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It was already getting dark when the carriage stopped at the alley entrance.

Fan Erniu jumped off the car, tied the reins to the old locust tree by the gate, and turned back to call out to Su Ning, "Brother Su, we've arrived."

Su Ning jumped off the car, her cotton shoes landing steadily on the snow, and then looked around.

The alley is not deep, with earthen walls and wooden doors on both sides, which look quite old.

It was getting dark, and all the houses were closed, with only a few windows letting out a dim, yellowish light.

A couplet was pasted on the door frame of the Fan family's house, but the color had faded so much that it was impossible to read what it said.

Just as Fan Erniu was about to push the door open, it opened from the inside.

A girl stood at the door, wearing an indigo cotton-padded jacket with the cuffs rolled up twice, revealing a section of her slender white wrist.

When the girl saw Fan Erniu and Meng Lihua, she was stunned for a moment, and then tears streamed down her face.

"Father! Mother!" The girl threw herself into Meng Lihua's arms, crying and trembling all over.

Meng Lihua hugged her daughter, tears streaming down her face. She patted her daughter's back with one hand and kept saying, "Yu'er, it's alright, it's alright. Your father and mother are back now."

Fan Erniu rubbed his hands together, his eyes reddening, but he said, "Alright, alright, stop crying. The neighbors will laugh if they hear you."

Fan Changyu lifted his head from Meng Lihua's arms and sobbed, "Dad, why did you only come back now? I heard from Aunt Wang next door that there were bandits on the West Mountain. I was worried all day. I couldn't sit still or stand still. I wanted to go and see, but I didn't dare to go. I was so anxious at home that I was pacing around in circles."

As she was speaking, her gaze suddenly froze.

Because she saw a strange young man.

Standing at the entrance of her yard, wearing cotton boots, a cotton-padded coat, and a snow hat.

Standing there quietly, carrying a bundle in her hand, she was looking at herself.

Fan Changyu's face flushed red.

She unconsciously shrank behind Meng Lihua, peeked out half her head, and whispered, "Mother, who is this person?"

Meng Lihua wiped away her tears, took Fan Changyu's hand and said, "Yu'er, this is Brother Su Ning. He is your father and mother's savior. If it weren't for him on West Mountain today, your father and mother would not have come back."

Fan Changyu was stunned.

She looked up at Su Ning again, then at her father, then at her mother, her face full of disbelief. "My savior?"

Fan Erniu nodded in agreement, “Today, those bandits ambushed and robbed us. More than a dozen of them were armed with knives and surrounded my parents. Your father was almost slashed by one of them; the knife was even raised above his head. It was Brother Su who saved us. He took care of all those bandits, more than a dozen of them, all by himself.”

Fan Changyu's eyes widened and his mouth was slightly open.

She looked at Su Ning, a young man who looked only a few years older than herself. He was thin, barefoot, and looked like he had fled from somewhere.

But he actually saved his parents' lives.

Then she turned around, bowed deeply to Su Ning, her braid slipping down her shoulder and hanging in front of her chest, "Brother Su, thank you for saving my father and mother."

Suning waved his hand, "No need to thank me. It was nothing."

Fan Changyu raised his head and looked at Su Ning.

I noticed that Su Ning's eyes were very bright. He didn't have much expression on his face when he spoke, but he made people feel at ease.

Fan Changyu's face flushed again. She lowered her head, twisting the end of her braid with her fingers, unsure of what to say.

Meng Lihua pulled her into the house, saying as they walked, "Alright, alright, don't stand at the door. It's freezing cold, aren't you afraid of getting cold talking outside? Come inside and let your father and Brother Su rest. It's so cold out here, going out to deliver goods is really a hardship."

The group then entered the room and indeed felt its warmth.

Fan Changyu turned and ran into the kitchen, her steps so fast and hurried that she almost tripped on the threshold.

Fan Erniu lit a brazier in the main room, added a few pieces of charcoal, and poked it with fire tongs. The flames leaped up, and the room gradually became warmer.

He then gestured for Su Ning to sit down, moved a chair to the fire pit, and placed an old cushion on it. "Brother Su, sit down, sit down, warm yourself by the fire. Make yourself warm up."

"Thank you!" Su Ning sat down without any hesitation, took her feet out and stretched them out next to the brazier to warm the backs of her feet.

Meng Lihua went to the kitchen to help Fan Changyu cook.

The kitchen wasn't big, but the fire in the stove reflected the warmth of the mother and daughter's faces.

While chopping vegetables, Fan Changyu asked in a low voice, "Mother, who exactly is this Brother Su? What's he doing on West Mountain?"

Meng Lihua recounted everything that had happened on West Mountain, taking eggs from the cupboard as she spoke.

How did those bandits block the road, how did they overturn the cart, and how did that bandit with the big yellow teeth raise his knife to kill Fan Erniu?

How did Su Ning suddenly appear? How did he disarm the knife with his bare hands? How did he cut down the people one by one with each strike?

The ground was covered in blood, there were more than a dozen corpses, and the young man stood in the snow, his body splattered with blood, his face also covered in blood, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

Fan Changyu was horrified. His knife moved slowly, and the vegetables he cut were unevenly sliced. "He...he really killed so many people?"

Meng Lihua nodded, cracked the egg into a bowl, and scrambled it with chopsticks. "Your father almost died. That bandit had his knife raised above his head, and your father was so scared that he collapsed to the ground, unable to move. It was Brother Su who rushed over, snatched the knife, and killed the man in one swift motion. Later, more than a dozen more came up, and he took them all down by himself. Your father and I hid behind the cart, and our legs went weak from watching."

Fan Changyu remained silent for a long time, the cleaver in his hand frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the cutting board, but he saw nothing.

She recalled how Su Ning had stood at the door earlier, quiet and unassuming, not at all like someone who would kill.

But then she remembered Su Ning's eyes...

It was bright and calm, as if it had seen a lot of the world and was not afraid of anything.

"Mother, is he very powerful?"

Meng Lihua thought for a moment, then placed the beaten eggs on the stove. "He's impressive. But he's not intimidating. He helped us pack our things and drive the carriage; he wasn't arrogant at all. He just seems a little different."

"How is it different?" Fan Changyu asked.

Meng Lihua thought for a moment and shook her head. "I can't quite put my finger on it. He's just different from the people in our town. Look at his hair, it's so short, like he just shaved it recently. He said he spent twenty years cultivating with his master on the mountain and just came down. I don't know if it's true or not."

Fan Changyu nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She put the chopped vegetables into the pot, put the lid on, squatted down and added firewood to the stove, staring blankly at the flames.

Inside the main room, Fan Erniu poured a bowl of hot water for Su Ning and handed it to him, saying, "Brother Su, have some hot water to warm yourself up."

"Thank you." Su Ning took it, took a sip, and found the water to be lukewarm with a hint of firewood flavor.

Fan Erniu also sat down by the brazier, rubbed his hands together, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Brother Su, what are your plans for the future?"

Su Ning placed the bowl on his lap, thought for a moment, and said, "I haven't decided yet. Let's find a place to stay first, and then see what we can do." Fan Erniu rubbed his hands together, shuffling his feet on the ground, and said hesitantly, "Brother Su, if you don't mind, you can stay at my house. The house is a bit old, but it's warm. Once the brazier is lit, it won't be cold inside. You can stay as long as you like, even until spring."

Su Ning looked at him and asked, "Is this convenient? Is your family all women?"

Fan Erniu laughed and waved his hand, “What’s inconvenient about it? You saved our lives, what’s a few days’ stay? Besides, you just came down from the mountain and don’t know the place. Staying at an inn will cost money, dozens of coins a day, it’s not worth it.”

Su Ning thought for a moment and nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"You're too kind! I'll go to Officer Wang tomorrow to help you get your household registration and travel permit."

"Good work."

Fan Erniu was so happy that he slapped his thigh and stood up to walk towards the kitchen, calling out as he went, "Lihua, cook a couple more dishes and slice a plate of pig's head meat. Brother Su is going to stay at our house!"

From the kitchen came Meng Lihua's reply: "Okay, okay, I'm cooking it right now!"

And then there was Fan Changyu's soft laughter, low and muffled, as if she were covering her mouth while laughing.

Su Ning sat by the brazier, finished drinking the water in the bowl, and put the bowl on the ground.

Fan Changyu came out of the kitchen carrying dishes: a plate of scrambled eggs, a plate of stir-fried cabbage, and a plate of braised pig's head meat sliced ​​into thin pieces, all neatly arranged.

Fan Changyu placed the dishes on the table and saw Su Ning sitting by the brazier in a daze. The firelight shone on Su Ning's face, making it appear and disappear.

Fan Changyu suddenly felt that this person had many stories, but she dared not ask.

He put down the dishes and said softly, "Brother Su, dinner's ready."

Su Ning snapped out of her daze, smiled at Fan Changyu, and said, "Okay."

Fan Changyu's face turned red again. She quickly turned around and ran back to the kitchen, her heart pounding.

She stood for a while, holding onto the stove, and took a few deep breaths before she calmed down.

Looking at her daughter's behavior, Meng Lihua smiled and shook her head, lowering her voice to say, "What's wrong with you, girl?"

Fan Changyu blushed and said, "No, nothing happened."

Meng Lihua poked her forehead, "You haven't done anything wrong yet? Your face is as red as a monkey's bottom."

Fan Changyu covered his forehead and stamped his foot, "Mother!"

Meng Lihua smiled and took the dishes out.

Fan Changyu stood in the kitchen, touched his face, and found it was frighteningly hot.

She quickly patted her cheeks and muttered to herself, "How pathetic! Acting like I've never seen a man before."

……

During the meal, Fan Erniu poured Su Ning a glass of wine. It was a bottle of locally produced liquor, packaged in a black porcelain bottle, and it was quite strong.

Su Ning took a sip and felt a burning sensation in his throat from the spiciness; it was completely different from the bottled wines he drank in Beijing.

In fact, there were also high-proof spirits in ancient times, but they were mostly drunk by poor people. Scholars and officials preferred yellow wine.

Fan Erniu poured himself a cup, downed it in one gulp, smacked his lips, and then became more talkative. "Brother Su, you have no idea, my legs still go weak just thinking about what happened today. When that bandit raised his knife, my mind went blank, and I thought, 'That's it, that's it, this is the end for me.' I still have two daughters at home, Changyu is only fifteen and Changning is only six. If my wife and I die, how will those two sisters live?"

As he spoke, his eyes reddened again, and he picked up his glass and took another sip.

Meng Lihua rolled her eyes at him from the side, "Why are you talking about this during the New Year? Let's eat."

Fan Erniu waved his hand, "What's wrong with me saying that? I'm happy! I'm still alive!"

Then he slapped the table and turned to look at Su Ning, "Brother Su, to tell you the truth, you are really amazing. I've lived in Lin'an Town for over forty years and I've never seen anything like it. Those bandits are like paper in front of you, one cut after another, without even breaking a sweat."

Suning picked up a piece of pig's head meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed it.

It tastes good, the saltiness is just right, the braising sauce flavor has seeped in, and it's tender and flavorful.

"I practiced with my master on the mountain for more than ten years, practicing every day. That's how I got it."

"More than ten years?" Fan Erniu's eyes widened. "No wonder. Let me tell you, with your skills, you'd be the best in Lin'an Town. If you were a bodyguard, all the escort agencies would be fighting over you. If you were an instructor, all the wealthy families would line up to hire you."

Su Ning smiled and said, "I haven't thought that far ahead. Let's settle down first."

Meng Lihua chimed in from the side, "Yes, let's settle down first, no rush. Anyway, there's nothing to do in winter, we can think about it again in the spring."

Fan Changyu kept his head down while eating quietly, occasionally stealing a glance at Su Ning before quickly lowering his head again.

She picked up a piece of egg, put it in her mouth, and chewed for a long time without swallowing it.

Fan Erniu took a sip of wine, then suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Meng Lihua, "By the way, where's Changning? I haven't seen her."

Meng Lihua said, "I was tired from playing in the afternoon and went to bed early. I checked on her twice, and she was sleeping like a little pig; I couldn't wake her up."

Fan Erniu nodded. "Alright, let her sleep! Let her see Brother Su again tomorrow."

Meng Lihua placed a piece of braised pig's head in Su Ning's bowl, saying, "Brother Su, eat more, don't be shy. Make yourself at home here."

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Su Ning nodded and ate the piece of meat.

Fan Erniu poured Su Ning another glass of wine. "Brother Su, have another one. This wine isn't anything special, but it won't make you drunk. Let me tell you, this wine is from Wang's Wine Shop in our town. Old Man Wang has been brewing wine all his life, and his wine is the best for miles around."

Su Ning took it, clinked glasses with him, and took a sip.

Fan Erniu put down his cup and sighed, "Brother Su, you saved my wife and me's lives. I, Fan Erniu, will remember your kindness for the rest of my life. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know. Although I, Fan Erniu, am just a pig butcher and don't have any special skills, I've lived in Lin'an Town for over ten years. I know all the neighbors, so it'll be convenient for me to get things done."

“Old Fan is right,” Meng Lihua chimed in. “Brother Su, if you need any help, just let us know. Tell us what you need or what you lack. Although our family isn’t wealthy, we can always make sure you have enough to eat and wear.”

Su Ning glanced at the couple, then at Fan Changyu sitting opposite her, eating with his head down, and felt a warmth in her heart.

He raised his glass, "Then I'll thank Lao Fan and his wife in advance."

Fan Erniu was delighted and poured himself another glass, clinking it against Su Ning's. "No need to thank me! Come on, let's drink!"

Su Ning drank the wine and put the glass on the table.

Fan Changyu quietly stood up, picked up the wine pot, poured another cup for Su Ning, and then sat back down without even raising his head, his ears turning red.

Meng Lihua saw it, smiled with her lips pursed, and didn't say anything.

Thinking that Suning didn't yet have a household registration or a travel permit, Meng Lihua couldn't help but have some ideas.

...(End of this chapter)