Chapter 25
Not a sound came from the inside!
Furrowing his brow, Ling Tian repeated himself in a deeper tone.
There was still no response.
Ling Tian began to get a little impatient. Since I've already found you, it shouldn't matter to you whether I'm one of your captives, but rather, the fact that you cannot escape for the time being! If that's the case, then you should walk out happily. Did you think that by hiding inside like a turtle in its sh.e.l.l, you would be safe?
Taking a step forward, Ling Tian kicked.
With a "huala" sound, the gra.s.ses and the piled up snow flew to the far distance. Below them was a tiny figure huddled up. This was the same beggar that Ling Tian saw who was fleeing for his life!
Ling Tian knitted his brows; such a large movement, yet the little beggar still continued to huddle there without any movement! Approaching closer for a better look, Ling Tian suddenly gave a mocking smile; turns out that the fellow had already fainted! It was no wonder that he only heard such a weak breathing; as it turns out, the little beggar had already sunk into a coma and could just die in his sleep at any moment….
Stretching out his right hand, he felt the little beggar's forehead. Hm, it was burning hot to the point it was frightening. It seemed like he even caught a high fever! This situation was troublesome now. Ling Tian thought of home remedies used in his previous world to treat fevers, but after running through them all at once, he realized that not one could be used in this set of circ.u.mstances.
Tapping his head, Ling Tian came to the conclusion that he had to first take drastic measures to wake that little beggar up. Grabbing a handful of snow from his side, he gripped it tightly to mold it into a block of snow, before wiping it against the beggar's face. Under the stimulation from the cold, the little beggar involuntarily let out a moan.
Grasping the block of snow, Ling Tian's movements got faster and faster as he used the snow to rub on the skin of the little beggar. Even his palms could feel the snow warming up!
This was a method which was beyond crude, and yet, it was clear that this sort of method was extremely effective. For patients suffering from frost bites, such a method was actually the optimal way for them to treat them. While the little beggar was not actually suffering from frost bites, he after all caught his fever from the biting chill. Thus, Ling Tian was certain that such a method would definitely bring about some help.
As it happened, after one barely perceptible groan came from the little beggar's throat, he finally slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Ling Tian, he clearly jerked in shock. In such a scenario and place, he would never have dreamed of meeting a boy roughly the same age as him, with white skin that looked like it was touched up with cosmetics! It was as if he had been dreaming all along!
Seeing that he had already woken up, Ling Tian let out a breath of relief, before asking, "How do you feel now that you have woken up?"
The little beggar stared distractedly for a while before replying, "Did you save me?" After he finished, he then found out that the gra.s.s bundle in which he had squeezed himself into had been thrown to the side. His gaze became penetrating as he asked
Ling Tian gave a slight smile, "I was following you from inside the city. You really can run!" While his tone was light, it was full of innate arrogance as though he was a person who had lived high up in the heavens!
The little beggar got even more panic-stricken, shaking his still-befuddled brain as he strenuously asked, "You've been following me? What motives do you have?"
Ling Tian snorted, the tips of his feet pus.h.i.+ng aside the dead gra.s.s on the ground, "If I hadn't followed you, then with that illness and the cold, I'm afraid you would be so dead."
The little beggar was struck speechless. With his intelligence, it was not difficult for him to understand. If it was not for the fact that this child who was about the same age as him had found him, he would most likely have lost his life. He originally thought of resting a bit before continuing his journey, but who knew that due to his fatigue and the fact that he was suffering from hunger, he actually fainted.
Ling Tian cut to the chase, directly asking, "Why were those pursuers going after you? What have you done?"
Hearing Ling Tian's words, hatred shot out from deep within the eyes of the little beggar, and his dizzy head also cleared a little, "A death feud!" This sentence was said with gritted teeth. He initially did not want to answer, but in his heart, he vaguely had a suspicion that this little boy standing in front of him could provide some measure of a.s.sistance. He now had nothing to his name and was still being hunted down; if he had no one to rely on, then even if he was able to escape for a day or two, he would still be hunted down eventually! He need not even think of taking his revenge of blood. However, this little boy in front of him could possibly give him this chance! His body could not hold on for much longer.
Ling Tian grunted in response, then drew out three pristine white buns from his robes, saying, "You must probably be hungry. Eat this first then tell me your story."
The eyes of the little beggar lit up as he greedily stared at the buns in Ling Tian's hands. With a "gulu" sound, his mouth was flooded with saliva. He literally s.n.a.t.c.hed the food over and began to wolf them down voraciously…
Through his intermittent narration, Ling Tian found out that the little beggar in front of him was called Du Fei and was the son of Du Yuan, a merchant in the city. Their family operated two p.a.w.n shops and life was considered manageable. Last month, someone had p.a.w.ned off a treasured jewel. Since the Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl was made entirely of white jade and furthermore inlaid with all sort of precious gems on the surface, the price was incomparable.
Of course, the Du family did not have the ability to accept such a lavish item. However, the original owner was a descendant of a declined aristocrat family, and whatever that was of value to him had long been p.a.w.ned away, only leaving this family heirloom. Furthermore, the family knew that the Du family was not able to pay out for such a treasure and thus only listed out a price of 10,000 taels of silver! They set the deadline for half a year, in which the original owner would then use the 10,000 taels of silver to buy back the item.
Since the Du family had been dealing with all of this family's p.a.w.ned items beforehand, due to sentimentality, Du Yuan decided to proceed with the deal. Who would have known that just as they were exchanging the items, they were spotted by a section leader of the Blood Flower Hall. When the section leader made his report, the hall master of this Blood Flower Hall immediately harbored thoughts of greed in his heart and sent people over to the Du Family, wanting to buy over that Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl for only 5,000 taels! Du Yuan of course would not agree, since the descendant of the declined aristocrat family had said that it was only for a loan of 10,000 taels in which he would return to reclaim the treasure. Besides, how could the real price of this Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl be only worth 5,000 taels? Even if it were ten times the price, one would still probably not be able to buy it!
Du Yuan promptly rejected it! However, how could he have known that such a rejection would bring about an extermination of his family clan? The whole Du household of over a hundred people were silenced in just a night! It was unknown to whom the Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl had fallen to. Luckily for Du Fei, he managed to escape because he appeared skinny and weak, and was thus a small target. However, the Blood Flower Hall definitely did not let him go so as to eliminate any future troubles and thus chased after him in hot pursuit. The present Du Fei had already not eaten in three days!
In this half a month, Du Fei had hidden left and fled right, going through much suffering to barely escape from the clutches of death.
Upon explaining his plight, Du Fei stared at Ling Tian with a hopeful expression on his face. From how Ling Tian dressed, he was definitely not a small-time figure, and as long as he returned home and spoke of this treasure to his family members, then he, Du Fei, could use the Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl as a bait to get someone else to do the dirty work for him!
Ling Tian smiled, "What do you intend to do?"
Du Fei felt his heart aflame as he stood up straight and said, "As long as Young Master is willing to help this small one take his revenge, this small one will gift the Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl to Young Master!"
Hearing this, Ling Tian only gave a cold laugh, "After I destroy Blood Flower Hall, the Ten Thousand Orchid Pearl would belong to me, why would I still need you to give it to me? As a man facing the killers who exterminated your family, you only have this much of resolve?"