Chapter 8: Narrow Escape

  "Brother. Brother, wake up. Wake up." A girl's voice seemed to ring in his ears. Li Guoting, who had fainted, suddenly came to.

  Dazed, Li Guoting opened his eyes to see a little girl standing beside the mountain god's altar at his feet. She was wearing a floral padded jacket and had two small braids tied up with ribbons. Her rosy face was frozen red as she sympathetically shook Li Guoting's leg and softly called out to him.

  Li Guoting strained his eyes wide and spoke with difficulty: "You... who are you?"

  The little girl smiled slightly and didn't answer, turning her head to look back. It turned out that behind the little girl was another person, an old woman with a scarf wrapped around her head and wearing a deep blue cotton-padded jacket.

  "Grandma, he's awake." The little girl said to the old woman.

  "Come and help Grandma get this kid down."

  The old woman said, stretching out her hand to pull the Eight Immortals' offering table in front of the mountain god towards Li Guoting's feet. The little girl also helped to pull the offering table.

  "Who are you? Why help me?" Li Guoting asked in surprise, staring at the grandmother and grandson.

  "Quickly, don't ask any more questions, child. Let's help you escape with your life. Otherwise, by dawn, you'll be dead. Alas, it's all because of those cruel people." The old lady said to Li Guoting.

  Soon, the table was pulled over by the old lady and her little granddaughter. The old lady climbed onto the table, reached out to untie the rope tied to Li Guoting's wrist.

  The little girl looked down at her face and stared at every move of her grandmother.

  "Go to the temple outside and wait for a moment, don't let anyone find out." The old lady said to her little granddaughter while helping Li Guoting untie his rope.

  "Uh-huh, Grandma, I'll go take a look." The little girl agreed and turned around to leave the temple gate.

  "Alas, this poor child has suffered such a great injustice at such a young age." The old lady said to herself as she untied the knot.

  The rope came untied, and Li Guoting suddenly couldn't stand firm. His legs went numb, his body slid down, and he collapsed limply onto the offering table.

  The old lady hastily helped Li Guoting up, and when the old lady's hands touched Li Guoting's frozen purple-red feet like a red radish head, she couldn't help but feel heartache.

  "Oh dear, child, it's really pitiful. Not even a pair of shoes to wear. Look, they're frozen stiff." As she spoke, the old granny took out a pair of cotton-padded shoes from her bosom and put them on Li Guoting.

  "Grandma, thank you." Li Guoting said gratefully, his dry and cracked lips moving.

  "Oh, what's the point of saying thanks. Grandma, I'm asking you, why did you steal other people's things?" The old lady asked, her kind eyes staring at Li Guoting's ashamed face.

  "I - I didn't mean to steal. I - I was hungry, so I stole a radish from their field and ate it." Li Guoting said with his head hung low.

  "Steal a radish and be hanged? Alas, what kind of world is this?" The old lady said indignantly.

  Just then, the little girl who was watching the wind outside the door suddenly ran into the temple in a flurry and whispered to the old nun: "Nun, someone is coming this way."

  The old lady immediately became nervous, she quickly said to Li Guoting: "Quickly, follow grandma, we will leave from the back of the temple." As she spoke, she reached out and took Li Guoting's arm, leading him down from the offering table and towards the back of the mountain god statue.

  "Grandma, shall we take him home?" asked the little girl following behind Grandma.

  "It goes without saying, the child won't go to our home, let them find out, they will surely beat him to death. Alas, it's all his fault." The old lady said to the little girl while supporting Li Guoting as he walked backwards.

  "I know, grandma, I'll lead the way for you." With that, the little girl darted ahead of them and ran forward.

  Feeling his way in the dark, stumbling and staggering. Li Guoting couldn't figure out where the old lady had led him, anyway, after walking a rugged small road, it seemed to have circled around, passing by the outer courtyard of several households, in short, he followed the old lady to the front of a yard.

  The old lady pushed open the half-closed courtyard door with her hand and pointed to the yard, saying to Li Guoting: "Quickly go in, go into the house."

  Li Guoting stepped into the courtyard. The old lady and her granddaughter also entered the courtyard. The three of them walked into the house in the dark. The girl lit a lamp, and the dark room suddenly became bright.

  At this time, Li Guoting finally saw clearly that it was a simple farmhouse. Against the window, there was an earthen kang with a bamboo mat on top. On the mat was a blue-flowered coarse linen quilt. At the head of the kang was placed a long red-lacquered copper lock wooden chest. At the foot of the wooden chest was placed a embroidered flower cotton-padded coverlet.

  By the kang, a half-length cabinet was placed, on which a red lacquer wooden box was placed.

  "Girl, don't dawdle, hurry up and get on the kang to warm up." The old granny pushed Li Guoting onto the earth bed.

  "Yanhong, go to the kitchen and bring some food." The old lady turned around and said to her granddaughter Yanhong who was standing behind her.

  Yan Hong turned around and walked out.

  The kang is really warm. Li Guoting has never felt such a warm home before. His eyes became moist without realizing it.

  "Grandma, you saved me, I will definitely repay you in the future." Li Guoting said to the old grandma.

  "Oh, don't say that. What's the point of repaying? If we can survive, it's all thanks to heaven's blessing. Ah, right. Grandma hasn't asked you yet, what's your name?" The old lady lifted her foot and sat on the edge of the kang, revealing a small foot wrapped in black cloth."

  "My name is Li Guoting, and my nickname is Tie Dan," said Li Guoting.

  "Li Guoting. What a good name. You'll definitely do great things when you grow up. But never go stealing again, oh. If you get caught stealing, you'll be beaten to death." The old lady warned.

  "Uh-huh, got it." Li Guoting replied.

  This is, the bright red girl brought a bowl of hot corn porridge from the kitchen, a plate of salted vegetables and two steamed buns. The old lady stretched out her hand from the foot of the bed to pull over a small bedside table. Placing those few dishes on the table. Then she said to Li Guoting: "Eat, eat, you must be starving."

  "Hmm." Li Guoting stared at the fragrant dishes in front of him, his mouth watering. He was too hungry. His eyes even emitted a green glow. The temptation of the food in front of him made Li Guoting forget his manners. With his head down, he stretched out his hand and grabbed a steamed bun, stuffing it into his mouth. After swallowing the entire bun, he picked up his bowl and took big gulps of the millet porridge.

  Yanhong girl stood by the side of the kang, looking at greedy Li Guoting, and burst out laughing.

  Li Guoting raised his head and saw the little girl standing by the kang, staring at him with a bright red face. His face immediately turned red. The flushed face was burning hot. He awkwardly withdrew his hand that was reaching for another bun.

  All of this was seen and remembered by an old granny on the side.

  "Eat, child. Don't be afraid. There's more if it's not enough. Eat. Eat." said the old granny.

  Li Guoting just stretched out his hand again, grabbed Wowaotou and stuffed it into his mouth.

  "Heh heh——, heh heh——." Yanhong smiled secretly again.

  The old lady reached out and patted the bright red head, scolding: "What are you laughing at? Haven't you ever seen people eating before? No manners."

  Yan Hong covered her mouth with her hand and stifled her laughter.

  "Which village are you from? Where's your father and mother?" asked the old lady.

  Li Guoting thought for a moment, then told the old lady about his home, how his sister died, how the landlord forced him to pay debts, how his parents hanged themselves, and how he went to take revenge. Just as he was telling the old lady, a loud gong sound echoed outside, accompanied by a hoarse male voice that rang out in the village: "Everyone be careful! The thief who escaped from the mountain temple last night has been spotted hiding in our village. Each household must search carefully and catch him. Whoever catches the thief will be rewarded by the village head. Anyone who harbors or hides him will be treated as an accomplice."

  The gong sound came from afar and gradually approached the gate of the old lady's house who was helping Li Guoting.

  The atmosphere in the house immediately became tense.

  "Girl, hurry up and finish your meal, Grandma doesn't dare to keep you here. They will search house by house soon, if they catch you, you'll lose your life. I'll send you out from the backyard of my house." The old grandma said anxiously to Li Guoting.

  "Uh, thank you Grandma." Li Guoting thanked her while quickly finishing the food on the table.

  The old lady ordered Yanhong to wrap a few more buns for Li Guoting, and then stuffed a new pair of cotton shoes into Li Guoting's cotton-padded jacket. She said to Li Guoting: "Come on, follow me from the backyard."

  Li Guoting walked into the backyard of the old lady's house and found a small door in the backyard, which led directly to a small path on the mountain. In front of the path was a forest.

  "Yanhong, you take him to the mountain ridge and tell him to follow the small path on the right all the way forward without turning, then he'll get out."

  Yan Hong looked at the old granny and replied: "I know."

  The old lady held Li Guoting's hand again and exhorted: "Child, your fate is bitter, I can't help you anymore. From now on, be a good person, take care of yourself, have some accomplishments, and do more things for the poor people. Don't do things that harm the poor."

  After listening to the old lady's words, Li Guoting suddenly felt a sour nose. Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. He knelt down in front of the old lady with a thud and said: "Grandma, you saved me, Li Guoting. I will remember you for my whole life. One day, when I, Li Guoting, have a chance to turn things around, I will definitely repay your kindness that saved my life."

  The old lady hurriedly stretched out her hand to help Li Guoting up, saying: "Oh dear, don't say anything else, what's the point of repaying or not repaying, let's go quickly, if we're late, it'll be too late."

  As he spoke, the sound of gongs and drums came from the village again, and with the sound of the gongs, a burst of barking dogs and shouting people arose.

  Li Guoting stood up and took a last look at the kind old lady, then turned around and followed Yan Hong girl to rush towards the mountain path in the backyard.