themonasnovels Chapter 6 Night Rain
Chapter 6 Night Rain
The sound of horses' hooves came from the north, towards the county town.
The night was deep, with no stars or moon. Meng Chen could only see a spark in the distance, which must have been a torch held by someone on horseback.
The newcomer showed no mercy to the horse's strength, nor was he afraid of the difficult night journey; he simply kept whipping the horse to urge it on.
"Heaven is on my side." Meng Chen was about to seize an opportunity to make a move, but as the horse drew closer, he sensed something was wrong.
The horse was not the tall white horse that Yan Bao usually rode, and the person on the horse was short and definitely not Yan Bao.
As they drew closer, Meng Chen, using the faint light of the torch, finally saw clearly that the man on horseback was dressed in the uniform of a yamen runner and was indeed not Yan Bao.
Since that was the case, Meng Chen remained still, continuing to hide under the ridge of the field, letting the yamen runner ride his horse past the tree.
The constable was in a great hurry and didn't notice anyone spying on him. He spurred his horse to the front of the Yan family's gate, hurriedly dismounted, and rushed forward to frantically pound on the gate, as if announcing a bad news.
Before long, the Yan family's gate opened, and someone carrying a lantern looked out. The yamen runner said something and then squeezed in.
Meng Chen was far away and couldn't hear what the constable said, but he was certain that the constable was probably sent by Yan Hu, the second son of the Yan family.
Yan Hu was a clerk in the county government office, and with the help of his elder brother Yan Long, he always treated the clerks like his own servants.
However, given the urgency and the fact that they arrived on horseback in the middle of the night, it must be something extremely urgent, and probably not good news.
Sure enough, just as Meng Chen had been bitten a few more times by mosquitoes, the Yan family's gate opened again.
A group of people rushed out in a panic, some carrying lanterns, some holding torches, creating chaos.
Under the lamplight, Meng Chen saw Master Yan slapping his thighs and stamping his feet, anxiously directing everyone to harness the horses to the carriage.
This definitely means we're going on a long trip!
Meng Chen had prepared the tripwire to catch the horse off guard. Just now, only one yamen runner was carrying a torch, so he was not worried about being discovered. But now there were many people and the lights were brighter, so he had clearly missed the opportunity.
Without thinking twice, Meng Chen lay down and returned to the ridge behind the mulberry tree, naturally taking the rope back as well.
Meng Chen didn't leave, but just watched quietly.
Soon, Yan Bao led out a white horse, first helping the trembling Master Yan into the carriage. Yan Bao then rode the white horse in front, with the others surrounding the carriage, and hurriedly headed onto the main road.
These people were in a hurry, and as they passed the mulberry tree, no one noticed that someone was hiding in the field ridge behind the tree.
Looking at the Yan family mansion again, the gate was already closed.
After waiting a while, Meng Chen stood up, climbed up the mulberry tree and looked into the distance. He saw that the torches were faint and were indeed heading towards the county town.
At this moment, the stars and moon had disappeared from the sky, but the wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the torches were flickering in the wind, like will-o'-the-wisps.
After a long while, just as Meng Chen was preparing to head home, he suddenly noticed a spark returning from among the torches in the distance. Judging from how quickly the spark moved, it was clear that someone was riding back on horseback.
The night was deep and the wind was strong. He didn't know who the person was, but since someone had returned, Meng Chen decided to take the plunge.
He immediately pulled the rope to the other side, grabbed some wheat stubble to cover the rope, and waited for the person to arrive.
Soon, as the torch drew closer, although the appearance of the newcomer was still unclear, it was possible to discern that the mount was a tall white horse.
This must be Yan Bao.
Meng Chen didn't know why Yan Bao had returned, but now that the other was in the open while he was in the dark, and the other was in a hurry and anxious while he was at ease and waiting for the opportune moment, it was a golden opportunity.
The leaves rustled, and a thick layer of dust rose across the open fields. The wind grew stronger, and even the stubble and straw covering the ropes were blown away.
Meng Chen ignored everything else and focused intently on the newcomer.
The sound of hooves grew louder and louder, and the people on horseback drew closer. The torches were flickering in the strong wind, making Yan Bao's expression extremely ugly.
When they were still more than ten feet away from Meng Chen, the torch was blown out by the wind. Yan Bao simply threw away the torch, but it did not slow down his mount by even a fraction.
He rode his horse on this road every day, and he could walk without making a mistake even with his eyes closed, so he naturally felt that it didn't matter whether he had a torch to scout the way or not.
When Yan Bao arrived under the mulberry tree, he heard the wind rustling through the leaves, which sounded as rapid and urgent as a death knell.
Just then, Yan Bao suddenly saw a dark shadow rise up by the roadside. Immediately, his horse stumbled, and he and the horse tumbled forward.
In his haste, Yan Bao tried to get off the horse, but his feet got caught in the stirrups and before he could pull them out, he fell to the ground.
The white horse neighed, and Yan Bao's feet finally left the stirrups. He rolled twice on the ground to avoid being crushed by the horse, but just as he regained his balance and was about to sit up, he saw the dark figure dart in front of him, holding a weapon that looked like a sickle.
Just then, a bolt of lightning suddenly ripped across the sky, instantly separating heaven and earth.
Using the flash of lightning, Yan Bao could see the appearance of the ambush person clearly, and then he remembered that it was the boy from Niujia Village. At that time, he had not said a word, like an easy bully, but now he was holding a sharp sickle and his face was ferocious, like a vengeful ghost.
A thunderous roar followed, and Yan Bao immediately dodged to the side, but it was too late. The scythe, with its slashing force, pierced his chest.
"Let's talk this out, I'll give the land back to you..." Yan Bao said, but he didn't lose his mind despite the excruciating pain. He grabbed the blade of the sickle with one hand and reached for the hilt of the knife at his waist with the other.
Having landed a successful blow, Meng Chen pressed his advantage relentlessly, giving Yan Bao no chance to catch his breath. He continued to grip the sickle tightly, pulling it down along the cleavage he had made, hoping to widen the wound.
Unexpectedly, the sickle blade slid downwards and got caught on the ribs. With the force of both sides, the sickle suddenly broke.
This sickle, though sharp, is also very thin, just like a farmer, who can endure the most hardship but cannot withstand even a minor natural disaster.
Meng Chen immediately dropped the knife hilt and pressed down on Yan Bao, his right knee pressing down on Yan Bao's lower abdomen, his left elbow pressing down on Yan Bao's chest, and his right hand digging into the wound in Yan Bao's abdomen.
Yan Bao lay on his back, unable to get up. Tears streamed down his face, a far cry from the composure he had displayed at Meng Chen's house that day. He was clearly panicked, and in his haste, unable to find the knife at his waist, he tried to push Meng Chen away with both hands.
Yan Bao felt that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the person off him.
Yan Bao's family had been powerful since he was a child, and he had never suffered any hardship or worked in the fields since. He didn't know why this boy in front of him, who was clearly skinny and had a waist no thicker than his own and arms no thicker than his own, was so strong that he couldn't resist him at all.
"Help...help!" Yan Bao grabbed at Meng Chen's body with both hands and screamed and howled towards the direction of his house.
Lightning flashed endlessly in the sky, trees rustled in the distance, and dust swirled in the fields. The only response to Yan Bao's cries was the incessant barking of dogs in his residence.
Hearing its master's mournful cry, the white horse dared not approach, but merely neighed in response.
Seeing the man and horse shouting incessantly, Meng Chen knew that if more people came, things might change again. So he pulled his hand out of Yan Bao's abdominal wound and started to grab Yan Bao's neck.
But Yan Bao was like a pig on a chopping board, twisting and turning his neck, making it difficult to hold him down.
Meng Chen also became ruthless. He stopped kneeling and pressed down on Yan Bao, gritted his teeth and exerted force to flip Yan Bao over, making him lie on the ground. Then he pressed his knees against Yan Bao's back, grabbed Yan Bao's hair hard with his right hand, and pressed Yan Bao's neck with his left hand, pressing Yan Bao's face into the mud.
The field was full of wheat stubble, and Yan Bao's entire head and face were pressed into the mud. He could no longer move his head or make a sound, but his limbs thrashed about, struggling like a madman.
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Bao's limbs finally stopped moving, and he fell silent, perhaps dead.
The dogs continued barking incessantly inside the Yan family mansion, but the gate remained closed.
Meng Chen waited for a while before finally getting up from Yan Bao and sitting down on the ground.
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, revealing dark red blood flowing from Yan Bao's body before seeping into the soil.
This land has absorbed the sweat of countless farmers, and now it embraces all rivers, allowing itself to be irrigated with blood and sweat.
The rain finally arrived, first a little bit, drop by drop, but in an instant it turned into a torrential downpour.
The heavens were exceptionally harsh, casting a scorching sun throughout the wheat harvest season, as if trying to dry up the farmers' blood and sweat; yet the heavens were also exceptionally merciful, only bringing rain after the farmers had stored the wheat grains in their granaries.