes, Pei Song offered to sit with her for a while. Xiao Huiniang then picked up the sewing basket nearby and, by the light of the lantern, began mending new clothes for him while engaging in casual conversation.
When the topic turned to Xiao Li, Xiao Huiniang’s voice filled with bitterness: "I’ve always hoped that Little Badger could live an ordinary life—nothing extraordinary, just getting by. If he had been like any common laborer or peddler, even if I had died back then in the Zhou residence, he wouldn’t have impulsively killed that General Pei. Now, he wouldn’t have to live in hiding…"
Pei Song watched the meticulous stitches she made as she spoke, then suddenly asked, "Don’t you wish he had avenged you?"
Xiao Huiniang sighed. "Everyone meets their end sooner or later. I’ve already burdened him too much. If I had died by that blade, it would only mean missing a few years of watching him grow. But now, because he sought revenge for me, he can’t even return home…"
Overcome with sorrow, she choked back a sob, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand before continuing, "I’d rather he were a coward, as long as he could live in peace."
After a moment of silence, Pei Song asked, "Is that how all mothers in the world think?"
Xiao Huiniang replied, "What mother wouldn’t wish the best for her child?"
Her vision growing blurry, Xiao Huiniang assumed it was due to the dim light. She ran the needle through her hair and continued, "I… I don’t even know if I’ll ever see that child again…"
As if overcome by drowsiness, her eyelids gradually drooped, and her graying head nodded forward, about to slump over.
Pei Song caught her, leaning her against a pillar to sleep forever.
The sewing basket in Xiao Huiniang’s hand slipped and fell, scattering fabric and thread across the ground.
Pei Song sat on the stone steps nearby, gazing at Xiao Huiniang’s serene, unchanged face, and softly said, "Rest well, Auntie."
In the end, he had acted on his murderous intent. When he served her the soup, he had sprinkled in a colorless, odorless poison.
Not because she had unconsciously lowered his guard, but because she had managed to do so, and the kindness she showed him was something he had stolen.
By claiming to work alongside her son, he had gained her compassion and warmth.
If she knew he had orchestrated her son’s death, would she still treat him this way?
In the distance, the flames rising from the Zhou residence had already dyed half the night sky crimson. Pei Song sat on the steps for a while, then used a tinder to set the entire Xiao residence ablaze.
He turned and walked away amidst the flames, as the fallen sewing basket and the unfinished garment slowly caught fire.
Pei Song did not look back.
He had only treated this woman differently because he missed his own mother.
But in the end, she was not his mother.
It was time to end this farce.
—
Xiao Li galloped on horseback, rushing all the way to the west of the city, only to find half the alley and the adjacent houses already engulfed in flames.This was a civilian alley, unlike the Zhou residence area with its single-family homes. The cramped dwellings often housed several generations under one roof, and after the fire broke out, it caused considerable chaos. Everywhere, the cries of children mingled with shouts to put out the flames.
The streets were packed with people, making it impossible for horses to gallop. Xiao Li’s heart pounded as if it were about to leap out of his chest. He couldn’t pinpoint the source of his inexplicable unease. After returning to Yongzhou, he had first gone home to check, but there were no signs of anyone living there.
Later, he went to the security bureau to seek out his former gambling house comrades, asking if they knew whether his mother was still alive. They were all equally shocked and claimed to have no knowledge. His Godmother and the others even worried that he might be suffering from delusions due to excessive grief.
Yet this sudden fire was undeniably suspicious.
Xiao Li randomly grabbed a man from the crowd and demanded, "What caused this fire?"
The man, with only half his clothes on and one shoe lost in the stampede, replied in panic, "I don’t know either! I heard someone shouting 'fire,' and when I ran out, the Xiao family’s area was already ablaze!"
At these words, Xiao Li’s eyes sharpened. He released the man, abandoned his horse, and pushed forward through the crowd, ignoring the raging flames.
Residents nearby drew water from wells and splashed it onto the fiercely burning houses, but the intense heat made it impossible to get close. Most of the water landed on the periphery, doing little to help.
Xiao Li forced his way to the front, snatched a bucket of water from a man, doused himself, and charged straight into the fire-ravaged alley.
People nearby shouted frantically, "You can’t go in! The roof beams inside have already collapsed!"
Xiao Li paid no heed. Enduring the searing pain that scorched his skin, he stubbornly pressed onward toward the heart of the inferno.
A burning beam crashed down, blocking his path. With brute force, he kicked it aside. The scalding smoke and dust choked his lungs, but he covered his mouth and nose with his soaked sleeve and pressed on without pause.
Finally, he kicked open the charred remains of the door to his home and saw a figure leaning against a pillar engulfed in flames, as if asleep. At that moment, Xiao Li felt as if all the blood in his body were flowing backward.
Forgetting to cover his mouth and nose, he screamed "Mother!" with a heart-wrenching cry and rushed toward the figure.
But Xiao Huiniang would never answer him again.
Her clothes had been partially burned away by the flames. Xiao Li hastily scooped water from the vat—filled that very afternoon by Pei Song’s two guards—and doused the flames on her body. He then stripped off his own half-dried outer robe, soaked it in the vat, and wrapped it around Xiao Huiniang as he lifted her. "Mother, we’re leaving now!"
When his hands touched her stiffened body, Xiao Li bowed his head, a desperate, choked sob escaping his throat.
More beams collapsed behind him. The house he had bought with all his savings to bring Xiao Huiniang out and provide her a home was now reduced to ruins in the flames.
He lifted her steadily, his skin cracking and bleeding from the intense heat, yet he repeated only one phrase: "Mother, we’re leaving."
When the former subordinates Zhou Sui had sent to assist Xiao Li followed his example, seizing horses and rushing to the west side of the city, they found the area in utter chaos. Yet, amid the disorderly crowd, a clearing had spontaneously formed.
Abandoning their horses, they pushed through the throng and saw Xiao Li, his clothes tattered and burned, his exposed skin covered in blisters and raw, bloody wounds.He knelt before a corpse, his back as still and silent as a snow-clad mountain.
For a moment, the others halted, not daring to approach.
Another commotion arose from beyond the crowd—unfamiliar to them.
It was the torchlight revealing Song Qin, Zheng Hu, and their group rushing over from the escort agency.
When they spotted Xiao Li, his subordinates urgently called out "Second Brother," but upon seeing the corpse before him, every one of them froze in shock, then expressions of profound grief washed over their faces.
Zheng Hu, his eyes reddened, uttered almost incredulously, "This... is this really Auntie?"
Xiao Li's forearm wound was still bleeding as he turned his back to the group and said, "Big Brother, Tiger, please take my mother to a quiet place first."
With that, he picked up the long blade from the ground and strode away alone.
Song Qin, the most composed among them, had already realized that Xiao Huiniang—who had passed away six months prior—now appearing in Yongcheng and falling victim to the same assailants as the Zhou Family was anything but simple. He urgently called out to Xiao Li's retreating figure, "Second Brother, don't act rashly!"
Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions between 2024-06-22 23:59:35 and 2024-06-28 23:59:32~
Special thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Lu Tang, jenniferCA (1 each);
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