3

Zhou Chuyu listened to their conversation while secretly thinking of his plan: All of you don't let me follow Chuqi, I will just follow him secretly. Chuqi is a kind person. Once I am outside, he won't send me back alone.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. So, as soon as finished his meal, he immediately returned to his own room, took out a small box from his wardrobe, opened it and emptied all the silver coins inside. After counting, it amounted to approximately five taels of silver. Although he had never ventured outside, he had still spent a lot of time on the streets and mingled in various family stores, overhearing conversations among those engaged in trading. This had given him knowledge about expenses one might incur while being outside. 

"Five taels of silver might not be enough," he mumbled to himself, "I need to figure out a way to get more money as quickly as possible and I can't let anyone at home find out. How can I made some extra money in a short amount of time?" 

With this in mind , he took his action immediately. He obtained 50 copper coins from his maternal grandma under the pretext of buying delicious food and 200 copper coins each from his little mom, Caifeng, and his eldest sister, Zhou Zheng, under the pretext of buying writing materials. He sold various small belongings and toys he had, which earned him another two taels of silver. What really boosted his silver reserves was ghostwriting homework for his classmates, which netted him a solid five taels of silver. In addition, he secretly acquired a simple map of the Yuhong Dynasty from an older classmate, quietly preparing all the necessary items for his upcoming journey. (In ancient China there is the different way to count money in the different dynasties. Here 1000 copper = 1 silver. )

After about 10 days of preparation, Zhou Chuqi was also ready to leave. Zhou Chuyu also began to carry out his plan in secret. At the beginning his plan would set out early in the morning and wait for Zhou Chuqi on his way. However, he was concerned that his departure from home might be discovered too early so that he would be chased by whole family. So he changed his plan that he set out on his journey secretly after school at noon, giving himself a half-day late start compared to Zhou Chuqi. He believed that he could catch up to Zhou Chuqi in due time if walking faster. He thought of his plan and put it into action. During the noon break when everyone was taking a nap in their rooms or occupied with their own activities. Zhou Chuyu divided his silver coins and placed them in various pockets on his person, leaving only a few scattered copper coins for his expenses that afternoon. He left behind a letter and he crawled out though the dog hole in the back of the house. 

He hurriedly made his way towards Xin'an town, hoping to encounter Zhou Chuqi on the road. However, to his surprise, by the time evening came, he still hadn't come across Zhou Chuqi. This left him feeling somewhat disappointed. It was only at this point that he realized Zhou Chuqi must have been traveling by horse-drawn carriage. There was no way he could catch up to his elder brother on foot. This realization filled him with worry, especially because his haste had caused him to miss a place for finding shelter for the night. In this desolate area, there were no villages in sight and no inns or stores to seek refuge in. While he managed to obtain a bowl of water and some dry rations from a passing village, he still felt hungry and thirsty. As the sky darkened, he began to feel a sense of fear. He found himself crying, dragging his tired legs forward slowly as he moved through the wilderness. He continued walking with frequent pauses, all the while looking around anxiously, filled with fear. Just when he was feeling sad and helpless, he suddenly heard the sound of approaching hoof beats from behind. He stopped and turned to look in the direction of the sound, witnessing a horse approaching from afar. 

Nie Huanzhang was racing along the road, eager to reach Feizai town. He had received a letter from Guan Yuheng, one of his brother-like friends and business partner, explaining that he was serious illness and no medicine could help. Guan Yuheng had asked Nie Huanzhang to take care of his only one daughter, Guan Yue and had enclosed all the necessary legal documents to prove his wealth. With Guan Yuheng leaving behind an orphaned girl, Nie Huanzhang, as his best friend, had a clearly responsibility to raise her. Due to his desire to travel quickly, he had reached this timing and missed finding a place to stay overnight. He planned to rush to the nearest small village ahead and find a place to rest. 

To Nie Huanzhang's surprise, in the midst of this desolate wilderness, he saw a boy standing there. It was only when Nie Huanzhang approached closer that he noticed the tears streaming down the boy's face, resembling broken pearls in the dim light of evening. The boy's helpless gaze met Nie Huanzhang's. Nie Huanzhang glanced at him but didn't stop and sped past Zhou Chuyu. 

As Zhou Chuyu watched the young man continued past him, he felt even more sadness. He Suddenly sat down on the ground and wept profusely. More sad more crying. He didn't dare to shout to this young man , fearing he might encounter a bad person or bring more trouble to himself. But to his surprise, the young man turned his horse and came back. Nie Huanzhang asked:

"hey, guy, why are you standing here alone?"

Zhou Chuyu, with tearful eyes, gazed at the young man dressed in black, devoid of emotion and carrying a sword at his waist. He was afraid and hadn't yet decided whether to respond to that man's question. So he continued to cry. Nie huanzhang asked again: 

"Are you deaf or mute? I am asking you a question. Don't cry anymore. Where are your parents?"

Zhou Chuyu continued to sit on the ground, crying and saying nothing but looked at Nie Huanzhang. Nie Huanzhang could still see the sadness, exhaustion and a hint of fear in those tears-filled eyes. He initially had no intention of getting involved but as he looked at this boy with lovely face and a childish innocence, crying as if his heart would break, he found him both pitiful and endearing. This made him hesitant to simply abandon this boy, so he spoke again: 

"I'm not a patient person but I'm asking you patiently right now because I see you crying out here in the wilderness and I feel sorry for you. If you continued say nothing, I will leave immediately. So I ask you again: what's wrong with you? Where are your parents?" 

Nie Huanzhang repeated his question, showing a mixture of concern and impatience.

Zhou Chuyu had initially planned to remain silent but seeing that the young man continued to stay, he finally responded with a sob: 

"Who are you? Where are you going?"

Nie Huanzhang couldn't quite explain the reason that he found this boy rather interesting. He replied:

"Well, you didn't have answered my question yet, so why should I answer yours?"

Zhou Chuyu responded:

"You answer mine and I promise I'll answer yours."

"Okay, my name is Nie Huanzhang, zi Fengting and I am on my way to Feizai town."

Zhou Chuyu retrieved a map from his pocket and tried to find this town on the the map in the dim moonlight but couldn't find Feizai town. So he sighed and said:

"I am Zhou Chuyu, zi Wangshi. I'm running away from home. I need to go to Xin'an town."

"Run away from home? Why did you escape from home?"

Zhou Chuyu said in a hushed voice, with a hint of hesitation on his face:

"My elder brother is going to study medicine in Xin'an town and I also wanted to follow him but my parents didn't allow it so I ran away on my own, hoping to catch up with my elder brother. However, I didn't expect to have walked for half a day without seeing any sign of him. I also missed the place to stay overnight. Now I'm hungry, thirsty and tired. It's getting dark, and I'm a bit scared."

"Do you regret it now? It look like you've been on the road for a long time. That means that your home is definitely not nearby. It's getting dark. I'll take you to the village up ahead. Then you can decide whether you want to go back home or to Xin'an town. Come!" 

After saying, Nie Huanzhang gave his hand to help Zhou Chuyu onto the horse. 

Zhou Chuyu said nervously, trembling:

"Ride a horse? I…I…I have…have never…never ridden a horse before. I…I…am afraid…scared of…falling off, it…it…is would…would hurt…hurt a lot if I falls off." 

Finally Nie Huanzhang couldn't help but lose his patience. He picked Zhou Chuyu up, who had already stood up, and then a series of exclamations rang in his ear. Zhou Chuyu was so frightened that he held onto Nie Huanzhang tightly and quickly, burying his head against his chest. Nie Huanzhang couldn't help but smile and he tightened the reins before urging the horse to gallop towards the next village. Meanwhile, the person in his arms couldn't resist stealing glances outside, but the gusts of wind made him bury his head back into Nie Huanzhang's embrace.

Two of them arrived in a small village and Nie Huanzhang stopped his horse outside of a decent house. When Nie Huanzhang was about to dismount, he found that the person in his arms had already fallen asleep. He gazed at Zhou Chuyu's sleeping face in the moonlight, which was handsome and peaceful, and his body so soft. He couldn't help but smile and gently shook the person in his arms:

"Hey, wake up, Mr. Zhou, Zhou Chuyu."

Zhou Chuyu made a soft "hmm" and opened his eyes slowly. He rubbed his eyes with his hands as if he hadn't quite figured out where he was. When he finally realized that he was still on the horse, he immediately nestled back into Nie Huanzhang's embrace. Then, he stole a glance at Nie Huanzhang and whispered in trembling:

"I…I…am on…a horse. I…I'm so..sor…ry!"

"You need to let go of me. I need to dismount and find a place to stay."

"But if…if you…dismount, what…what do…I do?"

Nie Huanzhang couldn't help but sigh and thought to himself: " It seems like I've gotten myself into trouble." He quickly released Zhou Chuyu's tightly held hands, and as he dismounted, he let go of Zhou Chuyu's hands and swiftly lifted him off the horse. As Zhou Chuyu's feet touched the ground, he immediately began patting his chest with his hand. Meanwhile, Nie Huanzhang approached the door and knocked. A voice from inside asked: 

"Who is it?"

Nie Huanzhang replied:

"I'm sorry, we are just passing through. We missed our lodging for the night and were hoping to stay here."

At that moment the door opened and a burly farmer stood in the doorway, looking at Nie Huanzhang and Zhou Chuyu, said:

"I don't have any spare rooms, but there is a storage room for tools and grain with a small kang inside that you can sleep on."

"That's great." Nie Huanzhang immediately responded without asking Zhou Chuyu. He continued, "Would you mind bringing some food and water for us? We missed our inn while traveling and here are some money to you."

That farmer accepted the money without any hesitation, then went back inside. In a short while, he returned with a candle and led them to the storage room. He moved the grains from the small kang to the floor. Nie Huanzhang then said:

"Could you make the grain bag flat? I can sleep on it, okay?"

The farmer replied:

"of course."

While the two men were tidying up the room, Zhou Chuyu stood there feeling awkward and unsure of what to do. Once they had finished, the farmer's wife arrived with a wooden tray containing two bowls of noodles and a water jug in no time.