Chapter 110: Seen the Soul Yet?
Chapter 110: Seen the Soul Yet?
“Little brother, when the Young Lady asks you something later, just answer honestly. She is a good person, so you really don’t need to worry. But if you’re harboring any tricky ideas, I’ll make sure you regret it!”
Captain Wang walked at the front, turning to caution Tang Jinbiao beside him. His words also served as a warning, implying nothing good would come of trouble.
“Humph!”
“Humph!”
After Captain Wang spoke, the guards walking alongside the procession all wore fierce expressions on their faces, making it clear to Tang Jinbiao he should watch his step.
“Heh heh, I know, I know! This humble one understands!”
Tang Jinbiao had no choice at the moment but to bow and scrape. While exploding in a rage now could let him kill all these people and seize their property and food, he wouldn’t do it. After all, he had no grudges against them, no past conflicts or new conflicts. He wasn’t some indiscriminate killer either. Talking tough was one thing, but even now, he’d never even slaughtered a chicken, let alone killed a person.
“Hmm, good that you understand!”
Seeing Tang Jinbiao being so cooperative, Captain Wang nodded in satisfaction and continued walking toward the rear of the convoy.
Cold!
Tang Jinbiao followed Captain Wang, but suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran through his body. A strange, pervasive coldness swiftly swept over him, making him shudder uncontrollably.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Captain Wang seemed to notice Tang Jinbiao’s odd state. Turning back just as Tang Jinbiao shuddered, he asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
Ch-chatter!
In that instant, Tang Jinbiao felt icy cold from head to toe. Shivering, his teeth clattering, he looked up at Captain Wang.
But he saw that Captain Wang seemed completely unaffected, only looking confused. Tang Jinbiao asked rather bewilderedly, “Captain Wang, didn’t you feel that chilling gust just now?”
“Huh? Chilling gust? No? Everything seems perfectly normal!”
Captain Wang’s brows furrowed deeply; he clearly didn’t grasp what Tang Jinbiao meant.
Tang Jinbiao turned to look at the other young men nearby. None of them seemed to notice anything amiss, maintaining calm expressions as they continued walking slowly alongside the convoy. Those few who did glance his way were frowning, obviously not recognizing him and seeming suspicious or unfriendly.
“Oh… then it’s fine.”
Seeing everyone appear unaffected, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.
“Alright. Remember this: later, when the Young Lady asks you anything, just answer truthfully. Don’t say too much, and don’t hide anything!”
Though Captain Wang still found it strange, he didn’t question it further. After giving his instructions, he resumed walking towards the back.
“Understood.”
Tang Jinbiao nodded in acknowledgment.
Cold!
However, as Tang Jinbiao continued walking further back, that feeling of uncalled for coldness became increasingly pronounced. He even had the illusory sense that he was walking directly towards the source of the cold.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Despite the clear, windless weather and not the slightest breeze, Tang Jinbiao felt wave after wave of chilling gusts relentlessly blowing against him. What’s more, this cold seemed to pierce through his clothes and skin unimpeded, chilling him deep within, right to the very marrow of his bones.
Ch-chatter!
Although only thirty or so meters remained, each step Tang Jinbiao took intensified the biting cold, making his body tremble uncontrollably.
“Hmm?”
Captain Wang grew increasingly aware of Tang Jinbiao’s odd state behind him. He glanced back and asked, “Little brother, are you really that cold?”
For some reason, at this moment, as Captain Wang turned to look—whether it was a trick of the eyes or something else—it seemed, in a fleeting haze, that a faint layer of frost had covered Tang Jinbiao’s eyebrows and hair.
“Wrong, wrong!”
Despite the broad daylight, an abrupt chill gripped Captain Wang, causing his own body to break into tremors. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. But as he shook his head, the frost on Tang Jinbiao’s hair and eyebrows vanished, leaving only the impression that his mind was playing tricks on him.
“I don’t know either. It’s just suddenly so cold!”
Tang Jinbiao appeared puzzled as well, his expression full of confusion.
_Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!_
Yet, just as Tang Jinbiao found himself utterly bewildered, his head snapped up suddenly, his gaze fixed firmly on the path ahead.
“What is that?”
The instant Tang Jinbiao raised his head, his pupils contracted violently as if he had glimpsed something utterly terrifying. He stared fixedly in that direction.
_Thud!_
Seeing the sudden, stark terror in Tang Jinbiao’s eyes, Captain Wang’s own heart gave an involuntary lurch. He instinctively turned his head, seeking to identify what could inspire such dreadful fear. But just as he began to turn, something felt like it was lunging towards him.
_Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!_
A momentary disorientation washed over him, then the sensation disappeared completely. Captain Wang’s body shuddered uncontrollably. He turned back, intending to speak to Tang Jinbiao, only to find that Tang Jinbiao had also twisted around, his eyes riveted on where the caravan was moving.
“What was that?”
A horrified, or rather terrified, murmur escaped Tang Jinbiao.
For in that fleeting instant, he had seen a colossal, ghostly white shadow hurtling towards them from the distant horizon at an incalculable speed. It passed through Captain Wang as though he weren’t even there. Then, seeming to notice Tang Jinbiao, it paused, almost imperceptibly glancing at him before accelerating away at a speed he simply couldn’t fathom, vanishing into the distance once more.
It wasn’t only Tang Jinbiao who felt the biting cold now. Even Captain Wang was assaulted by a sudden wave of piercing chill; though there had been no wind in that moment, he felt his very thoughts freeze for a fraction of a second, overcome by an inexplicable, profound cold.
_Clatter! Clatter!_
Roughly ten seconds later, Captain Wang finally regained himself slightly, looking at Tang Jinbiao with an expression full of complex thoughts.
“Uncle Wang, why the delay?”
Just then, the caravan, utterly unaffected, caught up as it continued moving. A clear, melodious voice came from the Carriage. “Why are you two not moving?”
“Oh, Young Lady!”
Caught by the voice, Captain Wang started but quickly recovered. Gently patting Tang Jinbiao’s shoulder, he urged, “Little brother, hurry and greet our Lady!”
_Clatter! Clatter!_
The touch on his shoulder made Tang Jinbibaio’s body tremble slightly as he too snapped back to awareness. He looked towards Captain Wang, but the stark terror was still etched in his eyes.
_Thud!_
That horror-stricken stare struck Captain Wang again, making his heart clench a second time. An involuntary shiver ripped through his body.
Tang Jinbiao seemed to regain full composure. The terror and vacant shock in his eyes gradually dissolved, replaced by his original, ordinary state.
“Brother Wang!”
After Tang Jinbiao returned to normal, for some unknown reason, a hint of tears suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he spoke in a low voice.
“Hmm? Uncle Wang, who is this person? How come he’s following along with the group?”
At that moment, the woman in the Carriage seemed to have noticed Tang Jinbiao, asking in a somewhat displeased voice.
“Young Lady, this person is a refugee from another place. On the way, he encountered robbers who robbed him of his silver coin and food. He hasn’t eaten or drunk for several days. I pitied him, so I took him in. Once we reach Chuyun City, he can find his own way to make a living. Isn’t this what you often say? Heaven has a virtue of preserving life, and saving one life is more meritorious than building a seven-storeyed pagoda. So I brought him along, and anyway, it’s only a day or two’s journey.”
For some unknown reason, after seeing Tang Jinbiao’s previous expression, sympathy surged in Captain Wang’s heart, and he directly made up a lie for Tang Jinbiao.
“Oh, since Uncle Wang wants to keep him, then keep him. Tell him not to wander around. The journey isn’t safe; although there are no tigers or wolves, there are still many robbers.”
The woman in the Carriage acknowledged with a sound and then fell silent, becoming quiet.
Pat! Pat!
Although Captain Wang didn’t quite understand why, he still gently patted Tang Jinbiao on the shoulder and comforted him, saying, “Little brother, it’s alright!”
“Mm-hmm!”
Tang Jinbiao seemed to recover a bit and nodded.
What he had just seen was too shocking for him. He never thought about why he would see such things, or rather, at that moment when he saw the huge white shadow, a word surfaced in his mind.
Soul!
At that instant, it seemed he saw what is called a soul, because when that white shadow passed Captain Wang, he faintly saw the feeling that Captain Wang’s soul was about to leave his body.
Only, he didn’t know why he could see such things, why that soul could also see him? And when that soul saw him earlier, it seemed somewhat surprised.
“Eat this rice cake slowly. Don’t worry, this rice cake is mild; even if you haven’t eaten for three days, eating it won’t cause any problems. Just relieve your hunger for now. Later, when we find a resting place, you can eat some finer foods. Otherwise, with your current stomach, it wouldn’t handle strong foods at all!”
Captain Wang took out a rice cake from the pack he carried with him. It was circular, about one finger thick and one foot in diameter, with a slightly burnt-yellow color. He handed it to Tang Jinbiao and said.
“Thank you!”
Tang Jinbiao seemed too shocked by what he had just seen. For a long while, he hadn’t recovered and had even forgotten his hunger. But now, after Captain Wang spoke, he felt his stomach empty again, unbearably hungry and thirsty. Taking the rice cake, he began to eat it slowly.
Cough!
Captain Wang also found that earlier inexplicable chill a bit puzzling, but he couldn’t be bothered to think too much. After seeing Tang Jinbiao take the rice cake, he took out a water skin and was ready to hand it to Tang Jinbiao anytime.
“So fragrant!”
Eating the rice cake in big bites, Tang Jinbiao felt for the first time that there was something so delicious in this world. That flavor was indescribable. Anyway, biting into that crispy rice cake bite by bite, he felt he was eating the best food on earth.
“Heh heh, eat slowly, eat slowly!”
Seeing Tang Jinbiao wolf down the rice cake, a trace of sympathy appeared in Captain Wang’s eyes. He thought to himself, “Cough, there are still many unlucky souls in this world!”