Chapter 10: The End of the World

Besides, Zhou Fu led people to chase down East Street, and asked pedestrians while searching, but there was still no news. At this time, the sky was dark, and the streets were sparsely populated, and many shops were closed, and they walked a long way to see a grain store that was not closed. Zhou Fu stepped forward and gestured and asked, "Shopkeeper, can you see such a tall little boy running over." The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, 'I saw a child running towards the east. When Zhou Fu heard this, he hurriedly led people to the east, turned two more streets, and they soon ran to the east gate and did not see Ling'er, and saw that the city gate had been closed. One of them said, 'Do you think Ma Zi has already left the city?' Zhou Fu said: "This is also possible, I will ask the city gatekeeper." And they came to the porter, and saw that the gatekeeper was eating. Zhou Fu stepped forward and asked, "May I ask you, brothers, did you see a teenager running out of the city just now?" A middle-aged man said, "See, they've been out of the city for a while, and my brother asked what they were doing." Zhou Fu said: "We are the family of Fan Zhifu, that child is the scholar of Fan Zhifu's family, he injured Fan Zhifu's son and ran away, we are chasing, please open the city gate now and let us go out of the city to chase it." When the gatekeeper heard that it was Governor Fan's family who was chasing the fleeing scholar, he replied, 'Haode, we'll open the door for you.' After saying that, a few of the gatekeepers went and opened the gates so that people could pass through.

Zhou Fu saw that the city gate was opened, and said to a young man: "Wang Wu, you go back and tell the master, and say that Ma Zi has left the city, and we will go out of the city and continue to chase Ma Zi." After Zhou Fu finished speaking, he took the two out of the city gate, and Wang Wu went back to the house to pay respects. The guards of the gate were gone, and the gates were shut. One of them said: "I heard that the two sons of the Fan Governor's family are very evil, and several scholars have been half-dead by his brothers, and some of their arms and legs have been broken. The other said: "This is retribution, don't people often say, good and evil will be rewarded in the end, and if there is no retribution, the time will not come." Then they went into the house.

Wang Wu returned to the mansion and saw Fan Zhifu and said, "Master, the guards at the city gate said that Ma Zi had gone out of the east city gate, and Zhou Fu and they went out of the city to chase them. Fan Zhifu said: "Since Ma Zi is out of the city, you go and tell everyone who is looking in the city to go back to the house." Wang Wu said yes, and went to the street to inform the families who were looking for horses to return home.

Besides, Zhou Fu and the others went out of the city gate, and they chased forward along the road, chasing down for more than ten miles in one go, but they still didn't find Ling'er. Another Ding said: "Brother Zhou, we chased so far and didn't see Ma Zi, did he not run away, but hid somewhere, or maybe ran away from another path, let's go back and tell the master, listen to what the master says." Zhou Fudao: "What you said also makes sense, anyway, we have chased so far, we have done our best, and there is no big problem with the two sons, so let's go back." Then they turned and walked back.

Zhou Fu and they shouted to open the city gate and returned to the mansion, the other people who were looking for it had already returned to the mansion and were busy eating, Zhou Fu and they came to the living room, Fan Zhifu's family was eating, Fan Zhifu saw that Zhou Fu and they did not bring the horse back, and said angrily: "How about it, did you catch that moment." Zhou Fu lowered his head and said: "Back to the master, we chased for more than ten miles, but we still didn't find the horse, I think the horse may be hiding." Fan Zhifu said impatiently: "Where do you think he can hide, don't go to find it quickly, I have raised so many of you and can't even catch a little beggar, it's just a rice bucket waste." Zhou Fu said, "Master, the little one doesn't know where he is hiding." Governor Fan thought for a moment and said, "You go and inform Steward Wang, and ask him to send people to ride horses on the three pipelines in the southeast and north to pursue it, and send people to search for it on foot in the nearby villages and fields outside the southeast, north and south, and if there are not enough people in the family, the government will quickly call the government to search together, and we must catch this damn horse back." Zhou Fu retreated.

Besides, Ling'er saw that the two sons had fainted, and thought that Fan Tongzhang would not spare his confidant whether he was dead or alive, and it would be better to escape. He walked out of the academy, and then passed through the two courtyards to the back door, fortunately there was no one along the way, he hurriedly opened the back door and walked out, then closed the door and buckled the button, and ran down the street to the east. At this time, it is getting late, the streets are sparsely populated, and some shops are preparing to close. A child running on the street is not very noticeable, and they all think that it is getting dark and the child is in such a hurry to get home. Ling'er turned two streets and came to the street, which was not far from the east city gate, and saw that the gatekeeper was closing the city gate, so he hurried over, and ran to the front city gate only two feet wide and did not close, and he was about to leave the city panting. There was a gatekeeper who said, 'Son, why do you have to go out of the city when it's dark?' Ling'er gasped and said: "My home is not far from the city, I am helping in the city, I heard that my mother is sick and rushed back to visit, and I will come to work early tomorrow morning." The gatekeeper said, "What a filial son, then you should hurry out of the city, so that you can go home early." Ling'er hurried out of the city gate, and the city gate was closed not far away. Ling'er secretly said in her heart: "It's really dangerous, if you run slowly, you won't be able to get out of the city, and it will be even more difficult to escape, then I'm afraid it will be more than lucky." I can't go to the east road now, if Governor Fan sends someone to chase me and find out where I'm going, it won't be good, I think it's better to change the route and go south. As he thought of this, he saw a hairy path stretching southward, and without thinking much he ran along the trail towards the south. Ling'er is running for a while and jogging for a while, and unconsciously ran to the official road in the south of the city, although the sky was dark at this time, the moonlight was very bright, and he was not afraid at all, because there was only one thought in his heart that the farther away from this Qingzhou City, the better. Ling'er walked hurriedly on this official road for I don't know how long, and as she was walking, she suddenly thought: 'It's not safe to walk on this road, if they can't catch me in the east, they are not allowed to send people to chase me.' He was thinking when he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him, and he hurried into the grass under the trees by the roadside, and did not dare to breathe.

After a while, two of them came jogging on horseback. One of them said: "Third Brother Zhang, where do you say Ma Zi can run, someone saw him go out of the East City Gate, but we chased him for more than ten miles and didn't see a figure." Zhang San sneered: "A child can't find you anywhere, maybe he hasn't left the city yet, maybe he is lying on his stomach in the grass not far outside the city, although the moon is bright but not as good as the day, how to find it, the fool will wander on the road, and we will go back to sleep after a few miles ahead." As he spoke, they chased south. After the two left, Ling'er didn't dare to go to the main road, so she walked forward in the woods and grass on the side of the road. Although it is not afraid of snakes and insects in the winter moon, the grass is very deep and difficult to walk, and the slow movement is large. Ling'er stopped after walking for a while, squatted in the grass and said secretly: "The grass is so difficult to walk, it is better to sit down and rest for a while, and then walk on the road after Zhang San and the others return to the city." Thinking of this, he found a secret place to sit down and wait quietly, and practiced his internal skills for a while.

Zhang San and they chased south for more than ten miles and did not see Ling'er's shadow, they stood for a while and then turned their horses and walked back, the man said: "Brother Zhang, let's go slowly, we can't go back to the house now, and we may be scolded." Zhang Sandao: "What you said makes sense, let's walk back slowly, and when we go back, we will say that we have chased for fifty miles and there is no shadow of the horse." As he spoke, he sat leisurely on horseback and walked slowly towards Qingzhou City.

Ling'er was sitting quietly and practicing, when she suddenly heard a slight sound of horses' hooves, thinking that it might be Zhang San and they were back. So they fought even harder to breathe and listen, and sure enough, it was Zhang San and they walked back slowly on horseback, chatting about their parents as they walked. Ling'er waited for Zhang San and them to go over until they couldn't hear the sound of horses' hooves, then they got up and walked to the main road to the south, and when they were tired, they would rest for a while before walking, just want to go as far as possible, only in this way can they be safer.

Zhang San and the others walked three or four miles away from the city and joined the search crowd, and searched until midnight before collecting troops and returning home. The next day, Governor Fan sent people to search for another day, but there was no result, and the matter was settled.

Besides, Ling'er walked along the official road and walked south, I don't know how many walks, I don't know how long I walked, I only felt tired, hungry and thirsty, and my head was a little drowsy, just when I saw a village on the side of the road, he swayed towards the village. He walked to the head of a leeward haystack, leaned against the head of the haystack, and fell asleep in a daze.

Early the next morning, a young woman went to the head of the haystack to pull the grass and boil the pot, and she saw a child sleeping in front of the haystack, gray-headed and wearing tattered cotton clothes and trousers, and the main knee was the most damaged, and the cotton was about to be exposed. Seeing the child sleeping there motionless, she didn't know whether it was dead or alive, and she didn't dare to go up to see it, so she hurriedly ran back to the house and shouted: 'Child, father, get up and see, there is a child sleeping on the head of our haystack, and I don't know whether it is dead or alive, and I don't dare to look at it.' A young man hurriedly dressed and came to the head of the haystack with the lady, and the young man squatted down in front of Ling'er and stretched out his hand to sniff, and said to the lady: "This child is not dead, but he is asleep, and it is too cold outside, should you wake him up." He said, 'Wake him up and let him go to sleep, for he seems to be sleepy.' ’

The young man's name was Niu Yaofa, and his mother's name was You Fu Niang, and Niu Yaofa heard the lady say this, so he pushed Ling'er with his hand and said, "Hey, child, wake up." Niu Yaofa just pushed the words before he could finish speaking, and saw Ling'er suddenly get up, looked at the two people in front of him with wide eyes, and said with some horror: "Who are you and what do you want to do." Both of them laughed, and the cow said, 'You ask us who we are, and I want to ask you who you are, and what you want to do when you sleep on the head of my haystack.' ’

Ling'er calmed down and thought, "This place should be far away from Qingzhou, it shouldn't be Fan Zhifu's family." Thinking of this, he replied: 'I missed the night yesterday on my way, so I had to spend the night at the head of this haystack, and I didn't want to disturb my uncle and aunt, I'm really sorry.' You Fu Niang said: "You said that you are going to go in a hurry, weishenme does not find someone to stay in for one night, anyway, the house is warmer than the outside." Ling'er said: "I don't want to trouble people too much, I want to go to Qingzhou City, I don't know how far I have to go." The ox will say, 'It may be a hundred miles away.' At this moment, Ling'er's stomach rumbled a few times, and I saw his chapped lips purse twice and swallow a mouthful of saliva. You Funiang looked at it and smiled: "Child, you must have not eaten last night, and now you are hungry." Ling'er thought: "Now that it's so far away from Qingzhou, there shouldn't be anyone chasing after it for a while, and I still have to feed my stomach." So he nodded and said, 'Yes, I didn't even drink water.' You Fu Niang said: "Then hurry up to the house to warm up, I will pull the grass and cook immediately, you also eat some with him, his father, you quickly lead the child down into the house, and tell the pillars and grass to rise." After saying that, he went to pull the grass himself, and Ling'er followed the ox to the house.

Ling'er and the ox were to be sent to the hall to sit and wait for the meal, and the ox was to be sent to the inner room and said, 'Pillar, the grass is up quickly, and it will be time to eat in a while.' Both the pillar and the grass promised to get up immediately, and the ox was to send it back and sit opposite Ling'er and said, "Child, what is your name, where did you come from to get so far to Qingzhou, and how did you call a child's house to hurry." Ling'er said: "My name is Ling'er, my parents have died, there are no relatives at home, my father asked me to go to a cousin's house in Qingzhou before he died. The cow sighed and said, 'Hey, I see, poor boy. ’

Niu wanted to send and asked Ling'er about the details, but Ling'er still didn't dare to tell the truth, so she had to make up nonsense for safety. The pillar and the grass had already got up with their clothes dressed, and You Funiang also made breakfast, burning corn porridge, pasting corn tortillas, and stir-frying pickles. Niu Yaofa's family of four, plus Ling'er, sat around a small table and ate. Ling'er ate a large piece of bread and drank two bowls of porridge. Xiaocao smiled: "Mother, you see that this brother can eat it." You Funiang smiled: "People didn't eat last night, can they not eat more." Ling'er was full of food and drink, and said: "Thank you uncle and aunt for your kindness, and you will definitely repay you in the future, and dare to ask your uncle's name." If you can't find relatives and have nowhere to live in the future, you can go back to your uncle, as long as there is something for the uncle to eat, you will have something for Ling'er to eat, and then you will come to find the cow to ask for a hair.' Ling'er said, "Uncle Niu, what kind of village is this called?" Niu Yao said: "There is a Niutou Mountain in the east of our village, and our village is just in front of the head of Niutou Mountain, so it is called Niutou Village." Ling'er said: "Thank you uncle for your kindness, if I really have nowhere to go, I will definitely come back, and I will leave." You Funiang said: "Ling'er, don't be busy, I'll make a few more cakes for you to eat on the road." So saying, he went to the kitchen. Ling'er said: "That's embarrassing. Niu wanted to say: "Ling'er, you're welcome, let your aunt do it." ’

You Funiang made a few corn tortillas and brought them over, she wrapped them in a piece of cloth and handed them to Ling'er, and instructed: 'Child, be careful when you walk, find someone to live in for the night when it gets dark, and don't freeze your body.' Niu wanted to send the couple to send Ling'er out of the door, and Ling'er said goodbye to the road with a thousand thanks.

Ling'er left Niutou Village on the road and continued to walk south, walked for a while and saw a fork in front of him, this fork was going in the southwest direction, Ling'er stood at the fork and thought for a while, Zuihou decided to go towards the southwest fork road. This road is not easy to walk, more and more undulating mountains, the population is gradually sparse, and there is no village at noon, Ling'er has to eat some dry cakes and drink some stream water. It wasn't until about three o'clock in the afternoon that she saw a village, and Ling'er thought: "There are few villages here, and it is estimated that no one will chase after them immediately, so there is no need to rush to the road, if you miss this village, you may have to sleep outside, or go to the village to find some water to drink and take a good rest." Ling'er thought and walked towards the village.

When Ling'er came to the village, he begged for a bowl of tea from an ordinary family, and begged the family to let him stay here for one night, and the family reluctantly agreed, telling him to rest in the broken grass house where firewood and grass were placed. Ling'er can't take care of other people's reluctance, it's good if she can agree, and she can avoid the cold wind. At night, I drank two bowls of porridge at that house, went to the firewood room to eat some dry cakes, and went to sleep. The next morning, I drank two bowls of porridge from other people, and after drinking the porridge, I said goodbye to them and went on the road.

Ling'er walked unhurriedly like this, Xiaoxing stayed all the way begging, I can't remember how many mountains and rivers I have crossed, I only remember that I have passed three county seats, and every time he goes to a county seat, he has to go to the place where the government likes to post notices to see if there is a notice of catching him, but he has not found anything, and he is much more relieved. He thought that the Fan brothers might not be dead, and the matter might not be pursued anymore.

On this day, Ling'er walked in the canyon between the two mountains, the canyon is a rolling river, the river bank is an official road, until the evening turned a mountain pass, suddenly a city appeared, this city is located at the foot of the mountain on a flat and open land. Ling'er saw that it was getting late, hurriedly quickened his pace and went straight to the city gate, and hurried to the city gate, the city gate was being closed, Ling'er ran and shouted: 'Slow, I want to enter the city.' He ran and shouted and looked at the city gate tower, only to see three words on it: "Wanshan County". As soon as he reached the gate, the city gate could only accommodate one person, and he hurriedly squeezed in, and when he entered the gate, he was already panting, and he hurriedly squatted down and gasped for a while before walking towards the city street.