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Outside, torrential rain poured down, the sky and earth almost merging into one, accompanied by intermittent lightning and thunder.
Qi Shan, sleeping in his clothes, was awakened not long after by the noisy knocking. He opened his eyes, got up, tidied his collar, and was about to put on his wooden clogs to open the door when Shen Tang beat him to it.
The person at the door wore a bamboo hat and straw cape, looking anxious—it was the village chief of Qianjia Village. Shen Tang stepped aside, inviting him in. "It's raining heavily outside, old man, please come in and speak." The village chief waved his hand, declining. "No, no."
Qi Shan stepped forward: "Observing your anxious expression, old man, has something happened?"
"Have the two young lords seen A'yan?" Outside, wind and rain lashed down. The village chief's face was wet with rainwater, dripping down. He didn't bother to wipe it, his voice trembling slightly. "That child... just for a moment, and he's gone!"
Shen Tang asked, confused, "Who is A'yan?"
"He's the child who was playing with the young lord earlier."
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang knew who he was referring to. So it was that dull-looking child, his name was "A'yan." Shen Tang glanced at the situation outside, shook her head: "We've been inside the whole time, we haven't seen him. When did he disappear?"
The village chief: "Just now, at most a quarter of an hour ago."
Shen Tang's expression visibly darkened upon hearing this. A quarter of an hour was fifteen minutes. The rain outside was so heavy that even rain capes and bamboo hats couldn't stop it. The wind howled, the downpour was relentless, and the faint roars of wild beasts could be heard from the mountains, chilling to the bone. A child disappearing in such weather was likely snatched by jackals, wolves, or tigers that had crept into the village, wasn't it? This was what the village chief feared most.
He said, "If he just ran off to play, that would be good. My biggest fear is that he was snatched by the big beast from the mountain..." These past few years, with continuous drought, poor harvests, heavy taxes, and constant warfare, the villagers' lives were difficult, and the wild beasts in the mountains also struggled, often coming down to forage. It would be fine if they only snatched villagers' livestock, but the fear was that they would snatch a child. Similar tragedies had occurred three times in the past two years.
Qi Shan took a bamboo hat from the wall, put it on his head, and tied the strings. He said, "Old man, don't worry for now. I'll help look for him too. We'll find the child. Think positively; perhaps the child was picked up by the manor's servants, who knows..."
The village chief sighed. He also hoped everything was just a false alarm, as Qi Shan said, that the child wasn't missing or snatched by a beast but picked up. But he knew this possibility was slim. A'yan was not valued, and his quality of life at the manor was just barely enough to survive. Half a month ago, he was picked up only after staying in the village for four or five days—and that was only because villagers happened to encounter one of the old women and specifically reminded them. With the weather so bad tonight, there was even less hope they would venture out to pick him up.
Shen Tang said, "I'll help look too."
Qi Shan glanced at her and said, "You can forget about it. Don't you see what the weather is like outside? Lest we don't find the person and lose you instead." The village chief was grateful for Qi Shan's help and also disapproved of Shen Tang going out—this young lord was still childish, eleven or twelve, and slender. She looked only five or six years older than A'yan.
"These worries are unnecessary. How could I get lost? At worst, it's better than letting the villagers search in the dark." Shen Tang borrowed a straw cape and bamboo hat from the village chief. The village chief, still worried, handed her a woodcutting ax. If she was unlucky enough to encounter a large beast, she could at least hold her own.
"A'yan!"
The heavy rain turned the ground muddy. Although Shen Tang's eyesight was good, she still stepped into puddles now and then. As she walked, mud splashed, dirtying the hem of her clothes. In a quarter of an hour, she had searched the fields near Qianjia Village but found no trace of A'yan. Other villagers also had no success. The longer it took, the less confident everyone became.
Qi Shan asked the village chief where the manor was; he planned to go there and ask—though the possibility of A'yan having been picked up was slim, what if? Shen Tang proactively offered, "I'll go too."
The village chief sighed, "Then I'll trouble the two young lords to make the trip." The villagers of Qianjia Village, on the other hand, searched in the direction of the deep mountains. The child snatched by a large beast earlier had also been found that way; after searching all night, they finally found intestines, shredded meat, and bones dragged out at the foot of the mountain in the tall grass.
"Spirit Language is so miraculous, why doesn't it have a rain-sheltering function?" Although wearing a straw cape and bamboo hat, Shen Tang was still drenched. The icy clothes clinging to her skin made her extremely uncomfortable. If the night wind blew into the gaps of the straw cape, it would raise goosebumps all over her.
Qi Shan said, "Perhaps it does." Who knows, there are so many Spirit Languages. And besides— "Even if there is, not all Spirit Languages can be learned. Rather than hoping for such a Spirit Language, it's better to wear more rain gear."
Shen Tang jogged to keep up with his pace, not caring if her heavy footsteps splashed water, since she was already dirty anyway. "Then is there a lighting object that won't get wet in the rain? For marching or walking at night in heavy rain, that would be convenient..."
Qi Shan: "..."
The manor wasn't far from Qianjia Village. The two followed the muddy path, sinking deep with each step, and found it after walking for two kezhong (half an hour). It was a courtyard enclosed by low walls, with faint glimpses of dark tiles and white walls. The courtyard was pitch black, with no lights, looking from afar like a huddled dark shadow of a beast.
Shen Tang stepped forward and knocked on the door. Thump-thump-thump— At this moment, a bolt of lightning flashed across the clouds, illuminating half the sky, followed by deafening thunder. Fearing she wouldn't be heard inside, she changed from knocking with her knuckles to knocking with a cupped fist, gradually increasing her force—Bang-bang-bang!
Just as she thought no one was home, she vaguely heard a man's impatient response: "Who is it, knocking at this hour?" After a while, the door opened. The middle-aged man who opened the door wore a somewhat short brown robe and a headscarf. He seemed quite displeased at being disturbed in the middle of the night, his expression ill-tempered as he scanned Shen Tang and Qi Shan. Seeing that they were one tall and one short, both young, his expression seemed to relax slightly, becoming a bit kinder.
"Who are the two of you?"
Shen Tang replied, "We are travelers staying in Qianjia Village. We heard from the village chief that the child named A'yan is from your manor. He was playing in the village during the day, didn't return, and went missing a short while ago. The village chief is worried he was snatched by a large beast and is searching everywhere." The middle-aged man's expression softened considerably after hearing Shen Tang's words: "Oh, A'yan has already been brought back. Thank you both for your concern."
Brought back??? Shen Tang's brow furrowed slightly. Concealed by her bamboo hat, her expression returned to normal. At this moment, Qi Shan bowed to the man, saying gently, "Since your young lord is safe, we are relieved. However, it is dark and the road is narrow, and the wind and rain are heavy. May we briefly borrow your residence and take shelter from the rain here, my brother and I?" The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this. But he still stepped aside, allowing Shen Tang and Qi Shan to enter, saying, "The two of you also braved the rain to search for my son. You may certainly take shelter from the rain. However, it is too late, and all the servants have already gone to sleep, so I cannot entertain the two of you. Please forgive me."
Qi Shan: "That is natural. Just a roof to shelter from the rain is sufficient."
The two followed the middle-aged man into the small courtyard. Several trees were planted in the courtyard, with hemp ropes strung between their trunks for drying clothes. Clothes hung on the ropes—seven or eight adult garments, and one small, washed-out, patched child's garment. Shen Tang glanced sideways, then subtly withdrew her gaze.