EFB Chapter 7 Fairness
Chapter 7 Fairness
The smells of earth and blood mingled together across the wilderness.
From the moment the horse was overturned to the moment Yan Bao was suffocated, only a short time had passed, but for Meng Chen it felt incredibly long.
Meng Chen took a breath and looked at the white horse.
The white horse was standing under the mulberry tree, soaked to the bone by the rain, looking over as if concerned for its former master.
Meng Chen waved to the white horse, but the white horse ignored him.
When Meng Chen stepped forward to take the reins, the white horse seemed frightened by the smell of blood and immediately ran towards the gate of the Yan family's residence.
Meng Chen hurriedly chased after it, but couldn't catch up at all, which frightened the white horse so much that it ran away into the distance again.
The rain was pouring down, and the world was pitch black. In the blink of an eye, the white horse had vanished without a trace.
"A beast is a beast, it doesn't even care about the safety of its former master." Meng Chen cursed angrily when he couldn't catch the white horse.
But it was only then that they realized that, perhaps due to the power of the thunder and lightning, there was no more barking from the Yan family mansion.
From then on, there were no more pleas for mercy or cries of agony between heaven and earth, no more neighing of dogs and horses, only rolling thunder and wind rustling through the mulberry branches.
Meng Chen wiped the rain off his face and looked at the Yan residence. He thought to himself, "Since we've already gone this far, we might as well go all the way. There are probably only a few people left in the Yan residence now. Let's just go in and have a good fight."
After taking a few steps forward, the night rain and wind brought Meng Chen to his senses. Not to mention the high walls of the Yan residence, even if he could break through the gate, he was unfamiliar with the terrain and there were vicious dogs inside. He might end up getting himself killed.
Having abandoned his intention to break through the door, Meng Chen removed the sickle that was stuck in Yan Bao's ribs.
For farmers, a good sickle is very precious.
Meng Chen didn't have time to feel sorry for the sickle; instead, he was considering his escape route.
The night raid was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Meng Chen; it was the result of extensive planning and deduction.
According to Meng Chen's original plan, if the attack failed, he would immediately flee; if it succeeded, he would flee again depending on the situation.
As for concealing or burying the body, such actions to cover up the tracks are impossible. They've already ripped open Yan Bao's stomach; the bloodstains along the way are impossible to wipe away completely, so disposing of or burying the body would be pointless.
After committing murder, one should never stay at home again.
You should know that once the Yan family discovers that Yan Bao is dead, even if there are many people in the surrounding villages who have grudges against the Yan family, as long as the Yan family investigates them one by one and uses interrogation methods, it is only a matter of time before they find out that it is them.
We must never harbor any侥幸 (侥幸 means taking chances or hoping for luck).
Meng Chen had previously made various deductions and realized that if he wanted to protect himself after committing murder, the only way was to run away.
But God took pity on the poor and weak and sent down a torrential downpour, erasing all traces of their suffering.
Under these circumstances, Meng Chen thought for a moment and then decided to throw the body into the Old Dragon Pool.
Of course, this was just to buy time.
Once the Yan family discovers Yan Bao's disappearance tomorrow, they will definitely start searching immediately. Old Dragon Pool is just a shallow pool, less than two zhang deep at its deepest point; one dive and you're at the bottom—it's not difficult at all.
If things go smoothly, Yan Bao can be found on the same day; if things go slowly, it probably won't take more than two days.
Meng Chen had no illusions; he only hoped to buy himself a day or two so that he could escape further and reduce the chances of being caught.
Thinking this, Meng Chen immediately untied the hemp rope and hung it on his body.
The fields were already flooded, and the wheat stalks left over from the harvest floated in the water, mixed with Yan Bao's blood, drifting and spreading.
Meng Chen casually rubbed the ground a couple of times to remove the traces, and then carried Yan Bao's body away.
The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and there was no light in the world except for occasional flashes of lightning. Meng Chen could only rely on his familiarity with the road to move forward step by step.
It was difficult to walk in the rain. After walking for more than 15 minutes and falling on my backside several times, I finally arrived at the Old Dragon Pool.
This Old Dragon Pool is just a large water pit, only seventy or eighty feet in circumference. A small stream flows into it from upstream, but it usually stops flowing. Now the water pit belongs to the Yan family, who raise fish and turtles in it and forbid nearby villagers from drawing water for fishing.
However, the rain is heavy tonight, and the accumulated water will inevitably rise again.
The rain continued, and the raindrops on the water's surface were dense, like crisp drumbeats.
Meng Chen put Yan Bao down, then groped for a few stones by the river and tied them to Yan Bao with a rope.
Still not satisfied after doing all that, fearing that Yan Bao might float away, Meng Chen stuffed a few small stones into the hole in Yan Bao's stomach.
After finishing his work, Meng Chen finally remembered that he hadn't touched the corpse yet.
He quickly rummaged around and found a money pouch. He weighed it in his hand and estimated it to be worth about ten taels of silver.
Having taken the money pouch, Meng Chen became ruthless. He carried Yan Bao's body into the river, intending to personally sink Yan Bao to the very center.
But once he got into the water, Meng Chen realized that it was a bit cold and that there were many branches and stubble floating on it.
Swimming to the middle of the water, Meng Chen sank Yan Bao to the bottom. Meng Chen swallowed several mouthfuls of murky water and struggled to get ashore.
But it was hard to tell which way was which in the rainy night, and the place he landed on was not right. After gagging a few times, Meng Chen groped around on the shore for a long time before finally finding his waist knife and money bag.
"Damn it, this is tough!" Meng Chen put away the money bag, pulled out the knife, wiped it on the muddy ground, and then rinsed it clean in the river.
Wanting to find a way out, I stood up and looked up into the distance, only to find that the sky was getting darker and darker.
The torrential rain pounded the ground relentlessly, as if trying to press Meng Chen down into the mud.
The thunder in the sky no longer provided guidance.
The Yan family residence and Niu family village were completely hidden in the rainy night, with no light in the world, only the howling wind and rain.
However, this is where Meng Chen grew up, so even without light, he would never get lost.
Meng Chen took a deep breath and headed home, but he stumbled and fell after a short while, getting covered in mud.
The road was filled with murky, stagnant water and floating wheat stubble and straw, making it impossible to discern the path. Further on, they veered off course again, stepping into a field beside the road and sinking their shoes in. Meng Chen struggled to pull them out, tearing his straw sandals in the process.
Taking a deep breath, Meng Chen simply took off his straw sandals and carried them in his hand.
They hadn't walked two hundred steps, but it was more tiring than killing Yan Bao!
Without much thought, Meng Chen already understood that running away was necessary, but tonight would be a difficult time.
Not to mention that the world was pitch black, making it impossible to discern the direction of the road. It was alright if we were familiar with the area, but once we went a little further, we might get lost.
Not to mention the heavy and frequent rain, which has softened the muddy roads in the countryside, making them extremely difficult to walk on. If you take a wrong step, you can step into the fields and bury your feet.
Therefore, it's hard to say whether one can walk ten miles in one night.
If he doesn't go far, he'll inevitably run into farmers along the way after daybreak. When they see the boy carrying a knife and covered in mud and filth, even if they don't go up to ask him anything, they'll definitely remember him.
Tomorrow, when the Yan family discovers Yan Bao's disappearance, they will definitely search everywhere. If we pay a little attention, we will know something is wrong and will inevitably chase after him to ask him questions.
Meng Chen suddenly realized that God was exceptionally fair. The rain washed away the traces of the fight, but it also became an invisible cage, trapping him in his path.
Since that was the case, Meng Chen no longer considered running away at night.
Since Yan Bao has already sunk into the ditch and the Yan family can't find him for the time being, it's not too late to find a chance to leave after dawn tomorrow, and we can even observe the situation.
The rain grew heavier, and Meng Chen arrived home in the dark, took off his burlap clothes, and wrung them out.
He lit the stove again, dried his clothes over the fire, and then burned them along with Yan Bao's money bag.
Even after the changes of the rainy night, the yin-yang symbol remained unchanged. Meng Chen had given up hope on it and simply ignored it.
Seeing that the rain showed no sign of stopping, Meng Chen knew that worrying was useless, so he simply leaned against the grain sack, intending to take a nap and rest up his energy, and then talk about running away when the rain stopped at dawn.
Anyway, killing one is enough, and even if I get caught, it's not a loss.
I fell asleep without a care in the world, and when I opened my eyes again, the rain had stopped and it was already daylight.
As Meng Chen yawned and was about to get up, he heard urgent knocking on the courtyard gate.