Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 36 The Second Rope

Xiao Wu was riding his bamboo horse and running around the yard.

His grandfather never appeared again since he disappeared that day.

But Xiao Wu was not too sad.

Because this kind of thing is so common, I cried a lot the first few times, but eventually, I got used to it.

He occasionally wondered, maybe they were all together now?
He also likes his current home very much. His mother now loves him as much as his biological mother.

Mrs. Liu Zhang was sitting nearby, facing the sunlight, threading the needle and mending her clothes.

"mom."

The two people in the yard looked up.

I saw Liu Taozi standing at the door, holding a harpoon. His face could not be seen in the backlight. He stood there like a giant.

"peach!"

Liu Zhang hurriedly stood up, put down what she was holding, and walked quickly to Taozi, who lowered her head obediently.

"I'm back. Where's Lu Lingshi? Why didn't he come?"

"He's in trouble."

"Come in, are you hungry? I have prepared food for you a long time ago, but since you haven't come yet, I'm afraid it has gotten cold. Xiao Wu, go get some water!"

Liu Taozi sat in the yard, eating her meal voraciously.

Mrs. Liu Zhang sat aside with a smile on her face, watching her son eat while mending the clothes in her hands.

She really liked watching Taozi eat. The child had a good appetite since she was young.

Taozi quickly finished the food, raised her head and looked at Liu Zhang.

"Mom, I have obtained the qualification to take the exam. I am seeking a position as a township official. You can follow me."

Liu Zhang was silent for a moment, "What about your grandfather?"

"He never cared about this family, so why should we care about him?"

Liu Zhang didn't say anything, but just sighed again.

"Your grandfather is just a little irritable. He has his own difficulties."

"Taozi, listen to me. Don't be so stubborn anymore. Listen to me and bow down to your father. Okay?"

"Brother Peach!"

Suddenly someone shouted outside the door.

Mrs. Liu Zhang stopped talking, and Liu Taozi stood up and walked quickly to the door.

Zhang Erlang stood outside the door and saw Taozi coming out. He whispered, "He's at home right now, alone and drunk."

Taozi nodded, turned around, picked up the harpoon, and looked at Liu Zhang again.

"Mom, I'll be back soon."

Taozi left home quickly, and Zhang Jilang ran after him.

Liu Zhang closed her eyes, her face full of helplessness.

"Chi Le Chuan, under the Yin Mountain ~~ the sky is like a dome ~~ covering the four fields ~~"

Zhang Cheng's house is the best and largest in the village.

Qi Lou Nan sat in the courtyard, holding a wine bag, his face flushed, humming a tune loudly to amuse himself.

Suddenly, a man jumped into the yard.

Qi Lou Nan stopped singing, raised his head and looked at the man in front of him.

Taozi stood in front of him with a harpoon in her hand, looking calm.

Qi Lou Nan took another sip of the bitter wine.

"You're here."

"I am coming."

Qilounan stood up shakily.

"How unfortunate and innocent I am! I didn't do anything wrong, but I got into this kind of trouble. There is no way out!"

"Zhang Cheng eats the tenants, you eat Zhang Cheng, then naturally someone will eat you too, it's the law of nature, there's no innocence."

"What about you? Whose food are you?"

Taozi replied indifferently: "It is still unknown."

"he's mine."

The third person's voice came from behind, and Qi Lounan was stunned, "What?"

Just as he was about to turn around, a rope flew out and wrapped around Qi Lounan's neck. Qi Lounan was thrown backwards, and someone pressed against his back with both hands. Qi Lounan covered his neck in pain, and within a moment, he could not move.

Liu Taozi watched as the dark shadow appeared from behind Qi Lounan, put a rope around Qi Lounan's neck, and then pulled him to death.

The movements were done in one go, clean and neat, without any redundancy.

The man stepped over Qi Lounan's body and walked in front of Taozi.

He was fully armed, wearing a smiley mask, and was tall and burly. Taozi had seen this knight before, in her own backyard.

The knight dropped the rope in his hand and slowly drew out his sword.

The next moment, the two men were striding toward each other, the knight's sword slashing at Peach's head, while Peach's harpoon stabbed the other's eyes.

"Bang~"

The next moment, the knight's sword changed angle and chopped off Peach's harpoon.

However, Taozi had already crashed into the knight's arms and hit the helmet hard with her elbow.

The knight was obviously staggering, and at this distance, he had no choice but to drop his knife, hold Taozi with both hands, push him down, and hit Taozi's chest with his knee.

Taozi groaned, but hugged his thighs and rushed forward again, knocking the knight over.

The two men wrestled on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The knight took the opportunity to knock Peach over, quickly stood up, rushed to the spot, and picked up the knife.

Taozi held the harpoon, which was broken into two pieces, in both hands. The two faced off again, and the knight was panting.

"Grandpa, you are old."

Peach spoke up.

The knight reached out and slowly removed the mask.

Under the mask was Liu Da's face.

"Oh, it's just that I was wearing armor and showing mercy."

Liu Da panted lightly and looked at Qi Lou Nan who was lying in a pool of blood. "You are in trouble one after another. Don't you feel ashamed, Mr. Liu?"

"Because of your wrongdoings, a peaceful and harmonious family has been destroyed by you. Are you worthy of your mother?"

"Peace and happiness?"

Liu Taozi asked back, and then said calmly: "From childhood to adulthood, every time you came home, there was no peace and tranquility at home. You always yelled and vented all your anger on us."

"If you don't like what I said, you will beat us up."

"They beat my mother and drove me into the wild boar forest"

"Where is there a peaceful and happy home?"

When Liu Da heard this, he flew into a rage, his face turned red, and he became extremely violent.

"What a heartless person!!"

"Can you survive a day without me?"

"You can live, talk, eat, and run into the city to kill people. You should thank me for all my kindness!!"

"Do you know how much Naigong has done for you? What has he been through?"

"Then what have we done wrong? Just because you gave birth to us, should we be bullied like this?"

Hearing Taozi's question, Liu Da angrily pointed the knife in his hand at Taozi.

"I'm the husband!"

"I am the Father!!"

"Not to mention beating and scolding you, even if I kill you, I won't be guilty!"

"This is fucking heaven! law! earth! justice!"

"It was you who instigated your mother to leave me, tried to rebel against me, ignored my teachings, and now you are pointing a harpoon at me! You are disobedient! You are unfilial!"

"You are so fucking unacceptable!"

Liu Da roared, completely disregarding whether outsiders could hear him, and he looked at Taozi again.

"Now, drop the harpoon in your hand, follow me out of here, and listen to me. Everything will remain the same as before, and you can continue to live a stable life with your mother."

"If not, I will kill you, this unfilial creature, with my own hands, to save you from causing me more trouble!"

When Liu Taozi heard this, his eyes widened in anger.

This was the first time he showed such obvious anger. His face was red and rage was burning in his eyes.

At this moment, he seemed more like Liu Da.

"My mother and I are not your dogs!"

"If you're happy, you can coax me. If you're angry, you can beat me!"

"We are human beings!"

"Fuck the natural law, fuck the justice!"

"I was born free, I live openly, I cannot bear the slightest bit of injustice, if someone hits me, I will fight back, if someone wants to kill me, I will wield a knife!"

Liu Da's eyes widened and he let out a strange cry.

"Ha, well, let me see how you swing the knife."

"enough."

The door was pushed open, and Liu Zhang came in. She said to Zhang Erlang and Xiao Wu outside the door, "Don't let anyone get close."

The two men nodded.

Liu Zhang closed the door and walked over to the two of them.

Liu Da was still angry, "It's all your fault. Look at this unfilial son you raised! He is so arrogant and presumptuous."

"Okay, husband, don't be angry."

Liu Zhang held Liu Da's hand and said gently, "It's all my fault. I doted on him too much. Don't blame him."

Liu Da's angry expression eased a little. He put away the knife and wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

"I'll go talk to him."

Liu Zhang looked at Taozi and said, "Taozi, come with me."

The mother and son walked towards the backyard.

They walked for a long time without saying a word.

"Taozi, there are some things that I should have told you a long time ago."

"In fact, your father's name is not Liu Da, his name is Liu Taozhi. He was originally a slave in the army, and later he married me and had you."

"Your father has made many military achievements and gradually gained the emperor's trust and was promoted. However, Yecheng is really dangerous, especially for us women, who are in danger at any time."

"So we secretly moved here. It's not far from Yecheng, and it's desolate and inconspicuous. We registered here, became hunters, and lived a peaceful life."

"I thought that if something happened in Yecheng someday, your father could get out in time and our family would be safe."

"Don't blame your father. He was not like this in the past. It's just that what he experienced later was really terrible. His temper became more and more strange and irritable. That's why he is so moody now."

"Taozi, come with us. We will find a safe place, change your identity, and live a stable life."

ps: During the reign of Emperor Wenxiang, there was a scholar named Wu, who was blind and good at singing. Emperor Wenxiang tested him and heard Liu Taozhi's voice and said, "He is a man who is under someone's control, but he will be very rich and noble. Many princes, generals and ministers have died at his hands. He is like a hawk or dog, being used by others." - "Northern History, Volume 77"

(End of this chapter)