Chapter 17: The Pitiful Aspect of a Despicable Person

  "Hmm..." Tang Guan held a wooden stick and swept away the weeds, his stomach growled, only then did he look up at the sky.

  "It's all over. I should have known better than to chase after it." Tang Guan gazed out at the darkening sky, then looked around at the desolate wilderness, his expression suddenly falling.

  The bloodstains had reached the foot of the hill and seemed to have coagulated or been buried by weeds, yet there was no clue, and now that he had come this far, it would be hard to turn back, but if he didn't, something might happen at home again.

  "I'm going, I really want to call the police" Tang Guan only then realized the only advantage of that extravagant later generation, the convenient life brought by highly developed civilization.

  Just as he was hesitating on this mountain pass, smoke suddenly drifted from afar.

  "Haha, heaven helps me too!" Tang Guan saw the smoke and knew there was a household nearby. He no longer hesitated and walked directly towards the smoke, whether good or bad, he could at least ask for a drink of water.

  In fact, ordinary people rarely walk on mountain paths at night, especially in the south where there are many poisonous insects and snakes, but Tang Guan is bold and fearless.

  Tang Guan didn't stop, almost jogging, and soon arrived at the place where smoke was rising. But upon closer inspection, he felt disappointed again, as it turned out to be a dilapidated temple.

  "Bad luck!" Tang Guan cursed under his breath, "Short mountain, broken temple, beggar gang!?" Tang Guan muttered to himself as he walked forward, recalling what he had read before.

  "It must be like this, there's an extraordinary master inside!" Tang Guan muttered to himself, whether it was due to hunger or boredom, as he approached.

  The ruined temple had no doors and looked like it had been deserted for a long time. The yard was also overgrown with weeds, but Tang Guan saw that there was a extinguished fire pit inside the house at a glance.

  There were still voices coming from behind the statue, and Tang Guan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. This desolate wilderness was indeed reminiscent of "Liaozhai's Records of the Strange".

  But the thought flashed by, and Tang Guan, as a later generation, didn't have that much reverence for ghosts and gods. He quietly approached, not making a sound, wanting to hear clearly the voice behind the statue of the god.

  "Xiao Hua, we're rich now! Tomorrow I'll take you to see a doctor!"

  "Cough...cough..." A burst of feminine coughing startled Tang Guan, and the male voice that spoke first didn't sound very mature either, probably also a young man.

  Tang Guan quietly took a few more steps closer, now only about two meters away from the statue, and heard another voice say: "Hua Hua, look, we didn't cheat you!"

  Hearing this voice, Tang Guan's heart moved, it was a boy's voice, and there were people dividing spoils in this desolate wilderness, eight or nine out of ten it was that little thief.

  "Ah! Little thief, I've finally found you!" Tang Guan immediately let out a loud shout, this sudden yell apparently startling the several people behind him, and instantly two figures darted out - a dark-skinned youth and a slender half-grown child.

  Tang Guan saw the child's appearance clearly and confirmed it in an instant. The child also stared at Tang Guan with wide eyes, feeling unbelievable.

  "You little thief! You even dare to take my money!" Tang Guan thought they were just two boys of similar size, but instead a sturdy youth emerged, and his momentum immediately softened.

  "This... this money was stolen by you!?" The sturdy youth was stunned, pointing at the purse in his hand and questioning the little pickpocket.

  Xiao Bao's voice choked, he had been dependent on this young cowherd and the beggar behind the god statue since childhood, every move was regular, this thief was a high-risk profession, in order not to worry these two friends who were already considered family, he had been hiding it.

  Tang Guan saw the sudden change in the situation, and immediately calmed down. He looked at the young man again, and found that his expression didn't seem fake. Looking at the little thief who was lowering his head and not speaking, he suddenly realized something, and his heart softened instantly.

  Compared with these orphans, he is much stronger in both his past and present lives.

  "Cough...cough...Niu Lang Ge, Xiao Qi Ge, what's wrong?" The voice of the little girl behind the god statue finally came out. Niu Lang's face was full of anger as he slammed the money bag to the ground and scolded Xiao Bai Shou: "How can you be so shameless! Didn't you say this money was given by the old master?!"

  Xiao Bai's eyes turned red in an instant, and he shouted loudly: "I'm doing this for you all, if not, we would have starved to death long ago!"

  The girl behind the statue seemed to see no one responding to her, slowly got up, and weakly crawled out from behind the statue. Tang Guan looked at this scene in front of him, and as the victim, he was embarrassed to speak up.

  "It's true that a pitiful person must have a hateful side, and this hateful person also has a pitiful side."

  The young cowherd and the young beggar hastily went forward to lift up the girl, Tang Guan also looked over, only to see a plain-looking frail girl struggling to prop herself up, her face was completely pale.

  Upon seeing this, Tang Guan roughly understood what kind of place this was. "Alas, I'm so unlucky, everywhere I go I run into the Three Hairs' vagrancy records"

  Tang Guan slightly shook his head, not knowing what to do, and thought of turning around and leaving, letting them have the money. Unlike in later generations where scams were rampant, strong and healthy people would deceive children into begging and swindling money. As the saying goes, "seeing is believing", and indeed, he had really encountered three pitiful people.

  Tang's tough exterior hides a soft heart. This doesn't mean he is weak or timid, but rather his own tragic experiences have given him great sympathy for the vulnerable.

  The young cowboy glared at the pickpocket known as Little Seven, who also lowered his head and didn't dare to look him straight in the eye.

  "Cough... who is this young man?" The little girl saw that there was an extra person in the hall, and he was completely different from their own sorry state. First of all, his clothes were entirely different, with Tang-style hats made of silk, satin, and velvet, spotlessly clean.

  Tang Guan was also slightly surprised to hear this title, and didn't expect that this fallen girl would actually know some manners. He immediately responded: "I am Tang Guan, I've come to look for something, sorry to trouble you."

  Xiao Qi and Xiao Niu Lang were stunned when they heard this, the girl was behind the statue of the god, but earlier the three people's conversation was too fast, and she didn't hear clearly, now hearing Tang Guan say so, she immediately believed it completely.

  "Little Seventh brother... Niu Lang brother... that... uh..." The little girl pointed to the scattered money bag on the ground, and Niu Lang and Little Seventh exchanged a glance, but didn't dare to pick it up.

  "Oh, just now they saw me coming in and were startled. I mistook the person, I mistook the person." Tang Guan picked up the money bag as if it was nothing and handed it to Niu Lang.

  The Cowherd and Weaving Maiden were already stunned, and now their eyes showed an even more incredulous expression.

  But Ke Tong's eyes showed no emotion at all, as if this money had always belonged to them.

  The cowherd hesitated for a long time, and Mu Nu took over the money bag. Tang Guan smiled slightly and patted the dust off his hands.

  Xiao Qi's eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at the boy who had been chasing him for a long time, and was about the same size as himself, gradually becoming excited.

  Tang Guan gave Xia Qi a cold glance, and Xia Qi's excited expression was extinguished, unsure of what Tang Guan's gaze meant.

  "Little Lord, why are you so late? You came up the mountain yourself." The girl asked Tang Guan after catching her breath.

  Tang Guanwang looked out and saw that the night had already fallen outside, knowing that it was probably around six or seven o'clock. Winter days always pass quickly.

  "Oh... not myself... I lost a book, and I'm searching for it with my family" Tang Guan casually fabricated a lie, able to see that this little girl was very important to Xiao Qi and Niu Lang, since he decided to be a good person, might as well do it thoroughly.

  "Cough...cough...cough" The little girl coughed again, and Xiao Qi and Niu Lang hastily lifted her up and carefully placed her back on a pile of soft quilts behind the statue, who knows where they came from.

  "Little flower, don't talk anymore, the young man just passed by, it's nothing, go rest now." The cowherd looked older and immediately gently comforted the little girl.

  "If only my daughter could be as obedient as this." Tang Guan couldn't help but think of Lin Yu Xun as the little girl called him "ge ge" one after another.

  The little girl seemed extremely weak, and the previous movement made her feel exhausted. The two of them didn't come out from behind the statue for a long time. First, they looked at each other, then stared at Tang Guan in silence. Xiao Qi lowered his head.

  Tang Guan leaned back with his hands behind him, looking at the two of them with great interest. He saw that Niu Lang should be around 11 or 12 years old, and was quite sturdy in build. As for Xiao Pao Shou, he was about the same size as Niu Lang, and if he washed the dirt off his face and put on a set of fine clothes, he would look like a young noble.

  It wasn't until they heard the calm breathing of the goddess that the few people knew the little girl had fallen asleep, and it was only then that Cowherd pulled Little Seven forward, making a gesture as if he were about to kneel down on the ground.

  Tang Guan didn't stop them either, but instead sat down on the ground. The two who hadn't knelt down yet were shocked by Tang Guan's sudden action and slowed down their movements.

  "Let's go outside and talk." Tang Guan finally stood up and spoke out.

  The two nodded and walked out of the temple before daring to speak loudly.

  "Xiao Qi! Kneel down for Xiao Lang Jun!" Niu Lang is older, and among the three of them, he seems to be playing the role of an elder brother. As the saying goes, "an elder brother is like a father". The few of them who lacked affection since childhood are still quite dependent on him and listen to him.

  "Alright, alright, I really can't accept this." Tang Guan hurriedly waved his hand, also finding it strange that these ancient people were like this. On the one hand, they emphasized the importance of a man's dignity, but on the other hand, the greatest expression of gratitude was actually this.

  He still didn't realize that for him it was just a few pieces of broken silver, but for them it was a precious wealth that could even save the lives of their loved ones!

  "What's your name?" Tang Guan asked with his hands behind his back.

  The Cowherd

  Little Qī (or Little Seven)

  "That's what it means to have no name?" Tang Guan understood the moment he heard this, and it dawned on him that these few people might not even know who their parents were, let alone their names.

  The two nodded in unison and shook their heads. Tang Guan waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll send you the silver, take care of yourselves."

  He said no more and thought of turning back down the mountain. If he was lucky, he might still make it home without being discovered, but if it was the next day, then it would be too late.

  The Cowherd and the Seventh hurried forward, taking a step ahead, and knelt down in front of Tang Guan. The Cowherd said loudly: "Great kindness from you, my brother and I will never forget it! May I ask where you live? We also want to repay your kindness!"

  Tang Guan heard the words and became interested, repaying kindness is a good thing, looking at his own cheap old dad who wanted to invest in a daughter just to repay kindness, this indeed fulfilled a saying "The road is long, don't be too arrogant, later it's uncertain who will be glorious"

  But after sizing up the two of them, he slightly shook his head and said: "Forget about repaying me, just send me down the mountain. Oh, by the way, when you've used up that money, remember to return the pouch to me. My home is in Tangfu, Yuhang, just ask around and you'll know."

  Tang Guan immediately told the other party his home address without any shame, Xiao Qi and Niu Lang exchanged a glance, nodded, and led Tang Guan down the mountain.