Chapter 72
Children who were not yet enlightened were generally sexually ignorant.
The little beggar stared at the sugar cube in Song Zhao’s hand, his stomach growling with hunger. He nodded at Song Zhao’s request to touch him, not thinking it was too much or anything wrong. In his mind, this big brother who offered him candy was a good person.
Song Zhao, with a triumphant smile, pinched the small beggar’s cheek and seductively moved the sugar cube forward, pulling the beggar’s hand toward his own crotch and saying, “You also touch brother, okay?”
Shan Yu, whose brow was furrowed with anger, kicked Song Zhao hard. Er Zhu, not content with just that, rushed in and ruthlessly pummelled Song Zhao, cursing him: “You beast! The kind of eight bastards that deserve to go to hell!”
Shocked, the little beggar picked up the soiled sugar cube from the ground and ran away while Shan Yu and Er Zhu continued to beat Song Zhao.
Song Zhao was subsequently taken to court, but the outcome was not as hoped.
This traveler had exceptionally strong mental fortitude. Facing Shan Yu and Er Zhu’s accusations, he refuted them with sound arguments and showed no fear of the officials’ interrogation, as if he were the one wronged.
If he was not truly innocent, he was an expert in feigning it.
Shan Yu and Er Zhu, despite their vigorous efforts, could not provide strong evidence beyond their testimony. In the absence of the victim’s testimony, the officials had no choice but to release him.
Er Zhu, frustrated, questioned the official, “We both saw it with our own eyes! How could he be wrongly accused? Do you have to wait for something to actually happen before you care?”
The official replied, “We cannot arrest anyone without solid evidence.”
“He and I saw it with our own eyes!” Er Zhu pointed at himself and Shan Yu. “How can it be false?”
The official countered, “If you could convict someone based solely on your word, then if someone came to accuse you with empty claims, would you want to be convicted indiscriminately?”
There was no way to refute this argument.
Later, Shan Yu and Er Zhu tried to find the little beggar but failed.
“I wonder, the town is so small and there are so many beggars. How can we not find him?”
They could not find him because the little beggar had been poisoned.
The body was found by a traveling monk from a broken temple. The beggar had suffered inhuman maltreatment before his death, and even in his final moments, he clutched at the sugar cube, never tasting it yet.
Shan Yu and Er Zhu had strong reasons to suspect Song Zhao was behind it, but lacked concrete evidence. Moreover, Song Zhao continued to visit the medical clinic with his seemingly honest demeanour, frequently seeking Shan Yu’s help, grabbing medicine, and leering at Wan Qiu with an unsettling gaze.
Shan Yu focused on gathering evidence and did not drive Song Zhao away, instead keeping a closer watch on Wan Qiu and the little bun.
The constant, unsettling feeling of being watched was particularly disturbing. Wan Qiu instinctively felt a deep aversion to Song Zhao, puzzled by how this man, who seemed so ordinary, could suddenly turn into such a threat.
.
That day, as soon as Song Zhao entered the medical clinic, Wan Qiu picked up his little bun and stood up, whispering to Shan Yu with his head down, “Husband, I want to go back to the house…”
Shan Yu, naturally vigilant, did not dare to take it lightly, knowing that the real culprit behind the evil deeds were not yet arrested. He could not rest assured and was not at all willing to let Wan Qiu and the child go to a place where he could not see them.
He said, “Go to the next door and ask Er Zhu to come over.”
Wan Qiu nodded. Seeing Song Zhao sitting in the doorway of the medical clinic, staring directly at him, he held the little buns tightly and walked out from the back hall’s corner door, clutching a medicine bag.
Shan Yu and Er Zhu had discussed Song Zhao, the repeatedly offending villain, and did not hide any details from Wan Qiu.
Wan Qiu had originally not believed it, but Song Zhao’s recent behaviour had made him uncomfortable. He thought, if Shan Yu could change for the better, why could Song Zhao not change for the worse?
The corner door was not far from the main entrance of Er Zhu’s store. Wan Qiu, holding the little bun, walked anxiously, afraid that Song Zhao would follow him. When he looked back, he stumbled.
“Ah!”
“Be careful!”
Er Zhu reached out to help Wan Qiu, naturally taking a grab of the little buns’ arm and saying, “In broad daylight, are you seeing a ghost? You don’t even look when you’re walking. What if you fall with the little bun?”
Wan Qiu steadied himself by holding onto the door frame, feeling increasingly uneasy as if being watched. He shut the door behind him and felt a little better.
“Er Zhu, are you busy now? Husband asked you to come over.”
Er Zhu glanced toward the beautiful silhouette sitting behind the screen and handed the little bun back. “That person is inside. You can go in.”
Wan Qiu wondered who it was.
.
After Wan Qiu left, Song Zhao also got up and was roughly bumped on the shoulder by Er Zhu as he exited the medical clinic.
“Sorry, I was in a hurry.”
Er Zhu apologized with little sincerity, and Song Zhao did not really care…
He was drawn to a new target.
A shuanger in a sapphire blue tunic walked slowly out of the carpenter store across the street from the medical clinci. He wore a veiled hat, which was blown by the wind as he boarded the carriage, revealing a face as cold as ice.
Passers-by widened their eyes at just one look.
Yu Hua reached out to adjust the hat on his head. The sleeve slid down a little with his movement, revealing his white wrist before disappearing behind the carriage curtain.
Er Zhu glanced at Song Zhao, whose mouth was almost watering, with a trace of displeasure. He said to Shan Yu, “We need to think of a way to catch this scourge quickly, otherwise, we don’t know how many more people will be ruined by him.”
“You have a way?”
“…… I have one, but I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
“Speak, let me hear.”
A moment later ……
Shan Yu directly shook his head, saying, “If you want to go, you can go. But Wan Qiu can’t.”
“How can he not? It’s just bait for that man; it’s not dangerous.” Er Zhu tried to persuade Shan Yu, “Using Wan Qiu as bait is obviously the best way to lure him in. It’s a chance to catch him accurately…”
Shan Yu was displeased and snorted, “He is also interested in your wife; why don’t we let Yu Hua go?”
True to what Er Zhu said, they could use Wan Qiu as bait since it was merely a plan to lure the villain, and they would protect him from harm. But there was always a risk involved.
What if things didn’t go as planned?
The person taking Song Zhao’s body was clearly a habitual offender, with exceptionally strong psychological resilience and top-notch anti-detection skills. Despite Shan Yu’s long efforts, he had not managed to catch Song Zhao in the slightest misstep…
Moreover, Shan Yu was not willing to push his own beloved to the brink of danger under the guise of justice. He thought, let whoever was willing to go; the saintly act was not for him.
Shan Yu was no saint; Er Zhu was.
Unbeknownst to the shuanger, Yu Hua had become the bait to lure the devil, Song Zhao.
No matter how capable Yu Hua was, or how he handled the situation, in the end, he was just a shuanger. Trembling, he slapped his own husband, his face turning pale.
“Er Zhu! You’re worthless as a husband! How dare you put your own wife in a danger!”