Chapter Thirteen: Entering the Tiger's Lair

  It's the surname "Zhēn" that's the problem, if it were someone else they might not be aware of it, but with Ah Fei, it's all too clear. He even slapped his own forehead and scolded himself as a fool, how could he have forgotten?!

  A Fei's previous life mother's surname was "Shì", which is a very rare surname. It is said that at that time, there were only more than 8,000 people in China with the surname Shì. However, this surname did not come from ancient times, but was changed later, and the original surname should be "Shì".

  The Book of Wu in the Records of the Three Kingdoms states that there was a scholar named Shi Yi, styled Zi Yu, from Langya Commandery in Beihai State. He had served as an official in the state government. The Chancellor Kong Rong told him: "Shi is a common surname among the people; it would be better to change it to Si." Shi Yi had always followed the will of his superiors and immediately changed his surname to become the ancestor of the Si clan.

  It was a recent change of surname, and the branch that moved to Lelang didn't receive the notice, so they didn't change it. This misled Ah Fei, who relied on sound to distinguish characters, thinking the person he wanted to rely on was named Shi Yi, but unexpectedly it was his own mother's ancestor, Shi Yi!

  After the shock, Ah Fei suddenly felt enlightened - the Shi family and the surname Shi are fundamentally different. In the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, there were no famous people with the surname Shi, but Mr. Yi had a special biography in "Wu Shu". Because this is his mother's ancestor, Ah Fei was quite concerned and read Yi's biography several times. This person later escaped to Jiangdong, relied on Sun Quan, and became a high-ranking official as the Minister of Works, dying at the age of 80.

  "It seems that this move was the right one... In my body... no, in my soul there should be a bit of Yī's blood flowing... The soul doesn't have blood... Anyway, it's all fate! You damn Heaven, you're really amazing!" With that, ā Fēi's confidence grew even more, he shook off his spirits and "pounced" on the door, knocking loudly on the door ring.

  The door knocker, after all, is not an electric bell and can't be heard from very far away. However, it's usually not necessary to hear it from very far away either. Only wealthy households use door knockers, and theoretically, they should all have a gatehouse. In general, there's a small house at the entrance, where the gatekeeper eats and lives for the whole day. That's why Ah Fei knocked on the door knocker three times, "Clang" went the sound, and the big gate was opened.

  A Fei took advantage of the momentum and rushed into the door, kneeling on the ground, scaring the old man who came to open the door so much that he stumbled. "Who are you? Why knock on the door so urgently?" As soon as the words fell, A Fei deliberately called out in a hoarse voice: "My father's taboo is Yi, I am Shi Xun, seeking to see my uncle."

  The old man was taken aback for a moment, guessing that it was probably the Shi Yi family, although there weren't many people in the household, but they had moved to Lewang County many years ago and hadn't left a deep impression on this old fellow. After being stunned, the old man casually replied: "Are you looking for my master? My master is serving the country and is not in the mansion."

  A Fei suddenly felt a "buzz" in his head - unexpectedly, Yi was not at home... He was most afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, hoping to see Yi first, because Yi was the head of the household. As long as he gained Yi's trust, no matter what others said, it would be useless. If he saw other people first, the more he saw, the easier it would be to reveal his true intentions. If this were reflected in Yi's ears, who knows what hidden dangers might remain...

  But things have come to this, and he can't look back or retreat. He had to ask the old man: "Who is in charge of the mansion now?" The old man replied: "The eldest young master is in charge."

  It's said that "Taigongzi" should refer to the eldest son of Yi. It's strange, though - in most biographies in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, there will be a record of the subject's descendants, including how many sons they had and whether or not they held office. But for some reason, this is missing for Yi. I spent a lot of effort investigating Yi's family, but it seems that after him, the next person in his family to gain any recognition was his descendant, who lived during the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty - there's a huge gap in between. Did Yi have sons? Daughters? How many children did he have? Is it because they all died young and didn't serve in Eastern Wu, so they weren't recorded in history books?

  So many strange thoughts flashed through his mind, but his hands didn't idle, hastily pulling out the letter from his bag, getting up and handing it to the old man - originally kneeling on the ground was to show himself exhausted from the long journey, as well as the sincerity of his filial piety, but he couldn't keep kowtowing to a mere doorman after all.

  Since the letter was presented, the old man naturally wanted to help deliver it. So he invited Ah Fei in and had him rest temporarily in the gatehouse. He then relocked the door, holding the wooden tablet in his hands, and hurriedly rushed towards the inner courtyard.

  Ah Fei sat in the middle of the gatehouse, on a grass mat, with his eyes closed, re-examining the situation before him and re-evaluating his response strategy. Just as he had planned everything to near perfection, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching, opened his eyes, looked up, and saw the old man leading a young man hastily towards the gate, the young man still clutching the wooden tablet Ah Fei had just handed over.

  The young man was about seven or eight years older than Ah Fei, with a white face and short whiskers. He wore a crimson turban and a black cotton robe, looking like he was dressed for leisure. The entrance was very small, and Ah Fei sat inside, while the young man stopped at the doorway - if he took another step forward, they would have bumped into each other. He slightly bowed his head, carefully sizing up Ah Fei from top to bottom, and furrowed his brow as he asked: "Are you Shi Xun?"

  A Fei joined his hands together and gave a slight bow: "I am Shi Xun, please instruct me..."

  The young man nodded slightly: "My father's taboo is Yi, and I am the eldest son, with a single character named Zhe."

  A Fei hastily bowed his head and saluted: "Big brother is above, please accept little brother's one bow."

  He stretched out his left hand and stroked it lightly, then asked him: "I have opened the letter on behalf of my father and read it roughly. I don't know how Uncle is doing now?"

  What a great question! Ah Fei couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. He had hoped you would ask that! So he suddenly widened his eyes, let out a loud cry: "My father has passed away!" As he cried out, his limbs trembled, then his eyes rolled back and his head crashed into the earthen wall, whereupon he fainted...

  A Fei didn't really faint, no matter how good his acting skills were. He pretended to be dizzy in order to minimize talking with Shi Zhe, hoping that Shi Zhe would quickly send someone to Guo Du Drama County to bring everyone back.

  "With eyes closed, the sound of a slightly panicked voice was heard: "What's going on... hurry up and get a doctor to take a look..." Then it was the old man's voice: "It's a heart attack, someone has fainted, just pinch the acupuncture point and they'll be fine." The voice was urgent: "Then quickly pinch it!"

  A Fei cursed the old man in his heart for being too meddlesome. He wasn't sure if this folk remedy of pinching people would work, or how effective it was. Should he just let him continue pinching and pretend to be unconscious, or did he have to be forced to "wake up" and then figure out how to react? Just as he was getting anxious, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the room: "Don't pinch, don't pinch!"

  "Why can't you get it?"

  That voice said: "The air is blocked in the organs and it's faint, pinching the Renzhong acupoint will wake it up. But if it's due to exhaustion of the body and mind, pinching will only increase the harm. It's better to carry the person into the house, lie down flat and rest for a while, then quickly invite a doctor to come and take a look."

  A Fei couldn't let them really call a doctor, heaven knows whether the one called is a quack or a good doctor. If by any chance he exposed his true nature, although there wouldn't be too terrible consequences, it would easily arouse people's suspicions. So after a while, suddenly seven hands and eight feet stretched out, lifting him away from the gatehouse and carrying him to another room. As soon as he was settled onto the bedding, he pretended to let out a long sigh and slowly came back to consciousness.

  "Xun-di, wake up! Xun-di, wake up!" It was Zhe sitting in front of him, hastily calling out. After the commotion earlier, Ah-fei judged that although Zhe was the eldest son of the family and managed household affairs when his father was away, he probably didn't have strong adaptability and might be easier to deceive? But then who was the person speaking later on?

  He slowly opened his eyes and looked at him: "Big brother..." Only then did he realize that there was someone sitting behind him, with a similar appearance to him, but dressed more formally - "Who is this..."

  "This is my brother's handwriting, and his writing is quite good."

  "So it was Second Brother..."

  "Brother Xun was mistaken," the man smiled slightly, and upon hearing his voice, it was indeed the guy who had blocked the old doorman earlier and pinched someone's nose. "I am Yu Ge."

  "Fourth brother..."

  "Uncle's letter is unclear and doesn't know the cause and effect, can brother Xun tell me?"

  A Fei couldn't help but scold in his heart again - You're really straightforward, huh? Do you have to make me practice the whole set of plans in front of you?! Your big brother is still here, when will it be your turn to speak?! It seems that this guy might be a shrewd person, and I need to be extra careful in front of him.

  He thought to himself, but on the surface he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead: "My late father offended a government official and has passed away... My younger brother came from afar to seek refuge with me, now I am overcome with grief and indignation, my head is spinning and my heart is in disarray..."

  "Fourth Brother, don't be anxious, take a good rest instead. I've already sent a fast horse to the capital to summon Father back home. As for Uncle's matter, let's discuss it when Father arrives."

  A Fei gave a thumbs up in his heart: Yes, big brother you're an honest good man, thank you thank you.

  The Shi brothers didn't stay for long, comforted Fei a few words, told him to rest well, and then they all left. After all, whether or not to recognize this distant younger brother who had returned, and how to arrange his living situation, all these things would have to wait until Shi Yi came back to be decided.

  A Fei slightly raised his head, taking in the surroundings. The room wasn't big, about seven or eight square meters, with white-washed walls and no decorative patterns. The window was small, with dense diagonal lattice frames, and since it was the middle of winter, it was covered with a thin layer of gauze, but fortunately, the window faced due south, so there was still some natural light.

  He was placed in the middle of the house, with his head to the east and feet to the west. Underneath him were a grass mat and a fine hemp mattress, and on top of him was a fine hemp quilt filled with kapok. To his left, which was the south side, there was a door and a window. To his right, which was the north side, stood a simple screen and a copper lamp. Behind his feet, it was empty, but in front of his head, there was a cabinet and a trunk. On top of the cabinet were placed the packages he had brought with him, as well as a bow, arrows, and a ring-headed knife.

  He had just performed such a long piece, and Ah Fei indeed felt a bit tired and sleepy. Thinking that he still had to sing a lot of lyrics when the ceremony came back, he might as well take this opportunity to rest properly - after all, spirit was the capital of deception! So he closed his eyes, and before long, snoring sounds began to emerge, gradually sinking into dreamland...

  It was probably due to the tense mood that he couldn't relax even in his dreams. He first dreamed of returning to his original time and space, where he was forced by his leader to produce a 70,000-word speech manuscript overnight. Then the leader's face and attire changed, turning into Shi Yi, who glared at him and shouted: "Write out a 200,000-word poem... What? You can't write it? You must not be a descendant of my Shi family!"