Chapter 5 The Sky is High and the Birds Fly

  "Is the county magistrate insane? How can he possibly release that dead convict who is clearly guilty?" Chen Pi exclaimed in shock, unable to contain his loud outburst.

  Song caught his head and coughed: "I told Old Chen, be careful when speaking."

  It wasn't until then that Chen Pi realized he had openly said the county magistrate was "crazy", such a disrespectful remark, if it reached the county magistrate's ears, would he still have good fruit to eat?

  "Look at my cheap mouth." Chen Pi reacted quickly, hurriedly slapped himself in the face, and then leaned close to Song and asked in a low voice: "Song Captain, that Stone guy was clearly sentenced to death, and his execution date is just a few days away. How did he suddenly get released for being not guilty?"

  Song caught a glimpse of him and said: "I'm telling you, Old Chen, after all these years on the job, do you still need to ask me about this kind of thing?"

  "Are you saying... someone is backing this kid?" Chen Pi asked skeptically.

  "Nonsense."

  Chen Pi was even more surprised: "This little guy is just a mediocre doctor, who would want to protect him? It can't be that he ran into some kind of noble lord by chance?"

  Song Butou sneered: "In this era, there's no such thing as a clean and honest official. Let me tell you, from what I know, the one who's backing him might be Xiong Bangzhu of the Fishing Gang."

  "Is it the head of the bear gang?"

  Chen Pi's heart skipped a beat, his eyes rolled over, and he immediately thought of Bai Ji Tian.

  Isn't it that Old Ba has asked the head of the Bear Gang to help this little Stone kid? No, that's not right, the one with the surname Stone didn't even cure his illness, so why would Old Ba still want to save him?

  Chen Pi was unaware of the truth, and his mind was filled with wild guesses for half a day without getting to the bottom of it. Beside him, Song Huo had lost patience: "Since the county magistrate has given an order, we shouldn't ask so many questions. The document is here, hurry up and release the person."

  Chen Pi snapped out of his trance and hastily turned around to walk back into the cell. Despite being full of doubts, when he faced Shi Wei again, his face was already smiling like a steamed bun.

  "Stone brother, congratulations, you've been acquitted and released. You can leave the prison now." Chen Pi said as he quickly opened the cell door.

  The conversation between the two outside the cell was heard clearly by Shi Wei, and at this moment, he only felt a slight relief and his heart was filled with disgust towards Chen Pi.

  He sneered inwardly, but pretended to be surprised on the surface, shaking his head and saying: "How is this possible? I'm just a humble and mediocre doctor, how could I suddenly be acquitted and released? Master Chen, don't tease me, I'll just stay here and eat my plain food."

  Shi Wei intentionally emphasized the words "poor and mediocre doctor", which was actually a veiled satire of his previous contemptuous remarks outside the prison.

  Chen Pi was taken aback, his face showing a few shades of embarrassment. He coughed dryly several times and smiled awkwardly: "Brother Shi must have misunderstood me, I was just joking with you. Everyone knows what kind of person old Chen is, Brother Shi, you saved my life, could I possibly treat you like that?"

  As for this Chen Pi, his face is really thick-skinned, but these words of accompanied laughter also made Shi Wei slightly relieved.

  "Hehe, what kind of person Master Chen is, I'm still unclear about it, actually just now I was also joking."

  Shi Wei pretended to be close to Chen, although he was annoying, but after all, he was also a useful person, and Shi Wei might need him in the future when he was still in Dangtu County. It was better not to make things awkward between them.

  At this time, Chen Pi also burst out laughing and personally escorted Shi Wei out of the prison. Before leaving, he said with a hint of reluctance: "Brother Shi, now that you're leaving, I'm really going to miss you. Another day, I'll definitely come visit you at home, and we'll have a good drink together."

  "Time will tell, time will tell."

  Shi Wei made a few excuses and strode out of the prison with his head held high.

  As he stepped out of the doorway, the afternoon sunlight hit him in the face, although it was gloomy, but because Shi Wei had been locked in that dark cell for too long, it still stung his eyes a bit.

  He raised his hand to block the sunlight, and after a while, he put down his arm, carrying the unhealed buttock wound, walking slowly onto the main street.

  Taking a look at this fresh new world that has been in his memory but is actually his first time being there, Shi Wei felt a kind of relief and exhilaration.

  "Shi Lang Zhong."

  A familiar yet somewhat strange voice echoed behind him. Shi Wei turned around to see Ba Jie Tian with a respectful face.

  This tiger-backed and bear-waisted little fishing boss, although his body still looks robust as an ox, but the complexion on his face is quite haggard, as if he had suffered some kind of torture.

  Shi Wei's heart was clear, and he secretly sneered in his heart. He slightly raised his hands: "So it's Brother Ba. Today I can finally see Brother Ba again, it seems that Brother Ba still doesn't believe me. If I'm not mistaken, these days Brother Ba should have suffered a lot, right?"

  One sentence pierced his mind, and Ba Jie Tian immediately blushed with shame.

  That day he listened to his wife Fan's advice, thinking that the illness had already recovered, and what Shi Wei said about using family-transmitted acupuncture to cure it was just intimidating him, so he didn't go to fulfill the promise in prison.

  Little did he know, four days later, his old illness recurred, and it was even more severe than before.

  Under the shock of Ba Jie Tian, he hurriedly continued to take the medicine that Shi Wei had prescribed for him, but unexpectedly, as Shi Wei had said in prison, it was simply impossible to suppress the pain.

  For several days, Ba Jitian, who had been suffering from illness, finally realized the severity of Shi Wei and did not dare to delay any longer. He then dragged his sickly body to tell Xiong Bangzhu about this matter.

  Shi Wei had been counting the days in prison, and when that surname Ba walked away without a word, Shi Wei naturally guessed what he was thinking. He secretly laughed at Ba Jitian for being self-righteous, but in the end, he could only bring trouble upon himself. Now that they met again, everything was just as Shi Wei had expected.

  Ba Jitian's face turned red with shame, and he bowed deeply to Shi Wei, saying: "I am also to blame for this, I truly deserved it. It was all because I misheard the words of my wife, which caused Stone Langzhong to suffer a few more days in prison. Ba Jitian hereby apologizes to Stone Langzhong."

  Shi Wei waved his hand and said magnanimously: "Forget it, anyway I've been released from prison, let's just pretend these old things never happened."

  Having said that, he turned around and went north towards the city.

  "Shi Langzhong, where are you going?" Ba Jitian caught up with him in a few strides.

  "Where else can I go?" Shi Wei smiled faintly, "The leader of the Gui Clan went to great lengths to get me out, wasn't it just so that I could treat his sister's illness? I think he must be getting impatient by now."

  Shi Wei originally wanted to return to Ping An Tang first and report his safety to Shifu's wife, Fan Peilan. But thinking again, that bear-like helper must be eagerly waiting for him to go and diagnose his sister's illness, otherwise he wouldn't have let Ba Jitian wait outside the prison.

  Baji Tian saw Shi Wei and immediately forgot his previous grievances, suddenly turning from shame to joy. He hastily said: "I have prepared the horse carriage, let Stone Langzhong get on first."

  Shi Wei pointed to his own buttocks, saying in a bad tone: "The wound here has just healed, and the carriage is shaking so much. Brother Ba, aren't you trying to split my wound open again?"

  "This......" Ba Jitian was stunned for a moment, unsure of what to do.

  "After all, Miss Xiong has been ill for many years and isn't in a hurry at this moment. Let's take it easy, I'll just blow away the bad luck on me."

  Shi Wei no longer glanced at him, taking one step at a time, leisurely and carefree, continuing forward at the speed of a snail.

  He did this on purpose to make things difficult for that surname Ba, the guy didn't keep his promise, and it made himself suffer a few more days in prison, how could he be let off with just one sentence of apology.

  Ba Jitian was in a difficult situation, wanting to know how many more streets there were between here and the Xiong family's main residence. At Shi Wei's speed, it was likely they wouldn't arrive until midnight.

  The bear boss had previously instructed that Shi Langzhong would be taken away immediately after his release from prison. The boss is still waiting at home, but if things drag on like this, the boss will get impatient and angry, what to do then?

  Ba Jitian reluctantly followed Shi Wei, furrowed his brow and thought for a while, suddenly thought of a plan, and hastily called several people to bring a simple wooden bed.

  Ba Jitian smiled and said, "Shi Langzhong, if you find the carriage bumpy, my brothers can carry you on a stretcher. This way, we can move faster, and you'll conserve your energy. What do you think?"

  This surname Ba also gave enough face, Shi Wei will eventually have to mix in this city, and it's not good to be too "reckless", so he didn't make things difficult for him again, and agreed with a smile.

  Shi Wei lay down on the wooden bed, carried by four strong fishermen, and went to the Xiong Mansion in comfort and style.

  At this time, there were many pedestrians on the main street. Those city dwellers who saw such a "rare sight" were all amazed and exclaimed in surprise.

  "Isn't that Xiao Langzhong from Ping'an Hall? Didn't he get sentenced to beheading? How did he end up getting released?"

  "Yes, you see those people who carried him, they are all from the fishing village."

  "Isn't that Ba Ye? I heard just the other day that he beat Shen Langzhong from Renxintang until his head was bleeding, but now he's serving this young Langzhong like a grandson. It's really strange."

  …………

  Under the gaze of the crowd, Shi Wei was carried over three main streets and arrived at the Xiong Mansion in the north of the city before dusk.

  When he saw the majestic gate of the bear mansion, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

  ————

  Thanks for the reward from Chui Xiang brother!