In Beiliang, July nights were often greeted by a sudden downpour.
It was another rainy night.
The patter of rain came from all directions, echoing through the empty alley with an almost grating sharpness.
Several half-grown boys had been roaming the streets, chasing chickens and dogs, and had been caught completely off guard by the rain.
The boy at their head was broad and sturdy. He was the only son of Provincial Graduate Zhang, the sole heir of the Zhang Family for five generations.
Provincial Graduate Zhang currently served as a ninth-rank secretary. He was the “Third Master” of Beiliang County, and he also had a brother-in-law who was the head constable at the county office.
Thus, the Zhang Family enjoyed some modest prestige in Beiliang County.
Their only son had been spoiled into lawlessness. Relying on his family’s influence, he spent his days causing trouble wherever he went.
Now that he had been drenched like a drowned rat, his heart was full of anger.
“Come on. Let’s go vent our anger on that blind boy.”
These half-grown boys had always followed Zhang Qi’s lead. Besides, this was hardly their first time bullying the little blind boy in Linqu Alley, so they all agreed.
Six or seven boys around ten years old charged into the alley.
From far away, Pei Xiu heard the hurried, chaotic footsteps.
He had already tidied up and gone to bed, but now he groped his way into his clothes and got up again. Picking up the white cane Su Ying had newly made for him, he waited beneath the porch in the rainy night.
It was not because he was arrogant or overconfident enough to think that a blind man could take on ten people alone.
Rather, the wooden door and windows of the house were already on the verge of collapse. They could never withstand a kick from a group of young boys in their prime.
He was going to get beaten either way, so why needlessly break the doors and windows by going inside?
“Clang!”
The courtyard gate was kicked open.
Pei Xiu tightened his grip on the wooden cane, locating his opponent by sound.
When the footsteps drew near, he suddenly swung the cane, only to have it seized by someone.
Zhang Qi sneered. “You still dare to ambush me?”
He made as though he would snap the cane in half, but the wood was unexpectedly sturdy this time. Even with the muscles in both his arms bulging, he failed to break it.
He simply swung the cane at Pei Xiu instead.
Hearing the sharp rush of wind, Pei Xiu hurriedly retreated and raised a hand to block the blow aimed at his chest.
A pain nearly severe enough to break his arm shot through him. Pei Xiu’s face turned deathly pale, and he kicked toward the direction from which the cane had come.
Driven into a rage, Pei Xiu had put all his strength into that kick. Zhang Qi, caught completely off guard, was sent tumbling into the rain-soaked ground.
The boys behind him were stunned. They all froze in place, unsure what to do.
Usually, Zhang Qi was the one who took action while they shouted encouragement from the sidelines.
Most of them did not come from families as wealthy as Zhang Qi’s. On ordinary days, they merely relied on his influence to scrape together a few petty gains and rarely resorted to actual violence.
But if they wanted to continue following Zhang Qi, they could not stand by indifferently while their leader was kicked down.
Someone finally worked up the courage to shout, “Get him! Beat him to death!”
The boys gritted their teeth and swarmed forward.
Countless fists and shoe soles rained down on Pei Xiu, adding another layer of injury to his body, which had not yet recovered.
His eyes bloodshot, Pei Xiu fought with all his strength, but he could not defend himself.
Then Su Ying’s words flashed through his mind.
“…Grab one of them and beat him to death.”
His expression hardened. He suddenly pounced on a boy in front of him whose punch had been thrown timidly, knocking him to the ground.
Clenching his fist, he began smashing it into the boy’s face again and again like a madman.
Warm liquid sprayed across his fist, only to be washed away by the rain an instant later.
Zhang Qi and the other boys beside him were all stunned by Pei Xiu’s sudden frenzy. Zhang Qi was the first to recover, cursing furiously:
“What are you standing around for?! Pull him off! Ming Jiu’s going to be beaten to death!”
The others swarmed forward again, frantically trying to pull Pei Xiu’s hands away, drag him back by the waist, yank his hair, and haul him off by the legs.
Pei Xiu noticed none of it. He was wholly focused on beating the boy beneath him to death.
Whenever one of his hands came free, he delivered another solid punch.
Seeing that four or five people still could not pull the mad blind man away, Zhang Qi’s expression grew terribly ugly. He wiped the muddy water from his face and yanked away one of the boys closest to him.
Then he raised his leg and kicked Pei Xiu hard in the side of the waist.
Pei Xiu grunted as the tremendous force sent him sprawling facedown on the ground.
Zhang Qi straddled him and, using the momentum, shoved his face into a puddle. Grinding his back teeth, he snarled, “What kind of mad dog are you acting like?! You want to die? I’ll be happy to oblige.”
As he spoke, he abruptly seized Pei Xiu by the hair and forced his head up high.
He was just about to smash it against the bluestone paving when a startled cry rang out:
“Who’s there?!”
In the next instant, someone locked an arm around Zhang Qi’s neck from behind.
He immediately released Pei Xiu and grabbed at the arm constricting his throat.
The arm was so slender it looked as though it could snap with one twist, yet it possessed astonishing strength and squeezed him until he was nearly unable to breathe.
Pei Xiu lay facedown on the ground, gasping for breath.
Only after the ringing in his ears gradually faded did he hear the chaotic sounds of fighting behind him, mixed with several shocked curses:
“How is it a woman?!”
Pei Xiu’s heart jolted.
Su Ying?
Hadn’t she gone out to gather herbs and said she would not be back tonight?
He had no time to think. Struggling to his feet, he joined the melee once more.
The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the rain grew heavier.
After an unknown length of time, the chaotic courtyard finally fell silent. Only the sound of panting remained, mingling with the downpour.
There was not a single part of Pei Xiu’s body that did not ache, and his head throbbed and rang.
Once his breathing had steadied somewhat, he realized that there was no second breathing nearby.
“Su Ying!” he called urgently.
No one answered.
A terrible thought suddenly entered his mind.
Boom—
It seemed as though all the blood in his body rushed to his head in that instant.
Even with all his strength, he could not sit up. His hands groped across the ground, his blank eyes filled with panic.
“Su Ying… where are you? Are you hurt? Answer me… please, answer me, all right?”
Still, no one answered.
An indescribable terror filled his chest, swelling with pain as though it were about to burst.
Pei Xiu’s voice trembled even more violently as he shouted hoarsely, “Su Ying!”
The instant the words left his mouth, his palm suddenly came into contact with something cold.
The cold object had a rough texture and lightly brushed against his palm. Pei Xiu immediately realized—
It was a finger.
Su Ying’s finger.
As though he had caught hold of a lifeline, he gripped that hand tightly. “Su Ying, Su Ying… are you all right?”
Su Ying lay not far away. It took her a long while to find her voice again, which was just as hoarse and unpleasant as his.
“What are you shouting for…”
Pei Xiu followed her hand and moved to her side. He wanted to touch her, but did not know where he could do so. His questions tumbled out incoherently.
“Where are you hurt? Why didn’t you answer me just now? Did you pass out again?”
Su Ying found him unbearably noisy, and his voice made her head ache. Listlessly, she said, “…Shut up!”
Pei Xiu obediently fell silent, but he continued gripping her hand tightly.
The clappers announcing the second watch sounded, and only then did the heavy rain stop.
Su Ying recovered a little strength. Exhausted, she lifted her eyelids and gazed at the bright moon in the freshly washed sky.
After a long while, she shifted her gaze to Pei Xiu’s swollen face, which was plainly filled with unease, and called to him hoarsely:
“Pei Xiu.”
“I’m here…” Pei Xiu’s throat felt tight and raw. “Su Ying, where exactly are you hurt? We need to find a physician—”
“Pei Xiu.”
Su Ying cut off his incessant chatter and said, each word deliberate and earnest:
“You did very well tonight.”