Chapter 49 of Volume 1: Things Go Against One's Will

  Zhang Cheng, unable to find his bank card password, rushed to the train station. This time, he wasn't heading back to Sifang City; instead, he bought a ticket to the county where Ren Yusi's hometown was located. For the sake of the one million yuan in his account, Zhang Cheng was determined to find Ren Yusi no matter what. He had already made up his mind: as long as Ren Yusi still acknowledged him as his master, he would give him 100,000 yuan. If Ren Yusi refused to acknowledge him, then he would have to resort to force; after all, it wouldn't make a difference if he added one or two more lives to the tally on his hands.

  Although Zhang Cheng guessed that Ren Yusi should have returned home, he didn't have a firm grasp on it. The next afternoon, after getting off the train and taking another bus, it wasn't until nightfall that they arrived at the small mountain village that Ren Yusi had mentioned.

  After asking around, I found Ren Yusi's home at the southernmost part of the village, near a small hill. Standing outside the less-than-one-meter-high courtyard wall made of rubble, I could see the scene inside the yard clearly. There were only three thatched cottages, and aside from these, there was an unfinished pigpen with low walls on all sides, a wooden beam as thick as an arm spanning across it, covered with some corn stalks, which seemed to be for blocking wind and rain for the pigs inside. Then there was a shed made of branches and thatch, which looked like it should be used for boiling water and cooking during the summer.

  A faint light was visible through the window of the eastern room in the northern house, and a faint coughing sound could be heard coming from inside.

  Although there was a courtyard wall, there was no gate, Zhang Cheng stepped in and shouted towards the north house:

  "Is this Ren Yusi's home?"

  Standing in front of the north house door, he heard footsteps coming from inside. Zhang Cheng took a slight step back. When the door opened, an elderly woman who looked to be around his age walked out.

  "Who are you looking for?"

  "I'm looking for Ren Yusi."

  "Who are you?"

  "Am I his friend?"

  "Friend?"

  The suspicion in a woman's eyes is as clear as if it were written on her face.

  "It was like this, a few years ago when I was working on a construction site, we happened to run into each other and gradually became familiar. Today I passed by here and remembered that Yusi had said before that his home is in this village. It's been two years since we last met, so I came to see if he's at home."

  "Please come in and take a seat."

  "Is Jade thinking at home?"

  Zhang Cheng hesitated and didn't move his feet.

  "He hasn't come back for over a decade, and the last time was seven or eight years ago when he sent a photo home after getting his ID card made. After we mailed him the ID card, there was no further news from him."

  "Alright then, I won't go in."

  After finishing speaking, Zhang Cheng turned around and left.

  "What's your surname?"

  "My surname is Qian. When he comes back, just tell him that someone with the surname Qian from Sifang City came to visit him, and he'll naturally know who I am."

  Zhang Cheng turned and walked out, from start to finish, without hearing the voice of Ren Yusi's father. Relying on Zhang Cheng's years of martial arts training, he could still judge that there was someone else in the east room of the house. At the same time, Zhang Cheng could also confirm that it was absolutely not his apprentice Xiao Si.

  Arriving at the village entrance, it was clear that there were no more buses. Zhang Cheng had to walk fifteen miles to a nearby town he had passed through on his way here, where he thought there would surely be small inns.

  Arriving at the town, he found a small inn, and Zhang Cheng, who was used to living a life of luxury, looked at the shabby bed, blackened pillowcases and sheets in the inn, and felt a wave of nausea. However, in order to get back that one million, apart from finding Ren Yusi, he had no other way. He gritted his teeth and asked for a room, and collapsed onto the bed without even changing his clothes.

  What Zhang Cheng didn't expect was that his apprentice, Ren Yusi, whom he had been searching for, was also in this small inn, having arrived more than half an hour earlier.

  Ren Yusi secretly left Xiangcheng Railway Station that day and took a detour to rush back home. Because of the inconvenience of his legs, coupled with the so-called "near-hometown fear", Ren Yusi, although he had set out two days earlier, ended up falling behind Zhang Cheng. When Ren Yusi got on the last bus from the county town to this town, there was only one person left on the bus - Ren Yusi himself. At that time, public transportation was all privately contracted, and seeing that there was only Ren Yusi on board, they stopped running and turned back, dropping Ren Yusi off the bus.

  If Ren Yusi's legs were still good, she would have argued with the driver, but now she didn't have the energy to do so and could only swallow her anger and get off the bus. Along the way, Ren Yusi's ankle hurt from time to time, knowing that there were still 15 miles to go, she said that she couldn't walk home herself, so she had to choose to stay in the town for a night and planned to take the first bus back the next morning.

  Zhang Cheng had just entered the small inn when Ren Yusi in the room recognized his voice.

  "How did he get here? Is he looking for me? Why?"

  Ren Yu thought back and forth, apart from the card, there shouldn't be any other reason. Could it be that Master didn't find the procedures I left at my residence when I applied for the bank card in Sifang City? That's not right, is it?

  Alright, Master found those procedures. If there is no password, the cardholder must hold their ID to the bank counter to handle it in person. In other words, Master cannot help himself and cannot withdraw a single penny from the card.

  At this thought, Ren Yusi's eyes rolled over and she began to silently calculate in her mind.

  "That's not to say that as long as I sneak back to Sifang City, go to the bank where Master has his card and report it lost, then reissue a new one, the money inside will be mine?"

  Ren Yusi suddenly became excited. Because the small inn had only five bungalows, Ren Yusi no longer had any sleepiness and perked up his ears to listen carefully to the movements in the other rooms outside. At around 3:00 in the second half of the night, when the entire courtyard was quiet and silent, Ren Yusi got up and sneaked out. At this time, Ren Yusi could no longer care about his aching ankle and limped towards the direction of the county town, persisting for over ten miles until the sky had brightened slightly. Although he knew that Master Zhang Cheng would definitely be waiting for him in the village of his old home, Ren Yusi still felt uneasy in his heart and kept waving his hand along the way to stop a motorcycle rider who was heading towards the county town to work early, hoping to get a ride.

  It's okay, didn't take half an hour, and Ren Yusi really caught a car.

  Today is already the seventh day of the first month, it's the first working day for banks after the Spring Festival holiday. Ren Yusi rushed to Sifang City and arrived at the bank in the afternoon, more than 3 o'clock. He hurriedly came to the bank that opened his card, first reported the loss, and then re-issued a new card. However, when he asked the banking service staff how much money was left on the card, he heard this reply:

  "There is no money in the card."

  Ren Yusi's mind went blank as soon as she heard it, and she almost fainted at the counter.

  "How can there be no money? Master, didn't you make a mistake?"

  Ren Yusi refused to believe the result, when the person at the counter repeated again and said "there is no money inside", and handed over the card. Ren Yusi still didn't give up, took the card, and personally checked it on the self-service machine at the door, indeed there was not a single cent.

  "What's going on? Did Di Rong cheat Master? This is absolutely impossible. If Di Rong didn't put money in, Master wouldn't have taken this card so seriously. From Master traveling thousands of miles to come and see, the money inside couldn't possibly be taken by Master either. I remember clearly that when we opened the card, we even deposited 100 yuan, but now even that 100 yuan is gone. Who took the money from inside? Could it be Cong Ye from Guanhai City?"

  By analyzing to this point, Ren Yusi has basically confirmed that the money must have been taken by Cong Ye. Master had said before that the card was found from Zhang Cheng's residence. Ren Yusi stayed in Sifang City for a night and also thought about it for a night.

  Since the card is out of money, let Master wait for himself at home. He didn't dare to go to Guanhai City to find Congye, and besides, although he missed his hometown very much and his parents whom he hadn't seen for over a decade, he couldn't go back in this state, not to mention being ridiculed by the villagers, let alone going back to make his elderly parents serve him again. Holding back the nostalgia and deep regret in his heart, Ren Yusi found a post office and sent 1,000 yuan of the remaining 2,000 yuan on his body back home. He decided to temporarily find opportunities outside and find a job that he could handle, save some money and go back.

  With her mind made up, Ren Yusi couldn't help but smile.

  "Let that heartless master stay at home for two more days and taste the feeling of being cheated after cheating others."

  Zhang Cheng really intended to continue waiting at Ren Yusi's old home, but on the fourth day, when he came to Ren Yusi's house again to ask for news, he happened to meet a postal worker who brought a remittance of 1,000 yuan to Ren Yusi. He took a look at the post office where the remittance was sent from and found that it was actually Sifang City. Zhang Cheng didn't say another word and turned around to leave.

  "Little rabbit, how dare you go back to Sifang City?!"

  When Ren Yusi was about to remit money to his parents, he had already guessed this scene: Master would rush back to Sifang City as soon as he saw the remittance receipt. However, by the time he returned, he would have long been gone.