Chapter 45 Take off His Skin
Su Muge caught hold of Granny Fang, who staggered.
“Ganny Fang, don’t worry. Let’s make things clear first.” Su Muge walked towards the county yamen with Granny Fang in her arm.
The voice of Granny Fang was a bit trembling.
“It was…was at dusk, I was preparing dinner for everybody and asked Tong’er to get me some water, but he didn’t come back for a long time. I was worried and went to look for him. But I’ve searched the whole county yamen and he was nowhere to be found…” said Granny Fang, who was already crying.
“Lord Su, please help us. Tong’er is the only son and heir in our family, and I can’t let anything go wrong with him…”
Su Muge helped Granny Fang get in the room. “Granny Fang, don’t worry. I’ll send people to look for him now. Tell me what places Tong’er likes to go in his spare time. Is there any chance he went to play with other kids and forgot to come back?”
Granny Fang kept crying and shook her head. “No. The child always behaves well and listens to my words. After we arrived here in Zhou county, I told him it was dangerous outside, and he must not go out. The child is obedient, and will never walk around without me.”
“I see. I’ll send people to search for him right away.”
Su Muge was a bit worried but she didn’t show it. The feeling and smell of the man in black who had attacked her the other night were quite similar to the one in the woods. Though the man in black had been caught by Xia Houmo’s men, there was the possibility that he still had his accomplices. If they started to aim at Tong’er…
She immediately asked Adviser Li to send someone to look for the child. Adviser Li dared not slack off and took his men out.
A few rays of moonlight illuminated the whole Zhou county, and the streets were all empty at late night.
Suddenly, a black figure flashed quickly in the moonlight. With a closer look, it can be found that he was carrying something with him.
The shadow quickly shuttled in the darkness beyond the reach of the moonlight, and for a short moment, it disappeared in an alley.
Two other figures soon flashed past. They saw the black shadow disappear, then looked at each other.
“Did he see us?”
“We hid well when we followed. He won’t notice us.”
“What shall we do now?”
“Follow him to have a look.”
The two figures vanished together with their voices into a dark alley.
In a residential house in the alley, the man in black threw the person on his shoulder to the floor, then squatted down to look for something on him.
But he couldn’t find anything after several times of searching.
“Damn it, where the hell did he hide it!”
The man lit a candle to illuminate the whole room. With the dim light, it could be seen clearly that the one lying on the floor was Tong’er, the child Su Muge was looking for!
The man in black poked several times on the boy, and Tong’er came to his senses quietly. When he saw the surroundings and the man in black, he was afraid and shrank back.
“Who, who are you? What, what do you want!”
“Tell me, where the hell is it?”
Tong’er kept shaking his head with his whole body trembling. “I don’t, don’t know what, what you are talking about…”
“You don’t want to tell me? You little stubborn beast!” The man in black rushed forward and grabbed Tong’er from the floor. The child struggled with fear.
“Help, help me…”
“Do you want to die?”
There was a sudden sound of hiss.
The man in black threw Tong’er to the floor while his clothes were accidentally scratched on a nail. With the large rip on Tong’er clothes, his whole thin back was then exposed.
The man in black went forward and was about to continue torturing him when he suddenly saw something on his back.
“You smart little thing. You can think of hiding it there!” The man in black picked up Tong’er, took out a black porcelain bottle from his body and poured it on the child’s back.
“Tss-ss.” A sound as if meat and skin toasting on the fire arose in the room, accompanied by a smell of something burnt.
“Ahhh!” Before the painful cry of Tong’er was completely out, he was knocked unconscious by the man in black.
Seeing this, the two men hiding outside both frowned.
Through the cracks in the window, they could see something gradually appearing on the back of Tong’er.
The two exchanged a quick look and burst into the room the next instant.
The man holding Tong’er was startled, and he pulled Tong’er behind him subconsciously.
With only one eye contact, the three of them were engaged in a fight.
Two on one. The man in black gradually lost his defense towards the other two.
“Who the hell are you?” The man in black was forced to a dead corner and he roared. He looked at Tong’er again, and unwillingly, threw him to the other two. He turned and fled away.
“You go after him, and I’ll take the child back and report.”
“Alright.”
Zuowei picked up Tong’er and put him on his shoulder. He then left immediately.
He was back with the child at the county yamen within a quarter.
Donglin came to the door and said in a low voice from the outside, “Lord, Zuowei is back.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes.”
Zuowei walked into the room with Tong’er on his shoulder.
Xia Houmo was sitting on the bench with his legs crossed. He managed to converge all his internal forces moving around his whole body after Zuowei came in, and then slowly opened his eyes.
“Lord, it’s actually on this child.”
Zuowei pulled aside the clothes on Tong’er, with his back exposed. There were marks on it as if scars left by someone scalding it with a fire poker. However, a map appeared, which spread over the whole back of Tong’er and looked scary.
Zuowei carried Tong’er onto the table, revealing his whole back.
Xia Houmo came forward and looked at it carefully. The pattern on this back was indeed the defensive layout map of Yanxia pass.
“Where’s the man?”
“Zuoqiu was after him.”
After another look at Tong’er, Xia Houmo said in a low voice, “Ask ‘Lord Su’ to come over.”
Zuoqiu was stunned for a moment, not expecting this order from his master.
“Yes.”
Su Muge searched the whole county yamen, and she couldn’t find Tong’er. She only discovered a shoe of the child by a well.
She held the shoe tight in her hands and looked serious.
“Lord Su, here you are.”
Su Muge restrained herself and looked up. She knew that he was the bodyguard around Xia Houmo.
“Is Lord Xia looking for me?”
“Yes. Lord Xia has something to discuss with you, Lord Su.”
“I see. Let’s go.”
It was already late at night, what did Xia Houmo want to do?
With that confusion in mind, Su Muge pushed the door open and walked in Xia Houmo’s room.
Tong’er came into her sight when she stepped in, lying on the table, his face down, with no clue of being alive or dead.
“Tong’er!”
Her eyes twitched and she walked towards him, two steps at a time, to check his condition.
She let out a long breath of exhalation when she was sure that the child had only fainted.
Su Muge looked at Xia Houmo sharply, and said, “Lord Xia, I don’t know how Tong’er offended you. But how can you be so cruel to a child?!”
With his eyebrows raised a bit, Xia Houmo looked directly into Su Muge’s eyes. “You think I did this to him?”
Su Muge frowned and lowered her head. Suddenly, she saw the map on the child’s back and was surprised.
“What…is this?”
Looking at Su Muge’s surprised face, Xia Houmo responded calmly, “Lord Su, have ever you seen the defensive layout map of Yanxia pass?”
The defensive layout map of Yanxia pass was the military defensive layout map of Chu!
Su Muge was smart enough to get it that the man following her was trying to get what was now on the back of Tong’er.
The military defensive layout map, which was a major military secret, had appeared on an ordinary child. Why?
It could only be explained that Tong’er was only a “tool” for hiding this map. So Tong’er disappeared today probably because the man was back for the map.
Su Muge lifted her eyes and looked at Xia Houmo upon her thoughts, only to see the coldness and murderous look deep in his eyes.
He doubted her. He doubted that she had something to do with it. After all, she brought Tong’er to Zhou county.
No wonder a lord with brilliant achievements in wars had come to Zhou county. He was here for the defensive layout map but not the flood!
“Lord Xia, how can I have the chance to see it?” Su Muge clenched her hands more and more tightly.
Staring at her, Xia Houmo approached her step by step.
His steps were light, yet his approaching had made her breath heavier.
This man was exerting pressure on her!
Su Muge took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
“Lord Su, do you know the consequence of the map leaking out?”
Of course, Su Muge knew it!
Barrack protection was like the magic ability to sustain the thrusts of sharp weapons on one’s bare skin. Without it, it was almost equivalent to exposing the whole military camp to the enemy.
“Although I don’t know how to fight a battle or how to manage soldiers, I am well aware of the importance of the defensive layout map. But there is one thing I don’t understand. Why did such an important thing appear on the child’s back?”
Xia Houmo looked down at Su Muge but didn’t answer her.
“Donglin.”
Donglin pushed the door and went in.
“Lord, what’s your order?”
“Make this map disappear from the child’s back.”
Donglin was a bit shocked, but he soon nodded, pulled out a dagger from his body and was trying to stab towards the child’s back.
“What are you doing!” Su Muge went forward and stopped him.
Xia Houmo looked at her, and a smile was forming on his lips. “The map on his back was drawn by a kind of special potion. Unless the whole skin is torn off, the map will never disappear from him.”
Hearing these, Su Muge’s eyes were wide with surprise. But soon, there was a look of anger on her face.
“Tong’er was innocent. If you tear off his skin, you could kill him!”
“There are many more innocent people out there except him. Donglin, do it.”
“Yes.”
Donglin went forward again, and Su Muge was standing in front of Tong’er with her whole body protecting his.
Donglin frowned and was about to pull her away, yet she cleverly dodged him.
“Lord Su, please don’t stump me on this.” Donglin was in a dilemma since he was not sure what Xia Houmo exactly wanted.
Su Muge flung herself to Tong’er, picked him up, and was about to leave when Donglin went forward quickly to stop her.
She glared at Xia Houmo with her eyes red in anger. “Give me one day, and I’ll make the map disappear from his back!”
Xia Houmo was sitting in his chair and playing with his jade thumb ring. He didn’t even bother to look up.
“Lord Xia, you are an official appointed by the imperial court. How can you tramp people’s lives as if they were mud and ashes!” Su Muge gritted her teeth with anger and hatred.
“Before the sunrise.” Finally, Xia Houmo lifted his eyes and looked at her.
Holding Tong’er tighter in her arms, Su Muge nodded in graveness. “Fine, before the sunrise.”
