Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 4 People’s hearts are unpredictable
Under the current circumstances, Chen Xuan guessed that the old man had ill intentions towards him for a long time. Maybe not a single word he said was true, and even the clothes he wore might be problematic. Otherwise, how could he sleep with such a confused mind?
It's hard to guard against. I live in a peaceful society and have never experienced any dangers in the world. What's more, I woke up on the other party's ship. It was obviously the other party who saved me, and he seemed honest and kind. How could I make groundless speculations about the other party?

If he were to ask himself honestly, Chen Xuan felt that he had not been wronged.

Even if the old man didn't play dirty, with my current five or six-year-old body, I wouldn't have much of a chance to resist him if he used force. He's old, not dead. He's rowing for years, and his physique is there. I can't compare to him now.

Although he became a prisoner, Chen Xuan did not intend to sit and wait for death. He would certainly try to escape from the predicament if he had a chance. He even wanted to defeat the other party if possible. After all, his body was that of a child and his brain was not degenerate.

But soon Chen Xuan found that he had almost no chance of escaping the predicament. He was tied too tightly, probably by a professional. He could not move at all. Many parts of his body were strangled and hurt. It seemed that he was not treated as a human being.

He couldn't even move to jump off the boat, not to mention that that would be courting death. The old man wouldn't give him that opportunity either.

His mouth was strangled and stuffed with foreign objects, so he couldn't even speak. It was clear that he had blocked all possibilities of escaping from the restraints, and he couldn't even ask for help.

He doesn't know how many times he has done this kind of thing!
After struggling in vain, Chen Xuan discovered that the foreign object stuffed in his mouth was clearly the peach pit he brought with him. He actually used it to block his mouth, not afraid of choking himself to death by accident?

The other party saved him and tied him up, so it was obvious that he had no intention of killing him.

So what exactly was he trying to accomplish by doing this? Chen Xuan had already formed a vague guess: what could a tiny child do?
Suddenly a sentence popped up in Chen Xuan's mind: The innkeeper should be killed even if he is innocent!

This refers to five professions: coachmen, boatmen, shop owners, peddlers and brokers. These five industries have too many opportunities for fraud and deception.

Take the old boatman who calls himself Wang Fu for example. As a ferryman, if he encounters a lone person in the water, it is not difficult for him to push the person into the water unexpectedly to rob him of his money and kill him. But who knows if he could abduct a "child" like himself and sell him by water?

And now, Chen Xuan is the one who is alone. He took advantage of me sleeping and tied me up. I am still a "child", so I am cautious enough...

Chen Xuan was tied up, unable to move or speak, but that didn't stop Liu Chuanfu from continuing. He continued in his honest and simple tone, "Young Master, don't waste your energy. You can't break free. Just suffer less."

But the more he spoke like this, the more Chen Xuan felt the sinisterness of human nature, which was chilling. He was not afraid of bad people writing the word "bad" on their faces, but he was afraid that people who looked like good people to everyone were actually bad people.

Woo woo woo... Chen Xuan wanted to ask him what he wanted to do, but unfortunately he couldn't speak.

Under the moonlight, the stern lantern flickered with a dim light. Liu, the boatman's eerily calm voice, continued, "Don't blame me, young man. You came to me on your own. I thought you were dead, so I salvaged you and waited for your family to come and ask for some kind of reward. But you turned out to be alive. In this desolate place, with no one else around, this is just free money, isn't it?"

"You look like a young man from a wealthy family. You have a good appearance and will definitely fetch a good price."

"When you get old, you tend to talk more. I'm not afraid of your revenge in the future. I don't have many years left to live. I know that if I die like this, I'll go to hell. So it doesn't matter to me."

"Originally, for a child like you, it would be best to gouge out your eyes, make your voice hoarse with medicine, and then leave you disabled and begging on the street. The more miserable you are, the more sympathy you will gain. But you are really good-looking, the best-looking child I have dealt with in decades. I really can't bear to let you go. If I use those methods on you, you won't be able to fetch a high price. If I sell you, I should be able to hide away and enjoy your retirement."

"Haha, you are quite clever, young man. You said you don't remember anything. How can I, an old man, be fooled by you? It's better to be clever. Many wealthy families like you. After raising you for a few years, you will forget everything in the past and you will belong to them."

"You still want to lie to me, old man. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. You said you don't remember anything, but you're just afraid to say it, right? Your hair is a big problem. Which child would have their hair shaved close to the scalp?" "Usually, only the families of those who have committed serious crimes would have their hair shaved. Since they are still young, shaving their heads is like beheading them. You must be the descendant of a criminal, right? I think you came from a wealthy family and suffered misfortune, but that's all in the past."

"You still have an accent from another place. I don't know how you ended up here and drowned. Tell me, if I sold you and made you a slave, who would bother me?"

"You don't have a household registration permit, and you're clearly a criminal, worse than a refugee. Anyone who finds you will end up being sold. If you fall into my hands, maybe you can find a good family. If you fall into the hands of others, you'll probably be crippled and forced to beg for sympathy. And if it weren't for me, you would have been fed to the fish and shrimp long ago. Do you still have to thank me?"

"So just accept your fate. You're lucky you have a good appearance. You deserve this fortune. I'll buy some good wine tomorrow and have some fun..."

Listening to the old man's chatter, Chen Xuan felt as if he was poured with a basin of cold water in the middle of winter, and felt cold to the bone.

How can such cold words come from your gentle mouth?

At the same time, after his "reminder", Chen Xuan realized that his identity was a big problem. Even if he was not caught and sold by him, he would not be able to move forward!

No wonder the old man knows nothing about anything. I guess he is not even qualified to travel far away. He will just hang around in small places all his life, secretly doing things that harm others.

For a moment, Chen Xuan was once again in a state of confusion, and he couldn't help but think wildly, trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Shouldn't a chivalrous man come out at this time to punish the evildoers and save him from the dire situation?

Just think about this kind of thing. It is better to rely on yourself than others. Think about how to get out of the predicament.

But then again, shouldn't I be happy that the other party simply controlled his words and actions and didn't use those vicious means on me?

In the dark wilderness, the boat was sailing on the river. Chen Xuan didn't know where the other party would take him. It was really unpleasant to wait for the judgment of an unknown fate.

Anyway, he just kept swaying like that, and he didn't know how long it had been. Chen Xuan, who called himself a night owl, couldn't help feeling sleepy, and he was also very hungry because he hadn't eaten for most of the day.

It was not until the boat stopped and he vaguely heard someone talking that he tried to cheer himself up.

But before he could try to look up and around, Liu the boatman came to him, covered his eyes with a piece of black cloth with a strange smell, and even sealed his ears with mud from somewhere. Chen Xuan immediately fell into the miserable situation of being "deaf, dumb and blind".

Unable to see, hear, or speak, for the next period of time, Chen Xuan only felt that someone was walking around him and someone was touching him. He felt like he was being treated like an animal and being tossed around. He was already exhausted and hungry, and he was miserable.

In the end, I just didn't care about anything else. I couldn't resist, so I just let it go. I fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, I joked to myself that I didn't know how many times I would have to go through this.

Chen Xuan, the self-proclaimed 'lifesaver' Wang Fu, remembered his appearance and would definitely repay him for saving his life if he had the chance...

(New author, new book, please recommend, collect, vote and read for support, thank you very much)

(End of this chapter)