Chapter 1: Perplexity

  Xue Yan limped along behind the horse carriage, he really couldn't see through the young man walking in front of him. He had tried to rob him but ended up getting caught instead, and all his companions were captured too. He thought for sure he would be put to death, but unexpectedly, this young master named Gao Huaiyuan didn't kill him, nor did he turn him and the other brothers over to the authorities for a reward.

  However, he made a request to him, saying that if he was willing to follow him as a slave for the rest of his life, he would spare the lives of his other brothers.

  Xue Yan didn't think much and simply agreed, anyway he was a lone wolf, wherever he went it was all the same. Since he had fallen into this young master's hands today, he just accepted his fate!

  The young master named Gao Huaiyuan immediately took out paper and pen, wrote a contract of sale, and handed it over to Xue Yan. Xue Yan also signed and stamped his name without hesitation, vowing never to go back on his word. Gao Huaiyuan then formally accepted this new servant, released the other eight people, and threw two taels of silver at them for medical treatment.

  Gao Huaiyuan pulled out the arrow shaft from Xue Yan's leg, applied some golden wound medicine, and told him to sit on the carriage wall, but he refused. He insisted on limping along beside the carriage. Xue Yan knew that from now on, his life would probably be tied to Gao Huaiyuan's forever.

  However, Xue Yan could also see that this young master actually had a good heart and should be a good person, so he just followed him.

  Gao Hua Yuan occasionally turned his head to look at Xue Yan, who was following him with difficulty. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. In any case, he had done a good deed today, without violating his conscience or releasing a tiger back into the mountains. As for Xue Yan, Gao trusted his intuition that this man was not a cruel person, but rather a righteous and loyal one. Although he hadn't thought of keeping him by his side for future use, he didn't want to let this talent go to waste either. So, he came up with the idea of forcibly taking Xue Yan as his servant.

  "Xue Yan! Come here!" Gao Huaiyuan stopped in his tracks and turned around to call out to Xue Yan.

  Xue Yan nodded and walked to Gao Huaiyuan's front with a limp, bowing his head and saying in a low voice: "I don't know what orders the young master has?"

  "You're already my house slave, so you should have the consciousness of a house slave. You can't even be a good thief, if you can't even be a good house slave, what use are you to me?" Gao Huaiyuan's words were laced with venom, coldly mocking and sarcastic.

  Xue Yan's face showed a hint of anger, but he didn't erupt. He swallowed hard and raised his head to say to Gao Huaiyuan, "Young Master, please give your orders directly. Why bother humiliating me?"

  "Good! Since you know your current identity, I'll tell you that as a slave, the first thing to remember is not to disobey your master's words in the slightest! Your life belongs to me, and you must do whatever I tell you to do!"

  Xue Yan sighed in his heart, then lowered his head and replied in a suppressed tone: "Yes! Young Master, I understand! My life belongs to you, even if you want me to die, I won't refuse!"

  Gao Huaiyuan knew that ancient people valued loyalty and integrity. In general, unless someone was a despicable person, anyone who could be considered a decent man would keep their word as if it were a nail in their mouth. Xue Yan was precisely the kind of person for whom keeping one's word was more important than life itself, so Gao Huaiyuan's words had trapped him.

  "Now that you've remembered, sit down next to Li Tong for me. If you drag this leg all the way to Daye, it'll probably be crippled before we even arrive! I don't want a cripple as my servant! This is your first order from me!" Gao Huaiyuan instructed Xue Yan.

  Xue Yan's face lit up, and it turned out that he had said so much just to get him on the carriage! The anger in his belly earlier immediately disappeared, and he felt a little moved. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed and replied: "Thank you, young master! I will obey!"

  Watching Xue Yan hobble to the other side of the cart, laboriously sitting down on the shaft with his lame leg, Li Tong shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He couldn't understand why Gao Huairen had brought a bandit leader along as an underling. It was pitiful for them, and he thought it would be better to just let them go, so why did they have to bring him along?

  But now in front of Gao Huaiyuan, he didn't dare to fart easily. What Gao Huaiyuan had decided, he could only stare blankly and had no way out. In his eyes, Gao Huaiyuan was now an absolutely untouchable master!

  But with the arrival of Xue Yan, he felt a great deal of pressure and thought that his position was being strongly challenged. He didn't welcome Xue Yan at all and let out an impatient hum when he saw him sit down beside him.

  Xue Yan rolled his eyes and glanced at Li Tong, ignoring him. He leaned against the side of the carriage, closed his eyes, and began to rest. Li Tong felt a chill run down his spine and quickly whipped the black mule, causing the cart to move forward again.

  "Boss! I just can't figure it out, why did you take this guy as your underling? This guy used to be a thief leader, can you trust him by your side?" Huang Yan couldn't help but ask Gao Hua Yuan in a low voice.

  Gao Huaiyuan glanced at Xue Yan on the carriage with the corner of his eye and replied in a low voice: "This man can be willing to die for his brothers, which means he is not an untrustworthy person. Moreover, I can see that what he told us is not a lie. How could I hand him over to the authorities or kill him?

  Moreover, Xue Yan's skill with his hands was quite good. Normally, a person would need considerable wrist strength to cut through such a hard and solid white wax rod. If I were to let someone like him go out into the world, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause? But if he stays by my side, he could become a decent guardian in the future. He's a talented individual, so it would be a waste to let him go! Furthermore, I can guarantee that this person will never betray his oath!"

  Huang Yan nodded slightly, seeming to understand but not really understanding, and stopped speaking. After this battle, Huang Yan knew that he couldn't even compare to Zhou Huan, and felt a bit resentful in his heart. On the way back, he secretly took down his own sandbag from the car and tied it to his leg. At this moment, he was feeling a bit tired.

  They had originally wanted to take the water route across Poyang Lake, but Xue Yan's words immediately dispelled their intention. He said that there were many water bandits on Poyang Lake now, and once they encountered these bandits on the water, no matter how strong they were, they would be powerless. Taking the water route was actually less safe than taking the land route. So Gao Huairen made a decisive decision to change direction, heading south and going around Poyang Lake, even if it meant walking more distance, rather than taking that risk.

  He wasn't afraid of getting into trouble himself, but was worried about Liu'er and Li Tong and the others. If they were to encounter pirates and fall into the water, he wouldn't be able to save them.

  A group of people walked and chatted, with Gao Huaiyuan occasionally chatting with Xue Yan for a while. At first, Xue Yan was not willing to say much, but as time went on, he gradually dispelled his concerns and felt that although Gao Huaiyuan was an official's son, he did not have the usual rich family's spoiled brat demeanor. He spoke with insight and occasionally expressed concern about the current state of affairs, without any airs of a wealthy young master. Especially towards the little maid called Liu'er, he didn't treat her as a servant at all, but rather often showed concern for his injuries and even personally changed his dressings, not minding the dirt at all.

  Moreover, when Gao Huaiyuan changed his dressing, he did it in a way that was very different from the people here. The bandages were washed and steamed every time before being applied to his wounds, which were also carefully cleaned with cooled boiled water before applying medicine. He explained that this would reduce the risk of wound deterioration, which piqued Xue Yan's curiosity, making him feel that Gao Huaiyuan understood things far beyond what someone of his age should know, and he could come up with fresh insights on many matters.

  For Gao Huaiyuan's kung fu, Xue Yan was also a bit unconvinced at first. When there was no one on the road, he asked Gao Huaiyuan to demonstrate and then took out the bow that Gao Huaiyuan used. He tried to draw it with force once, but found that as a strong man, he couldn't even draw Gao Huaiyuan's hard bow. Only then did he realize that Gao Huaiyuan was indeed a person with extraordinary talent, and he couldn't help but feel convinced.

  They traveled westward, bypassing Poyang Lake. Along the way, Xue Yan, a hoodlum on the road, was with them. Even when they encountered some people who had malicious intentions towards them, as long as Xue Yan went over and said a few words, these people would automatically retreat and not bother them, saving them a lot of trouble. As a result, even Li Tong, who disliked Xue Yan the most, no longer thought that Gao Huaiyuan's acceptance of Xue Yan was a bad thing.

  Daye County is located about two hundred miles southeast of Ezhou, after bypassing Poyang Lake, it enters the Jinghu North Road. Ezhou is a key town on the Southern Song Dynasty's Yangtze River defense line. To the west lies the very famous Xiangyang. Others may not know, but Gao Huairen knows that one of the main reasons for the downfall of the Southern Song was the fall of Xiangyang and the loss of Ezhou, which allowed the Mongols to break through the Yangtze River defense line, and the Southern Song's hinterland would have been able to hold on for some time even if the imperial court was corrupt.

  Gao Huaiyuan walked this way, all the way to verify the current situation and the memories in his mind, and learned a lot of things. No wonder someone said that reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, many things still need to be seen to be believed. He now feels even more fortunate about his decision to leave Shaoxing.

  This detour added hundreds of miles to their journey, and with two legs walking, it was already good if they could walk a hundred li in a day. So this section of the road also delayed their arrival at Daye County for several days. Fortunately, Gao Huairen was not too anxious either, so everyone walked along the way, neither fast nor slow, and it was quite comfortable.

  Two days later, they finally bypassed Poyang Lake and arrived in Yuxi County on the west bank of Poyang Lake. After arriving here, Xue Yan couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion, talking about the battle between Yue Yuanshuai and Li Cheng in this place many years ago. His face was full of admiration and regret. It turned out that Xue Yan wasn't completely without ideals, it's just that this world didn't give him a chance to make his mark.

  When Xue Yan talked about Yue Fei's affairs, Gao Huaiyuan couldn't help but feel a little emotional. In fact, the Song Dynasty was not lacking in famous ministers and generals, but few people really made achievements. Even Yue Fei, who was revered for thousands of years, ultimately ended up with a tragic end at Fengbo Pavilion. The reason lies in the fact that this era valued literature over martial arts.